Preflop Strategy

Rating:

Loading ...

Preflop Strategy Before the flop is where it all starts, where you are forced to make your first important decision depending on all of the variables involved with the hand. It is important to make good, solid decisions before the flop, as it will form the foundations for how the rest of the hand will be played out. If you make a high-quality decision before the flop, you will set the tone for the rest of the hand and give yourself the best opportunity to get into a moneymaking position. However, if you make a bad decision before the flop, you may well set yourself up for a big loss by getting yourself into a sticky position or missing out on a potentially rewarding hand.

Therefore after you have been dealt your cards preflop, it is important to take your time to evaluate all of the different variables in the hand, and not just make decisions on the cards that you are holding. It is important to consider your position and the type of opponents you are playing against, as well as know the correct starting hand requirements. So make sure you think very carefully before every flop and build the foundations for a profitable hand by making the correct preflop decision.

Starting Hand Selection
Choosing which hands to play and which hands to fold is fundamental to playing a winning poker game. The best hands to play in Texas Holdem are:

Big pocket pairs: AA-TT
Big suited connectors: AK, AQ, AJ, KQ
Big connectors: AK, AQ, AJ, KQ

These particular combinations of cards have the best chances of winning than other cards, so if you stick to these you will find yourself in more profitable situations after the flop. It is possible to play other combinations of cards successfully, but if you are a beginner player then it is advised to stick with the big cards until you find your feet at the poker table.

Position
Your position in the hand is an incredibly important variable that you should be aware of in every hand, yet it is something that is all too often forgotten about. The dynamics of play are slightly different in the preflop betting round, as the small and big blind will be last to act, whereas they will be the first to act on every other betting round. However, the general principles of position will remain the same, as you want to try and play more hands where you have position over your opponents than in positions where you do not.

This means that you should avoid playing too many hands in the blinds or in an early position, as being one of the first to act in each hand can make things very difficult unless you are holding a premium hand. Be very careful when playing in the blinds, and don’t feel as though you have to enter more pots in these positions because you have already committed money to the pot. It is far safer to let marginal hands go rather than to call raises with half a holding and play out of position for the rest of the hand.

Remember that position can often play a more influential role than the strength of the cards that players are actually holding, so try and keeping the upper hand by combining good position with good cards.

The cards listed above in the starting hands selection section can be played from almost any position, but you should try and tighten up your starting hand selection in the earlier positions. So as a general rule, you can play with a wider range of the top starting hands in later positions than you should in the earlier positions in the hand.

So the top strategy tips on preflop position are:

Always be aware of your position in a hand
Try to avoid playing out of position unless you have a strong holding
You can afford to loosen up your starting hand requirements in later positions
Don’t feel committed to playing hands when in the blinds

Betting Tips
When the action reaches you before the flop, you will be faced with the decision to either fold, call or raise. If there has been no raise before you, then a call will simply mean matching the size of the big blind, which is also known as ‘limping in’. This is generally not a good play, as if you are entering any pot in Holdem you will want to be making a raise and show aggression. If you are limping in with a hand, you are either entering the pot with a sub-standard hand or you are playing a premium hand too weakly. So the real question you should ask yourself if you are first to enter the pot before the flop is; “Am I folding or am I raising?”

If you decide that you are going to enter the pot, you should be looking to make a raise of about 3 or 4 times the size of the big blind. By making a minimum raise you are letting opponents with marginal hands come in cheaply, and you are almost defeating the object of making a preflop raise. The idea of a preflop raise is to reduce the amount of players that follow you to see a flop, as it is easier to make profitable decisions when there are fewer players in the pot. So make sure to come in with a strong 3 or 4 BB raise, and increase the size of the raise if you find that a lot of players are still calling these raises with marginal hands or if other players have limped in before you.

If there has been a raise before you, you must now consider whether you should fold, call or raise. If you have a poor or marginal starting hand you should look to fold. If you have a good starting hand like the ones mentioned above you should be happy to call and see a flop. If you have one of the top starting hands like AA or KK, should re-raise to help try and get as much money into the pot as possible.

