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The most important reason why it's dangerous to risk all your chips pre-flop is that you simply can't be certain that you are even in a coin flip situation at that time.
Playing people and position post-flop are definitely my strengths. When I get into a hand, I'm aggressive but I'm also paying attention to my opponent's betting patterns.
In No Limit hold'em tournaments, size your bets based on your opponent's skill level. You can cut corners by betting wisely - save a little here and make a little extra there.
It's imperative to save a few chips whenever possible when playing small-ball poker. You never want to risk a high percentage of your chips unless you're dealt a monster hand.
When you're playing cards you can't constantly think about what the money costs you in the real world. You can't be constantly concerned about that if you want to be successful.
If you want to make money playing poker, find a game with a few suckers, fish, donkeys, live ones, or whatever you choose to call a bad player. Just don't let that sucker be you.
Beating a tight game requires focus. You'll need to seek out every opportunity where you can steal a big pot. One way is by representing a hand that your opponents probably can't beat.
If I haven't played with a player before and I don't know anything about them, the more they tell me about themselves, the better I will be able to judge how they think and how they play.
The value of small pocket pairs comes from the possibility of flopping three of kind and winning a sizable pot. To that extent, playing this type of hand is a low risk/high reward proposition.
The most obvious difference between a cash game and a tournament is that in tournament play, once your chips are gone, so are you. In a cash game, you can always dig into your pocket for more money.
As a general rule, the more precious the chips you'd consider betting, the more you should lean toward playing it safe. Check it down; cautious play is usually the recipe for long-term success in poker.
Deep-stack games like High Stakes Poker are the favorites among both poker pros and avid fans of televised poker. In these games, the most talented players shine and the most exciting action takes place.
In tournament play, it's generally advisable to avoid risking large sums of chips in coin flip situations, like pocket sixes versus A-K. After all, the pocket pair is only a very slight heads-up favorite.
There's no doubt that position is a very important aspect of the game. But some players take this concept to the extreme and consequently miss opportunities when they refuse to play hands out of position.
I seldom reraise before the flop no matter what my hand is. By so doing, I'm able to disguise the strength of my hand and can trap unsuspecting opponents who interpret my smooth call as a sign of weakness.
Trump is loose and obvious with his facial expressions. You could watch Donald Trump in a debate and not hear any of the words and you'll still get a sense for when he's pleased, when he's angry and when he's not.
Poker is not a team sport. It's every man for himself. It's perfectly okay to root for your buddies and hope they do well, but when it's time to play the game, you have to give it your all. All by yourself, that is.
The biggest differences between Omaha and Hold'em is that you get four hole cards in Omaha as opposed to two in Hold'em, and in Omaha, you can only use two of your hole cards and must play three cards from the board.
Playing tricky poker doesn't have to mean making bizarre moves or playing way out of character. Rather, it's simply about taking advantage of what you know about your opponents and how they perceive your style of play.
High flops like K-Q-9, K-J-10 or Q-J-8 are dangerous to pocket aces. That's because these flops will more likely to connect with the range of hands that your opponents will typically play, like 10-J, K-Q, 10-10, or 9-10.
To be sure, playing it safe isn't a flashy style of poker. Some even claim that it's too weak and passive. That being said, playing safe poker is still a proven recipe for success in the world's biggest poker tournaments.
I started out as a teenager I was a snooker player, or pool player. Through that I met some other teenagers that were gamblers, if you will, who started basement games. I was just sort of learning on the go, losing my $10.
Playing chess can make you a better poker player because it forces you to think several moves ahead. That kind of intense mental exercise develops a deeper level of thinking than is typically encountered when playing poker.
In golf, no one learns to hit a draw, a fade, or a cut shot until they've been taught how to hit the ball straight. Similarly, novice poker players need to learn how to 'hit it straight' before taking on more difficult concepts.
Check-raising with a drawing hand on the turn is simply a kamikaze gamble. It might work once in a while, but if you consistently attempt it, too often you'll find yourself watching the rest of the tournament from behind the rail.
The ability to perform basic math calculations is certainly an integral part of playing fundamental poker. But in tournament poker, it's equally important to understand that survival often trumps mathematics in coin flip situations.
Too many players focus on physical tells. For both online and live games, you should be focusing more on betting patterns and histories. The ability to figure out your opponent's hand based on his betting pattern is a crucial skill.
You have to play more hands than usual to be successful in tournament poker. While a conservative approach can help you squeak into the money, the only way to win is to mix it up and get involved with a wider range of starting hands.
