advanced poker play

Introduction

Everybody wants to win at poker and everybody wants to win as easily and consistently as possible, so is there a strategy or system that can help a poker player to regularly win their poker games? The fact of the matter is that whether you’re playing online poker or playing poker in a casino, the very best system or strategy is that which you learn by experience in playing poker. In other words, reading articles like this that contain hints and tips is fine and can help you; but ultimately you need to discover your own strategies and systems according to your preferred style of poker play.

Poker strategies

Adopting strategies for playing poker will include things like playing tight or loose, looking for poker tells, bluffing etc. If you’re a relative novice at poker you’re probably playing most, in not all, of your poker online; you will find that you’ll need to adjust your strategies when you make the move to playing in ‘bricks and mortar’ poker room or casino. The mere physical presence of other players around a poker table will unsettle you initially and so you’ll need some extra strategies to combat any potential feelings of discomfort, if you don’t want to start losing heavily.

Poker systems

One thing you can guarantee about poker is that you’ll never be short of advice as to how to play and how this or that poker system could work for you. However, I think you’d do a lot worse than to consider the advice on poker systems given by that doyen of poker writers – David Sklansky. Without wishing to do him a disservice his poker system is simply to keep looking for opportunities to move in before the flop. If you’ve got aces, or ace-king or even just ace-king suited – and someone has raised before you, move all in; if not then fold. Or, if you’ve got aces, any ace-king, a pair or even any same suit connected cards (but not a four or two with a three) – then again move all in.

Introduction

It is a well established fact that most if the top professional poker players, at some time or other, show up at the PokerStars online poker tables to play cash games and tournaments. Most often they’re only interested in playing the really high stakes games and will usually end up in games against themselves or the high rolling online celebrity poker players. Well, all through December everyone has the opportunity to sit at an online poker table and ‘play the stars’.

Terrific Tuesdays

In a move that PokerStars will hopefully try and retain or at least re-introduce throughout the year, every Tuesday throughout December you can log to poker games at PokerStars – and you could just find yourself playing a poker table with Daniel Negreanu or Peter Eastgate etc. Even better, if you don’t want to play them online they’ll be available to chat with you online or you can just watch them playing poker online – and be treated to a true master class for free. A Christmas treat for all poker fans if ever there was one, especially for those that can grab a few days off over the Christmas period to really get some serious poker playing in at the poker websites.

Fancy your chances?

If you do fancy your chances against a poker pro then the buy-ins are as low as $11 with $1000 being added to the prize pool. To play, you’ll need to be online any time from 12:00 ET on the December Tuesdays. There are some special Team Pro Tuesday tournaments – Outlast the Pro – that will start at 13:00 and 20:00 ET, prompt each Tuesday until December 29^th. Quite simply, if you stay in the tournament longer that the pro, you get to split the remaining cash with the other players still in it. All entry details can be found at the PokerStars website. Also, look out for the Freeroll Fantasy Satellites that are qualifiers for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the New Year.

Introduction

Rather disappointingly we will be entering the New Year without a final resolution to the on-going problem just how legal is online poker in the USA. Until the decision from Congress is made all of us internet poker players are still pretty well in a state of limbo, whereby we can continue to play online poker – only because the authorities have no real appetite to test it out in the courts. One of the key points surrounding this debate is, of course, the old chestnut of whether poker is a game of skill or mere chance?

Comparing poker with other card games

The single biggest problem for poker being seen as a game of skill is that it is all too easily associated with casinos and casino card games. This immediately sets up a barrier between poker players and the rest of the population, who can only see casinos as dens of vice and trickery. Leaving aside the fact that all too often those who are against legally opening up online poker to the nation have never played the game or been inside a casino, it isn’t just online poker that they want to ban – but all online card games. That is, all online card games that you’d normally associate with casinos – but not strangely gin rummy or bridge. Now then, correct me if I’m wrong but how often are they played in casinos? Quite simply they aren’t, but they are played in the genteel and middle-class homes all over the States. Those two card games are determined to be games of skill, and there’s no argument here about that. But, why is poker discriminated against just because it is played in casinos? You can’t really argue that a casino card game like Blackjack really is a game of chance – but poker?

