I think one of the most anticipated times of the year other then Christmas would have to be vacations! We love our vacations. We travel and get to see other places in the world and meet people from other places. It seems the more places you go the more you realize we are basically the same. The backdrops are really different though. There is a funny vacation rental commercial on YouTube that features a man in a unitard spreading a message about vacation rentals. He is trying to spread the word that you can actually rent a home for the same price as you could many hotel rooms. You can watch the video and you can go to Vacation Rental.org to find out more. It is getting time to make reservations on your choice of vacation rental so you can stay at the location that you choose. We hesitated one year because we could not make up our mind and everything was rented when we got there with no reservation! We will not do that again.
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At the Glastonbury Festival you will see the Green Police. They are a group of people that have taken humor and creativity and turned it into a way to educate the public on the importance of keeping their environment clean. They show people how important they are to the environment. By passing out little green bags they encourage the festival goers to do their part in keeping the festival grounds clean. The Green Police then walk through the festival making sure the clean rules are followed. It is nice to see people thinking of ways to educate the public on better waste management and recycling. We can all make a difference.
Slow-playing means deceiving your opponents into thinking you have less of a hand then you do. For example, suppose you hold KK. The flop comes K33, so you flopped a full house! There is no need to scare people out of the pot because there is little chance of someone drawing out on you. Thus, you should wait to the turn or maybe even river to jam the pot with bets and raises. You should slow-play if two conditions are met: 1. You hold a whopper and there is almost no chance of someone drawing out on you. 2. You will only get action if some other cards come out that will improve your opponents’ poker hands, but these cards are not good enough to make these poker hands beat yours. < << Texas Hold Em < << Omaha < << Omaha Hi Lo < << Seven Card Stud < << Five Card Stud
Jan
02
2010
 
Texas Hold’em Poker – Winning TipsPosted by PokereLife.com in Poker Tips, Texas Hold'emBefore the Flop: Starting Hands: In Early position In Middle position In Late position Note: The Blinds The Flop The Turn If another player raises on the turn and you hold only one pair you are more than likely beaten and should fold. If you get to the Turn and you hold only two unsuited overcards (two cards higher that any cards on the board) with no flush or straight draws, then you should fold if there is a bet in front of you. Too much money is lost by players who hope to catch a miracle card on the river. The best hand you can make with two unsuited overcards is a pair which will probably lose anyways. The River When you get to the river there are two mistakes that you can make. One is to call a losing bet, which will cost you the price of a bet. The other is to fold your hand, which will cost you all the money in the pot. Obviously folding your hand will be a far more costly mistake then merely calling a bet. If there is a slight chance you may have the winning hand you should call. I’m not advocating calling with nothing but you should call if there is a chance to win. ———————— Reading The Board If there are three suited cards on the board someone can make a flush. If a player raises when the third suited card is turned over you should be wary of continuing. If there is a pair on the board a player can make four of a kind or a full house. Pay Attention NEVER SHOW YOUR HAND if you don’t have to. If you win the pot because everyone else folded you are under no obligation to show your cards. You don’t want to give away any information about yourself if you don’t have to And player who turn over their cards when they don’t have to are doing just that. Continuing Education
The first two cards are dealt to each player face down (these are called the hole cards), and the person to the left of the big blind starts the first round of betting. (Notice that the big blind and small blind do not get to look at their cards before betting, thus the term “blind”). In the first round of betting, each player has three options: call, raise or fold. To call, the player must place a bet that is equal to the last bet placed. (For the first player in the round, this would be equal to the minimum bet.) A player may choose to raise their call bet by an additional amount, which the other players will then have to call. If one’s hole cards are not favorable, the player may simply choose to fold and sit out the round. After all the players have finished the first round of betting, the first three community cards are dealt face-up on the board. This is called the flop. The second and all subsequent betting rounds start with the first player to the dealer’s left, and players now has the option to check. By checking, the player indicates interest in the pot without placing a be Any player may choose to place a bet, which the other players must then call. Players can still raise, if a bet has been made, or fold, if their hand is not favorable. After the second betting round, the fourth community