Entries Tagged 'Tips & Tricks' ↓

The Deck

A deck of playing cards consists of 52 cards. These cards are divided into 4 suits, with each suit having 13 ranks.

The Four Suites

All the Suits are of equal value. No suit is ranked higher than any other suit.

Spades	Hearts
Clubs	Diamonds

The Thirteen Ranks

There are thirteen Ranks in Poker. The Ace is the highest suit, and the lowest is the 2. However, the Ace can be used as a low card (1) to form the straight A2345.

Poker Hand Rankings

A poker hand consists of 5 playing cards. Poker hands fall into one of several categories, such as flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair and a few more others. The player who has the higher category wins. If two players have hands in the same category, the tie is broken usually by who has higher cards. Below is a table of the hand categories, highest to lowest.

Category	Example	Info
Straight Flush		A Straight Flush consists of 5 cards in numerical sequence, all of the same suit. The highest straight flush wins. AKQJT is the highest straight flush, and is also called the royal flush. 5432A is the lowest straight flush.
4-of-a-kind		The highest 4-of-a-kind wins. If two players have the same 4-of-a-kind, then the highest 5th card wins. 4-of-a-kind is also known as quads.
Full House		A full house consists of a 3-of-a-kind and a pair. The highest 3-of-a-kind wins. If two players have the same 3-of-a-kind, then the highest pair wins. The Full House is also known as a boat.
Flush		A Flush consists of 5 cards of the same suit. The flush with the highest top card wins. If two flushes have the same top card, then the flush with the highest 2nd-to-top card wins, and so on.
Straight		A Straight consists of 5 cards in numerical sequence. The straight with the highest top card wins. AKQJT is the highest straight; 5432A is the lowest straight.
3-of-a-kind		The highest 3-of-a-kind wins. If two hands have the same 3-of-a-kind, then the 2 kickers (unpaired cards) are used to break the tie. 3-of-a-kind is also known as trips. If you have a pocket pair in Texas Hold’em, and you form trips by the third card coming onto the board, this is known as a set.
Two pair		The hand with the highest top pair wins. If the top pairs are equal, then the bottom pairs are used to break the tie. If those are also equal, then the kicker (unpaired card) is used to break the tie.
One pair		The hand with the highest pair wins. If the pairs are equal, then the kickers are used to break the tie, first by comparing the highest kicker, then the 2nd highest kicker, and finally the lowest kicker.
High card		If a hand does not fit in any other category, it is judged by high cards. Two hands are compared by taking the highest cards and comparing them. If those are equal, then the 2nd highests are compared, and so on.

Texas Hold em Poker Rules

The Deal and The Blinds

The dealer shuffles a standard 52-card deck.

(In casinos, the dealer never plays. A round disc — known as a “dealer button” — moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which player would be the dealer if the deal were advanced from player to player as the game went along.)

Most Texas Hold ‘Em Poker games start with the two players to the left of the dealer (the button) putting a predetermined amount of money into the pot before any cards are dealt, ensuring that there’s something to play for on every hand.

This is called “posting the blinds.” Most often, the “first blind” — the player to the left of the dealer — puts up half the minimum bet, and the “second blind” puts up the full minimum bet.

Each player is dealt two cards, face down. These are known as the “hole cards.”

Betting Begins

A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. Players can call, raise, or fold when it’s their turn to bet. There are four rounds of betting. One before the Flop, one before the turn, one before the river, and the final round on the turn.

The Flop

After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called burning the card and is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card, and to help prevent cheating.

The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the “flop.”

NOTE: Eventually, a total of five community cards will be placed face up on the table. Players can use any combination of the community cards and their own two hole cards to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

After the flop, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer (the button). During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it’s their turn to bet.

The Turn (Fourth Street)

After the second betting round, the dealer burns another card and plays one more face up onto the table. This, the fourth community card, is called the “turn” or “Fourth Street.”

The player to the left of the dealer (the button) begins the third round of betting.

The River (Fifth Street)

After the third betting round, the dealer burns another card before placing the final face-up card on the table. This card is called the “river” or “Fifth Street.”

Final Betting and The Winner

Players can now use any combination of seven cards — the five community cards and the two hole cards known only to them — to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

The fourth and final round of betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer (the button).

