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Position

April 16, 2010

Your position at the poker table during a hand should have a big influence on the way you play any hand. Your position can determine how much money you win, or even whether or not you actually win the hand.

Position in poker is something that is all too often overlooked by newcomers to the game, and sometimes even by some of the more experienced players. To become a solid player, you have to exercise good poker strategy and use position to your advantage. If you are not always trying to keep aware of your position at the table, then you are leaving a big hole in your game.

Your position in each hand is determined by the placement of the ‘button’. The ‘button’ is the dealer’s seat and all actions must take place one after another in an anticlockwise motion from player to player, starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer.

The group of players who will be the first few to act on each betting round are known as players in ‘early position’, and therefore the players who will be the last few to act on each round are known as the players in ‘late position’. As you might have already guessed, the players in between these two groups are known as players in ‘middle position’. The button is the best seat in the hand because that player will be acting last on every round of the hand, except only for pre-flop.

The players who are in late position have an advantage over the other players at the table because they will be the last to act on every betting round. This means that they are able to see how their opponents act and play their hand before they have to decide how to play their own hand.

For example, if a player in late position sees an opponent check before them, they can infer that there opponent has a weak hand, and so they may decide to make a bluff to try and take down the pot. If the positions had been switched around however, the player now in early position will have a harder time trying to run a successful bluff, because they no longer have any information on the strength of their opponent’s hand. Being out of position in any hand can cause many problems, and hinder any good Texas Holdem strategy you might posses.

When deciding whether or not to enter a pot you should always be considering your position at the table. If you are one of the first to act you have to remember that your opponents will have access to more information about your hand on each betting round, and so will be able to have the greater ability to bluff you off of your hand if you show any weakness. Knowing how to bluff in poker is important, but even more important is knowing when to bluff.

If you intend to play a hand from early position, you should make sure it is a premium hand to give yourself the best chance of winning. Consequently, you can loosen up your starting hand requirements in the later positions because you will have the advantage of acting last on each round.

Mathematics and Poker

April 16, 2010

A big question amongst many poker players is whether or not you need a good knowledge of poker mathematicsto be a winning poker player. The simple answer is that it is by no means essential to incorporate mathematics into every situation, but by doing so you should be giving yourself more of an edge. The maths involved in poker decisions is not complex by any means, and anyone with a standard level of education is able to perform the calculations quickly in their heads whilst at the poker table.

Mathematics can be used in poker to work out the probability of certain cards being dealt at any point during the hand. If we are able to work out the probabilities, we can then determine whether or not it is worth calling a bet to chase after a draw. So obviously if we can work out that a certain draw is unlikely to be completed by the river, we will be less inclined to call big bets to try and catch those cards. Using the probability of completing a draw along with the amount you have to call in relation to the pot to figure out whether it is profitable to chase after a draw is called pot odds.

Pot odds can be worked out calculating the number of outs in relation to the number of cards left in the deck as well as the bet amount we have to call in relation to the size of the pot, then these number are compared to work out if a call is profitable.

For example, if we are on the flop and we have a flush draw, there are 9 cards left in the deck to complete our hand. There are 47 cards in total left in the deck, 38 of which will not make our draw, so by putting these numbers together we get a ratio of 38:9, or put more simply, 4:1 odds of making our flush by the next card. Therefore, for every 4 cards that will not make our hand, the other 1 card will. If you find this method difficult, you can use poker odds charts to help you quickly figure the odds out.

The next step is to work out the ratio between the size of the bet we have to call and the total amount in the pot. So if the size of the pot is $50 and we have to call $10 to try and hit our flush, the odds we are being given are 50:10, or put more simply, 5:1. Now when comparing the two ratios, we have 4:1 odds of completing our hand with 5:1 odds to try and hit our hand. This means that the odds are in our favour because the odds we are getting from the pot are greater than the odds we are getting from the cards. Therefore if we make the call, this will be a profitable call in the long run.

As mentioned, mathematics is all about winning money from online Texas Holdem in the long run. Just because you are able to work out the pot odds for each individual hand, it does not mean that you are more likely to win the hand. You may lose many hands in a row, but as long as you have the correct pot odds to call each time, in the long run you will come out on top as a winner. Poker mathematics is a great weapon to add to your poker arsenal, and it is good to know when you should and should not call bets for each drawing situation.

