MASTERING THE PRE-FLOP BET

The bet before the flop is one of the most crucial moments in a poker game. This is where players with hopeless hands, timid natures or lack of poker skill get quickly separated from the true players in a given hand. The bet before the flop often sets the tone for the entire hand.

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When to Call

There are two good reasons to call–you believe you have the best hand and don’t want to scare off your victims or your hand has at least the basic potential to be a winner and the bet is low enough to make it worth the investment to see the next card. As a general rule, any pair of face cards is good enough to warrant a call against just about anything except an all-in, and a high pair of aces is good enough to call an all-in. Lower pairs and unmatched high cards are trickier–you need to evaluate your competition and the amount of the bet to see if it’s worth your while. Suited or sequential high cards increase your odds of winning a bit and should be considered a little more strongly for a call. If the only bet is the blind and you have a proportionately large collection of chips, it’s perfectly acceptable to go along for the ride with a lesser hand, too–there is luck involved in this game, after all.

When to Raise

The raise is sometimes seen as an aggressive move, and it certainly can be, but in some cases it is almost a public service, clearing out the bystanders with bad cards who might get struck by pure dumb luck and win a hand that should have gone to a more skilled player. The two times to do a raise are when you think you have winning hand (or the framework for a winning hand) and when you’re bluffing. Potential winning hands, again, are often high pairs or suited and/or sequential high cards. Bluffing is a nice strategy that gets used way too often. A bluff is most effective if you almost never do it, so you truly catch your opponent off guard and make him believe you have a winning hand. A bluff is generally more effective after the flop than before, because before the flop, everyone knows the best hand you can possibly have is a high pair.

How Much to Raise

If you are the first one to raise pre-flop, the standard is to bet three times the big blind (BB). For more aggressive play, you can add one more multiple of the big blind for each person who calls ahead of you. For instance, if the BB is 200 and you’ve got one person ahead of you who calls, the normal play for a good hand would be to raise to 600. If you want to be aggressive, you could go to 800 (adding the 200 for the person who called ahead of you). This is generally the right amount to drop the weakest hands but still keep a few players in to give you a chance to make some money.

Overcoming the “All-in Idiot”

Just about every online poker table will feature the one guy who goes all-in before every flop. Once you recognize this tactic, your best bet is to fold and let somebody else fleece the fool or lose to his dumb luck, unless you have a high pair. With a high pair, you have a pretty good chance of doing the fleecing, and you can benefit from this person’s reckless play.

WHEN YOU ARE SHORT STACKED IN A TOURNAMENT

During tournament play, you eventually are going to find yourself in a situation where you are short stacked. This means you are running out of chips and, because you are in a tournament, you likely are not able to buy yourself back in. Due to this, you need to find a way to improve upon your chip count and try to make a comeback. While this is never guaranteed, there are several different things you can to do improve your odds.

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What is Going On

When you see your stack is getting low you need to investigate the situation. First, compare how many chips you have to the rest of the people on the table. Now, compare the size of your chip stack with that of the blinds. You want to look at what the average stack is on the table and also count how many hands you can partake in before you just bleed yourself dry. In general, you are short stacked when you only have somewhere between 10 and 20 big blinds worth of chips. When you fall below 10, you need to either fold immediately or go all in. There is no calling or raising. It is all all in or nothing immediately.

Make it Count

In general, the fewer chips you have the more expensive it becomes. With every bet, call and raise, your chips are going to become smaller and smaller in size. You basically need to look for opportunities to go all in. While you do not want to just toss all of your chips in on a random hand, you need to move forward with your all in when you have somewhere between 15 and 20 times the blind. This way, some of the players might feel threatened and unless they have an exceptional hand, they are going to fold.

You Just Can’t Wait

As you see your chips start to dwindle, you are no longer able to wait for a premium pair to be tossed your way. Essentially, you need to push if you have anything, ranging from a pocket pair (even if it is a small one) or anything with an ace. Essentially, anything that might result in a victory you need to move on. If you have noticed many of the players at your table are playing tight, you can actually move forward with your hand and they are less likely to continue to bid, unless they have a solid hand. With such a small hand, there really isn’t anything you can do about it, so you need to take your chances.

