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Poker Advices

Single Table Sit'n Go Strategy (Part II)

See also Single Table Sit'n Go Strategy (Part I)

In the middle of the game.
The middle stage of the game comprises of the 4th-6th blind stages. When the game reaches this stage, about 6-7 players are left at the table. The number may vary, as some games go on for a long time.
This is the most crucial stage of the game. Blinds put a lot of pressure on the players. You will have to get aggressive at this stage, if you wish to build a substantial amount of stack for the later part of the game.

Building a sizeable stack.
One of the guaranteed ways to build a sizeable stack is to bluff intelligently. A keen player will have already scanned each player in the early stage of the game to conclude whom to avoid and whom to trap.
Suppose you possess 89 of clubs in the big blind. You have folded to the small blind. Now, your wit will tell you that this player is an amateur and. in the early stage, had folded on the flop to bets. The flop is 6-10-3 with one club. If this player checks, you should bet. Since this player is a passive one, there is every chance that he or she will fold. If he or she does not, you still possess a gut shot draw and a backdoor flush draw.
Suppose that the player calls your bet. The turn gives a Q, not a club, and he or she checks one more time. When the player does that, you have two choices: either place him or her on a straight draw, or put a low pair. He or she is a passive 
player, so, you should have no problem betting out again. The passive player will likely fold with a pot size bet. If he or she calls your bet, you will have to lend him or her credit for a hand. Also, it is wise to check/told the river, if you don't improve your game.

Making a continuation bet.
Here is another smart strategy: make a continuation bet. (This is unlike the example of the early stage game, where you could check or fold AK during a had flop).
Let us say you get the same hand. AK. You raise a 3x the big blind and get a call. The flop comes 642 and, at the same time, the big blind checks. There is a high chance that your opponent possesses a big unpaired hand such as KQ. At this stage, you cannot afford to be conservative, as the blinds are increasing and it is necessary that you build a stack. What to do now? Well, you must throw a pot size bet. If someone calls it, check or fold the remaining of your hand, if you do not improve your hand.

Single Table Sit'n Go Strategy (Part I)

See also Single Table Sit'n Go Strategy (Part II)

Most of the Sit'n Go poker games are single table. This article tells you how to handle the "monsters" of Sit'n Go and emerge as a winner at Texas Holdem.

At the beginning of the game.
When the game starts, the strategy. "Tight is right" rules the roost. The table will be dominated with hordes of maniacs, who will be busy competing with each other. One by one. as each maniac is knocked out, you have a golden opportunity to grab the pot! In some of the Sit'n Go tables, which involve low buys, you can take away lots of moolah without even throwing a sizeable bet.

The early stage of the game comprises of the first three levels of blind. As you enter the game, your first strategy should
be to "Strive to Survive" at the table. Don't jump into outsmarting people in the beginning, as you will get enough chance to do that in the later stages of the game, once you survive.

Although blinds are quite low as compared to the stack of chips, you should refrain from limping in by using marginal hands.
You will hardly hit a flop by doing this. Even if you manage to have bottom two pairs with marginal hands, you will end up in big trouble, if a draw hits or the hoard pairs.

Online Poker: Judging Sites For Quality

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We want to stress that we're not recommending the individual companies or groups we mention in this article; we just want to give you guidelines with a little bit of logic so that you can make better decisions for yourself in the future. Consider the following factors when choosing a poker site, in no particular order:

1. The country the site is based in and its licenses. Due to the way gaming restrictions work in the United States, all servers must be located outside America's borders. Until a few years ago, nearly all quality sites were based in Costa Rica. Subsequently, the Kanawake Indian Reservation in Canada has made site hosting attractive enough that most companies have moved there (those sites almost always boast a "Kanawake Gaming Commission" seal). Even more recently, the full-member EU nation of Malta established laws for Internet gaming licenses. Expect many of the best sites to be licensed in Malta until the UK enacts its online gaming laws, at which point Britain may become the jurisdiction of choice. In general, gaming licenses awarded by countries require operators to be held to higher standards. So if the site doesn't have a license, think twice. We expect fake poker sites to eventually start popping up with the sole intent to take people's money. Keep your eyes peeled and choose intelligently.

What Are Your Chances of Playing Against a Pro?

