Great Advice

[bobf111]

ToweringTexan 2008

Playing multiple size tournaments, you should also WATCH. Just because a tournament is running doesn't mean you can't watch.

See what more experienced players are doing. Note the regulars and how they play. Do they bluff, do they go all in, what kind of stamina do they have, are they chatty or quiet? Anything you can recognize as a pattern will help your play.

For the card side of the game, watch the cards. Given certain cards in your hand, how often does that hand win or lose? Just because you have a pair doesn't mean an instant win, even A's.

There is / was a hand calculator on the desktop, when out the odds after the play.

Remember, this is all for fun and practice, so be nice, act mature and be professional.


Texan that is a very good point, a matter of fact the are a few very good points in that message. Thanks a lot well said.

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[bobf111]

ToweringTexan
Poker Oracle Join Date: Jan 20008

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This post contains three sections for anyone new to OP66 or Texas Hold’Em.

Section 1: Introduction to Texas Hold’Em
Section 2: Introduction the Playing Styles within Texas Hold’Em
Section 3: Introduction to Hand Types within Texas Hold’Em

Section 1: Introduction to Texas Hold’Em

Abstracted from an original article written and published by Mike Greenberg

Introduction - No Limit Texas Holdem

The purpose of this article is to assist beginner/intermediate players improve their game. The strategies and concepts suggested in this text relate to full-ring games (8-10 players).

It should be noted that there exist several playing styles capable of winning the money in No-Limit Texas Hold'em. It is quite possible that, in a good game, a great player could win money in the long run by playing every hand, but that very same player might collect about as much by playing only 15% of the hands.

Key skills to becoming a good No-Limit Texas Hold'em player

Strict hand selection (patience/discipline)
Good table selection (very important in all poker games)
Discipline (the ability to wait for a good hand and not chase)
Reading opponents
Courage to bet/raise/call down (aggressive with draws or perceived best hands)
Not vulnerable to go on tilt
General advice - No Limit Texas Holdem

No-limit Texas Hold'em Top Advice

Playing too many starting hands: in a standard $2-$4 NL game you should have a 20-30% view of the flop percentage. This means folding AJ in first position, KT in middle position and QT in late position.

Table selection: only play in games where you have an edge. You want at least a couple of weak players at the table when you sit down.

"Playing the players": make sure to quickly assess the opposition: who plays inferior hands, who folds at aggression, who bets with draws, who calls big bets with weak hands and draws, who can be bluffed, who bluffs, etc.

"Pump it or dump it": fold or bet/raise (if the holdem odds are with you). You should avoid calling unless you have a good reason (like trapping an opponent).
Respect most big bets and raises: this is particularly true on the turn and river as most players do not bluff.

No-Limit Texas Hold'em Common Mistakes

• Not releasing a decent hand when beat, thus losing the whole stack on one hand.
• Calling with weak holdings when facing a bet.
• Playing too many starting hands.
• Not raising pre-flop with premium hands (putting pressure on limpers holding drawing hands) and then going too far with them after the flop.
• Over/under betting the pot (risking a lot to win small/not protecting hand).
• Before the Flop - Limit Texas Holdem

One of the most valuable skills in Limit Texas Hold'em is the ability to be very selective about the hands you start with. There are a number of factors to consider when deciding which hands to play:

Is the table tight or loose?
How many players are sitting at the table?
How many players are in the pot when it is your turn to act?
Has the pot been raised? If so from what player and position?
What is your position?

Tight or Loose game

A tight game is defined as a game where few players (2-3) see the flop on average and then fold after the flop. In this type of game you seldom see the river card because everyone has folded. There is almost no reason to play in such games, even if you are an expert player. If you do decide to play in a tight game, your starting hand should be very well selected and you might be able to play 15% to 20% of your starting hands.

A loose game, however, is usually where you want to be. In a loose game many players see the flop and tend to go too far with their hands. In these games there exists the possibility of playing more hands, though usually not more then 30% of the hands. Nonetheless, you must still be very selective of which hands you play.

How many players are in the pot before you

If many people see the flop there is a greater chance for you to play more drawing hands, such as 76s or small pocket-pairs, since these types of hands increase in value in multi-way pots. At a short-handed table with only six players or less, big cards increase in value. Even Aces with a lower kicker than Ten usually become playable. In a full ring game, hands like AT, KT, QT decrease in value as these can easily become a trap hand, meaning they make second-best hands (see Trap Hands).

More players generally result in bigger pots since, the more players in the pot, the higher the pot odds become. For example, you can call before the flop with a hand like 76s or small pocket-pairs if you think there will be six players or more in the pot. If there are only two or three players in the pot, a 76s or small pocket-pairs are not good hands to enter the pot with. You want to ensure you get a good price on your drawing hands.

If it has been raised

If someone has raised before the flop you must have a very good hand to call with or get excellent pot odds. Do not call raises in middle position with hands like AJ off-suit and KQ off-suit (see Trap Hands). However, if you are in late position and a minimum of four players called the raise, you can either call or re-raise with a hand like JTs in the hopes that you hit a great hand when the pot is big.

Position

The positions are counted from the button. In a full table with 9 to 10 players, you have the button, small blind, big blind, early position, middle position and late position. The three seats after the big blind are called early position, the following three seats, middle position, and the remaining two seats are categorized as late position. The first position after the big blind is referred to as sitting under the gun. This is the worst position to hold pre-flop as you will be the first to act and will be more likely to make mistakes. This is because you will not have as much information as players acting in late position.

Therefore, you must be very careful in choosing your starting hand in this position. For example, do not play an AT off-suit under the gun. Although, if you hold the same hand on the button and no one has called, AT becomes a raising hand.

The best position is on the button, right in front of the small blind. It is in this position that you will posses the most information when your turn to act arrives. When sitting on the button you will know how many players are in the pot, if there has been a raise/re-raise, etc. This is most certainly the most profitable position.

Trap Hands

A very common mistake for beginner/intermediate players is to play any two big cards or any Ace from an early position and call raises with the same type of hand. This is one of the biggest mistakes a player can make as these hands so easily become trap hands. A trap hand is any hand that has a high probability of becoming the second-best hand, costing you a lot of money if you flop to it. The most common trap hands are AT, AJ, KQ, KJ, KT, QJ and QT. Many players limp in from early position and call raises in middle/late position with this type of hand. Thus, if you limp with KJ from early position, and someone in late position raises it, you could easily find yourself trapped against common raising hands such as KQs, AK, AJs, AA, KK and QQ (in case a J hits).

This also applies when you call raises with this kind of hand. This is a mistake. The most frequent raising hands from early position include AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AQ and AK. Why would you want to call a raise with a trap hand when the raiser is likely to hold one of the above hands? Nonetheless, trap hands are playable in the right circumstances. For instance, if you are in late position and are first in, the trap hand now becomes a raising hand.

General pre-Flop Advice

Make sure to raise with top-pairs (AA-JJ) and top-connectors (AK, AQ) to drive out low-pairs and various connectors and to build the pot in case you hit.
Have respect for strong tight players (for example, drop AQ off-suit if a strong player raises under the gun).

Again, be selective with your starting hands. Resist the temptation of playing too many hands because you lost a few pots when you held a premium starting hand.
Do not call a raise if you are not in possession of a very good hand that you, yourself, could raise with.

Never play an Ace with a lower kicker than Ten if it is not suited. The only exception is if you are in late position or on the button and no one has called. In such cases, you should generally raise with an Ace in your hand due to the possibility of winning the blinds without a fight.

On the Flop

Flop play is very important in No-Limit Texas Hold'em. The key is to determine the relative strength of your holding. Over time, it is crucial that you develop the ability to release good poker hands when you suspect them to be second best. You must determine your relative strength and release hands that face a serious risk of being second-best. Betting is the natural move if you want to protect a good hand from being outdrawn or when you are presented with the opportunity to make your opponents fold their hands. You should usually "pump it or dump it" on the flop.

It is extremely important that you always evaluate the relative strength of your hand on the flop.

In order to decide the correct action it is very important to keep several factors in mind:

What did you flop and what is your relative strength (straight draws, flush draws, set, paired board, etc)?
Who, if anyone, raised before the flop (often expect another bet)? What kind of player is it?
What position do you have relative to the raiser's?
Number of players (it is hard to bluff facing 3 or more opponents and there is a greater chance of someone hitting a strong hand)?
Your and your opponents' stack size

When facing a bet you should fold unless you have good reason to doubt the strength of your opponent. As they are "setting the odds", it is crucial that you make the appropriate decision. Remember, your opponent can be holding anything from the stone cold nuts down to nothing - if your hand is decent it may very well be an underdog to a lot of likely holdings. A texas holdem odds calculator can help you on calculate the odds and the winnings chances of your poker hand.

Of course, you will not always fold. In fact, every now and again you should play back with a raise when you have a good chance of taking the lead or if you think your opponent is weak. Consequently, you will be "setting the odds" and forcing your opponent to make a decision (and a possible mistake).
Try to save your calls unless you have very good reason not to (like slow-playing a monster or drawing to the nuts in a multi-way pot). You will rarely get the holdem odds for chasing "outs" by calling in NL, unless your opponents bet too small or give free cards. By calling with mediocre holdings you will set yourself up for a "guessing game", in which it is necessary to read opponents well and "make moves" in order to be successful.

Typical Situations on the Flop

Here are four typical situations on the flop:

Very Strong Hand (top two-pair, set)
Often slow-play on an uncoordinated board to lure opponents in, to induce bluffs or let them make second-best hands.

However, if the board is coordinated and several players are in, you will need to over-bet the pot in order to make them pay for attempting to outdraw you. The bigger the bet they call, the greater their mistake. And that is how you make money in poker: letting other players pay to chase you.