There will be a few cases where limping-in will be an acceptable play. This will normally be when there have been a number of other players limping-in before you, and so you will have better odds to see a flop. The best hands to limp in with are strong drawing hands such as suited cards with an ace or king, or any connecting cards that can make a straight. You are not looking to make top pair in these limped multi-way pots, as they can often land you in trouble. So aim to play hands that can land you a very strong holding or a strong draw, and then comfortably fold on the flop if neither of these materialize.

Top strategy tips for preflop betting:

Don’t be afraid to bet or raise
Make solid 3 or 4 BB raises when entering an un-opened pot
Increase the size of your raise if other players have limped or are calling stations
Avoid limping with mediocre hands
Only limp if you have a potentially strong hand and others have limped before you

Other Preflop Tips

If you are playing in a shorthanded game such as a 6-max table, you can afford to reduce your starting hand requirements so that you can see more flops. If you stick to the starting hand requirements mentioned above, you would probably find that you are folding too often and missing out on opportunities to win money. So you can afford to play other hands such as AT, KJ, KT, QJ and so on.
When making your decision pre flop, you should also consider the type of players that you are playing against. If you notice that a tight player has made a raise, it is likely that they have a very strong hand, so you should re-evaluate the strength of your cards in this hand. Similarly, if a loose player makes a raise, it is more likely to be profitable to be call with a decent hand as you could well be holding a stronger hand than them.
It is important to not be afraid about making bets or raises before the flop. It is important to be aggressive in poker, as it is a winning style that all good players adopt. If you are afraid to make bets and raises when you should be, then you will be making unprofitable decisions and you will find it hard to ever win money from the game. To help accustom yourself to being aggressive, you could try dropping down in limits where there is less money at stake, so that you can become comfortable with playing aggressively and notice the advantages of an aggressive style over a weak playing style.

Tags: Poker Strategy, Preflop Strategy

Click on "digg it" if you like the story!

Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Poker Strategy

12 Online Poker Players to Playboy Mansion

Rating:

Loading ...

AbsolutePoker is gearing up to make dreams come true for 12 lucky Texas Hold ‘em players. The site announced Tuesday that it’s giving away six trips for two to the Kandyland Party at the Playboy Mansion on June 13, 2009.

AbsolutePoker is the only online poker site granted access to the exclusive invite-only party, described as an “evening of decadent dreams.” With Playmates in attendance, the event will feature performances from the exotic Kandy Go-Go Dancers, body-painted Kandy-Models, some of the best DJ’s spinning sexy house and rock mix grooves, an open premium bar, special cuisine, and more.

“Our players can live out their ultimate ‘man-tasies’, and with our newest promotion, who can argue with the chance to experience a night of pure indulgence — sexy ladies, non-stop entertainment, plus VIP treatment — all wrapped up into the Kandyland ball at the Playboy Mansion,” said a spokesperson with the online poker site. “At Absolute Poker, we offer access to hot-ticket items and events that continue to set Absolute Poker apart from the crowd.”

The party will be hosted by the Karma Foundation, which is calling the Kandyland Party a “Willy Wonka meets Alice in Wonderland” type of experience. The company is transforming the Playboy Mansion with dazzling lighting effects, florals, huge mushrooms, enormous lollipops, giant candies, hearts, cool fuzzy cotton candy textures, candy cane poles for its Kandy Dancers, chocolate bars, Skittles, M&Ms, toys, and Kandy Kane Lane.

Online poker players are invited to play in AbsolutePoker’s free daily satellites, which began running February 16th. The top 30 players in each satellite will secure a spot in a second round tournament the following Sunday. The top 10 players in each Sunday tournament will then win a seat in one of three final events where the top two finishers will each win a Playboy Mansion prize package valued at $6,500.

Each package includes:

Two VIP invitations to the Kandyland Party — where you will enjoy VIP treatment with your own private cabana, champagne, personal waitress, and unlimited Grey Goose Vodka!!

VIP Tour of the Playboy Mansion by a Playmate!!

