Texas holdem poker online
Texas holdem is played where every player at the table is dealt two cards faced down. A round of betting occurs which leads to the flop. The flop can be and is read differently by different poker players. Usually an average poker player see's a flop and if they have a high pair they will bet or call someone elses bet. This is good so far.
Then comes the turn. The turn is a major factor in deciding if you will have the winning hand or not. If the card is higher than your pair, then you need to watch out as someone who was calling to see the following cards (a fish) could have caught a pair.
The final card is the river, after there river there is a round of betting. After this final round of betting each player reviels their cards to the opposing player and who ever has the better hand takes the pot.
Texas Holdem is quite an easy game, but can be very stressful, especially online when you cant seem to get a decent hand no matter how many times you view a flop.
One thing you need to avoid in Texas Holdem is other players slow playing good hands and convincing you that you have the better hand, then they flip over there good hand and rake the pot.
Labels: texas holdem poker online
sit n go poker
The Sit N Go's I play are NL Holdem 6 table, normal speed(non-Turbo), 1000 chips blinds start at 5/10 and move up every 7 minutes or close to that.
I abuse the fact that blinds are ridiculously low for the first 14 minutes of the game so on every time it's my turn, if someone hasn't risen(in which case I fold when my cards are bad), regardless of my hand I raise 10. Preflop raise, flop, turn and, river. Every single chance I get I throw away 10 chips chasing nothing, bluffing people out, etc
Now why do this you ask?
Weeeelll..
A) When you do get mediocre to good cards, betting every time makes it impossible to read and you can usually make up the chips your giving away on these lucky catches.
B) Regardless that it's a ridiculously low bet and they see you repeatedly doing it, tight people will fold a lot when they don't have anything.
But most importantly....
C) You have successfully convinced all the other players you are LOOSE aggresive.
Now, blinds are 30/60, start playing normal tight aggresive with the same betting patterns you have been using all along(minimum to X2 the minimum the second it gets to my turn), and what will happen is even if your opponent sees a flop like A83(you got the aces, of course), when he sees you betting like a "moron" he will be compelled beyond his own power to call you. Once you get someone "hooked", raise as you normally would when you have the nuts...
So when blinds are super low I pretend to be loose aggresive
So when blinds are high, I switch to tight aggresive which completely changes how people perceive and respond to me.
Thus easily giving me the oppertunity to win the tournament
re raising in poker
The best players in the world usually will not re-raise a bet before the flop. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t situations where it’s appropriate to do that.
It’s OK, for example, to re-raise when you’re short-stacked. This is the most obvious situation for a pre-flop re-raise. In this case, you’ll likely be re-raising for all of your chips when you do. If your opponent folds, you’ll probably significantly increase your stack size, and that’s not a bad result.
A re-raise in this situation is effective because it limits the field. With any luck, you’ll get to play the hand heads-up; that will increase your odds of tournament survival. Remember, even with a hand as strong as pocket queens, you should prefer to have just one opponent to beat.
You can also re-raise when you’re out of position with a strong hand. In No Limit Hold’em, position equals power. One sure way to neutralize an opponent’s positional advantage is by re-raising before the flop.
For example, say a player from late position raises when you hold pocket jacks in the small blind. A re-raise here is often better than a call. That’s because pocket jacks are tough to play after the flop and even more difficult to play if you have to act first. By making an appropriately large pre-flop re-raise, the hand becomes easier to play since you’ll likely be committed to the pot regardless of the flop.
Now, if the flop comes A-K-10, you’d obviously have to consider laying down the jacks. If the flop came Q-6-2, however, you’d want to continue to bet after the flop even though there’s an overcard on the board.
It’s also a good idea to re-raise against bad players who tend to overplay hands like J-J, A-Q, or even A-K. While you should occasionally slowplay big pairs like pocket aces or kings in deep-stack tournaments, it’s simply unnecessary and not recommended when playing against bad players. Go ahead and reraise your big pocket pairs against these players. A weak player who raises with A-K will probably respond to your reraise by shoving all of his chips in before the flop — with the worse hand.
You can also re-raise pre-flop when you have position and want to define an opponent’s hand, particularly if there’s an aggressive player at the table.
Say you’re sitting on the button with a not-so-strong K-J and an aggressive player raises. Reraising pre-flop in this situation will help you take control of the hand and will reveal information about the strength of your opponent’s hand.
