Sit and Go Poker Strategy: Getting it All in Ahead

The phrase “getting it all in ahead” has been used by many pros in their articles and comments which are meant to be used as valuable lessons to players learning the game or building their bankroll. However, getting it all in ahead is used far too often as a strategy in tournaments when given certain circumstances, it actually should be avoided.

Let’s clarify the phrase first. If you put all chips in the pot pre-flop with AA and your opponent calls you holding QQ, well you for sure got it all in ahead. In fact that’s about the best scenario you can hope for as you are better than a 4:1 favorite, and hey I am all up for plays like that.

Similar situations would be your pocket JJ versus a caller with 99. With a pair over pair your hand will do much better than say your AA showing up against suited connectors. But at 4:1 your +ev is so impressive that you should take that risk even during early stage, low blind levels of a sit and go tournament.

Now how about if you had pocket JJ and your opponent had the AcQc and you both went all in pre-flop? Sure you are likely to be ahead and you guessed right but your JJ is only a marginal favorite against AQs. It will win approximately 54% of the time. You got it all in ahead all right, but is it worth it? Well in a cash game scenario if you did this all the days long, you will come out ahead, but not without some trials to your psyche. In a spot like this, playing sit and go poker tournaments with either hand, I want to see a flop and make sure it’s a flop that either helps my hand, or doesn’t help my opponent’s hand.

Because both are quality hands there is good reason to invest in them pre-flop, but not your whole stack! In fact, your first concern should be to preserve your stack in early in the early going when blinds are low. Part of the reason for this is that low-entry, online tournament players often over play their hands enough that they create huge pots with marginal situations and although they may be right, there are usually victims in these hands too! But a fair amount of low limit players don’t really care about this either, they just want to play bravado style and show you they were right, even if they get sucked out on. Speaking of suck-outs, in the low limits going in ahead full charge, you better learn to deal with suck-outs in a big way.

The other major point about going all in early is that you often lose the chance to make the money later in that same online tournament because you were willing to let it ride. If you really want to play like that, go play in the micro limits or free games because that’s where you can really push marginal edges and not really bother with the outcome. Suffice to say, while building your bankroll pushing 55/45 hands is not going to build your bankroll online.

The Psychology Of An Online Poker Player!

Online poker is a lot different from poker played offline, as you have no idea who you are playing with. In fact, this proves to be a good thing for people playing online.

There are several people who are masters at the game offline, but they lose everything when they try to play online. The reason is that these people make money through tells at offline casinos. They understand when to bluff and when to go big by reading others. Many people think poker tells are the body language of players but it is actually any activity that reveals critical information about the game to an opponent.

Online poker is not just clicking a button and either winning or losing, like most people believe. The major part of playing online poker lies in analyzing the betting patterns, such as the speed of the bet, raise or call, size of the bet etc. Since most online players play regularly, there is standard behavior to be expected.

Also remember that most of the players online are not experts and they enjoy calling. Usually the psychology of online players is that they play loose than when they are playing a live poker game. The reason behind this is that these players only play with non-tangible assets. This is precisely the reason why off-line casinos use chips on the table. It hurts to see the chips go because they are tangible. Online players are less careful even when their chips are taken away because they are just numbers online. They are not likely to bother about the consequences of losing a hundred or even a thousand bucks, until they lose it all. For people who truly play a thinking game, this can prove to be the greatest advantage of online games that far outweighs the fact that there are not too many tells that can be taken advantage of.

Trying to use bluffs is an exercise in futility. A fool cannot be bluffed and there is no point in trying to bluff when playing online. Most people playing online have no idea what the other person is going to do and a foolish player cannot be expected to fold.

All the opponent has to do is click a button and the money disappears and they load quicker than they have lost. This carefree attitude towards money is what makes online poker game great and potentially very profitable to the “smart player”. You must ensure that you do not behave like the others and in fact you should be in a position to take advantage of their behavior.

Introducing Duplicate Poker

So, here’s the dirt: Duplicate Poker is a new poker hybrid that basically consists on playing Pot Limit and No Limit Texas Hold’em under most of the existing general rules, but with a special exception that distinguishes it from regular poker.

Multiple tables. The game is always played in at least 2 tables, sometimes more according to the number of players.

