How To Play Poker – Poker Slowplaying

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Slow-playing, for the most part, is counterproductive. If your goal is to get the most money in the pot, how are you going to do that by checking? You build pots by betting your big hands, not by lurking in the weeds with them

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Ideal conditions for slowplaying:
You must have a very strong hand.
The free card or cheap card you are allowing other players to get must have good possibilities of making them a second best hand.
That same free card must have little chance of making someone a better hand than yours or even giving that person a draw to a better hand than yours on the next round with sufficient odds to justify a call.
You must be sure you will drive other players out by showing aggression, but you have a good chance of winning a big pot if you don’t.
The pot must not yet be very large.”

Here’s an example of your average slow play:

Effective stacks $200; blinds $1/$2. You’re dealt 6♥ 6♣ on the button. A player from early position raises $6 and you make the call.

The flop comes out 3♣ 6♠ A♣. Your opponent bets $10. You call. The turn is the T♦.

Your opponent bets $18 and you just call. The river is the 7♦. Your opponent checks and you bet $35. Your opponent calls. You table your set of sixes and he mucks his A♠ K♣. You scoop a $138 pot.

OK, so you won a $138 pot. You might be patting yourself on the back saying “Nice hand.” This is not a nice hand.

Seriously, you won a $138 pot. Don’t pat yourself on the back.

When you flop a big hand like a set, you want to play for stacks. This is what you’ve been waiting for, folding 6-2 and 5-9 all day. So now that you’ve finally hit your monster, you want to waste it by trying to slow-play? That kind of strategy is just wrong-headed.

Big Hands Want Big Pots

When you flop a monster you want to win your opponent’s stack. It’s very difficult to win someone’s stack by slow-playing.

Why? When you slow-play you often find yourself with a small pot. Your goal of getting your stack into the middle when the pot is small becomes very difficult. You can’t exactly bet $200 into a $4 pot, can you?

If you build the pot the entire way, it will be big enough on the end that you can comfortably bet your entire stack.

The hand in the example was played well by our villain. He played it like most villains would in this spot. He bet two streets into you and when you called multiple times he went for the conservative river approach. He checked and then called a river bet.

He did this to avoid getting raised (which is what you would have done). In this situation it’s very difficult to get paid off after having just called two streets. If you had raised the flop then he most likely would have had to call with his top pair, top kicker, thus building the pot further.

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Let’s look at an example where there is no slow-playing:

Effective stacks $200; blinds $1/$2. You’re dealt 6♦ 6♣ in the cut-off. The player from early position makes it $6 to go. Everyone folds to you; you make the call.

The button and blinds fold and you take a flop heads-up of 3♣ 6♠ A♣. Your opponent bets $10. Opting against the slow play, you raise the flop to $45. Your opponent calls.

The turn brings the T♦. Your opponent checks. There is now $102 in the pot and just under $150 left in your stack. You bet $70.

Your opponent tanks and calls. The river comes down 7♦. Your opponent checks and you bet your remaining $80. Your opponent calls and tables A♠ K♣. Your set of sixes takes the $400 pot.

By building the pot the entire way it made it easy to get your entire stack into play. When the pot is large it also gives your opponent incorrect odds. He may have felt on the river he was pot-committed since he had already put 60% of his stack into play and the pot is offering 4-1 on his call, making it extremely difficult to fold.

Still, There Must Be Times When Slow-Playing Is Correct

Yes, you’re right. In poker, one strategy is never always correct. You always need to take into consideration the table dynamics, your image, your opponents’ playing tendencies, etc. before you decide how to act.

I’m not advocating never slow-playing. I’m just encouraging you to use it sparingly.

One situation where slow-playing is correct is against an ultra-aggressive player whom youknow to have a history of betting three streets strong with weak holdings and who will continue their aggression until they are played back at. In that case it is not terrible to slow-play.







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Poker Terms: Angle Shooting

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Using unfair methods to take advantage of unexperienced players, is basically like cheating but in a legal way.

Among the many forms of angle shooting is the “incomplete call,” which takes advantage of a rule used in many poker rooms that states an insufficient bet must be treated as no bet. An angle shooter will purposefully “call” a bet or raise by pushing forward fewer chips than are required, without saying a word, hoping the opponent will turn over his/her cards without checking to see if the pot is right.

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If the angle shooter has a winning hand, he/she will quickly rake in the pot. But if the hand is a loser, the angle shooter can claim the call was incomplete, that she/he did not really intend to call, and then retrieve whatever amount was put forward as un-wagered.

Along these same lines, the use of ambiguous hand gestures can be “reinterpreted” by the angle shooter. What looked like a “check” can be claimed as a “bet” after others check, or a “call” can be reinterpreted as a “raise” if it seems beneficial to the angle shooter’s purposes. Showing one’s cards, for example, might be thought of as folding, but an angle shooter may judge a player’s reaction and then continue to play on.

