Omaha Hold\’em: Texas Hold\’em with a Twist

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

There is always something new and exciting in the world of poker. The latest thrill is Omaha hold\’em. You all know the game of Texas hold\’em with its two-card deal, Omaha hold\’em offers the twist of a four-card deal.

The additional cards force you to make a choice of which cards you want to play. You have more options than in Texas hold\’em, but you also have more decisions to make. In essence, the crux of the matter is which two of the four cards in your hand do you want to play based on the community cards dealt on the table. With Texas hold\’em, there is no choice to make, you must play the cards you have been dealt to you to your best ability. With Omaha, you still play with only two cards, but it\’s up to you which two those will be.

The result is that you get to play more hands and have more opportunity to win. What many people don\’t realize is that poker isn\’t only about the cards. If that was the case, then you\’d probably have more fun playing bridge, but because of the betting involved it adds a new dimension to the game and forces you to keep your wits about you.

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.

The first set of community cards are dealt to the table face up (the flop) after the initial round of betting. Here is where you determine the strength of your cards. The next round of betting occurs here and you can once again choose to raise, call or fold. Once betting is complete, the next community card ( the turn), is dealt to the table and the next round of betting begins.

Once the last card is dealt (the river), the final round of betting begins and here is the card that will make you either a winner or a loser. Either way, you are ready to start all over again to either win back a loss or add to a win. The rounds of betting allow you to judge the strengths of your opponents\’ hands and with experience and developing your skill at perception and insight, you will know when to bet and how much.

Poker in whatever form offers the challenge of playing against people like yourself and not just cards. People are unpredictable poker players until your knowledge of their playing style makes them far less so. Once you get the modus operandi of their play, you can determine what they will do next.

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 takes advantage of the highest Virgin Poker Rakeback. Please visit Rakeback Solution to also sign up for Virgin Rakeback.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Limit Holdem

• Author: Thomas Kearns
• 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.

To add to this, dispersion is not the factor in limit games as it is in others. Dispersion is a coldly calculating entity that determines who is lucky and who is not. With limit poker, even the lousy player with lousy cards can be the lucky winner sometimes. To understand more about how dispersion affects the game of poker and the game of life, read any of Terry Pratchett\’s Rincewind novels.

There is virtually no poker game untouched by statistical dispersion. Huge losses happen to the most expert of players, a major deterrent to a lot of would-be players. Higher dispersion rates can be found in no-limit and tournament games making limit poker less intensive psychologically. Limit Hold\’em can be indulged in with little money in one\’s bank and there are several unique computer programs designed for limit poker. Two of which are Poker Tracker and Poker Office. These programs are very helpful especially for low limit players. They can be of use during play as well as after whenever you need to analyze or calculate statistics of the game at any point.

Now for the bad and the ugly. Because of the quantity of information available on the game, there is a large and ever-growing number of knowledgeable, skilled players. So the game while it is easy to find, is not very profitable. Poker rooms make their money from the small amount taken out of the pot for each hand. So, poker rooms earn money not from the number of players, but from the percentage of the total number of hands played at the end of a long series of poker hands. This sum more often than not turns out to be quite a tidy one. Limit games which include good players can wind up with minimal profitability or even a loss.

While the availability of limit poker is not a problem online, off line is another story. There is little exposure in the non-virtual world because limit poker does not include the features that make a poker game attractive to casinos and card clubs. It is the camaraderie around the table, the laughter and chatter, that makes the game rewarding and memorable to most people. This cannot be found online but requires a group around a table. The limit player gets his thrills from the true essence of poker – the combination of cards.

The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Virgin Rakeback and Poker Heaven Rakeback.

Serious Poker is No Lure for Poker Fish

• 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.

The average amateur is looking to join in a poker game for some fun and is not really concerned whether he wins or loses. He’s looking for a way to spend some time with people, a chance to get away from the office routine, or to play with real people instead of online. He’s going to zero in on a table where everyone seems friendly, relaxed and having a good time. He is not looking for skilled poker players, just those who enjoy the game and each other’s company.

For a player intending to earn a regular income, it is important to be able to cater to these basic desires of the average amateur. Each amateur will not loose much, but if you entice a constant stream of them you will constantly gain. Moreover, an amateur is likely to stay longer at a table, dare more, bet higher, and loose more with a good will if they are having a good time.

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.

The amateur is seeking the opposite of the above. He wants good conversation, friendly company, and a table where the players compliment each other on good play. This table engenders a feeling of warm fuzziness and trust for the amateur and will suck him right in. They will return to this table again and happily lose money to you. Remember they are seeking entertainment not an income.

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.

This gregarious, relaxed persona is not necessarily born to the expert players. They learn it along with the skills and techniques of the game and practice, practice, practice. This allows them to manipulate situations to their advantage while projecting a very positive and entertaining experience for the little fishies that took their bait. And, the fishies will thank them for providing them with such an entertaining time at the table.

The author takes advantage of the highest Poker Kings Rakeback. Please visit Rakeback Solution to also sign up for Poker Kings Rakeback.

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.