Archive for September, 2007
September 28, 2007 at 4:07 pm
· Filed under aggressive, bet, betting, blinds, chips, flush draw, hand, hole cards, loose, player, poker, poker player, strong, table, tells, tight
If a player’s chips are stacked in a mess then this often means they are an aggressive player that plays fairly loose. Also, the opposite is true for a player that stacks chips in an organised fashion – this often means they are quite a tight player.
If your opponent reluctantly calls let’s say with a sigh or a shrug or with a shake of the head, then they will often be holding a strong hand.
If you see another player at the table look at their hole cards again after the flop, they are usually checking the suit on their cards for flush potential. This would indicate that their cards are not of the same suit, but they may have a flush draw on board.
Players with lots of small denominations of chips shows a player that has stolen a lot of blinds.
A player that bets £10 with ten £1 chips is less confident of their hand winning than a player that bets with one £10 chip. This is however a well known tell and more experienced players will deliberately bet this way to infer weakness. I know I do it!
Sometimes, a player will break a large chip down into smaller change before they really need to. This is often the signal of a tight poker player.
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September 27, 2007 at 5:00 pm
· Filed under bet, bluffing, cards, holdem, holding, no limit, opponent, poker, raise, strong, tell, tells, weak
A “tell” is a mannerism that gives away what an opponent is likely to be holding. You should be VERY CAREFUL about attaching too much weight to a tell for the very obvious reason that they may be trying to act a certain way in order to deceive you. remember, everything at a poker table is a lie. Strong means weak and weak means strong.
There are a number of well known tells out there and the more experienced players will try to use them in reverse. But if your opponent is inexperienced, they may end up giving themselves away with one of the following tells:
If a player suddenly sits motionless, or very still during a hand, they are often bluffing. A good example is where a player who normally fiddles with their chips or taps their foot suddenly stops this motion. It will often mean that they do not have the hand that they are trying to represent. Opposite to this, if a players acts distracted or very casual at the table, they often have quite a strong hand. A motionless person is trying not to reveal ANYTHING that might signal they are bluffing and so they do not move at all. A person with a very strong hand is less likely to care what happens at the table as they are likely to win and so are more easily distraced and/or casual about the hand they are in.
Watch for signs of shaky hands. If someone puts a bet in with a shaky hand, they are trying to (badly) control the adrenaline pumping through their body as they hold a very strong hand.
A player leaning towards the flop when it is dealt often means they have missed. A player leaning away from the flop pas it is dealt will often have connected in some way.
Watch a players eyes as they look at their hole cards. If they flick towards their chip stack, then they like what they see and often intend to bet or raise.
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September 26, 2007 at 1:39 pm
· Filed under bet, betting, bluff, bluffing, board, draw, flush, hand, opponents, players, position, pot, slowplay, slowplaying, straight
You are much more likely to pull off a bluff if there are only a few players involved in the hand. In an ideal situation you should only have one or two other players to push off the pot. The more players you face in the hand, the more likely it is that someone will have a hand good enough to call you with.
The common time to bluff is in late position and all the other players at the table check round to you. Although it is well known to bluff in this spot, it still works well a lot of the time when there are few players involved in the hand. Most of the time your opponents will, even though they know you are bluffing, take no further part in the hand and will fold.
If you have been drawing out to a straight or a flush, but miss, you can adopt the hand if the card gave the board potential. For example, lets say you are drawing to a straight and you require a king to make it. The river card doesn’t bring a king, but it brings a third heart instead to the board. In this situation you can represent that you could be holding the flush.
Bluffing is not always about pretending you have a strong hand when you don’t. “Slowplaying” is a kind of bluff too. This is where you act passively by checking and calling instead of raising and re-raising when you have a very strong hand. Slowplaying works best when you are able to trap one of your opponents for a large amount. You should not slowplay as much in a loose game because your opponents are more likely to call. Generally speaking, it is far more profitable to come out betting whether you have a good hand or not than it is to trap your opponents by slowplaying your game.
