T - High Roller Casinos

Texas Hold’em Poker – Patience

Possibly the single most important skill for a cash game player to learn is patience. I’ll say that word again: Patience. There it is … a mantra to be repeated throughout your poker playing lifetime. Patience. I’m saying it as much for myself as for you, because, without it, you will live fast and die young – and die penniless. Take a deep breath and say it aloud: Patience.

Some perceive poker to be all about action, all the time. Certainly, there are more heart-stopping, adrenalin-pumping, heart-in-mouth moments in poker than in any other game but they are, for each individual player, relatively rare. Most of the tIme, you are folding your cards either before the flop, or once you have seen the flop. You can go hours, even days or weeks, without picking up a decent hand or finding that the flop fits your cards. The expert realizes that this is just the unpredictable run of the cards where normal trends can sometimes seem exceptional. The fact is that every time you sit down to play poker from now on, it’s just another few hands in a lifetime of poker. Over that lifetime, you are very likely to pick up close on average hands. So, it is how you handle the bad times, as well as the good, that will determine how successful you are in the long run. Many players can’t cope with this and a short run of bad cards sees them starting to play hands that should be discarded, call bets that should be folded, and raise hands as a bluff, just to see some action. This will lose them much money in the long term.

Avansert Shorthand strategi

Denne sektionen gir deg noen tips for å hjelpe deg gjennom noen vanskelige situasjoner som kan oppstå i en shorthand fixed-limit poker spill:

1. Når man får utdelt lav pocket par (syv eller mindre)

Preflop:

Små pocket par virker best i en stor multi-way pot, hvor du håper på å få enda en av kortene dine for å få til tre like, eller i heads-up spill. Preflop strategien burde derfor være egnet til dette. Hvis du er på “button” posisjonen og en spiller gjør raise og en annen har kastet kortene ville den beste strategien være å tvinge “blind” spillerne ut av spillet og lage det en “heads up” spill mellom deg og han som gjorde raise. For å få til dette gjør du en re-raise. Men hvis du sitter i “big blind” posisjonen og tre andre spillere har allerede gjort call er det mer fornuftig å bare gjøre en check og håpe på å få kortet du trenger på floppen.

Du burde være forsiktig om å gjøre en reraise hvis du spiller mot en veldig forsiktig “tight” spiller. Grunnen til dette er at det er god sjanse at han har høyere par på hånden en deg. I disse situasjonene vil motstanderen dominere deg. For eksempel, du burde ikke gjøre en reraise når du sitter med 8,8 og motstanderen har 10, 10. med andre ord reraisen for å få til en heads up mellom deg og en annen vil kun virke hvis du tror motstanderen har dårligere kort en deg.

På floppen:

Hvis du er i en multiway pot er svaret simpelt, kast kortene (fold) hvis du ikke for til tre like, men hvis du får den “jam the pot” altså gjør en raise. Det eneste unntaket her er hvis du får en merkelig flopp som f.eks 5,5,2 eller 8,8,8 mens du holder 7,7. I dette tilfellet sitter du antakelig fortsatt med den beste hånden og du burde igjen sette så mye penger som mulig inn i potten.

Hvis du er i “heads-up” spill er det litt mer komplisert. Hvis floppen har kun lave kort burde du satse siden motstanderen din har antakelig ikke noen hånd, men hvis floppen kommer ut med høye kort som f.eks A,J,Q vil du antakelig få problemer. Du kan kanskje prøve en liten raise men hvis han så øker burde du folde siden han sitter helt sikkert med et høyt par.

2. Flop bløffs

Flopp bløff virker best mot en eller max to motstandere. Metoden er faktisk ganske simpelt. La oss si at du gjør en raise på preflop med K(spar),Q(ruter) og floppen kommer opp A(spar),9(hjerter),5(ruter). I dette tilfellet har du ingen hånd ikke engang en flush draw men det kan godt være at motstanderne heller ikke har noe. I dette tilfellet kan det være verd å gjøre en raise, hvis du har litt flask kan du stjele potten der og da.