Forget About Protecting

Too many people try to protect their chips, folding every single time unless they have the best possible hand. However, this is not going to do you any good. It reduces your ability to make any sort of bet worth wild, so even if you eventually land an amazing hand, you are not going to win much as you couldn’t bet much.

UNDERSTANDING HOW AND WHEN TO BET IN POKER

In poker, betting is an intricate part of the process. However, it is important to understand that you are just not going to place down random amounts of money for no reason. Yes, you bet more money when you think you have a good hand or when you intend to bluff, but there are more reasons to bet than just this. All of this is able to help you out significantly, which is why you need to know and understand how and when to bet in poker.

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Raising

In general, it is better be be a more aggressive poker player instead of a timid poker player. This does not mean you need to raise and re-raise every single hand, as after all, there is no reason to throw away money when your hand is no good. However, when you raise it is more than just this. 

Often times new players raise just to see the flop, but it is a philosophy likely to cause you to lose. Instead, you need to know when to raise and when not to raise. Good reasons to raise include thinning out the playing field, in order to increase the value of the pot and take control of the hand by showing your interest in it. You don’t want to play against multiple individuals moving forward in the hand, so instead of calling it is a good idea to raise. Raising the bet is also going to help you take control of the hand. This shows your aggressive nature. Lastly, it also helps you raise the value of the pot, which ultimately is what you want as well.

Calling

There are a few times you might want to call. This is when you are the first individual playing on the hand or other individuals are limping through the hand and you do not have much you want to play with but don’t want to fold.

Know Why

Before you ever bet, you always need to know why you are betting. You don’t want to just toss in some money into the pot and go from there. If you do this, you are more likely going to just lose all of your money and end up leaving the table early. Instead, you just need to focus on a few specifics. First, you need to justify your reasoning (internally, of course) as to why you are tossing down the chips. You need to understand the position you are in the betting order, look at the tendencies of the rest of the players at the table, so you know whether or not someone is likely bluffing, and you also need to know what your own table image is. If you are just starting off, it might take some practice to understand when you should play and when you should hold, but ultimately, the more you are able to play and bet, the better off you are going to be with developing your poker skills.

5 SECRETS BEHIND POKER REVEALED!

In Texas Hold’em, the first choice everyone has is seeing the two cards nobody else gets to see. It is an exciting moment, in a real casino, just before you turn up the edges to peak at the cards, making sure nobody can see them, or when they display, only to you, on the computer screen in an online poker game. Real poker players never tire of this moment. These are your “hole” cards. Be aware when getting really great hole cards, this is a very likely place for your “tells” to show. “Tells” are involuntary reactions which give other players some indication of how strong your two hole cards are. When in person, in a casino, “tells” may be some body language. Online “tells” may be speed of placing a bet, when it is your turn to bet.

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Beginner’s often try to “play” poker and often get “played” because of the desire to bet on too many hands. Good poker strategy includes knowing when to stay out of the game. This does not mean you stop playing. Quite the opposite. When not playing a hand, this is the chance to watch the other players. See if you can guess what cards they have, by how they play them. Often it is much easier to see these patterns when none of your own money is at stake.

Some hands are better than others and are technically considered “always-play” hands, because of the odds in your favor. The most obvious is the best hand, some like to call them “pocket-rockets” or “bullets” meaning two Aces. Next best are pairs of either Kings, Queens, or Jacks. These are also always-play hands. Following the high pairs, are hands made of high cards of the same suit.

Any Ace with a high card in the same suit such as Ace and King of hearts is an always-play hand. This means same suited Ace with King, or Queen or Jack is an always-play hand. Same goes for the King and Queen. The only place where the pattern changes is with the Ten. The odds start to be less strong when the Ace, King, or Queen comes with a Ten. The only combination of suited cars with a Ten, which is always-play is the combination of Jack and Ten. The reason for this is the Jack-Ten combination has a chance of making a straight or flush from the lower value cards.