Choosing a Table

April 20, 2009

In the lobby of each poker room they have stats on the tables. Considering these factors before jumping on a table can increase your chances of leaving the table richer rather than poorer. You should learn to do this from the start not just when you’re an experienced player.

 

Average Pot versus Stack.Your stack that you sit down with must be sufficient for the average pot on the table. If you sat down at a table where the average pot is $50 but your stack is only $10 then you will encounter the following:

 You hit a monster hand, the same time another couple of player hit hands they are prepared to bet to the end with. Because of you only have $10 you will all in early with the remaining players continuing to bet building up a large side bet. On the show down even though you have the best hand you only win from the smaller pot as that’s all you put in. The other pot with most of the money will go to the player with the next best hand. You missed the chance to win a large pot with an almost unbeatable hand.

 Or in an attempt to avoid busting out you play over cautiously. By doing this you might pass up good wining hands in your determination to stay in the game.

 Or your opponents will take advantage by calling and raising your bets knowing that you haven’t got enough to hurt them if you do win a hand.

 So how much should you have for the limits you want to play at? Essentially you need enough to cover a long loosing streak and still have enough to maximise your winnings should a monster hand come along. Each table has a minimum and maximum buy in amount. Ideally you sit down with the maximum amount.

 

Quality of Opposition.This is the most important bit. If you get it right you should win, get it wrong you will probably lose.

Before joining a table watch to see what the action is like. The tight players who fold most things will be harder to beat. The ones that call a lot or go all in a lot will be chasing hopeful hands. Using the correct strategy against these players and you should win. In the lobby you can gage this by looking at the Plrs/Flop column. This is telling you the percentage of players who bet through to the flop. The higher the figure, the looser more profitable the table will be.

Relative Table Position.When you sit when you join a table isn’t as important as table selection but it still should be considered when before choosing your seat. Ideally to your right you want the strong tight players. If they act you know they have something then you can fold. You then want the loose and maniac players to your immediate left. Having them on your left means you can see how the other players react to there play. You can also use the loose player to your advantage. If you hit the top hand that cant be beaten and just check the loose player will raise. Any one after them will call if they have anything half decent. Then when the betting gets to you, you can now raise with plenty of money already in the pot.

Identifying Dangerous Opponents.There are two types of players that are dangerous. The professional poker player. Yes they do play poker online and they might just be sitting at your table. Not only are they dangerous as they know how to play but also because they know to mix up their play to disguise their play. When looking at a table playing before you join, if you see this sort of player then find another table. They will be folding most hands but raising persistently when they do have something.

The other type of player who is dangerous is the maniac. They are very easy to spot. They will be playing every hand. Often raising and re-raising right done to the river but more often than not they are loosing. Now and again though they get lucky and do hit the hand. They are difficult to play as you can never put them on a hand.

Identifying Weak Opponents.Better known as “fish” They are weak players and is what any good poker players wants to find at the table. On your table rekey you can spot these fish by looking for players who play too many hands. Players that give themselves a boastful sounding alias. This can be a sign of immaturity and immature people are usually bad at poker. Players who consistently lose. They might not be genuine fish and just down on their luck but you can still take advantage.

 

Number of Opponents.

The more people at a table, the less chance you have of winning. Tables are commonly 10 or 6 seated. If you find you don’t have enough self discipline to play at ten seated table try switching to 6 seated.

 

 

 

 

Choosing the right sort of game

April 20, 2009

 

All online poker rooms offer the three variations of Texas Holdem: no limit, pot limit and fixed limit. The betting structure is different in the three variations but the rules are just the same. Making the right choice to which to play can mean the difference between having a bankroll and having to redeposit.

 

No limit means just as it is called. You can bet whatever you like up to the amount in your stack. This does make it possible to lose your entire stack in one hand.