Hvis de bestemmer seg for å se kortene dine må du lage en bestemmelse. Det kan godt være at de sitter med et Ess med en lav kicker eller kanskje med noe som K,9 (kløver). I begge tilfeller taper hånden din. I dette tilfellet burde du gjøre en check eller fold 80% av tiden. En ting å tenke på her er at du ikke vil lage det kjent at du bløffer og vise motstanderne strategien din. For å unngå dette er det lurt å av å til gjøre litt slowplay (hvor du tar lang tid om å bestemme deg for hva du skal gjøre). Du burde ha det som en lov å straffe de for at de tør å gjøre en call mot deg. Motstandere burde ikke kunne bare gjøre en check med en dårlig hånd i håp av at du bløffer. De burde vare tvunget til å sette inn penger mot din raise for å se kortene dine. Hvis du tror at de gjord call med en dårlig hånd burde du være med i hånden inntil river kortet for en sjanse av å få til en hånd og også tvinge motstanderen ut. Men vær forsiktig du burde kun gjøre dette litt av tiden ellers blir dette et veldig dyr og gjennomsiktig taktikk.

3. Slowplaying

Jeg foretrekker å spille flopp bløff mer en slowplaying og flopp bløff virker kun bra hvis du satser stort ved floppen. men det er ganger når det er mer fornuftig å vente med å heve potten til senere i spillet. Jeg liker å gjøre slowplay i multiway situasjoner når jeg sitter med veldig gode kort.

Meg: A,K(kløver)

Flopp: A(spar),K(hjerter),3(ruter)

Turn: A(hjerter)

I dette eksempelet har jeg et vanvittig bra hånd! I denne situasjonen vil jeg vanligvis vente på at noen annen gjør en bet, innsats, og så gjør jeg bare en call. Med andre ord er det veldig lurt å gjøre litt slowplaying for så å øke potten på turn kortet i multiway spill, men det er ikke så lurt i en heads up spill. Hvis noen sitter med en konge på hånden kan det godt skje at noen vil syne din raise men vil antakelig ikke gjøre en raise selv.

En ting med slowplay er at det er best å bruke det når du sitter med et helt vanntett hånd og du vil bare vente på at motstanderen skal få til et hånd som han tror er bra nok til å slå deg. Hvis du ser begynnelsen av en flush på bordet etter en flopp et det virkelig dumt å bruke denne taktikken siden du gir en motstander sjansen til å få til flushen og dermed slå deg, i denne situasjonen bør du gjøre en stor raise og prøve å presse de ut. Som alltid i poker må du alltid kalkulere alle de hender som kan muligens slå deg og kun bruke denne taktikken så lenge som ingenting kan slå deg hånden din. Kun gjør slowplay hvis potten er som regel liten og du har lyst til å tjene litt på en god hånd, ikke gjør det for ofte.

4. Par på bordet og du sitter med det tredje kortet.

Hånden din: A,J(kløver)
Bordet: A(ruter),Q(spar),Q(hjerter)

Dette er en vanskelig situasjon. det kan være at du sitter med den beste hånden eller det kan være at noen sitter der med en Dronning som vil knuse deg. Allikevel er situasjonen egentlig ganske simpelt å løse. Hvis alle andre gjør en check så bør du også gjøre en check, hvis du prøver å gjøre en raise så vil du nesten garantert være slått hvis noen da gjør en call siden det er så mange muligheter for at noen kan slå deg.

Når du er i denne situasjonen må du vurderer to faktorer: Hvilke kort kan de andre spillerne gjøre call mot deg med som ikke kan slå deg og hva er sjansen av at de har en trip? Jo høyere paret på bordet er jo bedre er sjansen for at de har en trip. Hvis du sitter med K,J(hjerter) på hånden er en A,A,J langt mer skremmende en J,4,4. I denne situasjonen ville jeg spille veldig passivt mot A,A,J mens jeg ville være mer aggressiv mot J,4,4.

Det jeg mener med passivt spill i dette sammenheng er f.eks hvis man sitter med K,J(hjerter) og floppen kommer opp A,A,J og motstanderen satser, da kan det være at de sitter med Q,J så jeg ville syne raisen hans, men hvis noen annen så gjør en reraise ville jeg kaste kortene med en gang.

