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Archive for the ‘Poker’ Category

Not long ago Joe Cada won the WSOP Main Event becoming the youngest winner in World Series of Poker (WSOP) history beating out 46 year old Darvin Moon a logger from Maryland.

With the youngsters win I expected there would be an influx of “young’ns” flocking to online poker sites to learn how to play poker. Most new players will likely be around Joe Cada’s age and at some point will end up playing in a brick and mortar poker room very soon. Many of them won’t know the first thing about table etiquette so hopefully this list will help. Even more important for those that have been playing for some time now, I hope this list helps you stinky effers out there that just don’t have a clue. Please take this as your clue and be observant and try washing your ass once in awhile.

1. Take a shower

Please take a shower before you go to the poker room. Just using a quick swipe of deodorant on those sticky pits that you haven’t washed in 3 days will not last very long. You may not realize it but you stink and everyone around you knows it’s you. Wash your hairy ass too, you got poop stuck in it.

2. Do Something About that Stench in Your Mouth

Smokers AND Non-Smokers. Smokers bring a tub of mints with you and use them after your smoke break the while tables smells you when you come back. Non-Smokers you too!! Most of you think that because you don’t smoke your breath can’t possibly smell. However after you’ve had your mouth closed for so long that disgusting pit becomes a cannon of shit vapor every time you open it. Don’t talk to me and if you need to please do so from the next room.

3. Brush Yo Damn Toof

So you’ve showered and you think you’re ready to go play some poker right after you have a glass of chocolate milk andeat the rest of mama’s homemade pasta from last night. You know that pasta that she loads up with garlic when she’s cooking it? Taste soooo goood!! Guess what? What you ate last night is seeping through your pores right now as well as still permeating from that cave a death. Wait don’t worry about brushing your teeth, brush that tongue because it smells like you’ve been licking your ass with it.

4. Don’t Fart/Burp

Ok so everyone has to pass some gas or burp after awhile. It’s understandable but when you have to try stepping away from the table and allow that fart to spread at someone elses table before coming back to ours. If you have to burp at the very least turn your head all the way around like your Linda Blair and away from the table. Let it all out before turning baclk around.

5. Wash Your Hands

Go to the bathroom wash your freakn hands dude when you’re done. You’ve been touching chips that everyone else has been touching then you gotta go touch your junk and comeback to the table. The last thing I want to do after smelling you is touch your dirty penis as I’m stacking your chips.

6. Don’t Crowd Your Neighbor

Look fatso you’ve taken up enough room you don’t need and you cannot have more room from me AND I don’t want to smell your stinky ass anymore. Be considerate.

7. Don’t Be the Table Captain

So you’ve played more online tournaments than anyone at your table or you’re so damn old that that none of us will ever see as many hands as you have in a whole lifetime. Not everyone plays as bad as….wait…..not everyone plays like you and it’s not your job, nor do you have the right to tell anyone how to play. Shut up!

8. It’s Not The Dealers Fault

Just because you got beat by a 2 or 4 outter does not mean the dealer did it to you on purpose. In fact most dealers cannot stack a deck on you even if they tried too. Most of the time the cards are scrambled and shuffled a couple of times then thrown into an automatic card shuffler, cut and then the dealt to the table. Be patient, keep your mouth shut and wait for the donkey that just slammed you to make a mistake. You wanted that call, it just didn’t work out.

9. Don’t Tap The Tank

Speaking of being patient and waiting for others to make a mistake don’t berate another player because they made the bad call of the decade and got lucky. Don’t tell them how they should have played it. It’s their hand not yours and once again you want them to make these calls, that’s how you get paid. Congratulate them and a well played and then tuck yourself back in kelp and wait for that fish to come back, then eat him alive.

10. Show Your Damn Cards

If you were the last aggressor don’t play the “you show first game” it’s stupid and holds the game up. If you bet out show your damn cards, if you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar everyone will know anyway.

Short Version: Don’t Be The Ass That You Are

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Andy Bloch on Semi-Bluffing

Andy Bloch

The semi-bluff is one of the most powerful weapons in any poker player?s arsenal. If there?s a decent chance you can steal a pot by semi-bluffing, you should usually take it. But, as with any play you make at the table, the semi-bluff is always most effective when you use it at the correct time in the correct situation. Semi-bluff too much and your opponents will know when you?re on the draw; semi-bluff too little and your opponents will know to fold whenever you bet. The key to semi-bluffing is to always mix things up and never become too predictable with your betting patterns.