card is dealt face-up (this is called the turn card). In limit games, the minimum bet doubles in the last two rounds of betting. After the third betting round, the fifth and final community card is dealt (this is called the river card). A final round of betting ensues, and afterwards each player turns their hole cards face up. The highest hand that can be made with any combination of a player’s hole cards and the five community cards wins the pot. If two or more players have the same hand, the next highest card in the In No Limit Hold’em, the maximum bet is determined by the number of chips you have in front of you. Players can bet and raise by any amount, and at any time, a player can go “all-in” by pushing all their chips toward the center of the table. To call, the other players at the table must push in all of their chips, up to the amount of their opponent’s all-in bet. This is the type of Hold’em that is played on the pro level, and on TV shows such as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker. Pot Limit Hold’em is similar to No Limit, except that the maximum bet is determined by the number of chips currently in the pot. This allows players to experience the excitement and strategy of No Limit Hold’em without the necessity of a large bankroll. Pot Limit games usually have a maximum buy-in (the number of chips you start with) to keep the game competitive.  PokereLife.com
Dec
19
2009
Texas Hold’em Poker Odds and Outs ChartPosted by PokereLife.com in Texas Hold'em, strategyIn poker your outs are the unseen cards that will complete or improve your hand to make it the winning hand. Each additional card or “Out” will improve your percentage of surviving the hand and coming out a winner. The Odds chart below shows the percentage and odds of making your hand based on your number of outs
You will find that you can easily remember a few of the most common situations for outs such as the four flush or straight draw but there has to be an easier way than memorizing the figures for every number of outs. The good news is that there is a way to get a good estimation of the odds. The Rule of Four -Two. The rule of four-two, as I like to call it, is an easier way to figure the odds for any situation where you know your outs. It is not completely accurate but it will give you a quick “ballpark” figure of your chances for making a hand. Here is how it works. With two cards to come after the flop you multiply your number of outs by four. With one card to come after the turn, you multiply your number of outs by two. This will give you a quick figure to work with. If you have a four-card flush after the flop you have nine outs. With two cards to come, you multiply the nine by four and you get 36 percent chance of making the flush. The chart shows the true odds at 35 percent. With one card to come you multiply nine by two and get 18 percent. The chart shows that the true figure is 19.6. Action (1) Opportunity to act. If a poker player appears not to realize it’s his turn, the dealer will say “Your action, sir.” (2) Bets and raises. “If a third heart hits the board and there’s a lot of action, you have to assume that someone has made the flush.” Ante A small portion of a bet contributed by each poker player to seed the pot at the beginning of a poker hand. Most holdem games do not have an ante; they use “blinds” to get initial money into the pot. All in To run out of chips while betting or calling. In table stakes poker games, a player may not go into his pocket for more money during a hand. If he runs out, a side pot is created in which he has no interest. However, he can still win the pot for which he had the chips. Example: “Poor Bob – he made quads against the big full house, but he was all-in on the second bet.” Backdoor Catching both the turn and river card to make a drawing poker hand. For instance, suppose you have As- 7s. The flop comes Ad-6c-4s. You bet and are called. The turn is the Ts, which everybody checks, and then the river is the Js. You’ve made a “backdoor” nut flush. See also “runner.” Bad Beat To have a poker hand that is a large underdog beat a heavily favored hand. It is generally used to imply that the winner of the pot had no business being in the pot at all, and it was the wildest of luck that he managed to catch the one card in the deck that would win the pot. We won’t give any examples, you will hear plenty of them during your poker career. Blank A board card that doesn’t seem to affect the standings in the poker hand. If the flop is As-Jd-Ts, then a turn card of 2h would be considered a blank. On the other hand, the 2s would not be. Blind A forced bet (or partial bet) put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. Typically, blinds are put in by poker players immediately to the left of the button. See also “Live blind.” Board All the community cards in a holdem game – the flop, turn, and river cards together. Example: “There wasn’t a single heart on the board.” Bottom Pair A pair with the lowest card on the flop. If you have As-6s, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped bottom pair. Burn To discard the top card from the deck, face down. This is done between each betting round before putting out the next community card(s). It is security against any poker player recognizing or glimpsing the next card to be used on the board. Button A white acrylic disk to indicate who is the (nominal) dealer. Also used to refer to the player on the button. Example: “Oh, the button