The skill in poker

A key fact as to why poker should be seen as a game of skill is that even in a casino the ‘house’ doesn’t share in the winnings. The ‘house’ is simply paid a buy-in fee for each round thereafter both the house and the dealer have no interest in who wins what and, most significantly, the house or its dealer cannot win from the table. In that circumstance alone, a poker game is entirely between the people playing the game who have the sole interest in its outcome. Secondly the very rules that govern poker gives all the players around the poker table with a statistically equal chance of winning before the flop. Thirdly and finally for now, poker is a game that not only requires skill but skills that are used alongside a strategy, making it more like chess and bridge, than a mere game of chance. If that were not the case, and all was just down to pure chance, then why hasn’t a rookie yet won the WSOP?

Introduction

With the Christmas vacation getting ever closer now, you’ll no doubt be hoping to spend some of that time relaxing with some online poker games. Of course the more online poker games you play the more experience you will pick up. However, you don’t want to get in to games with players who are simply way above you in terms of experience too quickly,  So, it seems quite timely to remind you about things to watch out for telling the less experienced from the more experienced online poker players.

Flair or bravery in the opposition?

The most difficult thing in picking up tells in an online game> is – has the opposition simply got a flair for playing poker or are they just a brave player? If someone has a flair for poker then, whether by experience or innate ability, they will quickly show themselves to be anything but an inexperienced player by always seeming to make the right calls. Merely being a brave poker player will not give them the consistency in making those correct calls, so the ‘merely’ brave player is invariably just a lucky one when they win. Of course an experienced player can also be a brave, but the one factor that will always let you differentiate between experienced and inexperienced brave poker players is that – the experienced one will always know the pot odds, and will go against them only very sparingly.

Spotting the inexperienced players

Inexperienced poker players will often get a little carried away and try to bet out of position, they’ll also choose to only raise on the river bet but not raise any where near as much as they should from the button. Not showing an awareness of the pot odds, as mentioned above, can indicate an inexperienced player, but it can also be a confusing tell to watch for. Playing internet poker I cannot understand why rookie players don’t use their pot odds calculators to keep them informed – but many don’t! However, showing a lack of pot odds awareness in itself could be just a bluff – so look for the other inexperienced player signs as well.

Introduction

Despite the virtual flop of NBC’s “Face the Ace” poker TV show earlier this year another new poker show will be hitting our screens in the New Year. Provisionally titled “Shuffle up and deal” the new poker TV show will be airing in 2010 through MyNetworkTV, which is part of the Fox Entertainment Group, which in turn is controlled by the media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

Mike Sexton

Despite the millions of people who play online poker and at regular poker tables, TV poker shows have failed to capture the imagination of the viewing public and so it can only be hoped that this new poker show can find the magic formula to keep the viewers tuned in and wanting to follow it week by week. With Mike Sexton lined up to host the show it will certainly be led by someone with the gravitas to quickly establish that ‘Shuffle up and deal’ is a serious contender for being a long running poker show. Mike is, after all, not only a respected journeyman poker pro but one of the great promoters of the game and is universally accepted as being an ambassador for poker internationally.

The show’s format

The format for ‘Shuffle up and deal’ is that amateur poker players select poker cards from a display to make up the best five card poker hand possible. The winners of each round then get to play for a jackpot, which is reportedly starting at $250,000. The intention is to try and pick up casual viewers by using such a quick and easy to follow format, which for the general viewer and non-poker playing public will virtually amount to a sort of ‘pick-a-card’ format. At first glance this seems reasonable enough given that the satellite channel is available to around 50 million homes.  However, it will remain to be seen if poker enthusiasts find there is enough of a sense of strategy about it, to keep them away from their own favorite internet poker games.

Introduction

Looking at the games being played at some poker tables you could be forgiven for wondering whether or not some players actually want to win the pot or just try and outsmart the other players. Let’s face it there are times when you see players not following the fundamental theorem of poker and playing their cards differently to the way they should do if they knew an opponents poker cards, just to try and get back at them for a previous defeat. So, how can you avoid poker traps?

