• Home
• Articles
• Forum
• Latest
• News
• Poker Gossip
  • My Thoughts
• Pub Poker
• Results

Online Beration Nation

July 30, 2008

We all know we have been playing in a nice online game then somebody decides to make that big call to chase the runner-runner flush. What is your instant reaction? To type some random expletives in the chat box? You may not admit it, but the chances are you have done it, or something similar at some point. Yes, these player can be extremely annoying especially when they do your stack on a 5% shot, but what good is berating them doing?
First of all these players are the type that you want sat at your table, believe it or not. These are the players that are bad at the game and will give you your moneys worth if you allow them. However if they are being hounded every single time they make a seemingly bad play then they may stop playing all together. That is most defiantly an outcome you do not want. The best thing to do is to say nothing, this may be hard for some people, but it is the best thing. If you say something like “Nice Hand” they may not realise that you didn’t mean it, but someone else at the table may decide to comment on what a douche this guy is and the same effect is had. If you find it hard to not talk then just think of your profit rolling out the door, you could block chat but I also think that is a negative move. You may not get it every session but now and again you will get a group of players on your table who think they are the next Phil Ivey, whether they are playing $5NL or $200NL, and they will discuss the ins and outs of the previous hands as they see them. Do you see where I am going? Yes, information super highway! Players will give you all the information you need on how they would play that nut flush draw on the paired board with out you having to ask, remember to note it down in the player note system, that is what they are for, not writing more random expletives after the horrible play they made earlier. Playing online you aren’t being given tells such as physical twitches, but if you pay attention you can pick up heavy betting patterns and sequences which work just as well. Most online poker players are very methodical and therefore notes on how they play certain situations will no doubt be invaluable when they are asking for your stack on the river.
Also another side to this argument, what is all this aggravation doing for your game and concentration, disrupting it I bet. While you are telling the guy what his mother was doing the night before, seat 3 has been stealing the blinds and showing 37 off suit. That is more information gone begging, all because you wanted to let some steam off. Next time somebody makes a horrible play, open the notes tab and the hand history and get typing!

You Lucky Bar Stool

July 28, 2008

You Lucky Bar Stool

Luck’s great, luck’s amazing and it’s often viewed as the life blood of poker as it keeps fools flooding back to a game they have no virtually chance to win at over the long term, because hitting those too few outer’s to justify there call is a marvellous feeling, It’s addictive and its also a big fuck you to all those people who constantly criticise there poor play, because “Well it won, didn’t it”. And so we are often told we need to learn to rejoice and celebrate these beats, they are what keep the game profitable so rejoice in you misfortune.

Well anyone who thinks this can just fuck right off, how are you supposed to enjoy taking a beat! You can’t, it’s just horrible and the more retarded the call the more it makes you choke with rage when they pull miracle, running cards out of there arse. Personally I believe there’s something fundamentally wrong with any game that allows a player the opportunity to make the most horrible decisions and then see such outrageous good fortune save them, I believe its time for a change in the rules.

Now I’m not talking about someone getting lucky with an under pair or making a dodgy overcall with AJ or pushing a poor flush draw, no I’m talking about those spectacular calls you get under the name of value or so many of the crime’s committed in the name of pot odd’s or pot commitment, (Even if you have stuck 75% of your chips into the pot with seven high your not pot committed if you have 30BB’s you fucking idiot, fold every now and again you fucktard) No I’m talking about those mystical, surreal calls with absolutely nothing, that seem to so often catch miracle running cards.

And here’s what I’m suggesting, every player at the start of the tournament gets one bad beat chip, now if a phenomenal enough bad beat is suffered then the players at the table can throw this chip into the middle before the pot is dragged, if 70% of the table throw there chip in then the player who suffers the beat has the following options available to them,

1.) He can have his chip’s back
2.) He can have half his chips backs and get give his opponent a Chinese burn
3.) The TD get’s called over and his opponent has to explain his
thinking on the hand, its then up to the TD to decide if the reasoning during this hand is so is so bad it warrants a “Donkey kick” punishment, this could be anything from forfeiting all his chips, having to apologise for being a thick headed fool or giving Tony G a back rub.

I know people will be quick to criticise this idea, but can you imagine the fun of seeing Matusow giving Hellmuth a Chinese burn. I’d pay to watch that and I think it’s the future of televised poker.

Showdown hopefully explained

July 22, 2008

The Showdown explained.

I am now going to try and explain the showdown rule, and give examples of other rulings in the same situation. Let me first tell you the varying rules I have seen.

1)Some house rules state that anyone at the table is allowed to ask to see players cards at showdown.

2)Some house rules state that only active players involved on the turn can ask to see players cards at showdown.

3)Some house rules state that only the players that called the last bet are entitled to see the aggressors cards at showdown

4)Some house rules state that no one is entitled to see anyone’s cards if asked and leave the players to turn cards over in order.

Let me go through 1-4 one at a time and explain my thoughts

1. Endorsed by Roberts Rules of Poker, in my opinion he fucked up on this one, why should anyone have the right to see a players cards. The only reason people do this is for free information, yet some petty players insist all cards must be shown. The amount of times I have heard players argue saying “all cards must be shown at showdown” that’s why it is called a showdown …… bollox. The reason it is called a showdown is that to win a pot a hand must be shown if there is no betting into it. Then the players say how do you know players aren’t passing chips? Grow some balls and call for the floor if you think someone is cheating, tell the dealer etc. But just don’t tell us because you want to see cards to see what they played as you will end up on the wrong side of a penalty for bad etiquette.

    

2. Another load of bollox, if you want to see, stay in until the end, why should the whole table get to see the cards you were playing against. It hinders action and causes bad feeling. Why do you want to see someone’s cards? For information? That costs money in my book, unless playing by example 1, that’s why it is stupid.

    

3. Points 3 and 4 look completely different, however they are one in the same really. Of course, if you have called to see a players cards then they should be shown, although by calling and asking to see you are giving information to the whole table that you have paid for. The other controversy is if you ask for the cards to be shown should they be live. This is where point 3 and 4 differ. Some rules state that if you have tabled your cards then ask to see the bettors cards, then the cards should touch the muck (effectively killing them) and then turning the dead cards over. Other house rules state that if you ask to see someones cards then they are live, and that is the penalty for asking to see a players cards.

   In points 1 to 3 in every situation it is still bad etiquette to ask to see a players cards. Also in my opinion a bettor should never be able to request to see a callers cards, this is where point 4 kicks in

4.  

   There is an order of showdown, if no one has bet on the turn or river then players should show in a clockwise direction from the button. If there was aggressive action on the flop, but nothing on the turn and river, those cards have changed the situation that dramatically that the order of showdown from the button is the fairest way. At any point players can pass cards face down and not show once they think they are beat. The biggie and the one that causes the most confusion is if someone bets and gets a caller on the turn or river, in this situation the person who made the last aggressive action ( ie bet, raised or reraised and was called by the other player(s) ) Is committed to show first in showdown order, and the caller can insist they show before he turns his/her cards over (this is not bad etiquette, this is the correct order) The bettor can if he wishes throw his cards into the muck, the caller was probably right and the bettor was bluffing. If the cards are retrievable the caller can still ask to see (this is now bad etiquette) Even still, the caller must now expose his cards to win the pot. If the bettor shows his cards when asked, and tables a winning hand then the caller can muck, his cards are not retrievable. If for some reason the caller exposes his cards first, the bettor can now muck, and the caller cannot ask to see his cards as he has just forfieted the right and upset the order of showdown, by his hastiness. Although it is also good etiquette, if you believe you have the best hand to table your cards if you do not wish to see the opponents cards. The reason why this system works well, is there can be no bad feeling, and it also induces action and allows players to bluff more often unlike the other points, which inhibit action.

    

I hope this has cleared the showdown rule up a little, reading it back to myself I will be amazed if anyone actually understands it lol, put basically simple if you follow a showdown order there will never be a reason to ask to see cards.

Advice to everyone……….. if in doubt ask the cardroom you are playing in, what rules they use.

Freerolls - A victim of their own success?

July 18, 2008

These can be a very good way for someone to be able to experience the site software and to get used to the differences from other sites they may have used in the past. They are also a way for newer players to try to improve their skills before making their first real money deposit.

There are now freerolls on just about every site that you can find and they all offer something else which is usually considered ‘too good to be true’, which is free money.

This holds a great attraction for thousands of people and freerolls on certain sites regularly fill up to 10000+ entries of which in some cases only 1 person will actually win anything at all. This leads to what can only be described as crazy play where you have full tables all shoving in the entire chip stacks preflop regardless of their cards on the first hand and will continue to do so until they either win or bust with the latter happening eventually in almost all cases.

What this means in practice is that they are no longer a reasonable way for a newer player to improve their poker skills and also makes it more difficult for more experienced players to be able to get a feel for the software before making a deposit on the site.

What will this mean for the future? Well obviously only the poker sites themselves know this. There is obviously a good publicity factor that will encourage them to keep running them but as the market becomes saturated the value of continuing to run them must be dropping. Perhaps they will die out but for alot of players they died a long time ago….

