Ah, the tilt. If a poker player claims never to have stared faced down the barrel of an upcoming tilt they are either lying or they haven't been playing long enough. This doesn't mean of course that everyone has gone on tilt before, some people have great willpower and take their losses as a loss and leave it at that. To be a strong poker player, it is very important to treat your wins and your losses in the same manner with no emotion. You play the game the same way you did after taking a tough beat as you would after winning a huge hand. All poker pros are not tempted by tilting after a bad beat as they are very seasoned and you should be to.
You must understand that you can't win every hand your in, even if you are heavily favoured. Hands which usually make people go on tilt are hands that you were the favourite or at least thought you were until you were rivered and you lost a big chunk of your stack. Bad beats are going to happen. Face that fact right now, I'll say it again if your brother players cards, if your mother plays cards, if your grandma plays cards We all have bad beats sometimes. It is an inevitable effect of playing texas holdem, or for that matter any kind of poker.
Since we are assumingly (most of us)are in the game for one purpose to make money, it would make sense that we would play accordingly to maximixe profits. Now let's say you are up $100 off of a $100 deposit, and you take a large blow in a NL game and your stack is down to $120. You've lost $80 in a hand where you were sure to pick up $200 when you went all-in on the flop and had a 10 to 1 advantage. And that fish! He sucked you out on the river right? Well stop right here. This is a classic opportunity for a new player to start tilting. They just lost too much money on one hand that they should have won and they are angry.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Being on a Poker Run
One of the greatest feelings in a poker player's world is going on a huge poker run. A poker run is when you have a rush of strong hands and win lots of pots right in a row. Poker runs are a poker player's ultimate dream in this respect.
After slumping for a while or going on tilt, hitting a serious poker run can be just what you need to get you going again. I have been sitting at a table where someone has won 10 hands in a row, showing down. Winning this many hands in a row is rare but it does happen and it's a memory to keep.
The only way you can actually go on a poker run is to play any hand directly after you win. There is exceptions of total garbage of course but you get the point. Both online and casino poker have crazy poker runs and the more you play, the more chance you will have to experience this wonderful feeling.
Source: Poker Articles at Hustle Cards
After slumping for a while or going on tilt, hitting a serious poker run can be just what you need to get you going again. I have been sitting at a table where someone has won 10 hands in a row, showing down. Winning this many hands in a row is rare but it does happen and it's a memory to keep.
The only way you can actually go on a poker run is to play any hand directly after you win. There is exceptions of total garbage of course but you get the point. Both online and casino poker have crazy poker runs and the more you play, the more chance you will have to experience this wonderful feeling.
Source: Poker Articles at Hustle Cards
Friday, December 15, 2006
Why to Raise in Poker
Today we will talk about The secret art of raising. Most people think that you only raise when you have a good hand and you want to win more money. This is correct but there are many other reasons to raise and to be a winning player you need to know what you want to get from a raise and if it is working.
There are 5 major reasons to raise:
To get more money from your hand.
To eliminate players.
To get a card.
To gain information.
To bluff or semi-bluff
1. To get more money from your hand.
This is the simplest reason to raise a pot. Basically when you feel that you have the best had you are going to raise to try to get more money in the pot. If you have the the best hand possible at the time this is the only reason you should raise. Sometimes you may not want to raise in this case. You may want to slow play the hand.
2. To eliminate players.
This is a pretty simple concept as well. This is the reason you raise with AA or KK. You want to get people out before they can see the flop. AA and KK do very well against a few people but against a lot of people there's a good chance you will loose after all 5 cards come out. Another time when you might raise to eliminate players is when you flop top pair, example: You hold AK and the flop comes 9 10 K, You now have top pair with the best kicker. Here you would want to get people out of the hand so they don't make 2 pair, a straight, or a flush.
3. To get a card.
Well you don't get it for free but it costs you less. You would raise to get a free card if you flop and open ended straight draw or flush draw and were in a later position. See if you were playing 3-6 and you raised on the flop you would put an extra 3 dollars but in most cases the other player or players will check to you assuming you have a better hand. This saves you from calling a 6 dollar bet on the turn, instead you get it for free. You might also want to raise the flop in late position when you have top pair and a weak kicker or mid pair with a good kicker.
4. To gain information.
This is a more complex reason to raise. This move works best on or before the flop. Before the flop you don't know anything about a players hand other than it could be anything but if you raise and a player re-raises then you know he has a good hand. Most likely a hand in Group #1 or maybe #2. If he just calls you know that he probably doesn't have a hand. Now lest say after the flop you have a pair of aces with a 7 kicker, and your opponent bets into you. Now if you call you couldn't really tell how big of a hand he has but if you raise him and he re-raises you are probably beat at least with a better kicker. This is a way to actually save money. If you called all the way down to see his AK then you have lost a lot more than you have to.
5. To bluff or semi-bluff.
We wont get into bluffing right now. You really wont need to do much bluffing in lower limit games. Most bluffing goes on in higher limit games, No-limit games, and no-limit tournaments. Semi-bluffing however is something you need to know about. Semi-bluffing is betting a hand that probably isn't the best one at the time but can improve with more cards. The real goal to semi-bluffing is to win the pot right then and there. So you only want to semi- bluff when there are only a few player in the pot, you think you everyone might fold after you bet or raise, and you are very sure that no one will check raise you. There are many opportunities to semi-bluff in every game, most of the time they are not the right move though. Remember to semi-bluff accordingly.
If you look back at all the reasons to raise you will see that a lot of the times when you raise you might accomplish more than one goal. You might raise to get a free card but also gain information and get more money in the pot. Its good to have a specific reason or two in your mind before every raise, this way you wont be raising just for the sake of raising.
There are 5 major reasons to raise:
To get more money from your hand.
To eliminate players.
To get a card.
To gain information.
To bluff or semi-bluff
1. To get more money from your hand.
This is the simplest reason to raise a pot. Basically when you feel that you have the best had you are going to raise to try to get more money in the pot. If you have the the best hand possible at the time this is the only reason you should raise. Sometimes you may not want to raise in this case. You may want to slow play the hand.