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September 25, 2007 at 2:34 pm
· Filed under action, beat, bet, bluff, bluffing, chips, draw, flop, gutshot, hand, lose, outs, players, poker, position, pot, semi-strong, showdown, straight, tight
Never let a bluffer force you to walk into a better hand. Let’s say you are right that they are bluffing and your semi-strong hand is enough to beat them. however, if there is a third player involved in the pot, especially one who plays a little tighter, you might end up beating the bluffer’s hand only to have your hand outranked by the third tight player’s hand. It’s very easy to be second place at the showdown in this kind of situation and that kind of play is only going to lose you chips in the long run. The fewer players in the pot, the less opponents you have to beat.
Never try to bluff a bad player either. You will find that only the good players will lay down cards. A player who has just sat down at the table is a prime target for a bluff as most players do not like to get involved with too much action in their first hand. Better poker players who have gone down in chips but are now back level will be wary about putting in chips again unless they have a strong hand – you should try to bluff players in this situation more often.
Where possible, semi-bluff and leave yourself some outs. A semi-bluff is where you have a hand but it is not as strong as the hand you are representing. If at the flop you hold second pair and a gutshot straight draw then you are in a perfect position to attempt a bluff. Even with any kind of draw you can bet it out before you have made your hand. This also helps to disguise your hand when you do hit.
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September 24, 2007 at 3:49 pm
· Filed under aggressive, bet, betting, bluff, bluffer, bluffing, loose, player, poker, raise, tight, when, win, winning
A common question that surrounds the move of bluffing in poker is “Should I bluff at all? If so, then how often?” Bluffing can be an important and profitable part of your game – IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT RIGHT.
Most players try to bluff the bluffer. They will fight fire with fire. This is not the correct way to do things. You should be looking to bluff players who are tight with their game. Try not to take it personally if you have had to lay down a hand in the past to what you thought or know to be a bluff. You do not have to get even with that player, you just have to get chips and anybody’s chips will do.
If you are against an opponent who plays loose and likes to bluff, be wary if they check when they had an opportunity to bluff. They are most likely holding a monster hand, so do not try to out-bluff them. Be wary of any player that changes from their normal betting pattern/style.
If you are first to act before a bluffing player, then check the action to them and give them a chance to bluff. If you have a decent hand then you should raise. If you do not have decent hand then do not raise. It really is that simple. Don’t be tempted to bluff re-raise, just let them have the pot and relinquish your hand. This will also encourage the bluffer to carry on bluffing in later rounds and you will be able to call him down with a strong hand and take a reasonable sized pot for your troubles.
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September 21, 2007 at 11:38 am
· Filed under advice, aggressive, betting, bluff, game, loose, passive, players, poker, raise, re-raise, starting requirements, strategy, table, tight, tips
The most common types of poker game you are likely to encounter are listed below as well as tips for adjusting your poker strategy accordingly.
1. Tight Poker Games
When the opponents you face are playing a tight game, you should lower your starting hand requirements and bluff a little more often.
2. Loose Poker Games
If you find yourself playing a loose game, you should tighten up your play and bluff less.
3. Passive Poker Games
When you are playing a table of passive players that dont raise and call too often, you should be raising more of your hands and you should fold everything but premium hands to a re-raise.
4. Aggressive Poker Games
If your opponents are aggressive, you should look to check-raise your strong hands so instead of betting straight away, you should check and allow your aggressive opponent to bet it for you. You are now able to raise when it is your action and you will have earned one more bet than you usually would have had you come out betting.
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September 20, 2007 at 2:47 pm
· Filed under adapt, aggressive, beaten, bluff, drunk, game, home game, loose, passive, poker, table, tight, tilt
Your typical home game will tend to be played as a loose passive game. This means that players will often call with a wild range of hands and not raise all that often. If you find yourself in this type of game, playing your usual tight aggressive style is the way to win. Do not bluff that often as you will get called more often in a loose game like this.
It is important to remember, however, that not all poker games are like this. Games can change ‘character’ whenever a new players joins the poker table or whenever a player leaves the poker table. Sometimes players will get beaten through an unlucky card and will become so frustrated that they begin to play very wildly. This is known as going ‘on tilt’. If playing a home game, often some players at the table will become drunk through the course of the evening. Drunk players tend to play more aggressively.
In summary, you should be watching for how your opponents at the table are playing and adapt your game accordingly.