Begining in Poker Tournaments

July 16, 2008

This is a monumental moment. I am now not just the hunter gatherer of information. I am a giver. When I first started to type, I had so many ideas of what to write this article about - which hopefully means there will be more. Then I thought, “What would I have liked to know as a newbie?” Again, lots of things stood out in my mind, but to me one more than any other came top. How to play a tournament.

Being honest, I’m not a pro poker player, and also I’m not trying to tell you that this is “THE ULTIMATE STRATEGY!” However, it does try to give you, as a newbie poker player, some idea of where to start. This may sound obvious, but I think it’s best to start with the strategy for the early stages. These this could be used in Multi Table Tournament (MTT) and Sit and Go (SnG) tourneys.

As I’m sure you are all aware, poker has received a lot of interest from Television recently, and if I’m being honest it’s what got me really into the game. Anyone with satellite or cable television has access to a vast range of poker programmes. The first programme I took notice of myself was World Poker Tour (WPT). This show places a lot of emphases on fast paced, action with high stakes and, obviously, the excitement results in good viewing figures. After watching this kind of show, one big mistake “fish” (new players) make is assuming that EVERY hand is going to be full of action. However, we should never assume, because, as the old saying goes, this will make an “ass” out of “u” and “me.” What the show doesn’t show is the tight style of play the players have had to play for lengthy periods to enable them to make these outrageous bluffs or semi-bluffs*. The show concentrates a lot on the hole cards players are dealt pre-flop, showing the percentage chances of winning for each hand. Personally, I like to play the hands that give me the highest percentage chances of winning the pot.

*At first I never knew the difference between a bluff and semi-bluff, so here it is. A bluff is when you bet when you have nothing. Semi-bluff is when you have nothing but there are still cards too come that will improve your hand.

To do this all you have to do is “tighten up” or cut down the number of hands you actually play. We all know those marginal hands that we play, when we know we shouldn’t, just because the blinds are low?… Throw them away! Even though the blinds are low, you are still throwing away chips, plus the chances are if you are calling the blind, I bet you will bet or call a low-medium size bet post-flop. This way you are compounding your error, instead of not losing any chips, you are losing 3 or 4 times the big blind, if not more, dependent on how long you hold onto your marginal hand. So you I would suggest playing tight early on in the tourney. I’m not going to list the exact hands, but certainly see the flop with suited aces, suited connectors and pocket pairs (beware of over cards.) when the price is right. Pocket aces is a great hand pre-flop, but if a flush or a straight comes on the flop, you have too be able too walk away from these hands. One question I suggest you keep in mind all times in a tourney is “do I want to risk my tournament life on this hand?” Even if you fold one hand which you would have one the pot with, I bet there will be many more you folded when you were behind.

Different online casinos have different tournament structures. You can even find different structures within the same site e.g. Turbo or Speed. Generally the starting stack ranges from 1000-1500, with blinds around 10 or 20 start with 100 times the big blind. That leaves for plenty of play, but beware the blinds do go up, sometimes seems like an increasingly alarming pace. This is why I set a goal, generally for the first two levels, I would like to have added 300-500 chips to my stack, and this can generally be done with one good hand. Now lets be honest for the first two levels that is between 10-15 minutes generally, in 10 minutes I’m sure you are bound to get at least one good hand. However, the main thing to remember is that this is a GOAL not a NEED. Even if you fall short of gaining 300 chips, blinds are still pretty low, still a lot of play left. To get comfortable, I like to be above of average stack, in larger MTT you have too keep watching this, because it can shoot up and leave you behind. When I am below average stack, I like to loosen up a little, catch up the lost time, although if you loosen up, ask yourself “Do I want to lose my tournament life on this hand?” As long as you keep your wits about you and don’t play silly cards like 72 off-suit, you should be grand.

There is a great technique of avoiding being knocked out of a tournament, picking who you pick your fights with. One simple way of saying this is too attack the sort stacks, it’s great, they don’t have enough chips too knock you out, but if you knock them out, you have added to your stack and increased your chances of winning. The other way of saying this, steer clear of the large stacks, they have more than enough chips to knock you out, so unless you have a premium hand, just throw it away! I seemed to have drifted into general tournament play, so I might as well continue. You should always respect your players as good poker players, unless you know otherwise. For instance if a player raises in early position, give him credit, throw away all but premium hands. One thing to remember here is that “You need a stronger hand to call a raise than to initiate one.” Also I would stay away from pots with more than one re-raise, even if you have a good hand, the other hands could be cancelling yours out!

That was just my rough guide to NL Hold’em Tournament play.

Cheers

Introduction to Positional Play

July 9, 2008

There is a massive amount of material available regarding position at the poker table, however many players just don’t understand the importance or even the concept of position itself. These players are giving up an edge on every hand they play to others who understand and consider position when they come to the felt. There are four types of position at the poker table: early position, middle position, late position and the blinds. Knowing how to play and how others maybe playing according to there position at the table can lift your game to greater heights.

In early position which at a full table will be the first three seats to the left of the dealer button, there should be fewer hands played. The reason for a stricter starting hand requirement is there are many hands to act behind you and thus a greater possibility of strong hands still to act. Only play hands you will be happy to call a raise with, which generally means only play hands you are happy to open the betting with. Being last to act on any subsequent rounds of betting is a big advantage, the opposite is also true, being first to act is going to put you at significant disadvantage so hand strength is key. For newer players the best thing to do in early position is to play premium hands only, by this we mean high pocket pairs and Ace Jack suited or better.

In middle position, seats three to six on a full table. You will have a positional advantage over the three players that have acted before you, as well as the blinds after the flop. You can loosen up your hand selection, not too much though as there is still a minimum of three players to act after you. At this point suited connectors as well as medium pairs are playable in the right situation, as well as the premium starting hands mentioned above.

In late position (the player on the button and one seat to the right of the button) you have an advantage over all the players at the table except the blinds pre-flop, and absolutely everyone post-flop. In mainstream poker theory these are considered the best seats in the house, often referred to as ‘In Position’. Most experienced players loosen up a great deal ‘In Position’ and will mix up there game by playing aggressively a wide range of hands.

It does sound easy winning the pot with a late position raise with four seven off-suit, unfortunately that doesn’t happen as often as we would like. The general accepted term for late table position is the ‘stealing’ positions. This is when you can put in a raise (when you are first to enter the pot) and the blinds will more than likely fold, this strategy will work on occasion but must be used carefully. As poker’s popularity has spread more and more people have made the effort to study the game and a large number of players are aware that experienced players are prepared to put in a blind stealing raise from late position. This has lead a greater number of players to defend there blinds and with a broader range of hands. There is a time and a place for blind stealing, late position is definitely the place, I will leave it up to you too figure out the time.

In the blinds (small and big blind) you are already partly committed to the pot, this does not mean you have to play the hand. The thing to remember is that you may have ‘position’ on the table pre-flop whereas post-flop you will be ‘out of position’ so first to act. As we know poker is a game of decisions, and the more information you have to make your decision the better that decision is likely to be. Therefore the last player to act has an advantage over other players contesting the pot. Inexperienced players often lose a lot of chips from the blind positions, it is a good policy to treat chips you are forced to commit to the pot in blinds as communal chips. Once these chips are in the pot everybody has as much of a claim to the chips as you do. It is also worth remembering that in Hold’em poker your hand will connect with the flop a very small amount of the time, being first to act with no hand to play is going to cost you a lot of money in the long term.

Being out of position is not always a negative situation; I have been using to great affect recently a strategy of playing ‘counter position’ against certain opponents. Making counter position plays has to be done in the correct situations, execute the play when first to act by making a decent size bet, about half the size of the pot on low flops against no more than one or two weak-tight opponents who are unlikely to have connected with the board. Obviously this play works better when you are deep stacked and will not be committed by the bluff against opponents who are unable to get away from marginal hands.

Shorthanded Positional Play

Many top players like Tom Mcevoy believe that short handed cash games are more profitable than full ring games. Positional play in short handed games is even more important than at a full table, when you have position play it aggressively. The aggressive players will generally get rewarded more in short-handed games which tend to suit there looser styles. Stealing is a much more viable play on smaller tables purely and simply because less players means there is less likelihood of premium hands to oppose them. Stealing in short handed games is imperatives as the blinds come round much faster. In shorthanded situations you should be more liberal in the hands you choose to defend your blinds with or you will be blinded away quickly.

Blind Play

Some of the hardest decisions in poker are made when you are forced to play in the blinds. How you play blind situations will often determine whether you will be a profitable player or not. In cash games the blinds obviously stay the same and therefore should not be contested as readily as in tournament play, in tournaments you will need to be aware of your stack ratio to the blinds at every stage.

A lot of players make mistakes from the blinds and are throwing away a large number of chips unnecessarily. One of the most common mistakes new players make is calling raises in the blinds purely because they have chips committed to the pot. This does not mean you should surrender your blind to every raise but be aware of the position of the raiser and the standard of the hands they are there likely to be holding. In general it is usually better to re-raise with a marginal hand if you suspect you opponent of larceny than to call with a mediocre hand, large proportion of the time be prepared to surrender your blind and live to fight another day.

