02.08.07
Posted in Poker Strategy at 5:34 pm by Valentino Viccetzar
At the moment, online poker play and betting strategies are in their infancy. Betting often follows very basic patterns and online play is no where near as sophisticated as it might be simply because a lot of players are not experienced or seasoned at the table.
Most of the games played online leave a lot to be desired in terms of sophistication. That said, it’s a lot easier, at least in theory, to test and practice new betting and play strategies when you’re playing online so try a few of the suggested strategies below if you’re looking to improve your game.
How you bet and play depends on the type of poker you’re playing (Texas Hold’em, Draw Poker, Stud Poker, etc). But regardless of the game, the first and most important strategic decisions is whether or not to play with the cards you are dealt at the beginning of the round. When you’re playing classic poker, say, draw poker with five cards in a draw, your odds of having a playable hand are easier to assess, compared to the two cards you have in Texas Hold’em. It’s simply a case of probability. If you have three kings, an ace, and a queen, you know that odds of your opponents having similar high cards are reduced by sizeable factors. Only one of your opponents can have a king, for example.
One of the most effective strategies at the beginning of the round is to analyze the value of your cards based upon their intrinsic value – their value in the deck – and the additional value based on your position at the table. Reviewing the cards themselves is easy enough, but you need to take into account your position at the table with an understanding of what the different position do to the value of your cards and to the value of your opponents’ cards.
In poker, there are four table positions: the dealer position, the early position, the middle position, and the end position. When someone says, “I’ve got position on you”, they’re sitting to your left and will always make their play after you’ve made yours.
As a general rule, the closer you are to the end position, the better for you’re bet. In end position, you have the luxury of reviewing the bets of your opponents and, with a keen eye for what’s going on, you can get a good picture of what’s going on before you bet. The dealer or players in the beginning and middle positions don’t get nearly so good an understanding of the cards as you do before they bet each round.
However, the experienced player will learn how to make the most of their position regardless of what it is. After all, you can’t always be in the end position during a long game.
Regardless of your position, you should raise in Texas Hold’em with AA-QQ, AKs, JJ, TT, AK, and AQs. Applying this as a standard, when you have sets or values in Draw Poker or Stud Poker, you should raise or reraise if there has already been a raise by one of your opponent. If no one raises the pot and you’re in the end position, in Texas Hold’em you can call with pair values as low as 88 or 99; make the play with similar card values, adjusting for the type of poker you’re playing.
Remember that the objective is to establish the odds of your opponents having better cards than you. Being alert to your opponents’ actions is an important step to assessing what your own should be.
Regarding specific card combinations and your response – whether to raise, reraise, call, or fold – there’s plenty of schools of thought about how you should bet according to your position. Most advocate choosing a method of bidding, a set of rules to follow religiously. In reality though, poker is a game played by human beings. Yes, your opponents are human and with that in mind, you should consider basic psychology as a component for your betting strategies.
You should read up on all types of betting strategies if you’re an avid player and you want to win. You should read about all the different combinations and how different schools suggest you play them because this is yet another way of increasing your ability to assess whether your hand is the strongest out there.
An understanding of your opponents’ bets is going to boost the odds of you being right about the value of your own hand. If you happen to play bridge, you’ll know the strategy of placing the points and then the cards based on the bidding and the play. If you employ a similar card-placing technique at poker, you’ll be well on your way to making your bets near to infallible.
Tags: Online Poker, Poker Gameplay, Poker Strategy
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02.07.07
Posted in Poker Strategy at 5:17 pm by Valentino Viccetzar
If you want to get a lot of practice playing poker, sit and go poker is a great, fast-paced, and fun way to play. In many ways, sit and go poker is like playing a big multi-table tournament without spending hours.
Good strategies for sit and go poker are fairly similar to strategies for playing regular games of poker. On the other hand, sit and go tournaments are structured in particular ways. The structure of most sit and go tournaments is this: there is a one-table freeze out and the top two or three places pay out. Most games start off with at least nine or ten players at a table.
As with every version of poker, every game and every tournament, each individual player needs to develop their own strategies. However, there are a number of basic strategies that have proven successful over a long period.
Play tight in the first few rounds: In the early stages of sit and go games it makes a lot of sense to play tight. Most importantly, you should consider that most of your opponents at the beginning of the game will play with a considerable degree of recklessness. Beat them out. Play conservatively; let the loose players bleed themselves out of the game. Reserve your energy; be cautious. Observe your opponents, those who look likely to stay in the game.
