Topic: Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tips

[SM Online]

You'll have to read it too

Lol was just about to start reading it then Deal or No Deal come on.

I will read some tonight when I get in, may be a bit drunk though.

[PaulF]

Its not much use at lower levels where 6 people llimp into a pot. some with AJ some with 84s.

Generally you can put people on a range of hands like - he raised from 5th pos so he's likey to have 99+ or AT+ maybe KQ.  After the flop you can try and narrow it down.

I've just been reading www.lowlimitholdem.com which specialises in strategies for playing against people who will limp in like that. I suspect the likes of Sklansky assume that players won't do that and you find yourself in trouble.  Thye gist of lowlimitholdem.com seems to be to not trust high pairs too much but try to see the flop cheaply and drawing to a flush or straight is good as so many are in the pot.  Probably this is just the extension of Sklanksy's theory but based around generally better pot odds.

[Roy Cropper]

Times Playing : since around march 2006

Average time spent playing a week : 10-20 hours

Typical games : $5 sit and goes. $5 heads up, starting on $10 sit and goes won 1 came 3rd in my second

Best Game : 1st in $10 sit and go. in free roll came 30th out of 2500. around 3 1/2 hours got me $3

Worst Game : many going out within the 1st 10 mins.

started with $40 in my account, added another $60 currently on $50 ish, play on partypoker, betfair

[Fairytale of 2005]

Times Playing : since around march 2006

Average time spent playing a week : 10-20 hours

Typical games : $5 sit and goes. $5 heads up, starting on $10 sit and goes won 1 came 3rd in my second

Best Game : 1st in $10 sit and go. in free roll came 30th out of 2500. around 3 1/2 hours got me $3

Worst Game : many going out within the 1st 10 mins.

started with $40 in my account, added another $60 currently on $50 ish, play on partypoker, betfair

Party Poker has too many no fold'em idiots for my liking. You can raise your arse off & lose on a lucky river to some dickhead who saw the raised flop with a 2 & a 7. Stresses me out no end. I moved to William Hill a few weeks ago & am much happier there. Still lose too many cash games to people who's only strategy is simply not to fold. Am considering playing tournament tables instead.

[Fairytale of 2005]

Just finished my first tourney in ages. Wimped into a £3 + £0.60 to test the water & came first 

[Ferg]

Party Poker has too many no fold'em idiots for my liking. You can raise your arse off & lose on a lucky river to some dickhead who saw the raised flop with a 2 & a 7. Stresses me out no end. I moved to William Hill a few weeks ago & am much happier there. Still lose too many cash games to people who's only strategy is simply not to fold. Am considering playing tournament tables instead.

Jesus Christ,dont bother with Ladbrokes then.
By far the worst site for no-fold players,ever!
And the river cards are devastating too

[niallo27]

Party Poker has too many no fold'em idiots for my liking. You can raise your arse off & lose on a lucky river to some dickhead who saw the raised flop with a 2 & a 7. Stresses me out no end. I moved to William Hill a few weeks ago & am much happier there. Still lose too many cash games to people who's only strategy is simply not to fold. Am considering playing tournament tables instead.

Playing against players that wont fold is a dream, they will just keep paying you off, you have to wait for your big hand.

[niallo27]

Time Playing : About 2 years for real money.

Average time spent playing a week : 25 hours

Typical games : £20 Sit N' Go NL Short Handed or $0.50/$1.00 NL Short Handed Ring Game.

Best Game : Placing 1st in the North West Student Challenge and reaching the Finals.

Worst Game : Placing 8th in that Final.

Average Poker Earnings per-Week: £550

If you can make that money every week from a 50/1.00 game playing only 25 hours, you should turn pro right now.

[Fiend]

Playing against players that wont fold is a dream, they will just keep paying you off, you have to wait for your big hand.

Exactly. Dunno how you cant make money against people that wont fold

[niallo27]

Exactly. Dunno how you cant make money against people that wont fold

you have to think is he the fool for callin or are you the fool for trying to bluff someone that wont fold

[Throxenby]

Exactly. Dunno how you cant make money against people that wont fold

i always find they hit their dream hand against me. last 4 p-layers on flush draws on cash table have all hit. no pot odds to call, but if yer lucky they dont understand pot odds and therefore call. am sure theres a balance somewhere, but fukin cant seem to find it at present. aint losing money but am playing good poker on cash and not winning either. know have got lucky with hands before but didnt expect the shit to drag on this long. they preach to yer about getting callers making poor calls, but forget to tell yer how much damage they do when they hit. if yer have a run where every fuker hits its not helping yer cash roll. need to build me roll up so can try the next level up, and know i'll get less callers as the players get better. good solid poker is a way to win, but yer still need to hit something, or avoid them hitting something.
played live tourney other night and because bad players were in i put down 99, 88, 88 all pre flop. all three times i was in front before against not really strong hands, but all 3 times they hit their cards and i wouldnt of done. JJ before the flop he limps i raise, he reraises (took him for A shite) goes AI i must call, A3 he turns no A but two 3s. what else can yer fukin do but not play ?