Identical decks. Each table has the same number of players and identically shuffled decks for each hand to be played. This ensures that players seated in the same position at each table receive the same cards, and that the same common cards are placed on each table as well.

Same stakes. All players begin each hand with the same amount of chips, regardless of their previous hand’s winnings or losses.

Table twins play against each other. Unlike regular poker, where you only have to worry about your table opponents, in Duplicate Poker, same-card holders in each table play against each other, which means that the winner of each hand is the player with the most chips of all his or her card twins at the other tables.

Elimination Point. Some Duplicate poker games have an established elimination point that must not be surpassed. The elimination point is the limit of lost chips in a game. For example, if a regular duplicate tournament establishes the elimination point at -30,000 chips, players who lose more than that number of chips will be eliminated. The elimination point is also determined by comparing total chip amounts obtained by all card-twins at the end of each session, in which case when a player does not meet a minimum quota of chips according to the amount accumulated by his/her card peers, he/she will be eliminated.

Duplicate Poker is conquered by skill. It doesn’t really matter if you have good or bad cards. All it takes is for you to use your best bluffing and judgment to win as many hands as possible and accumulate chips. Therefore, all hands qualify to win, as long as your poker strategies work.

A session of Duplicate Poker involves a set number of hands determined by the amount of players listed, and the score results also depend on the rank on which twin-table players fall, according to their session’s total chip amount.

Next week we will talk about the different kinds of Duplicate Poker games available to play, which accommodate to all tastes and personalities.

Poker: When you should go all in – Part 1

Texas hold em’ is a game that “takes five minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master.” This famous saying is indeed true and perfectly expresses the dichotomy of the game. Hold em’, especially No Limit Hold em’ is a complex, dynamic, and sophisticated game that takes many years of practice to be consistently successful at. However, it’s the game of choice for novice and inexperienced card players because of the relative ease in which it takes to learn the game; unlike highly skilled, difficult card games like Omaha and Seven Card Stud where luck is much less of a factor.

My “office” resides in the Bellagio poker room in Las Vegas where I make my living as a professional poker player. The question of when to go all in constantly comes up when analyzing the best way to play hands in specific situations, in both tournament and cash game play. Going all in is a betting option, where you commit all of your chips on the hand you are holding. Many players that are relatively new to the game arbitrarily make bets and calls that don’t really have any meaning because they don’t know any better, and misuse the all in move. A professional card player makes bets for three specific reasons; to extract information from their opponent, to induce a call, or to force their opponent to fold their hand. This is the cornerstone piece of information to remember when deciding whether or not you should go all in. Before you shove your entire chip stack into the middle, ask yourself “what am I trying to accomplish?” If you are simply trying to get information out of your opponent, going all in is the wrong move. But if you determine going all in will either get your opponent to call or fold, depending on which you want, doing so could be the correct choice.

No Limit Hold em’ comes in two varieties; tournament play and live ring (cash) game play. Both present different challenges and guidelines when deciding when the appropriate time to go all in arises. Tournaments have been brought to the mainstream through the World Series of Poker televised on ESPN and the World Poker Tour shown on the Travel Channel. Many that watch these events come to the erroneous conclusion that cash game play is the same as tournament play. This could not be more wrong, as they are two different animals. In tournament play, blind structures escalate with the clock. This is obviously not the case in a ring game, so there is less pressure to make a hand and take down a huge pot. If you go busted in a cash

The best starting hands in Texas holdem poker – Part 8

Instead of regurgitating statistics that can be found in poker books or websites, I will try to explain why some hands in poker are worth holding onto until the flop.

Before I discuss these hands it is important to know that the cards in your hand may actually be the least important factor of whether or not you fold before the flop. Other factors should also weigh in on your decisions such as: the number of players at the table, the amount of chips you have in relation to your opponents, where you are sitting in relation to the dealer, the action that has occurred before your turn, and the playing style of your opponents. These factors should affect whether or not to fold before the flop. For example, If I begin with a 2-7 unsuited, the worst statistical hand in poker because of the small chances of winning with a pair, hitting a straight, or a flush, I would usually fold. However, if I had a lot more chips than my opponents and I was in last position in a small handed game and everyone checked to me; I would be tempted to go all in to steal the blinds with a hand that normally would not win any money. For now, we will put those special situations aside, and focus on the hands that can win you big pots.