 

Pot limit games are very similar to no limit with the only difference being you can only bet up to the amount already in the pot. The safety in this is in early rounds where the pot is smaller you are less likely to be faced with a monster bet to stay in the game. But keep in mind that if the betting s heavy the pot size will increase rapidly which will mean so will the maximum bet allowed.

 

Limit games have bet sizes all pre-determined. Also most poker rooms limit the number of raises during a round to four. This includes a bet, raise, re-raise and cap. The cap being the third and final raise. After a round is capped players can either call or fold. Limit is considered a safer games for beginners as there is no danger of being faced with a huge bet.

 If you play at Poker Stars you might find a famous name at your table

 

Playing Big Pairs

April 20, 2009

It is always great to see a big pocket pair like AA, KK or QQ when you look down at your holecards in Texas Holdem. These top 3 pocket pairs are the best possible hands you can be dealt before the flop, and so you should expect to make a hefty amount of money from them throughout your poker-playing career. However, if you are not careful with these big pairs and if you do not exercise good strategy with them, these types of cards can easily lose you money when not play them correctly.

One of the biggest mistakes novice players make when playing big pairs is that they tend to slowplay them at every opportunity. Whilst it may be a good idea to play very strong hands on the odd occasion in poker, it is far too early to start slowplaying a hand before the flop, and by doing so you will just be allowing your opponents to improve on the flop and on future streets. Therefore whenever you are dealt a big pocket pair you should almost always raise before the flop to thin out the number of opponents and build the pot to increase the amount of money that you can win.

Now although AA, KK and QQ have been lumped into the same category here, I am going to split these hands up into two, and give a few basic strategy tips whilst playing them. I will firstly go through a good strategy for AA, and then I will go through tips on how to play KK and QQ well. The KK and QQ have been grouped together due to the fact that there is the possibility that overcards can appear on the flop, whereas this is not possible whilst holding AA. So lets move onto the strategy for each of these hands…

With a hand like AA, you always want to be looking to raise or re-raise before the flop. It is never good Texas Holdem strategy with AA to limp or simply call a raise because you are missing the opportunity to get more money into the pot with the best hand, and you are giving weaker hands the opportunity to overtake you on the flop. You shouldn’t be worried about the fact that players might fold and you win the pot uncontested at this point, as it is always better to win a small pot than lose a big one.

After the flop you should again look to keep the action flowing by betting and raising. You do not want to give anyone the correct odds to call for any straights, flushes or drawing hands at this point, so make sure you put them to a tough decision for their chips. However, there could be the possibility that one of your opponents has made a better hand than you on the flop, and so you should always be aware of the fact that you may no longer hold the best hand. But in spite of this, you will normally still be ahead and so you should continue to build the pot unless you have reason to believe otherwise.

When playing hands like KK and QQ, you should again be looking to bet and raise before the flop. It is very rare to come up against a better hand before the flop when holding either of these hands, so be happy to be betting and raising to reduce the number of players that will be joining you to see a flop. Many players say that you should never fold KK before the flop because by doing so you are losing money in the long run, and I have to say that I agree. You especially want to be limiting the number of players that you are up against with either of these hands because of the fact that opponents can easily make a better hand than you be hitting an overcard like an Aces to make a bigger pair.

Now on the flop you will be in one of two situations; you will either be facing overcards or you won’t. If there are no overcards on the flop, you should continue to play the hand like you would do if you were holding aces, as both situations are quite similar. However, playing a big pocket pair when there are overcards on the board can be a little tricky. A good way to play is to bet like you feel you still have the best hand, and then evaluate where you stand after your opponent responds. It is unlikely that you will be winning a big pot any more in this situation, and if the pot does get big it is likely that you will be on the losing end. So be prepared to let the hand go if you come up against a lot of action.

On the final few streets with big pairs you should continue to build the pot unless you are quite sure that you are no longer ahead. If you haven’t improved by the turn or the river, you should remember that you still only hold 1 pair, which is by no means a monster hand. It is important to never get ‘married to the hand’ when you have a big pair, as they are by no means invincible. Always consider the possibility that your opponent could have a better hand than you if they are also playing aggressively by betting and raising too. It is not easy to lay down a big pair, but you have to learn to do so when you genuinely believe that you no longer hold the winning hand.

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