Attacking Weak Flop Bets

June 20, 2008

Attacking Weak Flop Bets

One of the first moves I ever learned to make was the flop continuation bet, the second move I ever learned was to attack other people’s C-bets. Logical really and most key tournament hands are decided by action on the flop. Randomly attacking C-Bets though is going to be a very frustrating and costly experience, its going to pay to be rather specific about the situations you choose to counter attack from.

An obvious example would be re-raising tight solid players after they have raised from EP on a Ace/King board, this is always going to be a long term losing proposition. The key factors are pretty obvious then, attacking early position raisers is always going to be more dangerous than middle or late position raisers regardless of the player in questions particular playing style, even the loosest player in the world is more likely to have a hand if his raising from early position, that’s the nature of the game.

So if we surmise that in general EP means big cards then we will limit our flop re-raise’s of these players to any board with out an ace or a king and where they have shown weakness. Now let’s make sure we understand what I mean by weakness. An EP raiser checking a Jack/Queen high flop does not necessarily mean they have missed, in fact you really would expect an EP raiser to follow through on any flop with one picture card that’s not particularly threatening, so the fact they have not should raise alarm bells.

So unless you have seen this player consistently check missed flops then extreme caution for the remainder of the hand is advised. On the other hand if a solid player makes a solid looking bet on a one court card flop then this might be worth attacking. To clarify what I mean by a solid bet I would consider something from 1/2 to 2/3 of the pot and only when this amount won’t commit them to the hand. This bet so often is an attempt to look confident and committed, and of course it’s quite likely to mean the exact opposite. In general the 1/2 pot bet is usually made by weaker inexperienced players and the 2/3 by better stronger players. Attack both though  with relish! But only if you have a decent table image, nutter’s get no respect and an AK on a Q 10 board might go with there three across believing it might be ahead or they might have 2 X 12 outs.

Now full pot flop bets are quite easy to play against, if your opponent is aggressive and there’s no draws on the board and there’s been no apparent substance to his betting (by Substance I mean he has opened the betting and you’re his only opponent, if he has been re-raised or called a raise then his betting has been defined and has some substance) then its most likely to be horse shit, unless table conditions indicate otherwise*, so as long as his bet won’t commit him to the pot I will go after this type of bet. If a solid/tight player bets pot then I’m getting out of dodge, there just not letting go of whatever they have.

Reading flops then is crucially important when going after the C-bettor, for example attacking a mid position raiser on a uncoordinated ten high flop is quite likely to be a long term rewarding play. We have to be mindful though that mind position raisers are more likely to have drawing hands so be careful of attacking big drawing flops and two pair flops, examples would be 9,8,6 two suits, J,10,8 two suits, 5,6,7 two suits. Lots of mid/late position raisers will have hit these flops either with and open ender, flush or two pair.

So then smart arse, what’s a weak bet then?

I wish I could categorically answer this; if I could it would make me rich and I would be paying some other poor fucker to write for me. The truth is there is no real sure fire way of knowing, but we can generalise. A good rule of thumb is too look for different behavioural/betting patterns. A good example is a very aggressive opponent raising pre-flop and then checking a coordinated flop. We know they will C-bet a very high proportion of the time and his aggressive nature means he will attack with almost any draw. So when an agro player decides to check/weak lead a co-ordinated flop or makes what appears to be a weak bet then this action can be seen as out of character. In all likely hood the check/weak lead is being made for one of three reasons;

1.) His hit the flop hard.
2.) He has a big drawing hand which his planning to check raise you with.
3.) You have a very tight image and his missed all ends up and will let go.

So 2/3 of the time a bet will be contested. More if you’re an active player.

Now if a more selective player checks/weak leads a 1/3 of the pot then three reason are;

1.) He has missed and is scared or trying to buy the pot cheap.
2.) He is making a weak lead looking for a raise.
3.) He has a draw that he wants for free or is trying to dictate how much he pays for it.

Now it’s up to you how to play this type of situation, I almost always re-raise the weak lead if there’s the value to do so, I can get away from a re-shove and there’s no flush draw (they rarely fold the flush draw on the flop, I heard a rumour someone on poker stars once folded one but I think it might be an Urban legend).

Just some thoughts, let me know what you think at.
http://flipyouforit.blogspot.com/

* By table conditions I mean please use your common sense, if a player has recently just lost a large proportion of his stack with a big hand being outdrawn then if he is put in the same situation his going to play it a lot faster. Good players should be wholly aware of this but you would be surprised how many aren’t.

I remember covering a hand at last years London EPT, where Surinder Sunar (a player I greatly admire) made a horrible mistake that he would never have made if he had played a lot more online poker. With about 14 left a guy from Cyprus loses a big pot against a German player, his top set is out drawn buy some ugly flush draw on the river(Q 4 or some shite). Next hand it folds round to him in the small blind and he moves all in for some huge number, Sunar thinks for an age and Chilli and I are watching, Chilli ask’s me what I think they have and I nail it, Cypriote fella KK and Sunar KQ, Sunar calls and is crippled out of the tournament.**

This is an example of table condition’s dictating play, I’ve just seen this move so often online, your trying to look on tilt and get a bad call but there’s also the element of not having to make a decision on an ace high flop when you’re a half crazed tilt monkey.

** Interesting note, Sunar had just played three straight 14 hour days and been knocked out a crucial stage of a major tournament, I saw him get up from the table and he looked thoroughly drained, completely exhausted. Two minutes latter I saw him sit down at a Vic cash table!

Omaha Hi Lo (be careful)

June 16, 2008

There are two phenomena of Omaha that should colour your your selection and play of hands. The first is that the nuts are constantly changing. Let us take a typical Omaha H/L hand as an example. The flop comes down 8c 9c Ah. A hand containing AA is currently the nuts, but there are two cards to come, and any club, or any 5, 6, 7, T, or J will allow for some better hand. Let us now say that 5s comes on the turn. So now a straight is possible, but that straight must be scared that the board will pair (there are 12 cards that might pair the board), a flush will come (7 additional cards), or that a better straight will become possible (12 additional cards). Similarly, in a high/low split game, consider A2QJ on a 358 flop. This hand has four outs to make a strong Hi hand, and the nut low. But if one of the three aces or three deuces remaining in the deck turns or rivers, then A4, A6, 46, A7, 47, and 67 will all be better low hands. This is called getting counterfeited, and is the primary danger for the nut hand on any street other than the river in Omaha.

So if you make a hand such as the top set, you must either bet so strongly that most of the other hands fold and only one hand (with many fewer outs than the rest of the table combined) is drawing against you, or you must check and wait for the board to pair. I favor protecting your hand with a pot-size bet, but watch your table. If most of the table will call, then potting with a hand will lose you chips unless that hand improves with additional cards. Similarly, a hand with A2 but no other low cards is very easy to counterfeit, while a hand such as A247 offers many low options even if an ace or deuce comes down. If the ace is suited, you might even scoop the pot.

The second phenomenon is getting quartered. Let us say that the board is 3358Q and you hold A2. A second player also holds A2, and a third player holds QQ3. All three players have very strong hands, and QQ has a three in his hand so he is also holding the nuts. Every player has the nuts. However, when all of the chips go into the pot, each player has contributed one third, while QQ is going to take half and the other two players only a quarter. So despite having a nut hand, you can lose chips. A2 in particular is susceptible to this because many players refuse to throw away a hand containing A2 (many hands containing A2 indeed should be thrown away, if the other two cards do not make sense. Why play one hold’em hand against six?). So as a final word of advice, in a split high-low game, extra consideration should be given to hands with the potential to make a strong Hi hand. 40% of the time, no low will be possible anyway on an Omaha board, so the Hi hand will scoop the pot. The rest of the time, a strong Hi hand is difficult to quarter. And of course the best possible hand can win both halves, scooping the pot even when it is split.

So we can see that when selecting a hand, it is critical to consider what a good flop for that hand might be and whether that hand is really capable of making the nuts. Sets very often fail to win unimproved in a multiway pot, while a nut flush or a nut straight on a non-flush board wins unless the board pairs. When playing a hand, figure out whether a strong bet will protect your hand by folding out most or all of those drawing against you, or whether the blinds are so small or the players so loose that most of the table will call you, giving each other pot odds. This behavior does have a name as well, schooling, after small fish that swim together in groups to avoid being eaten by larger fish. If you are at a table where you will get schooled, simply wait to make a hand against which the others are drawing dead, and then let them school.

In particular, early in a tournament you will find that players tend to be loose and will both school and pay you off, while later in a tournament a strong bet is more often respected and will isolate only one drawing hand against which you are the favorite. At a low-buyin ring game or even a moderate limit game, you should definitely expect to be schooled, and if you flop top set, consider yourself not as having the current nut hand, but as having 7 outs to pair the board of make quads on the turn followed by 10 on the river if you miss. It is for this reason that I advocate playing so tightly early in a tournament — Omaha is a wild game in which the dynamics of the hand are constantly changing, and while in a ring game you have to gamble when you have a smaller edge, a tournament allows you to just sit there and collect when you have a nut hand. So why do anything else?