In the early rounds, most guides suggest watching the ratio of risks to rewards. The blinds are low in most sit and go tournaments so there is little to gain by bluffing and focusing on snagging the pot with a weak hand. Another thing to consider: in the early rounds, the pot itself isn’t very big anyway.
Take into consideration things like your table position and the habits of your opponents. Keep in mind whether you’re facing a loose or tight player; an aggressive or a conservative player. In an early table position, in the first few rounds, you shouldn’t play with a hand weaker than ace queen suited or a pair of queens because the risk isn’t worth taking. In later positions, you can afford to be a little more adventurous but still, the best strategy is not to get carried away.
When your table has lost a few players, as the binds are rising, then it is time to play more aggressively. Most seasoned players will look to take control of the game when there are two or three players left at the table; it’s generally best to make a move.
Middle Round Strategies As the blinds begin to increase, as the tournament progresses, it comes time to open up the play and become more aggressive.
When you’re ready to take over the game, play aggressively in the later rounds, continuation betting is one of the most popular options. A continuation bet is one placed after the flop, in succession to a raise. Most of your opponents will check your raise; you should bet anywhere between half of the pot and the whole pot.
The objective in the middle rounds is less about simply staying in the game – although that’s still important. But you need to make some progress; build up a stack so you can keep paying the blinds.
The best tactical advice is to look for tight players to go up against. You need to look for tight players from whom you can steal the blind. It’s quite common for everyone to enter the pot as the game tightens up and you should consider raising if you have a decent hand, such as two face cards, an ace, or a pocket pair. As you’re playing against tighter players in the second round, beware of players who respond aggressively to your raise. Those who call and particularly those who reraise are likely to have a strong hand. Most experienced players will throw in their hand at this. The general advice is to fold in response to a raise or a reraise unless you’re holding a very strong hand. Make the most of late positions at the table to play aggressively.
Final Rounds – Keeping It Cool When you’re down to head-up play, in the last rounds of the tournament, be prepared to think and act fast. That’s the nature of this particular version of the game towards the end. There shouldn’t be a pot at the end of the game that you’re not involved in. Not unless you want to fall out of the game. Your play needs to be open and aggressive. Don’t be cautious with a good hand. Challenge your opponent to go all in if you can.
Remember that sit and goes are designed to be a lot of fun and good practice. Try not to take things too seriously because second place is just as good as first, and so on. You’ll win some money and, most of all, improve your game so you can win some money in the future.
Tags: Poker Strategy, Sit and Go
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02.06.07
Posted in Poker Providers at 7:06 pm by Valentino Viccetzar
In the last couple of years, poker has emerged as one of the most popular forms of game play online. A popular card game in its own right and an extremely popular way to gamble, everyone from first-timers to seasoned experts can play the game from the comfort of their own home.
The only problem online players have: which poker provider should they use? There’s no straight answer to that question. Many of the online providers – the vast majority of them – are highly reputable and recommended by their customers. The question you should really ask yourself: what features am I looking for?
Online poker providers come in all shapes and sizes. Some providers only offer the chance to place poker; some are even more specific about the type of poker you can play and the rules to which you must adhere. Other providers are jack-o-trade for online casino games. In addition to various kinds of poker, you can sign up with some providers to play table games like blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and sic bo. Some also offer slots and video slots.
Most poker sites require you to download some software in order to play. The size of the download might factor into your decision about which provider to use. You might also have to think about sign up processes and fees. For the most part, you have to sign up, providing personal details. If you’re a nut for internet security, checking the privacy policies might also be an important aspect of your decision making process.
If you decide to gamble with a bank role online, then you also need to consider options for funding your online account and the withdrawal process. Whenever you share your bank information online, it’s important to make sure there’s sufficient security to protect your assets.
You may like to read customer reviews or FAQs on the individual poker sites, as it’s a great way to find out what problems people encounter and how those problems are solved.
Another consideration is, whether you want to use money at all. Online gambling, whether it’s poker or sports betting, is subject to increased controversy due to recent legislature designed to enforce the prosecution of illegal gambling activities. Although poker is not directly mentioned or even targeted by the law as an illegal activity, the more cautious may like to cover all their bases by engaging in the only form of play that is definitely 100% legal: poker that doesn’t involve gambling with money but instead offers credits or coupons that aren’t exchanged for cash.