After the final betting round, all players who remain in the game reveal their hands. The player who made the initial bet or the player who made the last raise shows their hand first.

The player with the best hand wins.

Probability is a huge factor in texas hold ‘em. Players use odds to determine their actions. The chances of finishing a flush or a straight, the probablity of getting an overcard, the percentage of times you’re going to flop a set to match your pocket pair are all important factors in poker. Knowledge of these statistics is key to winning. In online games especially with very few (if any) tells, statistical knowledge becomes the main factor when choosing whether to bet, call, or fold.

Here are some terms that you’ll hear whenever you’re talking about poker odds…

Outs

The number of cards left in the deck that will improve your hand.
“I had four hearts on the turn, so I had only 9 outs left to finish that flush.”

Pot Odds
The odds you get when analyzing the current size of the pot vs. your next call.
“There’s $200 already in the pot, and only another $10 bet coming at me, so my pot odds are good if I hit that flush.”

Bet Odds
The odds you get as a result of evaluating the number of callers to a raise. “With a 1 in 5 chance of hitting it, and knowing all six of these guys are gonna call my bet, my bet odds are good too.”

Implied Odds
The odds you are getting after the assumed result of betting for the remainder of the hand. “Since I think these guys are going to call on the turn and river, my implied odds are excellent.”

See Pot Odds Chart

In Texas Hold ‘Em, you commonly use outs and pot odds the most. This is also the starting point for those who want to learn about poker odds. To those out there who “ain’t good at countin’ much”, you better get good because that is how it’s done. At this point it’s only simple division The numerator will be the number of outs you have. The denominator is the number of cards left that we haven’t seen. The result will be the percentage chance of making one of those outs. Therefore, the most math you’ll be doing will be dividing small numbers by 50 (pre-flop), 47 (after the flop), or 46 (after the turn).

Before we move on, I get a lot of questions about why we never factor in opponents’ cards or burn cards.

Pot odds are as easy as computing outs. You compare your outs or your chance of winning to the size of the pot. If your chance of winning is significantly better than the ratio of the pot size to a bet, then you have good pot odds. If it’s lower, then you have bad pot odds. For example, say you are in a $1/$2 holdem game with Jack-Ten facing one opponent on the turn. You have an outside straight draw with a board of 2-5-9-Q, and only the river card left to make it. Any 8 or any King will finish this straight for you, so you have 8 outs (four 8’s and 4 K’s left in the deck) and 46 unseen cards left. 8/46 is almost the same as a 1 in 6 chance of making it. Your sole opponent bets $2. You if you take a $2 bet you could win $40. $40/$2 is 20, so you stand to make 20x more if you call. 1/6 higher than 1/20, so pot odds say that calling wouldn’t be a bad idea.

We should probably clarify one thing. A lot of players want to somehow factor in money they wagered on previous rounds. With the last example, you probably had already invested a significant portion of that $40 pot. Let’s say $10. Does that mean you should play or fold because of that money you already have in there? $10/$40? That’s a big no no. That’s not your money anymore! It’s in a pool of money to be given to the winner. You have no “stake” in that pot. The only stake you might have is totally mental and has no bearing on hard statistics.

The next step is to use bet odds and implied odds. That’s tougher, because it involves predicting reactions of other players. With bet odds, you try to factor in how many people are going to call a raise. With implied odds, you’re thinking about reactions for the rest of the game. One last example on implied odds…

Say it’s another $1/$2 holdem game and you have a four flush on the flop. Your neighbor bets, and everyone else folds. The pot is $10 at this point. First you figure out your chance of hitting your flush on the turn, and it comes out to about 19.1% (about 1 in 5). You have to call this $1 bet vs a $10 pot, so that’s a 10x payout. 1/5 is higher than 1/10, so bet odds are okay, but you must consider that this guy’s going to bet into you on the turn and river also. That’s the $1 plus two more $2 bets. So now your facing $5 more till the end of the hand. So you have to consider your chances of hitting that flush on the turn or river, which makes it about 35% (better than 1 in 3 now), but you have to invest $5 for a finishing pot of $20. $20/$5 is 1 in 4. That’s pretty close. But there’s more!… if you don’t make it on the turn, it’ll change your outs and odds! You’ll have a 19.6% chance of hitting the flush (little worse than 1 in 5), but a $4 investment for a finishing pot of $20! $20/$4 is 1 in 5. So the chances would take a nasty turn if you didn’t hit it! What’s makes it more complicated is that if you did hit it on the turn, you could raise him back, and get an extra $4 or maybe even $8 in the pot.