raised.” Buy (1) As in “buy the pot.” To bluff, hoping to “buy” the pot without being called. (2) As in “buy the button.” To bet or raise, hoping to make players between you and the button fold, thus allowing you to act last on subsequent betting rounds. Calling Station A weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn’t raise or fold much. This is the kind of player you like to have in your game. Cap To put in the last raise permitted on a betting round. This is typically the third or fourth raise. Dealers in California are fond of saying “Capitola” or “Cappuccino”. The last card of a certain rank in the deck. Example: “The flop came J-8-3; I’ve got pocket jacks, he’s got pocket 8’s, and then the case eight falls on the river and he beats my full house.” Center Pot The first pot created during a poker hand. This is as opposed to one or more “side” pots that are created if one or more players goes all-in. Also “main pot.” Check (1) To not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round. Equivalent to betting zero dollars. (2) Another word for “chip”, as in poker chip. Check Raise To check and then raise when a player behind you bets. Occasionally you will hear people say this is not fair or ethical poker. Piffle. Almost all casinos permit check-raising, and it is an important poker tactic. It is particularly useful in low-limit hold’em where you need extra strength to narrow the field when you have the best hand. Cold Call To call more than one bet in a single action. For instance, suppose the first player to act after the big blind raises. Now any player acting after him must call two bets “cold.” This is different from calling a single bet and then calling a subsequent raise. Come Hand A drawing hand (probably from the craps term). Complete Hand A hand that is defined by all five cards – a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, or straight flush. Connector A hold’em starting hand in which the two cards are one apart in rank. Examples: KQs, 76. Counterfeit To make your hand less valuable because of board cards that duplicate it. Example: you have 87 and the flop comes 9-T-J, so you have a straight. Now an 8 comes on the turn. This has counterfeited your hand and made it almost worthless. Crack To beat a hand – typically a big hand. You hear this most often used to apply to pocket aces: “Third time tonight I’ve had pocket aces cracked.” Cripple As in to cripple the deck. Meaning that you have most or all of the cards that somebody would want to have with the current board. If you have pocket kings, and the other two kings flop, you have crippled the deck. Dog Shortened form of “Underdog”. Dominated Hand A hand that will almost always lose to a better hand that people usually play. For instance, K3 is “dominated” by KQ. With the exception of strange flops (e.g. 3-3-x, K-3-x), it will always lose to KQ. Draw Dead Try to make a hand that, even if made, will not win the pot. If you’re drawing to make a flush, and your opponent already has a full house, you are “drawing dead”. Of course, this is a bad condition to be in. Equity Your “rightful” share of a pot. If the pot contains $80, and you have a 50% chance of winning it, you have $40 equity in the pot. This term is somewhat fanciful since you will either win $80 or $0, but it gives you an idea of how much you can “expect” to win. Expectation (1) A term referring to the amount of you expect to gain on average if you make a certain play. For instance, suppose you put $10 into a $50 pot to draw at a hand that you will make 25% of the time, and it will win every time you make it. Three out of four times, you do not make your draw, and lose $10 each time for a total of $30. The fourth time, you will make your draw, winning $50. Your total gain over those four average hands is $50-$30 = $20, an average of $5 per hand. Thus calling the $10 has a positive expectation of $5. (2) The amount you expect to make at the poker table in a specific time period. Perhaps in 100 hours play, you have won $527. Then your expectation is $5.27/hr. Of course, you won’t make that exact amount each hour (and some hours you will lose), but it’s one measure of your anticipated earnings. Family Pot A pot in which all (or almost all) of the players call before the flop. Fast As in “play fast.” To play a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible. Example: “When you flop a set but there’s a flush draw possible, you have to play it fast.” Flop The first three community cards, put out face up, all together. Foul A hand which may not be played for one reason or another. A player with a foul hand may not make any claim on any portion of the pot. Example: “He ended up with three cards after the flop, so the dealer declared his hand foul.” Free Card A turn or river card on which you don’t have to call a bet because of play earlier in the hand (or a reputation which you have with your opponents). For instance, if you are on the button and raise when you flop a flush draw, your opponents may check to you on the turn. If you make your flush on the turn, you can bet. However, if you don’t get it on the turn, you can check as well – seeing the river card for “free.” Free Roll For one player to have a shot at winning an entire pot when he is currently tied with another player. For instance, suppose you have Ac-Qc and your opponent has Ad-Qh. The flop is Qs-5c-Tc. You are tied with your opponent right now, but are free rolling on him, because you can win the whole pot