Thursday | June 12, 2008

Fate, Free Will, and a Flip of the Cards

I believe it is this “free-will” factor that has caused the phenomenal growth of video-poker machines in American casinos since they were first introduced in the 1970’s. Unlike the deterministic slots, the video-poker machines offer the hope of a better tomorrow. With slots, the machine gives you the decision and you have to live with it. But in video poker it is different. Got a zilch hand? Discard it and draw another. The video-poker machine stimulates our basic human emotions of hope, anticipation, joy, and disappointment. In addition, the video-poker machine gives us some responsibility for the results of our choices. On the slots you are not responsible for what eventuates because the god-in-the-machine determines everything and merely informs you of its a priori decision. But in video poker, you are partially responsible because your decisions help to determine your future—especially your long-term future. Thus, the character of your play will determine your ultimate economic fate. Character is fate, as some Greek philosophers contended. just let me

When you know that you have some responsibility for the decision about to be rendered, you are engaged on many levels. Why? Because you are on the line. Intellectually you know that you must make a choice and that choices have consequences. Emotionally you know the joy or sorrow that success or failure will bring. Nothing can quite compete with that delicious sensation of receiving four cards to a royal flush on the initial hand. As you discard the junk card and press the draw button, your heart pounds with anticipation and, yes, dread. In the back of your mind, in some adrenaline- soaked reverie that skirts the surface of your waking consciousness, you picture yourself as attendants come over to pay you your huge win. In a stop-action, mental motion picture, you watch and experience the crowd of people who will come over to slap your back and congratulate you on your good fortune—a fortune that you know you deserve because you made the right choice.

Of course, it almost always ends in disappointment—as do so many things in real and reel life. And this you know, too, that more than likely you will be disappointed. You won’t get the royal flush. And you know that usually you don’t get anything for your efforts but the lingering aftereffects of that momentary adrenaline rush when all things were in the malleable future instead of in the concrete past. Sometimes fate will throw you a bone and you’ll double up one of your high cards to break even and live to play another day—in some cases that is. But you were involved; you were engaged, and you got to make some choices. All this passes in lightning-time through your nerve fibers as you press the DEAL-DRAW button to create the fate that your choices will help to seal.

Posted by Rohn at 17:48:48 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday | June 03, 2008

Hollywood, California A SERIOUS GAME

Poker - Jeux de Poker
Bobby was first to awaken. He turned on the television at low volume, found nothing to his liking, took a shower and went looking for a soft drink machine. He found one in the office lobby.
A couple had just checked in, and the sleepy manager was preparing to return to his bedroom.
“You boys like the room?”

“Well, there’s a guy in the room next to you—been livin’ there for two months—who’s a little deaf. You know, he turns up the television real loud. He plays poker in Gardena most every night. Don’t get home till sometimes four in the morning. So if he bothers you, just let me know.”
“Where’s Gardena?” Bobby asked, the mere mention
of poker stimulating his curiosity.
“I’d say ‘bout twenty minutes south down the
freeway,” the man yawned. “Why? Think you’re a poker
player?”
“Yeah, I play a little.”
“Well, you gotta be twenty-one to get in. Besides, they
don’t play seven-stud or nothing like that. Only games
legal are five-card draw and lowball.”
“Lowball? I know how to play that.”
“Speak of the devil! Here’s the man I was telling you
about. How’d you do tonight, Henry?”
Henry was a tall, slender man of about fifty-five, wearing tiny glasses that fitted his nose almost comically. He peered down at the young Baldwin, looking like a librarian scrutinizing a pesty child.
“What you say there, young ‘un?” Henry greeted
blandly.
“Nothing much,” Baldwin said. “How ‘bout youT’
The manager said, “You gotta speak up. He don’t hear
too good. “Kid says he likes to play lowball,” the manager shouted.