I’ll let it go at that, as once you’ve mastered simple outs and pot odds, bet and implied odds are just a longer extension of these equations. If you sit and think about these things while you play, it’ll come to you eventually without any tutoring. Good luck!

See Pot Odds Chart

Basic Online Poker Strategy

Playing poker is more about poker strategy than just getting the better hand. Basic Poker strategy is important because poker is a mathematical game. A poker player needs to have the right poker playing strategy according to the pot odds. There’s a lot of poker strategy the novice has to learn before he can play at the tables with the pros.

One way to improve your online poker strategy is to read books on poker tips & strategies. Or you can access the numerous online poker strategy resources. Many Internet poker sites also have sections on poker strategy.

The thing about basic poker strategy is to realize the relative strength at a table. Beginners go into the game with all the wrong poker strategy in their heads. Their poker strategy mostly is the hope that they will eventually improve their hands. You can call this the losing poker strategy in the long run.

In poker games such as Texas Hold ‘em, unmatched combinations of low cards are unlikely to result in a winning hand, whatever your poker strategy is. One thing about poker strategy that is overlooked by beginners is that better players also tend to improve with the draw.

Basic Texas Hold ‘em poker strategy

Luck, despite all the poker strategy, plays a part in the outcome of a Texas Hold ‘em game. Poker strategy improves with experience, self control, and skill. The basic poker strategy is to play a tight, disciplined poker game. This poker strategy is especially important when playing the starting cards.

A winning poker strategy depends on the player’s position in the betting round. The later in betting order the player is in the poker game, the better his position is, and his poker strategy has to change accordingly. The poker strategy also changes with the kind of game being played.

Limit Hold’em Basic Poker Strategy

Without a good Limit Poker Strategy, Limit Hold’em can be deceptive to less skilled players. A false notion held amongst players is that you can simply sit and call down the hands whenever you have pot odds, without taking much notice of your opponents. In fact, this is how a majority of Limit Texas Hold’em players act on low limit tables.

In addition, intermediate players are very commonly afflicted with a lack of discipline (tightness) and a lack of applied aggression (strong attack in the appropriate spots). In general, an overall tight/aggressive style of play is probably the most profitable, especially in intermediate/strong games.

Limit Texas Hold’em Top Advice

• Play only premium starting hands: in a regular game you should see no more than 20-25% of the flops.
• Table selection: beware of tight/aggressive tables and avoid strong players overall as they will “read you and take your money”. Look for loose games where at least 30% see the flop on average and play their hands too far.
• Make sure to have pot odds when you are drawing: only call a bet if the pot justifies the call.
• Always analyze your relative strength in the hand: make a habit of always anticipating the holdings of your opponents and be sure to further evaluate as more information is revealed in later rounds. You will never be truly successful unless you “get under the skin” of your opponents.
• Try to remember the playing styles of your opponents: questions you should ask yourself include, what kind of hands do they raise with? What hands do they re-raise with? Do they call all the way with weak holdings? How do they play pocket- pairs? How do they play their draws? What kinds of hands do they call/raise with from early position? What types of hands do they check-raise with?
• Bet or raise when warranted – do not just call: the structure of Limit Texas Hold’em invites drawing hands, which might even bet into you. If you believe you have the best hand you should almost always bet/raise. You do not want to give any free cards.
• Always have a good kicker: you must have a good side card, or kicker, to your highest card. (Weak kickers create second-best hands, which can be expensive in the long run).
• Be quick to steal pots when you are in late position: when few players are in and it has been checked around to you, a possibility of taking the pot in last or late position might arise. Only do this if it looks as though the board did not benefit anyone. Also, be sure to consider the type of players left in the pot.
• Vary your play: occasionally limp on “raising hands” and bet/raise on some “calling hands”. Do this both before and after the flop in order to avoid predictability in your playing style.
• Fold in time: you will save money if you fold in time. Do not draw when you know you are beat and the pot does not warrant a call.
• Rarely bluff: you must be quite sure that your opponents are not holding strong hands and/or are very weak when you attempt to bluff.