and he can’t. If no club comes, you split the pot with him – if it does come, you win the whole thing Gutshot Straight An straight filled “inside”. If you have 9s-8s, the flop comes 7c-5h-2d, and the turn is the 6c, you’ve made your gutshot straight Heads Up A pot that is being contested by only two players – “It was heads up by the turn.” Hit As in “the flop hit me.” It means the flop contained cards that help your hand. If you have AK, and the flop comes K-7-2, it hit you. House The establishment running the game. Example: “The $2 you put on the button goes to the house.” Implied Odds Pot odds that do not exist at the moment, but may be included in your calculations because of bets you expect to win if you hit your hand. For instance, you might call with a flush draw on the turn even though the pot isn’t offering you quite 4:1 odds (your chance of making the flush) because you’re sure you can win a bet from your opponent on the river if you make your flush. Jackpot A special bonus paid to the loser of a hand if he gets a very good hand beaten. In hold’em, the “loser” must typically get aces full or better beaten. In some of the large southern California card clubs, the jackpots have gotten over $50,000. Of course, the jackpot is funded with money removed from the game as part of the rake. Kicker An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands. For instance, suppose you have AK and your opponent has AQ. If the flop has an ace in it, you both have a pair of aces, but you have a king kicker. Kickers can be vitally important in hold’em. Live Blind A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. The “live” means those players still have the option of raising when the action gets back around to them. Maniac A player who does a lot of hyper-aggressive raising, betting, and bluffing. A true maniac is not a good player, but is simply doing a lot of gambling. However, a player who occasionally acts like a maniac and confuses his opponents is quite dangerous. Muck The pile of folded and burned cards in front of the dealer. Example: “His hand hit the muck so the dealer ruled it folded even though the guy wanted to get his cards back.” Also used as a verb – “He didn’t have any outs so he mucked his hand.” No-Limit A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips (up to the number in front of him) whenever it is his turn to act. It is a very different game than limit poker. The best treatise on no-limit poker is in Doyle Brunson’s Super/System. Nuts The best possible hand given the board. If the board is Ks-Jd-Ts-4s-2h, then As-Xs is the nuts. You will occasionally hear the term applied to the best possible hand of a certain category, even though it isn’t the overall nuts. For the above example, somebody with Ah-Qc in the above hand might say they had the “nut straight”. Offsuit A hold’em starting hand in which the two cards are of different suits. One-Gap A hold’em starting hand in which the two cards are two apart in rank. Examples: J9s, 64. Out A card that will make your hand win. Normally heard in the plural. Example: “Any spade will make my flush, so I have nine outs.” Outrun To beat. Example: “Susie outran my set when her flush card hit on the river.” Overcall To call a bet after one or more others players have already called. Overcard A card higher than any card on the board. For instance, if you have AQ and the flop comes J-7-3, you don’t have a pair, but you have two overcards. Overpair A pocket pair higher than any card on the flop. If you have QQ and the flop comes J-8-3, you have an overpair. Pay Off To call a bet where the bettor is representing a hand that you can’t beat, but the pot is sufficiently large to justify a call anyway. Example: “He played it exactly like he made the flush, but I had top set so I paid him off.” Play the Board To show down a hand in hold’em when your cards don’t make a hand any better than is shown on the board. For instance, if you have 22, and the board is 4-4-9-9-A (no flush possible), then you must “play the board” – the best possible hand you can make doesn’t use any of your cards. Note that if you play the board, the best you can do is to split the pot with all remaining players. Your unique cards that only you can see. For instance, “He had pocket sixes” (a pair of sixes), or “I had ace-king in the pocket.” Post To put in a blind bet, generally required when you first sit down in a cardroom game. You may also be required to post a blind if you change seats at the table in a way that moves you away from the blinds. Pot Limit A version of poker in which a player may bet up to the amount of money in the pot whenever it is his turn to act. Like no-limit, this is a very different game from limit poker. Pot Odds The amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must put in the pot to continue playing. For example, suppose there is $60 in the pot. Somebody bets $6, so the pot now contains $66. It costs you $6 to call, so your pot odds are 11:1. If your chance of having the best hand is at least one out of twelve, you should call. Pot odds also apply to draws. For instance, suppose you have a draw to the nut flush with one card left to come. In this case, you are about a 4:1 underdog to make your flush. If it costs you $8 to call the bet, then there must be about $32 in the pot (including the most recent bet) to make your call correct. Price The pot odds you are getting for a draw or call. Example: “The pot was laying me a high enough price, so I stayed