2. To eliminate players.
This is a pretty simple concept as well. This is the reason you raise with AA or KK. You want to get people out before they can see the flop. AA and KK do very well against a few people but against a lot of people there's a good chance you will loose after all 5 cards come out. Another time when you might raise to eliminate players is when you flop top pair, example: You hold AK and the flop comes 9 10 K, You now have top pair with the best kicker. Here you would want to get people out of the hand so they don't make 2 pair, a straight, or a flush.
3. To get a card.
Well you don't get it for free but it costs you less. You would raise to get a free card if you flop and open ended straight draw or flush draw and were in a later position. See if you were playing 3-6 and you raised on the flop you would put an extra 3 dollars but in most cases the other player or players will check to you assuming you have a better hand. This saves you from calling a 6 dollar bet on the turn, instead you get it for free. You might also want to raise the flop in late position when you have top pair and a weak kicker or mid pair with a good kicker.
4. To gain information.
This is a more complex reason to raise. This move works best on or before the flop. Before the flop you don't know anything about a players hand other than it could be anything but if you raise and a player re-raises then you know he has a good hand. Most likely a hand in Group #1 or maybe #2. If he just calls you know that he probably doesn't have a hand. Now lest say after the flop you have a pair of aces with a 7 kicker, and your opponent bets into you. Now if you call you couldn't really tell how big of a hand he has but if you raise him and he re-raises you are probably beat at least with a better kicker. This is a way to actually save money. If you called all the way down to see his AK then you have lost a lot more than you have to.
5. To bluff or semi-bluff.
We wont get into bluffing right now. You really wont need to do much bluffing in lower limit games. Most bluffing goes on in higher limit games, No-limit games, and no-limit tournaments. Semi-bluffing however is something you need to know about. Semi-bluffing is betting a hand that probably isn't the best one at the time but can improve with more cards. The real goal to semi-bluffing is to win the pot right then and there. So you only want to semi- bluff when there are only a few player in the pot, you think you everyone might fold after you bet or raise, and you are very sure that no one will check raise you. There are many opportunities to semi-bluff in every game, most of the time they are not the right move though. Remember to semi-bluff accordingly.
If you look back at all the reasons to raise you will see that a lot of the times when you raise you might accomplish more than one goal. You might raise to get a free card but also gain information and get more money in the pot. Its good to have a specific reason or two in your mind before every raise, this way you wont be raising just for the sake of raising.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
When to Bet and When Not to Bet
article by Kyle Healey on Hustlecards.com
You are sitting pretty with pocket Queens and you raise pre-flop under the gun and get two callers. To your amazement the flop comes with a third Queen and you hit your set. Now you have a decision to make “ do you slow-play the hand or do you simply bet your monster. There are many factors that will play into your decision of whether or not you should bet your monster or not.
Firstly, what do you think of the other players? Will they likely call a large bet right now if you decided to bet? If they would, it strongly suggests that you should bet your monster. If you think your opponent is maybe weak and will fold to your bet, however, you may want to check your hand and try to induce a bluff. Another consideration to take into hand is whether or not there is any obvious straight or flush draws on the board. If your opponents are likely to hold some sort of draw, betting your monster once again seems like the best move because they will be forced to pay for their draw cards “ the last thing you want is to let them see two free cards and then fold their hand after you could have got two solid betting rounds in.
You also need to look at the risks of picking each option. For instance, if you slow play your big hand it is possible that your opponents can chase down free cards and outdraw you, when they would have folded if you bet. Those are lost chips for you. Also, if they are planning on chasing you will want to make them pay for the cards and not give them for free. A possible risk of betting out your hand is that you may cancel out an attempt of a possible bluff by an opponent who would likely bet if you slow played your hand.
These are all considerations you have to think of before deciding whether or not to slow play your monster or bet it strong.
When processing the information your given, make a choice you think is right and make your move. You will most likely win a pot when you have flopped a huge hand but whether or not you maximize your chips will depend on exactly how you play it
You are sitting pretty with pocket Queens and you raise pre-flop under the gun and get two callers. To your amazement the flop comes with a third Queen and you hit your set. Now you have a decision to make “ do you slow-play the hand or do you simply bet your monster. There are many factors that will play into your decision of whether or not you should bet your monster or not.Firstly, what do you think of the other players? Will they likely call a large bet right now if you decided to bet? If they would, it strongly suggests that you should bet your monster. If you think your opponent is maybe weak and will fold to your bet, however, you may want to check your hand and try to induce a bluff. Another consideration to take into hand is whether or not there is any obvious straight or flush draws on the board. If your opponents are likely to hold some sort of draw, betting your monster once again seems like the best move because they will be forced to pay for their draw cards “ the last thing you want is to let them see two free cards and then fold their hand after you could have got two solid betting rounds in.
You also need to look at the risks of picking each option. For instance, if you slow play your big hand it is possible that your opponents can chase down free cards and outdraw you, when they would have folded if you bet. Those are lost chips for you. Also, if they are planning on chasing you will want to make them pay for the cards and not give them for free. A possible risk of betting out your hand is that you may cancel out an attempt of a possible bluff by an opponent who would likely bet if you slow played your hand.
These are all considerations you have to think of before deciding whether or not to slow play your monster or bet it strong.
When processing the information your given, make a choice you think is right and make your move. You will most likely win a pot when you have flopped a huge hand but whether or not you maximize your chips will depend on exactly how you play it
Position on the Poker Table
article by Johnny Profit on Hustlecards.com
Positioning is everything. Why? Why would my position at the table mean anything at all? Position, although highly overlooked, can be the determining factor to win the hand and furthermore increase you ability to survive. Position, (the actual seat number you are occupying at the table) is a crucial instrument that can be utilized to its maximum potential or left unscathed and forgotten about. You table position can increase the strength of your hand regardless of the cards you are holding. If you know anything about poker than you know that a large amount of the time, especially at a shorter table, you are playing the player and not the cards.
