Take for example a starting hand of a pair of eights. Most people’s reaction to landing this as their pocket cards would range from somewhere between happy to ecstatic. But if you look at it in the cold light of day with a detached unemotional eye, this isn’t really such a great hand after all.

Statistically, out of all winning hands in Texas hold ‘em poker, a pair or better wins about 55% of the time. A high card is enough to win the hand in around 45% of all cases. Your pair of eights, if you don’t improve by getting a set on the flop turn or river, will only beat a high card or a lower pair and the lower down the pair scale you go, the worse it gets.

The disadvantages of holding 88 are that the only card that improves your hand is another eight while your opponents may well hold two over cards, either or both of which could pair up on the board. Furthermore they could have straight or flush possibilities while your pair means you cannot.

So what can you do about playing pocket pairs, and what’s the best way to take advantage of them?

Strategy

There are two different strategies that you can use with a medium pocket pair like this. The first one is to raise the pot and try to force most of your opponents out of the hand. The less opposition you have when you go to the flop the better and if you can eliminate all but one player from seeing the flop then you have a good chance of winning the hand.

This only works in late position in the hand, if you raise early on and get re-raised or two or three callers, you could be in deep trouble and your middle pair is very unlikely to come out on top.

The second strategy is accepted by most as being the best way for playing pocket pairs which are middle or low in value. What you do here is limp in (ie call your opponent’s unraised bets) and hope that you hit a set (3 of a kind) on the flop.

Three eights is a very strong hand and it offers the possibility of slow playing if the circumstances are right, ie the pot is being raised by someone else. The great thing about this hand is that it’s disguised, your opponents will rarely put you on triples and there is even a possibility of a pair on the board, which would give you an almost unassailable full house.

So the message is clearly to tread carefully with your small and medium pocket pairs. Remember that the lower the pair the less chance it has of holding up and winning you the hand and always be prepared to fold your pair if required.

Poker Winning Dirty Tricks

Most poker players assert that they face a lot of strenuous choices on many situations. Normally, they have to deal with checking, betting, raising, or folding. Because of these, most players believe that they need to equip themselves with practical poker strategy and tips so as to establish the appropriate expectation for every probable move of the players. By doing so, they will know how to act correctly in return.

Generally, psychological poker strategy is a decisive move basically because playing poker involves more psychological activities. A player should know how to read the cards of the other players and must be well adept in reading the actions and reactions of his playmates. The best poker strategy is to know how to interpret body language and talk of the players. Both of these things can divulge a lot of the strengths and weaknesses of the hands.

A good poker strategy also requires a player to vary his poker approach. This means that there should be times that you know how to tactically bluff a game. This, in turn, will make other players have a hard time reading your cards or predict your next moves.

However, bluffing should never be a permanent poker strategy. This should only be used when the need arises. Constant and consistent bluffing may eventually lead to large losses.

A good poker strategy is also about considering the hand strength. A player must not only master the rank of hands but also their relative strength during a poker game. For example, a high pocket pair is a good hand that will be far more likely to be the best hand compared to 2-7 off suit or the lowest possible hand.

Consequently, certain poker strategy may vary depending on the poker variant being played.

In 5 or 7 card stud the hand centers around the down cards.  Strategy may change completely based  on your up cards. For example, in 5 card stud you are dealt a single down card with 4 up cards dealt 1 at a time to allow for wagering.  In our example you are dealt a King of clubs as your down card and a King of hearts as your up card. How you bet should be determined by the up cards dealt to the other players and your read of the other players.
In a Caribbean Stud Poker, a nice poker strategy deals with when to bet timely and appropriately. A good poker strategy will require you to maintain a pair or better. In the event that the dealer showed 10 or less and matches one of yours and you have and Ace-King or better, don’t hesitate to bet. You can also bet confidently whenever the dealer’s card is less than your fourth highest card and you have an Ace-King or better; or if the dealer’s card is an Ace-King and you have a pair of six or better.

Bear in mind to calculate the odds against you such that if the profit is greater than the odds, make the bet. So to speak, when the odds are in your favor, bet as heavily as you can.

But the most important poker strategy of all is: never form a pattern of play. Being able to disguise your play may be the most valuable poker strategy you could have. You must remember to vary the way you play as much  as possible. Never play the same cards the same way two times in a row. This will help you avoid being known to your opponents thereby lessening the chances of losing big bets.

Learn The Strategies The Pros Use

Many people say that to successfully play holdem poker, it takes a long time to practice and master but I believe that anyone could actually be an effective  holdem poker in just a short time, if you really have the determination to do so.  Are you ready to be a master of holdem poker? If the answer is yes, read on to learn more about holdem poker.

