Category: Poker Page 1 of 8

Loads of players get into poker for recreational purposes and forget all about the detailed strategy involved in the game. In order to make the most out of your poker games, you need to understand the kinds of poker variations today. We have listed a few strategies, so as to help you with a profitable poker session.

Weak and Loose

Weak and loose players are known to be the worst players in the game of poker. They do not take the betting initiative and they prefer to call with marginal hands, all the way up to the river, hoping to get lucky in the game. Loose players are not very good at discriminating the starting hands and they bet in the pot with mediocre hands. These are the worst elements of any poke strategy and such players are expected to lose over a period of time.

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Online poker moves so fast that you don’t have hours and hours to spot the sucker. This is especially true if you’re playing the fast fold poker formats that are popular on the major sites. That’s why in this article we’re going to explain a few easy to recognise signs that a fish is on your table. By recognising who the fish are, you will be able to target them for the rest of the session and increase your win rate.

Sign 1 – Open Calling

When a player open calls in Texas Hold’em, they are giving away free information at the table. They’re saying “I have a hand I want to see the flop with cheaply”. You will never see a winning player open call. This is a huge leak and considered very weak amongst experts. They realise open calling is likely to see other players raise over you, isolate you and bully you post-flop.

Ask an expert what is limping in poker, and you will get a wide smile. Limping is a no go if you want to win at poker in 2021 and something fishes love to do. This is an easy sign of a bad player and something a tight aggressive player avoids.

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Let’s face it—poker is fun. A lot of fun. But that doesn’t make it a reason to play in itself, unless you have the self-discipline to stick to the freerolls. No, the only real reason to play is because there is a lot of money out there that is not that hard to scoop up. A lot of players are out there playing blind, with no sense of strategy or odds. This is why going through a poker training program is a sure way to work towards a winning future in the game.

Unless you are some rich guy who just likes to throw away his money, losing doesn’t appeal to you. I know, I know. It really doesn’t appeal to me either. I’ve always been the kind of guy who feels he can learn to do anything he puts his mind to. It’s just all about having the right material and the right mentor or guide.

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In discussing proper strategy to maximize profits in no-limit Texas Hold’em, there are a wide assortment of topics that can be discussed, such as bet sizing, playing position, pot odds, effective styles of play, and so on. The list is seemingly endless. In this article we will touch on some of those topics and others, but the main strategic point we will focus on is being successful by playing a solid game and minimizing mistakes so that you are ready to play at some of the best online poker tournaments and compete for the best rewards.

Key Concepts

There are several key mistakes that will take a chunk out of your bankroll if you don’t learn and get in the habit of not doing them. Primary among these is starting hand selection. Players who continue to avoid this most basic tenet of the game of poker often find themselves as losing players. It is difficult to wait patiently for those premium starting hands of high pocket pairs such as A-A and K-K or big slick while it appears that those cards may never come. Believe me, I know. But it is extremely crucial to the long run success of your bankroll and profitably.

This is not to say that lesser hands such as pocket 8′s should not be played. They often should. However, when lacking a premium starting hand and looking at a mid-level pair such as 8′s in your hand, your position at the table will often dictate how that pair should be played. For instance, in early position with 8-8 at a table with several loose players, it would be most advisable to merely call the bet to get a look at what players acting behind you may do. If you happen to raise those 8′s from early position hoping to eliminate other players from the hand, but run into a re-raise or even a 3-bet, you’re looking at spending a good deal of money to call the bet and see the flop. However, with one or two raisers behind you, you’re also likely looking at a hand that has only 2 outs to be a winner.

On the other hand, in late position with no raisers in front of you, those 8′s should be played entirely different. In that situation, it would be correct to raise 3 or 4 times the big blind, attempting to knock out the big and small blinds or any players hoping to limp in and see the flop. So a lot of no-limit hold’em strategy is dependent upon your position at the table. Keeping this in mind will certainly make you a better player.