You should also ask around for information on the types of players that frequent particular sites and think about the level of game in which you’d like to participate. The larger poker sites have a reputation for attracting players with little or no poker playing experience, so the stimulation for a seasoned player may be limited. On the other hand, many of the worst players are happy to part with their money to more experienced players. Consider your reasons for playing poker – for fun or for income – another factor in your decision about which site to use.
If you’re totally new to poker, the number of poker sites is going to seem pretty daunting. While most people find it easier to pluck up the courage to play online rather than in real life at a table, it still takes some nerve to get involved in online games, particularly if you have no experience with the game at all. If you are new to the game and you want to make it a hobby, you shouldn’t dive in playing with bad players or exceptional players right off the bat – both will clear your pockets before you have time to acclimatize! Instead, you should find a site that nurtures newbies; perhaps one that offers tutorials and some basic information about strategies and game play. The game may not be as thrilling, but you’ll hone some important skills and get the chance to practice the basics if you play first on a site that’s tailored to meet the needs of a beginner.
The opposite applies if you’re a really seasoned and serious player. You probably don’t want to play with people who don’t take the game seriously or who are completely new to it so you may want to hunt down an site frequented by intermediate to advanced or even expert players.
Where ever you decide to start out, in the end, you may decide to join or play on more than one online poker site if you have the time and money, which allows for the good old benefit of choice.
Tags: Online Poker, Poker Providers
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02.05.07
Posted in Poker Theory at 11:19 pm by Valentino Viccetzar
The Allure of the Casino For most people, even those who shun gambling in their own life, casino’s are somewhat seductive in their dark and seedy allure. Unfortunately, you need to get over any fascination you may have an you need to get your head around a certain understated etiquette before you’re likely to get near to a table.
Before you consider gambling at a casino, playing poker at a casino table, casinos are sophisticated and highly successful enterprises. They don’t get to be successful by giving away money. Your best bet – the best bet for anyone who is new to casino poker – is to learn the basics of casino operations so you can manipulate the experience to your advantage.
Know Thy Enemy Casinos really know their clients. They see you coming a hundred miles away. They know exactly who you are, how much money you make, what you like, what you dislike; whether you’re married, single, or divorced.
Marketing gurus employed by casinos know exactly what makes you tick and they will use that knowledge to extract as much business from you as possible. When you enter a casino, you need to understand that everything, every element, everything you see around you from the carpet to the lights on the ceiling is designed to draw you in and keep you in until you’ve lost your bankroll.
The objective of the casino is to make you and everyone else there comfortable and happy. They want to keep you feeling happy even when you lose everything you came in with.
The House Rules Another point to consider: the house always wins. In poker, you’re at less of a disadvantage than at, say, roulette, but the house is still going to ‘beat’ you no matter what happens.
Wondering why? What if you win a huge stake?
Well, the house charges commissions in most games. They have a mathematical edge, and, in games like roulette, true odds aren’t given out.
Although poker is slightly different, being a skills game, the casino still has many ways to fulfill their first commandment. You should be aware of this and accept it, to a degree. Don’t let the casino’s advantage set you off balance.
Money Matters When you decide to play poker at a casino, you need to familiarize yourself with the chips on the table; learn their respective values to save yourself thinking too much about it later. To make it easy for you, casinos tend to use the same colors schemes. The most common values corresponding to color are:
White: $1
Red: $5
Green: $25
Black: $100
Purple: $500
Burgundy: $1,000
Brown: $5,000
Table Manners When you go to a casino to play poker, standard practice is to sign in at the desk and, generally, indicate to the host what game (“poker”) you’re interested in playing (e.g. “Texas Holdem or Omaha”). Generally, if a table is full, you will be put on a waiting list and called as soon as a place opens.
In casino poker you play for table stakes. You play with the chips that you have on the table and you’re not allowed to go into your pocket for more money in the middle of a hand. If you run out of chips, you should indicate that you’re “all in”. Any additional bets made by others after you come into the game will be put in a side pot. You’re not eligible for this pot even if you have the best hand on the table.
Be aware of some of the most common at-table mistakes. Most common is betting out of turn or making an improper raise. Wait until it’s your turn to play before you make a move. Don’t call, raise, check, or fold – don’t do anything until it’s your turn because you’ll confuse proceedings for everyone else. It’s also bad etiquette to talk about your cards while the hand is still going. No one will appreciate it if you do this. You must not show your cards either, save that for the showdown, at which time you should show one and all!