As your position decreases, (further from the button) as does your ability to use this to its full potential. Thus, the best possible position you could achieve in a hand is the dealer. As an exception to this rule, if every one has folded, in the sense that you are not legally the dealer but are last to act anyways, this will uphold the strength of your position. Okay, now that we understand where you should be in terms of strength we can see why position is essential.
A large degree of winning a poker hand successfully, regardless of your card strength, is deciphering the strength of the other player's hand. If you can reasonably assume that your opponent's hand is weak than you can buy the pot almost every time, depending on the previous image you have displayed until this point. How can you decipher another's hand effectively? This article will not be able to cover this as it could induce a large novel regarding the psychology of the game. However, I will provide a couple of ways you can start. Back to positioning. You are last to act, there are two players ahead of you and they are the small and the large blind. Every other person has folded, what do you do? Providing that at this point you know nothing about the players in the blinds, maybe this is your first hand, you position allows you to raise in order to attempt to steal the blinds.
Now I must point out here that there are an endless amount of variables. By this I mean situations can occur in which you would not want to make this move. Maybe you know the big blind to be extremely aggressive and you know he will surely re-raise over the top. Maybe you have a very powerful hand and you do not want to take the chance of having the only remaining players fold. Maybe you feel the other players will call your bluff and discredit you from future possible thefts. As one can see, there are an infinite number of circumstances you would have to consider before using this position to your advantage. As any good poker player would agree, judgment is essential to properly executing strategic moves.
Now, take for example you are involved in a hand. You are the dealer and you are left with the small and large blinds. In this scenario, you raised pre-flop but both of the blinds call. The flop comes and it is checked to you.
Your position on the table can prove to be advantageous or result in your downfall. The closer to the button you are, the better your position.
Positioning is everything. Why? Why would my position at the table mean anything at all? Position, although highly overlooked, can be the determining factor to win the hand and furthermore increase you ability to survive. Position, (the actual seat number you are occupying at the table) is a crucial instrument that can be utilized to its maximum potential or left unscathed and forgotten about. You table position can increase the strength of your hand regardless of the cards you are holding. If you know anything about poker than you know that a large amount of the time, especially at a shorter table, you are playing the player and not the cards.
As your position decreases, (further from the button) as does your ability to use this to its full potential. Thus, the best possible position you could achieve in a hand is the dealer. As an exception to this rule, if every one has folded, in the sense that you are not legally the dealer but are last to act anyways, this will uphold the strength of your position. Okay, now that we understand where you should be in terms of strength we can see why position is essential.
A large degree of winning a poker hand successfully, regardless of your card strength, is deciphering the strength of the other player's hand. If you can reasonably assume that your opponent's hand is weak than you can buy the pot almost every time, depending on the previous image you have displayed until this point. How can you decipher another's hand effectively? This article will not be able to cover this as it could induce a large novel regarding the psychology of the game. However, I will provide a couple of ways you can start. Back to positioning. You are last to act, there are two players ahead of you and they are the small and the large blind. Every other person has folded, what do you do? Providing that at this point you know nothing about the players in the blinds, maybe this is your first hand, you position allows you to raise in order to attempt to steal the blinds.
Now I must point out here that there are an endless amount of variables. By this I mean situations can occur in which you would not want to make this move. Maybe you know the big blind to be extremely aggressive and you know he will surely re-raise over the top. Maybe you have a very powerful hand and you do not want to take the chance of having the only remaining players fold. Maybe you feel the other players will call your bluff and discredit you from future possible thefts. As one can see, there are an infinite number of circumstances you would have to consider before using this position to your advantage. As any good poker player would agree, judgment is essential to properly executing strategic moves.
Now, take for example you are involved in a hand. You are the dealer and you are left with the small and large blinds. In this scenario, you raised pre-flop but both of the blinds call. The flop comes and it is checked to you.
Your position on the table can prove to be advantageous or result in your downfall. The closer to the button you are, the better your position.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Alcohol and Poker
If you are like me you are always looking for something extra to boost your edge in a game. If I'm playing online, I try to get that edge through table selection. There are generally hundreds of tables going on sites like Party Poker, so it's not hard to find a loose one. But if I'm playing with my friends I generally don't have that option. Now I'm not trying to say I'm unpopular, but getting several hundred games together would be a bit of a stretch.
But luckily there is an easy solution to making even a tight home game juicy. And that would be beer! the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems. Now if you haven't had the privilege of playing with drunken players you don't know what you are missing. No pair and no draw??? Sounds good enough to call for them. Like they say, if you're trying to beat a game, skill can kill, but liquor is quicker.
So if you are organizing a home game, just make sure that the alcohol is flowing freely. In fact you might want to break it out before the game if you are waiting on someone. Often you can even subsidize all of your booze expenditures by having every one toss in a few extra bucks in the buy in.
So now that you've got your friends all liquored up how should you play against them? I recommend playing a loose, aggressive game. You want to see a lot of cheap flops, and when you do hit a hand bet it, because you will get called down. The value of preflop raises decreases if your opponents are drunk, because it is very hard to get them to lay down hands, so you don't want to invest a lot of money before you know what you have. Additionally bluffs are right out. There are very few mistakes that will cost you more than trying to bluff an intoxicated person out of a pot who is more than happy to call you down with A-7
There is some question of how ethical it is to use this method. After all they are your friends right? With that being said I would have no hesitation at all from taking 10-20 bucks away from a guy even if he didn't know which side of the card had the values, but I would cut them off from playing before they lost too much and it would endanger tuition and rent.
But luckily there is an easy solution to making even a tight home game juicy. And that would be beer! the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems. Now if you haven't had the privilege of playing with drunken players you don't know what you are missing. No pair and no draw??? Sounds good enough to call for them. Like they say, if you're trying to beat a game, skill can kill, but liquor is quicker.
So if you are organizing a home game, just make sure that the alcohol is flowing freely. In fact you might want to break it out before the game if you are waiting on someone. Often you can even subsidize all of your booze expenditures by having every one toss in a few extra bucks in the buy in.
