Texas Holdem Strategy

Adjusting to Bad Players

Olsdog — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:55:33 +0000

http://www.launchpoker.com/strategy/adjusting-bad-players

The best scenario for most poker players involves being blessed with a bunch of fish at your table, and being able to exploit them all. Unfortunately, the latter part of this dream can prove to be difficult for those who are used to playing against better competition. For example, those who typically play against regulars might have difficulty handling a table full of people who call pot-sized raises on the flop in nearly every instance, and/or limp into pots with J-9, then call a 5X the big blind raise. And when bad players keep calling with terrible hands and hitting two and three outers, it can be really frustrating.

Fortunately, you can combat these problems and avoid the old "micro stakes are unbeatable" adage. You just need to make some slight adjustments, and focus on what these players are doing differently than the regs.

The main thing you need to do is a no-brainer in that you should tighten up your range big-time. Now this doesn't mean you should only play aces, kings, queens and AK, but you need to look at the table and assess the range of hands you can play. For instance, in the $0.05/$0.10 stakes or lower, you'll occasionally be dealing with maniacs who shove preflop every time they get a pair. Assuming this is the case, you may have to wait for AA through JJ to deal with these players (depending on the range they play).

On the other hand, some shorthanded tables might allow you to limp into pots from early position with drawing hands, which is normally a big no-no on stronger tables. However, if you can get away with limping from early position with a decent drawing hand like Qc-Jc, and there are too many calling stations on the table, limping might be your best option.

Moving along, another key point when playing against horrid players is to make big value bets when you think that you're ahead. For example, if you are holding two pair against somebody who overvalues top pair on a board of Ac-Js-Th, this is an excellent time to put out a huge value bet in hopes that they have aces. Bad players are excellent targets for value bets, and you can really extract great value from good hands in these situations.

On the other hand, if you don't have a made hand, it's a good idea to avoid bluffing bad players because they are normally only focused on their hand. And if a fish has aces in the aforementioned scenario, you probably won't be able to push them off the hand, and you'll merely be giving them value by making big bets that they're going to call anyways.

Above all, don't try to pull off any fancy moves or "outplay" anybody when dealing with poor players. Instead, be patient and let the hands come to you, then make big value bets based on what you've seen. In a sense, the biggest skill to beating a table full of fish is the ability to remain patient.

Common MTT Mistakes

Olsdog — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:11:54 +0000

http://www.launchpoker.com/strategy/common-MTT-mistakes

After you've played thousands of online MTT's and learned lots of poker strategy, it's easy to spot when other players are making foolish mistakes, and capitalize on them. Unfortunately, it takes a while to get to this point, so it's important to know what the biggest mistakes are so you aren't the one being taken advantage of. This being said, here is a look at some of the most common errors made in multi-table tournaments.

Limping in when the Blinds are High

When the blinds increase to a substantial point and your stack starts dwindling, you can't afford to limp into pots just to see the flop. For one thing, you lose a lot of leverage by wasting chips with a marginal hand when somebody raises you. And there is a strong chance that you'll get raised by a big stack when you limp with a below average stack (unless you're on the button). In any case, wait until you have position and/or a strong hand, then raise the pot rather than limping.

Tightening up near the Bubble

Everybody wants to make it into the money when they're in an MTT. This being the case, many people play super-tight near the bubble in hopes of cashing. But the bad thing about this is that you miss out on a key opportunity to capitalize on stealing blinds and small pots. After all, play will open up when the bubble bursts, and if you've given up a large part of your stack by continually folding, you'll most likely be a non-factor later on. Going further, winning your buy-in back isn't really going to be life-changing anyways - unless you spent your entire bankroll on the buy-in of course.

Playing Extremely Loose early on

In their desperation to get out to a big lead early, many people will play really loose in the beginning of MTT's. However, playing overly-aggressive in the early stages of a tournament is the opposite of what you want to do since the blinds are low, and you can wait for better hands. Going further, you normally won't be getting great implied odds during the early stages because of the low blinds, and opponents are usually unwilling to play loose without a strong hand.

Making Calls just for Information

Players are constantly rotating in and out of tables during multi-table tournaments. And each time this happens, you have a new person to profile and learn about before making any bold moves. That being the case, it's a waste of chips to bet or call merely for information in MTT's. Instead, you should play a hand the way you think it should be played, then let information come as a result of that. Don't throw out chips when you have a marginal hand just to see what an opponent is playing; you give just as much information away by doing this.