Odds rule – OK!

Surely the golden rule to never forget is that – pot odds, above all, reign supreme. The pot odds are, of course, the ratio of the pot size to the bet needed to stay in with a chance of winning the pot. So, betting $10 to win $40 gives you a one in five chance of taking the pot, where one if five is the maximum risk you should go up to. However, don’t forget, of course, that pot odds can be complicated early on in a hand according to the implied odds you might expect to win at the end of a hand. Just remember, don’t get carried away in a poker hand where the pot odds are bad for you.

Play to your strengths

Another sure-fire way to drop yourself in it playing poker is to play in a style that’s not really you, and we’re not talking about playing against your better judgments regarding the fundamental theorem of poker here either! As an experienced player you’ll know if you’re normally a tight or lose player, whichever you are you need to be on your guard against outwardly aggressive poker players. It really is all too easy to get dragged along playing aggressively and out of style; and before you know it your chip stack’s gone. That’s not to say never play a bluff or vary your play; just play your own game, if things are to fast or hot and you’re taking painful hits – find another poker table to play at. Don’t forget as well, you’ve more control over your own destiny when in a position well away from the blinds.

Introduction

This week-end, Saturday November 7^th, sees the return of the 2009 World Series of Poker tournament – along with the usual cast of stellar poker players. Top of the list at present is Darvin Moon with his record stack of 58,930,000 chips; however, and as we all know, starting off with the biggest chip stack isn’t necessarily a recipe for success. The eventual winner of the WSOP this year will net around $8.5 million as well as the coveted 2009 WSOP winner’s bracelet.

Also in the field

Also in the field are top caliber and favorite players like Phil Ivey and Jeff Shulman, although Phil Ivey finds himself back in seventh stack position with a paltry 9,200,000 chips compared to Darvin’s massive stack. However, Jeff Shulman is ’sitting pretty’ in fourth place with 19,580,000 chips in his stack. Eric Buchman and Steven Begleiter occupy second and third positions behind Darvin. James Akenhead is last in the field with a short stack of 6,800,000 chips.

Amateur or Pro to win?

Just how long this might last if he should win we don’t know, but Darvin considers himself to be an amateur poker player who is merely “riding his luck”. Well if you call making nearly 59 million chips luck – then I guess you’ve got to bet against him finally emerging with the title; however, if he has any ’spare luck’ like that going I for one would be a grateful recipient! Another amateur in the mix is third placed Steve Begleiter, no stranger himself to sitting at the ‘top poker table‘, it is not beyond possibility that Steve could win this poker tournament and yet remain the true amateur. After all Stearns & Co. salaries can make even a big poker win look pretty small fry! Conversely you can never rule out the top pros. So expect Phil, Eric and Jeff to be in at least the final half of the end games, if not in the final mix of this $10,000 buy-in Main Event.

Introduction

Some folk mistakenly think that using poker bots will reveal to you the inside workings of a poker website and how to ‘beat the system’. If you’re one of those people then unfortunately you’ve been mislead by whoever told you so or may have miss-read some other article on the topic. A poker bot is no different to any other internet bot, web robot, in that it is a piece of software automatically performing a repetitive task faster than a human could do – in this case that of a poker calculator capable of folding, betting or calling according to pre-determined scenarios.

Poker bots are banned

Now that might well sound excellent news as a way to win big in internet poker games – having a poker bot doing all your playing for you, guaranteed not to make an error due to miscalculating the odds etc. However, before you look for poker bots for sale on the internet – be aware that poker bots are simply banned from any of the poker gaming websites you’re likely to visit. Whilst most of the online poker games will have in-built calculators to help you, known as house-bots, if they detect a poker bot working against them – they’ll shut it out of the game. I think you’d have to agree that, for once, the poker website operators are quite right to shut out these poker bots, which are really just a form of cheating at poker. After all they could be playing 24/7 on multiple sites forging an enormous advantage over all the millions of legitimate online poker players.

