Texas Holdem Poker

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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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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No-Limit Texas Holdem Poker is the hottest game in the poker world at present. However, many people, especially at lower limits usually play a limit version of holdem. Although the rules of the game are the same for both limit and no-limit, the games actually play drastically different. This article will go over some basic tips for those just starting to play limit holdem.

First, let’s take a look at the betting structure in limit holdem. In limit holdem, betting preflop and on the flop are in the increments of the big blind. For a $2 – $4 limit holdem game, betting and raising occurs in $2 increments. Betting on the turn and river are done in $4 increments. In addition, there is a limit on the amount of raises that are allowed in limit games. In most casinos the maximum number of raises is three. As a result of the limits on betting, many players are allowed the luxury of playing looser than they may normally.

For players just starting, playing strong hands is just as important in limit as in no-limit holdem. Position is also an important consideration, but the range of starting hands differs for limit holdem. In early position you can pocket pairs from jacks through aces, ace-king suited and ace-queen suited. Other raising hands include ace jack suited, and both ace-king and ace-queen unsuited. From middle position, you can add both nines and tens to raising hands, as well as ace ten suited. King-queen suited and King-Jack suited are also decent middle position raising hands. Late position allows you to raise a wide array of hands. To your raising list, you can add all other remaining, king-ten suited, queen-jack suited, and both king-queen and king-jack offsuit.

In the event that you are facing a raise, while you are learning, you will want to pay close attention to what play you make. Until you gain more experience, use an earlier position play list to decide what to do. If you are in late position and face a raise, then use the hand recommendations for middle position to make a call. If you are in middle position, use the early position hand ranges. Early position is a little different. Most of the raising hands in early position are also ones you can reraise with when facing a raise. Personally, if facing a raise, I would reraise with most of the hands, but I would only call with ace-queen unsuited, and both ace-jack suited and unsuited.

A lot of lower stakes limit holdem games are very loose. By this, I mean that there are at least 4 players seeing the flop. In some cases, you will encounter games that will almost ignore a pre-flop raise. When you encounter these games, you will need to pay close attention to the players at the table and watch what types of hands that they show down. You will see players make plays that don’t make a lot of sense. Don’t let this discourage you. Some of these plays are due to players being experienced; while there is many times that someone just put the money in hoping to hit a hand and got very lucky. Don’t get in a habit of playing every hand just because there are multiple players in the pot.

It is important to watch the type of players in a limit holdem game. If you are in a soft game, you will want to pay attention to how players bet their hands to help determine if they are on a strong hand, a draw, or perhaps connected on the board in a substandard manner. Pay attention to the players that raise a lot. Are they raising with strong hands, or are they raising with garbage hands and just trying to build pots. Pay close attention to flop betting by players. Are they the type of player that will check-fold to a bet if they miss the flop? Do they check call with bottom pair or a pocket pair lower than the board? Do they slow play strong hands to try and induce bets? Watching the players at the table will help you save bets in certain spots and allow you to pick up pots in other spots.

Drawing to straights and flushes are much more common in limit poker. In many cases, if you flop a straight or a flush draw, you will want to stay in the pot to try and hit your draw, especially if multiple players are in the pot. Remember, if you flop an open ended straight draw, eight cards can come to complete your hand. If you flop a flush draw, you have 9 cards that can complete your hand. In both cases, you will want to stay in the hand unless there is a lot of action ahead of you. Personally, if I have a nut flush draw, I will stay in the hand even with a lot of action. Play gutshot straight draws carefully. If you can see the turn and or river for one bet or for free, then continue. Otherwise, the wise move likely is to fold.

Bluffing is virtually a non-issue in low limit texas holdem. It is hard to force a player to fold to just one bet. No-limit holdem can force players to play up to the entire amount of their stacks. For limit players, one bet will represent 10% or less of their chips. A lot of players will also try and “keep you honest.” Sometimes they do it to gain information, while other times they will call you down to keep from being embarrassed. With the betting being fixed, it is really best to play relatively straight forward poker while learning the game. Bluffing becomes more of an issue when you reach higher betting levels where a bet actually means more.

If you are serious about learning limit holdem, I suggest you start out by going to your favorite casino or online card room and sit in on a live game. In live casinos, you will want to start at either the $2-4 or the $3-$6 level. Most of those games can be bought in with $60 or less. Online card rooms have games that are as low as .01-.02 in some cases. Be warned, most low stakes limit holdem will be very loose and soft. Solid play is paramount at these levels. With the above tips, you should be able to hold your own and even beat many low stakes limit holdem games.

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