<p>How many of you play poker?
I recently learned (texas holdem), and while I'm not terrible, I wouldn't say I'm much good either. I realize the best way to learn is just to play a lot, but do any of you with experience have any tips? Also, does anyone play online? if so, what sites are the best?</p>
<p>Poker Stars!!!</p>
<p>Enough said.</p>
<p>vegan girl. i played Texas hold'em sicne i was freshman. If you want tips pm me.</p>
<p>I found watching poker on TV to be very helpful.</p>
<p>There's like so many layers to learning poker.</p>
<p>I guess I'll start here:</p>
<p>First you need to know what hands beat other hands and what makes a hand. Straights, flushes, pairs, etc. You need to learn the basic mechanics of the game. How cards are dealt, how the betting works. Etc.</p>
<p>Once you know the basics, you need to work on a play strategy. There's this one idea how when you first start in a game to play tight. Dont play many hands, reserve yourself and play high pairs like 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, JJ, QQ, KK, AA and AK, AQ, KQ, QJ, A10 etc. These hands are all pretty strong. By playing these hands you'll be more likely to fare better against the rest of the players.</p>
<p>Then there's psychology. The amounts at which you bet are supposed to be an indicator of what you have. If there's an Ace on the board and someone is betting hard then there's a chance they have another Ace, or more... But then if they're betting too hard there's a chance they're trying to fool you into thinking that they have the Ace. And then if they're checking there's a possibility that they're trying to slow play the Ace, hoping that you'll bet against them, but you'll really fall into their trap.</p>
<p>It's really hard to put everything about poker into one post. There's just so many freaking facets to it. I gave you some things above, but they're all in totally different directions. here's what I suggest:</p>
<p>Play a lot. You'll only get better practicing this way. Learn the basics and then go to pokerstars and play in the 'play money' tournys. By doing this you're going to get a general feel for the mechanics of the game, and you'll sort of learn the odds of making certain hands, you know? Then watch poker. Watch lots of poker on TV. They even have books that are pretty helpful.</p>
<p>Also, with poker stars you can start practicing betting strategies and bluffing. When I started playing I pretty much focused on myself and how I played, but you have to open yourself up and focus on EVERYONE playing. You need to take into account every detail, how much someone is betting, how often they're betting, etc. You have to learn if they're aggressive or not. If they're bluffing a lot or not.</p>
<p>This is why its very good to watch poker on TV. you'll be able to observe the game (its actually pretty exciting) and you'll get exposed to different play styles and how they bluff.</p>
<p>My post seems pretty jumbled but... just play a lot (online and with people), watch the game on tv, and maybe read some books. You'll pick it up gradually, its hard to become an awesome player right from the start.</p>
<p>While I don't play poker, I recently learned how to play Texas Hold'em by watching Celebrity Poker on Bravo. It's really fun to watch. I have played the normal five card poker in the past, but it's been quite a while since I've played.</p>
<p>I've been playing for a while and recently have been getting better. I play pretty tight, only playing premium hands. Folding often and playing tight will help when you do bluff. Other than that, it's basically luck. Keep playing and gain that valuable experience. I'm assuming college breeds alot of poker games, anyone know anything about college and poker?</p>
<p>think you're good, try this one:</p>
<p>
[quote]
no limit.
you hold KQ suited on the button.
10 players at the table(no fish)</p>
<p>chip breakdown:
1. 5000
2. 4000
3. 7000
4. 3500
5. 4500
6. 10000
7. 2500
8. 6000
9. 6500
10(you). 5000</p>
<p>blinds are posted and betting goes as follows:
1 raise to 1000
2 call
3 raise to 2000
4 fold
5 raise to 2500
6 call
7 call (all in)
8 fold
9 call
10 ???</p>
<ul>
<li>pot odds are very much in your favor 25(minimum):140.</li>
<li>you hold a reasonably strong hand, but you're drawing.</li>
<li>from the betting most everyone else at the table likely has quite a strong hand.
[/quote]
</li>
</ul>
<p>btw this wasnt an actual scenario from a game ive played, just something i made up.</p>
<p>I'd call, but only because I'm on the button.</p>
<p>Most likely the right move here is to fold. I'm assuming that the blinds arent 250/500, and that the 1000 is a significant raise. The 1500 reraise on top of that indicates most likely a high pocket pair or AK. With both 7 and 9 calling, thats 7 people in the pot with good hands. This means the odds for improvement on anyones part are slim, and thus pocket pairs are probably going to take the pot down.</p>
<p>If i didnt get to act last, I would certainly fold, but having that advantage when I could be drawing to a royal flush makes me think about calling.</p>
<p>alright...but anyways....heres a HUGE tip.
When playing one on one, your main goal is to bluff and scare the person away. like for example.