Limping in during Micro Stakes Games

Olsdog — Wed, 25 May 2011 04:48:13 +0000

http://www.launchpoker.com/strategy/limping-in

One of the cardinal sins of poker most players eventually learn is that limping in - especially from early position - is a terrible play. The two main reasons why limping from EP is a bad play is because 1) most of the table is still left to act, which means you are likely to get raised, and 2) you have given a ton of information away about your hand.

An EP limp basically shows that your hand isn't strong enough for a preflop raise, and you're just hoping and praying that nobody raises so you can see some cards for cheap. This being the case, most skilled players will simply raise a limper to either isolate them or steal the pathetic amount of chips they pushed out onto the table to see the flop.

Of course, with the rapid change of table dynamics as you move from limit to limit, nothing is an absolute in poker. And this is definitely true of limping in when you're at micro stakes tables. Micro stakes are known for lots of horrid, unconventional playing strategies, and this especially includes limping in from early and middle position. Going past this, most players in late position are often willing to just call with marginal hands so that they can see the flop.

In any case, you can get away with limping in during micro stakes games in hopes of seeing the flop. In fact, sometimes you are better off limping in rather than trying to push out a 3X or 4X the big blind raise in hopes of isolating 1-2 players because, seeing as how the stakes are so low, you'll often get 3-4 players who want to come along for the ride.

Now is this to say that you should always limp in from early or middle position in micro stakes games? Absolutely not because there will be some micro tables where everybody wants to raise, which certainly makes limping in from EP a bad play. Furthermore, you might even get some solid players who understand poker strategy well enough to take advantage of people who limp in from early position.

That's why it's extremely important to know the table you're playing at before choosing to make any such move. Some low limit tables will see everybody limp in, while others will see many late position players wanting to raise before the flop. So the key is to know the table dynamics, and make decisions about limping in or raising preflop from there.

Just know that limping in from any position in micro stakes games is a great way to get into hands cheap, and possibly see a favorable flop. What's more is that if you have some postflop skills, you will no doubt be able to take advantage of the other limpers when cards are on the board.

One more consideration is that you certainly don't want to be limping in with a big pocket pair like aces, kings or queens. In these instances, you may need to raise 8X or 9X the big blind (or more) to isolate one player. And even if everybody folds, it's better than losing your postflop advantage by having 2-3 players call your 4X or 5X the big blind raise.

Qualifying for a WPT Poker Tournament

Terry I. Aino — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:19:15 +0000

WPT

The World Poker Tour has been a leading force in the world of poker for many years. While the World Series of Poker, or WSOP, may be the oldest, grandest game in town, the WPT has a lock on the grand daddy of poker TV. While the heavily edited TV programs that air only the hot hands of the final table have been the source of some controversy, as far as Texas holdem tournaments go there are few that offer such generous poker tournament payouts. Employ the right tournament poker strategy and you might wind up being the next WPT millionaire. But the games are not cheap, so you won't every be able to test your poker tournament strategy unless you can find a way to pay for the game.

You need to learn how to qualify for a WPT tournaments.

Texas holdem tournaments, by and large, depend a great deal on your relevant poker tournament strategy to win, but no tournament poker strategy in the world will score you the big poker tournament payouts unless you can score a seat into something like the WPT. Of course there are a lot of online tournametns with comprable payouts these days, but that is another article.

As far as WPT Texas holdem tournaments go, the buy in can be steep for the main event. Ten thousand dollars is common, although in recent years they have held discounted events for half that much. But if you check your local poker room (online certainly, but also some live poker rooms) then you can employ a different kind of poker tournament strategy, the kind that can get you into the events for free.

First look for free rolls. Very rarely will one of these get you a WPT seat right off the bat, but many of them are Step qualifiers, meaning you can win one to move up a step, win that to move up another step, and thus work your way up to the final satellite event that will win you a seat into the WPT.

Now, freeroll events are going to be packed full of players, much like yourself, which makes it harder to win. Thus you are going to want to buy in to some events as well. These will have fewer players, and more serious players, which increases the odds of your tournament poker strategy working in your favor. To get to those big poker tournament payouts, especially those of the WPT, you are going to have to mix it up.

This means you will have to play a mix of free Texas holdem tournaments with those that will cost you. As for the money events, mix those up as well. The more you pay, the more your poker tournament strategy has a chance of paying off, as there will be fewer players and more seats being awarded. Also be on the look out for special events that offer multiple prize packages. Some massive events will give away dozens or more, giving everyone with a decent tournament poker strategy a good chance. So take whatever your budget is, cut it in half, and spend that half on one big satellite. Divide the other half among mid to low stake events. With some good luck you will be sitting down to play for some massive WPT poker tournament payouts in no time.