Another crucial mistake often made by players is to continue putting money into the pot when they are behind in the hand and not having the correct odds to continue drawing. This is a very costly mistake that will erode your bankroll and make you a losing player over the long haul. It is imperative to know the number of outs you have in a drawing situation and correlate that with the size of the pot and the bet in front of you to give you an idea of your likelihood of winning the hand and being profitable. Of course, it’s fun to chase those straights and flushes after the flop. But if the probability of catching one of your outs after the flop or turn is a small percentage or likelihood of happening in relation to the size of the bet needed to do so, you will not be profitable over time if your choice is to continue to draw to try and win the hand. The whole concept toward winning poker is to be putting money into the pot when you have the greatest probability of winning and to back off when your odds are not as good.

Playing Styles

Another factor regarding the proper strategies of winning at Texas Hold’em revolves around identifying the playing styles of your opponents and using that information accordingly in all given situations. If you can identify players as being too passive when they should be aggressive, and too loose when they should be tightening up their game, you can make the proper sized bets when confronted with situations against these players knowing what their tendencies, strengths and weaknesses may be. For instance, although the tight-aggressive playing style that advocates playing only premium hands and playing them strong when you have them is a solid playing style, you can combat this style by folding when you see a tight player raise pre-flop. Or you can take advantage of a loose player’s style by tightening up your game and playing only the best hands when the situation calls for it.

That being said, another key element to success is mixing up your game and not permitting other players to get a read on the type of player that you are. I started out this article by saying that starting hand selection is of utmost importance, and indeed it is. You must always keep an eye out for throwing away the junk hands that will end up costing you money. But also of importance is the need to vary your style at times to keep other players off-balance. If your opponents can predict and anticipate your moves or the cards you may be holding, they have an advantage. It is up to you to not allow them to get that advantage by being unpredictable.

Defending Blinds

Another mistake often made by players has to do with defending blinds. I see a lot of players–either during tournaments or in cash games–who have a difficult time throwing away their cards when confronted with a raise while in the big blind. Often times, players view another player’s raise as a steal attempt that is not backed up with a premium hand and is nothing short of a bluff. This may be true, especially if the raiser is in late position and no other players called or raised before him. But even if it is true, defending your blind with a poor or even marginal hand that has very little chance of success is downright silly. You want to be playing and be involved in the hands that give you the greatest likelihood of winning. Generally, you should be tossing hole cards that don’t conform to this premise, whether or not you’re in the blind or not.

We only touched on a few aspects of better strategies to employ in hopes of improving your game. One article could not possibly cover all the intricacies and nuances involved in being a successful Texas Hold’em player. However, by limiting your range of playable starting hands, playing your position properly, not putting a lot of money in the pot when you don’t have the best hand, identifying the styles and weaknesses of your opponents, and mixing up your game to confuse and confound your table rivals, you will go a long way toward becoming a successful and profitable poker player.

This story was written by Ed Barrett – a poker player.

“The Malihowski’s put fried onions on their oatmeal!” Mom was sounding off at me again for not eating my oatmeal. What did she expect? Who would eat oatmeal that didn’t have any sugar on it? It was during World War II. Sugar was rationed and Mom was using saccharin, the original sugar substitute, to sweeten my oatmeal. I had no idea how she knew that the Malihowski’s put fried onions on their oatmeal. She knew I hated fried onions and was probably making it up, thinking I would be happy with the saccharin if fried onions was the only other alternative. Mom never looked me in the eye when she was fibbing. I didn’t know what a ‘tell’ was at the time, or how to take advantage of it, but this time Mom definitely was fibbing. And it made me mad. So I screamed. I’d turned seven two weeks before and the screaming, which had been perfectly acceptable behavior until now, set Mom off. When I saw her reach for the catty-nine tails which she kept hanging on a hook in the pantry, I made a beeline for the front door with Mom in hot pursuit.