So now that you've got your friends all liquored up how should you play against them? I recommend playing a loose, aggressive game. You want to see a lot of cheap flops, and when you do hit a hand bet it, because you will get called down. The value of preflop raises decreases if your opponents are drunk, because it is very hard to get them to lay down hands, so you don't want to invest a lot of money before you know what you have. Additionally bluffs are right out. There are very few mistakes that will cost you more than trying to bluff an intoxicated person out of a pot who is more than happy to call you down with A-7
There is some question of how ethical it is to use this method. After all they are your friends right? With that being said I would have no hesitation at all from taking 10-20 bucks away from a guy even if he didn't know which side of the card had the values, but I would cut them off from playing before they lost too much and it would endanger tuition and rent.
Three Concepts of Texas Holdem Strategy
This texas holdem strategy article is aimed at new players. Advanced players, or complete newbies, will probably not find this article very useful.
Concept #1 - Pot Odds
Long-term profits in holdem come from making bets with a positive expectation. You only have a positive expectation when your payoff is higher than your risk. Casinos make money from negative expectation games like roulette. The single number bet in roulette pays off at 35 to 1, but the odds of winning the bet are 37 to 1. The difference between the 37 and the 35 is the casino's profit margin.
You need a basic understanding of how to calculate pot odds while playing in order to determine when to play. You should only play a hand when you have a positive expectation, otherwise you should fold. Basically you compare the number of chips in the pot with your chances of winning the pot when you decide whether or not to play a hand.
Suppose there is $150 in a pot, and you're on the flop with 4 to a flush. An easy way to approximate the odds of hitting the flush is to take the number of cards that will make your hand and multiply that by the number of cards that are still going to be dealt, and multiply that by 2. There are 13 cards in a suit and you have 4 of them. So there are 9 cards left. 9 times 2 more cards times 2% equals 36%, or about 1 in 3. You will win an average of once every three times and lose the other two times. So the pot needs to offer you at least 2 to 1 for you to call a bet. If someone bets $50, you stand to win $200 on a $50 bet, which gives you appropriate pot odds to call.
This basic concept is essential to holdem success. Other concepts to start thinking about are the odds of your opponent folding if you raise. This will change the pot odds. A rule of thumb is that the fewer opponents, the more likely you’ll be able to take down an uncontested pot. Another rule of thumb is that if you have a drawing hand, a big pot, and a small bet to call, then you should call. If the pot's small, and the bet’s big, then you should fold.
Concept #2 - Starting Hand Selection & Position
Position is critical when deciding what kind of hands to actually play before the flop. The rule of thumb is that you play much tighter (have higher starting hand requirements) in early position and play looser in late position. Your advantage in late position is that you can see what the other players do before you decide what to do.
This is a simplification, and a lot of people aren't going to like the way I do it, but I divide starting hands into just three groups. There are definitely sub-divisions and subteleties between these groupsbut starting out, you're basically looking at just three different groups: strong hands, drawing hands, and unplayable hands.
Strong hands are pairs of 10 or higher, plus AK suited. A's and KK's almost always warrant raising preflop, unless you're in early position and you're hoping for someone to raise behind you. AK suited, QQ's, JJ's, and 10's are worth raising with if no one else has raise, they're sometimes worth raising with if someone else has raised, and they're almost always worth calling with.
Drawing hands are hands that need to improve on the flop to win. Pairs of 99's or lower and suited connectors are usually drawing hands, and so are big-little suited. (Big little suited is an ace and one smaller card of the same suit, and it's a playable hand sometimes because of its flush potential.) Suited connectors are adjacent in rank and of the same suit, so they have the potential to make a flush or a straight or possibly even a straight flush. And the smaller pairs go down in value as they get lower in rank. They're normally worth calling if no one’s raised unless you're in early position, when you should usually fold them. Sometimes pairs of 77's, 88's, and 99's are good starting hands to play strongly with too, especially if your opponents are very tight and you could win the pot right there without a showdown.
Concept #3 - What to do on the Flop
Fit or fold is the common wisdom on this subject. You should be in a good position to decide what to do on the flop. I've always played overpairs and top pairs a little too strongly, and that works well at a weak table with calling stations, but you have to be more cautious with better players. The average winning hand in Texas holdem at a showdown is two pairs or better.
If your starting cards were a drawing hand, you need to hit your hand in order to play it. If you had pocket 66's, you really need to hit 3 of a kind to continue playing the hand, otherwise you should fold. 4 to an open-ended straight is playable unless there's a potential flush draw on the board. 4 to a flush is usually a good hand to play. But if you're playing a small pair and there are overcards on the board, you're probably going to have to get away from the hand. Texas holdem is a game of high cards.
This is a very basic introduction to the things you should think about in Texas holdem strategy. There are tremendous subtleties and complexities beyond this introduction, and entire books are written on strategies for limit, pot limit, and no limit Texas holdem. You’re encouraged to start reading them and think about them while you play.
Poker Articles at Hustle Cards
Concept #1 - Pot Odds
Long-term profits in holdem come from making bets with a positive expectation. You only have a positive expectation when your payoff is higher than your risk. Casinos make money from negative expectation games like roulette. The single number bet in roulette pays off at 35 to 1, but the odds of winning the bet are 37 to 1. The difference between the 37 and the 35 is the casino's profit margin.
You need a basic understanding of how to calculate pot odds while playing in order to determine when to play. You should only play a hand when you have a positive expectation, otherwise you should fold. Basically you compare the number of chips in the pot with your chances of winning the pot when you decide whether or not to play a hand.
Suppose there is $150 in a pot, and you're on the flop with 4 to a flush. An easy way to approximate the odds of hitting the flush is to take the number of cards that will make your hand and multiply that by the number of cards that are still going to be dealt, and multiply that by 2. There are 13 cards in a suit and you have 4 of them. So there are 9 cards left. 9 times 2 more cards times 2% equals 36%, or about 1 in 3. You will win an average of once every three times and lose the other two times. So the pot needs to offer you at least 2 to 1 for you to call a bet. If someone bets $50, you stand to win $200 on a $50 bet, which gives you appropriate pot odds to call.
