Sitting down at any poker table can be intimidating to the new player. At a table of 9 players, it’s very likely there will be several decades of combined poker experience amongst the rest of the players. This is not only true for live poker, but also for online poker.
So how can a newbie stand any chance against a table of seasoned vets?
Well one thing every new player has going for them is the fact that their moves will almost always be unorthodox. A new player usually won’t know when it’s time to raise or even how much to raise. This plays well into their favour and experienced vets will find it difficult to read which hand a new player may have.
Another way a new player can give themselves a bit of an advantage is to check out some beginner poker strategies so they aren’t completely in the dark when approaching their first table. It also helps to play some online poker for free at any of the various online poker sites.
Showing posts with label online poker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online poker. Show all posts
Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Size Matters When Betting in Texas Holdem
Picture this: You flop top pair/top kicker and there is a straight draw on the table. You’re first to act with two players after you who limped into the hand, what do you do? Shoot the hostage!
Wait, wrong movie.
In situations like this, it’s important to know when you can draw more money out of the rest of the table, and when it’s time to shut the door and take the pot while you still can; even if it is a small pot. In my last post I mentioned that “many people will often pay small amounts to see if they can draw into a good hand” and this is exactly the situation I was referring to. It’s also safe to say that the only hands which can beat you at this point are two-pair and three-of-a-kind, both of which are fairly unlikely.
If the pot is say, $3,000 and you bet the minimum of $1,000, then you’re giving anyone on a draw odds to call. If however you were to bet the full amount of the pot, or even slightly more than the pot, you’re making a statement that you will not allow the rest of the table to draw into the hands they want, at least not without paying for it. You have to remember that even if there is a player with an open-ended straight draw, the odds are in your favour to winning (at roughly 3:2 for this flop) so anyone on a draw will likely not call you unless they are a massive chip leader, or they are crazy. Even still you make it a tough call for them.
As far as someone re-raising you, generally speaking, the only players who are going to do so in this situation are players with two pair or players with trips. So right away with the right bet, you can easily determine who has what and very likely take down a pot while you still can. While it will not work everytime, in the long run it should increase your overall winnings in Texas Holdem.
Check out Bodog’s poker tips for more useful info on how you can increase your game.
Wait, wrong movie.
In situations like this, it’s important to know when you can draw more money out of the rest of the table, and when it’s time to shut the door and take the pot while you still can; even if it is a small pot. In my last post I mentioned that “many people will often pay small amounts to see if they can draw into a good hand” and this is exactly the situation I was referring to. It’s also safe to say that the only hands which can beat you at this point are two-pair and three-of-a-kind, both of which are fairly unlikely.
If the pot is say, $3,000 and you bet the minimum of $1,000, then you’re giving anyone on a draw odds to call. If however you were to bet the full amount of the pot, or even slightly more than the pot, you’re making a statement that you will not allow the rest of the table to draw into the hands they want, at least not without paying for it. You have to remember that even if there is a player with an open-ended straight draw, the odds are in your favour to winning (at roughly 3:2 for this flop) so anyone on a draw will likely not call you unless they are a massive chip leader, or they are crazy. Even still you make it a tough call for them.
As far as someone re-raising you, generally speaking, the only players who are going to do so in this situation are players with two pair or players with trips. So right away with the right bet, you can easily determine who has what and very likely take down a pot while you still can. While it will not work everytime, in the long run it should increase your overall winnings in Texas Holdem.
Check out Bodog’s poker tips for more useful info on how you can increase your game.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Practice Makes Perfect
If you’re anything like me, then by now you’ve lost a great amount of money playing Texas Holdem and are starting to worry that you will soon lack the funds necessary to fuel your binge drinking and that you will soon be embraced by the foul cloud of sobriety. What? You mean it’s just me?
Oh well.
Believe it or not I do have a point here; it being: instead of wasting your precious drinking money on another’s liquor supply, why not get in some practice for free online? After all, like anything else in life, the more you practice, generally the better you get. Combine this with regular poker tips written by professional players for the everyday amateur such as yourself (and especially me), and you should be well on your way to turning your poker game into a profitable experience.
Check out Bodog’s Online Poker to play for free and practice your game. Good luck, and see you at the tables.
Oh well.
Believe it or not I do have a point here; it being: instead of wasting your precious drinking money on another’s liquor supply, why not get in some practice for free online? After all, like anything else in life, the more you practice, generally the better you get. Combine this with regular poker tips written by professional players for the everyday amateur such as yourself (and especially me), and you should be well on your way to turning your poker game into a profitable experience.