In all of the above examples, the angle shooter has been careful not to say anything about the action that is taken. Quite often such silence is a tip-off that a player is attempting to gain an unfair advantage. Extra caution should be used when facing any opponent that fails to clearly indicate exactly what he/she is doing in play. If you want to know mopre about this click here!



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How To Play Poker – Texas Holdem Pocket Card Selection

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This list was created with limit holdem in mind. If you play no limit holdem, small pairs will definitely go up in value, as well as suited connectors. Please note the differences between “suited” and “off-suit”. They are off-suit as default unless otherwise noted.

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Top Cards:
Ace-Ace (pair of aces)
King-King
Ace-King suited
Queen-Queen
Jack-Jack

When you’re dealt Aces, Kings, or AK suited, you can and should raise and even re-raise before the flop, no matter your position. A pair of queens or jacks you have to be a bit more careful with, but the chances are still huge that you are top hand before the flop. Raise and drive out the draw hands, if there are no raises in front of you.

Strong Cards:
AQ, AJ, A10 (all suited)
AK (off suit or unsuited)
KQ suited
Pair of 10’s
KJ, QJ, J10 all suited
AQ, AJ
Pair of 9’s
KQ
K10 suited, Q10 suited

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Why are these strong? If you notice, all have strong flush or straight draw chances, as well as a high face card. The pairs of 10’s or 9’s have to be included simply because of the rarity of being dealt a pocket pair, and these being on the high end.

With strong cards, look to raise in middle or late position, only if noone has raised before you. If you raise in middle position and someone in late position re-raises, be careful. If they’re a strong player they probably have you beat in card strength unless theyre bluffing to try and take the blinds and antes.

Decent Pocket Cards:
Pair of 8’s
Jack-9, 10-9 both suited
Pair of 7’s
9-8, 8-7 both suited
Ace and any other suited card
KJ, QJ, J10

Dont bother raising with these cards unless everyone in front of you has folded. Also be careful playing these in middle position. Honestly, you probably want to see the flop as cheaply as possible. These cards can turn into monster hands though, because of their deceptive value. If you have a reputation as a strong player, other players wont be expecting you to make a straight with a 9-8. Another reason to at least play these cards sometimes is to keep yourself from getting a reputation as a “Rock”. If you only play nut cards and everytime you raise, everyone else folds, you’re missing out on some big bucks.

Barely Playable Pocket Cards
Any pair, 6’s and under
Connected suited cards, not shown above (ie. 4-5 suited)
A10, K10, Q10
K9, Q9, both suited

These cards have to have serious help from the board to win. If you can get to the flop cheap it can be worth it though, as these are draw hands to flushes and straights, and you may hit trips with your low pair. These cards can make good bluff hands when you’re “on the button,” and everyone in front of you has either folded or called the blinds, because they at least hold some potential for a good hand…so its not a complete bluff. But be warned. These are “play and pray” cards. In low limit games they might be worth it. But if you play these cards every time, you’ll see your chip stack sink fast.





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Poker Terms: Pineapple Poker

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Pineapple poker is A version of hold’em where players get 3 hole cards and have to discard one of them before the flop.

Since players get dealt 3 cards instead of 2, it provides more opportunities to make a strong hand much like in omaha. Lots of pots are contested multi-way where at least one player will flop a flush draw and will get good enough odds to chase their draw.

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A popular variant of Pineapple is called Crazy Pineapple Poker, with the main difference being players must wait until after the second round of betting is complete before discarding one of their starting hole cards. From there, every player has 2 hole cards just like in hold’em and from there the game plays in a very similar manner, the best five-card poker hand wins.

In addition to traditional Pineapple Poker and Crazy Pineapple Poker there is Crazy Pineapple Hi/Lo, a split game where half of the pot goes to the best (high) hand, and the other half goes to the worst (low) hand. Crazy Pineapple is quite often played in hi/lo versions.

Although you don’t see Pineapple poker games spread at many casinos, a lot of people like to play this poker variant in home games because it’s an exciting poker game to play with lots of action.



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How To Play Poker – Alternative Blackjack Strategies

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The following strategies have been proven as less effective than basic strategy when it comes to lowering the houses advantage.

While this strategy works to win players a larger amount of games, there are also other theories that many players adhere to that have yet to be proven as winning tactics.

One of the most common is the “never bust” method of play. This strategy focuses specifically on a player’s hand totaling from twelve to sixteen on which the player never takes a “hit”, or when the hand is eleven or less on which the player must always take a hit. Under these guidelines the player never runs the risk of a “bust”.

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Some experts suggest that never “hitting” on a “stiff” hand, which is the twelve to sixteen hand values, will increase the casino’s edge to five percent. Meaning that a player who continually “stands” is only increasing the rate at which the casino is taking their money.