This basic concept is essential to holdem success. Other concepts to start thinking about are the odds of your opponent folding if you raise. This will change the pot odds. A rule of thumb is that the fewer opponents, the more likely you’ll be able to take down an uncontested pot. Another rule of thumb is that if you have a drawing hand, a big pot, and a small bet to call, then you should call. If the pot's small, and the bet’s big, then you should fold.
Concept #2 - Starting Hand Selection & Position
Position is critical when deciding what kind of hands to actually play before the flop. The rule of thumb is that you play much tighter (have higher starting hand requirements) in early position and play looser in late position. Your advantage in late position is that you can see what the other players do before you decide what to do.
This is a simplification, and a lot of people aren't going to like the way I do it, but I divide starting hands into just three groups. There are definitely sub-divisions and subteleties between these groupsbut starting out, you're basically looking at just three different groups: strong hands, drawing hands, and unplayable hands.
Strong hands are pairs of 10 or higher, plus AK suited. A's and KK's almost always warrant raising preflop, unless you're in early position and you're hoping for someone to raise behind you. AK suited, QQ's, JJ's, and 10's are worth raising with if no one else has raise, they're sometimes worth raising with if someone else has raised, and they're almost always worth calling with.
Drawing hands are hands that need to improve on the flop to win. Pairs of 99's or lower and suited connectors are usually drawing hands, and so are big-little suited. (Big little suited is an ace and one smaller card of the same suit, and it's a playable hand sometimes because of its flush potential.) Suited connectors are adjacent in rank and of the same suit, so they have the potential to make a flush or a straight or possibly even a straight flush. And the smaller pairs go down in value as they get lower in rank. They're normally worth calling if no one’s raised unless you're in early position, when you should usually fold them. Sometimes pairs of 77's, 88's, and 99's are good starting hands to play strongly with too, especially if your opponents are very tight and you could win the pot right there without a showdown.
Concept #3 - What to do on the Flop
Fit or fold is the common wisdom on this subject. You should be in a good position to decide what to do on the flop. I've always played overpairs and top pairs a little too strongly, and that works well at a weak table with calling stations, but you have to be more cautious with better players. The average winning hand in Texas holdem at a showdown is two pairs or better.
If your starting cards were a drawing hand, you need to hit your hand in order to play it. If you had pocket 66's, you really need to hit 3 of a kind to continue playing the hand, otherwise you should fold. 4 to an open-ended straight is playable unless there's a potential flush draw on the board. 4 to a flush is usually a good hand to play. But if you're playing a small pair and there are overcards on the board, you're probably going to have to get away from the hand. Texas holdem is a game of high cards.
This is a very basic introduction to the things you should think about in Texas holdem strategy. There are tremendous subtleties and complexities beyond this introduction, and entire books are written on strategies for limit, pot limit, and no limit Texas holdem. You’re encouraged to start reading them and think about them while you play.
Poker Articles at Hustle Cards
Monday, December 11, 2006
Texas Hold 'Em in James Bond 007 Casino Royale
I just went and saw the new 007 movie yesterday, Casino Royale. Aside from being an excellent movie, I thought I'd bring up the part where they play high stakes Hold 'em at Casino Royale. Aside from being an excellent game to watch, it was also an interesting insight into different tactics used by players to win themselves a hand. The bad guy character, Le Chiffre, using mathmatics and odds to work out his players, and Bond using his uncanny ability to read his opponents, and call their bluff.The amount of money involved in this game was ridiculous, espaecially when the pot reached a total of over 100 million. The type of game played in the movie was updated from the book to the now popular Texas Hold 'Em, and I think it works a treat, keeping the flow of movie absorbing and providing a stimulating game for poker fans and non-fans alike.
What did you think?
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Knowing Your Poker Opponents
Following on from the afore mentioned post about Bond reading his opponents, I found this article from hustlecards.com that discusses each type of poker player, and how to play against them:
article written by Graham Easton
There are many types of Texas Holdem Poker player, and, of course, many levels of experience between those players. Texas Holdem the card game is similar to pushing spaghetti around a plate – some will get more, others will get less and the house always takes a slice. The statistics of cards over time dictate that we all have the same opportunities. The key to maximizing our potential gains is to quickly identify your opponent type and skill level. If you can correctly identify your opponent then you will be able to alter your playing style to maximize your win, and just as significantly, minimize your loss.
Let's review the various playing styles that you will come across in an average Texas Holdem Poker cash game. Players will either be:
Rocks
Tight Players
Calling Stations
Maniacs
And within these styles you will find a range of aggression that goes from passive to aggressive. What follows are some strategic hints and tips to help you play against each form of poker player in an online environment.
Rocks
Rocks are the most common type of Texas Holdem Player. They are the easiest to beat and usually are inexperienced new players who think the game revolves around the cards that are dealt. It's also the most natural playing style and so you will come across them regularly. These are the people you should look to play against. Controlled aggression is the way to proceed. Bet at these players when flops look ugly and they'll most likely fold. If they re-raise you in return, step aside and let them take the hand, coming right back at them next round. A rock who has been sitting folding the last 20 hands, only to come out betting, is the easiest read of all. If you can't see them coming then I'd suggest you take up a different game.
Tight Players
Tight players are usually battle hardened. The difference between a tight player and a rock is that they understand the need to come out more often, with the occasional bluff here and there. More importantly they usually use the time spent sitting out, to identify opponent characteristics in order to play their weaknesses. The best of all players sit in this category - Tight Aggressive No Limit Texas Holdem players need to be identified early on and avoided at all cost. Find one and you should re-examine your table selection (yes you should move table). Real life examples of this type of player would be Howard Lederer and Erick Lindgren.