Let?s say that you?ve flopped the nut flush draw and are pretty certain your opponent has connected with the flop in some way, be it top pair or maybe even a set. A lot of players like to check-raise as a semi-bluff in this spot. There are a couple of problems with this play: first, if you always check-raise in this spot then your opponent will be able to put you on a draw very easily. Second, if your opponent really does have a hand, there?s no need to check-raise here because there?s no way he?s folding and there?s a good chance he?ll pay you off anyway if you hit your hand.

A better move in this spot might be not semi-bluffing and just calling instead. This way, if you hit your flush on the turn, your options are wide open ? checking, calling or raising are all viable plays ? and your opponent won?t be able to put you on a hand quite as easily. By not semi-bluffing, you increase your chances of winning a bigger pot when your opponent actually has a strong hand. There are players out there who?ll assume you?re not on the draw if you don?t semi-bluff, so use that to your advantage.

Now, if you don?t think that your opponent has a strong hand or your draw isn?t that strong (say a low flush draw), this is the perfect time for a semi-bluff. The semi-bluff should be used as a tool to steal pots when the opportunity arises, not as a means of building big pots.

Another good way to mix up your semi-bluffing game plan is to wait until the turn to semi-bluff rather than always doing it on the flop. This can be a dangerous play because you?ve only got one card to come on the turn and you?re not getting the same odds. But it also means that your opponent is less likely to think that you?re semi-bluffing and put you on the draw. It looks pretty strong if you call on the flop and then raise on the turn; your opponent might think you?ve flopped the nuts and throw away a pretty strong hand.

Another advantage to semi-bluffing on the turn rather than the flop is that you could pick up additional outs on the turn. Say you have a gut-shot straight draw on the flop and then pick up a flush draw on the turn. You?ve just gone from four outs to about 12, which might be worth a shot at taking down the pot right then and there. A lot of players will also have trouble putting you on the flush draw in this spot; it?s just harder to see that flush draw on the turn than it is on the flop.

Once again, the key to a good semi-bluff is picking the right spot to pull it off. Choose poorly and you could stand to lose a good portion of your stack; choose well and you could throw your opponents off balance and hit them where it hurts when you make your hand.

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The Rebuy Tournament Game Plan
Michael Gracz
7th January 2009

Michael Gracz

Going into any rebuy tournament, you should know before the first cards are dealt how much money you?re willing to invest. Whether you?re playing with a single bullet (not planning to rebuy at all), enough money to rebuy 50 times, or somewhere in between, you should have a number in your mind. You need to know from the start how many risks you can afford to take, and play accordingly.

For me personally, I don?t believe in playing with a single bullet or with unlimited ammo. If you?re only planning on making one buy-in, then why not play a regular No-Limit Hold ?em tournament? Playing a rebuy tournament with only one bullet, you have no safety net and you?re giving the other players a significant edge over you because they?re able to exploit your reluctance to gamble.

If you?re pushing your stack in over and over, looking to accumulate chips and willing to go broke repeatedly, there?s a certain amount of upside to that, but I don?t believe it?s the best expected value play. Yes, that maniacal approach can sometimes get you into the post-rebuy period with a large chip stack, which of course provides an edge for the rest of the tournament. The problem is that if you?ve spent something like $25,000 in a $1,000 buy-in tournament, you have to finish that much higher in the money to come out ahead. A lot of times when you?re rebuying that many times, just making the money doesn?t cover how much you?ve invested into the tournament.

My personal rule of thumb is that I like to be willing to invest in the tournament in accordance to the payout amounts. I don?t ever want to get to the point where I?m investing significantly more money than the lowest money place pays. So in a $1,000 rebuy tournament, I?m willing to put about $8,000 into it. Some days, it?s just not your day, the cards aren?t falling your way and you have to leave and come back and play another day. It?s foolish to sit there and keep putting your stack in the middle when you have no edge and often times you?re up against a better hand.

When you?re playing this middle-of-the-road strategy, it?s important to identify the maniacal players from the outset because they?re going to be very dangerous, but they?re also going to provide you with your best opportunities to chip up. These players are actually the prime reason to play in a rebuy tournament, because you can feast on them. They?re going to open with all types of hands from all different positions, so you can call with marginal hands in position such as 10-9 suited, 8-7 suited, 3-4 suited, even one-gappers such as 6-8 suited. I also want to put a lot of pressure on this type of player before the flop if I have a big hand like Aces, Kings, or Queens, simply because this is the type of player who?s really willing to gamble and might just go ahead and ship the rest of his stack in right there.