5. Spill mot en CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY tulling

Tullinger, altså veldig aggressiv spillere, kan være et problem i shorthand poker spill. Det beste man kan gjøre er en call mot de men hvis du sitter med en bra hånd for all del gjør en raise. De vil få spillet til å bli som en berg og dal banne med større tap og vinn en vanlig men hvis du spiller god solid poker vil du vinne i det lange løp. For eksempel i en $100-$200 spill fikk jeg utdelt Q(kløver), Q(ruter), altså en bra hånd. Den som begynte gjorde en check, tulling gjord en raise, jeg gjord en rerasie som en annen spiller synet sammen med tullingen. Floppen kom opp A(hjerter), K(kløver), 4(hjerter). Dette var et virkelig dårlig flopp for meg men jeg satset uansett, den tredje spilleren kastet kortene, fold, men tullingen gjord en reraise. Normalt ville jeg nå ha kastet kortene siden de ikke var så veldig sterke men jeg hadde sett at denne spilleren var en tulling så jeg gjord check-call inntil river kortet. Det viste seg at tullingen satt med kun 3,5(ruter), etter at jeg hadde vunnet potten anbefalte jeg at han kanskje burde lese noen av artikkelene mine 😉

6. Ikke gi de ekstra penger

Noen ganger når spillere sitter på en flush draw og du har et topp par vil de vente på deg til å satse før de så gjør en reraise. Hvis du tror at en motstander er på en flush draw og treffer den på river, ikke betal de. I dette tilfellet bare gjør en check på river kortet, og spar deg selv 2 store bets, ut av 4. F.eks hvis det var et standard hånd var det antakelig en raise preflop og bet calls på flopp og turn kortene. Så du ville sette inn en total av 5 bets. Ved å vente på han til å satse kan du spare deg selv mye penger med denne teknikken.

Noen andre kvikke tips i Shorthand
Ikke sats med et ess og lavt kort hvis noen annen allerede har satset. Sjansene er at de har enten et solid pocket par, et ess med en høy kicker eller KQ. Alle disse kortene er bedre en dine bortsett fra kanskje KQ. I tillegg vil alle disse kortene spilles bedre en dine i en 3-way situasjon. I denne situasjonen kast kortene, fold.

Ikke spill for mer en du har råd til. Shorthand har en høy grad av “variance” altså bankrollen til går mye opp og ned, du må derfor ha nok penger til å kunne tåle noen få tapp på rad og være i spillet noen timer.

Ikke bare spill hånden din. Det er veldig viktig at du følger godt med i hvordan de andre spillerne spiller og også hvilke mulig hender de kan sitte med og hvordan de satser osv.

High Roller Poker – On the Button

If you are the dealer, you are said to be "on the button". This is the most powerful position pre-flop since, other than the Blind bettors (who have been forced to bet), you are the last to act.

A common, aggressive play, when sitting in this position is to make what is called a "Button Raise".

If there have been no callers from early positions (such calls would suggest better than average hands) and only one caller up to you, it may be worth putting in a button raise to try to drive out the two Blind bettors – who may have terrible cards – and also the caller and steal the pot there and then. Because this tactic often succeeds, players make these raises on all sorts of sub-standard hands. At the very least, you should put in a button raise with any of your 21 starting hands.

Because the tactic is well-known, however, when you see someone making a button raise, you should be suspicious that he may be trying to steal. Of course, you don’t know if he is bluffing or has a seriously good hand – the great advantage of raising is that it injects doubt into the other players’ minds, The result of this situation is that you sometimes get a "double bluff" situation where the Big Blind re-raises the button raiser even without a particularly good hand. If the button raiser was bluffing – whIch is quite often – he probably has to concede at this stage. And so the constant psychological battle begins and, at the poker table, it never ends.

Should you get involved in bluffs and counter-bluffs? Certianly not as a beginner, learn the game first: this is only the beginning of a lifetimes journey. Stick to the low-stake games and you won’t find too many players trying to tie you in knots’ they are all still learning the game themselves.

Poker Strategi – Stack Størrelse og “Implied Odds”

En av de viktigste faktorene i en “no-limit”(ingen grenser) Texas Hold’em spill er mengden chips spillere har ved bordet.

Mengden chips, “stack”, en spiller har affekterer direkte den strategien brukt på forskjellige måter. For eksempel mengden penger en spiller setter seg ned ved et bord med er en god indikasjon av hvordan den spilleren vil spiller. Noen som kommer inn lavt har ikke noen særlig tro på sine poker egenskaper og dermed vil ikke satse mye penger.

Den viktigste tingen med størrelsen av stacken er hvordan det affekterer implied odds. Implied odds er hvor mye du kan forvente å vinne hvis du får til hånden din mot sjansen av å få til hånden din.