Calling Stations
Calling stations present an interesting playing style and are the second most common type you'll find in online poker. By definition fairly weak, these players rarely take the initiative and thereby have to rely on the luck of running up against an aggressive player while holding the nut or near nut hand. More often than not these people will lose because they are:
1) Playing their cards and not their opponent
2) Have no initiative
3) Regularly rely on card catching strategies
It's worth pointing out at this stage that card catching is a bad idea in almost any circumstances (except as part of a semi-bluff play).
Maniacs
Maniacs are a rare breed of player seldom seen in low limit or tournament Texas Holdem Poker games. They have no fear of losing, indeed it'll look like they want to, and it is this that sets them apart from most players online today. Difficult to play against, these opponents rely on your fear of losing your stack to gain chips. Often seen with large chip stacks relative to the table, Maniacs will bet large regularly, and whatever hand you choose to play, it is likely that you will have to be prepared to go all-in with it. No card catching against these opponents - if you try you will be punished.
The identification of Maniacs is easy, as is your assault on their playing style. Clearly the weakness these players have is that they are susceptible to large pocket pairs (AA, KK, QQ, even AK). The difficulty is that you will likely have to wait a good number of cards before you get to play such a hand. Maniacs are far from stupid (they often evolve in experience terms from Rocks or Calling Stations that have read Doyle Brunson's Super System books and progressed from there. To hit them properly you have to either get lucky early on with the big pair or play enough cards so you are not identified as a waiting Rock (obviously you don't want them to get out of your way when the time is right).
If you beat an aggressive Maniac once, you'll find they go on Tilt really easily, which provides further opportunity for the brave. I recall hitting one for $800 from $200 in 3 hands because he went all-in 3 times in a row with no cards at all. He incorrectly judged that I would fold rather than re-stake my entire winnings on each of the next 2 poker hands. Fortunately for me they were fairly solid starting hands in the circumstances but I can tell you it's not easy going all-in pre-flop for $500 with just King Jack. I'd be mad to do that in any other circumstance but I felt I had a good read on the player type and his hand which turned out to be 92 unsuited didn't stand up.
Hopefully you'll observe playing styles and look to pick off Rocks and Calling Stations. If you come up against a tight (particularly Tight Aggressive) player, with no other easy to beat players around, you should move on. I've been at many tables where the poor players have lost and left, the good ones remain, and one off those triggers the table's break up by saying no easy money here, the only winner will be the rake, lets move on.
If you've not had this said to you, or you've not made the statement yourself then consider that you may be a fish.
article written by Graham Easton
There are many types of Texas Holdem Poker player, and, of course, many levels of experience between those players. Texas Holdem the card game is similar to pushing spaghetti around a plate – some will get more, others will get less and the house always takes a slice. The statistics of cards over time dictate that we all have the same opportunities. The key to maximizing our potential gains is to quickly identify your opponent type and skill level. If you can correctly identify your opponent then you will be able to alter your playing style to maximize your win, and just as significantly, minimize your loss.
Let's review the various playing styles that you will come across in an average Texas Holdem Poker cash game. Players will either be:
Rocks
Tight Players
Calling Stations
Maniacs
And within these styles you will find a range of aggression that goes from passive to aggressive. What follows are some strategic hints and tips to help you play against each form of poker player in an online environment.
Rocks
Rocks are the most common type of Texas Holdem Player. They are the easiest to beat and usually are inexperienced new players who think the game revolves around the cards that are dealt. It's also the most natural playing style and so you will come across them regularly. These are the people you should look to play against. Controlled aggression is the way to proceed. Bet at these players when flops look ugly and they'll most likely fold. If they re-raise you in return, step aside and let them take the hand, coming right back at them next round. A rock who has been sitting folding the last 20 hands, only to come out betting, is the easiest read of all. If you can't see them coming then I'd suggest you take up a different game.
Tight Players
Tight players are usually battle hardened. The difference between a tight player and a rock is that they understand the need to come out more often, with the occasional bluff here and there. More importantly they usually use the time spent sitting out, to identify opponent characteristics in order to play their weaknesses. The best of all players sit in this category - Tight Aggressive No Limit Texas Holdem players need to be identified early on and avoided at all cost. Find one and you should re-examine your table selection (yes you should move table). Real life examples of this type of player would be Howard Lederer and Erick Lindgren.
Calling Stations
Calling stations present an interesting playing style and are the second most common type you'll find in online poker. By definition fairly weak, these players rarely take the initiative and thereby have to rely on the luck of running up against an aggressive player while holding the nut or near nut hand. More often than not these people will lose because they are:
1) Playing their cards and not their opponent
2) Have no initiative
3) Regularly rely on card catching strategies
It's worth pointing out at this stage that card catching is a bad idea in almost any circumstances (except as part of a semi-bluff play).
Maniacs
Maniacs are a rare breed of player seldom seen in low limit or tournament Texas Holdem Poker games. They have no fear of losing, indeed it'll look like they want to, and it is this that sets them apart from most players online today. Difficult to play against, these opponents rely on your fear of losing your stack to gain chips. Often seen with large chip stacks relative to the table, Maniacs will bet large regularly, and whatever hand you choose to play, it is likely that you will have to be prepared to go all-in with it. No card catching against these opponents - if you try you will be punished.
The identification of Maniacs is easy, as is your assault on their playing style. Clearly the weakness these players have is that they are susceptible to large pocket pairs (AA, KK, QQ, even AK). The difficulty is that you will likely have to wait a good number of cards before you get to play such a hand. Maniacs are far from stupid (they often evolve in experience terms from Rocks or Calling Stations that have read Doyle Brunson's Super System books and progressed from there. To hit them properly you have to either get lucky early on with the big pair or play enough cards so you are not identified as a waiting Rock (obviously you don't want them to get out of your way when the time is right).
