Texas Holdem Poker

Uniwales · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 10

Basic strategic knowledge is critical for any poker player and while poker strategy is highly complex, some of the basic factors that influence good play can easily be explained.

Be patient - Fold early and often. Top Hold'em players might fold 80% of their hands before the flop. The idea is to only play when you have an advantage. The sad truth is, most of the time you don't have an edge and you can tell just by looking at your first cards. By folding a lot early, you give yourself a stronger average hand when you do play. That makes it easier to follow the second rule.

Be aggressive - Don't be afraid to raise. The fewer opponents that are in the pot with you, the more inclined you should be to raise instead of call. Often the best choice is to raise, next best is to fold and the worst choice is to call. The exception is when there are a lot of other players in the pot. Now the odds are that somebody has a pretty good hand. In this case you can fold your medium-strength hands and call with good draws.

Know when you're beat - Don't be afraid to fold when you know you're beat.

Get inside your opponent's head - What do you think he has? What do you think he thinks you have? What does he think you think he has? If you can outsmart your opponent on this level, you have the advantage. But it takes practice.

Know your opponents - If mathematics was the only skill required for winning, the best players would all be mathematicians, and they aren.t. Knowing your opponents is equally important. Observe their actions at the table. Analyze their decisions and the choices they make.

Know your table image - How other players at the table perceive your play alters the way they play. If they think are you a tight player, they will be less inclined to call your raises; if they think you are an overly-aggressive player who frequently raises with marginal hands, they will be more inclined to call. Good poker players are able to vary their style in play to take advantage of the present situation and to make their play less predictable.

Special Tips for Beginners - Every poker player was a beginner once upon a time, and that probably meant they were bad players. If you think you fall into this class, does it mean you should give up the game? Absolutely not! Even Michael Jordon was once cut from his high school basketball team and look what he accomplished. If you are just starting out, don't be discouraged by your current skill level. You can improve and a few simple guidelines can go a far way in preventing beginner mistakes. Here are some to remember.

1- Playing too many hands - Hand selection is one of the most important keys to winning. Most players play too many hands. Money players know that sometimes you have to release hands, avoid unnecessary danger and dump speculative hands when the risk overshadows the potential reward.

2- Playing above your limit - Sometimes the gambling and money aspect of poker gets to people too much. They play in games they cannot afford or games where the competition is simply too stiff. When you are starting out, stick to a consistent, lower limit. Learn how to play and beat the game before you play in higher-stakes games.

3- Becoming too emotional at the table - Bad beats will happen. Losing streaks will happen. There will be annoying players at the table. Deal with it and don.t let your emotions over take your judgment.

4- Understand pot odds - Few beginning players understand pot odds, and they often call too much. If your hand needs improvement, the concept of pot odds can help you determine if you should call to see the next card on the board.

5- Over-valuing suited hands - Having a suited hand is a plus. However, you should not play a hand just because it is suited. The first two things to consider about a starting hand are the ranks of the cards and if the cards are paired. These are by far the most important factors in the value of a hand. After this, you should consider if they are suited or connecting.

6- In summary, good poker strategy involves mastering the art of choosing good starting hands, employing pot odds, and aggressively betting your winning hands.

webmaster · Site Admin Joined: Nov 26, 2003 Posts: 643

Uniwales - top post, and welcome to the forum.

I've awarded you 50 extra Freeroll Points for "Post of the Day". Posts like this is what forums are all about, and a learning opportunity for everyone else. I hope you can make the game tonight, you'll certainly have an invite in good time and it would be nice to play against you.

Webmaster.

onemore · Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject:

Excellent post Uniwales. Thanks for that.

Uniwales · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 10

Thanks a lot
C ya at the tables!
Good Luck to all members.
Regards
Uniwales

Uniwales · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 10

Short-Handed Limit Hold'em
Introduction

Short-handed poker is played with six or less players at the table, making it necessary to give more action than you would in full-ring poker and forcing you to play more hands in order to win. It is a fun and exciting way to play and many of the top online winners excel at short-handed play. They prefer these types of games because they are less mechanical and, as such, involve an increase in psychological play and mind games with one's opponents. As well, they are able to win money from less skilled players more often than in full-ring games. This is mostly due to the fact that you play more hands and are therefore in a position to make more decisions when playing. And, remember, it is by making the correct decisions that a poker player makes their money. In addition, the added psychological factors mean that you must adapt your play to the ebb and flow of the game, thus making it harder to provide general advice that will be true for most situations. And, while advising play is difficult in all forms of poker, it is especailly so in short-handed play.