If he folds, he was trying to steal. If he re-raises, he’s probably got you dominated. If he calls, assume he’s got a relatively strong hand, something like pocket eights or A-Q.
Finally, consider re-raising before the flop if you have a solid table image. At some point, your opponents will see that you rarely re-raise before the flop. That observation provides the perfect opportunity to bluff by re-raising with a trash hand. Even a hand as weak as 7-2 offsuit can be a winner if you make a pre-flop re-raise. But you’ve got to have a rock-solid poker image to make this play work.
Important: Don’t overuse this play. When you do, be prepared to abort mission if you get any resistance at all. And only try this play if it won’t put a large percentage of your chips at risk.
Labels: re raising
pocket kings
When youve been dealt Pocket Kings and an Ace comes out Don't automatically assume you're beat once an Ace flops. If you raised enough, the only other people in the hand with you should be those holding Aces or other pockets themselves, along with AKs. However, you'll get a lot of people to call you with hands like QJs. Most people will dump their baby aces.
I'd still bet out if an Ace hits - think about what your opponent might be thinking. You raised pre-flop, now you're betting like the Ace isn't scary at all - do you have a set? If you get called, I'd slow down a little. You may very well be beat. If it's bet to you, raise - see if your opponent really does have an Ace, and if so, how comfortable are they with it?
When the Ace hits on the river, I might check just to be on the safe side. If it's bet to me though, I'd probably call, depending on the amount of money in the pot and the size of the bet. It can go both ways when playing with Pocket Kings.
If you ever recieve pocket Kings however, Make sure to raise enough pre-flop that those fish with A-7 and other high-low combinations will fold those cards thus making your odds to win higher.
The kicker card is also a major factor in this hand, if your opponent is holding an Ace-7 and you bet alot after the flop, this could scare them out as they think your secondary card is better than theres.
Its a difficult position to be in, but the best way to avoid it is to just raise a decent amount pre-flop.
Labels: pocket kings poker
playing a big hand
You’ve done it, I’ve done it, and even the biggest professional poker players have done it. Today you will learn that generally it’s wrong. Fast play is the general rule, especially in tournaments, where you don’t have time to build your stack, and you must take advantage of the situation when you finally have a hand.
I will replay a hand from the early stages of an online poker tournament where I used a fast play successfully against an opponent, thanks in part to a specific read I had picked up on him.
It was in the early stages of one of the guaranteed prize pool tournaments at Bodog Poker. The large guaranteed poker tournaments at Bodog have a great structure, with double stacks and slow increases in blinds, allowing for a lot of post-flop play (and giving an advantage to the better players).
Earlier in the tournament, I watched as my opponent made a tricky check-raise after flopping a set. He had called from the blinds with (I learned later) a middle pair against a preflop raiser who held AK. The flop was A7x (x always denotes any card that is not relevant to the play of the hand). The villain checked on the flop, the preflop raiser bet, the villain made a big check-raise, and the aggressor called. The turn brought the king, and the villain (first to act) checked. The pot at the time was large enough that a pot-sized bet was essentially all-in, so the late position player pushed all his chips in. The villain had an easy call holding 77, and won a big pot.
A round or two later, I found myself in middle position with pocket aces and the villain in the big blind. It was folded to me, and I raised to 60 (blinds were 10/20). It folded to the big blind, who called. Right then I begin to consider possible hands for my opponent. A middle pair was certainly a possibility. A high pair would likely have re-raised. A weak broadway hand (any two cards ten or higher) might call to see a flop. He might even have a low suited connector, and a low pair is very possible here.
The flop came A94 rainbow (three different suits). This is a beautiful flop for me, with no straight draws or flush draws to possibly ruin my hand. I’m extremely likely to win the hand, so my biggest consideration is how to get paid off.
I had been fairly active in the first fifty hands of the tournament, so there was no reason for my opponent to put excessive weight on the possibility I held pocket aces here. I had raised preflop, usually made continuation bets after the flop, and had won and lost a couple of pots. My stack was slightly above the starting amount.
On the flop, he checked to me, I bet a standard 100 (into a pot of 130), and he check-raised to 450. This was a similar size compared to his previous check-raise. I thought for a few seconds before acting.
