Da Boss Poker

If you have watched any poker on television then you are familiar with no limit hold’em. In fact you would be hard pressed to find any other game. While no limit hold’em is the most popular version of the game for tournament play there are not a lot of people who play it outside of tournaments. This is largely because of the possibility of suffering large losses.

No limit hold’em is by far the most popular variant of poker, at least for spectators. It is the game that you almost always see played on television. Most people when they play themselves will usually play in limit games as they don’t have the bankrolls for no limit games. One of the reasons that no limit hold’em so popular with television audiences is that it allows players to put other players in a position where they may have to go all in. This can make great television but it also makes the game more difficult.

Most people are familiar with how hold’em works. Each player is dealt two cards and there are then five community cards, players have to make the best five card hand using a combination of their cards and the community cards. There is a round of betting before the first three community cards are dealt then before the fourth and the fifth. Like limit hold’em the blinds are a set rate, the difference is that there is no set amount for each round of betting; instead players can bet any amount that they want.

Clearly when you start playing no limit games bluffing becomes much more important than it is in limit games. You can put your opponents in a position of having to go all in if you are able to bluff well. This offers the huge advantage of allowing games to be ended much faster as players are more likely to be knocked out in just a few hands. Of course this is a double edged sword as it also means that you can be knocked out very quickly as well.

Before you even think about playing in a no limits hold’em game you have to make sure that you are good at playing limit hold’em. Once you start playing it is important that you make sure that you take steps to protect your bankroll. It is very easy to go bust and get knocked out of the game; this is something that you have to make sure does not happen. This means that you have to make good decisions about when to play a hand and when not to. You will probably find that you play hands far less frequently than you do when you are playing limit hold’em; this is usually a good thing as most players play too often anyway.

Poker players who prove to be successful in cash games of No Limit Hold ‘em Poker still have a tough time in being successful poker tournament players. The skills that you use for cash games are not not necessarily applicable when you join poker tournaments. A poker player must have a mind set fit for the tournament and also think of strategies to get to the final table and win.

Poker Chips and Payout

Every player in a poker tournament will start with equal amount of chips. The chips do not have a cash value except if you are playing in cashout poker tournaments. In these tournaments, losing your chips means you are eliminated. When you are eliminated in the early stages of the tournament, you will not be bringing home any cash. When you make it into the latter stages, there will be certain cash payouts depending on your position. A poker tournament is all about survival.

The payout structure is simple for poker tournaments, the farther you get into the poker tournament, the bigger cash prize you might get.

There is also a tournament bubble where everyone goes tighter than usual because someone needs to be eliminated. You can take advantage of this by opening up to rake in chips from very passive poker players. Go aggressive and steal blinds and antes. This way you will be able to build your stack for the latter rounds.

Increasing blinds

The blinds will rise as the tournament goes. This is the structure so the tournament can end with players forced to play conservatively. You will be in very good shape if you can take advantage of the very conservative players and steal some blinds every round.

Style of play

Tournaments will involve more aggressive players compared to cash games. The ideal strategy will be to go tight-aggressive to have a good chance of reaching the final table.

A lot of players will say not to raise when you have an Ace-Queen before the flop in Texas Holdem limit if the move will not kick other players out of play.  This move however displays a lack of understanding of the card values and a sort of tightness that may not be too profitable.

You will see A-Q among the best of hands preflop of all the possible hands that you can get.  If you are playing poker against players who will play 4-4 or offsuit 8-7, then make sure you get them into two rounds of betting. Make sure you attract them to put in more money when you make the flop, liket a Q2J or AK6. These kinds of players will want to see the next cards especially when several players call on their cards.

In poker, different cards make different amounts of money. It does not necessarily follow that the best hands will be best in terms of profitability.

Remember that if you have an offsuit Ace-Queen, you have to put in the money early to kill the chances of the other speculative hands that may make stronger finishing hands and want money in post flop. Yes high suited top cards are the gold of the game but off suit can be treated as silver which can also bring in some money.

Like my dad said you can not win them all. That same adage is true with poker, there will be sessions where you will lose more money and there is nothing much you can do to avoid it.