Basic Strategy

The key skill to possess for successful short-handed play is aggressiveness. In short-handed play, the price per hand is higher, you have to play more hands, and you have to play them more aggressively. You need to be raising and re-raising with many playable hands in order to isolate a lone opponent and take the lead. In Limit Hold'em, and particularly in short-handed Limit Hold'em, you must push very small edges and think about the money you will make in the long run by doing this. You cannot allow a bad streak to affect you and make you scared of pushing. Basically, most hands worth playing are now worth raising with. This is a key concept in short-handed Limit Hold'em, and is especially true when you are in late position.

Hand Selection

In short-handed Hold'em, the starting hands have a different value than they do in full-ring games. The small pairs, hands such as A-x, and big connectors like KJ and QT, increase in value, and small suited connectors such as 76s and 87s, decrease in value. This is because in any given hand you have to worry less, for example, about someone holding a bigger ace when you hold an A-x, or a bigger king when you hold something like K-T. The problem with small suited connectors, however, is that if you do not improve you cannot win with them in a showdown, whereas with A-x or even K-x, that will frequently occur. As well, you will find yourself in fewer situations that involve top-pair and kicker trouble than you likely would in a full-ring game. And, your opponents will give action with hands like J-x on a flop of Q-J-3, so most of the time you can bet a Q-2 on this flop for value all the way to the river, whereas, in a full-ring game you would be very wary about playing this hand strong.
With the small suited connectors, the pot will seldom give you the correct odds to play them pre-flop. So, for instance say you are on the button in a five-handed game, even if both players acting before you limp-in, it might still be correct to throw them away. Instead, an occasional raise is probably a better play in order to vary your game.

The Blinds

When you are in the blinds and the pot has been raised, you can worry a lot less about being dominated, and should instead focus on defending with many hands that you would have folded had the game been ten-handed. For example, in a full-ring game, holding an A-8 off-suit in the big blind when the under-the-gun player raises would result in an automatic fold against all but the worst players. However, in short-handed play, this is a hand that you would frequently re-raise with and seldom fold.

Early Position

You ought to mix-up your play by varying limping and raising with an assortment of hands. You should remain selective and not play hands like A-2 off-suit, K-9 suited, or worse. Essentially, you want a suited A-x, an A-9 off-suit or higher, a KQ off-suit, a QJ off-suit, any big suited connector like JTs, or pairs from sixes and up, and you want to frequently raise with them.

Late Position

In late position, most hands become raising or re-raising hands. Even hands such as JTs can be a re-raising hand because of the extra value you will gain from taking the lead and having position. Generally, you can re-raise with basically any pair, A-x suited, or any big suited connector.

Post-Flop

On the flop you must continue to play aggressively, especially if you were the aggressor pre-flop and it is a heads-up pot. Short-handed poker is mostly about winning pots by being aggressive with bluffs and semi-bluffs, in particular. Most players will play any kind of flush or straight draw as though it was the nuts on the flop, and it is correct to do so in most cases. It takes experience and skill to know when to bet an unimproved AK for value on the river and when to fold top pair, and this is what you should set out to master.

Uniwales · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 10

This single poker strategy that I'm about to
reveal is one of the BEST (and most PROFITABLE)
tips that I've given you in a long time... so
listen up:

When it comes to winning poker, most players
have "tunnel vision."

What I mean is this:

They focus only on how to WIN more pots and
larger pots... whether it's through bluffing,
calculating odds, or reading poker tells.

But what they DON'T FOCUS ON... (what I'm about
to show you)... is actually MORE important than
90% of all the other "stuff"... and can both
INSTANTLY and DRAMATICALLY increase your poker
winnings over the long term.

And that secret is this:

How to STOP LOSING big pots.

You see, there's a lot of strategies out there
for how to WIN hands... but very rarely does a
player focus on strategies on how to NOT LOSE
big hands.

Why?

Because they blame THAT PART of the game on
luck and other forces "out of their control."

The reality is, you can win tons of great hands
and gain a chip lead, but it doesn't mean
ANYTHING if you don't know how to keep it.

Think back to when Greg Raymer won the World
Series of Poker... what was the key to his
success at the final table?

The key was he had a huge chip lead AND he knew
how to keep it.

He didn't lose big hands, which is what allowed
him to keep his gigantic stack of chips and
bully the other guys around.