Strong Hand (over-pair, top-pair with A kicker, etc.)
Generally, bet about the size of the pot in order to protect it (for example, pushing out overcards and making draws pay).
However, you might have to release this type of hand when facing an over-bet or a raise. In such cases, someone could hold a bigger overpair, a set or connectors that hit the flop for a two-pair. Usually you should not back top-pair with your whole stack!

If you bet and are called in several spots you have to decide whether your hand is the best or not, as it is unlikely that all of your opponents are drawing.

Medium Hand (top-pair with a weak kicker, middle-pair with A kicker, second pocket- pair, etc.)

Most of the time, you should avoid betting this hand when you are in early position, facing several opponents or facing tricky players who slow-play a lot. You want to get a free card to hit one of your pocket cards on the turn or maybe call/raise an opponent who bets from last position.
However, if you are in late position and it is checked to you then you should bet.

If you are facing a bet (or get raised) you should fold. You have no initiative and are probably chasing 2-5 outs.

Drawing Hands (nut flush or nut straight)

If you have 11 outs or more and are drawing to the nut flush or straight, which requires at least one over-card (higher than any board card), you can mix up you game by betting/check-raising/raising in order to win the pot immediately or draw out on later rounds.

If you are playing with "calling stations" this strategy has much lower equity as you will not be able to win a lot of pots with semi-bluffs. With this type of hand, one option is to check-raise/raise all-in if you have a short stack and the pot is fairly large. Then you have two ways to win, either by forcing your opponents to fold or by outdrawing them. You have between a 33-53% chance of doing so if the outs are between 8 and 14.

Sometimes it is correct to call a bet on the flop because of the existing implicit odds. This play is directed by the size of your and your opponent's stacks and also by the size of the bet. If a weak player with a lot of money bets and you too have a large sum of money, a call would be good since you might double-up if you hit on the turn.
Specific Holdings at Flop Play

Non-vulnerable "monsters" (four of a kind, nut full house, nut flush, nut straight)

With this type of flop your main concern is how to play in order to get the maximum pay-off.

Build the pot if no one is taking initiative (often with small bets/raises to give pot odds). When betting 30-50% of the pot in multi-way pots, a lot of players will call/raise with draws and other weaker holdings.

If you need to be active to build the pot, be sure to leave ample room for opponents to make a move/bluff.

Vulnerable "monsters" (low full house, non-nut flush, non-nut straight)

This hand can be played profitably either by slow-playing until the turn (if the turn card still leaves you with a great hand) or by "jamming it" on the flop.
If you decide to jam it on the flop be prepared to back the hand with your whole stack.

Sometimes a better strategy is to wait until the turn card and see if a blank hits. If so, you reveal the true strength of your hand on the turn. A disadvantage with this play is that you allow people to outdraw you on the turn by hitting a bigger flush, straight or full house. Also, the action dries up quickly when a fourth suited card hits or it is only one card to a straight on the turn. Therefore, it is important not to get "married to the hand" in case a bad card hits on the turn.

Top/Middle/Low Set (trips using pocket-pair)

If the board is highly coordinated (2/3 cards in same suit and/or 2/3 connected cards), you have to make a stand and try to shut people out immediately, as almost any card on the turn will be a scare card. Several players may be chasing, so over-betting the pot at 200-300% is not wrong. If someone has already flopped a straight or flush you still have an approximate 34% chance of improving to at least a full house.

If the board is uncoordinated you can set up a slow-play by calling or betting modestly and attempting to lure people in. Betting modestly works best if some cards are in the "playing zone" (for example, 9 and up) as someone usually has a decent holding.

Remember, with a "monster" hand you want to leave room for players to try to bluff you as long as you are not in great jeopardy of being outdrawn. Always consider which types of opponents remain in the pot.

Top two-pair or top and bottom-pair (pairing both hole cards)

Play is quite similar to playing flopped sets
Slow-play this hand often with a modest bet or call (you might get well paid off on later betting rounds).

If the board is highly coordinated (2/3 cards in same suit and/or 2/3 connected cards), you usually want to punish the drawing hands. Over-betting the pot is not wrong if there are several opponents
If you have hit with a "weak" Ace, let AK and AQ pay to chase.

Bottom two-pair

You need to protect this pot by betting and raising. This hand looks strong but is in the vulnerable position of being outdrawn. Generally, you hit this type of hand with connected cards, which always make at least a straight-draw possible.

For example, if you hold 98s and the flop is K-9-8, any K, Q, J, T, 7, 5 that hits on the turn will be a scare card and, if you add a flush-draw, it becomes even worse.

Watch out if the board pairs on the turn (and you do not make a full house) as someone holding an over-pair has made a better two-pair than yours or it could give someone trips.

Overpair (pocket-pair above highest card on the flop)

To extract more money in an aggressive game, often look to slow-play high over-pairs (AA-KK) by limping, calling or making modest bets in the hopes of re-raising someone before the flop. With the big pairs, you want to avoid taking flops with more than one or two opponents.

If the board is uncoordinated and you are up against one or two opponents, consider slow-playing your over-pair.

If you have a medium overpair the situation is quite different. You want to win the pot on the flop, as your hand is vulnerable to overcards hitting on the turn.
Watch out for flops like 9-8-7, T-9-8 and J-10-9, especially if they come with flush draws. Anyone who gives you a lot of action on this kind of flop is likely to either have you beat or is about even-money to outdraw you.

Top-paire Kicker

Most of the time bet on the flop (and continue on turn) as you often have weaker players staying in with weaker kickers or worse hands. Make sure to bet about the same amount as the pot if the board is coordinated in order to protect your hand.

Again, there is a huge difference between a flop like K-7-3 rainbow and K-J-9 with a flush draw when you hold AK. In the first case you should consider slow-playing the hand and, in the second case, you have to give action on the flop as almost any card on the turn will be a scare card.

For instance, you hold AT and the flop is T-7-2. You want win the pot on the flop or force hands like 89, T9, JT, QT and KT pay to chase you. In addition, any 6, J, Q or K on the turn will be a scare card.

Top-pair, Weak Kicker

In an un-raised pot, make a normal bet to take the pot if your hand is the best. If there are four players or more involved in the pot, consider giving it up without a fight.

Generally, you should fold when facing a pot-sized bet from a tight player if there is a decent chance that you are out-kicked or (sometimes) facing an over-pair. Be extra cautious to call if there are many players left to act, as you cannot afford to take any heat.

Avoid getting heavily involved with this type of hand unless you have a lot of additional value, like a straight draw and a flush draw. For instance, you are holding 89s and the flop is 6-7-8 with two cards of your suit. Although you only have top-pair with a weak kicker, be prepared to back your hand with your entire stack. This hand gives you 20 outs (!) to outdraw someone holding AA, thus making you the favorite to win.

Second-pair (pocket-pair between the flop's high and middle card)

Typical fold or bet hand.

If you have late/last position with no more than two opponents that checked the flop, you should bet an un-raised pot. Weak/loose players who chase could chase on middle-pairs or draws. Tight players might fold weak top-pairs or other non-made hands.
Fold if a strong player bets in front of you, especially if players behind you are left to act.

When betting, in most cases you should release your hand if you get raised. The only exception is when you strongly suspect that a weak/aggressive player is drawing. You should then re-raise or call and wait to see what unfolds on the turn.

Middle-paire Kicker

Bet out or check-fold, depending on the board, players and number of opponents.
If you are last to act and it is checked to you, consider betting.
This situation arises quite frequently when you are playing the Axs hands. It is important not getting heavily involved on this type of flop.

With the Axs hands you want to hit two-pair, trips, a pair and the nut flush draw, etc. Then you can trap weaker flushes, AK (when you hold two-pair) and trips with a weaker kicker than the Ace.

Middle-pair, Weak Kicker

When there are only two or three players in the pot either check-fold or make a position bet when checked to you.
Sometimes take a free card when it is checked to you in the hopes that you hit at least two-pair.

Fold if an opponent bets.

Third-pair (pocket-pair below the flop's second card)

Either check-fold or make a position bet when checked to you and there are only two or three players in the pot.
Sometimes take a free card when checked to you in the hopes that you hit at least two-pair.

Fold if an opponent bets.

Low-paire Kicker

Fold to any action. You might be chasing two outs (for trips) as the Ace can make an opponent a higher two-pair. Either way, you only have 5 outs at best.

If you decide to bet, it should be solely on "bluff merits" (few players, position, no face cards on the flop, etc.).

Low-pair with Low Kicker

Fold to any action.

Do not position bet.

Bet or check when checked to you in last position depending on the circumstances.

Overcards - AK, AQ, KQs, AJs

These hands should be played with caution against both strong and weak opposition. Strong players know that you, as a tight player, will often be holding overcards when the flop comes with low cards. This makes you susceptible to steal raises from the good players and the weak players will call/chase down with mediocre holdings.

If the board comes with no face cards (Ace, King, Q ueen or Jack), you can bet about 70-80% of the pot as a bluff/semi-bluff, representing an over-pair. In particular, you should follow through as the pre-flop raiser against no more than two opponents.

On the Turn - No Limit Texas Holdem

As a general rule you still want to have the lead and build the pot.
If you were betting a draw on the flop, you must use your best judgment and decide whether to fire again. Remember to always re-evaluate your hand as the play progresses.

Do not call down big bets with a medium holding, unless you play with a habitual bluffer or a player who is quite obviously on tilt.

On the River - Limit Texas Holdem

Now you are at the end of the hand and a common mistake is to fold or call with too many hands. If you did not make your draw, it is appropriate to fold regardless of the pot size. However, if you have a mediocre hand and the pot is substantial, you may occasionally have to make a "crying call" although it is very likely that you are beat. Once again, you must use your best judgment though sometimes there exists a fine line between folding and calling on the river. You will not be bluffing much on the end, unless you are heads-up and quite confident that your opponent was drawing and/or had a weak hand and a scare card hits. Be prepared to fold a good hand if a flush and/or straight card hits and your opponents begin to raise.