In the last 10 to 15 minutes of the rebuy period, if you?ve been able to acquire a stack, this is a critical time in the tournament to play smart. If the hyper-aggressive players don?t have a lot of chips, they?re going to be pushing it all in almost every hand to give themselves a shot at a big stack heading into the post-rebuy period. If you have an edge in a given hand against these guys, use it, but you don?t want to gamble too much. Remember that you?ve acquired a stack now and it?s your goal to maintain that stack in and after the rebuy period.

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I would laugh and call FullTilt Poker a joke but they really have had some of their pros put out some good and really helpful articles on playing poker.

However they have now thoroughly confused me with this “tip” by Phil Gordon. I suppose maybe they needed him to actually do some work for what they pay him. Too bad Phil Gordon failed.

Phil I’d like to give you a good kick in the nuts if you were serious when submitting this to FullTilt. Do you really not think poker players run this through their head? It’s soooo basic that even a beginner will do this. Phil Gordon you are a joke.

The Script

Phil Gordon

April 4, 2005

In an effort to simplify my decisions, every single time it’s my turn to act, I try to run through the same script in my head:

Are my opponents playing conservatively? Aggressively? Tentatively?

What are some of the hands my opponents are likely to hold?

What do my opponents think I have?

Once I have the answer to the first question, and feel confident about my range of answers for the second and third questions, I move on to the most important question:

Should I bet or raise?

If I think I have the best hand, I nearly always answer “Yes” and I bet or raise.

If I think I can force weak opponents out of the pot with this bet or with future bets, I nearly always answer “Yes” and I bet or raise.

If I don’t think betting or raising is the right decision, I move on to the last question:

Should I check (or fold)?

If I think I have the worst hand, I nearly always answer “Yes” and I check or fold. If I think my opponents are strong, I nearly always answer “Yes” and check or fold. After a careful analysis, if I’m not sure if I should raise and I’m not sure I should fold, I feel confident that calling a bet (or checking) is correct.

I find that even in straight-forward and obvious situations, by running through the script I often find opportunities that other players might miss. And by asking the “raise” question before the “fold” and “call” question, I ensure that I am playing aggressive, winning poker.

Try using this script next time you sit down at the table, and see if simplifying your inner dialog forces your opponents into making more complicated decisions.

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I copied this a long time ago from another site, wish I could remember which one as I would be happy to give them credit.

This brief poker strategy guide is aimed towards beginning players who know the rules of Texas Hold?em, but have little or no knowledge of actual poker strategy.? This guide is targeted towards those playing low limit poker.? No limit is an entirely different game and in my opinion, should only be approached after having mastered limit.? It?s much easier on the emotions to have a bad losing session of limit than it is to have one at no limit where you could potentially lose several buy-ins within an hour or less.

The starting hand chart is designed for the specific purpose of helping new players to? tighten up and not lose their poker bankrolls right off the bat.? If you follow the chart, you will play far less hands than you are probably used to.? This is intentional, as one of the purposes of the starting hand chart is to teach players to tighten up their play.? Many beginning or uninformed players play more than 75% of the hands dealt to them, and then become discouraged when they realize they?ve just blown $200 in one sitting.? Especially at the beginning, you should never play more than 30% of the hands dealt to you.? The chart is in some cases overly conservative and is meant to be used as a learning tool.? After you have studied and understand the basics of pre-flop strategy, you will want to loosen up in some cases based upon the type of game and the players you?re facing.? The starting hand chart was put together based on data gathered from thousands of hands played by an advanced player.? This guide is in no way complete.? I would strongly suggest further reading and study once you understand the basics of limit Hold?em.

Playing solid poker is about making good decisions more frequently than poor ones, even when it seems like all you?re doing is losing money.? You might fold A9 offsuit from early position and then see a flop of AA9, and then kick yourself because by your thinking, you messed up big time.? Well, you didn?t screw up.? Although it?s painful to watch a big pot slip away that you think you should have won, you need to realize that playing good, solid poker? isn?t about receiving gratification right now.? It also isn?t about feeling good.? It?s about winning more than you lose, over the long run.? It?s about making correct choices more often than incorrect ones, even if in the short run it appears that you?re losing money.

This is one of the things I love about poker.? It?s strange at times.? You can play technically perfect poker, and lose.? Or you can play lousy poker and win big.? That?s what keeps poor players coming back.? If poor players never got lucky, then the only people left playing would be good players.? And that?s a horrible thing to contemplate!? Poor players remember fondly the time they got lucky with 5-2 offsuit and hit their runner runner straight on the river.? People have selective memories.? They?ll remember the few times they hit their straight and choose to ignore the 100 other times their hand lost them money.