What does he have here? A big ace like AK or AQ is unlikely, because three of the four aces are accounted for. A big pair like kings, queens, jacks, or tens might make this play to see where he’s at or bluff me out of the pot if I don’t have an ace. I discount this somewhat, as I would have expected a reraise preflop with one of those hands. If he flopped middle pair with J9, T9, or 98, the play was at least reasonable.
Now my dilemma: if I just call his check-raise, any of those hands is just going to shut down and fold if I bet the turn or river. I do have one other possibility: a big reraise! He had played a flopped set exactly like this earlier in the tournament. If I’m lucky enough to find him holding pocket nines or fours, I can get paid off big here. Although unlikely, it is my only real chance to gain any more chips. He might also hold the unlikely AK or AQ and pay me off.
The pot was 680, and I had about 3500 left in my stack. Although it was a huge overbet, I pushed all-in. He instantly called with 99, and I had won a huge pot.
Most of the time, a play like this will work, and the alternative (he folds) doesn’t disappoint me too much, because if I call his check-raise, he’s probably done with the hand with anything less than a pair of aces. The lesson here is that tricky, trappy slow plays have their place in tournament poker, but they are overused in general. When you have a big hand, don’t be afraid to play it fast.
Labels: big hand
NL holdem strategy
I play to see the flop as cheaply as possible. Depending on my position I will call/raise with even horrible cards only to check/fold straight away on the flop. If everyone checks don't be afraid to show 4h + 6d which was nowhere even near winning the hand. This will cause players at the table to not be afraid to call you the next time around you raise. What you want is people not to be afraid of you.
If you are gonna use the above method, don't bluff, because if it works, you will be called.
Now whenever I have a decent hand I still stick to seeing the flop cheaply. You don't wanna give away that you have a decent hand by raising preflop and having everyone fold. This can be risky as people can hit something on the flop, but hey, you can't cover all the angles in poker.
Once the flop is dealt and you feel you have something, this is where you have to make it pay .. 5xBlind minimum, 10xBlind and possible 20XBlind if the hand is quiet decent. If you are gonna win the pot it must be big, if there are limpers who are gonna try to catch something on the turn or river, you have to make it tough for them, make it worth your while ... bad beats will happen but the rest of the time you will be collecting. You really need to be aggressive here, and always remember that anyone can just go all-in, be prepared for this.
Don't play too much out of your depth, whe playing on a No-Limit table you have to be able to handle a loss of the entire pot in a few hands. Don't sit down with 10% or higher of your bankroll this will cause you to be too cautious and will make you an easy pushover.
Labels: holdem strategy
Low pocket pair
Playing a Pocket pair is very common but can be very unrewarding. I have had alot of experience playing poker and I can honestly say that I get beat very often with low to mid pocket pairs.
I have heard that it is very common to go all-in with a hand such as 9-9, or j-j, however I disagree and think that these hands need to either be folded or called to the flop to see if you can hit three of a kind.
Pocket Jacks is supposedly the 4th best starting hand in poker behind Aces, Kings, and Queens, but it being beat as often as it is, is kind of sad. Pocket pairs are good, dont take me wrong but if you over play them they can come back to haunt you and this will not be good.
The biggest mistake new players in poker make is raising with a low pocket pair and going all in with practically nothing. Usually you'll get called by either a higher pocket pair or something like A-K or A-Q and you dont have the better odds or winning that hand.
My advice to all the poker players out there is to just hope for three of a kind,dont raise them with 9 players at a table in early positon,you can raise them if you have the dealer position or the small blind and everybody folded.If you are just 5 or less at one table than you you can raise them and see if you catch a set or if your opponent missed the flop.
Labels: low pocket pair
Poker hand rankings
Poker hands are won based on the ranking of your hand. Such as your three of a kind would beat your opponents two pair because three of a kind is worth more.
The
ranking of poker hands:
Royal Flush: A royal flush is when all your cards are the same suit and you have a straight from 10 to Ace.
Straight Flush: A straight flush is when all your cards are the same suit and you have any straight. Such as 2 to 6.
4 of a kind: four of a kind is pretty self-explanitory, It is when you have four of the same cards in your hand. Such as K-K-K-K.
Full House: A full house is when you have 3 of a kind and 2 of a kind in the same hand. Such as: A-A-K-K-K. That would be an example of a full house K's over Ace's because the majority of the cards in your hand are kings.
Straight: A straight is when you have 5 cards in a row. Such as A-2-3-4-5. That would be a straight because there are 5 cards and all of them are in numerical order.