La oss si at du sitter med en 6, 5(spar) pre flopp. Hånden din er tydeligvis ikke spesielt sterk. Det er også tvilsomt at du vil få til en sterk hånd ved floppen som en straight eller tre like. Du har derimot en brukbar sjanse av å få en “draw” hånd, enten en straight draw eller flush draw. En draw er hvor du nesten får til en hånd men mangler bare ett kort. For å vinne penger på en sånn draw vil du måtte gjøre en call på floppen og se turn og river kortene for å prøve å få til hånden. Hvis du for det til hvil du vinne mye penger men det er risikabelt.

Hvis størrelsen på stacken er liten kan du ikke forvente å vinne mye hvis du jager etter en flush eller straight draw. Sånne spekulative hender gjør det bedre når spillere har større stacks or gjør det dårligere hvis de sitter med små stacks eller er “short stacked”

Dette er hva jeg definerer som liten, mellom og stor stack størrelse:

Liten stack: 40 big blinds eller mindre
Mellom stack: 41 til 99 big blinds
Stor stack: 100 big blinds eller mer

Du vil se forskjellige “buy-in”, de penger man setter seg ned ved bordet med, for
forskjellige typer spil. De fleste hjemme spill har blinds på $0.25-0.50 og vil ha en
tilsvarende buy-in på $10-$20 som tilsvarer 20 til 40 big blinds. Disse er dermed små stacks.

På et skikkelig poker bord i Vegas har man forskjellige typer stack størrelse. De fleste har en maksimal buy-in på 40 big blinds, så mennesker har vanligvis små til mellom stor stacks. Men det er også noen av disse poker rom som ikke har noen grenser på buy-in og her er det ikke uvannlig at noen setter seg ned med en stack som er 200 ganger big blind. De aller fleste online poker rom begrenser buy-in til en maksimal 100 big blinds sånn at mange mennesker har store stacks, i hvert fal til å begynne med!

Størrelsen på stacken gjør mer en å gi økt verdi til spekulative hender. De gir også mer dimensjon or variasjon i spillet. Bløffing blir med en gang en viktigere taktikk når mennesker har store stacks siden det er mye letter å skremme noen med en stor raise hvis du har en store stack en de har.

For eksempel, la oss si at floppen er knekt(ruter), 8(kløver), 7(spar). Det er $10 i potten. Motstanderen din sitter med Dame(spar), knekt(kløver). Selv om han har et par er det ikke et spesielt sterk hånd siden det er mange ting som kan skje på turn og river for å slå den som en straight, 2 par, topp par(hvis noen allerede sitter med AA, KK eller QQ) osv.

La oss nå si at du satser $10. Hvis motstanderen din kun har $10 i stacken sin hvil han antagelig gjøre en all-in call for a syne deg siden han allerede har en del penger investert i potten og han er så short stacked at han ikke har noe å tappe på det.

Hvis han derimot sitter med en stack av $100, hvil han faktisk være mer nervøs om å gjøre en call fordi hvis du også satser på neste runde hvil det kunne koste han opp til $40 i en “pot bet” for a syne deg og det begynner å bli mye penger. Hvis du da gjør enda en maksimal raise på river kortet må han sette in nesten hele stacken sin på en temmelig svakk hånd og det vil ikke noen klok spiller gjøre.

Jo store en stack blir jo lettere blir det å bløffe som også betyr at mellom gode poker hender mister verdi. En hånd som topp par vil vanligvis ikke vinne når stacken er høyt bortsett fra på en draw eller bløff. Grunnen til dette er at en mellom par ikke vil gi deg mye penger i forhold til potten.

Store stacks betyr at færre hender går hele veien til en showdown og de som gjør det vil vanligvis være en kamp mellom sterke hender.

Texas Hold’em – Hands not to play

There are so many hands you might get dealt which you certainly should not play. Those containing two different low cards are obviously weak – unless the flop hits them perfectly. It is the mid-range hands that lure players into indiscretions and every mistake you make will likely cost you money. Here are two examples of hands you should not play in any position:

Ace with a low kicker, such as A3 or A6
If the flop comes with an ace and a bet is made by an opponent, or if you make a bet and it is called – you won’t know whether you are winning or not. You could easily be outkickered. Almost certainly, you will have to fold, and now you have lost money, and you will be wondering whether you should have folded your Pair of aces.

Picture (or Honour) card with low card, such as K3 or Q6 orJ7
Again, you may hit top Pair and then not know whether an opponent has you out-kickered.
The problem with these hands is that they rarely win you big pots but they can lead you into losing big money when you are beaten. Since better poker involves better judgment, and that is a quality which, quite understandably, as a beginner you are lacking, you want to avoid those confidence-draining situations.