A couple of bad habits generally put out there by movies featuring poker include splashing the pot and making string bets, neither of which is appropriate in actual casino poker. You shouldn’t toss you chips into the pile when you make a bet. This is splashing the pot. Because it’s important for people to know how much you’ve bet, stack your chips neatly in front of you. And avoid saying things like “I call and raise another 300.” When you want to call, call. When you want to raise, say that you will raise and indicate the amount. Don’t string everything together.
Above all, be polite at the poker table and stay calm. Remember, it’s only a game and the objective is to have fun and let everyone else around you have fun as well.
Tags: Casino Poker, Poker Rules, Poker Table Rules, Poker Theory
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02.04.07
Posted in Chipsets at 9:37 pm by Valentino Viccetzar
Not surprisingly given the immense popularity of the game and its diversity, there are lots of different chips with which you can play poker – in real life and online. This article aims to introduce you to the most common types of chips and will regurgitate the best advice and tips from poker gurus regarding chip selection.
Since gambling was first invented, men have used all sorts of materials as chips or tokens with which to make bets. Every sort of material has also been used in recent times to manufacturer the coin-like chips used to play poker, commonly referred to as gaming chips.
Among the most common materials used nowadays are plastic, clay, composite, and acrylic composite.
A Brief History of Chips A clay chip, what is commonly referred to as a clay chip, is actually a composite with some clay filler mixed into a durable high impact polymer matrix. Modern, so called clay chips are a regular feature in James Bond-type casinos and casino scenes. They are quite expensive and hard to come by because of their popularity. Their standard diameter is 39mm; weight ranges between 8grams and 11.5grams in most casinos.
Most home game poker players use composite metal core chips. They are heavy and, most important, very durable, so they can be used or a long time without the need for particularly care and concern to ensure they hold up. These chips are injection molded from a particulate filled thermoset plastic around an internal metal slug. Almost all metal core chips are manufactured in either Taiwan or China, with Taiwan, generally, producing a better quality due to higher control measures.
The highest quality chip is, for obvious reasons, the casino chip, know as the gold standard. When we say they are the highest quality, this means that they are the best when it comes to security – an important issue in poker and particularly in casinos – and general durability and ‘feel’.
A limited number of bonded companies are US-based. When it comes to their chips, most casinos have a unique and quite secret blend composition that they request in the manufacturing process. This is one of the primary defenses against counterfeiting.
Most modern casino chips are a synthetic polymer acrylic composite with a laminated center. The only avenue available to acquire real casino chips is to buy them from the casino at face value or from a reseller that will usually include a hefty mark-up. Casino chips vary slightly in weight, however most weight in around 10g.
The cheapest type of chip is the plastic chip. These can be purchased almost anywhere and range in quality from the extremely cheap to the slightly pricy. They vary in quality too, from supermarket to quite serious gaming variety. Although they are fine for general play, plastic chips do not offer much in the way of security and are easily damaged. A beginner should purchase plastic chips because it’s economically but if once they start to play a lot, it’s quite important to get a good quality chip and one that allows for some degree of security.
When you want to trade up from plastic chips, you should be sure to request samples from manufacturers so you can figure out what sort of chip meets your needs for quality and security. Manufacturers vary one from the other and it pays meet due diligence.
When you buy chips, be sure to get a carry case as well. The most common varieties are plastic, vinyl, and metal.
Choosing Your Chip Set It’s not just a question of picking the right type of chip, you also need to consider how many chips you want in your set. How many are you going to need to play with?
The general rule of thumb is as follows:
3-4 Players 300 chipset is usually enough
4-6 Players 400-500 chipset will suffice
6-8 Players 500-650 chipset is required
8-10+ Players 1000+ chips depending on numbers
The above ranges are suggested number only. You can’t really have too many chips, but you can have too few. Many chip sellers maintain an open stock of chips so you can purchase more as you need them. Again, you can never have too many but you must be sure you have enough to play with the number of players and the stakes that you prefer, so be aware of that and consult with the manufacturer, perhaps, to get their recommendation for the number of chips you’re going to need.
Tags: Chipset, Chipsets, Poker Chips, Poker Set
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Posted in Poker Tables at 1:33 pm by Valentino Viccetzar
Whether your playing online or in real life there are many different tables and players you’ll encounter. Like most other factors in the game, the nature of the table is something you really need to put some thought to if you want to win.