3 of a kind: 3 of a kind is alot like 4 of a kind except for the fact that you only need 3 of one card rather than four. Such as A-A-A. This is an example of three of a kind because you have three of the same suit.
2 pair: two pair is when you have multiple pairs of cards. Such as A-A-K-K. This is two pair because you have a pair of kings and a pair of aces, thus equaling two pair.
pair: A pair is alot like 2 pair, except its only one pair. Example A-A. This would be a pair of aces because you have two aces.
Try some
blackjack 21Labels: poker hand rankings
Depositing at casinos
Playing Poker from the United as many of you may be aware of is no longer allowed. However some sites still accept United States players and allow you to deposit via credit card. I have found the best way to do this without the deposit being on your credit statement.
pre-paid gift credit card casino deposits
This is simply to go to walgreens/walmart and purchase a visa pre-paid gift card. They come in amounts of 30,50,100. Most sites make you deposit 50$ as a minimum so that would be a good amount to choose. These pre-paid visa credit cards work perfect for depositing online, and can be used on most sites from the United States.
The only downside of these is that you do pay taxes, so when you purchase a 50$ prepaid, your actually paying around 54$, which isnt bad at all.
If your not worried about your credit card bill/statement than feel free to use your card online, this just makes me nervous as I dont know who im giving my card number to, mostly because most of the sites are not hosted in the United States.
Visa Pre-paid credit cards are a great solution for someone looking to play online poker.
Labels: credit card casino
poker strategies
Many new Players make to many mistakes when they start playing poker online. Here are a few of the worst mistakes ive seen poker players make:
Playing too many hands
Most beginners play way too many starting hands, in fact top players typically play between 20-30% of their starting hands. Concentrate on higher value starting hands and help remove the luck element of the game.
Know when to hold’em, and know when to fold’em
Learn how to fold a hand, and don’t be a calling machine. Many beginners keep betting regardless of the board or what their opponent’s actions are suggesting. Top players frequently say it’s the hands you can lay down that are often the key to profitable play.
Choose less skillful opponents
If you want to win money. Sounds fairly obvious, but you should play at betting limits where you can beat the majority of players. Move down in limits if you are having difficulties winning money. In poker, always leave your ego at the door.
Watch your opponents habits
Especially when you aren’t in a hand. The best time to study is when you aren’t emotionally invested in the hand, and you can make more prudent observations. Watch how opponents bet, and how much they bet, in what position are they betting. Learning how your opponents play is key.
Betting to gain knowledge
Betting is not always because you have the best hand. Top players use various betting techniques to try to gain information. For example, a defensive bet is one that you can use early on to avoid calling a bigger future bet. A re-raise may be used to probe the credibility of your opponent’s hand.
Learn to put your opponents on a hand
Once you have mastered Tips #4 &5, it is time to put your knowledge to work. Try putting yourself in your opponents shoes, and learn to put them on a hand. Ask questions like “Why did he re-raise me that amount?”, and “Why did he only call in the previous betting round?”, “Maybe because he only called me, he has a kicker problem?”
Learn how to bluff and semi-bluff
At the right times against the right players, and at the right frequency. Bluffing is often a misunderstood concept, and much to many beginner’s dismay most pros use bluffs quite sparingly. A bluff can be very effective when used rarely, and where there is a seemingly low risk of being called by your opponent.
Changing Gears
Unpredictability can be good. Most pros can figure out a really loose player by waiting for the nuts and being patient. However, an even easier opponent is a tight player or “rock”, who plays only the Group 1 type hands. You need to change your game up, and let them see that you can run bluffs, and can play some lower value starting hands. These changes should be subtle and shouldn’t dramatically affect the flop rate we mentioned in Tip #1
Understand player position
Not only is it important to play strong hands, it is even more important in what position you play them. For example, the ideal position is the Button (the Dealer), as you are last to act, and have the advantage of watching all of the betting action before you need to make a decision. eg. If the action before you consists of a bet, a raise, and a re-raise, and you hold a pair of Tens, you might think that folding is the right decision.
Read books and take notes
Players can always learn more if they want to be a better poker player. Keep notes on what works and doesn’t work for you, and eventually you will come up with a style of play that works uniquely for you and improves your game. Please see our list of Top Poker Books if you want to see some good selections.
Labels: poker strategies