Rules of Texas Holdem Refresher

Terry I. Aino — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:54:17 +0000

Rules of Texas Holdem

Sure, you are familiar with the rules of Texas holdem. You've played no limit Texas holdem for a long time, both live and in person, and if had to take a quiz on no limit Texas holdem rules, you'd probably do okay. But the rules for Texas holdem are worth reviewing, because hidden in the rules of Texas hold em are the keys to good poker strategy, and good poker strategy means winning poker.

The basic no limit Texas holdem rules, in review: The person to the dealer's left posts the small blind, the next person posts the big blind. Players are dealt two cards, one at a time, starting from the dealer's left. Once all cards are out the next person after the big blind has the option to act. He can call or raise, if betting a minimum of the big blind, no max in no limit Texas holdem. Or he can fold.

Each person after has the same options: call, raise or fold. When it gets around to the big blind if no one has raised he can check or raise. Once all betting is complete the dealer burns one card and turns three over for the Flop. The person to his left starts the action, and the betting round continues.

Next is a burn card then the single Turn card, and another round of betting. Then the final River card, another round of betting, and then all players left are in the showdown; the last person to bet shows his hand first and then the rest around the table to the left. Any person can muck their hand, which is folding it, if they don't wish to show. The person with the highest ranked hand wins the pot, a tie chops the pot.

There you have it – the rules for Texas holdem. As you can see, the rules of Texas hold em are simple and straight forward. It is within the rules of Texas holdem, however, that simple strategy for winning poker does lie.

Focusing on no limit Texas holdem rules, the rules for Texas holdem show a simple order that is important to remember, a simplicity that leaves all the myriad complexities of no limit Texas holdem behind. Most players understand the rules of Texas hold em well enough, but get so caught up in trying to add to the rules of Texas holdem that they get in their own way.

They seek advice on how to master no limit Texas holdem from books and other players, and certainly this is a good thing, because while the rules for Texas holdem are simple the game itself is not. But when those additional rules of Texas hold em, the ones that are more tactics than acutal rules of Texas holdem, start to crowd the mind, then the player gets overwhelmed and does not even realize they are making mistakes.

The key to simple play is sticking to the simple no limit Texas holdem rules. Play when it is your turn, get out of the way when you don't have a hand, call when you do, raise for value. That's it in a nutshell.

Poker Hand Nicknames

Terry I. Aino — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:16:55 +0000

pocket rockets

You may be wondering in Texas hold em what beats what, and even though you understand poker hand ranking and the poker hand names (like flush and straight) you may be completely confused when playing Texas holdem because of the Texas holdem poker hand nicknames - things like Dead Man’s Hand, and Gay Waiter. The good news is that Texas holdem starting hands and the poker hand names all carry the same value of the poker hand ranking you are used to.

So when it comes to in Texas hold em what beats what, it’s the same in most poker games. It just comes down to you getting comfortable with the poker hand nicknames so that you know what you are playing with - or more realistically, what other people are playing with.

Texas holdem starting hands

Poker hand ranking does not come into play here, and you don’t have to worry in Texas hold em what beats what when it comes to starting hands, because the showdown between hands comes later. Most of the poker hand nicknames come from Texas holdem starting hands, by the way. Pocket Rockets are two aces, Fishooks are two jacks, Ducks are two Dueces and so on. Sometimes the names seem a bit contrived, like “A Royal Wedding” for a king and queen, but names like “Sailboats” for a pair of fours makes sense, because the angle of the number 4 on the card looks a bit like a sail.Texas holdem starting hands aside there are other poker hand nicknames.

For example, Dead Man’s Hand comes from holding a pair of eights with a pair of aces, because that was the hand that a famous cowboy was holding when he was shot dead during a game of poker.

Poker hand names

The hand names that are based on poker hand ranking are High Card, Pair, Two Pair, Three of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, Four of a Kind and Straight Flush.

Variants on Poker hand names

Three of a Kind can be called “trips” or a set. A low straight from 2 to 6 is called a baby straight or a wheel.A Full House is sometimes called a boat or full boat, Four of a Kind is often called Quads and if a Straight Flush is made up of Ten through Ace it is called a Royal Flush.