in with my gutshot straight draw.” Protect (1) To keep your hand or a chip on your cards. This prevents them from being fouled by a discarded hand, or accidentally mucked by the dealer. (2) To invest more money in a pot so blind money that you’ve already put in isn’t “wasted.” Example: “He’ll always protects his blinds, no matter how bad his cards are.” Quads Four of a kind. Ragged A flop (or board) that doesn’t appear to help anybody very much. A flop that came down Jd-6h-2c would look ragged. Rainbow A flop that contains three different suits, thus no flush can be made on the turn. Can also mean a complete five card board that has no more than two of any suit, thus no flush is possible. Rake An amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer – this is the cardroom’s income. Rank The numerical value of a card (as opposed to its suit). Example: “jack”,”seven”. Represent To play as if you hold a certain hand. For instance, if you raised before the flop, and then raised again when the flop came ace high, you would be representing at least an ace with a good kicker. Ring Game A regular poker game as opposed to a tournament. Also referred to as a “live” game since actual money is in play instead of tournament chips. River The fifth and final community card, put out face up, by itself. Also known as “fifth street”. Metaphors involving the river are some of poker’s most treasured cliches e.g. “He drowned in the river”. Rock A player who plays very tight, not very creatively. He raises only with the best hands. A real rock is fairly predictable – if he raises you on the end, you can throw away just about anything but the nuts. Runner Typically said “runner-runner” to describe a hand which was made only by catching the correct cards on both the turn and the river – “He made a runner-runner flush to beat my trips.” See also “Backdoor.” Scare Card A card which may well turn the best hand into trash. If you have Tc-8c and the flop comes Qd- Jd-9s, you almost assuredly have the best hand. However, a turn card of Td would be very scary because it would almost guarantee that you are now beaten. Second Pair A pair with the second highest card on the flop. If you have As-Ts, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped second pair. Sell As in “sell a hand”. In a spread limit game, this means to bet less than the maximum when you have a very strong hand, hoping players will call whereas they would not have called a maximum bet. Semi-bluff A powerful concept first discussed by David Sklansky. It is a bet or raise that you hope will not be called, but you have some outs if it is. A semi-bluff may be correct when betting for value is not correct, a pure bluff is not correct, but the combination of the two may be a positive expectation play. Set Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your hand, and there is one on the board. Short Stack A number of chips that is not very many compared to the other players at the table. If you have $10 in front of you, and everybody else at the table has over $100, you are playing on a short stack. Showdown The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand – i.e. after the fourth round of betting is completed. Of course, if a final bet or raise is not called, there is no showdown. Side Pot A pot created in which a player has no interest because he has run out of chips. Example: Al bets $6, Beth calls the $6, and Carl calls, but he has only $2 left. An $8 side pot is created that either Al or Beth can win, but not Carl. Furthermore, any more bets that Al and Beth make go into that side pot. Carl, however, can still win all the money in the original or “center” pot. Slow Play To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the pot. Split Pot A pot which is shared by two or more players because they have equivalent hands. Split Two Pair A two pair hand in which one of each of your cards’ ranks appears on the board as well. Example: you have T9, the flop is T-9-5, you have a split two pair. This is in comparison to two pair where there is a pair on the board. Example: you have T9, the flop is 9-5-5. Spread Limit A betting structure in which a player may bet any amount in a range on every betting round. A typical spread limit structure is $2-$6, where a player may bet as little as $2 or as much as $6 on every betting round. Straddle An optional extra blind bet, typically made by the player one to the left of the big blind, equal to twice the big blind. This is effectively a raise, and forces any player who wants to play to pay two bets. Furthermore, the straddler acts last before the flop, and may “re-raise.” String Bet A bet (more typically a raise) in which a player doesn’t get all the chips required for the raise into the pot in one motion. Unless he verbally declared the raise, he can be forced to withdraw it and just call. This prevents the unethical play of putting out enough chips to call, seeing what effect that had, and then possibly raising. Structured Used to apply to a certain betting structure in “flop” games such as hold’em. The typical definition of a structured game is a fixed amount for bets and raises before the flop and on the flop, and then twice that amount on the turn and river. Example: a $2-$4 structured hold’em game – bets and raises of $2 before the flop and on the flop; $4 bets and raises on the turn and river. Suited A hold’em starting hand in which the two cards are the same suit. Example: “I had to play J-3 – it was suited.” Table