If you beat an aggressive Maniac once, you'll find they go on Tilt really easily, which provides further opportunity for the brave. I recall hitting one for $800 from $200 in 3 hands because he went all-in 3 times in a row with no cards at all. He incorrectly judged that I would fold rather than re-stake my entire winnings on each of the next 2 poker hands. Fortunately for me they were fairly solid starting hands in the circumstances but I can tell you it's not easy going all-in pre-flop for $500 with just King Jack. I'd be mad to do that in any other circumstance but I felt I had a good read on the player type and his hand which turned out to be 92 unsuited didn't stand up.
Hopefully you'll observe playing styles and look to pick off Rocks and Calling Stations. If you come up against a tight (particularly Tight Aggressive) player, with no other easy to beat players around, you should move on. I've been at many tables where the poor players have lost and left, the good ones remain, and one off those triggers the table's break up by saying no easy money here, the only winner will be the rake, lets move on.
If you've not had this said to you, or you've not made the statement yourself then consider that you may be a fish.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Some Fun Facts About Poker
- Playing cards were invented in China.
- A fifth suit was added in 1937 but never caught on because people had to buy all new decks.
- At least 65,000,000 Americans regularly play poker, and more are playing every day.
- Dead mans hand is Ace's and Eights
- Getting dealt 10, 2 is referred to as Doyle Brunson because he won back to back World Series with the hand.
- In the 1800's, 2,000 to 2,500 riverboat gamblers played poker on American Waterways, By contemporary accounts, no more than four of these poker players were honest all the time. A straight beat a flush at this time.
- Las Vegas Casinos are not legally obligated to pay off there gambling debts.
- Due to French Influence, Spades represent Royalty, Diamonds represent Merchants, Clubs represent the peasants, and hearts represent the clergy.
- Edmond Hoyle lived to be 97, but died 150 years before Poker was invented.
- Playing cards were introduced in Europe in the 1300's.
- When Columbus landed in 1492 in North America, his men plucked wide leaves from trees, drew pictures on them and played cards.
- Historians generally agree that Bill Hickock was a lousy poker player.
- Groucho Marx got his name from carrying his poker money in a "grouch bag."
- Former President Richard Nixon won $6,000 playing poker in his first two months in the U.S. Navy during WWll. That's equal to roughly $42,640 in 2004 dollars. He used that money as well as more poker winnings to finance his run for the U.S. Congress in 1946, for which he won.
The Truth About Bad Bets in Poker
Article by Alan Bloomfield
If you play poker you've been there before and you know exactly what I'm talking about. You get your money in the pot as a huge favorite only to lose the hand when your opponet catches that miracle river card.
Most players, including myself, get mad or upset when this happens to them. You say to yourself, or the player that just gave you that bad beat, "How can you call with that hand" or "why were you even playing that?"
Most poker players get upset at their opponent for making a bad call and then winning the hand. In reality, you should be glad that you are playing against such an opponet because they are giving you a great opportunity to win money.
Bad Players Give Bad Beats
Usually the people that are giving bad beats are bad players. It usually takes a bad call or a bad play for a bad beat to happen. If it wasn't for these bad beats, bad players simply wouldn't play poker.
Think about it, if bad players lost every time they got their money into the pot they simply would quit playing. Is this what we really want? The answer is no, because if there wasn't someone out there trying to give thier money away, this game would be impossible to beat. The only people playing would be solid players that never make mistakes. Then the only people making money off of poker would be the casinos.
Not only do the bad beats keep the bad players in the game, in a way it prevents them from improving their game and becoming better players. The luck that's involved with poker can convince a bad player that they might be good. These bad players can have a winning session because of a few bad beats. Then on nights they don't win they can also convince themselves that it was just bad luck that they had a losing session.
Good Players Suffer More Bad Beats
Good players will suffer more bad beats than they will ever give out. The reason is good players get their money into the pot when they are ahead more often than when they are behind. This is the reason why good players are good.
Good players will pick their spots and make better decisions to get their money in as a favorite. When you are constantly ahead and everybody is trying to outdraw you, they're going to get lucky every now and then.
Conclusion
Poker players need to think more long term than they do short term. Think of a poker session as a life long project. Whenever you do take a bad beat and lose a big pot, think long term instead of short term. If you get your money into the pot 1,000 times in that same exact situation how many much money am I going to win? Just an example, if you get all your money in the pot 1,000 times with AA vs. QTo for $300 a pot, you are going to win about 836 times and lose about 160 of them. Over a 1,000 hands you will win about $202,800. So don't get upset over the 160 times you lose that hand and just continue your life long session and wait for you next opportunity.
If you play poker you've been there before and you know exactly what I'm talking about. You get your money in the pot as a huge favorite only to lose the hand when your opponet catches that miracle river card.
Most players, including myself, get mad or upset when this happens to them. You say to yourself, or the player that just gave you that bad beat, "How can you call with that hand" or "why were you even playing that?"
Most poker players get upset at their opponent for making a bad call and then winning the hand. In reality, you should be glad that you are playing against such an opponet because they are giving you a great opportunity to win money.
Bad Players Give Bad Beats
Usually the people that are giving bad beats are bad players. It usually takes a bad call or a bad play for a bad beat to happen. If it wasn't for these bad beats, bad players simply wouldn't play poker.
Think about it, if bad players lost every time they got their money into the pot they simply would quit playing. Is this what we really want? The answer is no, because if there wasn't someone out there trying to give thier money away, this game would be impossible to beat. The only people playing would be solid players that never make mistakes. Then the only people making money off of poker would be the casinos.
Not only do the bad beats keep the bad players in the game, in a way it prevents them from improving their game and becoming better players. The luck that's involved with poker can convince a bad player that they might be good. These bad players can have a winning session because of a few bad beats. Then on nights they don't win they can also convince themselves that it was just bad luck that they had a losing session.
Good Players Suffer More Bad Beats
Good players will suffer more bad beats than they will ever give out. The reason is good players get their money into the pot when they are ahead more often than when they are behind. This is the reason why good players are good.
Good players will pick their spots and make better decisions to get their money in as a favorite. When you are constantly ahead and everybody is trying to outdraw you, they're going to get lucky every now and then.