Bobby and Henry walked back toward their rooms, leaving the manager to return to his dreams. “I got a deck and some chips,” Henry said. “You can just come over if you feel like it. I’m right next door.”
“May be. I’ll have to see if any of my friends woke up yet. They might want to do something.”
No one was awake. Bobby thought and thought. He’d never played cards with a stranger. He figured this situation called for caution. So cautiously he thought it over.
Then he barged headfirst into it.
When he knocked on Henry’s door, his heart thudded. But the man put him at ease. In fact, it was Henry who insisted that both of them put up cash to buy chips. Baldwin wouldn’t have to worry about getting paid.
Another reason he wouldn’t have to worry about it was: he never got ahead. It just seemed that, although Henry drew two and three cards occasionally, Bobby was drawing more cards, more often. And not seeming to connect, to make it worse.
About twenty minutes into this one a.m. competition, Bobby finally made a miracle. He’d turned a three-card draw into a six-high and beat Henry out of four dollars. The next hand saw Bobby make a two-card seven. But it LOST! Things got worse, and pretty soon Bobby had gone through more than thirty dollars and had no more in his pocket.
”“Be right back.”
Shaken by his bad fortune, the sixteen-year-old Baldwin returned to his own motel room and shook Danny out of his slumber.
“I need some money, Danny. Ten bucks will do.”
“Okay. Just take it out of my pocket. Over there on the chair. What time is it anyway?”
Learning that he’d been sleeping roughly twelve hours, Danny got up, dressed and accompanied his friend to Henry’s room. Things got a little better, then worse, then better. At least Bobby was holding his own, though, in truth, Henry was the superior player. Even Danny sensed that. But not Bobby. He just kept plowing into pot after pot with two card draws.
Until Bobby got stuck over forty dollars, they’d been playing dollar limit. Then Henry suggested they remove the limit and allow either player to bet whatever he could come up with, so long as the other guy could cover the bet. Playing that way, Bobby ran several successful bluffs and got to where he was only losing $23. The last hand they played went like this: Bobby holding K-5-3-2-A, opened for fifty cents. Henry raised two dollars, Bobby raised two dollars more, Henry raised five dollars and Bobby fought off an urge to raise again and decided to just call.
Henry dealt two cards to Bobby. “One! I want one,” Baldwin said.
“What?”He half shouted, “You gave me two cards. I just want
one.”
“Oh,” said the partially deaf man, sliding the second
card back onto the top of the deck. “I don’t want none.”
Bobby was first to bet. He looked at his card, sque64
He half shouted, “You gave me two cards. I just want
one.”
“Oh,” said the partially deaf man, sliding the second
card back onto the top of the deck. “I don’t want none.”
Bobby was first to bet. He looked at his card, squeezing it secretly. A four! Bobby had made the perfect lowball hand, a wheel. He bet ten dollars and Henry hesitated, looked back at his hand, considered raising and finally just called. The showdown saw Bobby’s wheel knock off Henry’s 6-5-4-3-A.
Shaking his head miserably, Henry said, “You sure
you got the right card? I gave you two and you only took
one, so how d’you know you got the right ‘
Posted by Rohn at 19:35:03 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday | February 25, 2008

“Play Poker”

Playing Caribbean Stud Poker Online means a lot to me and it’s not just a game but it’s a passion for me. But many people play this game just to make money no matter how it comes but I play this game. But I always used to help the beginners and share my knowledge with them. Here I want to tell the importance of hands in poker.

The next hand was dealt, and this is what Freddie, still Hushed with his earlier victory, saw: Fred's prospects are bright. He has a better than even chance of making the straight at this point with only one of his straight cards exposed. His chance of straighting is very close to four out of seven. Fred considers raising. He wants to sweeten the pot. Jim bets and when it comes Fred's turn he has reached no conclusion. He calls. Fred's next card is the 30. Al bets 30 cents with a pair of 7s. Jim bumps it to 60 cents. Fred, who was still wondering about raising before the betting started, is now relieved of the problem and merely calls. Frank drops. Freddie now draws the 3 of clubs, giving him a pair of 3s. He frowns. AI checks. Jim bets. Fred and Al call.

Fred's final card is the ace of clubs. Fred is annoyed. He started with an excellent draw to a straight. It hasn't come in. Here is Freddie's hand:

Al checks and Jim bets 30 cents. Fred starts to fold. He looks at his hand once more, with a startled double-take. He has drawn a flush! Fred raises. Al drops. Jim calls.

Freddie wins a big pot!

On the next hand Fred draws 10, 8, and 6. He stays and gets a 7.

One 9 is exposed. His lucky streak might materialize. He is already ahead for the night, and another win will sweeten it. Fred stays all the way, trying for an inside straight, and doesn't make it.

The pot cost him close to $2, as a pair showed early and there was a raise to 60 cents on one of the bets.

Was Freddie lucky or unlucky? Actually he drew better than average cards, so in that sense he was certainly lucky. He won one large pot and one small one out of six. He played three of his losing pots all the way and dropped early in the remaining hand. He ended up about even. This was one of his better sessions. Imagine the results when he draws poorly.

Let's experiment. Assume AI played Fred's cards in the preceding six hands and see what happens.