We can not deny that poker really requires a lot skills but it also a ton of luck. The equation of winning has a big chunk relying on the luck you have when you sit down and play a session of poker. For a longer stretch, poker players will somehow admit that luck really gets in the way. You got a pair of Kings but when the cards are shown, you didn’t get any better but your opponent with pair 7s was able to make it a quad. Now what do you call that?

When you play on cash tables you need to be prepared to lose two or three buy ins or maybe it is really bad luck that you will not win a tournament even you’re a regular player. A streak of loses may come, maybe worse than the 2 to 3 buy ins we are saying here. There will be days that you just get bad cards. All day.

Big downwings are completely out of our control. Downswings are downswings and no matter how you try to adjust, there will be times that things just get worse and you end up wasting a ton of money.

Now what do you do with a big downswing. I guess we can be pretty honest with our answer – Nothing.

All you can do is take a week long off from the poker table just to help you get out of the negative psyche the series of losses brought to your game. The time out can help you get a fresh start. Then you will play the way you want it, the way you know how to.

The Baluga Theorem is a useful theorem that states, “You should strongly re-evaluate the strength of one-pair hands in the face of a raise on the turn.”

Let us say you got an A of heart, King of diamonds. You will be the first one to act so you went to call a raise of 4BB. The flop comes out A heart, 9 spades, 3 diamonds. That sounds good so you topped it up to 8BBs.

The turn reveals A heart, 9 spades, 3 diamons, and 7 spades. The 7 spades looks harmless but it also brings into the equation the potential for a flush or a straight. You pushed for a ¾ of pot bet but your opponent raises. What should you do?

The situation is very tricky. You have a top pair but what does the other player got? Most of the time it will be best to fold our hand. Ask yourself why would the other player raise after a turn if he has anything that is less than a top pair?

Most likely he has some strong cards. A turn raise is a display of strength. This looks like a very awkward situation but folding will really be the best move for most of the time.

Calling will most likely be a losing game. If you call on the turn then the river is revealed, your opponent will most likely call and you will end up closing your eyes and hope for the best. That will not be a very good strategy.

Can I get a: “DONK DONK?”

Liz Lieu, one of the hottest little Asian chicks in the poker world is one sick donk in this one sick hand from the European Poker Tour… Funny shit actually.

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GODDAMN THIS CHICK IS FIIIINE. I like the hairdo, I like her “IT’S AUTOMATIC” because it reminds of grand master flash and BOOYAKASHA I like Danny Negreanu giving a catholic dude advise that sets him on a ROLLERCOASTER TO BROKEDOM.

Luckboxer priest against Vanesse Rousso.

Yo if I want to move from tape one to tape two RIGHT AWAY I will, allright Mr. Howard Lederer Video Man?

“Thanks for purchasing this tape”.

Yeah my pleasure. :p

The miscellaneous aspects of poker make it a unique game. The strategy for poker can be borrowed from games like chess spades and so on can be applied in poker as well. Just mathematical calculations will not help you to attract money from players. You should be able to follow the fundamental strategy of moving ahead with a wooden expression on the face to dupe the other players. You should be able to examine your own cards and judge the behavior and body language of the opponents.

The two major psychological features of poker should be used successfully. Firstly, you should be conscious of the assorted playing methods used by the opponents and secondly, you should know the impression that other players have about you. Implementation of these psychological aspects would give you a competitive edge over the opponents.

The psychological aspect will help you be the victor and you would win money by improving your betting and increasing the stakes strategy. In order to do this you should familiarize yourself with the diverse methods used by the opponents will educate you on the diverse types of the game being played on the poker table. You should know that if the opponent is very taut and he chases all the cards duping him/her will do no good. Your strategies should change with each player because no two players think alike.

The way the opponents identify you and your playing technique is also a very significant aspect of poker psychology. If you adopt a strategy of playing only when you have well cards who would believe you when you proceed with a bluff or a demeaning flop? The important facet of poker psychology is that the opponents should never be able to judge your playing pattern. You should have the knack of surprising and shocking them with all your moves. Being a very unadventurous or an extremely loose player doesn’t help in this game. Your playing style should be mixed. A pleasant blend of both the styles will help you to dupe your opponents most of the times. This way you would have an edge over your opponents as well.

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From the National Heads-Up Championship – Michael Mizrachi, The Grinder, talking nothing useful really.

The whole “I have a tough opponent tomorrow, Mike Matusow“, did not look like he meant it. Funneh!