Stakes A rule in a poker game meaning that a player may not go into his pocket for money during a hand. He may only invest the amount of money in front of him into the current pot. If he runs out of chips during the hand, a side pot is created in which he has no interest. All casino poker is played table stakes. The definition sometimes also includes the rule that a player may not remove chips from the table during a game. While this rule might not be referred to as “table stakes”, it is enforced almost universally in public poker games. Tell A clue or hint that a player unknowingly gives about the strength of his hand, his next action, etc. May originally be from “telegraph” or the obvious use that he “tells” you what he’s going to do before he does it. Tilt To play wildly or recklessly. A player is said to be “on tilt” if he is not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc. Time (1) A request by a player to suspend play while he decides what he’s going to do. Simply, “Time please!” If a player doesn’t request time and there is a substantial amount of action behind him, the dealer may rule that the player has folded. (2) An amount of money collected either on the button or every half hour by the cardroom. This is another way for the house to make its money (see “rake”). Toke A small amount of money (typically $.50 or $1.00) given to the dealer by the winner of a pot. Quite often, tokes represent the great majority of a dealer’s income. Top Pair A pair with the highest card on the flop. If you have As-Qs, and the flop comes Qd-Th-6c, you have flopped top pair. Trips Three of a kind Turn The fourth community card. Put out face up, by itself. Also known as “fourth street.” Under the gun The position of the player who acts first on a betting round. For instance, if you are one to the left of the big blind, you are under the gun before the flop Underdog A person or hand who is not mathematically favored to win a pot. For instance, if you flop four cards to your flush, you are not quite a 2:1 underdog to make your flush by the river (that is, you will make your flush about one in three times). See also “dog.” Value As in “bet for value.” This means that you would actually like your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff). Generally it’s because you have the best hand. However, it can also be a draw which, given enough callers, has a positive expectation. Variance A measure of the up and down swings your bankroll goes through. Variance is not necessarily a measure of how well you play. However, the higher your variance, the wider swings you’ll see in your bankroll. PokereLife.com Poker pros are commonly described as tight and aggressive: “These poker pros do not play many hands, but when they do play them, they play them like they have the nuts.” That’s a nice general description, but it doesn’t say much. And it’s not even totally right about no limit games, as a solid loose, aggressive player is a person to be feared. Thus, when I think people say a player is tight and aggressive and therefore good, I really think they mean that the player has mastered four critical elements of poker. #1. Math skills Good poker players know the general percentages. They know that you have about 1 in 8 chance of hitting a set when holding a pocket pair, and that you have about a 1 in 3 chance of completing a flush draw at the flop. They know the importance of ‘outs.’ Outs are simply the number of cards that will improve your poker hand. Count your outs, multiply them by two, and add two, and that’s roughly the percentage shot you have at hitting. They can figure out the ‘pot odds’. Knowing outs is meaningless unless it’s translated into rational, calculated betting. Knowing you have a 20% chance of hitting, what do you do then? Well, simply once you figure out your chance of hitting/winning, you divide the size of the pot at the river (i.e. the current pot plus the amount of money that you think will be added through future bets) by the amount you have to put in. If you have a 20% chance of hitting and the bet to you is 50, if the pot at the river will be greater than 250, call. If not, fold. Math skills are the most basic knowledge. The purpose of this site is not to go over pot odds, implied odds, etc. That’s day one reading. Anyone who doesn’t understand these concepts should not play in a game until they do. #2. Discipline Good poker players demand an advantage. What separates a winning poker player from a fish is that a fish does not expect to win, while a poker player does. A fish is happy playing craps, roulette, the slots; he just hopes to get lucky. A poker player does not hope to get lucky; he just hopes others don’t get lucky. Good poker players understand that a different game requires a different discipline. A disciplined no limit player can be a foolish limit player and vice versa. A disciplined limit player is always very tight preflop. He or she will not play too many hands, only the ones that have a very good chance at winning. However, a disciplined no limit player is VERY different. This player is not so concerned with paying too many blinds; instead, he or she does not want to get trapped. The main difference between a disciplined limit and no limit player is that the limit player avoids piddling away his stack bit by bit while a disciplined no limit player avoids losing his whole stack in one hand. Hence, a disciplined no limit player can play a lot of hands. Preflop, he or she can be as loose