Special Moves - Limit Texas Holdem

Check-raising

When you have really strong cards, you can check instead of making a bet. You do this hoping that another player will make a bet and give you the chance to raise when the turn comes back to you. For example, you are sitting in early position with Ac-Js. The flop is Ah-Jd-6c. You check your two pair, and two players in middle position check as well. An opponent in late position bets and you then make your move and raise. The thinking behind check-raising is to make it too expensive for the drawing hands, like a flush draw or a straight draw, to stay in the hand. Check-raising from an early position will also give you command of the hand. If the other players still call, you have at least gained valuable information about what they are holding, and forced them to pay a lot for trying to outdraw you.

Semi-bluffs

Semi-bluffing is when you make a bet or a raise with a drawing hand. You might win the hand right away, but even if you don’t you might hit your draw and take home the pot that way. For example, you are in late position holding Qs-Js and the flop comes Qc-7s-3s. This gives you a flush draw with 9 outs. There are four opponents still in the hand and they all check to. Since they all checked, you bet even though your hand probably isn’t the best at the moment. Players with a pair of 7’s or 3’s, or a low pocket pair might fold in this situation. Even if some calls your bet, you have 9 outs to the flush and maybe an additional 6 outs to win if you hit a Q or a J (15 outs in total).

Free cards

When you are sitting in late position or are last to act, you can raise with a drawing hand on the flop. This will probably make the other players check to you on the turn, and you will have the opportunity to check (if you do not hit your draw) or bet (if you hit your hand). This strategy will save you money if you do not improve and make you money if you hit your draw. However, this kind of play will backfire if you are re-raised on the flop. In these cases, it will be expensive, but it is still a solid play since you have gained information about the other players and have a draw to a stronger hand.


Section 2: A guide to the Styles of On-line Players

First, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list, only the observations of someone who has only been here a little while.

I have observed the following styles of player; Aggressive, Conservative, Mixed, Dead Man Walking and Kamikaze.

I will address the last two first, since they are the easiest to spot and subsequently avoid.

Dead Man Walking – this is the person who seems to be warming a seat but not really playing. They tend to take all the time to act down to the last second. Now I have no issue with someone needing or taking time to decide what to do in a given hand, but it can be very frustrating when they drag the game play down to a crawl with every hand. This can be a strategy to frustrate others into going all in or playing bad hands just to get off the table and into something more active, but I don’t see that as the strongest possible play. There have been threads to vote on the slowest players and these will give you some insight.

Kamikaze – also known as the All In Gang. These players go all in regularly, sometimes with good cards, most often not. They might be stealing the blinds. They might be trying to spice up the game. Unless you have a killer hand, I would not suggest following them into the dive bomb. If you do decide that the death roll is a good move for you, be prepared and plan to lose. It makes the loss less troubling. If you let them work it out they will usually settle down and start playing poker rather than tossing darts at the wall.

Now on to the meat, the 80% of the players fall into one of these two groups:

Conservative – these people are happy watching grass grow or paint dry. They are content to wait until the perfect time to strike. This method is best used when you have a good chip stack in your favor and you can stand to lose long enough to get that Grail of a hand. This can be done in an expedient way so as to not drag down play. For the poker newbie this is a good way to get a feel for the tables and the players. Calculate your odds and wait for a good hand, something with one, or preferable more, high cards (Jack – Ace). Pairs are better, but anything playable in the painted card area is good to start with as long as the blinds are not too high for you to feel comfortable about losing. Many smaller bets can win you many small pots equaling one big win as opposed to few huge bets which run off the players who might have called smaller pots.

Aggressive – these people go for it every time, a 2 3 off suit, great lets bet. The bank that a higher percentage of the time they will run off the other players or win because of the cards that come later. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they get caught. This is when it is important to know when to fold and take your lumps.

Section 3: Introduction to types of hands and how to play them

There are four basic types of hands in No Limit Texas Hold ’Em:

* Winner
* Loser
* Exploratory
* Bluff

WINNING HAND

This is quite simply what it says. You have the experience to know that you have the winning hand at each stage of play. You begin with a strong set of hole cards (AA, AK, KK or high suited cards) and you bet appropriately on the first round. I have seen and read many commentaries that indicate that you should raise the first round of betting with these combinations of cards. That can be true or not, depending on your style of play and what you want to accomplish. Many times just going along with betting with a strong pair can get you a much bigger pot because of what you represent (we’ll cover that later in this article).

Once the flop comes you can have a pretty good idea of your position towards a winning hand. Now having certain cards DOES NOT guaranty a win unless you have a Royal Flush, but the odds of a win increase dramatically depending on what you have. Remember that this is a game of cards and observation.

Let’s say that you are on a table with players you know to be regular bluffers. You can use this information to build your pot slowly to get a bigger take on a winning hand. On the other hand if you are on a table with large betters you might fold a good hand because you are not confident about your odds.

Here is the breakdown of hands:
Royal Flush A K Q J 10 All the same suit
Straight Flush 5 6 7 8 9 All the same suit
Four of a Kind A A A A
Full House Q Q Q 7 7 Three of a kind AND a Pair
Flush All Suited
Straight 4 5 6 7 8 Non Suited
Three of a Kind J J J
Two Pair 9 9 J J
Pair K K
High Card A

Now, that being said, how many times have you seen a great hand in the flop get beat by the Turn or the River (often referred to in the chat box as getting Rivered). Again you need to be aware of the odds that you can be beaten and be comfortable wit the risk / reward model.

Think from the standpoint of “What COULD my opponent have”?

LOSER HAND

This type of hand I am not going to describe as a hand that you lose on, you might have had a winning hand but you got outplayed.

A Loser Hand is one where you should fold but you feel like you have so many chips in that you have to go for it. This most often happens when you are chasing a hand.

Let’s say you have a J and Q of clubs in your hand. The flop comes 7 8 9 of suit. Now you have a straight draw. Should you bet or call a high bet on the table? You are chasing a 10. What are the chances of a 10 coming? That will depend on how many people are on the table, how many cards have been burned and your chip stack. In general what you do will depend on what your play style is.

Would you go all in with this? Some would. How many ways can you be bet at this point? Pair of 7’s, 8’s 9’s, and hole pair and potentially a 5 6 straight. Sounds like there are a large number of beat downs coming your way at this point!

EXPLORATORY HAND

This is the easiest to play with. If you are in the Big Blind and no one raises there is no reason to fold. If you have a strong chip stack or are in the position to bet last you can determine the level of exploration you are comfortable with. If you are late in position and no one raises the blind then you can make a call if you feel strongly about your cards. If you are in an early position remember the risk that someone in a late position will raise and if you fold then you just threw away your money so decide early how much you are willing to pay to see the flop or the next card and do not go beyond that number on a whim. Most often it will not pay off.

Sometimes you will fold and later see a winning hand come up for you if you had stayed in, Yup, that's all part of the game. Grumble privately about the Could’a Would’a Should’a. Treat each hand individually not as a byproduct of the last bad decision.

Let’s say you have A 5 off suit and you are at the point in the game where blinds are low enough to be tolerable to you. This is a strong hand to go exploring with.

Again, as with the two previous types of hands, the level of commitment is going to be based on what you know about the players, where you are positioned on the table, how comfortable you are with risk and what your potential return on investment in the pot is.

If you are trying to figure out if you have a good hand or not it is o.k. to explore a little or even raise with a strong card and a good kicker to see what others might have.

BLUFF HAND

Now let’s talk about my favorite subject, bluffing. We have some incredible bluffers on this site.

Bluffing is all about two things, what you represent and actually having the winning hand at the right time.

Now if you always bluff and bet heavy eventually others will figure out your pattern and you are done. This is where observation and human nature comes into play (yes, I know you thought you were done with psychology in high school).

I have read a number of posts about the newbie tables where players will come in with 1K and go all in on the first hand. They might be bluffing or not, they are trying to double up knowing that it is not real money and they can always go back to the well for another thousand. The best way to combat this is to build your chip stack and move to the higher tables. That is not to say that this same thing doesn’t happen on the Ultra Mega Superior tables, it does, but less often.

Prior to this it has been about what hand you actually have or could have. Bluffing is about what you represent to others you have and if they buy it.

History has a lot to do with how well you do as a bluffer. If you are a new player you have no history so people are still trying to figure you out. You may be more successful at first, but it will catch up with you. If you have been playing for a while and people know you, from experience or reputation, then you have to chose your spots carefully and know who you are playing with.

Let’s take an example from earlier; you have A K off suit (Big Slick). You raise the bet on the first round. The players should assume because of all the materials on betting that you have either AK or a high pair (AA or KK). Now let’s assume that you have 10 5 in your hand and you raise on the first round of betting. What does the table assume you have? See how this works now?

Here is the trick, you have to be willing to follow through an either run everyone out so you don’t have to show your cards or actually win. If the hand continues to the point where your cards get shown and you lose, people will note what you had and that will make bluffing in this specific game harder since you now have shown that you will bluff with bad cards.

If you get caught up in a hand bluffing and you know you don’t have the winner it is better to fold so they don’t see what you had. If you get caught up with good cards and lose they may assume you are just aggressive. This won’t hurt your rep as bad as if you show really poor cards on a loser hand.

Now you will not always win with a bluff hand, even a good one, because there are some players (and you know who we are) that will call you no matter what you do and sometimes they will win. They are willing to sacrifice chips to see what you have so they can play you better next time.

Here is another example, let’s say you have that same 10 5 off suit and you raise the pot. Now the flop comes and it is J Q 10. What would you do?

This would be a great time to go all in or at least double the pot. Remember you raised the initial bet so the table thinks you have AK or AA or KK and now you have a flush draw, in their minds. You will likely run off everyone and pick up a small pot. Even if you don’t run everyone off, you have a reasonable pair and a good chance to see another 10 or a five giving you two pair or a set of tens. Pretty safe to be aggressive here.