The concept is equally (if not MORE) important
for players who AREN'T in the chip lead...
because no matter how many pots you win, you
won't win a game or tournament if you LOSE a
lot of big hands.

Notice the "catch" here...

I didn't say, "Stop losing hands."

I said, "Stop losing BIG hands."

Because those two statements mean two TOTALLY
different things.

You CANNOT stop losing ALL hands... it's just
not realistic.

But you CAN use strategies to stop losing BIG
hands... AND... those are the more important
"turning points" of a game anyway.

So... what's this "hidden" secret strategy that
most players overlook that will allow you to
STOP losing big pots?

I thought you'd never ask...

Preventing major losses is a very complicated
and "multi-layered" concept, as I explain in
my course...

However, one of the MAJOR components and "core"
strategies behind it can be summed up in one
simple, 12-letter word:

ANTICIPATION.

That's right... you can literally cut down on
the number of big hands you lose by simply
ANTICIPATING better...

And I don't mean anticipating the CARDS.

I mean anticipating THE BETS, based on what
cards COULD come out of the deck.

Here's an example that will make it clear...

Let's say you're on the button and dealt AJ
off-suit. The blinds are $1-2 and Aaron (a very
tight player) makes it $15 to play. Everyone at
the table folds and the action is to you.

This is the best hand you've seen in awhile, so
you call the bet without much hesitation.

That is where you made your FIRST MISTAKE.

You KNOW that Aaron is a very tight player that
only makes pre-flop raises with monster hands.

But you called the bet anyway... because you
didn't ANTICIPATE what YOU would do, even if
you hit your ace on the flop.

OK, so the flop hits, and the cards are: A,9,2.

Aaron comes out firing with a $30 bet right
away...

Now what do you do?

You have to put him on AK, AQ, AA, KK, or QQ.
These are pretty much the only hands that Aaron
will make a pre-flop raise with.

Of course, he didn't check to you, so he
probably doesn't have the cowboys or queens.

So now you think about what Aaron is holding...
You put him on hands that beat yours, but
instead of folding you decide to see another
card for $30.

This is where you made your SECOND MISTAKE.

You felt pot-committed and only thought about
the $30 bet.

What you SHOULD have been doing though is
ANTICIPATING what Aaron was going to bet after
the turn card.

Let's face it... you have to figure he's going
to fire again. Are you prepared to call ANOTHER
large bet after the turn with your AJ?

Of course not... and what you've done here is
simply dug yourself into a big hole because
you played only to win.

You got dealt a good hand and flopped the top
pair and then stuck it out in hopes of a better
card... when what you SHOULD have done is
ANTICIPATED Aaron's behavior and folded your
cards before the flop.

Hands like these happen to even the best poker
players, and you MUST develop the discipline to
fold that AJ and fold that top pair when you've
anticipated what's coming next.

Think about what your opponent is going to bet.

Think about what you'll be WILLING to bet.

Then think about what will happen after the
next cards... and then the ones after that...
and then the ones after THAT... and so on.

It's all about anticipation. If you anticipate
the different scenarios BEFORE they happen, you
will prevent big losses.

And when you stop losing big hands, you'll get
to KEEP the chips you win.

And that will help you finish in the money...
virtually every time... and lead you to a
successful poker career.

Of course, like I mentioned earlier...
anticipation is just ONE of the crucial skills
you'll need in order to kick ass at Texas Hold
'Em poker...

kkirk1329 · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 7

i found this very useful thanks

Uniwales · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 10

*** WHAT IS A SIT AND GO? ***

A Sit and Go is an online poker tournament. The
name "Sit and Go" comes from the fact that these
games are fast-- with a clear beginning and end.

Each Sit and Go has a pre-determined number of
players... so once the spots are filled, the game
starts.

Everyone in a Sit and Go must buy-in for the same
amount of money and starts with the same number of
chips.

The blinds gradually go up in "levels" or "stages"
until one player is left standing. The payouts are
determined before the game and are displayed when
you buy-in.

*** HOW MANY PLAYERS ARE IN A SIT AND GO? ***

Sit and Go's can have as many as 50 players or as
few as 2. It really just depends on which casino
you're playing at and which type YOU CHOOSE.

A majority of Sit and Go's are single table games
with 10 players. In a game like this, the top 3
finishers would place "in the money".

("Single Table Tournament" is abbreviated STT.)

For instance, let's say you want to play a $10 Sit
and Go. You buy-in for $10 and pay an "entry fee"
to the casino-- probably a buck.