Hand 1: Al would stay to the first card on K, J, 10 . In fact he would play it all the way, just as Fred had.

Hand 2: AI, of course, would win a big one. He never bets out of turn. He never bets an incorrect amount. He has a fine feel for the table. On the fourth card the ace high would bet. Jim would call or raise with kings over. Al would start to fold and then "stay for one more." His buddies know he is an actor, but they get confused anyway. He would raise later.

Hand 3: On J., 9, 6, he would drop and go for a pastrami sandwich.

Hand 4: AI would fold immediately and top the sandwich with a can of beer.

Hand 5: Al would probably raise on the four straight and maybe raise on subsequent rounds. He would win a bigger pot.

Hand 6: He would fold 10, 8, and 6 and observe.

Summing up, Al would lose three 10-cent antes and one expensive pot; he would win two big ones. When he draws good cards, he wins. He sometimes wins when he draws poor cards. And when he wins, he wins big; his losses are usually small.

Posted by Rohn at 15:19:59 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday | February 07, 2008

Early Positions


   Poker is the game where every one wants to chance their luck. If you are going to take risk in poker then you are in with a chance of making your dreams come true.

   If your image is tight-aggressive and you are playing against several loose and easy-to-outplay opponents, you may add hands such as J- 10 suited, 10-9 suited, and medium high pairs. Medium pairs and medium-high suited cards of adjacent ranks can be played from early positions if opponents tend to be loose but not aggressive (they call often but seldom raise). Note well the dangers of being either outgunned or out-positioned (or both) when you play AQ, AJ, or A- 10 from early positions (even in loose games where these hands may be profitable). Even when your opponents in later position have lesser hands than you, their superior positions may give them an overall advantage. Why play at a disadvantage? You should not voluntarily enter into situations where you rate to be an underdog.

    As the early positions become less early, you will be tempted to add a few more hands to your arsenal of playable holdings. There are frequent arguments over whether you should first add AQ, AJ suited or 10-10. But here is a key fact about hold ‘em. None of those hands are really profitable from a very early position jfyou are facing sophisticated aggressive competition.

Structural imbalance

    Hold ‘em is a game of late position! Hold ‘em is not structurally balanced. If you must make yourself visible for psychological reasons by adding hands to your early position power grouping, do not expect to make a profit specIcally on those added hands.

   Extending the spectrum of hands you are willing to play from an early position is justified mostly for image and psychological reasons! Obviously, if your opponents know that you only play super top-notch hands, your playing effectiveness greatly decreases.

    But note well that however loose the game and however weak the opposition, it is clear from all perspectives that non-paired, non-suited, medium-quality hands should not be played from an early position. And in many normal to “good” hold ‘em environments, you should not play the following unsuited hands (and anything worse) from early position: A- 10, KJ (play AJ only in normal to weak games). Yes, we know many of you consider these to be “good hands” and perhaps “raising hands!” Only in very loose games!

Posted by Rohn at 17:57:56 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Posted by Rohn at 17:51:44 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday | January 21, 2008

"Ingredients Of Strategy"

    We got to make some positive strategies before playing poker and we got to apply those strategies while playing. I’ve been playing poker for some time now and I always used to make strategies before starts playing the game. Now I am going to throw some light on the most important aspect that is ingredients of strategy.

    With discipline and objective thinking, the good player takes control of poker games. With the proper strategy, he molds these games to his maximum advantage. His prime strategically tool is deception.

INGREDIENTS OF STRATEGY

    Proper strategy depends on the game, opponents, and the situation. Certain phases of poker remain constant; other phases change from bet to bet, hand to hand, or game to game. The good player bases his long-term strategy on the constant phases of poker and his short-term strategy on the variable phases. Good strategy contains the following ingredients:

Strategy: Principle Ingredient:

Long range Understanding of game

Short range Knowledge of opponents Immediate action Awareness of situation

1. Understanding Game

     The mechanics of poker are simple and can be learned in a few minutes. The strategy of poker, however, has infinite possibilities. Strategy depends more on proper technique than on experience. Even a novice can acquire an immediate strategic advantage over seasoned opponents by applying the DTC technique.

    Long-range (general) strategy develops from an understanding of the game. The good player understands the game by appraising the -

• Quality of players

• Betting pace

• Availability of cash

• Credit situation

• General attitude and friendliness

• Areas of resistance and resentment

• bluffing attitudes

• Reasons for player turn-over.