Again, bluffing requires that sometimes you actually have the AK in your hand so you can show that you have the winning hands. You want the people on the table to be confident that if you are betting heavy you have the winning hand. You want them to know that if you are calling that you have a strong enough hand to explore your options and that you could pounce at any moment.

You want them to be afraid of your cards.

Now here is the real issue with bluffing, as I have said before, there are some players who will call you no matter what. They want to see your hand so they can build a profile of how you play. If you raise and fold later as a regular course of play, they will know that and use it against you later.

So in general, keep your game varied enough to not allow others to classify your play style.

Play some strong hands as weak for small pots. Play some weak hands strong and see if you can steal the blinds. Play some exploratory hands to the River and see if you can pick up a win.

Bluffing also comes into play with the Muck Losing selection. This means hide my cards if I lose the hand as long as I have not raised anyone. Many players who are establishing themselves will turn this option off so that you can see what they played. They will sacrifice a couple of really bad plays and show the cards so you get over confident of their bad play and then they will drop the hammer on you.

CONCLUSION

If you thought No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em was a simple card game you should go back to solitaire, or stay on the lower tables.

It is an art form. Even when you have a killer hand you can lose.

The best advice I have seen comes in two parts:

1. Be patient, remember to play good cards and be willing to fold bad ones.
2. Have the least respect for your chip stack. Remember that this is not real money and that everyone here started with the same 1,000 chips.

Above all, have fun and make new friends. This is a safe haven for you to play a game, meet people from all over the world, make new friends and tune your game so that if you ever do play a money game, you can play at a higher level because of your time here.

Texan
__________________

[bobf111]

ToweringTexan
Poker Oracle Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 77


What are you representing....Types of Hands

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are four basic types of hands in No Limit Texas Hold ’Em:

* Winner
* Loser
* Exploratory
* Bluff

A basic strategy guide is available in this link:
Newbies tips and strategy guide!

The basics of the game are available in this link;
http://www.onlinepoker66.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=2355

A guide to general playing style is available in this link:
http://www.onlinepoker66.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=1988

Q&A sections for a specific scenario can be accessed in this link:
http://www.onlinepoker66.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=2322
http://www.onlinepoker66.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=2179

Now that the administrative, “but how do I’s” are done….

WINNING HAND

This is quite simply what it says. You have the experience to know that you have the winning hand at each stage of play. You begin with a strong set of hole cards (AA, AK, KK or high suited cards) and you bet appropriately on the first round. I have seen and read many commentaries that indicate that you should raise the first round of betting with these combinations of cards. That can be true or not, depending on your style of play and what you want to accomplish. Many times just going along with betting with a strong pair can get you a much bigger pot because of what you represent (we’ll cover that later in this article).

Once the flop comes you can have a pretty good idea of your position towards a winning hand. Now having certain cards DOES NOT guaranty a win unless you have a Royal Flush, but the odds of a win increase dramatically depending on what you have. Remember that this is a game of cards and observation.

Let’s say that you are on a table with players you know to be regular bluffers. You can use this information to build your pot slowly to get a bigger take on a winning hand. On the other hand if you are on a table with large betters you might fold a good hand because you are not confident about your odds.

Here is the breakdown of hands:
Royal Flush - A K Q J 10 All the same suit
Straight Flush - 5 6 7 8 9 All the same suit
Four of a Kind - A A A A
Full House - Q Q Q 7 7 Three of a kind AND a Pair
Flush - All One Suit
Straight - 4 5 6 7 8 Non Suited
Three of a Kind - J J J
Two Pair - 9 9 J J
Pair - K K
High Card - A

Now, that being said, how many times have you seen a great hand in the flop get beat by the Turn or the River (often referred to in the chat box as getting Rivered). Again you need to be aware of the odds that you can be beaten and be comfortable wit the risk / reward model.

Think from the standpoint of “What COULD my opponent have”?

LOSER HAND

This type of hand I am not going to describe as a hand that you lose on, you might have had a winning hand but you got outplayed.

A Loser Hand is one where you should fold but you feel like you have so many chips in that you have to go for it. This most often happens when you are chasing a hand.

Let’s say you have a J and Q of clubs in your hand. The flop comes 7 8 9 of suit. Now you have a straight draw. Should you bet or call a high bet on the table? You are chasing a 10. What are the chances of a 10 coming? That will depend on how many people are on the table, how many cards have been burned and your chip stack. In general what you do will depend on what your play style is.

Would you go all in with this? Some would. How many ways can you be bet at this point? Pair of 7’s, 8’s 9’s, and hole pair and potentially a 5 6 straight. Sounds like there are a large number of beat downs coming your way at this point!

EXPLORATORY HAND

This is the easiest to play with. If you are in the Big Blind and no one raises there is no reason to fold. If you have a strong chip stack or are in the position to bet last you can determine the level of exploration you are comfortable with. If you are late in position and no one raises the blind then you can make a call if you feel strongly about your cards. If you are in an early position remember the risk that someone in a late position will raise and if you fold then you just threw away your money so decide early how much you are willing to pay to see the flop or the next card and do not go beyond that number on a whim. Most often it will not pay off.

Sometimes you will fold and later see a winning hand come up for you if you had stayed in, Yup, that's all part of the game. Grumble privately about the Could’a Would’a Should’a. Treat each hand individually not as a byproduct of the last bad decision.

Let’s say you have A 5 off suit and you are at the point in the game where blinds are low enough to be tolerable to you. This is a strong hand to go exploring with.

Again, as with the two previous types of hands, the level of commitment is going to be based on what you know about the players, where you are positioned on the table, how comfortable you are with risk and what your potential return on investment in the pot is.

If you are trying to figure out if you have a good hand or not it is o.k. to explore a little or even raise with a strong card and a good kicker to see what others might have.

BLUFF HAND

Now let’s talk about my favorite subject, bluffing. We have some incredible bluffers on this site.

Bluffing is all about two things, what you represent and actually having the winning hand at the right time.

Now if you always bluff and bet heavy eventually others will figure out your pattern and you are done. This is where observation and human nature comes into play (yes, I know you thought you were done with psychology in high school).

I have read a number of posts about the newbie tables where players will come in with 1K and go all in on the first hand. They might be bluffing or not, they are trying to double up knowing that it is not real money and they can always go back to the well for another thousand. The best way to combat this is to build your chip stack and move to the higher tables. That is not to say that this same thing doesn’t happen on the Ultra Mega Superior tables, it does, but less often.

Prior to this it has been about what hand you actually have or could have. Bluffing is about what you represent to others you have and if they buy it.

History has a lot to do with how well you do as a bluffer. If you are a new player you have no history so people are still trying to figure you out. You may be more successful at first, but it will catch up with you. If you have been playing for a while and people know you, from experience or reputation, then you have to chose your spots carefully and know who you are playing with.

Let’s take an example from earlier; you have A K off suit (Big Slick). You raise the bet on the first round. The players should assume because of all the materials on betting that you have either AK or a high pair (AA or KK). Now let’s assume that you have 10 5 in your hand and you raise on the first round of betting. What does the table assume you have? See how this works now?

Here is the trick, you have to be willing to follow through an either run everyone out so you don’t have to show your cards or actually win. If the hand continues to the point where your cards get shown and you lose, people will note what you had and that will make bluffing in this specific game harder since you now have shown that you will bluff with bad cards.

If you get caught up in a hand bluffing and you know you don’t have the winner it is better to fold so they don’t see what you had. If you get caught up with good cards and lose they may assume you are just aggressive. This won’t hurt your rep as bad as if you show really poor cards on a loser hand.

Now you will not always win with a bluff hand, even a good one, because there are some players (and you know who we are) that will call you no matter what you do and sometimes they will win. They are willing to sacrifice chips to see what you have so they can play you better next time.

Here is another example, let’s say you have that same 10 5 off suit and you raise the pot. Now the flop comes and it is J Q 10. What would you do?

This would be a great time to go all in or at least double the pot. Remember you raised the initial bet so the table thinks you have AK or AA or KK and now you have a flush draw, in their minds. You will likely run off everyone and pick up a small pot. Even if you don’t run everyone off, you have a reasonable pair and a good chance to see another 10 or a five giving you two pair or a set of tens. Pretty safe to be aggressive here.

Again, bluffing requires that sometimes you actually have the AK in your hand so you can show that you have the winning hands. You want the people on the table to be confident that if you are betting heavy you have the winning hand. You want them to know that if you are calling that you have a strong enough hand to explore your options and that you could pounce at any moment.

You want them to be afraid of your cards.

Now here is the real issue with bluffing, as I have said before, there are some players who will call you no matter what. They want to see your hand so they can build a profile of how you play. If you raise and fold later as a regular course of play, they will know that and use it against you later.

So in general, keep your game varied enough to not allow others to classify your play style.

Play some strong hands as weak for small pots. Play some weak hands strong and see if you can steal the blinds. Play some exploratory hands to the River and see if you can pick up a win.

Bluffing also comes into play with the Muck Losing selection. This means hide my cards if I lose the hand as long as I have not raised anyone. Many players who are establishing themselves will turn this option off so that you can see what they played. They will sacrifice a couple of really bad plays and show the cards so you get over confident of their bad play and then they will drop the hammer on you.

CONCLUSION

If you thought No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em was a simple card game you should go back to solitaire, or stay on the lower tables.

It is an art form. Even when you have a killer hand you can lose.

The best advice I have seen comes in two parts:

1. Be patient, remember to play good cards and be willing to fold bad ones.
2. Have the least respect for your chip stack. Remember that this is not real money and that everyone here started with the same 1,000 chips.

Above all, have fun and make new friends. This is a safe haven for you to play a game, meet people from all over the world, make new friends and tune your game so that if you ever do play a money game, you can play at a higher level because of your time here.