One time( im serious this is real scneario), i had a 7 and a two off suit. (the worst hand in the game). HE bets 4 dollars. I put in 10. He thinks and he calls. In my head im screaming, then I get nothing in the flop. i bet another 5 dollars immediately. He folds. THe whole point is, you have to think like the other person and attack. If you play one on one, you should never be freaked out when your opponent bets. You have to come over the top and make them tihnk you got something.</p>
<p>you don't want to be betting like crazy in heads up, because there's no guarantee that you're opponent will fold. You wanna bet when you suspect your opponent is weak.</p>
<p>blinds are small.</p>
<p>ill refrain from further comments on that scenario for now...</p>
<p>rexrun, no. heads up is the same as 9 people or 6, or even 3. the only difference is that less people means weaker hands are playable and its easier to push your opponent around, but they MUST be weak for you to do that or you'll lose a lot very quickly. basically odds and strategy changes as the number of people at the table changes but you should never play all out bluffing stupidly.</p>
<p>remember it all comes down to the cards so if you're bluffing a really weak hand and they call you're dead in the water hoping for a miracle draw</p>
<p>it seems like people bet a lot with weak hands in heads up but it takes much less to win a hand at heads up than a full table.</p>
<p>if you're just starting play games with lots of people. heads up requires complicated strategy and a much deeper understanding of the game that can only be gained through experiance with more people.</p>
<p>an example of a heads up hand i played</p>
<p>tournament. blinds 100-200. betting is high
him 8000
me 4000
i catch a pair of 5's, dont play it hard, raise to 500, he calls.
flop comes A-5-9
play it slow bet 100, he puts me all in i call. he turns over A6
turn's junk i win the hand and double up</p>
<p>that hand was played with an entirely different mindset than a large room hand would have been played(for one thing a pair of 5's is only enough to limp in with 9 people...) its assinine to trap people and bet like that when there lots of people. the odds just arent in your favor.</p>
<p>I love watching the tournaments on TV, the World Series main event is currently under way in Vegas if anyone is interested, I go to CardPlayer or the official home page (I'm rooting for Sammy Farha or Phil Ivey this year). </p>
<p>I usually play online with Empire Poker for play money, but it's mostly just to get a feel for straight hand odds, since bluffing, semi-bluffing, etc, is moot when you've got nothing to lose. With my friends we usually organize a $5 cash game with 10 and 20 cent blinds, so much fun to be had there. </p>
<p>I recently purchased David Sklansky's "Theory of Poker" and "Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players," and I can say that "Theory" is an excellent read (haven't gotten to the other one yet), especially regarding pot odds, immediate odds, implied odds, etc, and the concept of semi-bluffing. Although I haven't been able to test the theories, (I will tonight) they seem quite logical, yet powerful. </p>
<p>Oh, and on the scenario, I would fold in a hurry, you're sitting on an upper-middle value hand, and with that many calls and reraises, there are at least two high pairs amongst the group, and if anyone has KK or QQ, you're worked over from the get-go.</p>
<p>AA wins at best 66% of the hands played to the end. you have position and keep in mind that theres a lot of people, a pair at the end is fried. 2 pair probably is also but theres a shot.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone!
I was watching repeats of the world series of poker on ESPN too last night, and I never thought I'd say this, but poker is FASCINATING to watch on TV. And holy crap is Greg Raymer amazing.</p>
<p>I noticed in those games the only hands people ever play are pocket pairs (if no one raises too high- they'll usually play pocket anything almost- down to 4s or 5s) or some combo of face cards/aces. I'm used to playing anything high, paired, or suited, and sometimes I'll play something that looks like it could give me a straight. I definitely play too many hands...that's one thing I really have to work on. Another is something you guys have mentioned- concentrating not just on my own hand but on the other players in the game.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your tips:)</p>
<p>Just found this thread and came to brag, because, who cares, it's CC.</p>
<p>Won a 97 person $40+10 (w/add on) No Limit Bounty Tournament at the Turning Stone in Verona, NY last week.
Not only was I the Bounty (the dealer at the final table told me that he's been working there since December and had never seen a bounty win the bounty tourney, but I was only one of four 18 year olds in the entire tournament [another one finished 7th, and my two buddies were 56th and 85th :-/). Won a nice $1,855 from the tourney, then went to the ring games and won another $125.
Needless to say, if this continues, I won't be finishing college :)
Also, I'm going back again sometime in August, if anyone from CC is in the area (it's a 5 hour drive for me, so that's what I consider "in the area") I'd gladly meet up there and play.</p>
<p>Also, as far as the scenario goes, I would fold in a heartbeat. Not only would I not play K-Q suited in that situation, I wouldn't play K-Q stuied for ANY raise. K-Qs is NOT a premium hand despite what many people think, especially if there's a raise and a re-raise ahead of you. The chances you'll improve your hand are VERY slim, and even if you do manage to make a flush, which is most likely the only way you'd win the pot, there's still the off-chance that you're not even drawing to the highest flush.
I guess that's why I won the tournament, though. In about 4 hours of playing, I probably played about 20 or so hands and won 18 of them, I'm not going to go into a pot if I know I don't have the best hand ;)</p>
<p>EDIT: Vegan, that's because that's what they show you on TV. The real final table lasted about 15 hours, they didn't get pocket pairs and great cards every hand. Most of the time it's just a raise and everyone folds :)</p>
<p>I play on Absolute Poker because it has 36 freerolls a day, and being as that I'm not 18 yet, getting cash in an FR is the only way for me to get started in RM games. I finished 3rd in a 2,000 man N: hold'em tourny. My pc rebooted with 9 ppl left when I ha dthe 2nd most chips tho. I bet I could have finished 1st.</p>