[bez]

Jesus Christ,dont bother with Ladbrokes then.
By far the worst site for no-fold players,ever!
And the river cards are devastating too

Yeah left that site for those very reasons.

[Hightown Phil]

Exactly. Dunno how you cant make money against people that wont fold

I had that trouble yesterday.

He was hitting winning hands with pocket cards of 93, 28, and 49.

I was getting sets and all kinds and still getting beat.

[anon-y-mouse]

I had that trouble yesterday.

He was hitting winning hands with pocket cards of 93, 28, and 49.

I was getting sets and all kinds and still getting beat.

And there lies the problem with online hold 'em. Getting beat by clowns.

[Fiend]

I had that trouble yesterday.
He was hitting winning hands with pocket cards of 93, 28, and 49.
I was getting sets and all kinds and still getting beat.

Were these raised pots? Hard to believe they were playing these hands in raised pots. I don't play micro limits so dunno. If I was playing guys who played these hands I'd add them to my buddie list and search them out to play with them.

Of course you can have bad sessions but if you keep doing the right thing you make easy money. Just dont go on tilt and keep doing the right thing

[Hightown Phil]

Were these raised pots? Hard to believe they were playing these hands in raised pots. I don't play micro limits so dunno. If I was playing guys who played these hands I'd add them to my buddie list and search them out to play with them.

Of course you can have bad sessions but if you keep doing the right thing you make easy money. Just dont go on tilt and keep doing the right thing

He was checking, so i'd bet, a decent bet that let him know I had a decent hand, something that it would be hard to beat. KKK (KK in the pocket, 475K in the board etc,) he'd call the bet with his 93 and get a 6 on the river.

It was ridiculous.

[M|chael]

If you can make that money every week from a 50/1.00 game playing only 25 hours, you should turn pro right now.

I enjoy playing it as a hobby mate. Most 'Pro's' only play in expensive tournaments, buy-ins which I wouldn't feel comfortable paying. The biggest tournament I played was a £50 SNG and my heart was thumping so hard, fortunately I placed 2nd but never would I play that again. Not only that it can get quite boring playing, 25 hours is 15 hours off a full-time job but sitting at a computer clicking Fold for hours isn't for me. £550 a week on average is perfect for me and I don't want to change anything I'm doing.

[PaulF]

Would you consider tutoring? I'm sure there's a few off here that would take masterclasses from you!!!!

As for the no 'fold em, although I don't have enough experience to fully recognise it, betfair seems to be pretty good for having 'decent' players at a low limit, although in the evenings you may have to wait a bit to get on a table. Other betfair players, feel free to disagree.

[Fairytale of 2005]

Exactly. Dunno how you cant make money against people that wont fold

Yeah but I don't have the time to sit there for two hours to clean the clowns out. I play between busy life style. There's nothing you can do mate trust me. It's an utter nonsense. You lose with 3 aces to guys who had absolutely nothing, but hit a lucky straight or a low flush on the river. They call what are big raises compared to the pot size when they have nothing. They fly by the seat of their pants & get rewarded for it more often than not.

[PaulF]

Just finished my first tourney in ages. Wimped into a £3 + £0.60 to test the water & came first 

What's the prize structure?
I'm guessing 15/10/5 ?

[Throxenby]

What's the prize structure?
I'm guessing 15/10/5 ?

most $3 tourneys have 15/9/6 for a STT

[PaulF]

Ta. I might push the boat out and have a go at the weekend. See if Harrington helps.

Incidentally if you and someone else make a flush and the Ace of that flush is on the board, do you automatically draw (with an Ace high flush), or will it depend on what is in your pocket cards?  I'm presuming (although might be wrong) that an Ace flush is better than any other flush.

[Fiend]

you then use the second highest card. A,J,T,2,3 beats A,9,6,5,4

[Throxenby]

Ta. I might push the boat out and have a go at the weekend. See if Harrington helps.

Incidentally if you and someone else make a flush and the Ace of that flush is on the board, do you automatically draw (with an Ace high flush), or will it depend on what is in your pocket cards?  I'm presuming (although might be wrong) that an Ace flush is better than any other flush.

if yer not sure of the hands or the value, then before doing anything read a fukin book. like the idea of playing against someone like that, but they'll no doubt hit some kind of fukin card against me. why play something for cash if yer not sure how to play, read up and learn then play. if yer just want fun for yer cash play the fukin lotto, cos yer might as well get a big return for chucking yer cash around.

[PaulF]

Doing lots of reading mate. But oddly most of the texts I've looked at assume you know this.
Even when you look at the hand rankings on the poker sites. They are just listed as Flush beats straight etc. 

[Throxenby]

Doing lots of reading mate. But oddly most of the texts I've looked at assume you know this.
Even when you look at the hand rankings on the poker sites. They are just listed as Flush beats straight etc. 

well then its just yer kicker principle then.
say theres 4 clubs to the board and yer have 10c the other player has 8c, yer hand is better.

[bez]

if yer not sure of the hands or the value, then before doing anything read a fukin book. like the idea of playing against someone like that, but they'll no doubt hit some kind of fukin card against me. why play something for cash if yer not sure how to play, read up and learn then play. if yer just want fun for yer cash play the fukin lotto, cos yer might as well get a big return for chucking yer cash around.