None of this has anything to do with poker, but it sets my mood for the day on which I played penny-ante for the first time. I’d watched my older brothers play in the basement of Hennessey’s Candy Store on the corner of what is now 12th and Broadway Streets, in Poke Hollow, Pennsylvania, where I had grown up, but they told me I couldn’t get into the game until I was eight years old.

Poke Hollow had eight streets, except for the dirt roads that led to individual homes, but the town council thought that having a street with double digits in it would sound more prestigious. When I was growing up, Broadway Street was Pothole Lane, and 12th Street was once Winding Ditch Pass. The changes all came about a few years ago when the county black topped the roads.

I went to the town dump when Mom chased me out of the house. My plans were to run away to Wilkes-Barre, which was three miles from Poke Hollow. I dug through the trash for empty soda bottles, which were worth two cents each in deposit. It was a pretty good day. I found fourteen bottles and an old wooden box to put them in. This would get me three Royal Crown Colas and seven pretzel sticks. Enough to get me through the first two or three days on the road. Normally I’d take the bottles home and clean them with the garden hose before taking them to Hennessey’s to collect the deposit, but I didn’t want to get too close to Mom today.

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First of all I want to make sure that all of you know that my personal opinion is that gambling in any form and playing is not to recommend when you have been drinking, since it can make you lose more then what you can afford, and it will result in losing money more often than you win them.

Maybe this sounds like an odd theme to discuss, but I’m gonna try it anyway. The thing is, this is something I never do, play while I drink alcohol. I usually don’t make exceptions either.

Okey, well actually there was this one time…..

I got home after a great night out, drinking and having fun with lots of my friends. We got to talk poker (which is not totally uncommon when we meet up), and suddenly I got this big urge for some poker. Not totally surprising I ended up in front of the screen when I got home to play some Online poker.

Does this sound familiar?

I found this one player that i had played quite much that week already and he was good. Think he won 6 out of 8 sessions heads up, but that didn’t concern me at this moment.

As we played on I kept on winning and winning. Gosh he really looked like a bad player. Okey, the point I want to get to is that drinking makes me (and i think all of you guys out there) to play more loose and relaxed. My “new style” gave me a session with winnings of over 3 buy ins:)

Of course the fact that we had been playing eachother alot that same week made my gameswitch even more powerful. Maybe its not such a bad idea after all, but i still think that the chances of loosing is bigger than your chances of winning.

What kind of experiences of this do all of you readers have? Please share them with us.

Bad Habits by Tony G

And since we are talking about bad poker habits, if you want to get really nasty at the table. Follow Tony Gs example in this movie:

Wow, no matter how much money Tony wins from trash talk like that, it does feel like its not totally fair. I mean, where did that card game where everybody acted like gentlemens go? Can’t he get a minute to think about his decision just like you would have liked to yourself? Isn’t stealing his money enough? What if everybody would use this freakin strategy to win their bread and butter cash? Then poker would be a start of a new world war. Come on, I would like to punch him in his face if I was apart of that hand.

Gosh now every Tony G lover will start gaggin on me, don’t get me wrong. I love Tony but he crossed the line by some inches in that clip if you ask me.

And if you like this kind of trash talk, then enjoy because this is as good as it gets!

What separates good poker players from the bad ones? Simple – it’s lots and lots of studying. Popular cardsharks such as Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu didn’t earn their fame through sheer luck alone. They have lost many games, they have pored over hundreds of poker books, they have slaved over calculators and memorized common hand scenarios in their head. What you don’t see on TV is the humongous amount of hard work that these players have put in behind the scenes.

So, how can a budding poker student deal with this much information? Thankfully, technology has provided us with some helpful apps that can take their game to the next level. Here are some of the best ones:

1. TableScan Turbo

The app does what it says on the tin: it scans for tables according to a user’s preferences in online poker rooms. No need to manually select tables on your own. The app can work across multiple online lobbies (for those who like to play on multiple sites), pull up player statistics, and presents this information to you in an easy-to-understand table format all at the same time.