Let us first define holdem poker; holdem poker is played with the standard 52 card deck. Though holdem poker utilizes the standard card deck, it differs from other card games through the use of five community cards which are cards dealt face up on the table that all players share. To start the hand, each player receives two face-down cards  – hole or pocket cards.  There is a round of betting, and then the dealer deals three cards face up. This is called the” Flop”. This is followed by another round of betting. The dealer deals a single card face up. This is called the “Turn”. The dealer deals the fifth and final card face up, this is called the “River” card. The winner is determined at the end of the hand. The winner is the person with the best hand, when hole cards and the five community cards are combined to create the best ranked five card poker hand.

There are also rules that are applicable to holdem poker; in fact, there are 3 basic rules in holdem poker. Here are the 3 rules in playing holdem poker:

1. Starting hand Value – Always remember that in holdem poker, the two pocket cards or hole cards are the one which separate you from the other players therefore you must really pay attention to it. An AA (ace-ace) combo has a much greater chance of winning than other combinations like a 7-2 kind of combo. One more thing, in holdem poker, it is better to play good starting hands and quickly fold the weak ones.

2. Position Play – In holdem poker, a person’s place and position could help a person win. Thus being seated in a “late position” is a huge advantage, because you can see all the moves of your opponents before you are required to act. A little observation and a keen eye will help a lot. When you are seated  in the “late position”  make sure you seize the opportunity.

3. Fold – Always remember that holdem poker is about the cards and of course, the bet. If the betting round is getting higher and higher but your cards are weak and you can’t draw to anything, fold quickly. It’s as simple as that.  More advanced players, may consider bluffing, but for beginners I would say it’s best to learn to play the cards before you start playing the players.

Now, enough of the basics of holdem poker and let us talk about strategy, yes, that is right! In holdem poker, strategies are extremely important.  First things first, as a player, you should know what type of game would be suited for you, though this may take time, it is worth it. Once you find your game, stick to it! Another thing, holdem poker is about the odds. There are odds on every part of the game. Never Play against the odds until you have mastered the game.

Reading your opponent is  an important strategy when playing poker. Just notice the way the person plays, is he aggressive or does he play tight conservative play? These observations could actually lead you into a winning streak if you know how to utilize this strategy.

Another thing in playing holdem poker, do not be afraid to commit.  The ace, ace (AA) and king, king (KK) are typical starting hands that very seldom should be played passively therefore be aggressive yet cautious!  I’ve seen too many players try to set traps with killer hole cards only to be out drawn at the “River”.

Until next time Good Luck and Good Gambling!

How To Win Online Poker

How to Figure The Pot Odds

Whether you like it or not, poker is a game of odds. There are odds not only on whether you’ll win the hand or not, but on filling your flush or hitting a set by the river. There are odds on every part of the game. The better you are at calculating these odds the more success you’ll have at the game.
One of the most important calculations is the pot odds. It’s not necessary for you to be a mathematician in order to calculate the pot odds in a hand of poker. Pot odds are the odds offered by the pot to make the call. In other words, the amount of money in the pot compared to the amount of money it will cost to stay in the hand. The math in this is simple.
For example: You go into the flop heads up. The pot contains $100, your opponent bets $50.
The opponent’s bet becomes part of the pot and now the contains $150. In order to call, it will cost you $50. That means the pot is 3 time the bet needed to call or 3 :1 pot odds.

How to Calculate Equity

After you calculate pot odds, the next step is to determine your equity. Your odds of winning the hand against the odds of your opponent winning the hand. The easiest way to calculate the equity is to take your number of outs and multiply it by four on the flop or by two on the turn.
This will translate your chance into a percentage. For example: if you have a flush draw, you have nine outs on the flop. 9×4=36% chance of end up with the best hand. This means you’ll win 36 times out of a 100 hands with these cards. The flip side of this is you will lose 64 times out of a 100 hands played. This percentage converted to a ratio will give you your equity. In other words 64 is almost twice as much as 36, so your ratio would be 2:1. For every hand you win you will lose two in the same circumstance. When making these calculations, it’s not necessary to be exact, close will work.

Pot Odds Compared To Equity

Should you make the call or not? To find out simply look to the numbers on the left.

In our examples pot odds were 3:1 and equity was 2:1. With the 3 being higher than the 2 in the examples, it would be a good call. Every time the pot odds are higher than the equity it is a good call statistically.
Never forget their is no substitute for intuition. Use these calculations along with your intuition and it will absolutely improve your game.