The Aggression Factor

June 13, 2008

How to spot, and how to choose your style

Loose poker players are actually very aggressive. A loose player will take a lot of risks while chasing the big rewards at the end of the rainbow or should we say poker table. They play a lot of hands and are less likely to fold when challenged. But there are also two kinds of “Loose Players.”

There is the passive loose player who regards pot odds as only a friendly suggestion. They seldom fold and will continue to call regardless of the strength of their hand, or what they believe the strength of their opponents hand is. They are the perfect example of the eternal optimists believing that at any moment any two cards can make the difference. What makes them passive is that they will call almost every time, but rarely raise. They will stay in the game to the bitter end, but do not add that extra element of risk. Almost as a rule, these folks don’t bluff well. Passive-loose players are die a slow financial death at the table but you have to give them an A for their attitude.

The other type of loose player is an aggressive loose player. They are the Spiderman of the the poker world. They are extremely aggressive and see raising as form of worship to the card gods. These players have no problem raising before and after the flop, because they attempt to bully the table. Poker players with this style are very good at winning a lot of small pots but when it comes to the big pots and the big bucks they tend to loose their momentem and peter out.

The second type of poker player is the tight player who doesn’t play a lot of hands and who always folds when circumstances and pot odds are not in their favor. They do not thrive on a steady diet of raises. They much prefer to call or fold while picking their fights to mount a vigorous offensive. There are also two types of tight players.

A passive tight player is genetically programmed to avoid risk. Even when the hand is big they are more likely to call then ever think about raising. You will die of boredom if you are waiting for a passive tight player to bluff. There’s just no bluff in this type of player. Instead they play a very straightforward game and fold very easily.

An aggressive tight player is quite the opposite. This is the Rambo of poker, believing heavily in picking their own poison. They will fold when the odds are not in their favour. They will see the flop with a decent hand, and that is when their more aggressive tendencies will emerge. They will go after the money at that point.

It is a good idea to identify the types of poker players at your table. Then you can adapt to the style of the table. You may find yourself morphing into one of these types over time. But I’m telling you being a chameleon will benefit you a lot more in the long run. Leave the psychology to the other guys and gals!

5 Card Stud Guide

June 13, 2008

Here is how 5 card stud poker is played.

Games are played with anything from two to ten players at the table. A round starts with each player first being dealt a face down card, called a pocket card. Immediately following this each player then receives another card this time face up. Players check their pocket card without revealing it to the other players.

There then follows a round of betting beginning with the player showing the lowest ranking face up card. This player must usually lay down a mandatory small blind bet that is half the table minimum. Betting continues clockwise around the table and each player must decide whether or not to fold, call, or raise the bet.

When all bets have been called each player still in the round receives another face up card known as 3rd street. To raise players must first match all previous bets. Another round of betting follows beginning with the player showing the highest ranking card who may choose to check, raise, or fold.

When all bets have been a called a fourth card known as 4th street is dealt face up to all players followed by another round of betting again beginning with the highest ranking card still in the round.

Finally, a fifth card is dealt face up to all remaining players followed by another round of betting as before. This is known as 5th street. When all bets are called comes the showdown when players reveal their hands and the highest ranking hand wins.

5 Card Stud is hard to find in brick and mortar casinos these days and rules concerning antes, small blinds and big blinds may vary from casino to casino. Also the number or raises permitted in each round may be limited if there are more than two players still playing for the pot. There are some internet casinos that offer the game. 5 Card Stud still has some popularity in social settings because it is easy and fun to play. In games played at home a variation is often used in which the 5th street card is dealt face down or the first two cards are dealt face down as pocket cards. This adds an element of uncertainty to each round but this rule is never played in casinos.

Basic Omaha Strategy

June 13, 2008

Omaha Strategy
Pot-Limit Omaha centers on two things: building the nut hand, and position. The first point is obvious. The hands are strong in Pot-Limit Omaha, so you want to be able to hold the best hand. Most Pot-Limit Omaha games do not go to a showdown. When they do, more than likely one player has the nuts or was drawing to the nuts. When two players have strong made hands against each other, generally one has the nut hand or second-nut and the other player also has a near nut hand. An example would be a board with AQ554. One player could have AAxx and the other player might have QQxx. If a player called a huge bet on this board with 23xx, they would be a fool. While this straight would be a strong hand in Hold’em, it would be a very weak hand for this board in Omaha.

Omaha’s emphasis on building the nut hand greatly changes starting hand selection. In order to hit the nuts or near nuts, you need hands that coordinate well with themselves. When the board comes, you want to be able to build the nuts in multiple ways. You want to be able to build nut straights, nut flushes, and big full houses. This way, even if say your straight is now vulnerable to a flush, you might also have a full house draw. You do not want hands that will be vulnerable to becoming the second best hand. If a hand is ill-coordinated, there is a good chance it will hit the flop decently. However, it could easily be outdrawn on further streets, and you will have little chance of redrawing again to the best hand. So when evaluating your preflop Omaha hand, here are some tips:

•High pocket pairs are good. This is because they have the chance at building a big full house. If you do not hit a set with a big pair, the pair is essentially worthless.

•Connecting cards are helpful. A hand like JT98 is a very good Pot-Limit Omaha hand because it affords the player with so many straight opportunities. Holding JT98 is far superior to holding QJ56 because you can build many multi-way straight possibilities with JT98. However, you cannot with QJ56.

•Suited cards should be treated with caution. One can call and draw to an ace high flush. However, drawing to any non-nut flush can be very foolish. Having non-ace high suited cards is only helpful for redraws, multiple draws (i.e. also having a straight draw), or back-door flush draws. One should never draw to just a flush that is not a nut flush.

•Low and mid pocket pairs are close to worthless. A hand like 5588 belongs in the muck. Even if you hit a set, you can easily lose to a higher set, straight, or flush.

Another central concept to Pot-Limit Omaha is position. Omaha is all about position. There are several reasons for this. First, free cards are death in Omaha. If you are in early position, you will almost always have to bet your hand, even if you hold the nuts. For example, if the board is 567 and you hold 899A, you definitely have to bet. Someone could too easily draw to a full house, flush, or perhaps even a higher straight. Because of this, people in early positions tend to give away their hands. People in late position can much more easily bluff at pots because they can be fairly certain that people in early posiitons do not have a hand, and people in late position can sometimes earn themselves extremely valuable free cards.

Because of this, there is little reason to raise preflop out of position. Even if you hold A A J 10 , you should still limp in early position. Only in late position should you raise preflop, and you should raise not so much to knock people out but to build a pot. Of course, if you hold a pair of aces in early position and someone has raised behind you, a re-raise may be in order. Only do this if you would be close to all-in after the reraise. Giving away your hand is a recipe for disaster at Omaha. However, the re-raise trick with a pair of aces is a good move to make if you would be close to all-in. You will almost always be a statistical favorite with this move, which is all you can really ask for in a game as crazy as Pot-Limit Omaha.

At the low-limit Omaha Hold’em games, there is easy money if you have the patience. Usually, these games are filled with players who are playing far too loose because everyone thinks that their two-pair is a great hand. The best strategy is to play hands that do well in multi-way pots and bet hard when you have the nuts. Please note: this article is intended for beginners playing low-limit Omaha games where the play tends to be loose and passive. It is not intended for more serious Omaha games.

There is another version of Omaha called Omaha hi-lo. In this game the high hand and low hand split the pot. This article will not discuss the hi-lo version; I will only talk about Omaha hi.

Some good places to play low-limit Omaha are Party Poker or Empire Poker (they are on the same network). Another place to play is Paradise Poker but they don’t have as many Omaha players.

Starting hands

In longhanded Omaha there really isn’t any such thing as a “dominant hand” preflop. You could get two Aces and two Kings and still easily get beat. However, that isn’t to say that you should call to the flop with just anything. You should still play good hands, although now there are many types of good hands, hands that become dominant after the flop hits. So, although some hands are better than others, the implied odds will have a huge effect on what hands you are playing in hyper-loose environment of low-limit Omaha.
The best starting hands in low-limit Omaha are hands where you hit two pair and your draw, for example K Q J 10 . (A great flop would be Q J 3 .) Those hands are a bit rare, so another good hand in a loose game would just be a hand with a lot of drawing possibilities. If you are expecting a multi-way pot, then it is important to be drawing to the nuts. In other words, you want to draw to an Ace-high flush, not a 9-high flush. Also, you don’t want to draw toward straights if you have low cards and are likely to end up at the low end of the straight.

You may wish to simply call preflop with drawing hands so as to not scare away the loose-passive players. This way you also risk less if you don’t hit your draw. However, if you hold a hand which has strength in high cards, such as A A K J , then you should raise. You should also raise with several drawing possibilities to build up the pot, if you feel that people are staying in too much for big pots.