as ‘that’ girl in high school. However, a good no limit player knows when to toss hands that will get him or her in trouble. A disciplined player knows when to play and when to quit. He recognizes when he is on tilt and is aware when a game is too juicy to just quit while ahead. A disciplined player knows that he is not perfect. When a disciplined poker player makes a mistake, he learns. He does not blame others. He does not cry. He learns from the mistake and moves on. #3. Psychological Skills A good poker player is not a self-centered player. He may be the biggest SOB you know. He may not talk about, care about anyone but himself and may enjoy stealing food from the poor. However, when a poker pro walks into a poker room, he always empathizes with his opponents. He tries to think what they think and understand the decisions they make and why they make them. The poker pro always tries to have an answer to these questions: a- what does my foe have b- what does my foe think I have c- what does my foe think I think he has Knowing the answer to these questions is the first step, manipulating the answers is the second and more important step. If you have a pair of kings and your foe has a pair of aces, and you both know what each other have and both know that you each know what the other has, why play a game of poker? A poker pro manipulates the latter two answers by slowplaying, fastplaying, and bluffing in order to throw his opponent off. Good poker players know that psychology is much, much, much more important in a no limit game than in a limit one. Limit games often turn into math battles, while no limit games carry a strong psychology component. #4. A Clear Understanding of Risk-vs-Reward Pot odds and demanding an advantage fall into this category. Poker players are willing to take a long shot risk if the reward is high enough, but only if the expected return is higher than the risk. More importantly, they understand the risk-vs-reward nature of the game outside of the actual poker room. They know how much bank they need to play, and how much money they need in reserve to cover other expenses in life. Good poker players are fundamentally slightly risk-averse. In economics, a person is defined as risk-neutral, risk-averse, or risk-loving, depending on how that person rewards the next dollar they gain or lose. Risk loving poker players are perfectly happy risking their entire bankroll on an even odds bet, a risk-neutral poker player is indifferent towards it, and a very risk-averse poker player would never risk his whole bankroll. Thus, a good poker player is slightly risk averse because he demands a big enough advantage to not be considered ‘risk-neutral,’ but he tends to value every dollar in his bankroll equally. If you cannot afford to lose your entire bankroll, you should not be playing with that much money. Starting Hands The first thing you must understand when you play Texas Holdem is which hands are good and which are bad. Though it depends on the number of people in the game and the type, here is a general guide to use when you are just starting out but want to be a winning player at the lower limits. I suggest starting out at a fixed limit of $1-2 or lower. Hands to Raise with: These are ‘premium hands’ that you want to raise the pot on the preflop: AA, KK, QQ, AK, JJ, AQ, 1010 Hands to call with: You want to see the flop with these hands and then decide. Do not call three bets with these hands, call only one or two. AJ, KQ, QJ, J10, 109 (only if of same suit),99, 88, 77, Ax (same suit) Pot Odds Once you hit the flop, you should use pot odds to decide your next action. When you hit the flop, either you will be winning or hopefully winning (with a made hand) or you want cards to improve your hand (you are drawing). If you have a made hand, you should bet and raise. You want to win the pot now because more cards can only help your opposition. An example of a made hand is if you hold AK and the board is KJ4. If you do not have a made hand, you are drawing. You must use ‘pot odds’ to determine if you should call or fold. First, you must count the number of outs you have. An out is a card that will make your hand the best hand. For example, if your hand is KJ, and the board is Q 10 7, then your outs are 4 Aces and 4 9’s, or 8 outs total. To calculate your percentage of hitting an out, you take the # of outs X 2 + 2. Once you figure out this number, you multiply it by the pot to see what the maximum bet is that you can call. For example, if you have 6 outs (6 cards will help you), you have about a 14% chance of hitting. If the pot is 100 and you must call 10, you should call because you can call up to $14 (.14 X 100) but the cost is only $10. However, if the bet to you was $20, you should fold because that would require a 20% chance of hitting. Deception Bluffing and Slowplaying are two deceptive techniques you should employ. Bluffing
Contrary to popular belief, bluffing is almost useless in a low limit game (anything less than $2-4). Rarely will people not call to a showdown, so there is no point in scaring people out of the pot. I suggest waiting to bluff until you play at a higher limit. When you play at a higher limit, it’s best to bluff when you ‘represent’ something and there are only one or two opponents in the pot. For example, betting at the flop with a high card on the board ‘represents’ a pair, raising when a flush is possible ‘represents’ the flush.
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