Omaha Hold’em: Texas Hold’em With A Twist

• Author: Thomas Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Feb 1,2010

One wonderful thing about poker is that there is always something new and exciting surrounding it. New to the world of poker is Omaha hold’em, a variation of Texas hold’em where four cards are dealt instead of two.

The extra two cards open up a whole new avenue of possibilities while playing poker. The main idea behind Omaha is to offer you the extra two options to obtain the best hand possible. Essentially it boils down to which two of all four of your cards will best fit with the community cards that are down on the table. In normal hold’em you only have the two cards you are dealt and you have to use them as best as possible, and in Omaha you at least have a choice.

This leads to playing more hands and gives you more chances at winning. In poker, its not just in the cards. If all you want is a card game, stick to Gin Rummy. Betting brings the game of poker to a whole new level and forces you to concentrate more than in other less risky card games.

The rules and play of Omaha are the same as for other hold’em games. Each player is dealt four cards to use in the round. At this point, if your cards are such that you wish to continue the play, an initial bet is placed. This bet is called the big blind. You determine from your hand whether to call, raise or fold.

After the first round of betting the first set of community cards are dealt onto the table, the flop, where you can then assess the strength of your hand. Another round of betting will then commence and once again you can call, raise or fold your hand. After everyone has completed their betting the next community card, called the turn, is then dealt onto the table and there is another round of betting.

Following the deal of the last card, the final round of betting, the river, begins. This final card will make you or break you. Lose and you play another round to make it back, win and you play another round because you’re hot. You learn the strength of your opponents hands at each new round of betting. With more experience you will know how much to bet and when.

All forms of poker involve the challenge of playing against people rather than just the cards. Most of the time a person is unpredictable, until you begin to learn their playing style. If you can pick up on how they play, then you can predict what a person will do based on how you play.

Experience is the answer to making the unknown play of your opponents into something you can figure out and use. Keep at it. Keep challenging yourself and good luck.

The author is a full time online poker player and makes the majority of his income from his online play and rakeback at Poker Heaven. To sign up for a Rakeback account of your own visit Rakeback Solution.

categories: omaha hold’em,holdem,hold em,hold’em,poker,gambling,card games,games,recreation,entertainment,sport

Limit Hold’em: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

• Author: David Patron
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Jan 15,2010

Following is an analysis of the pros and cons of one of the variations of poker that may be helpful to you. Once upon a time, Limit Hold’em was the most played online poker game. There remain on the net many low and medium limit games in the poker rooms, and a few with a $100/$200 limit. It continues to be the easiest game to find and is a sure bet to continue on that path as only a few players are able to rise to the $20/$40 level.

What may be considered a significant plus of the game is the amount of literature devoted to it: many of the contemporary books on poker are devoted to limit games. It is a well studied game and it is possible that a thorough student may learn much from the experience of others. As a result decisions are simpler to make in limit hold’em and most of them are easily supportable by basic mathematic tools for quick mental in-game calculations.

The mathematical phenomenon of dispersion becomes less of a factor in limit games. Thus enabling even the rookiest of rookies with the worst cards at the table to occasionally be saved by dumb luck. For a dramatic reference to the particulars of dispersion, read Terry Pratchett’s Rincewind novels.

As a rule, any and all poker games are subject to the mathematical phenomenon of statistical dispersion, i.e. major losses are part of even the most expert player’s game, and it is this fact that stops folks from indulging in any game of poker. Limit poker is not as mentally intense as no-limit and tournament games, which involve high dispersion. You don’t need a lot of funding to play Limit Hold’em and like the large quantity of literature on the subject , there are computer programs specifically designed for limit poker – Poker Tracker and Poker Office will help low limit players especially. These programs can be used both during the game and after whenever an analysis of any part of the game is called for or to make statistical calculations.

About the only minus of limit holdem is the constantly growing number of well-trained, well-informed opponents. But that is the direct result of the pluses just listed and makes the game, though accessible, not as easily profitable as one might hope it to be. The chief source of income for poker rooms is the seemingly small rake deducted from the pot during each hand. Rooms therefore rely heavily not on the number of players in their rooms. But at the conclusion of a series of long games, the percentage of all hands played may reach surprisingly high sums and limit games against good players may result in near-zero or even negative gain.

Finally, limit holdem is not widespread offline, offers little exposure to the nonvirtual outside world, and lacks the aspects which make casino and club games so rich in important and memorable experience. Certainly, those who love the game find most memorable that which is the essence of poker – the combinations of cards; but just like talking face to face to a company of people is more memorable than chanting to a hundred “friends” in ICQ, so playing poker at an actual table of wood (rather than of 1024768 pixels) you can actually knock on (makes a nice bluff) makes for a more intense and exciting experience.

The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Absolute Poker Rakeback as well as Rakeback at NoiQ Poker.

categories: limit holdem,holdem,hold em,poker,gambling,games,card games,recreation,entertainment,sports

Attract More Poker Fish With A More Amiable Poker Game

• Author: Thomas Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Dec 16,2009

Nothing keeps a poker amateur away from the table so much as the types regularly seen on TV’s World of Poker. You know the types, they wear big shades, big hats, or big hooded sweatshirts completely shutting out all humanity. They appear arrogant and intimidating and they are. They keep anyone but players like them away from the table.

For the amateur will, for the most part, prefer a table where he thinks he can have a good time, whether he wins or looses. For him the game is not a way of making a living, but quality time. The sociable, successful businessman happy to get out of the office or to have a bit of fun before the foreign meeting, the brilliant computer scientist who likes once in a while to play a real game as opposed to online poker: these people, cruising around the room, are looking for a table where players are relaxed and friendly. They will listen for laughter and scan smiles before they at all try to observe the players’ actual poker skills, and will finally go for those tables where people seem to enjoy themselves.