En oversikt over VideoPoker

Kort sagt, video poker sørger for en spennende aktivitet som er en blanding av “five draw poker” og en spilleautomat. Det kombinerer moroen og sjansespillet av spilleautomaten med elementet av ferdighet som er involvert i pokerspill. Video poker er et spill som er lett å lære og som gir mye moro.

Som sagt, forskjellig fra spilleautomat spill, må man ved video poker anvende litt ferdighet. Først og fremst må man være oppmerksom på at ved video poker spiller spillerne mot maskinen i stedet for andre spillere. Målet er å oppnå den høyeste mulige poker hånden. Spillet begynner ved at man plaserer bets. Når det er gjort trykker man på “deal” knappen hvor så fem kort blir delt og vist på skjermen. Ved dette punktet velger spillerne hvilke kort de vil beholde og hvilke de ønsker byttet. Et ytterligere press på “deal” knappen gir nye kort i stedet for de som ble kastet. En utbetalings tabell som viser mulige vinnere for forskjellige poker hender blir så vist på skjermen. Utbetalingene er ofte forskjellig ved ulike video poker spill. I motsetning til en spilleautomat, kan det sies at spilleren har noe kontroll over resultatet av et video poker spill idet spilleren her selv bestemmer her hvilke kort han vil beholde og hvilke han ønsker å bytte.

En av fordelen ved dette spillet er at det tar presset vekk fra spilleren. Det er ikke nødvendig å bløffe eller for eksempel å holde på poker ansiktet når man får utdelt en god hånd. I tillegg behøver en spiller ikke å bekymre seg over tids begrensninger. Man kan ta det rolig, fokusere på kortene og spille med hjertet. Mange nyter spillet som et forfriskende alternativ til tradisjonell poker, mens andre nyter spillet som en form for underholdning i seg selv.

I dag er video poker tilgjengelig i mange forskjellige former og med ulike elementer, som for eksempel “wild cards” og ” bonus features”. Det anbefales å lese om de forskjellige typene som er tilgjengelig, og også bestemt gjøre seg kjent med vilkårene til de forskjellige spillene før man begynner å spille. Med en sånn variasjon av video poker spill tilgjengelig vil det garantert finnes noe som passer alle.

I likhet med mange andre populære online typer underholdning, kan også video poker spill bli spilt gratis. Dette er en utmerket måte å skaffe seg en forsmak på spillet på uten at det koster noe. Mange liker å spille på denne måten ene og alene for moro, mens andre bruker gratis spillene som et redskap til å utvikle ferdigheter og for å tilpasse seg å spille online før de begynner å spille for penger.

Alt i alt kan man konkludere med at video poker er en flott kombinasjon av spill og sørger for fantastisk underholdning.

Action on the Flop in Poker – Part2

Holding Second Pair: Second Pair means that the second highest card on the flop matches with one in your hand to make a Pair. Now, only a player with top Pair, or an overpair, is likely to be beating you. Top Pair is always reassuring but, quite often, no one hits anything much on the flop and the second highest Pair is winning the hand. There are also chances to turn your hand into 2 Pair or Trips. Betting with second Pair can be dangerous, but it can also reap rewards.

You hold A(S),J(S)
and the flop comes K(C),J(D),2(S)

You might choose to check if you are in early position but, later on, a bet would be in order. If no player holds a king, you may win the pot immediately. If a player holds a king with a low kicker, say K(D),7(C) (you would not be in the hand with that holding of course – unless you were the Big Blind), you may frighten him off, making him believe that you also hold a king and probably with a higher kicker.

If you do get called, you have several ways to improve your hand. An ace would give top 2 Pair, another jack would make you Trips, and another spade would give you the Nut Spade Flush draw (if a spade comes on the river you would then have the best possible Flush).

If an opponent raises your bet, you might well choose to lay down your hand. He is likely to hold a king with a good kicker and that means you will be betting against the odds.

Intention: a pre-emptive strike to push out intermediate hands, with some possible draws to improve your hand to a definite winner.

When the Flop Pairs: The flop pairing – that is to say when a Pair appears on the flop – brings tears to even the most robust players’ eyes, since any player matching the flop’s paired card suddenly holds Trips and is likely to win the pot easily. A paired board (or flop) can also lead to Full Houses overtaking Flushes and casts doubt on all your usual thoughts.