Disagree a little bit. I started out by not being confident of the pay tables and spotting other people hands. I had to play for cash, admitedly as little as possible. Because If I was just reading theory I wouldn't concentrate enough to learn the game without some pressure of money. I think it has stood me in good stead.  I've on Read Doyle Brisons "Super Systems 2", god its heavy going but fascinating, and full of advise and tips. 

The only thing that is bugging me with reading on the subject of poker is aggression, I just cant do it very well, cant stand losing more than I have to when the flops come down and you catch nothing.  Its so hard to be reraising when you are still chasing hands, especially online where people dont play text book poker, because they are not good enough to!!!! like me.

[PaulF]

Read some of the stuff on smalllimitpoker.com

I reckon that players, like yourself, that understand what they're doing should be able to adapt their play against 'weak' players. At the moment I'm looking at mainly playing for flush draws. A normally good pair is pretty useless at these low limit tables as trips is often on. I reckon by paying a small amount to see the flop and then only paying to see the turn if I've flopped a couple more of my suit, I can stay in on quite a few hands for little expense with a good chance of making my hand and then playing it to the end. As you are up against reckless people, they've been playing all sorts of poo and a flush is enough to win. If I get a good couple of hole cards I might see the turn with just 3 of my flush. I did fab with AQs last night, flopped AQ and one other card of my suit, was being raised and reraised at every opportunity. I did worry I'd missed something but my opponent was chasing a straight all the way down to the river, and even when he didn't hit it, he kept piling the money in with Ace high!

[Throxenby]

try looking at the aggression differently then. if yer raise with a strong starting hand, see it as a way of buying shite out of the pot. when not hitting thats the explanation as to why position and aggression are the key to this game. if yer check in early position after not hitting the flop anyone after yer can smell weakness. good raise look at the board and try putting them on hands, if ye know who yer playing yer have a clue as to whether a continuation bet will work or they've hit. if they reraise yer, then gotta reassess the strength of yer hand.

[Fiend]

Harrington advises to look at the texture of the flop. Has it helped you or possibly helped your opponent. Will another card help you or not? He advises a continuation bet only if you have position and the others have shown weakness and you've actually missed completely. If you get called and miss again on the turn, forget it, check and fold.

[Roy Cropper]

for the lads who dont know what makes a decent poker hand

[PaulF]

Exactly the problem I faced.
That gives no indication if an Ace flush is better than a 7 flush or what affect your hole cards are.

From what I've been told on here and a bit of common sense, a flush will be determined by the highest card, then the next highest and so on. If the 5 Highest cards are on the board (v v v v unlikely, as it would mean at least 9 of the 13 cards from that suit were dealt) , then the pot would be split.

[PaulF]

try looking at the aggression differently then. if yer raise with a strong starting hand, see it as a way of buying shite out of the pot. when not hitting thats the explanation as to why position and aggression are the key to this game. if yer check in early position after not hitting the flop anyone after yer can smell weakness. good raise look at the board and try putting them on hands, if ye know who yer playing yer have a clue as to whether a continuation bet will work or they've hit. if they reraise yer, then gotta reassess the strength of yer hand.

But isn't the problem in question that the shite stays in the pot? People are online to 'play' poker, not to keep hitting fold. The odd big hand that they fluke in with is the one they remember.

[Fiend]

But isn't the problem in question that the shite stays in the pot? People are online to 'play' poker, not to keep hitting fold. The odd big hand that they fluke in with is the one they remember.

Yo dont learn anything in micro limit cash games. Why not play a $10 30 man tournament. Still a load of idiots but better standard

[Throxenby]

thats why i reckon yer raise should be more aggressive online that it would be live. what yer doing is asking questions. do yer like yer hand enough before the flop to call me 5 or 6 times the blind raise ? they are gonna play shite and call but then make their fukin mistakes expensive to them. (cos it'll be expensive for yer) online play if far more difficult to read than live so the reads people get off yer are in yer bets.

[Throxenby]

Yo dont learn anything in micro limit cash games. Why not play a $10 30 man tournament. Still a load of idiots but better standard

i still play under $1 dollar ring games, but thats me bank balance thats a problem. do better live but still far too many bad playes.

[PaulF]

Yo dont learn anything in micro limit cash games. Why not play a $10 30 man tournament. Still a load of idiots but better standard

lol, a better standard of idiot?
I guess, like a lot of us the idea of 'risking' $10 seems a bit much, compared to the seemingly limited loses at low-limit ring games, to counter that though

a) it's not such a big risk as there's less variance due to less idiotic play.
b) Presumably a 30 man tournament lasts a good few hours, so the $10 will take quite a long time to lose.

[Ferg]

£20, 30 seater down my local later.
I won the last one so there is the added pressure of a 'bounty' being put on my head.
Wish me luck..............

[PaulF]

Good luck 

[M|chael]

Would you consider tutoring? I'm sure there's a few off here that would take masterclasses from you!!!!

Don't think I'm good enough at teaching to help others mate.