Texan[/font]
__________________
Patience is a virtue that only those who have already obtained success care to employ.

[bobf111]

=============================Keep Your Toolbox Well Stocked by Chris Ferguson============================= I often get asked about my playing style. Rather than answer the question myself, I'm more interested in what my opponents say. And I've heard it all: "You're too tight." "You're too loose." "You're tight aggressive." "You're too passive." Actually, I never hear that last one, but I've heard all the others, which makes me believe I must be doing something right. Loose, tight, aggressive - my style is that I'm all of the above, depending upon the circumstances. One essential element of playing winning poker is forcing your opponents to make difficult decisions. That's why raising is almost always better than calling - because it forces an extra decision on your opponents. To take this a step further - you'll win more money by forcing your opponents to make decisions when they are out of their comfort zones. Here are some examples: Your opponent is on your left, playing too tight before the flop. You want to punish him for this. The best way to do that is to raise more often, and be more aggressive. Either you end up stealing a lot of blinds, or he adjusts his play. If you get the blinds? Great! If he adjusts? Better! It's the best outcome you can hope for. If he starts playing more hands pre-flop, you now have a real edge. Anytime your opponent changes his pre-flop playing style, he's going to run into trouble later in the hand. A guy who usually plays nothing but very strong hands isn't going to know what to do with weaker holdings on the turn and river. If a tight opponent raises in front of you, wait for a stronger hand to call. By playing tight when you are acting behind your opponent, you avoid losing money to his stronger hands. Again, if your opponent catches on, you're forcing him to play more hands up front, and you can outplay him after the flop. What about the guy who plays too many hands? If you're acting first, you want better starting hands than normal. Most of the value of a marginal hand comes from the chance that your opponent will fold immediately. If your opponent has never seen suited cards he doesn't like, the value of your marginal hand decreases because it's unlikely he's going to lay his hand down. He may win more pots preflop, but this is more than offset by the extra money you're going to make when you do see a flop with your stronger hands. If a loose opponent raises you, you can call -- or even raise -- with weaker hands, and raise with hands you'd ordinarily just call with. By taking control of the hand, you can pick up more pots later. Again, you are daring him to change his style. If he doesn't, you're getting the best of it. If he does, he's a fish out of water, prone to making mistakes later in the hand. It's important to have a lot of tools in your arsenal. First, it's helpful in being able to adjust to your opponents and force them out of their comfort zones. Additionally, it will enable you to take advantage of your own table image when you have already been labeled as a tight or loose player, and to adjust accordingly. For example, Gus Hansen and Phil Ivey are known as extremely aggressive players. The only way they have been able to survive with that image is by being able to adjust to different opponents and to slow down occasionally, when appropriate. I have seen this happen sometimes just before an opponent starts reacting to their aggression. They are somehow able to sense what is happening, and change their games accordingly. Other times, they won't adjust much, and force their opponents to try and beat them at an unfamiliar game. To best take advantage of this, pay attention! To everything. All the time. Not just when you're in the hand, but especially when you're not in the hand. Every hand your opponent plays gives you valuable information about how he thinks, and how he's likely to play hands in the future. If there's an expert at your table, watch how he plays. See what hands he expects to work, think about how he plays them, then try incorporating it yourself. See how he pushes weaker players out of their comfort zone. Paying attention is one of the best ways to learn, and a great way to move up the poker food chain. Good luck! Chris Ferguson

[Jmahoney]

Do not all in on the flop against other players in tournaments.

Anybody could catch runner runner, and it might not be you. That would mean u lose.

Also, the goal is to come first. So unless you have a hand that can win, don't try to scare others from the pot, you could be left alone with only your money in a side pot and the loser could be saved.

[TheTexan]

too true. going all in? flip a coin first because that is your chance that someone will call and you will lose.

[RedRaven]

KNOW YOURSELF and YOUR GAME

I play mostly in the tourneys – and learned what I know from this site, the players here, the forum and Tip of the Day by bobf111. Here are some tips that have helped me.

1.) Have fun!

2.) When learning the basics of the game, figure out what your strongest base game is (when you win the most often against a variety of players). If you can describe your basic game to a friend, then you know what it is.

3.) Once you have established your basic strength, try adding other elements to build your options. When adding to your game, try playing at lower limit tables until you are consistent again and then move back up to the higher tables.

4.) Have a plan for how to recover from Tilt before it happens. Then you will have a strategy for recovery in case you are in the middle of a tourney and don’t want to leave the table. For me, I know ahead of time to go back to the original basic strength of my game (see #2) until the Tilt passes.

5.) When stronger players give you feedback about your game, let them know it’s appreciated. Hopefully, this encourages more good feedback about the specifics of your game during actual play.

6.) If a few players consistently outplay you – find time to watch them play rather than oppose them. Figure out what they do that leaves them ahead of you. This helps identify leaks in your own game and might help add a new dimension to your arsenal.

7.) Have fun!

There are top players on this site who built their games in completely different ways. If you are more intuitive and less methodical than I am, find those and read their tips in addition to the basic guides that are provided in the Newbies section. Players here are generous with advice and encouragement. GL, Shea

[BAZULTRA]

The Ace

Here is a huge tip for any players experienced or not. How many times have you been in a tourney and you are almost out of chips and the big blind is coming? I have had this on numerous occasions here and in real life cash poker. If your chips are down and the big blinds are coming play the Ace card. The Ace is the best card in the deck and if you play it you have more chance of winning that with any other card. The Ace always has that extra edge over everything else. Even if you are called and nobody ends up with a pair you will take that pot!

I have been knocked out in many a tournament because someone had Ace high. So bottom line is if you are going all in do it with an Ace.

Bazzy

[roo27]

A-A ok K-K
Don't Get Trapped - a tip I can give is to not lose your whole stack when you get a good starting hand. When I look down and see AA or KK the first thing that goes through my mind is that either I'm going to win a small pot or lose a big one. You don't want to consider your cards and anchor pulling you down to the bottom. Many newbie no limit holdem players think that AA is the end all hand. It isn't! AA is the best STARTING hand. After the flop anything can win and always going down with your good hands guarantees a losing player. The best case scenario for you if you have AA or KK is that someone else has a good starting hand too and you can put them all-in preflop and then play heads up. One thing you will notice at lower limit no limit games is that people are very unlikely to give lots of action after the flop with only one pair. They will call you but to raise, reraise and go all-in is rare (and if they do this often you'll be able to pick up on it). If you have AA and have some guy going all-in against you after you have raised preflop, it is likely that you are beat. That doesn't mean fold everytime but it does mean that you shouldn't consider AA or KK a hand that you'll always showdown.

[bobf111]

HERE IS ANOTHER TOP TIP FROM ROO deception and poker strategy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deception
POKER STRATEGY
Poker is not just a mathematical game. It is also a game that entails a lot of psychological combat. Three of the most important psychological weapons in poker are bluffing, semi-bluffing, and slowplaying.

Bluffing

Bluffing is much more useful in a no-limit game than in a limit game. In a no-limit game, a player's entire stack is at risk each hand. In a limit game, players know they can only lose so much if they call to the river.

Bluffing is almost useless in a low-stakes limit game (anything less than $2-$4). Rarely will a hand not be called to showdown, so there is no point in scaring people out of the pot. Bluffing becomes a much more powerful tool at high-limit games. When you play at a higher limit, it's best to bluff when you 'represent' something and there are only one or two opponents in the pot. For example, betting at the flop with a high card on the board represents a pair, and raising with a flush draw out represents the flush.

Semi-Bluffing

Semi-bluffing is the name for bluffing when you also hold a drawing hand.

AsKs Your Hand
Js3s4d Board


You currently only have ace high, but you may hit a spade flush or make a pair of aces or kings. If you bet with this hand, you are bluffing, but you also have a high likelihood of gaining a strong hand on later betting rounds. Semi-bluffing can be a very useful technique, especially in no-limit games.

Slowplaying

Slowplaying means deceiving your opponents into thinking you have a weak hand, when in fact you hold a powerhouse.

KsKh Your Hand
Kc3c3d Board


You flopped a full house! There is no need to scare people out of the pot, because there is little chance of someone drawing out on you. You should wait till the turn or maybe even the river to jam the pot with bets and raises. You should slowplay if two conditions are met:

1. You hold a whopper, and there is almost no chance of someone drawing on you, and

2. You will only get action if some other cards come out that improve your opponents' hands but not by so much that they will beat your hand.
__________________
loving the game

[Fillero]

My tip is, use your head and play smart! Experience is the greatest key to success.

[roo27]

One thing that most people do wrong, including myself at times, is play consistently. You may play your AQ differently sometimes preflop or when you hit an Ace or Queen. You may bet a different amount (in No-Limit) or choose to jam the pot at a different time (in Limit). However, most decent players will be able to identify you as a certain type of player: tight-aggressive, very tight-aggressive, etc.

One way to help your earnings is to simply switch up your play sometimes. This way, when they're expecting that you're going to bluff, you bluff rarely because they'll call you more. Likewise, if your bets are usually for value, you start to bluff at the pot a lot. People generally won't catch on if you do this discreetly, and it can add more mystery to your play.

This strategy is obviously more effective at No-Limit because it is much easier to bluff at NL. However, it can be used at Limit as well. Generally, the game must be 5 or fewer people (preferably 4 people total.) With stakes large enough, you can effectively bluff at the flop or turn if you played it tight at first, and you will receive more callers for big bets if you bluffed earlier.

