1. The button represents the dealer. In home games, no button is needed, as the cards are passed around the table and each player deals in turn. In the casino and in online poker bonus codes tables, the dealer is a professional or a computer. Hence, the necessity of a “button”. The button moves clockwise around the table after each hand, and the player “on the button” gets his cards last and bets last in each round. Keeping up with the current location of the button is a huge consideration when determining positional strategy.
2. Texas Holdem has no ante. To force the action without an ante, Holdem uses blind bets. The first 2 players to the left of the button are forced to put in the blind bets. Typically, the first player puts in the small blind, equal to half of the minimum bet, while the second player puts in the big blind, equal to a full minimum bet. For example, in a game of $10/$20 limits, the small blind would be $5 and the big blind would be $10.
3. Starting with the first player to the left of the button, each player is dealt 2 cards, face down, called pocket cards. The first two players to the left of the button posts the blinds, and the first round of betting ensues. The first action after the deal is taken by the online poker player to the left of the big blind. He and subsequent players can choose to call the big blinds bet, fold or raise. In most Texas Holdem games, the blinds are live, which means that in the first round of betting, they get a chance to call, check or raise when the action moves around to them. In this sense, the big blind would be the last player to act after the dealing of the pocket cards.
4. The flop is 3 cards laid face up in the center of the table. These cards serve as common cards. Another round of betting ensues, with the first remaining player to the left of the button starting the action.
5. A single card is laid face up, next to the flop, for a total of 4 cards face up. Another betting round occurs, starting with the first player remaining to the left of the button.
6. A final card is turned face up, bringing the total number of common cards face up on the board to 5. A final round of betting occurs, starting with the first player remaining to the left of the button.
7. After betting is complete and if more than two players remain, a showdown occurs in which the winner is determined by the best five card hand possible using the 5 common cards and each players’ pocket cards. It is entirely possible for the best hand to be completely “on the board,” in which case the remaining players split the pot. It is also possible to have a “tie” in which the players with the same hand strengths split the pot. After the showdown, the button moves one person clockwise, and the next hand is dealt.
8. First off, this strategy is specific to a particular game – online low stakes No Limit Holdem. Because of the peculiar conditions in these games, I am going to question some of the traditional strategy advice you will read in books and on other strategy sites. Other strategies out there are technically superior and I make no apology for that. Where I believe this strategy is better for you, is that it acknowledges that we are not all perfect players, that we are prone to tilt when losing, and that many of us have limited bankrolls.
9. The strategy depends on the game being loose, both pre-flop and post-flop. Pre-flop this means there are a number of people (generally four or more) seeing each flop. Post-flop this means people will bet or call with hands that are not winning and which do not have correct drawing odds.
10. In addition, the aggression factor is also important. The strategy works best where the game is broadly passive, although a degree of aggression on the turn and river can actually improve results. Where the strategy needs significant adaptation is if there is aggression pre-flop. Then, some of the hands I promote become redundant, and you may have to increase the range of premium hands with which you will make or call a significant raise.
11. The playing conditions are important to this strategy because you must be paid off for the big hands that you hit. If the game is too aggressive pre-flop then the price of many of the hands becomes too high, and if it is too tight post-flop then you will not get the return needed to make the hands worthwhile.
12. “No Mistakes” - This is the major principle behind this strategy. In these games everyone else is going to be making Mistakes left, right and centre. Some Mistakes will cost them money, some Mistakes will make them money, but only in the short term. Over a sufficient number of hands all Mistakes cost money. Your job is to capitalise on the biggest of other peoples’
13. A Mistake is when you put money in the pot when you are behind, and you do not have correct drawing odds.
14. A Bad Beat is when you put money in a pot while you are ahead but get beaten by an opponent(s) who did not have correct drawing odds. Bad Beats are OK. Well obviously they aren’t “OK”, they hurt like hell, but they are going to happen. Even 2-outers hit more than one time in 25 so you don’t have to play that long before one is going to hit you.
15. Mistakes are most definitely not OK. You sit and watch other people get their premium hands beaten by rags and wheel straights, and its kind of amusing. But you have to learn how to play poker from it. Just because you have AA, that doesn’t mean the three fish to your left have suddenly grown a brain. If there is a hand that can beat you, you have to seriously consider it is in play, however poor that play would be. This is especially true of people hitting straights and flushes without correct odds. They don’t care about odds. Don’t let your knowledge blind you!
16. Set or Above - This is your aim. Hands that are the nuts or likely to finish up being the nuts by the river. You are going to make most of your money from these hands. You are looking at pocket pairs, decent sized connectors or one-gaps, and good suited cards.
17. Cheap Flops - You want to see as many flops as possible where if you hit you can be confident of winning, as per the Set and Above strategy. You also don’t want to invest too much up front in hands that you may be forced to walk away from.
18. 7 Card Stud (High) has long been a casino table favorite, recently supplanted by Texas Hold ‘em as poker’s premier game. 7 Stud is still a very popular game, and is actually my favorite. There are plenty of 7 card stud games to be found online as well. Absolut Poker has active games from micro limits to $5/$10. Caribean Sun and the Poker Room network have a good base of 7 card stud players. Finally, for you high limit players, you can toss $100 chips into the pot at Party Poker´s 7 Card Stud tables.
19. The Ante, Deal, and Bring In - Most 7 card stud tables require an ante of every player before being dealt any cards. After everyone has “ante’d up”, each player is dealt 3 cards, 2 face down and one face up. This is called third street. The face up card is called your doorcard. Unlike Hold ‘em, there is no button, rather, the player with the lowest doorcard posts what is referred to as the bring in. If two or more players have the same value card, the bring in is determined by suit value. Suit values from lowest to highest are: clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades. Players to the left of the bring in then have the option of folding, calling or raising the bring in bet.
20. 4th Street - 6th Street - These betting rounds are almost identical. Each round, each player gets another card face up. Unlike 3rd street however, it is the high hand showing that determines where the betting action starts. As you can probably guess, position does not play as important a role in 7 stud, simply because your position in order of action can change every round! The only other difference of note is that the limits go up on 5th street. If you are playing a $5-$10 table, 3rd and 4th street’s max raise is $5 per bet. 5th, 6th and 7th street, the limit goes to $10 per bet. The later streets of 7 stud can be expensive indeed. |