Hands with only a high pair can sometimes be played. Play AAxx, KKxx definitely; with AAxx you should raise if you think you can knock people out and get the hand heads-up or 3-way. You may experiment with QQxx but that is very borderline. A set would be nice, but sets aren’t so great in Omaha since someone can easily draw a flush or straight on you. With high pairs you really want to hit a high full house, and rob someone who thinks their lower full house is the high-hand. The main reason high pairs are much less valuable than in Texas Hold’em is because having an Overpair on the flop is worthless in Omaha. Most likely someone else has a two-pair.

Flop play

In general, you want to fold any hand unless you have top 2 pair or a draw to the nuts or near-nuts (for example a King-high flush). These requirements can be relaxed a bit if the game is shorthanded: you can draw to slightly lower straights/flushes. However, you still don’t want to be calling with one pair.
If there is a pair on board and you don’t have trips, then do not draw. Most likely someone has the trips and you’re unlikely to semibluff people out of the pot. If you call and hit your draw, you may be beat by a full house!
Semi-bluffs are only useful if you can think you can win outright. However, in many loose low-limit games you will get called to showdown by multiple players. In this case, you don’t want to semi-bluff that much. Maybe throw in one or two for deception, but try to avoid it otherwise.

Two pair and sets are troublesome if there is a draw on board. With several people in hand, there may be so many outs against you that you will probably lose the hand! Try to go for a check-raise and punish people for drawing. However, be prepared to fold at the turn if a draw (or two!) hits and you think you are beat. If you hit your full house, you can try slowplaying (if you have the nut full house) and hope someone hits their straight or flush. However, don’t overdo the slowplay, you should only do it if you really can’t be hurt by the river card, and be more inclined to slowplay if the opponents fall for it often and if you have position. If you find your opponents to be call-stations then go ahead and bet on the turn anyway. If your opponents are new at Omaha and they think their Ace-flush is the nut hand when the board is paired, you don’t want to slowplay. Often times these players will cap out against you on the turn and river despite the full house possibility showing!
However, please note that full house is not even guaranteed to be high-hand. It is quite common to see one full house beat by another at an Omaha game. Generally, you have a low full house if your trip is lower than the board pair, and you are probably safe to win if your trip is higher than the board pair. The best way to tell if your full house is the best hand is by paying attention to your opponents betting sequence. With a low full house, you may consider trying to encourage a bluff by checking and calling instead of betting out, on a fraction of your hands.

Turn play

If you hit your flush or straight by the turn you definitely should bet hard, and even check-raise if you are certain someone will bet (But bet outright if you have any doubt). There could easily be a set or two pair out against you and they could make their full house on the river. Make sure they don’t get a free card here.

River play

Often times the board will have no straight or flush showing and you think your two pair or set is the high hand. Then a scare card will hit on the river. If this happens, you may want to check down the river. After all, if you get check-raised, you are doubling the amount of money you have put into the hand. It depends on how many opponents are still in the hand and how they played it, but in a multi-way pot, checking is usually the right move. However, if your opponent rarely check-raises, or if he has played the hand like he had two pair, then you may consider betting.

If you are on the other side of the coin, and you hit your hand on the river, you may want to bet out instead of check-raising, because your opponent may check it down. I usually mix-up whether I bet or check-raise in that situation, depending on what I think my opponent has, but also to add deception and uncertainty. It is important to make your opponents fear the check-raise so that they are afraid to bet on the river, letting you see some showdowns more cheaply.

Introduction

Pot-Limit Omaha is one of the most popular cash games played in casinos across Europe today. It has made significant headway in tournament games and, in fact, bigger tournaments host Pot-Limit Omaha events a couple of times throughout the year. Omaha is one of the fastest growing types of poker today and is played far more in Europe than in the United States.
Pot-Limit Omaha is a very strategic game, involving a great deal of skill and discipline, and requires that players are able to balance many concepts simultaneously. This article aims to help beginner and intermediate players improve their Pot-Limit Omaha game by playing in a solid, tight aggressive style. It advocates balancing bluffs and semi-bluffs with (mostly) solid play, and focuses on pre-flop and flop play since these are the most important betting rounds. The game rapidly becomes complex and more challenging to analyse when you reach the turn and river. However, if you play correctly pre-flop and on the flop, you will face less difficult situations on the turn and river.
#As in all forms of poker there are exceptions to the rules and, as such, the concepts laid out in this article should be understood as general guidelines. In order to be a truly successful player, it is imperative that you are able to use your judgement when determining the best possible play. It is virtually impossible to provide clear-cut advice applicable to all situations.

Key skills to becoming a good Pot-Limit Omaha player

•Strict hand selection (patience/discipline)

•Good table selection (very important in all poker games)

•Discipline (the ability to wait for a good hand and not chase with second best hands)

•Read your opponents

•Courage to bet/raise (to be aggressive with draws or perceived best hands)

•Not vulnerable to go on tilt

A Comparison: Pot-Limit Omaha vs. Texas Hold’em

1.More players will see the flop in Omaha. The advantage of good starting hands over worse ones is not as great in Omaha. This encourages people to see more flops in Omaha than in Hold’em. It also creates bigger pots, making your decisions on the flop even more crucial.

2.You need a stronger hand to win at Omaha. The hands that typically win the pot in Hold’em, such as top pair with top kicker and overpairs, do not win it very often in Pot-Limit Omaha. In Omaha, the best hands are those that are made and hold additional value, like top set with a big draw. When the money goes into the middle in Pot-Limit Omaha someone is usually holding the nuts.

3.Omaha is a more hand driven game. There are not as many opportunities to bluff in Omaha. This is due to the fact that there are more players seeing the flop and more combinations of hands to be made. When a pair is on the board someone is likely holding a full house, when a flush or straight is possible someone is likely to hold it, and so forth.

4.Giving free cards is generally a bad play in Omaha. First of all, because the pots are usually bigger on the flop, it makes more sense to try and win the pot right there. Second of all, your hands are much more likely to get action because of the greater drawing possibilities. And, finally, it is very probable that a free card could beat your hand.

5.Position is less important in Omaha. Although position is very important in all forms of poker, it is less important in Omaha. More players are in on the flop and it is hard to pick up a pot by betting when checked-to in late position. As a result, it is usually the player holding the best hand that wins the pot.

6.Tight players are less likely to be “bullied” in Omaha. In Hold’em, tight players can easily be bullied out of pots when the flop comes with low cards. However, in Omaha, because a tight player can play hands such as 8-7-6-5, J-J-5-4 or 8-8-7-7 with little difficulty, it is harder to push them around. The pondering bully can never be positive that you do not hold the nuts on a flop like 7-6-3, while, in Hold’em, he would be almost certain that you do not.

Pot-Limit

In Pot-Limit Omaha, you want to protect your hands by making pot-sized bets and raises until you are a big favourite, at which point you put all your money in the middle. You want to have the best possible hand and/or draw when all the money goes in. In Pot-Limit, the pots increase quickly and you must be able to determine the amount you can bet on the turn, if you expect to get called on the flop.

Generally, there is no reason to bet or raise less than the size of the pot when playing Pot-Limit Omaha. You might do this on specific occasions, like when betting into an opponent with the second-nut flush on the river and the pot is very big, or if you want a call on the river and you bet the amount you think your opponent will call. However, while it is entirely dependent on the player and the situation, most of the time it is best to bet and raise the size of the pot.

Top Advice and Common Mistakes
Pot-Limit Omaha Top Advice

1.Be very selective with your starting hands: nothing is more important than choosing the correct starting hand for a certain situation.

2.Table selection: only play in games where you have an edge. You want at least a couple of weak players at the table when you sit down.

3.”Play the players”: be sure to quickly assess the opposition: who plays inferior hands, who folds at aggression, who bets with draws, who calls big bets with weak hands and draws, who can be bluffed, who bluffs, etc.

4.”Pump it or dump it”: fold or bet/raise (if the odds are with you). You should avoid calling unless you have a good reason (such as trapping an opponent or increasing your pot odds when you are on a big draw).

5.Respect most big bets and raises: this is particularly true in Pot-Limit Omaha since most players do not bluff.

6.Do not get “married” to the nut flush draw: the difference between drawing to the nut flush in Omaha as compared to Hold’em is that in Hold’em you can usually win the pot by pairing your Ace or win the pot with a flush even though the board pairs. The same is not true in Omaha.

7.Do not get “married” to an eight way straight draw: in Omaha, it is possible to flop 13-way, 17-way and 20-way straight draws. It is best to wait until you hold one of these draws before you heavily involve yourself in the pot.

8.Do not overplay unsuited Aces: when all you hold are a pair of Aces and two unsuited, unconnected rags, there is little you can flop to improve your hand. If you do not flop an Ace, you will usually end up with a weak holding.

9.Bet your best drawing hands: enhance the deception in your game by betting your strong draws, as you will also win more pots without a fight.

10.Always draw to the nuts in multi-way pots: when all the money goes into the middle in multi-way pots, be sure to draw to the nuts. Avoid committing all your money with draws without additional value as you can find yourself trapped between a set and the nut flush draw, maybe leaving you with only a nut straight draw that might end up in a split pot if you hit.

Pot-Limit Omaha Common Mistakes

1.Not releasing a decent hand when beat, thus losing the whole stack on one hand.