The standard way of betting on a paired board would be as follows:

• If you match the Pair on the board and have made Trips, or better still a Full House, you have made a hand which is very unlikely to be beaten whatever appears on the turn or river. With such a strong hand, it is safe to check to allow other players to stay in the hand, hopefully improve and then feel that it is worth betting or calling your bet later, hence increasing your chances of winning more from the other players.

You hold A(D),J(D)
and the flop comes A(S),J(C),J(S)

You hope that an opponent might also have a jack in his hand – giving him Trips – or that an opponent has two spades in his hand and subsequently makes a spade Flush. You will beat either of those hands, and you want to give your opponents a chance to make them. Then, when you bet (or they bet) you will get more action and therefore more money out of them.

Intention: lie in wait with the best hand and hope that other players bet or call your bets later.

• If you match the odd card, so making 2 Pair, it is usually right to bet at this stage, because you have 2 Pair when your opponents do not. You do not want them to see the turn or river in case those cards are higher and match with their hands.

You hold A(C),9(C)
and the flop comes 9(D),6(H),6(C)

You now hold 2 Pair but, if you check and allow the turn and river to be dealt, you may see a card higher than the 9 appear.

Intention: win the pot there and then, or make your opponents pay to see cards against the odds

If, when you make this play, you are raised, you will have to judge whether your opponent holds Trip 6s, or whether he too holds a 9 in hand. If he does, you have the best possible kicker to go with it. Finally, of course, it is possible that he holds a higher Pair in the hole, maybe two 10s or two jacks. If you believe this to be so, you should fold.

A paired board is a fearful situation to the inexperienced. However, this in itself can be an advantage to you. In poker, fear is vital: you can read it in your opponents’ faces and in their play. To succeed, you must be fearless. I have made a good deal of money betting paired boards strongly. Imagine you are close to the button.

You hold A(D),10(D)
and the flop comes 9(S),9(H),4(C)

everyone checks around to you so you bet the value of the pot.

You are suggesting that you hold a 4 in your hand and that you now hold 2 Pair. Often, everyone folds and you win. If you get called, beware. The caller is likely to hold an overpair (higher than the 4) or a 9 in his hand. If you get called, you can give up on subsequent rounds.

Your security is that you have two overcards – cards that are higher than those on the board – so if the turn shows a 10 or an ace, you may well have the best hand. Generally, to bet in this situation with overcards is sound, but not when there are possible Straight and Flush draws which could destroy your hand, even if you improve, later on.

Many top players might try this action in any position around the table.

Intention: to bluff your way into picking up the pot.

Lower Pairs
I have a simple rule when calling with low Pairs. If the flop produces two or more overcards (cards which are higher than my paired cards), I don’t commit any more money to the pot. If there is only one overcard, I may continue pursuing it and if, by some good fortune, all the flop cards are lower than my paired cards, that will be the time to go in with a big raise and try to win the hand there and then, before threatening overcards hit the flop which may beat my hand.

You hold 7(C),7(D)
and the flop comes Q(H),9(S),4(C)

It is just too likely someone holds a Pair of queens or 9s. Fold if there is a raise.

Poker – Action on the Turn and River

If you have stayed in the hand this long, it had better be because you think you have the best hand, you know you have the best hand, or you were on a draw for what would definitely be the best hand (i.e. a Nut Straight or Nut Flush draw). You may still be in the hand because there has been no betting on the flop, but those situations are relatively rare.

Remember that the most costly hands in poker are not those hopeless cards that you pick up 75 per cent of the time; they are the quite good hands you see 20 per cent of the time and you over-value, staying in the pot too long, committing too much money to the pot and then finding it hard to throw your cards away and wave your money goodbye. The most dangerous hands are the second-best hands – because you think that they might be best and then they win you nothing and lose you the most. Therefore, unless you are confident that your hand is best, or will be best on a reasonable draw, if there is a bet from an opponent just throw your hand away now.

On the turn, if you have a hand that you think is best, do not let your opponents get to see the river for free – if they hit their card on the river, you may have converted a winning hand into a losing hand and then find it very hard to judge at the end.
For example:

you hold A(S),Q(C)
and the flop comes A(C),6(D),2(C)

As you have top Pair with a good kicker, you put in a bet on the flop and you are called by one opponent.