It's rare to find these true coin flip situations in Hold'em but surprisingly common in Omaha. That's one of the reasons why Omaha is the perfect game for action junkies who relish the notion of flipping coins for large sums of money.
Many players in the big blind get in trouble by calling pre-flop raises; they try to do too much. They don't want to get bullied, so they attempt a tricky check-raise bluff or overplay their hands in an ill-advised effort to push back.
Limit Hold'em is the game for you if you bore easily and crave fast action. Conversely, in No Limit, the game will often slow to a halt when someone is faced with a big decision. That's uncommon in Limit games because all-in bets are rare.
Tournament play demands patience to survive and win. Winning at cash games demands a whole other level of thought and deception. You need to reach into your bag of tricks and run the occasional big bluff to be a consistent cash game winner.
When it came to healthy eating, my parents did their best to set me on the right path. At school, my friends ate McDonalds at lunchtime, but I had a packed lunch that my mother made for me. I hated it at the time, but looking back, I'm glad.
Rarely is it correct to play a hyper-aggressive style of poker. But there are certain situations where a seemingly reckless approach will actually be the most profitable strategy to employ, like at the Main Event at the World Series of Poker.
Powerful drawing hands, like a pair with a flush draw or even conventional straight and flush draws, are often good opportunities to try a semi-bluff - making a bet or raise that you hope will not be called, but leaves you some outs if it is.
If you call a hundred dollars but have a chance to win $10,000, those are excellent odds if you are at a table with people who have two aces or two kings. If you catch a flop you will get all their chips. I just play them because there is value.
The thing that can get confusing is you think, is this guy really a good player or does he just seem that way based on the way that they are playing. That takes longer to figure out, if they really are a good player or they just seem like one [bad].
Less control can be exerted in Limit games because it's more difficult to force players out of pots with structured betting. In No Limit, though, hands can be protected from being outdrawn by making large bets that force opponents to fold weak draws.
Limping in - entering a pot by calling rather than raising - is more complicated than raise-or-fold poker because you'll end up playing more hands. Also, it's difficult to put players on a hand when they're in the pot without making a pre-flop raise.
The best tournament players actually try to avoid risky plays altogether. They prefer to wait for their opponents to make the risky moves. They'll wait patiently until they catch a strong hand. When they do, they'll take down their overly aggressive foes.
The danger of paired flops is directly related to how high the pair is: there's less risk in a flop like 2-2-7 than Q-Q-8. Why? Because most players will fold a hand that contains a deuce but will play hands that contain a queen like A-Q, K-Q, Q-J, or Q-10.
How players react to questions that you ask can give definitive information as to the strength of their hand. Even an opponent who says nothing at all might be sending a silent signal. A mere shrug, an awkward smile, or even a frozen stare can be meaningful.
A common mistake made by amateurs is that they fail to take advantage of players who bluff excessively. Instead of playing possum and letting their aggressive opponents continue to bet, beginners raise too early with monster hands, allowing their opponents to fold.
In karate, as your skill level increases, your instructor presents you with the next belt. But in poker, only you can decide when it's time to graduate to the next level. That's a tricky proposition for some players because it's difficult to assess your own progress.
To be a great poker player, you're going to have to learn this fact: Everything that's said at a poker table is worth listening to. It's all information that you can use to make better decisions, whether people are talking about baseball, politics, or, oh yeah, poker.
I post probably 5 to 10 times a day in my forum. I have a forum directly related to my blog where I will write my blog and people will disagree with me and call me an idiot so then I will say this is why I wrote that and blah, blah, blah. I spend a lot of time online.
Common wisdom in Texas Hold'em suggests that you should raise before the flop if you're planning to play a hand. The saying goes, 'Raise or fold,' but is that correct? Well, it's not the worst advice, but limiting yourself to one of these two options would be a mistake.
While sophisticated plays can work in poker, if attempted by an inexperienced player, they'll usually backfire. Elaborate bluffs and check-raises are best left to experienced players. It's just like golf: don't try to hit a tricky flop shot with that 25-handicap of yours!
Obsessing about statistics won't make you a better poker player. In fact, you'll end up wasting too much valuable time on that stuff when you should be concentrating on crucial issues, like getting a read on your opponents and studying the psychological aspects of the game.
The best advice when playing from the small blind is to mix up your play. The general rules are to fold garbage hands, limp with marginal hands, and raise with hands that are strong enough to play big pots with. Don't allow your opponents, however, to pick up patterns in your play.