Conclusion
Poker players need to think more long term than they do short term. Think of a poker session as a life long project. Whenever you do take a bad beat and lose a big pot, think long term instead of short term. If you get your money into the pot 1,000 times in that same exact situation how many much money am I going to win? Just an example, if you get all your money in the pot 1,000 times with AA vs. QTo for $300 a pot, you are going to win about 836 times and lose about 160 of them. Over a 1,000 hands you will win about $202,800. So don't get upset over the 160 times you lose that hand and just continue your life long session and wait for you next opportunity.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Playing Poker on a Cruise Ship
Here's an amusing little story from the WPT Mexican Cruise with Daniel Negreanu and Erik Lindgren.
Card Player Magazine, one of the premier poker magazines out of Las Vegas, enlists Linda Johnson (The First Lady of Poker) as the honcho on Card Player Cruises. She has run more than 40 of them and knows her business. More than that, she also knows Card Player Magazine, having been the owner for eight years prior to 2001. She sold out, but kept the rights to the cruises. Good idea!
Her poker cruises go where most cruises go: Transatlantic, the Mexican Riviera, the Caribbean, Alaska, Russia, and South America. On a recent Mexican cruise, most of the players were beginners, booking to see what the poker phenomenon was all about and to pick up some tequila, high quality silver jewelry, and perhaps a sombrero.
There is another kind of poker played on another kind of cruise event that Linda also runs. In conjunction with the World Poker Tour (WPT), an annual No Limit Texas Hold em tournament has been held on chartered just for the poker gang - Holland America ships.
In 2004, Erick Lindgren beat his best buddy, Daniel Negreanu, to snag a million dollar prize on a WPT Mexican cruise. Negreanu didn't hold his defeat against Lindgren: soon after, Erick was Daniel's best man at his wedding to Lori.
Back to the cruise and Erick's victory: to celebrate, he ordered drinks for the house in The Crow's Nest Bar on the ship, the beautiful MS Ryndam. It seemed like a good idea at the time, maybe until Erick woke up the next morning (or was it afternoon?), to discover a receipt for a $22,000 bar tab by his bed. Ouch!!
Card Player Magazine, one of the premier poker magazines out of Las Vegas, enlists Linda Johnson (The First Lady of Poker) as the honcho on Card Player Cruises. She has run more than 40 of them and knows her business. More than that, she also knows Card Player Magazine, having been the owner for eight years prior to 2001. She sold out, but kept the rights to the cruises. Good idea!
Her poker cruises go where most cruises go: Transatlantic, the Mexican Riviera, the Caribbean, Alaska, Russia, and South America. On a recent Mexican cruise, most of the players were beginners, booking to see what the poker phenomenon was all about and to pick up some tequila, high quality silver jewelry, and perhaps a sombrero.
There is another kind of poker played on another kind of cruise event that Linda also runs. In conjunction with the World Poker Tour (WPT), an annual No Limit Texas Hold em tournament has been held on chartered just for the poker gang - Holland America ships.
In 2004, Erick Lindgren beat his best buddy, Daniel Negreanu, to snag a million dollar prize on a WPT Mexican cruise. Negreanu didn't hold his defeat against Lindgren: soon after, Erick was Daniel's best man at his wedding to Lori.
Back to the cruise and Erick's victory: to celebrate, he ordered drinks for the house in The Crow's Nest Bar on the ship, the beautiful MS Ryndam. It seemed like a good idea at the time, maybe until Erick woke up the next morning (or was it afternoon?), to discover a receipt for a $22,000 bar tab by his bed. Ouch!!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
The Stop and Go Betting Strategy
The reason that I advocate using this strategy at times is that you may be able to win a few extra hands by inducing a fold where you would have otherwise been called. For instance, if it is raised to you preflop, and you go all in for less than a pot sized bet, you are almost sure to be called. This ensures that all five cards will come out giving your opponent the best chance to beat you. If you are the short stack then surviving is key, therefore you want to maximize your chances of getting your opponent to lay down a hand and winning the pot uncontested.
If your opponent doesn't have a pocket pair, there is an approximately 60% chance that the flop will miss him. So if you fire a bet at him, even a small bet, with all your remaining chips there is a good chance that he will fold and not try to catch the two more cards that might kill you. And if he does call you would be no worse off than if you went all in preflop, i.e. you're seeing all five cards and whomever has the best hand at the end will take it down.
The basic point is that you should always be looking for more ways to win than to just shove your chips in the center and let the cards fall where they will. Unless you have an excellent hand it is almost always best to win without a showdown, because even AK has a 33% chance of getting knocked off by a lousy 7-2.
source: Poker Articles at Hustle Cards
Monday, December 04, 2006
Not Second Guessing Your Poker Hand
You should never outguess yourself when you are at the poker table. I will give you an example; consider the following hand:
You hold: 6c, 6d,
Your opponent in early position raises 4x to 5x bb and you place him on AK.
Flop: Kc, 6h, 7d
Now you have flopped a set, and your opponent is first to act. He sets out and bets just like you expected him to. You play back at him and re-raise. He immediately re-raises you all-in. At this point you have to call. You can't try to outguess your self in this situation and put him on 77 or KK for a higher set. You had originally put him on AK, and if he has a higher set, you are just going to have to pay them off.
At the point where he is re-raising you all-in, you are already pot committed and have to call. There is also a possibility that you misread him and he only holds AA in which case you are dominating that hand as well.
You hold: 6c, 6d,
Your opponent in early position raises 4x to 5x bb and you place him on AK.
Flop: Kc, 6h, 7d
Now you have flopped a set, and your opponent is first to act. He sets out and bets just like you expected him to. You play back at him and re-raise. He immediately re-raises you all-in. At this point you have to call. You can't try to outguess your self in this situation and put him on 77 or KK for a higher set. You had originally put him on AK, and if he has a higher set, you are just going to have to pay them off.
At the point where he is re-raising you all-in, you are already pot committed and have to call. There is also a possibility that you misread him and he only holds AA in which case you are dominating that hand as well.
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