When a player fails to appraise a game accurately, he experiences -

• decreased edge odds

• Errors and missed opportunities

• Less effective strategy.

    The good player continually re-evaluates the game in order to detect changes and inaccurate appraisals.

    All sorts of game and player information are in John Finn's black leather notebook. Every month he summarizes his observations in a section labeled "General Appraisal of Game and Players”. Here is a typical summary:

    The players have: stabilized over the past month, except for the continued disintegration of Scotty's game...; he gets desperate when losing heavily and then makes poor bets and bluffs. The betting pace is gradually increasing as wild modifications are added. The betting stakes remain stable. The cash situation is good despite heavy losses by Sid, Ted and Scotty. But Ted is in financial trouble; he runs up large debts then pays them off with borrowed money. He may soon go broke.

     "Resentment is building up between Quintin and Sid. Quintin sarcastically questions Sid's honesty. Sid shouts back angry remarks about Quintin's stinginess. This quarrel must end before it hurts the game.

    "The game is in good shape and yields a substantial income. No one seems about to quit, except Ted if he goes bankrupt. But the game needs one or two new players ... Aaron Smith would be a profitable addition. "

2. Knowing Opponents

    Short range strategy develops from knowledge of opponents. The good player knows his opponents by appraising their -

• Personalities

• Weaknesses and strengths

• Behavior patterns

• Motives for playing

• Economic status

• Betting and raising tendencies

• Dropping and bluffing tendencies

• Areas of confusion and errors.

    Some players are a mixture of two classes. Also, the of a player can change from moment to moment or over long term as shown below:

Class Change: Reasons for Change:

Over long term Increased experience Personality changes

From game to game Feelings, emotions, stakes, financial condition

From one type pf game to another Differences in understanding various games

From hand to hand winning, losing, tired, upset

During play of a hand improper perspective on different phases of betting

3. Situation and Position (22)

     Action (immediate) strategy depends on the immediate situation. This strategy involves decisions about calling, opening, betting, raising, dropping and bluffing. In making these decisions, the good player correlates the following four factors to the immediate situation:

1. Estimated Strength* of Own Hand

2. Game

Pace

Temperament

Atmosphere

Time (such as first hand, a late hour, last hand)

Size of pot

Potential size of pot

3. Opponents

Indicated

Posted by Rohn at 16:13:32 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday | December 27, 2007

Strategy Of Playing Poker

Two Rounds Strategy Of Playing Poker
 
Beftingafter the fourth and fifth board cards in hold ‘em is generally like the betting after the last two rounds in any other multiple round 4poker game. The seeds have already been sown (as indicated by the size of the pot developed by the earlier betting) and now comes harvest time. Hopeftilly you are the harvester rather than the harvested.

 In limit hold ‘em, both of these last two rounds of betting (third and fourth betting rounds) are double-size bets; that is, in a $5/$ 10 game these are the ten- dollar rounds, whereas the first two rounds of betting were five- dollar rounds. If you were to play a hand of hold ‘em to completion where there was one bet made on each of the four rounds of betting (with no raises), two thirds of the total money that you put into the pot goes in during these last two rounds. The betting has indeed become much more serious and expensive.

 Chess skirmishes

 To put these last two betting rounds in proper strategic perspective, notice that all of the wild gesticulation and intimidation that takes place during the first two rounds of betting are much like the opening pawn and knight skirmishes in a chess game (sometimes decisive but generally less mtensive) The last two rounds of betting involve a greater level of Commitment and have a greater impact on the final course of the game or war.

 As the fourth up card is “turned,” you should now have a pretty good idea of just where you stand in this hand. If you called a single bet after the lop as a somewhat loose speculation (“chasing”), because there was a fair amount of money in the pot (raised before the flop), now is the time you must shape up or ship out. If you are still behind in this hand, before investing further (double size) bets, you should know exactly how many cards (of the 46 cards which might appear) will give you a winning hand, and those odds should be justified by the pot size. Perhaps the greatest difference between consistent winners and consistent losers is that the witmers are playing with the percentages rather than against them.
 Otherwise put, at this point in time, just after the fourth card, you are advised to take a cold hard objective look at the whole hand before you put any of those big bets into the pot. Up until now you have been merely dabbling with the potentials of how your two cards mesh with the flop. After the fourth card the issues have been considerably narrowed — even if not totally resolved. With only one more card to come, do the percentages of your getting certain last cards, considered together with the percentages of what the opponent(s) are most likely to have, justif’ your putting double size bets into this pot? The prospect of actually winning a pot with a miracle last card (low percentage) is often not enough tojustili putting in a double size bet (especially if raises after you call are possible).
Posted by Rohn at 15:06:40 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday | December 07, 2007