Unsuited cards of high value are also always-play, but they are limited to three combinations, which are: Ace with King or Queen, and King-Queen.

Let’s review:

• Always-Play Two Hole Cards Are:
• Pairs of High Cards: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J
• Same Suited High Cards: A-K, A-Q, A-J, K-Q, K-J, Q-J, J-10
• Unsuited High Cards: A-K, A-Q, K-Q

Learning the always-play cards is essential for beginners. You will save a fortune in losses from mistakes while learning the game if you concentrate only on the always-play cards. When you don’t get them, FOLD. Then watch and learn from the other players’ behavior.

FROM HOME GAMES TO POKER ROOMS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

If you’re ready to make the leap from home poker games to live poker rooms, there are some things you’ll need to know in order to make the transition smoother.

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Home games, in nature, are casual and fun, and generally consist of a group of friends getting together to enjoy a favorite pastime. Home games are responsible for creating a new generation of poker players who are taking their own game to the next level.

Structure and Rules

Poker rooms must maintain a level of structure in order to run a fair game and operate legitimately. In order to do this, there are certain rules that are consistent and enforced in order to protect each player and to uphold the integrity of the game.

Each poker room has their own set of regulations with slight variations, but the following rules are consistent regardless of the game, limit, or poker room you choose.

1. Playing in Turn: In order to run an efficient game, it’s important for a dealer to make sure each person acts on their hand when it’s their turn.

Playing out of turn, when done intentionally, is a technique similar to cheating. There are ways to manipulate the action before it gets to you, which are frowned upon in casinos.

In short: Playing out of turn is a “no-no” that comes with consequences.

2. Verbal is Binding: Keep in mind that in live poker rooms, a verbal declaration is considered an action and must be followed through, regardless of the true intent.

In short: If you declare, “raise” but only bring out enough chips to call, you’ll be required to complete the action to include a raise.

3. All-In: If you begin a hand with $23.00 worth of chips in front of you, you need to understand that you are not allowed to buy additional chips during the hand. This is a situation when you will have to go all-in with the chips you have.

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Choosing an Online Poker Moniker

If you’ve ever played poker online, you’ve probably noticed some great names around the virtual table. You’ve also probably noticed some really lame ones. Choosing a good moniker can help you to last longer at the table and even make new friends, while a bad one can make you a target in more ways than one. It’s best to put a little thought into your online poker name before you join the table.

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Too Much Information

One common mistake people make with online poker names is giving too much information. For instance, “BobSMithSS#111-11-1111″ is probably not a very good choice. Steer clear from anything that includes personal information, including your real name. You don’t want to take someone’s chips only to find out that they’ve taken your identity.

Wimpy Nicknames

Let’s face it, poker is a war. A name like “Cuddlebear32″ or “Bunnies&Kittens4ever” will probably not strike fear in the heart of your opponents, at least not until you’ve proven yourself. If your reputation as such a great and ruthless player is such that your moniker of “Fuzzyloveywumpykins” causes people to cash in their chips and find another table, then I salute you. Otherwise, you should probably find a tougher name.

Names That Invite Challenge

You can go too far in choosing a tough nickname, too. When you go with a name like “Yourchipswillbemine78″ or “Yourwifefeltgreatlastnight69,” there are probably going to be a few people looking to bust you out early just so they can laugh about it, or just because seeing your name on their screen irritates them. Names with profanity or implied profanity also seem to get attacked early.

Good Names

So, what’s left? Funny names are good, names like “Theguyonyourright101″ or “Doeslowcardwin16″ might get a chuckle or two and probably won’t incite too many to poker violence. Names from movies are okay, too, and could start a nice side conversation. Sometimes an in joke can be good, too, or a long-forgotten childhood nickname. Poker names are always nice, although it gets a little tiresome to see a “Takemetotheriver” or “Acehigh” at every table. Above all else, make sure to pick a name that you will be comfortable seeing every time you log on.