So the next time you ask yourself in Texas hold em what beats what, just keep in mind that the value of the poker hands are just what you would expect them to be, even if the names may sound a little strange. And don’t worry, people who play poker love the game and all the nicknames that are a part of it, and they love to share their expertise (as long as it wont cost them chips!) So if you get a little flustered when someone’s set gets cracked by a pair of ladies that turned into a full boat, just ask.

Texas Hold em Winning Hands

Terry I. Aino — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:15:59 +0000

Blue Ribbon

What makes a hand a winner in Texas Hold’em? In the end it comes down to one simple idea- if your hand rank is better than anyone else at the showdown, it is the winning hand. But there are a few more things to consider in evaluating Texas hold em winning hands, including how much value you get when you win the pot.

You can be holding one of many Texas hold em winning hands but not get a lot of value for them, at which point you are almost hurting your game. A Texas holdem hand is the same as any basic poker hand, but because of the different rules of the game as opposed to other games like stud poker, and considering things like Texas hold em starting hands being different from other poker games, there are some important differences to consider to best use Texas hold em winning hands.

The Texas hold em starting hands are two cards, dealt one at a time, with both cards face down. Texas hold em starting hands play a major role in playing style and betting strategy. One of the biggest elements of game strategy is NOT playing a hand. If you have one of the Texas hold em starting hands that are considered to be very weak then it is best not to play in most circumstances. Yes, you may end up winning with it, but the long shot situation is one that will kill your profits over time.

Texas holdem flush rules

When it comes to the Texas holdem hand rankings, Texas holdem flush rules are important to understand. Like most poker games the Texas holdem flush rules state that a player must have all five cards of the same suit in order to have a flush. Texas holdem flush rules also state that the player with the highest card in a flush wins a tie, which is part of Texas holdem hand rankings.

Texas holdem hand rankings

Standard poker hand rankings apply here, so from bottom to best it goes high card, pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind and straight flush. Texas holdem hand rankings are simple and a key element in figuring out Texas hold em winning hands.

As for getting the best value out of a Texas holdem hand, the best thing to do is to keep a consistent betting style, one that will allow you to bet a little more when you have a decent Texas holdem hand. This will allow you to win more on average per pot and get better value from the hands. And that will help turn most of your Texas holdem hands into winners!

Texas Holdem Las Vegas Tournament Strategy

Terry I. Aino — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 01:06:22 +0000

Las Vegas

You want to try a Texas Holdem tournament Las Vegas style, but are feeling a little intimidated? No problem. Texas Holdem tournament strategy is fairly universal, although there are some significant differences from a home poker tournament, a local casino tourney and Texas Holdem tournaments in Las Vegas, but the general poker tournament set up and poker tournament structure are going to be the same. That leaves getting to understand what differences are important and need a little preparation to handle.

Poker tournament set up is something done by the tourney organizers, right? Well, yes, but it is also something you do for yourself. The poker tournament structure will dictate what kind of set up you need, and a Texas Holdem tournament Las Vegas style is going to have a few unique elements to consider. Your Texas Holdem tournament strategy should include poker, but it should also include dealing with things like the long times between breaks, the massive playing fields, what to do with players that put you on edge, and getting familiar with the physical layout of the tournament venue. This way, Texas Holdem tournaments in Las Vegas will lose some of their intimidation factor, which will go a long way to helping you win.

So your poker tournament set up may include getting a full nights sleep the night before (or even several nights before!), it may include getting in a decent workout so that you are limber at the tables, it may include making sure you have enough cash in your pocket to pay for drinks - and not drinking so much at the table that you have to run to the bathroom too often, losing precious hands at the table!

Get to know the specific poker tournament structure, so that you know your break times and how long you can expect to play each day if you don’t bust out. A twelve hour day is a lot more than an eight hour day when you are sitting at the tables. A Texas Holdem tournament in Las Vegas will likely have some nice amenities to help you make it through the long haul, such as nice ladies going around giving massages and taking food and drink orders. Your Texas Holdem tournament strategy should include these facets, which you will learn before you sit down to pay (right?). Texas Holdem tournaments in Las Vegas (or Macau, or anyplace similar) are going to be a different animal in many ways, and a nice conversation with the poker room manager should help you understand what to look out for.

In the end when it comes to your personal poker tournament set up keep in mind you need to learn the specific poker tournament structure of the Texas Holdem tournament, Las Vegas style, that you are going to play. Your Texas Holdem tournament strategy will be dictated by the length of time you will be spending at the table, when you will get to break for dinner, how long you can go between bathroom breaks, what you plan to do during long rounds of folding to keep the boredom from getting to you, and the like. Texas Holdem tournaments in Las Vegas can offer big rewards and deserve the extra effort it will take to plan your attack.