Check out Bodog’s Online Poker to play for free and practice your game. Good luck, and see you at the tables.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Limping in to a Hand
The term “Limping in” is a poker term which means that a player is calling the bare minimum to play. While this can be a good strategy to allow you play many hands, often times you’ll end up bleeding chips by having to fold other players raises. It can be tempting to limp in to see a flop; however there are a few things you need to consider to make it work to its full potential.
Generally, the rule with limping in is that you're more likely to get away with it the later you are in position.
Limping in while under the gun, or first to act in the hand, will more times than not result in someone after you raising or going over the top(all-in). This is typically how many players end up bleeding chips to the point where their only move is all-in. If you limp in at an early position, you should be prepared to have someone raise after you afterward. You can use this fact to play to your advantage if you want to mask a big hand with slow-play.
In most cases however, it is going to be better for you to raise while in early position if you are going to play.
Contrast to early position, while in late position it is often advantageous to play hands you normally wouldn’t play in early position, like low pocket pairs or suited connectors (hole cards of the same suite that can both be used to make a straight). This is especially true if there are many players in the hand as cards like suited connectors tend to win big, if they hit.
Your likelihood of successfully limping into a pot will differ with every table depending on just how aggressive or conservative the other players are. You will have to observe betting patterns at the table to determine just how much limping in you’ll be able to get away with. Some tables will be every hand, others will be no hands. This holds true for both live and online poker.
See Bodog’s poker hand selection page for a list of what’s best played at each position.
Good luck, and I'll see you at the tables.
Generally, the rule with limping in is that you're more likely to get away with it the later you are in position.
Limping in while under the gun, or first to act in the hand, will more times than not result in someone after you raising or going over the top(all-in). This is typically how many players end up bleeding chips to the point where their only move is all-in. If you limp in at an early position, you should be prepared to have someone raise after you afterward. You can use this fact to play to your advantage if you want to mask a big hand with slow-play.
In most cases however, it is going to be better for you to raise while in early position if you are going to play.
Contrast to early position, while in late position it is often advantageous to play hands you normally wouldn’t play in early position, like low pocket pairs or suited connectors (hole cards of the same suite that can both be used to make a straight). This is especially true if there are many players in the hand as cards like suited connectors tend to win big, if they hit.
Your likelihood of successfully limping into a pot will differ with every table depending on just how aggressive or conservative the other players are. You will have to observe betting patterns at the table to determine just how much limping in you’ll be able to get away with. Some tables will be every hand, others will be no hands. This holds true for both live and online poker.
See Bodog’s poker hand selection page for a list of what’s best played at each position.
Good luck, and I'll see you at the tables.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Learning to Play Internet Texas Hold'Em
It strikes me that some of the readers of this blog may not be all that well acquainted with Internet Texas Hold'em, so I thought I'd list some online resources that will help new users get acquainted with the game, and/or improve their play.
If you're entirely a newcomer to the game you should check out the Texas Hold'Em Guide over at Bodog. This is a great step-by-step introduction to how to play No-Limit Hold'Em, and is a great complement to the Hold'Em Rules you can also find on Bodog's site.
Once you've mastered the basics (tell me I don't have to post a link to a hand rankings chart here!) then you can take a look at the more complex ins and outs of the game. Until you learn how to calculate odds, there's no much hope for you. So take a look at Tight Poker's odds calculations charts, and their excellent link.
Into reading (you know, books, those strange things resembling a stack of computer screens, but made of paper)? I just read John Vorhaus's Killer Poker Online, and I was pretty impressed by his advice. Perhaps if blog readers have some other recommendations for good online poker books (specifically online poker, please share the titles here!
Technorati tag(s):
texas hold'em, 
internet poker
If you're entirely a newcomer to the game you should check out the Texas Hold'Em Guide over at Bodog. This is a great step-by-step introduction to how to play No-Limit Hold'Em, and is a great complement to the Hold'Em Rules you can also find on Bodog's site.
Once you've mastered the basics (tell me I don't have to post a link to a hand rankings chart here!) then you can take a look at the more complex ins and outs of the game. Until you learn how to calculate odds, there's no much hope for you. So take a look at Tight Poker's odds calculations charts, and their excellent link.
Into reading (you know, books, those strange things resembling a stack of computer screens, but made of paper)? I just read John Vorhaus's Killer Poker Online, and I was pretty impressed by his advice. Perhaps if blog readers have some other recommendations for good online poker books (specifically online poker, please share the titles here!
Technorati tag(s):
texas hold'em, internet poker
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