Poker Lessons

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Play fewer starting hands more thoughtfully.
Yes, it's true that there are some players somewhere who play too conservatively pre-flop, for the most part, players play too many starting hands - and they play many of them thoughtlessly. There are books that list the types of hands that you should be playing in different positions and against different types of players. We're not going to replicate all of the good work done by many other authors in this brief article. Nor do we expect you to memorize some table of starting hands. This lesson requires that you become more selective by thinking more seriously about which hands you really want to be playing and how you will play them.

No-Limit Texas Hold'em Tips (Part II)

  • If you pick up a big hand in late position and the pot has already been raised, just call if you believe you will be heads-up. Should you flop a monster like trip aces just check-call for more profit and then raise on the turn.

No-Limit Texas Hold'em Tips (Part I)

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Not too many years ago, no-limit Texas hold'em was not a ring game you could find in every casino that spread poker. Nor was it an overly popular tournament event.

Today no-limit hold'em is one of the most popular games (live action or tournaments) available, that's the good news, and it is the most misplayed game in the history of the poker universe - that is the bad news, all because of TV.
The basics of no limit are simple to understand, that's why everybody and their dog is joining in on the fun. However, it is the most complicated version of poker to play successfully.

Online Poker: The Three Basic Stats

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If you read any online poker strategy discussion group, you'll see people using three basic stats to offer a quick outline of their opponents' play. All major tracking programs will calculate these stats for every player in your database. These stats are:

  1. Voluntarily Put Money In The Pot Percentage
  2. Preflop Raise Percentage
  3. Aggression Factor

Martingale Strategy

Read also Online Limit Holdem Strategy.

If you are in a gambling situation where you have the worst of it, no betting strategy will make you a favorite. For example, there is no betting system to beat the casinos at craps.
You can play with a betting strategy that will allow you to win a high percentage of the time, but in the long run you will still lose. You will have many small wins, but your big losses will be more than the sum of the small wins. The typical strategy used is akin to what is called a Martingale Strategy.

Mathematics of Poker

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Some useful mathematical facts:

Holdem:
If you flop a flush or a straight draw, with no other ways of winning, you are approximately a 2 to 1 underdog.

If you have a small pair and need to make trips to win, you will not have sufficient pot odds in limit hold'em to take a card oil on the turn.

If you have 13 outs on the flop, you will typically be a slight underdog.

If you have 14 outs on the flop, you will typically be a slight favorite.

A big pocket pair against a small pocket pair is slightly more than a 4 to 1 favorite to win the hand.

General Guidelines for Reading Tells

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  1. High-confidence tells are normally displayed by players who believe they have strong hands. Low-confidence tells are normally displayed by players who believe they have weak hands.
  2. Not all tells at the table are related to poker.

Online Limit Holdem Strategy

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Ten-Handed Games.
"Top ten only" strategy is simple, safe, and very effective. Using this strategy should allow you to build up some profits while you play online poker.
Online players in small-stakes poker games play so badly that the "top ten" strategy will be a big winner in the long haul. There is no need to get fancy and take big swings up and down with your money online: the patient route will smooth out die swings and produce the desired wins.

Game Theory and Poker (Part II)

See also Game Theory and Poker (Part I)

Efficiency and Diminishing Returns.
The concept of efficiency and the notion of diminishing returns relate to the conservation and the most effective use of power/momentum and resources. In poker this is about a player's chips, cards and table image. These two concepts are particularly helpful to the no-limit player when it comes to "pricing" bets and raises.

Game Theory and Poker (Part I)

See also Game Theory and Poker (Part II)

Game Theory in poker is primarily about two goals:

  1. The study and understanding of the opposition.
  2. The development of an efficient strategy to dominate the competition.

To be of maximum value, this study and understanding must be translated into effective action, and these actions must be the antithesis of everything a poker opponent thinks or does.

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