CALCULATING POT ODDS

It is pretty normal for beginners to the exciting game of real money poker wins to feel a bit left out of the action of being able to precisely and mathematically sustain their game like the more advanced level players seem to by accurately and most times, discreetly calculating pot odds.

This article aims at changing all that so that even beginner poker players can understand the importance and method of calculating for the pot odds. Understanding and acting on pot odds is critical to winning at poker. You’ll need to take pot odds into consideration when determining if it will be profitable to draw to your straight or flush, a decision you will make dozens of times in a single session.

 The main point beginner players must keep in mind when evaluating pot odds is whether a draw would be beneficial to their straight or a flush, which is the big question every new player is faced with, sometimes several times in the same session. So, just be prepared to take a timely and calculated call.

When you’re playing poker, you’ll frequently encounter this scenario: Your opponent has a made hand and is betting, and you’re in the pot with nothing but a draw. In this instance, when you are at the receiving end ‘drawing’ – you are typically holding 4 to a straight or 4 to a flush, in the hope of getting a card that gives you a winning hand. However, it is not advisable to continue playing on unless you have learned how to calculate the pot odds and whether these are likely to be in your favor or not, since a smart gambler should know when to throw ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. Beginners can learn the science of calculating pot odds for making profitable decisions at the right time so they can let a hand go or hold on to the one draw that can turn the odds to their advantage.

Much like calculating your outs, calculating your pot odds sounds a lot more difficult than it is. With a little practice and a little seventh-grade math, you can master this concept fairly quickly. The below example is based on limit hold’em poker only because it is a simple way of explaining the game dynamics but works just as well in the higher risk, higher profit scenario of No-limit games as well. Take a look: Suppose your game is the $1/$2 Limit Hold’em version and you have an ace and king of spades folded to you on the button on which you raise to a $2 amount. Both big and small blinds may call at this point and you are triple-handed for a flop of jack of spades, queen of clubs and a 3 of spades with the small blind placing a bet of $1 and a call made by the big blind.

 Now you are at the level to determine the odds you are getting, so count the bets. 3 players placed $2 prior to the flop (that’s 3×2 equals USD 6) while the small blind placed a bet of $1 and the big blind called on this move (that’s 1+1 equals USD 2). So the pre-flop action value is USD 6 while 2 USD is flop action, totaling USD 8, leaving you to call $1 for winning the pot of $8. Thus, your chance of getting the pot odds is calculated at an instant 8-1 based on your call!

The card that comes at a later street is your out, which you now need to calculate for determining a winning hand; so if both opponents have a queen-pair and bad kicker, this leaves you with 6 ‘outs’ along with 2 over cards of yours in addition to 4 tens for making a straight that is 10 outs total. At this point, you’ve seen 5 cards (your 2 hole cards + 3 on the board) from the 52; this leaves 47 cards in the deck, of which 10 will contribute on the turn to your winning hand and 37 will not. So, divide this by the outs and you get 3.7 (37/10), leaving you with the odds of 3.7-1.

Finally, so your call on the flop is profitable the pot should lay you this value at least but we’ve already calculated the real figure is 8-1, thus it is a much greater positive expectation for you. Implied Odds You won’t always be able to limit yourself to calling only when the immediate pot odds are correct. There are also circumstances in which you can profitably call without correct odds on the betting round you’re currently involved in.

 This is because of betting to come on later streets, with the initial bad odds overcome by making a big bet should you make your hand. Implied odds are the implied bets of those later rounds. For more on how they factor into your decision at this stage, see the in-depth article on implied odds. That’s all there is to it. The math is elementary; anybody should be able to do it in their head. Simple calculations like this are really the essence of poker. If you’re only calling bets when the pot is laying you correct odds (or when you have good implied odds), in the long run you will be a profitable poker player. So get into the habit of calculating pot odds. Do it for pots you are not involved in. If you can do it quickly and easily on the spot, the guesswork in your poker game will be eliminated. Once you have overcome just chasing “a feeling” about your draw, start chasing with correct odds. Your whole poker game will turn around. Before you know it, you’ll be a winning poker player.

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