The turn comes 8(D) A(C),6(D),2(C)

If you believe you still have the best hand, you should put in another bet and make your opponent pay to see the river card. If you check and he checks, the river appears for free and he may make a Flush or 2 Pair without having had to pay for the risk. For example:

He might hold A(D), J(S)
or K(C),10(C)
and the river comes J(C) 8(D),A(C),6(D),2(C)

With either of the above hands, you have now been beaten by your opponent: with the first hand, he has 2 Pair – aces and jacks; with the second hand, he has the Nut Flush.

If you had raised the value of the pot, your opponent should certainly have thrown away the Flush draw hand (since he has only a 1/6 chance of making his Flush with one card to come) and he might even have conceded with his AJ.

Either way, to let your opponent see free cards when you think you have the best hand is a mistake.

Recommended Starting Hands for Poker Cash Games

Here is the very basic guide to starting hands and the action you might take with them. As you gain expe¬rience, you will modify these actions to take into account your opponents and what you have learnt about them.

Premium Starting Hands
AA KK QQ AK
Always RAISE in any position; always RE-RAISE in any position.

Good Starting Hands
JJ 1010 AQ suited
CALL in early positions; RAISE in late position; CALL small raises; consider RE-RAISING a button raise or a late-position raise.

Other Starting Hands
99 88 77 66 55 44 33 22 AQ AJ suited
CALL in most positions; consider a RAISE in late position and on the button. CALL (and consider RE-RAISING) small raises and button raises.

Weakest Starting Hands
KJ suited QJ suited J10 suited KQ suited
CALL in all positions, FOLD if raised by a player in early position.
FOLD if the flop does not hit encouragingly (2 Pair, Straight or Flush draw), and there is a raise.

Disadvantages of Online Play

Personal Features

1. There is a temptation to play online when you shouldn’t. Internet poker is so easily accessible that it is easy to find yourself playing when you would be better advised not to (during or after a drinking session, for example). While it is true that alcohol is permitted in most live-action games, you are less likely to run into someone who is playing poker completely drunk in live play than you are online. On occasion, some online players even take the time and trouble to inform others at the table of exactly how much they have drunk! (If you come across such a player, please feel free to e-mail me so that I can join the party.)

2. There are more distractions when playing online than in a brick and mortar cardroom.The fact that most people play online in their homes, means that potentially they could be distracted by other matters and, in failing to pay full attention to the table, start to make mistakes. Whereas in a brick and mortar game, the physical presence of other players should be enough to keep your attention on the game, this safety net is absent from the online game. Most online players are, to a greater or lesser extent, guilty of answering e-mails, surfing the Internet or watching TV while they are playing. (It follows that you will have an instant edge over many of your less focused opponents if you simply give the game your full attention. Online poker is real – the players are real and the money is certainly real!)

3. Like all ‘computer games’, online poker may encourage obsessive and compulsive behaviour in some people.
The relatively easy accessibility of online poker might be potentially very damaging for ‘problem gamblers’, since the next opportunity to gamble is only a mouse-click away. Furthermore, it is easy to get sucked into playing ‘just one more hand’ or ‘just one more round’ and before you know it another hour has passed by.

4. Online poker is a very untactile form of the game.
Most players prefer the tactile qualities of physical cards and chips to making impersonal movements of a mouse around a screen. Indeed, some players like to hold a few chips in their hands while they are playing online, in order to make the game seem more ‘real’.

5. Online poker could potentially have negative health effects. For players who play for many hours each day (like anyone else who spends a great deal of time on a computer) there is the risk of RSI or other computer-related health problems such as eye strain and headaches. Furthermore, nowadays many people already spend their working hours at a keyboard, and it may be unhealthy or unsatisfying for them to spend their free time at a computer as well.

Social Features

6. There is little social interaction online.
For many players the general social interaction of a brick and mortar game is one of its most appealing qualities. If you attend a regular weekly game, for example, you have the opportunity to chat with old friends and share the odd joke while you are playing. Although all online cardrooms offer a chat facility, this is a poor substitute for proper conversation. Professional players who play exclusively online may therefore experience a sense of social isolation.

7. There is no face-to-face psychological warfare.
Many brick and mortar players enjoy the fact that they are engaged in combat with other players sitting nearby; human beings whom they can look straight in the eye, rather than pixelated representations on a computer screen.

8. There are no waitresses bringing food and drink online.
If you need beer or pizza you actually have to get up and fetch it yourself!

Financial Features

9. There is no internationally recognised regulation of online gaming operations.
Many players are understandably wary of depositing substantial funds with online cardrooms. Apart from fears over the legality of playing online poker for real money, there are two main reasons for their concerns. First, if the cardroom were to go out of business, they would most likely lose any funds that are being held on account. And second, if they became involved in a dispute with the cardroom, their account might be frozen without any means of legal redress.

10. It is more problematic to buy-in and cash-out online.
In a live-action game you can just show up with the cash and sit down to play, whereas online poker requires that players have some electronic means of funding their account. Likewise, you cannot simply walk away from an online game with a bundle of notes, but will experience a delay of at least a few days while any cash-out is processed. One side-effect of this is that there are fewer purely casual players online than in a casino – the hassle involved in buying in online is enough to deter anyone with only a passing interest in poker from playing solely on a whim.

11. Online games have a higher hourly variance than live play.

Online players generally experience higher hourly swings than their live-action counterparts. This extra volatility can be attributed primarily to the greater number of hands that are dealt per hour in an online game. However, experienced brick and mortar players may also encounter greater variance because they are deprived of the visual tells which usually enable them to save a few big bets or win an extra pot or two in each session.

12. There is potentially more chance of going on tilt online.
It is more important (and harder to maintain) your emotional control and general discipline when there is no-one else around. The very fact that they do not want to embarrass themselves in public, is enough to prevent many players from going on tilt in a live-action game. However, there are no such emotional checks in place when you play online, and the fact that you are playing with ‘cyber’ chips rather than real chips may accentuate the problem. Furthermore, the online game is so fast that you can find yourself on tilt before you know it.

13. Online games are generally regarded as tighter than live-action games.
On the whole, online players are more poker-obsessed and poker literate and will therefore play in a tighter fashion than their brick and mortar counterparts (for some of whom poker is more a social event, possibly being combined with a visit to the blackjack table, some slots and a little roulette). Indeed, many good players choose to play at lower limits online than they would in a live-action cardroom; the speed of the online game and the fact that they can play multiple tables means that they can earn as much (or more) online than they would in their normal brick and mortar game.
Furthermore, most online opponents are competing at a level with which they are comfortable, and not being forced to play out of their depth just because it was the only seat available. In online play, casual or inexperienced players can choose to play at micro-limits, whereas in brick and mortar cardrooms they would very likely be forced to play at least at $3/$6 or $5/$10 limits. The micro-limits provide these new players with the opportunity to learn to play poker very cheaply before they venture into the online low-limit and middle-limit games. In addition, many of the looser players who provide the ‘action’ in full ring brick and mortar games, opt for short-handed rather than full games online. Finally, weak online players are usually prevented from going on serious tilt for thousands of dollars, due to online credit restrictions. Instead of losing whatever may be in their wallet, without ever having to add it up, these players are forced to establish a proper bankroll when they buy-in.

Game Selection Features

14. You cannot change seats online without leaving the table and therefore possibly losing your seat altogether.
Brick and mortar cardrooms always provide players with the option of moving seats when another player leaves, but in an online game you cannot change seats in this fashion. You must first leave the table and then buy back in, which would place you at the bottom of any waiting list.

Game Play Features

15. You may be disconnected from the site while you are playing.
Every online player occasionally experiences the frustration of disconnections from a site in the middle of a hand, either for Internet connectivity reasons or because of a local problem with their computer.

16. You need to be able to make good decisions more quickly online.
The online game is much faster and more frenetic. In fact, some experienced players deliberately act bewilderingly fast in order to confuse their opponents and perhaps cause them to rush their decisions.

17. It is more difficult to identify and use tells online.
Although there are tells in the online game, these are far fewer and generally less reliable than tells in brick and mortar games.

18. It is more difficult to identify the really bad players quickly.

When a new player joins a table at a brick and mortar cardroom, it is often relatively easy to identify how experienced they are by the way they handle their chips, whether they act promptly in turn, the conversations they have with the dealer and other players, etc. (although it is true that some players do pretend to be inexperienced to deceive their opponents). However, online you have to rely solely on your interpretation of how they are playing their cards. Sometimes a new player to an online game might appear to be very loose, when in fact they have just received a glut of good starting hands. If you were instead able to see them in the flesh you would have immediately been able to peg them more accurately as a solid, experienced player.

19. In the online game there is a risk that players are either colluding by phone or Instant Messenger or perhaps cheating in other ways.
Although collusion does occasionally occur in brick and mortar games, it is much easier to collude online. Indeed it is even possible for one person to be playing two or more hands at the same table.