2.Overvaluing the hand (common mistake by Hold’em players).

3.Calling with weak holdings when facing a bet.

4.Playing too many starting hands.

5.Not raising pre-flop with premium hands (putting pressure on limpers holding drawing hands) and then going too far with them after the flop.

6.Giving free cards or-under betting the pot (risking a lot to win small/not protecting your hand).

Pre-Flop Play

General Pre-Flop Advice

The most important skill to master when playing Pot-Limit Omaha is knowing which starting hands are profitable to play. However, there are no guides capable of covering every possible situation, so it is advised that you follow certain standard guidelines. Essentially, the hand you chose to play is dependent on the following factors:

1.Is the table tight or loose?

2.How many players are sitting at the table?

3.How many players are in the pot when it is your turn to act?

4.Has the pot been raised? If so, from what player and position?

5.What is your position?

1.If the table is tight you should strongly consider moving to a different game, though there are ways to make money at tight tables as well. In general, you have to play more aggressively than usual. This translates into much more pre-flop raising and bluffing. Your advantage at this type of table is that you will know how your opponents play but you will be playing more hands and playing them aggressively, which will make your plays harder to read.

2.Generally, you must play tighter at a full table and looser at a short handed table.

3.If many players are in the pot when it is your turn to act, you will possess more information, which will allow you to play more hands. In addition, your drawing hands will get a better price and there is less of a likelihood that you will be able to limit the field by raising.

4.If the pot has been raised, you will have to play hands that you think are not dominated by the raiser. In these situations you should be very selective of what hands you play.

5.Your position will greatly affect the hands you play. In general, you have to play tighter from an early position and then add hands as your position improves.

Starting Hands

The starting hand is just as important in Omaha as in all other forms of poker. What you are looking for is four cards that work together, although many beginners (who are used to playing Texas Hold’em) do not realize this. They will play any four cards that contain one or two good Hold’em hands. For example, they often overrate hands like #Js-#Jd-#2c-#7h, thinking that it is as good as a pair of Jacks is in Hold’em. They also misinterpret hands, such as #Ac-#Qd-#8h-#8s, because they include two decent Hold’em hands. However, in this type of hand there are poorly coordinated combinations, like A-8 and Q-8. For example, compare the aforementioned hands to As-#Ks-#Ah-#Kh, which is the strongest starting hand in Omaha. In this hand, you hold AA, KK and two different combinations of AKs. All possible combinations are very strong hands in Texas Hold’em as well.

Other examples of hands that have four cards working together are hands like #Qs-#Jc-#Ts-#9c,
#Ks-#Kc-#Qs-#Jc,
#Qs-#Qc-#Js-#Tc,
#Js-#Jc-#Ts-#Tc,
As-#Ac-#3s-#4c,
As-#Ac-#Ks-#Qc,
As-#Ac-#Js-#Tc (the second strongest starting hand),
#8s-#7c-#6s-#5c, and so forth.

Thus, you want starting hands that hold both straight, flush and set potential. For instance, imagine the power of holding the As-#Ac-#Jc-#Ts on a flop of #Ah-#Ks-#Qs, giving you top set, the nut straight, and the nut flush draw. Notice that the #Js will also give you a royal flush.

Another example is if you hold the #Qs-#Qh-#Ks-#Th on a flop of #Qc-#Js-#7s, giving you top set, a flush draw, and an open-ended straight draw.

Hand Ranking

Below you will find listed the top 30 starting hands in Pot-Limit Omaha.
1 A-A-K-K double suited
2 A-A-J-T double suited
3 A-A-Q-Q double suited
4 A-A-J-J double suited
5 A-A-T-T double suited
6 A-A-9-9 double suited
7 A-A-x-x double suited
8 J-T-9-8 double suited
9 K-K-Q-Q double suited
10 K-K-J-J double suited
11 K-Q-J-T double suited
12 K-K-T-T double suited
13 K-K-A-Q double suited
14 K-K-A-J double suited
15 K-K-A-T double suited
16 K-K-Q-J double suited
17 K-K-Q-T double suited
18 K-K-J-T double suited
19 Q-Q-J-J double suited
20 Q-Q-T-T double suited
21 Q-Q-A-K double suited
22 Q-Q-A-J double suited
23 Q-Q-A-T double suited
24 Q-Q-K-J double suited
25 Q-Q-K-T double suited
26 Q-Q-J-T double suited
27 Q-Q-J-9 double suited
28 Q-Q-9-9 double suited
29 J-J-T-T double suited
30 J-J-T-9 double suited

Whether double suited, suited or non-suited, these are all very strong starting hands in Pot-Limit Omaha.

The Trap Hands

Trap hands are hands that seem very good but can easily make you a second-best hand. These are the types of hands than can cause you to lose your whole stack. There are three types of trap hands in Pot-Limit Omaha:

1.The Small Pair Hands

2.The Low Wrap Hands

3.The Small Flush Hands

1.Hands with pairs below Nines are dangerous to play. When you flop a set it is very hard to escape the hand and, if you are up against a bigger set, you are drawing to one out. When you hold a hand like #6s-#6h-#5s-#4h and the flop comes #Qc-#Jc-#6d, you may find yourself in big trouble. The moment to play small pairs is when you do not have a lot of money in front of you, at this stage it is not as bad to commit your whole stack if you flop a small set. Or, for example, when you have something like A-A-2-2 or K-K-3-3, then you should play in the hopes of flopping the big set. However, you must always think twice before you commit a lot of money with bottom set on the flop.

2.The types of hands that are very deceptive and dangerous to play are the lower four connected hands, like #5s-#4c-#3s-#2c. These hands are dangerous because it is too simple to flop or draw to the low-end of a straight. When the flop comes 8-7-6 with this type of hand, you can easily find yourself up against a bigger straight, drawing dead.

3.Hands that can only make small flushes are risky hands. For example, let us again look at the #5s-#4c-#3s-#2c on a flop of #Ks-#Js-#8s. This will give you a small flush. You cannot commit a lot of money with this hand and, if you were to get any action at all, you would most likely be beat.

Limping or Raising Before the Flop

In Pot-Limit Omaha, no matter what you hold, your opponent’s hand will almost always have a decent chance of beating your hand. For example, being dealt an A-A-K-K double suited is 50,000:1 (against) and that hand is just a 3:2 favourite to win against 8-7-6-5 double suited. As such, the question arises as to whether or not you should raise when you hold a good starting hand.
What about only raising when you hold Aces? The problem with this strategy is that you become too predicable, as people will know exactly where you are and will not likely make mistakes against you.

How about always limping in? This is better than just raising with Aces though it is still not an optimal strategy. Whenever you bet, raise or call on the flop, your opponents will also have a good idea of what type of hand you hold. If you never raise pre-flop, you do not make other limping players pay enough to see the flop for those times when you hold a strong starting hand. Also, you will not be picking up as many pots as when you play with a raising strategy.
By raising with a variety of hands pre-flop, you will gain numerous advantages: you become unpredictable, you pick up more pots, you make opponents pay when you are likely to have the best hand, and you obtain more bluffing opportunities. Another advantage is that it is more fun to play according to this strategy. In light of all this, it becomes clear that a strategy combining both raising and limping with a variety of hands is the best.

What hands to raise with

A good pre-flop raising strategy is to raise with any of the top 30 hands mentioned above, all of which hold at least one suit and most that don’t, though this is not entirely sufficient and you will need to raise with more hands. Add any four cards in a row that are double-suited with cards, Six or higher, and all single and double suited A-K-x-x with at least one x-card, Ten or higher. Hands like Q-J-9-8 or J-T-9-7 double suited are also good to raise with.

Summary:

1.All top 30 hands with at least one suit and most of the time when off suit.

2.All suited A-K-x-x with at least one x-card, Ten or higher.

3.All double suited four in a row of hands, Five or higher.

4.All double suited connected hands, Five or higher, with a maximum of one gap between the top two and the two low cards or between the low card and the three high cards. An example is K-Q-T-9 double suited and J-9-8-6 double suited.

5.All K-K-x-x double suited.

What hands to limp with

1.All A-Q-x-x with at least one x-card, Ten or higher, and the Ace being suited.

2.All four in a row combinations, Four or higher.

3.All A-x-x-x anything with at least two x-cards that are connected and the Ace being suited.

4.All four in a row combinations, Five or higher, with a maximum of one gap that is not between the top and bottom three cards in the hand.

Flop Play

General Flop Advice

Whether or not you were the pre-flop raiser makes a big difference in the way you play your hand. If you were the pre-flop raiser and the pot is shorthanded, strongly consider betting-out even though your hand did not improve. However, you should always consider what type of flop hit. For example, if it is three handed and you raised with two bare Aces and the flop comes Q-J-T with a flush draw that you do not hold in your hand. This is a good opportunity to check and let the other two players fight for the money. But, if the flop is Q-7-3 with no flush draw, you should bet-out. This adds an element of deception to your play and enables you to pick up more pots. In addition, you will get more action when you do hit a great hand on the flop, since betting-out does not necessarily mean you hold anything substantial. Basically, you should never slow play any hand when you hit your hand hard on the flop, especially because giving free cards in Omaha comes with a much higher risk than it does in Hold’em.

