Texas Holdem Poker

Texas Holdem Poker is a great game and has been popularized on television by showing a lot of great tournaments. Times have changed these days you can turn on the television and find great cash games to watch. The game is the same, but the way you play it will change. When playing poker tournaments you can get a lot of praise and acknowledgment for your accomplishments. You play cash games for a different reason, to make money and to make money only. There are subtle differences between the style of play and both have there advantages and disadvantages.

Tournaments

When playing poker tournaments you buy in for a specific amount of money and get a specific amount of chips to play with. The amount of chips doesn’t necessarily correspond with amount of money you bought in for, for example you can play a $5 tournament and get $1500 worth of chips. The main goal of a tournament is to move yourself up the pay scale and make as much money as possible. Winning isn’t everything you can make money for finishing near the top of the leader board.

The Check Down

When playing in poker tournaments sometimes you need to team up with other players to eliminate a competitor. A check down is when a player is all in and gets multiple calls, the players who called would check to the showdown to increase the chances of eliminating the all in player. The reason you should do this is to move yourself up the pay scale, eliminating players increase your chances of winning.

Bad Example

player #1 moves all in and gets called by player #2 (A – K)  and player #3 (9 -9), when the flop comes 9 – 10 – 2 player #3 bets and forces player #2 to fold. When the cards are flipped up the all in player has 8 -7 and the turn comes Q and the river comes J meaning the all in player makes a straight and stays alive. If player #3 had checked down, the player who folded would have made a bigger straight and eliminated the player.

Eliminate players when you have the chance in Poker tournaments, the less players in the event the better chances of you having a good pay day. You never know if that player you allowed to stay alive by not checking down, will hit a card rush and eliminate you later on. Stack size is also very important when playing in a tournament, each players needs to control there chips because that is all they get. You need to manage your risk, and make sure your playing in pots you have no business playing in. Tournament players need to pay close attention to pot sizes and bet amounts. You need to stay ahead of the blinds when playing in tournaments, they will increase consistently throughout the event. If the blinds are high and you are getting low on chips you may have to go all in with a weaker hand.

Cash Games
When playing cash games you buy in for an amount of money and that is the amount of money you will play with. You can always top up your money and insure you have the most money possible for when you pick up a monster. Blinds don’t increase in a cash game, for example if you play $1/$2 holdem, the blinds will remain there for the whole game. A check is not necessary in a cash game, the only thing you have to worry about is making the most money possible for yourself. It doesn’t matter what other players are doing, your goal is not to eliminate other players it is maximize your winnings.

The Straddle Bet

A straddle bet in a cash game in essentially buying the big blind. To player under the gun (left of BB) will have the chance every hand to increase the stakes to play. For example playing $1/$2, the player under the gun can put in $4 before they receive there cards to buy the big blind and act last pre flop. When this happens the stakes are increased for that hand and you will have to put in the straddle amount to call. Its important to know that you can also double straddle, the person next of the straddle can re-straddle and so on. The reason to straddle is to create action in the game, there will be more people in the pot and the standard raises will increase.

Hand strengths change when playing for cash, basically you want to make monster hands and get paid for them. Suited connectors are good hands, you can disguise your hand strength and hopefully stack your opponents (make them go broke). If you go broke in a cash game, you can simply go into your pocket and take out money to continue playing. You can play for as long or as short as you wish, there is no schedule or specific rules. You will also find the in game rules to be a little loser during side games, you may be able to show a card to your opponent or leave and return any time you wish without having to post blinds.

Tournaments and cash games are different, but they are both Texas Holdem. You won’t get a lot of glory for playing in side action games. You will not win a bracelet, people won’t clap for you and you probably won’t end up on television. You play for yourself, you can get personal satisfaction for good plays and winning sessions. The nice thing about tournament is you know how much you will lose when you start, you play a $10 tournament you know at worst you will lose $10. When sitting at cash table there are more questions about money, if you have a bad session you could lose a lot of money. My suggestion is play holdem for cash and in tournaments, you can be successful at both.

Poker Tournaments or Cash Games, Titan Poker offers plenty of holdem tournaments or cash games.