No-Limit Texas Hold’em Basic Poker Strategy

The biggest differences between No-Limit Texas Hold’em and Limit Texas Hold’em involve position and hand value. Position is far more important in No-Limit because the decisions you make will have a greater impact on your stack.

If you trap someone in No-Limit with the help of position, you can win your opponent’s entire stack as compared to collecting a few extra bets in Limit. Big connectors like AK, AQ and KQ decrease in value when you play No-Limit as you are more likely to win small pots and lose big pots with these types of hands. As well, all pairs increase in value when playing No-Limit since you are able to double through your opponents when you hit a set. The big pairs, AA and KK, also increase in value when playing No-Limit as you are again presented with an opportunity to trap someone for his whole stack.

In No-Limit it is important to keep track of the amount of money you and your opponents have on the table. The variation in stack size greatly affects how the game is played. Some examples are as follows:

• You have $500 and your opponent has $25, the blinds are $2-$4. You are sitting in the big blind with a JTs and your opponent moves all-in from first position (a position referred to as sitting under the gun). All other players fold. This is clearly a situation in which you should fold since you are most certainly the underdog and risking an additional $21 in order to win his last $25 is not a profitable play. If your opponent also has $500, then a call may be acceptable as you have a chance of winning $500 by risking another $21. The decision of whether to call or not depends on how well your opponent plays after the flop.
• You have $1000 and your opponent also has $1000, the blinds are $2-$4. You hold QQ and make it $20 to go. Your opponent, who is acting behind you, now moves all-in with his entire $1000. You should fold unless you know your opponent does not have AA or KK. If your opponent made the same play with only $60 in front of him, you should call his all-in bet in the hopes that he does not hold AA or KK.

Top No-limit Texas Hold’em Poker Tips

• Playing too many starting hands: in a standard $2-$4 NL game you should have a 20-30% view of the flop percentage. This means folding AJ in first position, KT in middle position and QT in late position.
• Table selection: only play in games where you have an edge. You want at least a couple of weak players at the table when you sit down.
• “Playing the players”: make sure to quickly assess the opposition: who plays inferior hands, who folds at aggression, who bets with draws, who calls big bets with weak hands and draws, who can be bluffed, who bluffs, etc.
• “Pump it or dump it”: fold or bet/raise (if the odds are with you). You should avoid calling unless you have a good reason (like trapping an opponent).
• Respect most big bets and raises: this is particularly true on the turn and river as most players do not bluff.

No-Limit Texas Hold’em Common Mistakes

• Not releasing a decent hand when beat, thus losing the whole stack on one hand.
• Calling with weak holdings when facing a bet.
• Playing too many starting hands.
• Not raising pre-flop with premium hands (putting pressure on limpers holding drawing hands) and then going too far with them after the flop.
• Over/under betting the pot (risking a lot to win small/not protecting hand).

Basic Pre-flop Poker Strategy

• Most of the time you should raise/re-raise with top-pairs (AA-QQ) and top connectors (AK, AQs) in order to make low-pairs and various connectors pay to see flops against you. Remember, they will often have the opportunity to double up on you if they hit (although many beginners do not realize this and fold too often pre-flop).
• Stick to the premium hands. You will pay dearly to “chase” with second-best hands in NL.
• Keep most raises down to between 70% and 100% (making it 3 times the big blind to go typically equals an 80% pot bet) in order to save money when you get re-raised or called by stronger holdings. If there are limpers in front of you, raise to about 4-6 times the big blind.
• Have respect for strong tight players (for example, you should drop AQ if a strong player raises under the gun).
• When very weak players have entered the pot, be inclined to call and take flops with them.

Texas Hold’em Deceptive Plays

Adding deception to your game can be part of a winning poker strategy and is very important because it makes you less predictable. If your checks always mean that you are weak or your bets/raises always mean you are strong, the more observant players will have an edge on you.