For those of you who are mathematically inclined, I'll use some game theory to prove my assertions. Suppose you are playing a soccer match and you have a penalty kick. You predict that if you kick left, you will have an 80% chance of scoring if the goalie does not expect left, and you have a 60% of scoring if you kick to the right and the goalie does not expect right. However, if the goalie blocks left and you kick left, you only have a 45% chance of scoring, and if the goalie blocks to the right, you will only score 35% of the time. Here's a matrix to quickly summarize:

Goalkeeper Blocks Left Goalkeeper Blocks Right
You Shoot Left 45% 80%
You Shoot Right 60% 35%


As you can see, even though shooting left may be what you are best at, it is in your interest to shoot right from time to time because if the goalie always knows you will shoot left, you will score less than if you shot to the right sometimes.

Now, instead of percent chance of scoring, think of the numbers as hourly profit. Left means playing your standard tight-aggressive game and the right means playing a more loose game.

Opponent Expects Tight Opponent Expects Loose
You play Tight-Aggressive 4500 / hr 8000 / hr
You play Loose-Aggressive 6000 / hr 3500 / hr


Bad players may not 'block' at all or will always block the wrong way, so you can keep on playing your standard tight-aggressive game and earn 8000 an hour. However, against good players, they'll quickly realize what you are doing and defend against it. Your profit drops down to 4500 an hour.

Now, suppose you play tight-aggressive 70% of the time and looser 30% of the time. If they continue to just play against you as if you were a tight-aggressive all the time, you will earn 49.500 an hour:

(0.7 * 4500 + 0.3 * 6000) = 49.500

Now, if your opponents caught on to what you were doing and played you as a tight-aggressive 80% of the time and a looser player 20% of the time, your profit would actually increase as long as they don't know exactly when you were playing which way. Your profit would be 52.900:

(0.7 * 0.8 * 4500) + (0.7 * 0.2 * 8000) + (0.3 * 0.8 * 6000) + (0.3 * 0.2 * 3500) = 52.900

So, in order for them to defend against your changing pace, they need to know when you are changing pace. Obviously, if they treated you as a tight-aggressive 70% of the time and they were correct the whole time, your profit would drop. However, as shown before, predicting a change of pace when there is none will actually help the person who is changing pace, so people generally will treat you as the same even when you switch your style!

Thus, I recommend you change your pace some, but randomize it so they can't catch on and correctly predict when you vary your style.

hope you got all that it confused me wrighting it at some points(the maths)but it dose all work out trust me ok

[roo27]

About Bluffing in Poker

Bluffing, a term that certainly worked its way into everyday English, can in poker be defined as trying to win a hand with your bet rather than with your cards. It is as much an art as it is a science.

Although a successful bluff can win you pots outright, your unsuccessful bluffs (bets where you get called and hence "got caught running without the ball," as former world champion Amarillo Slim Preston liked to say) can also help you out. Your opponents' belief in the possibility that you might be bluffing increases after you've been caught in the act. This allows you to win much more money on your strong and even medium strong hands, because your opponents will call you thinking you might be bluffing. If you have a reputation as a very tight, conservative player who doesn't bluff, players won't call when you bet.

Naturally, if you find that your reputation is conservative that when you bet, players fold faster than Superman on laundry day (think about it), you can take advantage of that reputation by betting when you don't have a good hand: bluffing. You will probably be allowed to get away with this for a while, but sooner or later, someone will suspect that perhaps you have altered your style, and call you. You'll lose that pot, but now if you catch good cards, people will pay you off. Indeed, you may have heard players say, "You have to advertise to get called on your good hands. Except to lose on your bluffs so you can make money the rest of the time." This is one of the most misunderstood concepts in poker and has cost more players more money than almost any other "conventional poker wisdom," because actually it is not wise at all.

The reality is that in the course of making bluffs that you hope will succeed (win the pot), you will get caught/called often enough to do all the "advertising" you need. People will remember these unsuccessful bluffs, and because they are looking for excuses to play, and hate the idea of getting bluffed out of a pot, will later call you when you actually have a real hand. This means you certainly don't need to make bluffs you know will fail.

Bluffing because you "have a hunch you might get away with it" is not a good reason for bluffing. You should have a plan, just as you do for playing any hand. The plan might be that your intended victim has been playing tight or scared poker; it might stem from a scary board that creates the impression you have a strong hand, or rely on the fact that you haven't played a hand for 45 minutes and therefore currently have a tight image (don't relay on this last one too much, because you'd be amazed how little attention other people pay to you when you're not actively involved in hands).

These are just a few good reasons to bluff. Your plan should involve bluffing more when you are not likely to be called and bluffing less when you are. That kind of decision is based on observation and playing of situations, not whim.

[Jmahoney]

(search for strategy)

Advanced Online Poker Table Position Play

Posted in Poker Strategy at 5:26 pm by Valentino Viccetzar

The ability to assess the effect of your table position and your opponent’s table position on the value of bets will improve the outcome of your poker play. You’ll make a more accurate assessment of the value of your hand and you’ll also have a much better sense of what your opponents are playing with.

Poker has four different table positions, regardless of how many people are playing in the game: there’s the dealer’s position, the early position, the middle position, and the late or end position.

Players in early positions should avoid playing marginal hands and should limit themselves to playing only strong to very strong hands. The middle position players should assess how the early players have acted. If the early players haven’t raised the stake, then the middle position player can raise with a marginal to strong hand.

For obvious reasons, those in the end position know the most about their opponents and can play aggressively. Last position players can bet with a wide variety of starting hands, even relatively weak hands, if their opponents have not acted. They can decide to call a bet knowing that no one is going to raise, thereby reducing your risk.

In a full game with ten players, as an early player or EP, you are one of the first three players to act. The person immediately to the left of the big blind is said to be “Under the Gun” or UTG. They are under the most pressure to act, to start the action with a raise.

Middle position usually begins at the fourth player in sequence; the fourth player left of the dealer or the button, as is sometimes the situation in online poker. Like early positioned players, middle position players or MP players still have relatively few advantages and considerable drawbacks relating to their position in the game.

As an MP player, you are at risk of “squeeze” plays. A squeeze play, as the name suggests, is about being forced to act, generally to call a bet by an early position player, when you know you’re likely to get raised. On the other hand, in the middle position, you have an advantage over early position players and you can make a strong assessment of their cards. Particularly if you have a strong hand, you can bet and play aggressively in the middle position, and you should. If your hand is marginal, you have to consider the likelihood that the last position players will take a stand.

The end position or late position players, called LP players for short, have the strongest position at the table because they are the last people to act. The cut-off player, called the CO for short, is the player in the second to last position. LP player have the strongest position because they can make a strategic play, a steal or bluff, to win the pot if no one else has made a move. In Texas Hold’em, the last player’s position-based advantage is the strongest and their opportunity to make a steal bluff is the strongest.

On the other hand, if EP or MP players have raised, as an LP player, you need to determine whether they’re bluffing or playing with a strong hand. If you make the wrong assessment, drawing on what you know about the cards and your opponents’ styles of play, it can be costly so weigh the information you have carefully.

Another situation that the LP player experiences almost exclusively is the semi-bluff, which involves raising an EP or MP player who made a bet. To make a semi-bluff, you need to have a fairly strong hand, such as a straight or a flush. You can raise to scare your opponents, encouraging them to fold. The semi-bluff also encourages your opponents to consider you and what you might have before they make their next move if they are considering a raise on the second round.

To make the most of position strategy, you need to be aware of your position all the time. It sounds easy but it’s not; getting caught up in your hand leaves you oblivious, so you need to practice focusing on your position for each individual hand at each individual turn.

The general rule to keep in mind goes something like this: play strong hands in early positions; the later your position, the better your chance of making a winning play with a marginal hand, such as a flush or a straight.


http://www.pokerrouge.com/blog/poker...position-play/

[Jmahoney]

(search for strategy)

Importance of Position in Holdem Poker

Your position holds a lot of importance in Holdem Poker, Learn to Play Texas Holdem on the Net . The later your position is the more you will know about the other players as they will all have decided and acted before you make your decision. The Early position is any one of the first four places to the left of the dealer button, the Middle position is any one of the next three places to the left of the dealer; and the Late position is any one of the next two or three positions including the dealer position.

You would act differently in every Texas Hold'em situation depending on your position. The Texas Holdem starting hand requirements are also different. In the early position you want to play only premium hands because you don't know the outcome after you have bet or called. Thus only cards that can stand a raise should be played. In the Middle position you still need quality hands because the chances of raises are less and you can play more marginal cards. In this position you can start to play drawing hands and medium pairs. In the Late position you can play lower pairs and smaller drawing hands if the conditions are right.

How to play before the flop in different positions - In early position play only high pairs and high cards suited or unsuited. In the Middle position, you can start to play weaker hands like medium pairs and drawing hands, suited or unsuited. In the Late position you can play small pairs and suited high cards, if there hasn't been a raise before you. If there has been a raise, before the action gets to you, you should fold all of these hands. High cards should be played without raising, in this position, because you aren't likely to drive anyone out.

How to play after the flop in different positions - After the flop you have seen over 70% of your hand which means that you must decide whether to bet or fold. In the Early position, if you do not have a strong hand, and you are assured of a call from the other players, it is best to check and see what the others do. If you have top pair, bet or raise to take away the drawing odds for those players on a draw. Also, consider a check raise if you are sure someone will bet and you have a very strong hand. In the Middle position try and be more aggressive with your marginal hands, if no one has bet before you. A bet here may drive out hands that could beat you later. Do not go for a check raise as you may end up giving someone a free card. In the Late position you want to play your middle pairs and semi bluffs aggressively. If no one has bet or raised before you, the chances are that no one has a good hand and you may be able to take the pot away.

By the time you have reached the turn and the river you will know the strength of your hand in relation to the others'. Try to understand the style of the other players, watch how they play and concentrate on your position.

People basically think that betting is just to gain. But they forgets that there is a dark side also. Everybody never wins every time. Each have to accept odds. It is said that every casino game like poker or roulette online has the darker side. But people associated with online casino are neglect these facts.



http://www.holdemtop100.com/importen...ldem-poker.php

[Jmahoney]

(search for strategy)

When do you raise a big hand that you’ve flopped? When do you check-raise? The answers to these questions might give you an insight into your game and take you to another level. Consider some of these situations carefully, because they happen more often than you think!

