Texas Holdem Tournament Poker Strategy – Betting Is Communic

The “Language” of Poker Bets

We humans are very perceptive creatures. We are able to communicate in many different ways with one another. By saying something, by saying nothing, by shrugging our shoulders, by winking, delaying, etc. These are all forms of communicating.

Do you realize that when you place a poker bet you are actually communicating something to the other players? Understanding what you are communicating with your betting, and understanding what the other players are communicating with their bets is one of the cornerstones of good poker play.

By mastering this form of poker communications, you will find yourself becoming a truly formidable poker player. If you ignore this betting language, you will consistently lose – it’s as simple as that.

When a player calls, it often just means they’re limping to see the next card with the hope of improving their hand. When a player checks, it typically means they’re not too happy with their current hand, and would like to see another card before making any move. Yes, they could be trapping, but that’s the exception, not the rule.

When a player bets, they’re communicating that they like their hand and they want some action, so they’re risking more chips in order to take control of the action or just take the pot. Whether this communications is “real” or not depends – upon what style of player they are: tight, solid, loose, maniac, etc. and how this player communicates.

If you’ve been paying attention (like you should be), you’ll have a pretty good idea of how “honest” this player typically communicates (bets/plays). Aggressive players who play a lot of hands and raise a lot to drive people out of pots can be generally considered “dishonest” and can’t be trusted to communicate (bet) honestly.

Tight/solid players are relatively honest, usually betting more in accordance with the true strength of their hand, making them easier to read most of the time. Learn to read these different player’s betting signals and you’ll be amazed at how much your game improves.

Decide how “honest” or “dishonest” you want your betting signals to be that the other players are reading from you. Try mixing these signals up a bit so the other players can’t quite tell what to expect from you and it’ll help by causing them to make more mistakes against you, resulting in bigger winnings.

Now, let’s have a look at an example situation. Let’s say you’re in a game with 9 people at the table, and on the button, so you’ll get to act last and have the most information to work with. Your starting hand is good, but not great, such as a 67 spades-suited connector. The action comes around and half of the players have dropped out, and several players have limped in. You go ahead and limp in as well, wanting to see the flop like everyone else. The flop comes: 4s, Jc, 9d – not exactly what you’d hoped for. The first three players check. The 4th player throws out a bet of 3 times the big blind. So, where are we?

Ignoring your hand for just a moment (since we’re talking about betting and communicating – right?), everyone except the 4th player communicated that they didn’t really like the flop, then the 4th player placed a decent bet. Is he trying to steal the pot or does he now have a pair of Jacks? Since we’ve been watching these players’ style of play all along, and we quickly realize that this is a fairly tight player, we would correctly conclude that this basically “honest”, tight player has hit that pair of Jacks.

On the other hand, if the 4th player had instead been playing loose with lots of bets and raises, stealing many pots and pushing people around quite a bit, then they can’t be trusted since they’re fundamentally “dishonest” with their betting communications patterns.

See how this works? Now, about your hand. You need to fold either way here, since the odds of you making a flush or straight aren’t good, and there’s an overpair of Jacks that’s possible and likely based upon what’s being communicated (and someone could also be trapping that checked, too).

So, what are you communicating with your bets? Are you even thinking about that? Before you fire out a bet, you need to consider what “message” you want to send the other players, and make sure your intended message gets through, in order to affect the other players’ actions and control the outcomes more often.

What are the others communicating to you with their bets? What kind of “communicator” are they? Honest or dishonest? Consistent or variable? How much do you believe what they’re telling you? Are you really listening, or just looking at your own hand too much?

So, Betting Is Communicating. Become truly fluent in this “poker language” and you’ll be amazed at how much it boosts your winnings.

Good luck!

Rick

About the author:
Rick Braddy is an avid writer, poker player and top professional software developer and marketer. Visit his Texas Holdemwebsites to learn more.

Beginners guide to poker

You cannot go into any store today, without seeing the Texas Hold Em familiar phrase, which is used to pedal cards, chips, or even poker tables. Texas Hold Em has swept into the mainstream and doesn’t appear to be leaving any time soon.

Surprisingly enough it is becoming popular now in literally millions of homes across the World. It used to be five card which was the staple for poker aficionado’s, now it is Texas Hold Em. The basics are still the same however.

Basic Poker Playing Tips

1.Do Not Play weak Hands. When you are dealt a weak hand, fold quickly. Huge mistakes of players that are just beginning is they tend to play many hands be cognizant of the fact that the top players only play 20-30% of their starting hands.

2. Be aggressive but selective in that aggression. Poker players, who know, only commit chips to a hand when they know more money will be in the pot.

Aggressive players can force others out of the hand by holding the best cards or always-betting high early. Passive players will only win by holding the best cards at the showdown. Choose your style and stick with it.

5. Know your Opponent. In online Poker games, body language is irrelevant, as is studying the experienced Poker player’s body language.

You can however, study the actions of your opponents whether in a Casino or online and use that to your advantage. Observe a table, whether it’s online or in a Casino, before joining it. Watch how your opponents bet, see what they bet, do they hesitate, note what position they are betting from.

5. Your position is your power. Betting after an opponent is valuable because you can find out clues in respect to their hands, while not allowing information out regarding your own.

Against one or two opponents, you will often take the pot by making a significant bet after they have checked to you.

6. If you are losing scale back. When the good hands seem to be missing your position, play fewer hands, try to stay away from marginal hands when

In this kind of run, make your opponents work hard to draw you out, above all never play weak hands from a starting position.

Play Smart

Maximizing wins is easy. Slow playing or trapping will help facilitate making big hands good monetary wins.

Most people know when they have a good hand; it is learning the technique of bluffing and not showing your emotion, which separates a winning poker player from a losing one. A winning poker player will dump his second-best hand while losers usually will call it down and lose at the showdown.

A proven fact is there are general psychological differences that exist between a winning player and a losing player. A losing player has a greater need to satisfy his curiosity, he has to know what the other person had. He may even have a desire to be a police officer and make sure his opponent is not bluffing to make sure he didn’t lose what he could have won.

This mindset will cause losing players to call when they should not. Winning poker players have overcome desires and force themselves to simply play well and only focus on their OWN game.

Poker is Addictive

Poker can be fun, but also very addictive. If you find that you like it too much, then stop before it becomes part of your routine. Many people, especially online, have lost their whole lives to the lure of easy money. Poker is not easy money. It takes skill and knowledge to be a consistent winner. Never assume you will be anything more than a recreational player. If you find yourself addicted, then please seek help. There are many websites and counseling services dedicated to these problems.

Have fun and try to ride Lady Luck till she bucks you off.

Lose at Poker in 5 Steps

2. The most common sign of a Poker Loser is a player who plays weak hands. Wasting your chips on hands which have no chance of winning is about as good a use for your cash as burning it to toast marshmallows. Wait for the right hands, then play, you will be rewarded!

3. Almost all poker players play with some sort of strategy whether they know it or not. If you want to be a Poker Loser then ignore the other players at the table, don’t watch how they are playing. If on the other hand you want to be a winner, do the opposite. Watch the rest of the table when you are in hands and when you’re out.

4. A sure fire way to be a Loser is to forget about simple probability. Remember your chance of winning is important to consider, so is that fact that it changes during a hand as the game develops. To simplify this as much as possible, think about how much you will need to bet in comparison to the pot, keeping this in mind should keep you on the right track.