The Free Card
When you are in late position or last to act, you can raise with a drawing hand on the flop. This will likely make your opponents check to you on the turn, thus giving you the opportunity to check (if your hand does not improve) or bet (if you hit your draw). This will save you money if you do not improve and make you money if you hit. However, this move will backfire when you are re-raised on the flop. In these situations, it will cost you money but it remains a good play since you obtained information and have a draw to a better hand.

The Check-Raise
When you hold a good hand and it is you turn to act, check in the hopes that an opponent will bet so that you can raise when your turn comes again. For example, you are in early position and have A -Q . The flop is As-Q -6 . You check and three players in middle position also check. A player in late position bets and you then raise. The reason for check-raising is to make it too expensive for the drawing hands, like a gut-shot straight draw or overcards, to call. The check-raise from an early position also gives you the initiative in the hand. If they still call, at least you have obtained information regarding the strength of their hands and forced them to pay as much as possible for trying to outdraw you.

The Semi-bluff
Semi-bluffing is when you bet or raise with a hand that is not likely to be the best (at the moment) but you have many outs to outdraw your opponents if you get called or raised, although you are actually hoping to win the pot right there. For example, you are in late position holding J -T and the flop shows K -6 -2 , thus giving you a flush draw with 9 outs. There are three other players in the pot and they all check to you. You bet without having the best hand but since they all checked, they indicated weakness and might fold pocket-pairs, a pair of 6’s or 2’s. Even if you do get called, you have 9 outs to the flush and maybe an additional 6 outs to win if you hit a J or a T, 15 outs in total. If called and it is checked to you on the turn, you have the option of taking a free card in case your hand did not improve.

The Slowplay
When you have a strong hand it is sometimes correct to slowplay. This means just checking or calling on one betting round with the intention of betting/raising on later rounds of betting. In Hold’em this is a very common play on the flop, because you want to lure players in and raise on the turn or river where the bets are doubled. This tactic can easily backfire when you let your opponents take free-cards that can beat your hand. Many players slowplay too often and lose pots they would have won had they not slowplayed. When this happens it is mathematical disaster, since you lose a pot you would have won had you bet/raised and now you have to pay off an opponent who has you beat.

In general you shouldn’t slowplay when one of the following criteria’s are met:

• A free card can beat you.
• A free card is not likely to give your opponent a second-best hand.
• There are many opponents in the hand.
• It is a large pot

When you are drawing, there are several tools that will help you make your decisions.

One important tool is “pot odds.” Calculating pot odds is fairly simple.
First, you must count the number of outs you have. An out is a card that will improve your hand.

Once you figure out your chance of hitting a draw, you multiply it by the pot plus the bet to see what the maximum bet is that you can call.

For example, if the bet is $5 and the pot is $45, the bet plus the pot is $50.
Now let’s say you have 6 outs (6 cards will help you). This means you have about a 13% chance of hitting.
If the pot is $45 and you must call $5, you should call because you can call as long as you have at least a 10% chance to hit (5/50, the total pot is 45+5).
However, if the bet to you was $10, you should fold, because that would require a 18.2% chance of hitting (10/55).

This chart shows the odds for making your hand in Texas Holdem on the turn, on the river, and with both cards to come.

Print Friendly Version
This table shows the winning probabilities of two hands preflop.

Poker-Edge 5 FREE Trial

Know everyone’s playing style Get opponents’ real-time stats Find the easiest tables Instantly identify the fish

If we aren’t the first web site you’ve visited looking for online poker tools, then I’m sure you’ve come across some pretty outlandish claims posted on those other poker web sites. Perhaps you’ve been the unfortunate victim of their high prices, marginal functionality, and outright bogus claims. It’s an unfortunate fact of life. There are Texas Hold’em web sites out there that simply do not deliver on their promises and still charge you an astronomical fee!

So without further adieu, let’s get into the nuts and bolts of what makes Poker Sherlock such a ground-breaking tool for online poker players. So, what’s the first thing you should do when you start using Poker Sherlock as your online poker assistant? Use the power of Poker Sherlock to ‘go fishing.’ What I recommend is for you to join a handful of tables, go get yourself a cup of coffee and come back to some analysis from Poker Sherlock to show you where the easiest money is.