There are many percentages, statistics and facts behind Blackjack strategy and theory, and all numbers around the “never bust” method indicate that a player is better off finding a different strategy to use.

Another strategy is the “mimic the dealer” strategy which operates on the idea that if the “house” has an edge it should be a good strategy to copy the tactics and methods of the dealers who represent the casino or “house”.

This however is a bad decision because most house rules have their dealers standing at seventeen. Furthermore dealers cannot use any of the options available to a player, such as “double down”, “split” or even “surrender”. By eliminating their only options for increasing profits a player is increasing the casino’s edge instantly.

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A player thinking of using the “mimic the dealer” strategy is also running the risk of busting because the dealer must always play last. If the player is acting along the lines of the dealer, working at any risk to hit twenty-one, then they are sure to enter into a losing streak.

Most experts recommend that players use all of their available options according to the proven strategic methods, even those that feel “wrong”. For example, basic strategy says that a player must “hit” on a 16 if their dealer is showing a 7 or higher. This is because statistics indicate that the 16 hand is often a loser for the player, and so the best strategy is to always “hit”in this situation

While many people try to develop their own theories and systems, the best way to win at Blackjack is to take the time to memorize the standard Blackjack strategy tables. Many people will even make flashcards for themselves to memorize before they head to a casino to practice. While some alternative theories may slightly increase, or even greatly decrease, a player’s chances, the basic strategy for Blackjack has been proven over and over again as the best way to decrease the house’s edge.







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Poker Terms: Range Merging

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Range merging is when you bet with a medium-strength hand on the river, where the board makes your opponent believe that you can only be betting with either the nuts or bluffing with nothing at all .

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If you merge your range frequently, opponents will get wise to your game and start slowplaying strong hands as they expect you to continue betting. Therefore, if the example hand above was repeated, the second time around our opponent may well check with an Ace because they will be expecting us to bet with a mediocre hand on the river.

This is more of a metagame problem more than anything, so I’m not going to go in to the ins and outs of what your opponent thinks and how they are going to react to your plays. Just be aware of how range merging will affect the way your opponents play against you.

Range merging is simply taking advantage of players who are trying to catch you out when they think you are bluffing. This article was quite meaty, but I can split it up in to two main sections of learning:
Figuring out what a bluffcatcher is and when we use it.
Learning how to take advantage of players using bluffcatchers.

If you think of it like that, it might be easier to break down the article and understand the strategy.



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How To Play Poker – Blackjack Etiquette

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The first tip for Blackjack etiquette is “know the rules” before sitting down at a casino table. Don’t sit down at a crowded table and expect everyone to be patient while you learn how to play the game.

Knowing the rules will also include a basic understanding of the steps that are taken before an actual game begins. For example, a player should only cash in or buy chips in between hands, not in the middle of a hand. Know the denomination you are going to want before the dealer asks, and know chip denominations – red chips are worth five dollars, green are worth twenty-five dollars and black chips are worth one hundred dollars each.

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Know the table limit or minimum bid before sitting down to play, and don’t continually ask a dealer to break a larger chip in order to continue playing, instead break larger chips at the time of buying in. Even better is to purchase all chips from the cashier rather than the dealer.

Next on a list of good Blackjack etiquette is to know the proper procedures for the “type” of game being played. Generally there are two ways of playing; with the cards face down or face up. Each game asks players to follow some simple guidelines.

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In a face up :

A player should never touch their cards
Do not touch the bet placed after the first cards are dealt.
Use the appropriate hand signals – a spoken command cannot be followed by the dealer unless it is accompanied by the correct hand signal. For face up Blackjack a player who wants to “hit” must tap the table with their finger. A player who is going “stand” waves their hand above the table. To “double down” a player must lay their new wager next to the original bet and signal by making a “one” signal with their finger. In order to “split” the player must lay the new wager next to the original and make a “two” signal with their fingers.
A player who “busts” should behave properly, even if frustrated and disappointed. Usually a player should lay their cards face up next to their bet and wait for the next hand if they wish to continue playing.

In a face down game:

A player can touch their cards, but only with a single hand and never drop them below the dealer’s line of sight. This can end a game instantly on suspicion of cheating.
The same rules apply about touching the bet after the game begins.
The hand signals for “face down” play are a bit different – for a player to “hit” they must scrape their cards on the table. To “stand” the player slides their cards under their bet without lifting the chips off the table. To “double down” the player lays their cards face up on the table, places their bet next to the original bet and makes a “one” signal with their finger. To “split” the player does the same process as for the “double down”, but makes a “two” signal with their fingers.
Should the player “bust” they must follow the same process as in a face up game, laying their cards face up near their bet and waiting for the next hand to begin.

Following these simple rules will insure that a player is playing a proper and well-behaved game of Blackjack





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