Using Free Texas Hold Em Games to Build Strategy

Terry I. Aino — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:24:14 +0000

Texas

As the old joke goes, a young boy came across an old man in the streets of New York City and asked “How do you get to Carnage Hall?” (a famous place where music concerts were held) - and the old man answered “Practice, Practice, Practice!”. Such sage advice, even delivered in jest, holds true for anything at which we wish to become skilled. All the book learning in the world can’t take the place of enough practice, and that is why playing a free Texas hold em game is good strategy for learning the game, whether you intend to play poker for fun or for real money.

Free Texas hold em games come in many stripes, and there are some you may want to avoid. In this article we will discuss the free Texas holdem game and explore how it can help your game. Free Texas holdem games can be found everywhere from PC software to online, in the browswer, on game consoles like the Xbox and in your local pub.

The free Texas hold em game you choose to play will have an impact on what kind of benefits you get from them. The free Texas hold em games you play at the pub will differ from the free Texas holdem game in your kitchen, or the free Texas holdem games you find at a popular poker room like Full Tilt Poker. And don’t think that if you play poker for fun you are not learning how to play the game well; many of the skills you pick up playing for match sticks or valueless poker chips will translate just fine when you are playing for cash.

The free Texas hold em game online will not only teach you about the game of poker but also how it works in an online environment. You could be the best poker player in the world but if you don’t know how the room works you could wind up losing some cash by making some mistakes. This is one of the biggest advantage of free Texas hold em games, by the way - you don’t have to risk your hard earned money while you test out the poker room. In fact, even if you are an old hand at online poker you might want to sign up for a free Texas holdem game or two at a new room just to make sure you don’t miss any tricks.

There are a lot of “serious” poker players who say that free Texas holdem games are a waste of time for players who use real money, because most of the people who are playing are simply playing poker for fun and the ‘money’ they bet has no real meaning to them- thus they use poor strategy when they play, and you will learn bad habits.

There is something to that school of thought. The free Texas hold em game by definition will not have as much impact when there is nothing to risk. That is not to say that some folks in the free Texas hold em games are not taking it serious. On the contrary many a free Texas holdem game that is part of a local or home league is very serious business.

In the end free Texas holdem games are what you make of them, but when it comes to getting ready to build strategy and learning how to navigate the online poker world, they are a great way to get started - even if just playing poker for fun.

Texas Hold'em Strategy: A tale of two trips

Brian Cherry — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:54:06 +0000

strategy.jpg

Today’s Texas holdem strategy is what to do when playing live or online poker and you find yourself in possession of trips. Most poker players who discover they are suddenly the owner of a three of a kind in Texas holdem usually can see victory in the hand just around the bend.

Poker is a funny sport, and from a Texas holdem strategy perspective, it does matter how, and under what circumstances the trips have made their way into your poker hand. Let’s say you are playing online poker and you holding a rather pedestrian 9h-10d. In this poker hand you are sitting in a middle seat, and none of the poker players sitting in the late position chairs have given you a compelling reason to fold your cards. In this poker hand your are obviously playing for the straight, but the flop drops a 2c-9d-9c. Your poker hand has suddenly upgraded from a dicey straight draw to a solid three of a kind, so what is the proper Texas holdem strategy to use against your opponents. This is the time to put the hammer down and end things quickly. All the poker players at the table can see the two 9s sitting on the table. If you suddenly become aggressive, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what you have. The only question the other poker players will have is if you are bluffing or not and whether or not it is sound Texas holdem strategy to challenge you.

The reason you want to end things quickly is that the same two cards on board that are giving you your tips also work for the other poker players as well. If somebody else is holding another pair, and now has two pair, they are a threat for a full house. It is bad Texas holdem strategy to just let them have an opportunity to complete that hand. Things are a little different if your poker hand is pocket nines, and the flop is an Ad-10h-9s. At this point you have a stealth set sitting in your poker hand, and there is not a pair on the board to help the other poker players. If nobody has acted in a crushingly aggressive manner before the flop, you can pretty much guarantee that nobody has a pair of aces that have matched up with the one on the board. So you can slow play this hand and probably come away with a substantial pot. That is the Texas holdem strategy for today.

Man Against Machine: Sacrificing the Ace in Video Poker

Brian Cherry — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 02:43:20 +0000

cylons-playing-poker.jpg

Poker is extremely popular, regardless of the genre. When we talk about poker strategy, most of the time we are referencing things that poker players can do at a table against live competition or in an online poker room. What do you do when your opponent is not of the carbon based variety, but rather something that is a Silicon Valley product? In short, what about video poker? Is it just chance or can sound poker strategy be applied that will give somebody an advantage against the AI or whatever does the thinking for a video poker machine. Well the truth is yes and yes. Yes, a lot of it is chance in video poker (whether played at a casino or in an online poker or internet casino setting). The machines and programs are hardwired to only pay off so much. Over a full, 12 month period of near constant use, many video poker units will only grant a victory to the poker players approximately 46% to 48% of the time. With that said, the outlook is not completely bleak for the video poker players. Applying smart video poker strategy can tip the odds and help somebody get more than their share of that hardwired percentage. While we will be publishing more video poker strategy articles in the future, today we will be focusing on discarding the ace. At a live poker or online poker table, discarding an ace can be almost painful. It is a high value card that can quickly turn a dog of a hand into a winner. This tendency to hold on to the ace will often bleed over from the live and online poker mentality to those playing video poker. If you have been dealt three high value cards, this is usually a reason for celebration. When most poker players see an unsuited trio of Jack/Queen/Ace show up in their hand accompanied by a pair of lower cards, the poker players natural inclination is to dump the smaller cards, and hope they either hold serve by scoring a pair with their high value cards, or getting lucky and making a straight. While this is a logical poker strategy, holding on to that ace actually hurts the player. Holding on to the ace limits what hands that the video poker player can make. Keeping those 3 high value cards eliminates the possibility of a full house and a four of a kind. It also cuts the odds that a player will score a three of a kind or a pair as well. While playing for the straight is understandable, there are only 16 possible two-card draws that will get them there. Holding on to the Queen and Jack opens up more possibilities for big hands (full house, four of a kind) and increases the odds that a smaller hand such as a pair, two pair, or three of a kind will come to fruition. In other words, go counter to your live and online poker instincts and dump the ace in a situation similar to the one mentioned above.

At a live poker or online poker table, discarding an ace can be almost painful. It is a high value card that can quickly turn a dog of a hand into a winner. This tendency to hold on to the ace will often bleed over from the live and online poker mentality to those playing video poker.

Playing a Big Hand in Texas Holdem

Brian Cherry — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 22:35:43 +0000

FourAces01.jpg

Today’s poker strategy is about flopping a monster hand at the poker table. There are a few that just don’t show up at a poker table during hands of Texas Holdem. One of them is attractive women who think a beer belly is a sign of potency. The other is a monster hand. There is not much that any good poker strategy can do about the former, but poker players should learn what to do with the latter in order to make money on their big hands in Texas Holdem. Let me reinforce something that was stated in the first paragraph. Monster hands are rare, and most poker players who get them usually achieve them during the latter stages of a Texas Holdem hand. Flopping a big hand at the poker table is like catching Bigfoot eating a jackalope while aliens are trying to abduct him. In short, this won’t happen that often to most poker players. Well, at least not the ones whose poker strategy doesn’t include cards shoved up their sleeves. Poker players shouldn’t waste this gift from the Texas Holdem gods when it happens, and they should do their best to get paid off. Getting paid off on a big hand is sort of like dating. If you pull out your room key and drop your pants while still chatting the girl up on the bar, she is probably going to kick you someplace soft and painful then sprint from room. You need to start slow. The same holds true when at the poker table with your big Texas Holdem hand. Your poker strategy in the early goings will be to move slowly. You don’t want to scare off the other poker players. These are the suckers who will be throwing money into the pot. If they have left the hand, they can’t give you money. Position will determine a lot. If you are in an early position during the post flop round of betting, go in as cheaply as possible. If the few poker players betting before you have checked, follow their lead and let the late position poker players think you guys are weak and just hoping they will go easy on you. When they bet, call the bet…nothing more. If an early position poker player acting before you in this Texas Holdem hand bets, it means he thinks he has something, or he is going to aggressively bluff. Either way, you have found somebody who will flood the pot with money in an attempt to drive you out of the hand. When the turn rolls around, this would be a good time to pull out the check-raise at the poker table; especially if no scare cards came out on the turn. Checking will flush out the poker players who are willing to keep feeding the pot and the raise will force them to defend the money they have already put in the pot by establishing a cost for them to see the final card. While the check-raise is a poker strategy that inherently exudes strength, if you make the raise a modest one, you will appear to be trying to scare off your opponents, but still look non-committal to your hand. Ideally on the river you will check-raise again; going all-in on the “raise” portion of the move. This is a poker strategy to use only if you are mostly certain your opponent(s) acting after you will bet. It is a wasted move and loss of money if they just check and the last round ends with no bets going into the pot. If you think your opponents will check and just let the pot stand as is, go all-in and maybe they will bite. If you think your opponent(s) will bet behind you, go all-in on the raise part of the check-raise poker strategy. If they have gone that far, they will probably match your all-in gamble. That is the poker strategy for today.

Monster hands are rare, and most poker players who get them usually achieve them during the latter stages of a Texas Holdem hand. Flopping a big hand at the poker table is like catching Bigfoot eating a jackalope while aliens are trying to abduct him.

The Eyes Have it in Poker (Along with the Rest of the Face)

Brian Cherry — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:41:02 +0000

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Any poker player who has ever sat down to play Texas holdem in a live poker setting is keenly aware just how much their eyes can damage them. If during a game of casino poker or a home game of Texas holdem, one of your opponents tells you that you have beautiful eyes, it probably means that whatever is going on to the right and left of your nose is giving away your entire poker strategy. Of course it could also mean that the opposing poker player is smitten with you. This may not be a bad thing unless both of you share a love of the Three Stooges and have managed to grow hair on your back. Then it is just gross. Anyway, Texas holdem, casino poker, live poker, etc. don’t really go with discussions of one’s personal orientation or back hair, so we will go back to poker strategy.

There probably isn’t a poker player out there who hasn’t worried about what their eyes are doing to them during a live poker game or when they are playing a casino poker tournament. That is why so many of them wear sunglasses while playing Texas holdem. From a poker strategy standpoint, hiding something that may be weakness will keep an opposing poker player from taking advantage of it. What a lot of live poker players don’t seem to consider is that weak eyes can be turned into a very potent poker strategy during some live casino Texas holdem or a poker tournament.

A trait that is common to just about every poker player is that they are constantly looking for an edge over their competition, whether it be online or during live poker. Well actually this trait transcends Texas holdem and poker strategy. Any competitor is looking for an edge over a rival in any sport or activity. It can be a powerful tool if you are good at letting another poker player think they have found one of your “tells”.

Using your eyes during live poker or when playing in a casino poker tournament can send false positives to your opponents. If your act is convincing, you can influence what they do during a hand of Texas holdem with some well practiced (and subtle) looks. If you are going to attempt this poker strategy and use your face to fake out another poker player, try to avoid big, demonstrative facial expressions. That will be like sending up a flair that your faking, and they will do the opposite of what you want them to do (of course that is a poker strategy unto itself that we will cover in a future article, today we are talking about letting them think they have picked up on a legitimate tell during live poker.)

Subtlety in this case is key. Well subtlety and practice. Sometimes to get good at something you can use in a casino poker game, you have to do some things that seem rather silly. If you have the time, take some acting courses at a local community college. This may seem like an extreme thing to do in order to improve your game of poker, but it is a sport that involves bluffing, and occasional face acting. Learning how to do both of these better will only add to your game. Hey, if professional football players will take ballet to improve their skills, none of us are above participating in mime class to become more lethal poker players.

Any poker player who has ever sat down to play Texas holdem in a live poker setting is keenly aware just how much their eyes can damage them.