All 10 players would start with the same number of
chips-- let's say 800. The blinds would start low,
probably 5-10. As the game progresses, the blinds
will keep increasing to force action.

The buy-ins on a game like this would total $100.
That money would get split between the top three
finishers. First place would be $50, second place
would get $30, and third place would get $20...

*** HOW LONG DO SIT AND GO'S LAST? ***

A 10-player Sit and Go will usually last between
30-60 minutes. Some casinos have "turbo" Sit and
Go's where the blinds go up faster. Turbo games
finish more quickly.

A 2-player Sit and Go-- which is really just a
"heads-up" match-- will often last a FEW MINUTES
before ending.

There are also Sit and Go's with 5 players, 8
players, 20 players, 30 players, and so on.

(A Sit and Go with more than 10 players will be
played on more than one table. These are known as
"Multi-Table Tournaments", abbreviated MTT.)

No limit Texas Holdem Sit and Go's are generally
faster than limit Sit And Go's... because the
ability to move "all-in" gets things moving.

*** HOW DO SIT AND GO'S AND RING GAMES DIFFER? ***

The easiest way to understand the distinction
is to understand that Sit and Go's are simply
TOURNAMENTS. Ring games are like "cash games".

Here are some of the key differences:

* You can buy-in or leave anytime during a ring
game, whereas you must enter the beginning of a
Sit and Go to play.

* Sit and Go's have a clear start (when everyone
is ready) and end (when only one player is left).
Ring games are ongoing.

* The blinds go up during Sit and Go's, so in the
later stages you're forced to loosen your starting
hand selection and take risks. In ring games, the
blinds stay the same.

* Winning a Sit and Go requires a completely
different set of strategies and techniques than
winning a ring game...

*** WHY SIT AND GO'S ARE SO POPULAR ***

Sit and Go's are HOT right now. I personally love
to play Sit and Go's, because I can often make
MORE money and have MORE fun than in ring games.

Playing a ring game requires "grinding it out"...

Playing a Sit and Go is an exciting battle with
ups and downs-- with a "do or die" feeling to it.

And here's the best part: When you learn how to
master the STRATEGIES for Sit and Go's, you can
amass a FORTUNE in winnings!

You can predictably and consistently log onto your
computer and win tournament after tournament after
tournament...

Here's why: Since Sit and Go's pay the top
finishers, you don't have to place first to always
make money. You obviously WANT to win first-- but
it's not necessary for making a profit.

I've developed a system of tactics where I shoot
for first, but "hedge my bets" to settle for 2nd
or 3rd as a backup plan...

Proofik · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 7

hmm yee very interesting post Smile

Found some new for me Smile

Uniwales · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 10

Today I'd like to share with your part
TWO of how to prevent big losses, and
that is:

DON'T GET GREEDY.

Successful poker players all have one
thing in common:

They understand the PSYCHOLOGY of
greed, and how powerful it really is.

Let me share a story with you how *I*
fell victim to greed the other night
at my local $1-2 no-limit game... and
how it emptied my pockets.

Here's how it went down...

I get dealt pocket 6's and am sixth to
act.

Josh is first to act and makes it $5
to play. Drew and Brett are next in
line and call Josh's pre-flop raise.

The action is to me, with the pot size
at $18.

There's no doubt I'll play this one
and hope to spike one of my sixes.

One other guy behind me calls the bet.

Okay... flop comes out:

Ah, 9d, 6s

Perfect.

I've just spiked my 6's and there's an
ace on the board, which I'm sure
someone is holding.

It looks like I'm going to rake a HUGE
pot at this point.

Josh comes out firing, as I expect. I
immediately put him on AK or AQ.

Brett folds and Drew calls Josh's $20
bet.

Who knows what Drew has... I can never
put him on a hand because he's the
manic at the table. He'll play just
about anything. He's probably sitting
on 10-J, looking for a runner-runner
straight draw for all I know.

Needless to say, he's not the guy I'm
worried about. Actually, I'm not
really worried about ANYONE at this
point. I just flopped trips... and all
I'm thinking about is how to milk
these guys for all their money.

I decide to not slow-play the hand. I
want to find out where I'm at... so I
re-raise Josh's bet. I'm confident
I'll get a call. I know Josh won't
fold if he has the ace, like I think.

"Make it $50", I say, as I push in my
red chips.

The guy behind me folds and the action
is back to Josh. He thinks for awhile
as he shuffles his chips.

"I call", he says.