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After reading this you may be interested in reading the Top 10 for Poker Table Etiquette

Poker Statistics And Hand Probabilities

Opening Hand Odds For Texas Hold’em

AA ————————- 220-1

KK ————————- 220-1

QQ ————————- 220-1

Pocket Pair ————————- 16-1

AKs ————————- 331-1

AK ————————-   110-1

KQs ————————-  331-1

KQ ————————-    110-1

Ax ————————-    5.7-1

s=suited??? x=any card

Odds Of Hitting The Following Hands On The Flop For Texas Hold’em

Flopping a pair ————————- 2.2-1

Flopping a set when holding a pocket pair ————————- 7.5-1

Flopping a flush when holding two suited cards ————————- 118-1

Flopping a flush draw when holding two suited cards ————————- 8-1

Completing a flush draw ————————- 1.8-1

Completing a backdoor flush draw ————————- 23-1

Probability Of Completing A Particular Hand In Texas Hold’em

Royal Flush ————————- 4 hands in 2,598,960? or? 0.000154%

Straight Flush ————————- 36 hands in 2,598,960 or 0.00139%

Four of a Kind ————————- 624 hands in 2,598,960 or 0.0240%

Full House ————————- 3744 hands in 2,598,960 or 0.144%

Flush ————————- 5108 hands in 2,598,960 or 0.197%

Straight ————————- 10,200 hands in 2,598,960 or 0.392%

Three of a Kind ————————- 54912 hands in 2,598,960 or 2.11%

Two Pair ————————- 123,552 hands in 2,598,960 or 4.75%

Pair ————————- 1,098,240 hands in 2,598,960 or 42.26%

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One thing I’ve noticed since the “poker boom” has come into place is so many players in cash games and tournaments are quick to push all in. TV has made many poker tournaments and even cash games a total donkfest with so many all in moves. Hopefully this article below from one of the best and most highly respected poker players in the world will enlighten those that watch too much television.

Got this from a poker site that I hate but since I am stealing it from them I suppose I must give them credit. Article from Full Tilt Poker.

Early Tournament Strategies by Allen Cunningham

Many players’ first exposure to poker comes from watching WSOP and WPT tournaments on TV, and I think that’s great. It’s entertaining and you’ll see some interesting plays, but viewers have to understand that they shouldn’t model their games based on the action they see on TV.

Why? The answer is simple – what you’re seeing is unrealistic and edited for television. Players in these televised tournaments often start with very deep stacks (sometimes 10,000 chips or more) and, most of the time, all you’ll see on the broadcast is action from the final table where the blinds are high and play is fast. In contrast, the majority of the low buy-in ($1 to $20) tournaments you’ll encounter online usually start with stacks of 1,500 and blinds of 10/20.

Because your approach to the early stages of these tournaments is key to whether you’ll make the final table, the question is, what should your strategy be?

I suggest adopting a simple approach, especially if you’re not a very experienced tournament player. Try not to play too many hands and aim to see a few cheap flops with small/medium pairs if possible because these can provide some the best chances for you to double or even triple up during the first couple of levels. There are many times when you may be able to put in 5% of your stack or less to see a flop and try and hit your set. You’re 7-to-1 to flop a set, but you may be getting 20-to-1 implied odds early on since a flopped set will often be the best hand, and you’ll have a good chance to double up against weaker players who may overplay top pair.

If you are expecting a few callers, you might want to limp with these hands pre-flop. You may also just want to flat call with these hands if there are already a couple of people in for a small raise when the action gets to you. But, if the action is folded to you in late position, you definitely want to raise and take down the blinds. If you want to play conservatively, you can safely throw away small pairs in early position. As I said previously, you don’t want to commit more than about 5% of your stack pre-flop with small and medium pairs (maybe 6% or 7% max), and when you play from early position there’s no guarantee that’s going to happen.

Of course you also want to be playing your monsters like AA and KK, and other hands like QQ, JJ, AK and AQ. Remember early on when stacks are deep, you’re not going to get a lot of action for all of your chips unless you’re up against a pretty strong hand.

There are no concrete rules as to how fast you should try to build your stack in the early going, but the main thing you don’t want to do is go broke by playing too loose. In smaller online tourneys you will either be in the money or close to the money without having to win too many pots if you can just play tight and hang around for a couple of hours. If you speculate too much or take too many coin-flips when you don’t need to early on, chances are that you’ll end up on the rail and miss that opportunity.