2. Equilab

Equity calculators used to be in the realm of premium poker software which you need to shell out money for. Thankfully Equilab is here to provide a free alternative. This freeware offers fast range-versus-range and multiplayer calculations, plus a whole other host of output options. Equilab also provides a scenario analyzer and a hand selection tool.

3. E.gg Timer

If you’re a fan of the Pomodoro Technique and other time-boxing productivity methods, then this nifty website is right for you. Users can customize the timer according to their needs or choose from a number of pre-set timers like the aforementioned Pomodoro (25 minutes and a five minute interval) or the morning exercise timer (to get your heart pumping in the morning!). Perfect when you want to keep track of the time you spent studying.

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My top ten poker tips aim to help players with their poker strategy, approach and continued enjoyment of both online poker and live poker games. The poker tips are not listed in any particular order of importance except perhaps the first.

1. Bankroll level

Play at a buy-in level that suits your bankroll and attitude to risk. Never play with more than you can afford to lose. If paying the rent depends upon the result of a tournament or a single hand, you may find the pressure leads to poor decision making and a disproportionate reaction to the bad beats all poker players endure.

2. Do not chase your losses

If you lose a major portion of your table stake in one or several large pots, do not try to recoup your losses in a ‘do or die’ fashion. Stick to your sound, proven poker strategy; wait for your next playable hand and look to recover your losses over the longer term.

Similarly, if you take a big hit to your poker bankroll in one or several sessions, do not move up to a higher buy-in level thinking, ‘one good win and I’m back to where I started.’ Often you will play the higher buy-in level with a too loose or too tight attitude, neither of which is natural to your game.

No matter if you are playing $0.25/0.50 or $25/50; if you have lost 80% of your buy-in for any reason, do not throw the rest away. That remaining 20% (if you walk away with it) should be thought of as profit; because if you don’t, it is a loss.

If you take a big hit to a previously healthy tournament stack; re-evaluate your options for the amount of chips you have left and make the best use of them.

3. Do not play too many hands

Avoid playing too many hands especially the marginal ones unless you need to; more often, play the hands which have a better chance of winning.

Remember, when folding pre-flop, you are playing your cards. The reason to fold can be various including, too many players already in the hand, you are out of position, the price is too high or the cards dealt are just plain rubbish. The reason to enter the hand must be equally clear.

Online poker pocket cards are dealt to each computer simultaneously; effectively everyone sees their starting hand at the same time. Players can consider their options before it is their turn to act and may tolerantly follow through with their decision, regardless of the table action. Before you decide to play or fold; consider what has happened before you in the betting round and what may happen after your action.

4. Recognise trends

There are two trends to understand; table trends and player trends.

Table trends

Observe a cash table and make a reasoned assessment of its character before taking your seat or getting heavily involved in the action. Adapt your game to one that best suits allowing you to profit. The common thought of ‘if a table is loose, play tight and vice versa’ often applies. Do not be put off if a cash table is more passive or more aggressive than you would like, provided you can adapt your game to suit the condition. However at times, it may be prudent to find another table, sit out or even leave one where the action is far from that with which you are comfortable.

In a tournament you take what you are given but remember, changes in the players seated and the blind/chip stack ratio, means the table character will fluctuate.

Playing any table should not necessitate you making drastic strategy changes; generally you should consider subtle adjustments to what is already your standard profitable game.

Player trends

Recognise the LAG, TAG, LP and TP players at your table and have a strategy in mind to compete with them.

You may find a player who will always raise from the button or in the small blind if the table folds to that seat, regardless of the cards they hold. Others may play any Ace they are dealt. While you cannot tell exactly what cards a player is holding, you may gain an advantage in a number of hands.

Do not look for trends that are not there when playing online. If a player takes a long time to come to a betting decision, it may be they are playing several tables at once, rather than hatching a cunning plan.

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