Online and offline, there are two things you will notice very quickly about the site where you play poker. No matter which way you go, there are lots of players, lots of games, and lots of different levels of expertise and experience.
Poker players who don’t think about the game – particularly new players, but some experienced players who go untrained – make the critical mistake of thinking that options at the poker table are there to accommodate the risks that players are looking for. Of course, since it’s mentioned so early on in this article, because it’s mentioned at all, this thinking is wrong! Say it aloud, the various risks are not offered to accommodate the range of risks players are looking for.
One of the reasons that many experienced but untrained players continuously lose is that they choose to play in a given game based on irrational factors. Poker can be a game of luck, but a real poker player makes their own luck by counting as many of the odds in their favor.
The vast majority of people, when they start playing poker nowadays, are playing online, Texas Hold’em. Most people hear about the game from their friends, or they see it on TV; one of the many televised tournaments. They decide to play with a little bit of money, say $100, to see if they can make a bit of extra cash.
You deposit your little stash and start to scan the tables. Online, this process is a lot easier than offline, but either way, you’re probably looking at the same situations. Should you play in a tournament or ring? Should you play with a limit, pot-limit, or no-limit? How many people do you want to play with and what level should you play at?
Particularly if they’re new to the game, they don’t necessarily know what type of players they’re likely to be up against. Worse still, they’re unlikely to do any research to find about the individual games. Without knowing the type of game you’re going to play, without assessing the type of players you’re up against, you have very little chance of coming out on top.
Most people will head to the table with their $100 and their limited understanding of the game, without making any real effort to improve either. With no knowledge of the strategies or players at the table, most people will proceed to lose their little stash of cash in a couple of hours, without much effort at all.
The table type ultimately has a lot to do with who wins and who loses. Bankroll is important. The key to managing your money is to be disciplined about how you play your money. Regardless of the type of table, you shouldn’t take all of your money in one go. You should go to a table with a big bind of X with at least 50X or fifty times the value of the bind.
Once you have a hand over your money, you need to start watching the competition for playing habits and styles. You need to get a strong grasp of the playing styles in to determine what advantage you have. Ask yourself who bets aggressively? Who bluffs? Who plays hands secretly?
Ideally, you should look at the tables, assess playing styles, and make a determination to avoid tables at which crazy players are clearly seated. Players who often upset the balance of the table by betting on everything, are sometimes referred to as maniacs. Check the average pot size for evidence of their presence.
When it comes to picking a table, avoid those invested by maniacs and tight aggressive players. Ideally, you should be the only tight aggressive player at a table. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket and play high stakes games all the time. You should alternate tables every so often and remember that you aren’t committed to a particular table just because you have sat down there, online especially. Dynamics at the table change so you need to stay on top of it.
As a general rule, you should look at the players, the style of play, and the stakes at the table every couple of rounds. This will help you to stay focused and help you stay on top of the game as much as possible.
By choosing your tables consciously instead of just going for what’s open or making uninformed decisions, you will dramatically increase the stability of your play and reduce the volatility of your results.
Tags: Poker Game, Poker Tables
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02.03.07
Posted in Poker Strategy at 3:56 pm by Valentino Viccetzar
Overview On the one hand, the basics of Omaha poker are quite similar to Texas Holdem. On the other hand, the game is quite different.
Omaha is similar to Texas Holdem in the sense that you play with cards against the board. In Omaha you hold four cards instead of two and there are five community cards. To make a hand, you need to play two holecards with three board cards. The betting strategies are the same as those used in Texas Holdem.
Generally, Omaha is subject to the same rules at Texas Holdem. The only rules that are different apply to the board. In Omaha, you have to use two cards from your hand and three cards from the board. The most common varieties of Omaha poker are high-low splits and 8-or-better.
Starting Hands In Omaha, starting hands are critical to winning. They exist before the flop and they bring a strong edge against the field when they are in place. An important rule for Omaha: avoid weak hands and do so from the beginning; from the start. Playing good starting hands and raising opponents before the flop are the basic winning tactics in loose-game, low to middle limit Omaha.
Omaha hands consist of three of the give community board cards plus two cards from each player’s hand. The ratio is always three of the board and two from your hand to make a winning combination. You can use the same or different card combinations to make high and low hands.
