POKER STRATEGY

Having dealt with the basic rules of Chinese Poker in my first article, and some common variations of the game in the second one, it is time to turn our attention to the strategy of the game. Although Chinese Poker is much more luck-dependent than most other forms of poker, there are still some basic rules to follow in order to give yourself the best chance to succeed.

In the first article in this series, I outlined the basic play and scoring of a typical game of Chinese Poker. However, over time, a number of variations of the game have sprung up, with varying degrees of popularity. Probably the most common variation is the addition of special hands to the game that increase the number of points the player receives for winning a hand. The special hands most commonly used are three-of-a-kind in the front hand (the three-card hand), a full house or better in the middle hand and four-of-a-kind or a straight or royal flush in the back hand.

If you follow the professional tournament circuit, or watch shows like High Stakes Poker on television, you have no doubt heard stories about a game called Chinese Poker. Perhaps the most dramatic of these tales (at least the ones that have made it to the ears of the public) occurred a little over a year ago when Phil Hellmuth reported losing over a half million dollars to Phil Ivey in one session of play! It is clear that Chinese Poker has become a staple of professional poker players to while away the hours in between tournament sessions and regular cash games, or to distract them during lengthy airplane flights. So what IS Chinese Poker?

Sometimes it is ok to check and call or just call in a no limit hold em tournament. Most of the times it's not, but there are times, usually against loose aggressive players who like to make small bets to check and call as raising will generally lead to either being re-raised or generating a fold. By just checking and calling against this type of poker player, they continue to put money into the pot at small increments and give you the correct odds to draw to your hand or to win the pot even though you only have a marginal hand.

So as a beginner you have decided to take the plunge into omaha hi lo. So, as with any other form of poker, a beginner needs to know which hands to play. This article will help the beginning omaha hi lo player know which hands are most likely to show a profit in the long run when playing. Although most written literature on forms of poker tell you that starting hand requirements are subject to change depending on game situations, the fact is that in omaha hi lo, at a full table, being the tightest player in the game can actually be all you need to do to turn a profit.

Omaha is probably the most popular form of poker besides hold em, and in many places even more popular than hold em. The pots can often be bigger in omaha, and the play much more loose and exciting. You could win several buy ins in a typically loose game, or lose several, which makes the game very exciting.

Are you ready to get serious about your game? A poker player who sincerely wants to improve his game must learn to apply mathematical concepts and considerations to his strategy. Math-based decisions are crucial in all forms of poker, from low limit cash games, to ten thousand dollar buy-in tournaments. You don't need a calculator, and you don't have to be a math whiz. Just follow these simple steps and improve your game today.

Every once in a while, a variation of poker seems to come out of nowhere and suddenly gain popularity. Such was the case many years ago with a little game called Texas Hold’em, and I think you know where that fad ended up. Recently, more and more people are playing a form of low triple-draw called Badugi. While it is hard to imagine this simple, fun game ever gaining anywhere near the popularity of Hold’em, it is being spread in more live and online venues, and is worth learning about, especially since many of the people playing it have no idea of what they are doing, and can be easy prey for informed players. This article is meant to explain the basics of Badugi, and describe some basic strategy to help you understand how to play it profitably.

In another article, I discussed depth of money dynamics, a critical component you must evaluate when it comes to the end of the tournament and short-handed play. However, that is not the only thing that must be looked at when making a decision. Stack dynamics, or the relation of your stack size in comparison to your opponents, is just as, or maybe more important, than depth of money dynamics. Specifically, it affects what hands you can play and against whom you can play them.

I have a saying I tell my students all the time – Position Is Power. This simple statement is at the core of so many various poker decisions that I've decided to spend a whole article discussing the importance of position. I'm going to do so by outlining some reasons why position is important and showing examples.

You might look at the subject for this article and wonder what depth of money dynamics is. The simplest definition I can come up with is that it is the relation of the average chip stack in proportion to the blinds. I can explain it better by showing you some examples of three different situations that appear on the surface to be identical but in reality are polar opposites.

A common question I am often asked is “why should I make a standard sized flop bet?”

Let me start by pointing out some of the advantages to making a standard bet.

One of the biggest mistakes a person can make in a no limit hold em tournament is to check/call. I see player after player doing it and it is a fundamental error. I know that I'm still guilty of doing it from time to time and have to remind myself how wrong it is after the poker tournament when I am reviewing my play.

Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) is a game of action and lately it has started to draw in poker players far and wide as they attempt to get in on the supposedly easy money to be made in PLO. A problem many of these players make, however, is that they treat PLO too much like Hold Em. In this article, I'm going to go over two of the biggest Hold Em mistakes poker players make in PLO.

Pot Limit Omaha (referred to as PLO after this) is an action game. The potential for drawing out is almost always available and aggressive players love the game because of the fear they can instill in tight players because there are so many ways to lose a hand. Understanding the mathematics of PLO can go a long way towards increasing the profitability of your PLO play. This article is going to look at some very basic PLO situations and show you the math that applies to them.

In my previous two articles, I explained the types of hands you should play pre-flop and how to proceed on the flop for those hands. In this part, I am going to go through the turn and the river play, which if you've followed what I've laid out in the previous articles should be relatively simple. It is so straightforward in fact that I am going to lay out the types of turns and rivers you should be looking for, how to bet/raise them, and then provide you with several real life examples to show you what I am talking about.

There are numerous theories out there about what hands people should play in Omaha 8 including point systems that take into account each of the cards you hold in your hand. I'm not going to try and complicate things that much for you because it's much easier than that, especially when playing at the lower limits. Here are the hands you should play and why...

In my previous article, I laid out for you how to handle pre-flop play in Omaha 8 games. In this part, I am going to expand on that and go over play on the flop. The flop is the most important part of any Omaha 8 pot. It is when you have the most information and the betting limits are the cheapest (in a limit cash game). There are two key concepts with flop play... the flop texture (how the flop matches up with your hand)... and the odds that your hand will improve to win at least half the pot.

Empire Casino, London Poker is perpetually linked to - and surrounded by - gambling and gamblers. For this reason, it's important to take a serious look at what "gambling" itself means.

"The real thing to know is that folks will stand to lose more than they will to win. That's the most important percentage there is. I mean, if they lose, they're willin' to lose everything. If they win, they're usually satisfied to win enough to pay for dinner and a show. The best gamblers know that."

There are aspects of poker which make it different than any other card game. It is easy to apply strategy learned from playing backgammon, chess, spades, and other games to your poker approach. Following basic strategy and playing percentages at all times will give you the ability to make money from terrible players, but you will do so very slowly. It is hard to beat the rake using only mathematical evaluation. If you want to become successful, you have to understand and use psychology.

There are two important aspects to using psychology effectively in poker. First, you have to know the playing styles of your opponents. Second, you have to understand the perception other players have of you.