Two Pair

Two pair is a difficult hand to play in Omaha. This is because it is a strong hand but not strong enough that you feel completely comfortable committing all your money with it. In general, you must have at least top two pair to give action on the flop. There are too many ways you can be beat or will end up outdrawn if you commit a lot of money with top and bottom two pair or bottom two pair. If there are straight and/or flush draws on the board and you are called, use your judgement when deciding whether to bet again on the turn. Always consider the type of opponent you are up against. If you think your opponent will continue to draw, you should bet in an effort to shut him out. In Omaha, when someone just calls on the flop that player is generally on a draw, though in some cases they hold bottom set or a weak two pair that they do not want to release on the flop. Bottom two pair and top and bottom two pair are not worth playing on the flop, essentially. It is better to have a big draw to the nuts than to hold this type of hand. The most dangerous aspect of these hands is that you can trap yourself for all your money. This usually happens when you hit a full house on the turn and that same card gives someone else a bigger full house.

Sets

Since the playing style suggested in this article warns against playing small pairs, you should not find yourself in many situations where you are up against a bigger set. If you were the pre- flop raiser, almost always bet-out on the flop if you hit a set. It is seldom wrong to bet-out with top set in a short-handed pot, even though the board looks scary. Remember that anytime you flop a set, you have about a 34% chance of improving to a full house on the turn and river combined. For example, if you pre-flop raised holding K-K-7-6 double suited and the flop comes K-J-9 with a flush draw that you do not have, bet-out and be prepared to get action. The other players will have to hold a Q-T-x-x with the flush draw in order to feel comfortable moving in against you.
Some players only raise with Aces and, if one of these players raised pre-flop and an Ace flops, you can put them on top set right away. This is especially true if they limped in from an early position and then re-raised the pot after it had been raised behind them. These players will almost always be holding Aces.

Straight Draws

In Omaha you will flop many kinds of straight draws. What you want to flop are so-called wrap around straight draws. This happens when the flop comes with two cards that connect and you have cards that surround these two cards. Let us look at a few examples:

1. Hand: Q-J-8-x Flop: T-9-x Outs: 17 (wrap around)

2. Hand: J-8-7-x Flop: T-9-x Outs: 17 (wrap around)

3. Hand: K-Q-J-x Flop: T-9-x Outs: 13

4. Hand: 8-7-6-x Flop: T-9-x Outs: 13

5. Hand Q-J-8-7 Flop: T-9-x Outs: 20 (double wrap around)

It is better to have more overcards than undercards because you will be drawing to a bigger straight. This is why Hand 1 is stronger than Hand 2 and Hand 3 is stronger than Hand 4. Situations will arise when Hand 1 and Hand 2 move all-in on the flop. In this case, Hand 2’s strength will diminish considerably, leaving it in bad shape.

You should bet the majority of your big draws on the flop. You do this for two reasons: because you can win the pot immediately (semi-bluff) and because it adds deception to your game. If you play in this manner, your opponents will not know whether you are betting a made hand or a draw.
If you flop a 13-way straight draw to the nuts without any possible flush draws, you are going to get involved in the pot. With 13 nut outs, you have an approximate 29% chance of hitting the nuts on the turn and a 50% chance of hitting on the turn and river combined. Therefore, if an opponent bets the size of the pot, you should call or raise depending on the situation and the player.

The Turn

The turn is generally a time for making big decisions. Should you bet again? Should you re-raise the maximum? Should you fold or call? This depends on many factors (too many to address here), though there are some general guidelines that can be followed. If you hold the nuts, you bet on the flop and, if you still hold the nuts on the turn, you usually should bet the maximum again. Your opponent is likely to be drawing and you want to shut him out or charge him the maximum for attempting to outdraw you. If you hold a minimum of 13 outs to beat whatever your opponent might be holding, it is appropriate to call a pot-sized bet on the turn, though only if both you and your opponent have money left on the river. With 13 outs, you are slightly less then 2:1 (13/44=29.5%) against improving and those are the exact odds the pot is laying you in this case. Because of the implied odds when there is more money left to win, a call is correct.

The River

If you hold the nuts, contemplate what your opponent might possibly hold and try to squeeze out the maximum. If you missed your draw, you must either give up or try a big bluff in case a scare card hits. A lot of judgement is needed when the pot is big and you hold a good hand but not the nuts. You must consider what your opponent is capable of. Will he try to run a bluff if checked to? Or will he also check? Do you dare to value bet with a good hand that is not the nuts?

Bluffing

Bluffing plays an important role in all forms of poker. In Omaha, bluffing is invoked less frequently than in Hold’em but it remains an important skill to master. It is best to bluff when you hold one or more of the key cards in the hand, for example, when you hold the bare Ace and there is a possible flush on the board. When deciding whether or not to bluff, always consider the following factors:

1.Type of opponent: do not bluff weak opponents who call with anything (referred to as “calling stations”). This is the most common mistake. Be sure that your opponent is a good enough player to fold a hand.

2.Number of opponents: in general, do not bluff a field of three or more players. A bluff is much more likely to succeed against one opponent, not only because it is just one player but also because the pot is usually smaller, which makes it less desirable.

3.Your table image: a bluff is less likely to succeed if you have a loose table image as opposed to a tight one. If you were recently caught bluffing, your opponents will be more likely to call you in the future, although reverse psychology can occasionally prove beneficial in such situations. For example, if a good player caught you bluffing and he regards you as a good player, he might think you would not dare to bluff him again.

4.Your “reading” skills: if you “read” the game well and are able to put your opponents on likely holdings, you will be able to identify good bluffing opportunities. This is probably the hardest and most important skill to master.

5.The board: if the board looks like it could have hit your opponents or presents many drawing possibilities, a bluff is less likely to succeed. Look for boards without many draws or cards that are likely to improve your opponents’ hands. If you can represent a hand, the bluff is more likely to succeed. An uncoordinated board with one scare card that you can represent is usually a good bluffing opportunity.

6.The size of the pot: your opponents will be more prone to call if the pot is big because they get better pot odds. On the other hand, if you make a successful bluff in a big pot the reward will also be bigger. This is when good judgement comes into play.

7.Position: if you are sitting in late position, you will usually have more access to information regarding your opponents’ hands and, thus, will be in a better situation to bluff. For example, if it is checked to you, the board looks favourable and there are few players in the pot.

Made Hand vs. Drawing Hands on the Flop

Let us look at some odds for made hands vs. drawing hands on the flop at Omaha.

Made Hand Drawing Hand Favourite

Set overpair and flush draw Set 1.97

Set gut-shot straight and flush draw Set 1.91

Set overpair and straight draw Set 1.88

Set 13-way straight draw Set 1.44

Set open-ended straight and flush draw Set 1.38

Set 17-way straight draw Set 1.03

Set 13-way straight and flush draw Set 1.01 (even money)

Set 20-way straight draw Draw 1.19

Set 17-way straight and flush draw Draw 1.27

Set 20-way straight and flush draw Draw 1.43

Pot Odds

Pot odds are what you use to calculate whether a certain play has a positive expected value. It is defined as the relationship between the size of the pot and the bet. For instance, if the pot is $100 and you bet $10, the pot odds are 10:1. In order to calculate your pot odds, you must know how many outs your hand has at that moment. For example, if you flop a nut heart flush draw, you then have 9 outs to make your hand. There are 13 hearts in total. You hold 2 and the flop came with 2, leaving 9 hearts unseen.

If you refer to the table below, you will notice that you have a 35% chance of hitting a hand with 9 outs on the turn and river combined. This is slightly better than 1 in 3 times, which means that if it costs you $10 to win $30 or more, drawing for a flush is the correct move.
A rule of thumb: every out gives you about a 4% chance of hitting on the turn and river combined. For example, 5 outs gives you about a 20% chance of improving, 6 outs about 24%, etc.

Outs for specific draws

Double wrap around straight draw 20 outs

Wrap around straight draw 17 outs

Straight flush draw 15 outs

Flush draw and overpair 11 outs

Flush draw 9 outs

Open-ended straight draw 8 outs

Three pair 6 outs

Two pair 4 outs

Drawing outs from a deck of 45 unseen cards

No of outs=% on River

4 17
5 21
6 25
7 29
8 33
9 36
10 40
11 43
12 47
13 50
14 53
15 56
16 59
17 62
18 65
19 67
20 70

How to play 7 card stud

June 12, 2008

Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold ‘em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Seven-card stud is also played in western American casinos, but Texas hold ‘em is far more popular there. Two to eight players can play.

The descriptions below assume that you are familiar with the general game play of poker, and with hand values. They also make no assumptions about what poker betting structure is used. In casino play, it is common to use a small ante and bring-in. In home games, it is typical to use an ante only.

Seven-card stud is the “S” game in H.O.R.S.E.

Quick play overview
Play proceeds as follows (”player” refers only to those who have not folded and are still in the game), with betting rounds in-between.

Betting is clockwise, the player with the highest poker hand showing starts (ie 2-2 beats K-Q).