Poker house-bots on the level?

Ah Ha! I can already hear the grumblings – but how do you know that the house-bot isn’t ‘loaded’ against you and on the level? Well without the poker websites inviting everyone and anyone to inspect its coding there will always be those who doubt the honesty of the poker websites, or at least doubt it when they aren’t winning! That’s the essential point to always remember regarding house-bots; you have to take the poker website on face value as being an honest one – exactly the same as walking into a ‘bricks and mortar’ poker room. If you think it’s not on the level – simply go elsewhere to play your poker.

Introduction

It looks as though online poker is back on the cards for California after what has really been a three year hiatus. Despite the fact that California borders Nevada and all the allure of Las Vegas itself being only a few hours drive away, back in 2006, along with the rest of the USA, Californians were deprived of the right to play online poker, when our erstwhile politicians decided that we couldn’t be trusted with the offer of 24/7 poker; thinking we’d all go bust or mad in a frenzy of poker playing.

Who went bust – poker players or the politicians and bankers?

It’s quite an irony really that in the three years since the effective ban of online poker and gambling – it’s actually all the supposed financial wizards on Wall Street that have gone bust due to their relentless addiction to making more and more money, profit invariably made off the working man – not to mention that the politicians in California brought the state to its knees, making it virtually bankrupt! So, you’ve got to ask yourself the question – who can’t be trusted to behave properly when it comes to money; bankers and politicians or poker players? I’m sure you get my point here.

AB2026

 A strange heading for a blog about poker you might well think, but AB2026 will hopefully prove a very luck bill for Californian poker player. That is the bill that Lloyd Levine and others are sponsoring in the Assembly to try and overturn the federal law banning internet poker. Great news for us poker players, but I just can’t help wondering if there’s not some underlying motive behind AB2026 that’s not strictly to do with poker? With the state facing a budget shortfall in excess of $20 billion this year, we’ve all heard about the slashes, never mind cuts, being made to public services in California. Parks closing, schools being underfunded etc. Now then it was reckoned back in 2006 Americans spent $6 billion on online gaming, including poker. I can’t help but wonder what slice of that sort of money could go into California’s state coffers by way of taxes, under state regulated online poker and gaming?

Introduction

The end of last week saw the final line-up for the 2009 WSOP Main Event being determined. So, back to the Rio, in Las Vegas, in November will be: Darvin Moon, Eric Buchman, Steven Begleiter, Jeff Shulman, Joseph Cada, Kevin Schaffel, Phil Ivey, Antoine Saout and James Akenhead. Having qualified for the $8.5 million first prize they are all guaranteed to earn at least £1,263,603 – just for having qualified for the poker final in November!

USA rules the way

Of the nine finalists seven are from the USA, one from Britain and one from France; ranging from experienced professionals to relative youngsters and casual poker players. However, don’t be fooled by that ‘casual’ tag as these are no novice players, despite one of them only being 21 years of age they are all at the peak of their poker game – after all they have just qualified WSOP Main Even finals. Probably the best known of the professional names in there is Phil Ivey, the 33 year old Las Vegas resident who now has career earnings in excess of $17 million. He is joined in the finals by fellow Las Vegas resident and poker publisher – Jeff Shulman. The two foreigners in the final are James Akenhead from London and Antoine Saout who is from the charmingly named Saint Martin des Champs.

2009 finalist facts

The average age of this years finalists is 35 years reflecting a spread of ages from 51 down to 21, so there’s hope for just about all of us poker players, in that you can win through at any age – if your poker game’s up to it. Although there’s four months to go before the finals, Phil Ivey is already being touted as the most likely winner out of the nine players. However, Darvin Moon should by no means be discounted. This 45 year old logger from Oakland, Maryland, will start the finals with a staggering 30% (nearly 60,000,000) of the poker chips available, his nearest rival being Eric Buchman from NY with approximately 35,000,000. One extraordinary finalist this year is Steven Begleiter, a former senior manager with Bear Sterns and now a private equity firm consultant.