Understanding Omaha Values An important point about Omaha poker: you get a higher percentage of your final hand sooner, receiving four cards for your hand instead of two, as in Holdem. Seven ninths of your hand is known on the flop; when it comes to betting, you also know a lot more and thus can make more informed decisions. Compared to Holdem poker, Omaha has much less to do with random outcomes. It is a game won by interpreting information; Holdem depends upon interpreting uncertainty.
That said, what matters in Omaha poker as much as in any other variation: the probability of winning. In Omaha, the number of cards and the combinations of winning hands are what count. This version of poker is about accuracy, clarity, and, we’ll say it again, about information. You need to look at the various combinations of your hand: what is the best combination of three cards from the board and two from your hand? What is the weakest combination? You also need to look at what cards are not on the table or in your hand and use that information to assess what hands your opponents have. As you can see more cards in Omaha than you can in, say, Holdem or Stud poker, you’re chances of being right about the chances of winning with a particular hand are that much higher.
Why play Omaha poker? Omaha poker is one of the best forms of poker for making money. It’s mathematically simple in the sense that, if you only play good starting hands and you find opponents who play almost every hand, the odds are totally in your favor to win and you can win quite substantial amounts, even with a small bankroll, by simply applying basic principles of probability.
Another reason to play Omaha poker before Holdem is that bad players have very little chance of thriving at this version of poker. Luck plays such a relatively small part in winning and you can make very informed decisions about the game you play.
A few important concepts The River Game: You may hear players refer to Omaha as a river game, which is basically saying that the final card determines the winning hand. This theory emerged because it often seems that only two players per round have viable hands. Weighing this theory as a strong one, many Omaha players have been known to hold off betting until the last card comes down.
In reality, before the flop, you should play hands that have a high expectation; you should manipulate the pot size and you should try to manipulate your opponents. After the flop you should begin to roughly calculate the probabilities and deduce how favorable your chances are to win. Again, you should be working to manipulate the pot if you have a strong hand.
Pot Manipulation: To win at Omaha poker, you need to manipulate the pot to some extent. This means you should make a determination early on whether it’s worth betting snd you should act on your determination.
Cooperation: Greedy players don’t play Omaha poker very well. You should cooperate with your opponents to extract bids from weaker players. Greed will cost you money in Omaha poker.
Tags: Omaha, Poker Basics, Poker Game, Poker Rules, Poker Strategy
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02.02.07
Posted in Poker Theory at 11:57 am by Valentino Viccetzar
Overview
One of the most demanding version of poker, 7-card stud poker involves a lot of cads on the table and demands a very different approach to betting and play. Two of the most important factors in this game are memory and strategy.
In Stud poker, the minimum buy-in is typically about ten times the low limit. Usually, the buy-in for a $2.00 to $4.00 game is $20.00. Playing with the minimum is not recommended for obvious reasons; you should generally buy in with a minimum of $80.00 in the $2.00 to $4.00 games; $320.00 for $8.00 to $16.00 games, and so on. If you play with less than this 40-times recommended value, your chances of loosing are increased. Negative tilts will inevitably expose your under-funding, leaving you nervous and overwrought.
Betting Limits
In Stud games, the betting limits are defining. The low stakes games run online are very common, particularly online and the betting limit typically tells you everything you need to know about the players at the table. In the low stakes games, particularly low-stakes games online, you are going to encounter weak to very weak players. Logically, then, in the higher stakes games, you’re likely to encounter experienced and expert players. They will play with stakes as high as $100.00 to $200.00, but usually between $8.00 and $16.00 or $10.00 to $20.00.
Using the stakes as guidelines, you should determine the nature of the game, the nature of the players, and the demands on your bankroll to play at particular tables.
Play Strategies in Stud Poker
Like Omaha, Stud poker requires considerable skills to generate wins. A winning player will strategize. They will memorize cards and undertake to analyze the cards they are holding, putting them together with the cards on the table and making determinations about the hands of opponents.
In stud poker, three-of-a-kind is the best opening hand and the higher ranked the cards, the better the chances of following through to a win. If your opponents know, or strongly suspect you have a triples or ‘trip’, then they will almost certainly fold so, in the interest of raising the pot, when you have three-of-a-kind you should bet modestly so as not to raise too much suspicion. Encourage your opponents to bet by checking or calling as necessary. When you have a strong hand in Stud poker you should try to keep as many players in as long as possible because the chances are extremely strong that you are going to beat them.
Second to three-of-a-kind, the best starting hand is a high pair of ten or better. If the paired cards are in
Other strong hands are three to a flush and three to a straight.
Three to a flush is sometimes referred to as a drawing hand because you need cards to making it worthwhile. That said, you need to continue to encourage your opponents to make bets. Three cards to a flush is a hand worth raising but you need to calculate, using your experience of your opponents, how much money you can put up without raising suspicion or worse, giving away completely the strength of your hand. The general guidelines: if your door-card is ‘faces or aces’, an ace, king, queen, or jack, then a raise will give away your strength. Otherwise, you will probably escape suspicion.
Holding three to a straight puts you in a similar situation to three to a flush, except that it’s harder to complete the three card straight than the flush. These hands can be somewhat difficult to read so you should raise and reraise cautiously, while still remaining competitive.
Adjusting Your Playing Styles for Stud Poker
In Stud poker, it’s important to play quite aggressively but shrewdly. Choose both your raises and your folds very carefully so you keep your opponents guessing. You should try to force money on to the table so checking is a good policy, sufficiently aggressive and sufficiently passive.
Be conscious of your table position as you would in any other style of poker. You need also to be aware of your opponents. What their play and assess whether they play aggressively or passively; tightly or loosely and let that have some impact on your decision making when you are assessing individual hands.
In Stud poker particularly, don’t bluff strong players, those who win regularly, because they can afford to call your bet and they probably will. If you decide to bluff anyway, make sure that you have some value to your hand because this will help to make your bluff seem more credible, more threatening, particularly to opponents who are watching your actions closely.
Tags: 7 Card Stud, Poker Game, Poker Rules, Poker Theory
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02.01.07
Posted in Poker Terminology at 12:34 pm by Valentino Viccetzar
Where Poker Comes From
The origin of poker is the subject of much debate. All claims, and there are many, have been widely disputed by historians and other experts the world over. That said, among the most credible claims are that poker was invented by the Chinese in around 900AD, possibly deriving from the Chinese equivalent of dominos. Another theory is that Poker originated in Persia as the game ‘as nas’, which involved five players and required a special deck of 25-cards with five suits. To support the Chinese claim there is evidence that, on New Year’s Eve, 969, the Chinese Emperor Mu-Tsung played “domino cards” with his wife. This may have been the earliest version of poker.
Cards have tentatively been dated back to Egypt in the 12th and 13th century and still others claim that the came originated in India as Ganifa, but there is little evidence that is conclusive.
In the United States history, the background of poker is much better known and recorded. It emerged in New Orleans, on and around the steamboats that trawled up and down the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The game then spread in very direction across the country – north, south, east, and west – until it was an established popular pastime.
Popular Poker Terms and Definitions
Ante: a forced bet; each player places an equal amount of money or chips into the pot before the deal begins. In games where the acting dealer changes each turn, it is not uncommon for the players to agree that the dealer provides the ante for each player. This simplifies betting, but causes minor inequities if other players come and go or miss their turn to deal.
Blind or blind bet: a forced bet placed into the pot by one or more players before the deal begins, in a way that simulates bets made during play.
Board: (1) set of community cards in a community card game. (2) The set of face-up cards of a particular player in a stud game. (3) The set of all face-up cards in a stud game.
Bring In: Open a round of betting.
Call: match a bet or a raise.Door Card: In a stud game, a player’s first face-up card. In Hold’em, the door card is the first visible card of the flop.Fold: Referred to sometimes as ‘the fold’; appears mostly as a verb meaning to discard one’s hand and forfeit interest in the pot. Folding may be indicated verbally or by discarding cards face-down.High-low split games are those in which the pot is divided between the player with the best traditional hand, high hand, and the player with the lowest hand. Live Bet: posted by a player under conditions that give the option to raise even if no other player raises first.
Live Cards: In stud poker games, cards that will improve a hand that have not been seen among anyone’s upcards. In games such as Texas hold’em, a player’s hand is said to contain “live” cards if matching either of them on the board would give that player the lead over his opponent. Typically used to describe a hand that is weak, but not dominated.
Maniac: Lose and aggressive player; generally a player who bets constantly and plays many inferior hands. Nut hand: Sometimes referred to as the nuts, is the strongest possible hand in a given situation. The term applies mostly to community card poker games where the individual holding the strongest possible hand, with the given board of community cards, has the nut hand.