Game Structure

Hold‘em and other “board” poker games (with five communal board cards) are usually played without antes. Instead, the first two (sometimes three) players to act (on the dealer’s left) are required to put up either a unit bet or approximately a half-unit bet. This “forced bet” is called a “blind” (appropriate, since this bet is posted before the players look at their two private cards).
 There are many different betting structures under which hold‘em is played. Betting structures can be categorized as limit, pot-limit or no-limit. In the United States, most hold‘em games are played with (fixed) limits, such as $5/$lO or $10/$20. In Europe, most hold‘em games (and other poker games) are played pot-limit. At the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the main event (a tournament with a $10,000 buy-in) is no-limit hold‘em, in which, as the name implies, you may bet all your chip whenever it is your turn.
There are also several hybrid structures, such as the CAVERN rules, where hold‘em betting is limited before the flop, played pot-limit after the flop, and no-limit after the last two rounds.
 A Prescribed Amount
 Limit or fixed-limit hold‘em means that the permissible amount of each bet on any given betting round is pre-established. In American casinos, most often limit hold‘em stakes are described by two numbers, such as $5/$ 10 or $1 0/$20. The first number prescribes the fixed amount of all bets (and raises) during the first two rounds of betting; the second number prescribes the amount of all bets (and raises) in the last two rounds of betting. Thus, unless a player has less money on the table than required (and hence must go “all in”), the amount of each bet or raise is fixed at a prescribed amount.

For example, in a typical ten-handed casino $1 0/$20 hold‘em game, if the first two players (to the dealer’s left) have each posted blinds (usually $5, a half bet, on dealer’s left, and $10, a unit bet, two seats from dealer’s left) the first person to act voluntarily is the third player to the dealer’s left. That player may call the $10 unit bet, raise $10 (for a $20 total) or fold. All bets and raises made during the first two rounds of betting are at increments of $10. All bets and raises made during the last two rounds of betting; that is, after the 4th and 5th board cards are at increments of $20.

The Larger the Pot, The More You Should Play
 Much of the information contained within the subsequent chapters pertains primarily to (fixed) limit hold‘em. However, most concepts and principles can be extended to both pot-limit and no-limit hold‘em, assuming that the size of the potential bets in relation to the pot size and the blind size is taken into consideration. As in all forms of poker, the larger the established pot in relation to your proposed investment, the more liberally you should play.

In pot-limit hold‘em, the blinds are similar to those in limit hold‘em, as described above; for example, blinds might be $5 and $10 in the same first two positions. In pot-limit hold‘em, bets are not limited to any fixed amount. Any player, in turn, may bet any amount equal to or less than the present size of the pot, provided that any raise is as least as large as the previous bet. If the pot is $80 and an opponent then bets $40, you are looking at a $120 pot. You have several options: (1) Of course, you may fold; (2) You may simply call the $40; (3) You may raise by calling the $40 (pot becomes $160 before your raise) and raise any amount from $40 (size of previous bet) to $160 (size of pot, including the amount of your call).

In a no-limit game, which usually has a blind structure similar to those described above, any size bet or raise is pennissible, with the usual proviso that any raise must be at least the amount of the previous bet on that round. Thus the only upper limit is the amount a player has available on the table (“table stakes”).

Posted by Rohn at 17:54:51 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday | November 01, 2007

Poker with friends


When the flop contains a pair and you don't have one. This is especially true when it's a big pair because of the likelihood that players call with the big cards. You should normally not draw to a straight or a flush when the flop has a pair. The chance that someone flopped trips and the fact that you'll make your draw only 35% of the time, makes it a very expensive proposition. You could already be facing a full house on the flop and you could still lose even if you do make your draw.

 

Here's a good rule of thumb that will keep you out of trouble and save you a lot of money: When the flop contains a pair, you need to have one of the paired cards (to make trips), or an overpair to continue playing. Do not be lured into a false sense of security if a pair comes on the flop and no one bets. It would be correct for a player who flopped trips to check on the flop. He would be slowplaying the hand and giving everyone a free card to catch up with on the turn. Checking with the intention of calling any bet is a very common situation on the flop. When you check on the flop, you should try to convey the impression that you have a hand, but you are opting to check anyway. If you instantly and enthusiastically check on the flop, and pick your cards up like they're two pieces of garbage, the other players will bet into you with anything, everything and nothing. You encourage bluffs when you make it obvious that you flopped nothing.