When playing in a poker game, looking for a player’s tells is a skill that every poker player should possess.  This is just one part of reading your opponent.  Another skill that is very helpful for players to develop is the art of giving off false tells.  Using false tells gives off misinformation to your opponents and allows you to take advantage of their weaknesses or even hide your own.

A good false tell that I like to give off involves looking at my chip stack.  One tell that many poker players are taught early on is when a player glances at their chips, they are planning to bet.  This usually means they either have a really strong hand in the hole, or they have hit the flop, turn, or river very hard.  I like to use this to my advantage if I am on a draw or are especially weak.  I will quickly glance at my chips as I want to place a bet in the pot.

This works better for me if I am in position.  If an Online Poker player is planning on being especially aggressive, sometimes they will back off if they pick up on this tell.  Sometimes, I will lean in to look at the flop to make myself a little more visible to my opponent.   Then I will look back at my stack and then at them.  Many times, they will pick up on this and check to me.  I will either then either fire a bluff at the pot or check behind them.  At this point they don’t know if I am slow playing a monster, on a draw, or just a bad player.

A variation of this tell involves checking out how much an opponent has left in their stack.  For instance, let’s take the above scenario, but instead of me looking back at my chips, I take a look at their stack like I am trying to figure out how much they have or how much I can bet.  Sometimes I will do a slight head movement or a little eye movement that makes me look like I am calculating.  Sometimes I will open my mouth a little or even quietly mumble to myself.  This tends to throw my opponent off a bit if they do not have a hand.  They may even look down at their stack or even ask you what you are looking at.  Some will even lean back to let you look at their stack.

This type of false tell has a couple of drawbacks.  First, if your opponent has a strong hand that is in the lead, they are going to openly bet out or even slow play you.  In the example above, if I was to bluff out at the pot and then faced a raise, I would be hard pressed to make a call.  Next, you may be against an opponent experienced in reading false tells.  This sort of tell may not work.   However, at lower limit games and in a lot of tournaments, this will work.   I have found that this works better in games where I have a tight, rocky image established.

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I still play free money poker games online.  A lot of people probably just looked at me like I am insane or probably wonder if I am broke.  No, I am not broke, and I have plenty of cash on the sites I play at to support the games I want to play.  There are many advantages to playing free money games that I would like to go over in this article.

For those just starting, playing free money games gives you the chance to play live poker but without the financial risk associated with real money games.  There are also people that are worried about various local, state, and national laws.  Free money poker is not illegal since you are not gambling for anything real.  You are gambling for the equivalent of monopoly money.

Next, playing free money games can teach you the importance of playing tight.  For instance, I have never had to reload my play money on any site other than Partypoker.  Why?  I would actually sit and try to play proper poker at most of the sites I play at.  On Partypoker, I would play as loose and silly as I could, and as a result I lost a lot.  Many of the free money games, especially at lower stakes, are all loose and hyper aggressive.  There are times that playing a tight game will get you deep into tournaments, and even in the money.  At that point you play a proper game and let the cards fall where they may.

First, free money games give you the opportunity to try out a few things without the risk of hurting your bankroll.  When I want to try out new things in my game, I will play free games, especially no limit holdem.  Holdem has too much variance for my liking and to try new things risking a portion of my live bankroll seems silly if I can do it for free.

You can also use free money games to try and learn the basics and work on your mixed games and other forms of Holdem.  All variants of holdem and other games are offered at free money levels.  While it is true the limits are usually higher, at worst case scenario you can play and reload if you do not do well.

Games also play faster in free money games, especially in tournaments.  A lot is due to the fact that many people are playing loose and hyper aggressive.  Others are not approaching the game as a way to train themselves for live money games.  I try and play every poker session like I am playing for real money.

The final advantage is that, regardless of what happens, you never run out of money to play with.  Regardless of what happens, you can always reload and play again.  Playing free money games may seem like child’s play to some, but there are advantages to playing these games.  Use them as a training tool to make your game better.  That way you can improve your odds when you play for the real thing.

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Playing short handed no limit holdem poker can be one of the most challenging forms of holdem that you can undertake.  Playing short handed requires you to not only be able to read your opponents well, but be able to make adjustments in your play that you wouldn’t normally make in a full ring game.  Today, lets look at playing sets in short handed play.

In most ring games, it is recommended to play lower pairs either cautiously or not at all.  In short handed games you need to change you method of thinking.  Approximately once ever eight times you play a pair, you will flop a set.  When you flop a set, you obviously have a strong hand.  When playing short handed no limit holdem, pot odds are not quite as important as implied odds.  For example, let’s say you have pocket fours and have to call a $20 preflop raise.  Your opponent has $400 in front of him.  If you hit your set on the flop, there is a pretty good chance that you will be able to get a good portion, if not all of your opponents stack.  As a result, you need to play more single pairs.

If you miss the flop with your single pair, then you have the option of getting away cheaply.  Many times, when you miss flopping a set you will have to fold to a bet from an opponent.  There are some cases where you will play against players that raised preflop holding a pair or a hand such as AJ.  On the flop, they very well may check to you depending on the board.  A player that raised with J-J will likely check to you if you flat called their raise and an over card hits the board.  The same may be true if they have aces or kings and the flop comes middling.  In this event, you may be able to draw to another free card to hit your set.

When you hit your set, traditional wisdom says to slow play your hand.  Whether you slow play will depends on a few factors.  First, if the board flops with a potential draw, you want to make the player pay to draw out on you.  Next, if the board comes somewhat nonthreatening, you may want to check to induce a bet from your opponent, especially if it looks that they may have hit top pair of if you feel they have a pair in their hand.  The same is true if you have an opponent that is overly aggressive.

Granted, there will be some times that you and your opponent have sets and they outflop your set or outdraw your set.  These sorts of things happen in poker.  You will have opponents that will chase bad with certain draws and hit.  Others will call with an over pair and hit on occasion.  When this happens, do not let your bad luck affect your game.  It’s normal variance.  You will win the majority of the time when you flop a set.  Play your set as if every time will be a winner.

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Many of today’s poker players choose no limit holdem as the first brand of holdem to learn.  They want to play the game that ESPN has made famous and want the thrill of gambling for all their chips.  Before no limit holdem became fashionable, limit holdem was the primary game played in most cash games.   In fact, many higher stakes cash games are still primarily limit holdem.  For a player that wants to transition from no limit holdem to limit holdem, there are a few things they need to know.

First, pushing players out of a hand becomes much more difficult in limit as opposed to no limit holdem.  If a player has a middle or bottom pair, it becomes easy to make a call when the bet only represents 10% or less than their entire stack.  In fact, depending on pot size, it may be incorrect for them to fold their weak hand, even if they are beat.

Drawing to straights and flushes become more commonplace in limit holdem.  Again, this is due to the limited betting structure.  When a player is holding a flush draw or an open ended straight draw, there are very few instances where they are not getting the right price to chase down a draw.

Bluffing at lower limits becomes nearly a non-issue.  It is hard to make a player fold to one bet unless they have absolutely nothing in their hand.  Chances are that if they are in a hand until the river, they will not fold a hand unless they have a missed draw.  At higher limits when the bet sizes are significantly larger, then bluffing can be beneficial, but realize that even at higher limits that bluffing will not have the same power as it does in no limit.

One key skill that you will need to learn in limit holdem poker is the ability to extract extra bets and when to save bets.  Limit Holdem Poker is about winning bets, not taking stacks.  In no limit you can lose for four hours straight and then win a couple of large hands and finish a winner.  If you have four losing hours in limit holdem poker, two hands will not make back your losses.  The key in limit holdem poker is keeping people in and being able to extract extra bets from them when you are ahead.  Also, you need to find spots where you can save bets.  This may sound contrary to an earlier statement about staying in for pot odds.  It is not.  For instance, you have caught a flush on the river but there is four of your suit on board.  Unless you have the nuts, you probably want to check in this spot.  If your opponent bets, you will call and likely lose one bet.  However, if you bet and your opponent raises, then you will lose two bets to the better flush.  Learning to spots scenarios such as this will help keep your losses down and help improve your bottom line.

Not all limit holdem games play the same way, but the above tips should get you started in your transition to limit from no limit.  Good luck to you at the tables.

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