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September 19, 2007 at 12:05 pm
· Filed under aggression, aggressive, beaten, bet, call, check, decision, fold, hands, moves, play, player, poker, pot, premium, raise, raising, re-raise, starting requirements, won
It is not only early on where you need to show aggression, but also on the second round of betting. More often than not, you will fail to improve your hand on the flop, but then again, neither will your opponents. If a table of players do not hold a hand of any value, then usually the pot will be won by the first player to bet. A bet or a raise on the second round of betting then forces your opponents to make a harder decision. Do they continue calling with a weak hand? Or do they cut their losses and run? As is usually the case, if you are re-raised by your opponent then you can be sure they have the goods and you have the option to fold if you think you are beaten. You could always raise them back if you have made a strong hand.
Raising has so many advantages that it should always be your first choice when deciding what the correct action should be. Lesser players will decide whether to call, check or fold whereas for better players the choice is nearly always whether to raise or fold. Checking and calling are the weakest and often the worst moves to make.
Be restrictive with your starting hand requirements and be aggressive with your betting. There are many players that get this the wrong way around and they end up entering pots with all kinds of wild hands before call/checking on subsequent betting rounds. It is important that you give your hands the best possible chance of winning – this is achieved by playing premium hands and backing them up with substantial bets and raises.
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September 18, 2007 at 4:59 pm
· Filed under aa, aggression, aggressive, beginners, bet, betting, bully, cards, cash game, chips, draw, example, fold, freezeout, gambling, hand, hand selection, hands, hold em, home game, important, information, mistakes, money, no limit, online, player, players, poker, position, post-flop, pot, pot odds, pre-flop, raise, sit-n-go, small blind, starting requirements, steal, strategy, texas holdem, tournament, winning
Over the last couple of weeks we have covered many different topics. You should now know how to calculate poker pot odds and how to play good hands from a good position. You are already streets ahead of many other poker players out there. However the key that strings all of these strategies together is to be aggressive with your poker.
Far too many players still limp into pots – they are not willing to raise the bet before seeing a flop. To win at poker you must be prepared to put your chips in when you have got a good chance of winning – you should be raising and re-raiseing when you are dealt good cards.
A raise serves several purposes. It might be enough to make you opponent(s) fold their hand(s) when they would otherwise have outdrawn you or outright beaten you. Raising also puts more money into the pot. If you are playing correctly with good hands from good position, you will win these bigger raised pots more often. Raising will also give you information about your opponent’s hand. For example if you put in a pre-flop raise and another player re-raises, you can be fairly confident they hold a very strong hand as they are prepared to raise even though another player at the table has shown strength.
You must remember that each time you fail to raise with good cards, you are allowing the big blind to see a flop for free. You should always raise premium hands, even aces in order to put more money in the pot and reduce the playing field. Even 72u beats AA sometimes if they see enough free flops.
If the table has folded to you and you are sat in late position, you should be raising in order to steal the blinds. This can be done with almost any hand. If you get re-raised you can (and should) get away from the hand, but most of the time you should be picking up the blinds from weaker players that do not defend them.
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September 13, 2007 at 1:24 pm
· Filed under beginners, cards, community cards, hand selection, hands, home game, long run, lose, money, players, playing, poker, pre-flop, starting requirements, strategy, two, win
“Any two cards can win” is the chant of many losing poker players. They lose because the opposite is true: Any two cards can lose. Most beginners do not realise the importance of their hole cards and believe that because they have not seen the whole hand yet they should stay in the hand and see what the board brings. This is a good way to lose money at the poker table. I have seen this first hand. Sitting down to a friend’s local home game we were sat with a couple of beginners who were shocked that I would fold my hand pre-flop without even seeing what community cards were dealt. The flop, turn and indeed river can change a hand which is why it is important to carefully choose the hands that you play in order to give yourself potential to connect with a variety of cards and not just one or two miracle cards.
The hands you elect to play will ultimately decide how much money you are going to win at playing poker – so choose your starting hands carefully. There is a basic range of starting hands that are suggested you should play, but depending on the situation you find yourself in, you should be adjusting this strategy accordingly. It requires discipline as well as patience to fold most of the hands you are dealt but it is a necessity to the game if you want to win money in the long run.
Late position hands will give you the option to play lower starting hands, but you must still have the discipline to relinquish your hand should you miss the flop.
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