Notice that I indicated that I would tell you the hands that would earn you big money, as opposed to hands that people tend to win with. Any pocket pair is a good hand to start with but how much can one win with a pocket pair? You may have the best hand to start out with, but there are only two more cards in the deck that can help you, and one of your opponents may have one! So while pocket pairs are good pre-flop there is not much room for improvement. I want to share with you the hands that will break people! These hands are suited-connectors. The best being the A-K suited the lowest would be the 2-3 suited. Even though the 2-3 doesn’t have the same threat of the A-K, because you can’t really hope to win with a pair here, the 2-3 and other low suited connectors have been known to break some people.

The reason these hands are so dangerous, lies with the plethora of threats they contain. Depending on the flop suited connectors could hit a flush, a straight that your opponents may overlook making your hand all the more dangerous. For example let’s pretend you are in a pot with two other opponents one is holding AA the other AK(unsuited). The flop is A(hearts) 5(diamonds) and 2(hearts).

Because you read this article

Holdem news how To Play Live Online Poker

Live online poker is the next best thing to playing in a smoke-filled room with your best buds. In fact, it may even be better, because you can always find an online game when your friends arent interested in playing in person.

When you play online live poker, youre playing against other humans who are playing at the same online casino as you at exactly the same time.

In other words, youre playing real poker except the guy sitting next to you isnt spilling beer on your chips. Other than that, the game if played the same.

Live online poker isnt any easier to play than face-to-face poker. The chances are that youll be up against at least a few experienced players who know the game better than you do.

Dont be fooled into thinking that no one can see your tells. They may not know when you are raising your eyebrows, or scratching your nose, or doing whatever you do when youve got a good hand, but there are other ways to determine how good or bad a players hand is even when youre playing live online poker. Here are some things to look out for:

Watch the speed of play. When a player takes a long time to bet online, you can be sure hes thinking about his hand.

Look for betting clues like checking and raising.

Look for signs of a player using the Check Boxes and Auto Play features. You can tell when these features have been enabled because their action will take place immediately after the last player makes his play. If you see that the player has checked the Any Raise box, for example, you can figure hes proud of his hand. If, on the other hand, the player is automatically checking, you can conclude that his hand is weak.

Watch how many hands a player folds versus playing. A player who folds frequently is usually a tight/aggressive player who knows when to invest and when to get out. A player who stays in, even with junk hands, is inexperienced. Focus on making his chips yours.

Watch how players interact with the chat box. Normally chatty players, who suddenly go silent, are probably looking at a good hand that requires their attention.

Follow these tips and youll have fun playing live online poker.

For more information on this and other poker related topics, visit our website at http://www.holdem-news.com

The best starting hands in Texas holdem poker – Part 9

The best hands in Texas hold’em poker (PRE-FLOP) are:

1) A-A 6) T-T

2) K-K 7) 9-9

3) Q-Q 8-8

4) A-K 9) A-Q

5) J-J 10) 7-7

Please note that they are the best PRE-FLOP; based on the flop and possible draws, etc., they very well may not be the best.

HOW TO PLAY TOP TEN HANDS PRE-FLOP:

-with these top ten hands, you most typically will raise or re-raise (especially in late position!)

-play super-tight poker to start (people will begin to fear raises from you)

HOW TO PLAY TOP TEN HANDS POST-FLOP:

-always use raising to gain information about how strong your hand is. I usually raise at least 3/4 of what’s already in the flop to start; this gets moderate to poor drawing hands out of the pot, while people holding low pair may think their hands are best and may dump chips to you.

HOW TO PLAY AFTER THE TURN:

-If you believe your hand is best, RAISE; if you think it’s not, FOLD. This is the opportune time to fold, but don’t call, unless you’re skeptical about your hand. However, if you are, I’d say fold and wait for a more opportune moment, when you know that you are holding the nuts.

HOW TO PLAY AFTER THE RIVER:

-If you’ve gotten to the river, I wouldn’t suggest folding. If you’ve played perfectly, you’ll usually be too pot committed to fold; and pot odds suggest that if you’ve played and you think your hand is best, you probably have the best hand, so I’d call. You may walk away with that one last bet the second-best hand wanted to get in there.