Two cards dealt face down to each player, one card dealt face up to each player
upcard to each player
upcard to each player
upcard to each player
downcard to each player
showdown
Mnemonic: Two-four-one (Two down, four up, one down.)

In-depth play rules

The game begins with each player being dealt two cards face down and one card face up. If played with a bring-in, the player with the lowest-ranking upcard pays the bring-in, and betting proceeds after that in normal clockwise order. The bring-in is considered an open, so the next player in turn may not check. If two players have equally ranked low cards, suit may be used to break the tie and assign the bring-in (see high card by suit). If there is no bring-in, then the first betting round begins with the player showing the highest-ranking upcard, who may check. In this case, suit should not be used to break ties. If two players have the same high upcard, the one first in clockwise rotation from the dealer acts first.

After the first betting round, another upcard is dealt to each player (after a burn card, and starting at the dealer’s left as will all subsequent rounds), followed by a second betting round beginning with the player whose upcards make the best poker hand. Since fewer than five cards are face up, this means no straights, flushes, or full houses will count for this purpose. On this and all subsequent betting rounds, the player whose face-up cards make the best poker hand will act first, and may check or bet up to the game’s limit.

The second round is followed by a third upcard and betting round, a fourth upcard and betting round, and finally a downcard, a fifth betting round, and showdown if necessary. Seven-card stud can be summarized therefore as “two down, four up, one down”. Upon showdown, each player makes the best five-card poker hand he can out of the seven cards he was dealt.

Note that seven cards to eight players plus four burn cards makes 60 cards, and there are only 52 in the deck. In most games this is not a problem because several players will have folded in early betting rounds. But there are certainly low-stakes home games where few if any players fold. If this is the case in your game, you may want to limit the game to seven players. If the deck does become exhausted during play, previously-dealt burn cards can be used when only a few cards are needed to complete the deal. If even those are not sufficient, then on the final round instead of dealing a downcard to each player, a single community card is dealt to the center of the table, and is shared by everyone (that is, each player treats it as his seventh card). Under no circumstances can any discarded card from a folded hand be “recycled” for later use. Unlike draw poker, where no cards are ever seen before showdown, stud poker players use the information they get from face-up cards to make strategic decisions, and so a player who sees a certain card folded is entitled to make decisions knowing that the card will never appear in another opponent’s hand.

Sample deal

The sample deal below assumes that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing in the examples; Bob, who is sitting to her left; Carol to his left; and David to Carol’s left.

All players ante 25p. Alice deals each player two downcards and one upcard, beginning with Bob and ending with herself. Bob is dealt the 4♠, Carol the K♦, David the 4♦, and Alice the 9♣. Because they are playing with a £1 bring-in, David is required to start the betting with a £1 bring-in (his 4♦ is lower than Bob’s 4♠ by suit). He had the option to open the betting for more, but he chose to bet only the required £1. The bring-in sets the current bet amount to £1, so Alice cannot check. She decides to call. Bob folds, indicating this by turning his upcard face down and discarding his cards. Carol raises to £3. David folds, and Alice calls.

Alice now deals a second face-up card to each remaining player: Carol is dealt the J♣, and Alice the K♥. Alice’s two upcards make a poker hand of no pair, K-9-high, and Carol has K-J-high, so it is Carol’s turn to bet. She checks, as does Alice, ending the betting round.

Another face up card is dealt: Carol gets the T♥, (T = 10) and Alice gets the K♣. Alice now has a pair of kings showing, and Carol still has no pair, so Alice bets first. She bets £5, and Carol calls.

On the next round, Carol receives the T♦, making her upcards K-J-T-T. Alice receives the 3♠. Alice’s upcards are 9-K-K-3; the pair of kings is still higher than Carol’s pair of tens, so she bets £5 and Carol calls.

Each player now receives a downcard. It is still Alice’s turn to bet because the downcard did not change either hand. She checks, Carol bets £10, and Alice calls. That closes the last betting round, and both players remain, so there is a showdown.

Alice shows her cards: 9♥ 5♦ 9♣ K♥ K♣ 3♠ 5♠. The best five-card poker hand she can play is K-K-9-9-5, making two pair, kings and nines. Carol shows Q♠ 2♥ K♦ J♣ T♥ T♦ A♦. She can play A-K-Q-J-T, making an ace-high straight, and so Carol wins the pot.

Heres my list of playable hands in 7 stud at third street (after the first deal)

Rolled up Trips
Thats 3 of a kind, dealt from the get-go. This hand will probably win, with no help from the other streets. Generally you want to slow play until the more expensive streets when the bets double. Then you make them pay for staying in. Be careful though. You don’t want too many draw hands staying in, risking the chance that someone will hit their flush or straight.

Top Pairs
A pair of 10’s or better. What to do with these cards? Raise, raise, raise! Too many novices make the mistake of slow-playing good pairs, allowing too many people to limp in. The more people limping equals a greater chance that someone else will hit 2 pair or better. Of course you still have to show caution here. If you’re dealt a pair of jacks, with one of your jacks showing and put in a raise in middle position, and a strong player behind you has a King showing as his door card and re-raises, you might be in trouble, facing a pair of kings. Use discretion, and when you figure you have 2nd best pair, your best bet is to swallow your pride and fold. Just don’t become so predictable that everyone with a high door card re-raises you, knowing that you’ll fold. Watch your opponents and learn who the bluffers are, then bust them bluffing a few times. It’ll cure them.

Finally, I must repeat, top pairs lose value quickly the more people that stay in. The ideal situation would be you with your pair of aces, against one other person on a draw hand. You have him beat and he’s praying for a card. The odds are that most of these situations, you’ll win. So bet when you have a top pair, and drive out as many others as possible.

Three to a Flush
I have seen so many people be dealt 3 to a flush, and then start betting like its a full house. Remember, even though this hand can turn into a major winner, it is still only a draw hand that has to have help to win. You must consider a couple of things when trying to determine the strength of a 3 to a flush dealing. First, whats the high card? If youre dealt an Ace, 10, and 3, of hearts, its a really nice flush draw. If you make your draw, chances that someone else would have a flush with ace high are very very small. Plus, with a high card ace, even if you don’t make your flush, you have a chance of pairing your Ace, which can win for you. Secondly, the strength of your flush draw is determined by how many other of your suite is showing in your opponents hands. Using the same example, if you see 3 or more hearts in your opponents hand on 3rd street, odds are getting smaller fast that you’ll hit your flush, making it even more important to have a high card to give you another out. If several opponents raise, you’re probably better served by folding.

How to bet 3 to a flush? Your chance of making your flush are still not huge, even with 3 already in hand. You have to play “pot odds” here. You want as many people staying in as possible to ensure a larger pot. And on the flip side, you want to get in as cheaply as possible. In this situation, I’m hoping to limp in until i get 4 to a flush by 5th street, or pair my high card Ace. I’ll talk more about how I play flush draws in a later post.

3 to a Straight
This is three to an outside straight, ie you have 9-10-J. I’m not a big fan of “belly buster” straights, such as 8-9-J. A belly buster, you need one particular card to help you, (a 10 in this case) and there are only 4 of those. An outside straight on the other hand, such as 9-10-J, both 8 and Q help you. Thats 8 total cards, and double the chances. Just as in a flush draw, your strength is determined by your high card, and how many of the cards you need showing in your opponents hand. Some general rules for straight chasing are:

1. Outside straights only, unless you’re getting in for practically free.

2. Only straights with a “paint” card. This gives you more “outs”…not only do you have a chance at your straight draw, but you can pair a high card.

3. Just as a flush draw, you’re an outside chance at winning, even being dealt 3 to a straight. You want to get in cheap, and have as many others playing as possible to create pot odds worth the gamble.

Smaller Pairs
Pairs, 9’s and lower, I routinely toss out unless they meet some basic conditions. I have to have a good “kicker”, ie. a pair of 9’s with an Ace kicker might be very well worth playing. You have a shot at two pair, aces and 9’s, as well as the prayer for 3 of a kind 9’s. If you decide to play them, be on the lookout for either your high card or your trips card in an opponents hand. If you see one of them, its time to dump your hand. Using the example above, as soon as I see another ace or 9, I’m out. Yes, I might see a miracle, but odds are I won’t, and a good poker player always plays the odds.

Basically, these smaller pairs can serve two good purposes. One, if you play them at times, it will help you keep from getting a reputation as a “Rock”. Second, they can make good bluff hands in late position where almost everyone has folded. If your high paint “kicker” is showing, your remaining one or two opponents may figure you to have that high pair, and fold. And even if they don’t bite on your bluff, you at least have something to fall back on, and a shot at winning outright, if you get your 2nd pair or trips.

Let me, however, rephrase for those in doubt. If you consistently play small pairs, and especially small pairs with small kickers, you’ll lose at 7 card stud.

Other hands not mentioned above
…are pretty much all trash. If you just have to play that K-10-7, do it with “demo” chips. An exception might be the occasional situation where you have Ace-King-10, or two other high paint cards. But even here, only play when you can get in for next to nothing, and dump ‘em at the first sign of trouble.