Rock: very tight player who plays very few hands and only continues to the pot with strong hands.
Split: Divide the pot among two or more players rather than awarding it all to a single player is known as splitting the pot. There are several situations in which this occurs, including ties and in the various games of intentional split-pot poker. Sometimes it is necessary to further split pots; commonly in community card high-low split games such as Omaha Holdem, where one player has the high hand and two or more players have tied low hands.
Three Pair: A Phenomenon of seven card versions of poker, such as seven card stud or Texas Holdem, it is possible for a player to have three pairs, although a player can only play two of them as part of a standard 5-card poker hand. This situation may jokingly be referred to as a player having a hand of three pair.
Under the Gun: The playing position to the direct left of the blinds in Texas Holdem or Omaha; act first on the first round of betting.
Tags: Poker Game, Poker Terminology
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01.31.07
Posted in Gambling Tilt at 3:00 pm by Valentino Viccetzar
Tilts - The Bain of Everyman!
Being on a tilt, a negative tilt, can be extremely damaging to your emotions and thus damaging to your play. Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – all poker players go on negative tilts n their career. It’s more common that some of us would like to think, but what matters is not how and when it happens to you. What matters is that you develop the ability, sooner rather than later, to mitigate the damage of a tilt to your overall game.
Recognize the Tilt
How do you know when you’re on a tilt? There’s no hard and fast rule telling you what exactly constitutes a tilt. You could have one bad hand. You could have a string of bad hands…ah, that’s it. Generally, when you have two or more bad hands in a row, you can consider yourself on a negative tilt. Whether it’s bad play, or bad luck that gave you the results, two or more hands is a good indication of tilting and sign that it’s time to take a deep breath.
Emotional Control Is Paramount
Easier said than done; don’t let your emotions disrupt your play. Poker requires reason. One of the reasons why tilts are so destructive to players who don’t control them: when you’re on a tilt, you’re desperate. You start to make bets in the hope of getting lucky. With a relatively weak hand, you are likely to keep going, praying for the ‘right’ card to show up on the table. Particularly if there’s a lot of betting action, you can end up in serious trouble if you don’t fold with a mediocre hand.
So how do you regain emotional control when you know you’re on a tilt? One of the most effective moves is simply to get up and walk away. In internet poker this may or may not be easier. It depends on your general level of discipline when it comes to poker. When you’re at a casino, you may have one or two people around you who advise you that you should take a break. At home at your computer, you probably don’t have this luxury.
You need to realize that people who are upset – whether they realize it or not – don’t stay focused will probably lose all the money they brought to the table. There’s no other way to but it: you must stay focused and rational while at the poker table. If you’re not focused and rational, you need to leave the table.
Most players, and particularly good players, tilt after a bad beat or when they have a string of unlucky losses. Some players have small tilts after they win a big hand or after they have a strong of good luck that causes them to feel on edge, but these episodes are much shorter than tilts caused by losing.
Tactics to Limit Tilts
While going on tilt is natural, you need to limit them every single time they occur. While the best way is to get up and walk away from the table for a few minutes, sometimes this is easier said than done.
Other tactics to calm down start with taking deep breaths. Focus on your breathing; use something to help you. Listen to music or hum a tune to yourself. Develop a little habit that will help you refocus; it’s a tactic used by tennis players and you’ll notice it if you watch closely. When they lose a point or fault on a serve, many players bounce the ball a couple of times. It looks random but it’s not; watch and you’ll notice the pattern they use (two bounces, a short walk to the edge of the court and back).
Another way to adjust your tilt mentality is to think for a few moments about the really bad beats you’ve had in the past. This only works if you’re a relatively experienced player and you’ve had really bad beats, but you may read enough to find a couple of examples from other people about tilts they’ve chased.
1) Analyze tilts that you’ve had…store the big losses so you can look back and improve next time.
2) Watch how other players react to tilts, particularly if you’re new to the game.
3) Remember that about 7% of the time you’re going to lose out in the showdown based on your opponent hitting a three-outer. Even if you win 93% of the time, you still use and the odds are creep closer to 50-50 in most other situations.
4) Be prepared for bad beats…this is much better than reacting to them on the fly!
Basically, if you through caution to the wind and start chasing the pot, you’re going to lose big time.
Tags: Gambling Tilt, Poker and Psychology, Poker Tilt
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