The Classic Slow Play

First, I’ll look at an absolutely classic slow playing spot. An early position player raises preflop in a fixed limit holdem game, and it’s folded to you in late position with 88. You cold-call the raise and the blinds fold. It’s heads-up and the flop comes A83 rainbow (three different suits). The raiser bets out. Do you call or raise?

The pot preflop is 2.75 BB (big bets). This is relatively small, even for a heads-up pot. There are no serious draws to a flush or straight to beat your set. The worst case is that your opponent holds AA, but he would likely slowplay by checking the flop. This is a classic slow playing situation.

Consider the best possibilities for an early position raise:

- A high pair (KK, QQ, or JJ). A bet on the flop is reasonable. It gives the bettor a chance to gauge the possibility that you hold Ace-any. If you raise, the hand is likely over. If you simply call, the bettor has to consider the possibility that you have an Ace with a bad kicker.
- A middle pair (TT, 99, or 77). Some players only raise high cards or high pairs from early position, and play middle pairs for set or overpair value. Personally, I raise with them here, hoping to gain an advantage as the aggressor and possibly disguising a flopped set (when I’m lucky enough).
- An Ace with a big kicker. The opponent must bet here, to deny you odds to draw to a two-outer (if you hold a pair KK or lower) or a five-outer (if you fished in with 87 suited, for example).

Now, which of those hands would you (or should you) bet with? Probably fifty per cent (or more) of ABC players starting with a high or middle pair would be intimidated by the Ace on the flop, and check-fold their hand. The proper play is debatable, but more experienced (and/or more aggressive) players would probably bet. This gives them a win when you don’t have an Ace, or possibly even if you have a bad kicker with an Ace (if that’s the case, why did you cold-call the preflop raise?). Unless you have a read on this opponent as a good player, the bet on the flop lowers the chances that your opponent started the hand with a pair.

The other remote possibilities for the opposing hand are AA and 33. One of those is terrible for you and the other is a dream hand. But both of those holdings would likely be checked on the flop by the first to act, so we can safely discount those possibilities.

Therefore, the most likely hand here (by far) is Ace with a good kicker. All of the evidence says this is probably much more than 50 per cent likely. As mentioned, the player holding AK or AQ here virtually must bet that flop for the reasons given above.

Call or Raise?

For the rest of the hand, let’s assume that your opponent is holding AK offsuit and flopped top pair, top kicker. Back to the original question: call the flop bet, or raise it up? Holding middle set against top pair, top kicker is obviously a good situation, and the final two cards are unlikely to change the result of this hand. So your goal is to extract the most chips you can from your opponent.

Option: Call. If you flat call the flop bet, very few cards will scare the opponent off of another bet on the turn. You might even see a miracle A or K on the turn. That would give your opponent top two pair to your set, or trip Aces to your eights-full. Either way, you’d make a lot of bets on the turn and your opponent would be drawing to four or seven outs on the river.

Assuming your opponent bets the turn, you can then raise. Your opponent has odds to call all the way to showdown (unless he has a rock-solid read on you). An aggressive opponent here might even three-bet, allowing you to cap the betting and gain another bet or two on the river (but that is very wishful thinking). Standard play would likely make the final pot 9.75 BB, which is excellent here. You would be getting a lot of money into the pot as a huge favorite.

Option: Raise. If you raise on the flop in this situation, you might scare a top pair, top kicker player into check-calling the turn and river.

In that case, the final pot would be 8.75 BB. You just cost yourself one whole big bet. It doesn’t sound like much considering the large pot, but those bets add up. At sixty or more hands per hour playing online poker, it’s not unreasonable to see one of those huge hands come up regularly. Knowing the difference in the optional plays is the difference between functional players and great players.

One other thing might happen if you raise the flop. If we go back to the somewhat smaller possibility that the opponent held a pair between KK and 99, their bet might have been simple aggression rather than a value bet. Your raise on the flop would surely make them consider that you have at least a pair of aces, and they would fold.



http://www.blindbetpoker.com/tips/sl...ying-tips.html

[Jmahoney]

(search for strategy)

The art of slow play in poker is a vital skill that once learned is a dangerous play that can destroy and cripple opponent's chip stacks. Simply put, slow playing is displaying weakness when your hand after the flop is extremely strong. For example, you have pocket fives and the flop comes 7-5-Q all off suit. This is a beautiful flop to slow play because there are no flush draws and remote straight draws that are unlikely.

To slow play in this situation you merely check when its your turn to act and let your opponent(s) do the betting for you. Slow playing is most effective against aggressive and super-aggressive players that will bet if no one else does almost every time. Once they bet, don't jump the gun and go all-in just discipline yourself and simply call. On the turn there's not really a card that can come out that will scare you too much so check-call again. On the river when your opponent bets this is when you raise or check-raise if you want to try to extract some more chips.

Keep in mind that slow playing is not the viable option every time a favorable flop comes up or every time you flop a set. You need to analyze the flop carefully to determine if it's a proper play. Even if it is a favorable flop it should not be done every time especially if you raised pre-flop because checking after a raise can look suspicious to keen players but at weak home games or a weak table you could get away with it most of the time.

As far as analyzing the flop you need to look at what potential draws are possible on the board and how likely your opponent is to hold cards that could be part of the draw. The first thing to look for is flush draws (two or three suited cards on the flop) then screen for straight draws (a flop like J-10-2 or 5-6-7 are bad flops to flop a set with). If one or both draws are present slow playing is not the ideal play however you can try it on the flop then speed up if a scare card comes on the turn to see if your set is still good.

When slow playing straights you need to watch and look for flush draws and that's the main thing you need to be cautious of unless the board pairs and you're concerned about a full house. For flushes, you can probably slow play a queen-high and up flush but any lower than that you should semi-slow play by perhaps checking the flop and speeding it up on later streets. Lower flushes are difficult because being beat by the nut (ace-high) flush or other high flushes is hard to read so I do not advise slow play when flopping a flush under queen-high.

Don't play scared because when you're slow playing you have a monster hand but just play cautious and be aware of draws and letting opponents chase draws. Slow playing is not optimal play against conservative players because they will likely check behind you to see the free card and giving free cards is the worst thing you can do. Only try slow play if you're sure there will be betting behind you.



http://ezinearticles.com/?Poker-Stra...ands&id=971425

[Jmahoney]

(search for strategy)

There are so many different situations in poker and one key to winning is to know when/how to slow play your hand. What does slow playing actually do for you? It makes your opponents think that they have you beat.

So whether you flopped a monster and want to slow play in hopes of your opponent getting a hand to bet/call a decent amount. It also causes your opponents to bluff more. Slow playing isn’t only a technique to get the most out of your hand, but it can also be a way to have your strong hand taken down by a weaker one if it is not executed correctly.

Who to Slow Play Against

First of all, slow playing is a strategy that should be used when facing either advanced or aggressive opponents. The reason for this is that more advanced players are likely to try and steal pots when they feel weakness, and aggressive opponents like to buy many pots.

The key is to trap your opponent, which is when they make a bet or raise in hopes of you folding. You do not want to just give them free opportunities to see another card. When you are facing very weak and inexperienced opponents, it is usually best to bet them out of the hand, as they will often just check when they don’t have anything.

How to Slow Play

When people slow play they often think that it is best to check to their opponent. This is not always the case because you don’t want to give your opponent a free card. What you want to do is make a mediocre bet, that is smaller than your usual bet, to try to make them think that you are bluffing. Nothing’s better than flopping a straight and getting re-raised all in because your opponent felt you were bluffing.

However, if you make that mediocre bet and your opponent only calls it, then next turn you want to bet him out, and if he happened to catch or has a feeling that you are bluffing, then you may have caller, which should mean more money for you. Now, there are the occasions that odds will go against you and you will lose your hand. That’s why you take a chance when slow playing in order get a bigger pot.

The Dangers of Slow Playing

Obviously slow playing isn’t 100% reliable. It’s a chance that you have to take. If you never slow play, you won’t see as many bad beats and for some people that’s what they want. No one wants bad beats, but if you are willing to take a risk you can really get paid off.

The biggest danger of slow playing is that you give your opponent an opportunity to see a card cheaply. With that card they may catch a draw or even a stronger hand than you. If they get a straight or flush draw they may call a pretty large bet from you and of course they will eventually hit and win the hand. So there goes your whole idea of slow playing to win a bigger pot. If you don’t want to take the risk, bet your opponents out whenever you can.

Specific Situations

There are only a few occasions when you should check all the way to the river. If you hold AK and you flop a full house, slow playing is a good idea. If the flop is AAK, there's only one ace left in the deck, along with two kings. This makes it a long shot that your opponent has anything worth playing.

However, if you check and allow a few free cards, your opponent can catch up. For example, if your opponent had J10, and you bet, he will probably fold. However, if you check and the turn is a Q, you are going to win a very nice pot. Also, if your opponent tries to steal at any point because of your checking, you will extract more money from him.

Another situation would be if you had a high pocket pair. You don’t want to slow play low pocket pairs even if the flop consists of all under cards because there is a pretty good chance that an over card will come up on the turn or river. If you have a high pocket pair, specifically AA or KK, you should slow play like you learned above.

There are so many situations when you should slow play and there’s no way to talk about them all. But then again, there are plenty of situations where you shouldn’t slow play. Make sure you think about your odds before you slow play and consider what your opponent may be holding.

In almost every occasion you don’t want to slow play if there are several people in the hand, because the chances of one of them catching something stronger than you is much higher. The only exception would be if you catch a monster such as a straight, a flush, a full house, and so on, but these never guarantee a win.