Money for travel and three-night hotel accommodations!!

Do not let this unique chance pass! Sign up here!

Tags: Absolute Poker, Playboy Mansion, Poker News

Click on "digg it" if you like the story!

Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Poker News

Basic Texas Holdem Poker Rules

Rating:

Loading ...

Basic Texas Holdem Poker Rules The Texas Holdem version of poker is one of the easiest to learn. It is for this reason that it has now become the most popular poker variant both online and in casinos. The simplicity of the Texas Holdem rules allows new players to pick up the game and start playing after a few minutes, whilst the depth of the game helps keep players interested for years. This guide aims to give you a complete understanding on how Texas Holdem is played, and it will take no longer than 5 minutes. So take a little of your time and learn how to play the hottest card game in town.

The Basics
Texas Holdem is played with a 52-card deck and poker chips. Texas Holdem can be played in a cash game style, where there is no time limit and each hand is played with real money. The game can also be played in a tournament style where each player receives a set amount of chips at the start, and the winner is the player that obtains all of the chips on the table. Tournaments can also be played for real money, where the winner takes all or part of the other players’ buy-ins.

Each player is dealt two cards face down on the table, these are called ‘holdecards’
5 community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table in 3 separate stages
‘The Flop’ is the first stage, where the first 3 cards are dealt face up
‘The Turn’ is the second stage, where 1 card is dealt up
‘The River’ is the final stage, where 1 last card is dealt face up
Players use a combination of the 2 cards in their hand and the 5 cards on the table to make the best 5 card hand (see Texas Hold’em Hand Rank)
At each stage there is a round of betting
If there are still players left in the hand after the final round of betting, the hand will go to a ‘showdown’ and the best hand will take the money in the pot

Betting
Betting is a fundamental part of poker. The amount you can bet depends of the variant of Texas Holdem you are playing. In Limit Holdem you can only bet a fixed amount on each round. In Pot Limit Holdem you can bet any size you wish up to the amount that is already in the pot. In No Limit Holdem you can bet any amount of money on any round up to the amount you have in front of you. There are numerous stages in the game of Texas Holdem where betting can take place. The rounds of betting are listed in order below:

Holecards are dealt
Round of betting
Flop is dealt
Round of betting
Turn is dealt
Round of betting
River is dealt
Round of betting

In each of these rounds of betting, you will have 3 options available to you depending on what has happened before the action reaches you. The two situations you will be in are acting after there has been a bet, or acting after no bets have been made.

Acting After No Bets

Check – By ‘checking’ you do not put any money in the pot, and the next card will be dealt if no other bets are made.
Bet – By betting you put money into the pot. This means that the other players must call this bet to see the next card to be dealt.
Fold – You also have the option to fold, but this is rarely done because it is currently free for you to see another card and give yourself an opportunity to make the best hand.

Acting After A Bet

Call – By calling, you put the same amount of money into the pot that the other player has ‘bet’. Therefore you will see the next card if no other players raise this bet.
Raise – You can raise another player’s bet and force them to call an additional amount of money for them to see the next card.
Fold – If you do not wish to put more money into the pot, you can fold your hand. Your hand will be declared ‘dead’ and you will no longer be able to win the money in the pot.

Dealing
The cards in Texas Holdem have to be dealt in accordance to a simple set of rules. These rules help to keep the dealing fair, and prevent the cards from being fixed.

Holecards must be dealt 1 at a time from the top of the pack in a clockwise motion starting from the dealer’s left.
Before the flop can be dealt, a card must be ‘burned’ which means that this card is dealt face down on the table and placed to one side.
Before the turn, another card must be ‘burned’
Before the river, one final card must again be ‘burned’

As you can hopefully see, Texas Holdem is a very simple game to pick up. It is also a very enjoyable game and can be played for real money or for entertainment purposes without the use of money. Due to the betting nature of the game, it is possible to learn skills and strategies to improve the way you play and win money through playing poker.

Tags: How To Play Poker, Poker Strategy, Texas Hold'em