Even if you make it to the fourth or fifth level with just a little above starting stack, you’ll usually be in good enough shape to take a run at the money. Remember, getting into the money and beyond is what counts – so learn how to start your tournaments the right way and give yourself the best chance to be the last player standing at the end.

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“Poker is a tough business,” says Erik Seidel. “You can go through long streaks when you don’t win anything.” When things go badly, when you can’t seem to cash in a tournament or win a significant pot in a cash game, you come to understand the importance of maintaining an adequate bankroll.

Just how big should your bankroll be? How much money do you need to ensure that a bad run won’t put you on the rail? Most pros agree that the answer depends on a number of factors, including the types of games you’re playing, the level of competition you’re encountering, and your psychological disposition.

As Jennifer Harman says, “Some players can be effective on a relatively short bankroll, but others need more of a cushion.

They’ll get stressed out and play scared if they don’t have enough money behind them.” So you need to be aware of your comfort level at the table. If you’re nervous about what you stand to lose in a given pot, you’re probably playing too high for your bankroll. Harman, recommends a conservative approach and suggests maintaining a bankroll that leaves plenty of room for downswings. “If you’re playing $10-$20 limit, I think $10,000 is about right,” says Harman.

John D’Agostino agrees, “You should never play a limit where you feel uncomfortable.” He suggests that a player shouldn’t put more than five percent of his bankroll in play at any time.

The need for a sizable bankroll exists for tournament play as well as cash games. Erik Seidel, a tournament specialist, notes that long droughts are common for tournament professionals and that entry fees can add up quickly. “If you were to play all of the $10,000 buy-in events, you could spend half a million over the course of year,” says Seidel. “Even top players can have years when then don’t cash for $100,000, so having a proper bankroll is critical.”

“You need a much bigger bankroll in tournaments than you do in side games,” agrees Chris Ferguson. “A lot of people play tournaments without nearly enough. You easily need 100 buy-ins. Maybe 200.”

Playing over your bankroll is fine once in awhile, but all the pros concur that it’s important to leave yourself plenty of money to recover from unlucky hands and the occasional mistake. D’Agostino, one of the top young players in poker, offers one further tip for hanging on to your money. “Don’t play Phil Ivey heads up. I tried that once and I failed miserably.”

Written by FullTilt staff Writers

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Honestly visual tells in poker aren’t that common and in good players are very hard to see. However occasionally you see something, it may be something very minor but you may eventually pick up the pattern and place a value on what it means. This list may help you look for things and actually see them but then again maybe not. At the very least if you use what you find here in a live game it may help you pay more attention to what’s going on

1. Watch the Eyes
This is why many pros wear sunglasses or visors/caps when playing, they know that the eyes rarely lie. For example, many players can’t help but stare at big hole cards, so their length of time peeking is longer. Conversely, if a player is looking to steal the pot, he may look to his left to see if the remaining players, who haven’t yet acted, have quickly glanced at their cards and are likely to fold. Another example, a player may try to ask you questions about your hand, knowing that people rarely can “look someone straight in the eyes” while being dishonest.

2. Facial Expression
Again, many pros try to disguise their entire face by wearing a cap and looking downward. This is to avoid the classic stare-down that poker pros are famous for. They may try to study your face for nervousness (detecting a weak hand), or even look for repetitive characteristics like a body “tic”. You may have obvious unhappiness Read the rest of this entry »

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Below is an article by Any Bloch and was posted on Full Tilt Poker’s Website. There’s always so much discussion from people about playing only premium hands that I thought this would be a good article to counter the nits and set miners out there. Stop thinking you’re better than every one else, there may be a reason for the hands we play.

Personally I play whatever feels good at the time, literally I do. I have been called every name you could imagine but 90% of the time I have good reason for playing an off hand. The other 10% is just donkey play, yes I said it, I am a donkey.

Loosening Up Before the Flop ? Part 1
Andy Bloch
March 20th, 2008
Knowing what to do and when to do it is what separates those who just play in tournaments from those who make final tables. This is especially true in No-Limit Hold ?em, where the first decisions you?re faced with are what hands you should play and when you should play them. As the blinds get bigger and antes come in to play, these decisions become even more crucial. In these situations, one of the most critical errors that people make is not varying their pre-flop strategy enough.

While many pros advocate playing a tight, aggressive game Read the rest of this entry »

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