Overall it is a great idea to slow play, as long as you pick the right situations, the right opponents, and only do it on occasion. By following this strategy, slow playing will really help you build your stack if you do properly.



http://www.coinflippoker.com/artslowplayingstrategy.htm

[Jmahoney]

(search for strategy)


Slow Play

Most beginners go though a phase of slow playing a little too much. To slow play a hand is to feign weakness on a hand, call instead of raise, check instead of bet. The idea being that by slow playing you keep a number of players in the game as long as possible and home that maybe one of them will start betting heavily believing your hand is weak.

The idea seems great and you can certainly see professionals use this technique on TV. The only problem is that too many players over use this concept.

Let’s say you’re playing Holdem, you hold pocket Aces and the flop comes A 4 5. So you have just flopped a nice set of Aces, a great position to be in. Instead of playing with the confidence of having the best hand you check on the flop.

Everyone around the table checks. The turn is a King, someone makes a minimum bet and everyone folds except you, you call. The river is a Deuce, and your opponent bets again and you call. When you and your opponent show your cards you show your trip Aces.

Your opponent turns over a King Three. Turns out he had a pair of Kings on the turn, so bet it, and then caught a miracle card on the river and made a straight (A 2 3 4 5). So you lose. If you had bet on the flop you may have taken the pot down right then instead of giving money away to your opponent.

There are several problems with slow playing. One is that your opponent might also be slow playing. Two is that you are giving free or cheap cards to an opponent who is on a draw.

In the above example it was cheap enough for your opponent to play his relatively weak second pair hand just to see what happened on the river. So the opponent won all the blinds, the bets and the additional bets that you gave him when you called the turn and river.

In one of the great facts about Holdem is it is possible to know that your hand is unbeatable based on looking at the board cards. If there are no pairs on the board you can rule out four of a kind and even a full house as just one example.

You might hold the best hand (the nuts) and be slow playing a player who thinks they too hold the best hand. If he starts to slow play you while you are slow playing him it’s going to be a very weak pot that you win.

This Slow Play mistake is part of the problem phase that many beginners go though when they play all their strong hands weakly and all their weak hands strongly. Most decent poker players can see right through this strategy. It is simply not sophisticated enough to fool good players. As with most tricks in poker, use the slow play very sparingly and it may give you some good results. Over use it at your peril.
Playing Suited Hands

We all remember a great win we had with an Ace high flush. It's a nice hand, someone who is smug because they have an Ace high straight or a nice set of Kings are blown out of the water by a flush. If you are chasing that feeling with a J 4 of spades you are wasting your money and your time. The chances of flopping two spades is around 8-1.

Then you still need to find another spade whilst all the time fighting the possibility of a better flush or the board pairing and someone getting a full house. This is especially true in Omaha where the chances of your being beaten is greater because of the additional hole cards. If you play hands just because they are suited you're going to be a loser in the long term.
Protecting Your Blinds

Some books tell you to do it, some players might tell you to do it. DON'T DO IT! Think of blinds as an entry fee for playing the game, an ante if you will. Consider that every time the button comes around to you you are going to be once in the big blind and once in the small blind, it is just the nature of the game.

If everyone at the table folds while you are in the blinds and the man on the button raises your blind what exactly are you trying to protect? A few cents, maybe a few dollars? Once you start protecting your blinds by reraising or staying in a hand you have no business to be in you are opening yourself up for defeat.

If you flow a top pair with a weak kicker or a draw you find an excuse to throw even more money at the pot. It's a bad play, protecting your blinds is NEVER a reason to stay in a hand.
Playing A Good Starting Hand When You Miss The Flop

Good starting hands are always nice, after an hour playing with hands like J 6 offsuit or a pair of fives it is wonderful to look down and see a suited AK. So you proudly bet out with big slick and the flop comes J 9 2. Guess what? You missed the flop. You have nothing. Lay it down now!

So you refuse to lay it down. You keep in the hand looking for a Queen Ten to make you a straight or maybe an Ace or King to give you top pair. The problem is your opponent has Ace Nine or Ace Deuce. You are chasing a hand, he already has one. The odds are against you, you are gambling. Play like this all the time and you are fighting the odds. Learn to play craps.
Bluffing A Weak Player

If you try to bluff a weak player, you are a weak player. The problem with weak players is they don't like to lay down their hands. They lack the knowledge and ability to know when the odds are really bad, they just keep chasing that winning hand, and sometimes they might get it. Even if you do bluff a weak player once, this will turn them into calling stations.

They are never going to get caught out like that again. Remember the article about calling too much? This is a beginner mistake, so while you lay the sneakyest bluff you can, the beginner totally misses it and just keeps calling with his low pair.

While good players play their opponents and not the cards, while good players know when to holdem and foldem, bad players do not. Bad players see a mediocre hand and think all about the miracle cards that could turn their hands supernova. They are not thinking about your subtle and brilliant play, the way you just bet enough to turn the pot odds against them. You think they can calculate pot odds? Ha!

This is why bluffing is a common mistake in online poker. There are so many bad players out there who call too much. If a weak player is still in the hand be careful with that bluff.


http://www.absolutepoker.com/poker-m...ing-poker.html

[Jmahoney]

(search for strategy)

Poker mistakes at bluffing

As a beginner learns the game, one of their early mistakes is often the over use of the bluff.

Most beginners believe, having watched some poker on TV, that bluffing is an essential part of the game. They believe that sometimes the only way to win is with a bluff. Of course, they would be correct in this belief. However, the bluff is frequently over-rated in low stakes poker for the simple reason that it is not that expensive for an opponent to call, 'to keep them honest.'

It is for this reason that caution should be used when bluffing. Many beginners will play a hand cautiously and then suddenly bet on the river to try and buy the pot, and such a bluff will almost always be called.

The reason good players get away with bluffs is that they are more sophisticated in setting up a bluff. They may have raised before the flop and again on the flop and again on the turn. If the turn brings a third diamond, for example, then it might be considered that the player holds two diamonds and they were looking to make a flush.

Now that they have made their flush they are raising. Of course they might have a 7 2 off suit and no diamonds, but a bluff like this is going to be more successful because it is consistent. All the information the other players can see leads them to believe that the player has a good hand.

If you’re going to bluff you need to make the story seem convincing, make it seem like you have a good drawing hand and you made your draw, or represent strength from the beginning. Either way a sudden stab at winning the pot, especially in low limit poker is unlikely to have the effect you are looking for.

If you are going to bluff do it for the right reasons. Do it to create the image of a loose player (i.e. get caught bluffing a few times). Do it in a way that is believable. But most tables are not going to let you get away with a buy attempt at the pot near the end of a hand when none of your actions up to that point are consistent with you having a good hand.

In no limit games you can make some pretty big bluffs that put your opponent to a serious decision regarding some or often all of their chips. But you can still expect to get called if your play does not seem consistent.

Bluffing like many other tools that good poker player’s use has a time and a place, and is certainly an important part of the game. But learn to use it sparingly and for the right reasons in order for it to be a useful tool. Remember that the lower the limits and the smaller the bet, the less likely it is to pull off a bluff.
Poker mistakes at Calling

Almost without exception, every beginner will go through a phase of calling too much during games of poker. Many players will never lose this habit and will never take their game to the next level.

Calling too much is probably what separates beginners from intermediate and advanced poker players. If you watch any game, for any length of time you’ll see players at a showdown with pathetic hands. It’s easy to wonder why that player is still in the hand especially when they are so easily beaten time after time.

Probably, one of the most overplayed hands is an Ace with a low kicker. You’ll frequently see beginners showing Ace high and being beaten by a low pair. The mistake these players are making (and what is keeping them from progressing to the next level of play) is that they are overly optimistic about their hand.

They stay in the game pre-flop just to see what happens on the flop. The flop comes and gives them no help, so they call bets on the turn and river just to see what cards come along. Maybe they will catch two running Aces to give them trip Aces! Of course in reality, they will probably catch nothing and will have wasted a series of call bets only to give the pot away to a low, but better hand.

In Holdem, it is important to have a game plan. Most hands should be thrown away before the flop to save having to call the blinds. If the hand is good enough to take to the flop, it should be pretty obvious what to do with it on the flop. If you hold J 6 and the flop comes K 9 6, you have lowest pair. Anyone with a King or Nine has you beaten at this point, so if some aggressive betting starts to take place you probably want to get out of the hand.

Waiting in to catch a Jack or another six is rather futile since there are only three potential Jacks and two potential sixes left in the deck. So the chance of this hand improving is 5 in 47 (47 is the number of unseen cards left in the deck).

With two cards to come you might have slightly better than a 1 in 5 chance of hitting a good hand, and none of this takes into account that other players may already have you beaten by a pocket pair or a pair with one of the two over cards on the board. If you hold A 4 and the flop comes rainbow K Q 7, should you continue to stay in the hand you are really going to need an Ace to have a reasonable chance of winning.

There is a very slim chance of getting a straight, and even then there are three other Aces out there that one of your opponents may hold. If you continue to play to the end of this hand you have very poor odds of winning such a hand.

But it is surprising just how many beginners see that Ace and cannot help putting more bets into the pot, just to see what happens at the end. Over time this kind of play will only lead to disappointment.

So to vastly improve your game, evaluate the strength of your starting hand very seriously before electing to play.

Once you see the flop, if you have nothing and people are betting into you, get out of the hand and don’t rely on the turn and river to miraculously change your hand into a winner, because most of the time it won’t. What separates the 'men from the boys' in poker is the ability to lay down a monster hand when you know you are beaten.

In Holdem you either want to have a hand that has a good potential to improve (a good drawing hand) where lots of cards could bring you a win (such as an open ended straight or four cards to a flush) or a hand that is already strong. Why bet on a long shot over and over again? Sometimes you’ll catch the cards, but over time you will always be the loser. If you want to play a fun game with long odds, learn to play roulette.




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