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It you should find yourself in competition against a famous pro player, you need to adopt the right mental attitude, and then you need to play poker as usual. Well, almost as usual ... Playing against a pro will help you elevate your game (who doesn't want to play their best against the best), which, in the final analysis, is another reason why playing against professionals shouldn't scare you; it should be viewed as an opportunity for learning and earning.

The first thing you need to do when you recognize (or discover) a poker champion at your table is realize you're going to be in awe of this player. It's a natural reaction, nothing to be ashamed of. Don't be afraid to exhibit a bit of hero worship and even deferential behavior to this living legend when you first meet him or her.

No-Limit Holdem: Table Dynamics (Part II)

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Let's consider another example of table dynamics.

No-Limit Holdem: Table Dynamics (Part I)

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Some circumstances on a poker table are beyond our control. That doesn't mean we can't use them to our advantage. These factors, which we'll call "'table dynamic issues", shape the character of every table and have tremendous influence on the ways in which we play our hands. With a bad player in the blinds on your left, you can raise a very wide ranee until the bad player leaves and a professional shortstacker sits down. Suddenly you need to tighten up. What factors do we need to consider to understand table dynamics?

Differences Between Sit 'n Go's and Multi-Table Tournaments

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First, we observe that moneying in a sit 'n go entails about 30 to 75 minutes of time, and has a payout for the top 30 percent or 33.3 percent of the entrants. Moneying in a multi-table tournament, meanwhile, requires about 4 to 8 hours of time, with only 10 to 20 percent of entrants placing in the money. Since sit 'n go's therefore require less time investment and allow you to money with greater frequency, they are lower variance (i.e., have smaller profit-and-loss fluctuations) than multi-table tournaments.

Second, there is more room for personal strategic preference in a multi-table tournament. In the sit 'n go, the enormous jump from 0 to 20 percent of the prize pool at the bubble makes optimal strategy fairly clear: You should play cautious early to ensure survival into the high blinds, then gradually increase to an aggressive game to maximize your chances of
finishing first.

Poker Lessons

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You will do most of your thinking about hands that you lost. There will be hands where you play badly and win, and you learn a lesson from them because you realize how lucky you needed to get to win the pot. But the lessons you learn from those hands will not stay with you as long as the lessons you learn from hands you lose.

You should play according to what you think is going on. Players often say "I knew he was weak. I could have raised.'' If you know your opponent is weak and can't stand a raise, then raise. You may think that the opponents can counter this by calling you down whenever you play aggressively. The beauty of being aggressive is that it allows you to play your good hands strongly. You will get a lot of action from opponents with substandard hands when they misread you for a bluff.

Good players do most of their thinking after losing sessions. Bad players want to block losing sessions out of their mind. Think about hands you lost and see if you could have played them differently with a better result. Always think about what actions you would have taken if you had known what your opponents' hands actually were. Then try to recall if there were any hints available that would tell you about their hands.

The Typical Low-limit Hold'em Game

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When you sit down in a low-limit hold'em game, you are likely to find a broad range of poker experience and knowledge. Some players will be retirees who use the game as their social club and book fifty hours or more there each week. Others will have a discreet crib sheet in front of them showing the ranking of poker hands. Most of your opponents will lie somewhere in between — they'll be working folks who come down to the club for relaxation and a good poker game.

Low-limit games are often only half-jokingly called "no fold'em hold'em." You will often see seven or eight people at a nine-person table call to see the flop. Furthermore, many players will stay around after the flop with very weak or almost hopeless draws. In some cases, they know that they're taking the worst of the odds, but they get a special charge from catching those miracle cards and beating very strong hands.

Pot Limit Omaha Tips

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1. If you know what your player is going to do, or not do, you can use this information to your favor. If you are 100% sure that when you check, they will bet for you, it's a big advantage.

2. It is best to only raise from good position. Being last to act in PLO is a big advantage. If first to act and you flop top two pair, you are often in big trouble. However, if it's been checked all the way around to you and you have top two pair, you can be confident that it is the best hand.

3. Don't overplay aces preflop. AAxx is only a 2 to 1 favorite against 4 random cards. Also, by raising preflop with them, you are basically telling your opponent you have them.