The professional actually seeking to earn money at the game is going to love a table like that. All those Fish! Each one won’t donate a lot to his income, but they will steadily provide the pro with a stream of cash while enjoying the society of amiable people. They will linger, make risky bets, and lose more while being entertained.

At a table where nobody initiates any human contact and there is no way to see what the opponents look like behind their cases of armor nothing keeps the amateur to leave as soon as they lose once, never to return.

Conversely, the table with conversation and laughter where everyone is complimenting each other on their “great play” will attract the amateurs. The amateur sees this behavior as trustworthy and will keep coming back for more. They will lose all right, but they will do so with such a fine disposition, having received entertainment value instead of money.

By keeping the weaker opponents in a fun loving mood, you will keep up their poker hopes. They must be good, they are having such a good time. Luck, being the fickle lady that she is, is sure to fall on them some times. The relaxed ambience of this table will attract more amateurs, making it a golden opportunity for the player looking for serious money.

Top professionals carefully invent their poker persona. Their key to success lies not only in superior technique but often in the ability to create, through persona and ability to manipulate the game cleverly, situations which project a positive experience for their unsuspecting prey. They make sure that those who are about to loose salute them.

The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Doyles Room Rakeback and Carbon Poker Rakeback.

categories: poker table image,table image,poker,holdem,hold em,hold’em,gambling,games,entertainment,recreation,sport

How to Spot Chip, Card and Betting Tells in Texas Hold’em Poker – Part 4 of 4

• Author: Daniel L. Cox
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Nov 13,2009

Chip Tells

The amount of force a player uses in moving their chips to the pot can be an obvious tell (subconscious action). If the player spikes their chips (slamming down a stack past the bet line), they are more likely to have a weak hand.

Fumbling the chips may betray inexperience at a brick and mortar casino, and belie the fact that the player has considerable experience online. This can be very apparent with some players on televised poker tournaments that draw their players from online qualifiers, such as Fox Sports Net tournaments sponsored by major online poker sites.

When a player makes a call or raise and they place their chips closer to themselves, they often have a strong hand. By placing them close, they are often subconsciously keeping their chips within easy reach to rake them back when they win. A player who uses a lot of force in tossing in the chips toward the pot, or flings them away, often has a marginal hand. This tossing away of the chips is often because they feel they have already lost the hand and the chips as well.

Players with several denominations of chips in front of them can often give away their hand by which chips they use when betting. If they place their smaller denomination chips in the pot, subconsciously giving away their small chips and keeping their big chips for themselves, they are unsure they have the best hand. If they bet with the high denomination chips, they are not expecting to lose them. A player making a move for their chips out of turn is normally indicating that the most recent community card is an improvement.

How players maintain their chip stacks may give an insight into their style of play. Loose-aggressive players often have sloppy, irregular chip stacks. Neat, organized chip stacks are often the earmark of a tight-aggressive player. How a player cuts out the chips can also give insight into the strength of the hand. Cutting out chips is when a player separates the chips from the stack before placing them in the pot to see how many chips will remain after the bet. It is similar to the way a cowboy would cut out a calf from the herd for branding.

This is the key place to look for chip tells. A player who is unsure of the amount of chips needed for a call, or who is having trouble counting out the correct number of chips, is often unsure of the strength of his/her hand. A player counting and recounting chips may also be unsure of his/her hand’s strength. Unfortunately, playing with chip stacks are where most players go Hollywood (Acting at the table, normally with a reverse tell.), so realize that the player may be using a reverse tell to fool you and the other players.

Card Tells

At what time a player looks at their hole cards can be a tell about their experience level. Many inexperienced players look at their cards as soon as they receive them vs. watching the other players while they look at their cards. By not waiting until it is their turn to play, they miss viewing possible tells other players may exhibit.

It is important to watch how other players still in a hand react when the dealer places the community cards on the table. Their eyes may look to their chips, a look of pleasure may pass fleetingly over their face, or a look of disgust may show they did not hit the card they needed.

If the flop falls with several cards of the same suit, watch for the player who rechecks their hole cards. They may remember the rank of the cards, but be unsure of the suits, and be checking to see if they are on a flush draw. The same tell is possible if the flop cards are connected, since they are verifying their straight draw. Be wary of any strong bets after these tells.

Betting Tells

How quickly a player bets is often indicative of the hand they have. A fast call or raise normally signifies strength, while taking too much time can be a sign of indecision. Make sure you observe the player’s actions for a while to determine the normal speed they play their hands. Be prepared for the false tell, though, as this is an excellent place for an opponent to think long and act weak while holding a premium starting hand.

If you notice that a player always raises with large pocket pairs, you can avoid a confrontation when you hold a marginal hand. If you notice a player continues to bet after a pre-flop raise, then you can safely check to them when you have a big hand, knowing you can get a check raise out of them.

Be sure to follow the betting patterns of your opponents through each street. Follow all hands to the river to see what they have bet and how strong their hand actually was. This information becomes invaluable the longer you play with a particular opponent, as you will be able to correlate their betting with their hole cards.

About the author: Daniel L. Cox is the editor of Poker Insider Magazine, an e-zine dedicated to poker. He is also the award-winning author of “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em: How to Play Low-limit Ring Games and Small Buy-in Tournaments” and four upcoming books on poker. He can be found on Twitter at PokerInsiderMag, where he gives you a daily poker quote or pokerism.