Drew, however, doesn't hesitate one
bit. He throws in his chips with some
frustration and splashes the pot.

I've done everything right so far...
I'm very well-positioned to rake in a
huge pot.

The turn card comes... 4 of diamonds.

Now the board reads:

Ah, 9d, 6s, 4d

So the 4 doesn't scare me at all.

Josh and Drew both check this time
because I'm in control.

"Seventy five" I say... in a rather
DEMANDING voice that makes it sound
like I'm trying to buy the pot.

Josh mucks his hands... which he later
told me was an AJ. So he made a good
lay down.

Drew, on the other hand, thinks for a
moment before calling my $75 bet. Now
I'm feeling GREAT about this hand...

Josh was the guy I was really worried
about, not Drew. Drew's probably got
pocket 2's, or something crazy like
that. Who knows?

The river card is a 2 of diamonds.

Now I hope Drew DOES have ducks! If
he does, I'm going to take the rest
of his stack.

The board now reads:

Ah, 9d, 6s, 4d, 2d

Drew checks to me.

I see the backdoor flush on the board,
but I throw out another large bet
anyway.

AND THAT'S WHERE I SCREWED UP.

I SHOULD have checked right behind
Drew when I saw the flush on the
board. Instead, I got GREEDY and made
a stupid bet because I figured there
was NO WAY he chased the flush all
the way down.

Drew raises my large bet by going all
in, and he seems confident.

I lean back in my chair and take a
deep breath. Then I call... with the
remainder of my stack.

He turns over a 7-8 of diamonds.

He's got the flush, which beats my
trip sixes.

So he had flopped an open-ended
straight draw... and ended up catching
the flush instead.

I had played the hand perfectly right
until the backdoor flush hit. THAT is
when I let greed take over.

I had made another bet when Drew
checked to me... but I SHOULD have
just checked back.

If I hadn't let greed take over, I
would have saved a lot of chips, and
stayed in the game.

Greed is a powerful emotion that can
empty your pockets... just like it
emptied mine.

But of course, you can use greed to
your ADVANTAGE...

Because once you have your OWN greed
under control, you can learn to make
positioning moves and bets based on
the greed of OTHER players.

You can literally COUNT on the fact
that your opponents will get greedy
too...

littlegrave · Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 11:23 am Post subject:

Uniwales,
I just want to ask you where you get these articles. They are very good. Please post the link beacuse I want to read more of them.

MrMuckets · Member Joined: Jan 28, 2006 Posts: 31 Location: USA

Wow , what great posts. Thanks Uniwales

dovla · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 14

very useful and true..

patience and psihology is the most important thing.. for 5 months of playing, i started to read players, finding what they hold, learning about players on the table, and making my own tactic to each of them.. playing players not the cards is basic rule of poker - but you need patience (to get the good hands), and psihology read the player and to take as much as you can when hitting a better hand than him..

Uniwales · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 10

Remember this mantra:

PLAY THE PLAYER, NOT THE CARDS.

Is Big Slick a monster hand?

Yes, of course it is.

But you'll get BURNT with it if you don't take the
right things into consideration.

When you're in late positioning, you should raise
aggressively pre-flop with Big Slick and try to
narrow the field down to one or two callers.

If you're in an early position, you should make a
raise with the same goal in mind: to narrow it
down to a caller or two. Except this time, you'll
have to use more of your "intuition" to decide how
large your bet will need to be.

With Big Slick, you want to get RID of anyone at
the table who's holding a deuce... that way you're
not scared about an opponent having a pair of
two's!

After the flop, YES, you should represent with a
bet. Don't CHECK the flop after making a pre-flop
raise... only a wuss does something like that.

If the board hits all scraps, you should be able
to take the pot down no problem. Make your
opponents put you on a hand like K-K or A-A and
force them to fold.

If the board hits with either your King or Ace,
once again you'll have no problem winning the pot.

The times you need be careful are when either:

1. You think your opponent has a monster hand,
like Kings or Aces. (If this happens, fold!)

2. The board pairs up or there's a straight or
flush draw there.

In the latter case, you want to be careful not to
bet into your opponent if he's holding trips or a
draw.

You won't be able to force him to fold, and you'll
have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble.

Now... if you represent the flop with nothing but
Ace high and your opponent calls, NOW it's time to
back down.

If the turn card doesn't help you, just ease off.

Cut your losses and move on.

Uniwales · Junior Member Joined: May 27, 2006 Posts: 10

Sorry, Littlegrave, but this is from my secretBox. Smile

)

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