The Quiet Guy at the Online Poker Table

Brian Cherry — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:48:50 +0000

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Cyberspace has often been compared to the American days of the Wild West. This is because there are very few rules that govern the place and internet pioneers drive their covered wagons (mostly made by companies like Dell and Apple) across the wide open spaces in search of fame and fortune. Like any good movie made about the cowboy days, people are besieged by online highwaymen and snake oil salesmen (only you can help an African princess regain her riches, and all you have to do is email your banking information to a bunch of strangers). There is also a ton of adult situations, occasional nudity, and lots of swearing. In this code driven Wild West, the online casinos are like the old time Saloons. In those places it was often the quiet guy you had to watch out for. texas hold em instructions, no limit texas hold em, rules for texas holdem, texas hold em how to, texas holdem poker
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The world of online poker is an aggressive place. Casino poker is getting more aggressive, but it’s not up internet version of controlled chaos yet. Amid the all the big bets and high turnover that can happen at an internet poker table, it is very easy for a player to go unnoticed. So what do you do when somebody who is generally inactive decides to jump into a hand with both feet before the flop? texas hold em instructions, no limit texas hold em, rules for texas holdem, texas hold em how to, texas holdem poker
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The easy answer is to say that you fold to this person unless you are holding a pair of Kings or Aces. This is because there may be a couple of things going on. Either they are a newer, highly conservative player who is afraid to bet without a premium hand, or they are somebody who is playing at multiple tables online and isn’t going to waste their attention span on a hand that isn’t in the upper echelon. Either way you can be fairly certain that your opponent is packing some high value cards. texas hold em instructions, no limit texas hold em, rules for texas holdem, texas hold em how to, texas holdem poker
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There is something else that may be going on as well. Players with experience know the less they act, the more powerful their actions are when they do decide to play a hand. If they also tend to be conservative in nature though, they may try to steal a pot while holding absolutely nothing. In my experience, this type of player will usually limp in with their nothing hand from in early position or middle position if they are the first to bet. They are hoping that the sheer force of their tight fisted aura will scare everyone else away and let them snag the pot. If they are in a late position, they may proffer a modest raise, but nothing earth shaking. A conservative player is still a conservative player and even when they are taking a risk, will temper that risk with caution and not jump in with both feet. texas hold em instructions, no limit texas hold em, rules for texas holdem, texas hold em how to, texas holdem poker
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Hopefully this Texas Hold’em Strategy will help you identify what some of the tighter poker players are doing at the table, and how to deal with those situations. texas hold em instructions, no limit texas hold em, rules for texas holdem, texas hold em how to, texas holdem poker
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The world of online poker is an aggressive place. Casino poker is getting more aggressive, but it’s not up internet version of controlled chaos yet. Amid the all the big bets and high turnover that can happen at an internet poker table, it is very easy for a player to go unnoticed.

Texas Hold em, gli straight draw

andreaseperso — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:11:12 +0000

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Nel poker per straight draw intendiamo i progetti di scala. Nella strategia Texas Hold em gli straight draw possono essere molto visibili, se ad esempio per terra abbiamo tre carte consecutive, oppure quasi nascoste, come ad esempio nei casi di due carte consecutive oppure due carte non consecutive. Analizziamo ora qualche esempio, caso per caso. Ciò che andremo ad approfondire si rivelerà di sicuro interesse per le vostre giocate al poker online. Vediamo prima il caso in cui abbiate una carta che si leghi a tre di quelle della community. Per quanto riguarda gli straight draw, la strategia poker texas hold em prevede che ci si debba mantenere il più possibile al di sotto della soglia di scopertura, ovvero bisogna cercare di nascondere le proprie potenzialità fino ad un punto molto avanzato del gioco, come ad esempio il river. Nel poker alla texana bisogna sempre equilibrare ciò che si vuol mostrare con ciò che bisogna nascondere. Riprendendo il discorso, nel caso per terra vi siano già tra carte consecutive, la strategia texas hold em prevede che, in base agli avversari, si debba cercare di velare o esporsi, a seconda che questi siano giocatori aggressivi o di attesa, professionisti o principianti. Con uno straight draw, ci manca comunque una carta per chiudere il punteggio, così nel caso ci siano già tre carte consecutive al flop, rischiare una puntata vale la pena, mentre rispondere ad un forte rilancio forse no. Bisogna valutare attentamente fino a quando e con che quantità di investimento valga la pena continuare, in piena linea con la strategia poker texas. Nel caso fino al turn le community rivelino tre carte consecutive, difficilmente qualcuno risponderà ad una nostra forte puntata, a meno che non ci siano altri progetti in mano agli avversari. Caso diverso invece sono gli straight draw con la community che riveli solo due carte consecutive. In questo caso, saremo molto avvantaggiati se avessi due carte consecutive nella hole, con uno straight draw praticamente nascosto. La nostra strategia texas hold em riuscirebbe meglio se il nostro progetto fosse ad incastro. Nei casi in cui per la chiusura del nostro draw servisse una carta esterna, questo vuol dire che avremo più possibilità di chiudere il progetto. Se ad esempio tra hole e community card possediamo 7, 8, 9, 10 per chiudere il punteggio andrebbero bene sia dei jack che dei 6. Nella strategia texas hold em questa è una condizione da non sottovalutare, soprattutto quando si ottiene già in fase di flop. In quel caso, un po’ di coraggio non guasta. Meglio ancora se il nostro draw ha carte molto alte, in quel caso potremmo comunque provare ad aspettare una buona coppia.