Shepherd’s Hollow looks pretty good from these tables. You see 4 fish, and 4 mice. You should be able to go in and dominate this table, and the mice justify you playing more hands(such as drawing to flushes and open-ended straights.) The point: Poker Sherlock will enable you to PICK THE TABLE WHERE YOU CAN MAKE THE MOST MONEY FOR YOUR TIME. There is more explanation of the icons and how to play each opponent further down.

You have Pocket 10’s, and there’s only one other person in on the flop with you. The flop comes 10 8 3. Now, the question is How do I get the most money out of my hand? Well, if you have Poker Sherlock to tell you about your opponent, this decision is a whole lot easier. Let’s take a look at two potential opponents, and how this changes how your hand should be played. For demonstration, we have put both the statistical and bar-graph versions of the player analysis – You can choose whichever display you prefer when you use Poker Sherlock.

If you are playing against ChattyCathy, you can see that the VP$IP is high, while the aggression is low – this would be your typical calling station. You can also see that Poker Sherlock has conveniently flagged this player as a calling station for easy visual identification! Your best move is to bet into her. Her playing style shows that she will likely call you down(He’s seeing 37.5% of the rivers!), but that she will not be aggressive enough to bet into you for the amount you want to make off of your hand.

–BUT–

If your opponent is GM604, you can see that he is a much tighter player. VP$IP is lower, and he is very aggressive. Here, your strategy would be to check-raise. Why? Because GM604’s playing history indicates that he will make a stab for the pot. You can see the bomb next to his name, meaning he is aggressive-aggressive. The red color of his name indicates his tightness(see the VP$IP of 14%). Odds are, when he is in a pot he is going to bet. When he does, you can go over the top and draw out more money

You have AJ off-suit in late position, and there’s a raise of 3x the blind. Everyone folds, and the action is to you. Should you call, or just see some new cards?

Let’s ask Sherlock:
If you are playing against PTall, you can see that he raises over 18% of the time pre-flop. A player that raises 18% of his hands pre-flop is an extremely loose player (unless we are talking about very shorthanded tables). You are likely in a good spot with your AJ and late position. Let’s see that flop!

—BUT—

If luckybenny is your opponent, you can see that he raises pre-flop only 6% of the time, so you can logically assume that a pre-flop raise represents a premium hand, especially when bet from early position. Your A J off-suit is likely an underdog, and we don’t want to chase rabbits. Fold and move on.

Want to know what type of hands your opponents have played in the past (from showdowns)? You simply click the ‘Recent Showdowns’ for any player, and you will see archived showdowns from that opponent.

Here you can see your opponent’s hold cards and what was on the board. If you look closer, you can also see the game type, size of the pot, number of players, position the player was betting out of and the result of the hand. You can also tell if they checked/called/bet/raised on the flop, turn and river. This lets you inside your opponents head to know how they play a certain hand from any given situation. Hand histories are an invaluable tool in analyzing your opponent’s poker shortcomings!

The style of play is going to differ depending on a lot of factors like short/full handed tables, low/high stakes games, limit/no-limit and more. Sherlock can deliver player profiles filtered to whatever type of Hold’em game you are playing! If you want to filter for short-handed, high stakes no limit games it’s simply a click of the mouse away!

That’s not all, either! Poker Sherlock has over 40 stats that you can have displayed. There is a powerful options menu that lets you simply and easily choose which stats you want to know about each player. To see a full list of all of the stats that Poker Sherlock calculates automatically from your online poker play, click here.

Understanding betting habits is crucial for playing Texas Hold’em poker online. Knowing if someone is passive or aggressive both pre-flop and post-flop can make the difference in winning and losing large amounts of money. Let’s examine the nine different profiles that Poker Sherlock will assign to your opponents.

Remember the 80/20 rule? 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers. Well, think of your opponents as your customers. In general, we want to target the Green/Red Fish and calling stations. Poker Sherlock will instantly identify these players to you, and you can exploit them to make the lion’s share of your profits. More detail on poker player profiles.

Poker Sherlock will make it easy for you to find the tables and specific players that you can make the most money from. Simply put, it’s the most advanced and useful poker tool available today.