 

You should also be careful that you don't check out of turn.

 

This indicates that you have a hand that you don't want to invest any money on and that fact will also induce bluffs against you. An opponent will now be encouraged to bet into you with a weaker hand than usual because he knows that there's a better than average chance that you won't call. This is costly because it deprives you of the opportunity to win a pot when both of you have a weak hand, but yours is slightly better. The most common situation in which you would check and call is when you flop a straight or flush draw and you don't want to be raised if you bet. You would also check if you flopped a monster hand and wanted to slow play it, or to give the impression that you don't have anything if you intend to check-raise on the turn.

 

Two out three times that you flop a split pair, you will have second or third pair. For example, if the flop is Js. 8h. 5d., you will be holding an eight or a five. Generally, if you wouldn't call with bottom pair then you shouldn't call with second pair, either. If another player has a Jack with a good kicker (in this example), then it makes absolutely no difference if you call him down with an eight or a five. You have exactly the same chance of improving with either hand. There is one slight advantage to calling with bottom pair, if you do call. That is, in Hold' em, it is generally assumed that players don't play low cards, and if they do, they don't call even if they flop bottom pair. So, it is usually considered to be a safe bet when the lowest card on the flop pairs on the turn or river. You will have a very well disguised set of trips and you'll usually win against a bigger two pair. You are definitely taking the worst of it when you play bottom pairs unless you have something else going for you like a straight draw or a semi-bluff. Calling with a bottom pair with an Ace kicker is a good semi-bluff. You know you don't have the best hand, but you know if you make an Ace or trip your pair, you'll probably have a winner.

Posted by Rohn at 10:59:33 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Friday | October 12, 2007

Play– A Poker Game

In most poker books the part about how to play each hand is usually at the front of the book. I deliberately chose to put this part at the end because I thought it important to first explain all of the elements that go into the playing of a hand.
When I advise you how to playa certain hand in a certain position you will already have a good understanding of the concepts of position, raising, check-raising, slowplaying, bluffing, semi-bluffing, reading hands, tells, and adjusting to game conditions. This final chapter is meant to help you bring it all together in your mind so that you can see how all of these abstract concepts work in actual practice.
I am going to give you some specific advice about how to play specific hands and I'll try to tell you everything that you'll need to know about the hand. I don't want you to say a few years from now, "Boy, I wish he'd told me that could happen when I had Ad. Ac. in the pocket," or whatever the hand is. As I said in the introduction, I'll try to tell you everything that I wish someone had told me when I first started playing this game.
I am not going to discuss all 169 different possible hands.
I believe that if you've read the book this far, you will already know how to play hands like Kd. 5s. Js. 3c. 7c.  2d.  and hands like this. There is almost no difference in how you would play a flopped set of eights or sevens, and the same general principles hold when you flop the nuts, whether you're holding Ad. Qh. or Tc. 9c. There is also almost no difference in how  We will concentrate on those hands that have a positive expectation and you would at least see the flop with most of the time. Here goes:
1. Ad. Ah.
A pair of Aces in the pocket is the best hand you can have in  Texas Hold' em. There is no other hand that will win more money hand in and hand out in the long run. You should usually raise pre-flop every time you get them from any and all positions and you should definitely reraise if possible. If you're not willing to put in the maximum number of bets with the best hand in Texas Hold' em, then you should ask yourself why you're even playing the game. Anyone who calls you is definitely taking long odds to beat you. Here is a list of things to keep in mind regarding Aces in the pocket:
A. You are about a 4 to 1 favorite over any other player holding a pocket pair if you both play to the river. You will flop another Ace 10.5% of the time and you will flop a full house about 1 % of the time.
B. You are a 2 to 1 favorite against a single opponent on a straight or a flush draw. You are a slight favorite over two players who are trying to make straights or flushes against you. If you hold Ac, As. and flop two more c S or .s s, you will make a backdoor flush only 3.33% of the time.
C. Most low limit players who have Ah. Ac, in the pocket will raise before the flop and then carefully watch each player call the raise in turn. He will often actually bounce his head up and down in a clockwise motion as the action goes around the table. He's doing this to make sure that each player puts the correct amount of money into what he thinks of as "his" pot. This is a reliable tell in low limit.
D. Most players will call all bets and raises on the flop when they hold As. Ad. in the pocket, even when they know that they're beat. This is especially true if the player is on a rush, is winning, or is drinking.
Posted by Rohn at 19:46:33 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |