General Poker Thread v.1

[C Diddy]

Thanks for the support guys. I am still learning which hands to play and which hands not to play in certain positions and whatnot. Its getting harder and harder to not call small bets pre-flop with moderate hands. I am slowly learning the percentages and it is improving my game tremendously. I use to think that if you play your cards and nothing more, you'll win most of the time, and now I'm learning not to play off my cards, but to play off the possibilities of the other players cards. A-Q suited is great, but if i cant get the flush or ace pair, someone with K-2 could very well beat me. This game is much more complex then I ever gave it credit for.


Some of the strategies I'm trying to work on is when to bet pre-flop when im in the blinds or if im in a late position and there is several people calling the BB. I don't want people staying for the flop with nothing and threatening my Q-J or better, but whats the most practical. Betting a small-medium amount on a moderate hand or saving my bets for one of the stronger hands? I think, overall, I just need to play more and see more situations. I guesstimate that between online and home play and watching poker on TV, I've probably witnessed 2500 or so hands, but thats still a drop in the bucket of possibilities.

 

[VF21]

Thanks for the support guys. I am still learning which hands to play and which hands not to play in certain positions and whatnot. Its getting harder and harder to not call small bets pre-flop with moderate hands. I am slowly learning the percentages and it is improving my game tremendously. I use to think that if you play your cards and nothing more, you'll win most of the time, and now I'm learning not to play off my cards, but to play off the possibilities of the other players cards. A-Q suited is great, but if i cant get the flush or ace pair, someone with K-2 could very well beat me. This game is much more complex then I ever gave it credit for.


Some of the strategies I'm trying to work on is when to bet pre-flop when im in the blinds or if im in a late position and there is several people calling the BB. I don't want people staying for the flop with nothing and threatening my Q-J or better, but whats the most practical. Betting a small-medium amount on a moderate hand or saving my bets for one of the stronger hands? I think, overall, I just need to play more and see more situations. I guesstimate that between online and home play and watching poker on TV, I've probably witnessed 2500 or so hands, but thats still a drop in the bucket of possibilities.

Until I started playing regularly, I really didn't appreciate the saying:

Texas No Limit Hold 'Em takes a few minutes to learn but a lifetime to master.

It's all your fault, AKS!!

THANK YOU!!!

 

[AceKingSuited]

Some of the strategies I'm trying to work on is when to bet pre-flop when im in the blinds or if im in a late position and there is several people calling the BB. I don't want people staying for the flop with nothing and threatening my Q-J or better, but whats the most practical. Betting a small-medium amount on a moderate hand or saving my bets for one of the stronger hands? I think, overall, I just need to play more and see more situations. I guesstimate that between online and home play and watching poker on TV, I've probably witnessed 2500 or so hands, but thats still a drop in the bucket of possibilities.

Well, with 100/200 NLHE on Pstars, I usually raise 3k when I'm trying to isolate action down to about 1-3 limpers. Keep in mind, you have to adjust your raises depending on what people are willing to call with. If you're regularly raising 3k, and it's going 6-handed every time, I'd increase my raise to 5-8k and see what happens then. However, if you're a newcomer with a small bankroll, I'd would suggest you get as far away from this table as possible, for the simple mathmatical fact that your bankroll will not be able to withstand the extreme variance this table will offer.

I'd stick with playing smart hands while you're testing the waters. They are your safest bet. I don't know if you're much of a reader, but Phil Hellmuth's book "Play Poker LIke The Pros" has a pretty good beginner's section. His book also has some good general information on starting hands, and their ranking. In general, A through J with a kicker 9 or better are playable, even better if they're suited. Card combinations of A through J are strong starting hands. As far as pocket pairs go, there's a lot of different schools of thought about which ones are strong. Statistically, heads up against an unsuited overpair, even pocket twos are a 51% favorite against KQo! But for the sake of simplicity I'd recommend considering wired tens or better as a strong pocket pair.

(Keep in mind, if I have pocket jacks, and 2-3 players are in the pot with me, if the board is AQ7, I'm thinking there's a good chance that I'm beat. Depending on what position I'm in, I might check the jacks if I'm in first position, or I might make an exploratory bet (about 1/4-1/2 the size of the pot) just to check the strength or weakness of the players. If I feel the players are prone to try and trap, I might take a free card just to see if my hand improves and to defend against the slowplay trap.)

However, I'm a fan of Daniel Negraneu's style of playing lots of of middle suited connectors. Currently, I'm a big fan of 78s or 89s, and sometimes one-gappers, like 68s, or 79s. These are some great cards to play if you love to see a lot of flops, because when then hit you solid, you can win some huge pots if you play them correctly. Also, if you can deduce your opponent has high cards, and the board comes 5-8-3, with 67s, you're about 56% to either make your straight, or pair your hand. However, the 56% assumes that your 14 outs aren't in the muck, or your opponents hands.

Another couple of books that I've heard are must-reads for new-to-intermediate-players are Supersystem by Doyle and Winning Low Limit Holdem by Lee Jones. I haven't read Supersytem yet, but I just got Lee Jones' book in the mail this week.

Good luck!

 

[AceKingSuited]

Until I started playing regularly, I really didn't appreciate the saying:

Texas No Limit Hold 'Em takes a few minutes to learn but a lifetime to master.

It's all your fault, AKS!!

THANK YOU!!!

I'll drink to that

 

[NME]

Thanks for the support guys. I am still learning which hands to play and which hands not to play in certain positions and whatnot. Its getting harder and harder to not call small bets pre-flop with moderate hands. I am slowly learning the percentages and it is improving my game tremendously. I use to think that if you play your cards and nothing more, you'll win most of the time, and now I'm learning not to play off my cards, but to play off the possibilities of the other players cards. A-Q suited is great, but if i cant get the flush or ace pair, someone with K-2 could very well beat me. This game is much more complex then I ever gave it credit for.

I find that one of the hardest things is, when I hit my hand, to give credit to the other player for hitting a bigger hand. You watch people bet and raise with almost nothing, so when you hit two pair, it's hard to put the other guy on a set when he might play a middle pair the same.

It's also hard when you see so many people playing every hand not to start going with any two cards higher than 7 but one of the most important things to get down early is hand selection. You read some of the stuff out there and it'll freak you out like you shouldn't play anything but pocket Aces, and if you don't hit a third ace on the flop, then FOLD. :lol:

However, I'm a fan of Daniel Negraneu's style of playing lots of of middle suited connectors. Currently, I'm a big fan of 78s or 89s, and sometimes one-gappers, like 68s, or 79s. These are some great cards to play if you love to see a lot of flops, because when then hit you solid, you can win some huge pots if you play them correctly. Also, if you can deduce your opponent has high cards, and the board comes 5-8-3, with 67s, you're about 56% to either make your straight, or pair your hand. However, the 56% assumes that your 14 outs aren't in the muck, or your opponents hands.

That school of thought is growing on me as well. After the top few premium hands like JJ and up, and AK, I'd almost rather drop down to the types of hands you're talking about than to play the slightly less premium hands. The problem with even something like AQ or AJ (which is often considered a trap hand) is the likelihood of playing against a hand like AK. All of the flops that can improve your hand will improve many of the other hands people play as well, so even when you hit it's hard to be confident you have the best hand. When you hit your straight or draw with middle connectors, you can be pretty sure that your hand was helped the most, because it missed all those people playing A's through J's.

 

[AceKingSuited]

That school of thought is growing on me as well. After the top few premium hands like JJ and up, and AK, I'd almost rather drop down to the types of hands you're talking about than to play the slightly less premium hands. The problem with even something like AQ or AJ (which is often considered a trap hand) is the likelihood of playing against a hand like AK. All of the flops that can improve your hand will improve many of the other hands people play as well, so even when you hit it's hard to be confident you have the best hand. When you hit your straight or draw with middle connectors, you can be pretty sure that your hand was helped the most, because it missed all those people playing A's through J's.

I definitely agree. IMO the dicipline required to lay down AQ when you think you might be up against AK is in the same ballpark as laying KK down when you suspect you might be up against AA. KK is harder to lay down, for the simple fact that it's statistically harder to get AA than AK, but the principle is the same.

Definitely can be a costly hand, especially in a tourney where survival is more important than EV. You know what though, I think even Ace King is an overvalued hand considering the hype surrounding it. It's a great hand, but poker commentators talk about it like it's the holy grail, and when the flop doesn't hit you well, it can get a player in trouble when he's not willing to accept he's beat.

I'm not saying AK is not a good hand, but I'm saying it has an added mystique surrounding it, like presto (5-5) does.

 

[NME]

Big Slick is great when the flop hits you, especially on those rare occassions it gives you top straight or top flush, but so many times it's just two overcards that are tough to throw away after you reraised preflop.

 

[AceKingSuited]

Poker Stars Freerolls

I don't know if you guys are aware, but on Pokerstars, they have freeroll tourneys every nights except for Tuesdays (technically Wed. morning at midnight).

What that means is you get to enter a free NLHE tourney to hone your skills at the tourney style events. Usually thousands of players enter, so the competition is obviously high.

Almost every night at midnightPST, and they have some in the daytime too (but I'm not sure what time. I think around 10:30amPST)

 

[VF21]

Big Slick is great when the flop hits you, especially on those rare occassions it gives you top straight or top flush, but so many times it's just two overcards that are tough to throw away after you reraised preflop.

I have only actually WON with Big Slick a couple of times. The last time I remember it didn't matter because the board ended up with a Ace high straight anyway.

What was fun was that I tossed 4K into the pot after the river to see what would happen and everyone else folded.

 

[6th]

I just played my first sit 'n go. I placed 3rd...IN THE MONEY!

Okay, I paid $5 and won $9, so it wasn't a huge pot, but hey...







...





...



I PLACED!!!!

 

[AceKingSuited]

That's awesome! Congradulations.

You placed in the first one you played? That's seriously great. Congrats.

 

[6th]

That's awesome! Congradulations.

You placed in the first one you played? That's seriously great. Congrats.

Yes! I was seriously jazzed about it. I will admit that it was only 1 table of 9 players, but still...I surprised myself.

Yes, the 1st and only one I have played in.

 

[6th]

AKS, I'm just curious...how do you transfer play money to someone? You can PM me if you prefer.

 

[NME]

Good going, 6th!

 

[AceKingSuited]

AKS, I'm just curious...how do you transfer play money to someone? You can PM me if you prefer.

you have to transfer it to them while they're seated. so, you can't do it for them if they're not logged into the site.

when they're seated, just right click their icon and select "transfer play money".

 

[Iggy]

So far the people who've been outed on PokerStars (that I know of) are:

C_Diddy: C_Diddy11
AceKingSuited: Sm4shNgr4b
6th: DianaRigg
VF21: NickieKatt
uolj: uolj
G_M: GM4KINGZ
doone: doone
NME: N.M.E.

Other KingsFans who've said they play at PartyPoker or PokerStars include Iggy, Abe Frohman, and Twix. Sadly, I don't get to play nearly as much as I'd like, so I haven't yet played with any KingsFans. If I'm lucky I get to play for a couple hours during the day on Saturdays.

Yep....I'm jemtsang @ partypoker....won a sit and go tonight.

 

[VF21]

Ah, how fickle the gods of no limit Texas hold 'em.

Going from a high of over 270,000 to a disheartening 39,000... Life just is not kind.

 

[AceKingSuited]

Odds You Shold Know...

(from the book Winning Low Limit Hold'Em by Lee Jones)

>You are a 220:1 dog to get dealt aces (or any other specific pair).
>You are a 16:1 dog to get dealt a pocket pair.
>You are a 3.3:1 dog to get dealt two suited cards.
>You are a 7.5:1 dog to flop trips if you hold a pocket pair.
>If you have an ace and a king in your hand, you are a 2.1:1 underdog to flop at least one ace or one king.
>If you have a pair of pocket kings, it's about 4:1 in your favor against a single ace showing up on the flop without a king.
>If you have two suited cards, you are a 7.5:1 dog to get at least two more of your suit on the flop.
>If you flop a flush draw (four to a flush), you are a 4.2:1 dog to make your flush on the turn. You're a 4.1:1 dog to make it on the river if you don't make it on the turn (you've seen one more card that's not your suit). Once you've flopped four to a flush, you're a 1.9:1 dog to make it by the river.
>If you flop an open end straight flush draw (eg., you have Ts9s and the flop comes 8s-7s-2c), you are a 1.2:1 favorite to make a straight or better by the river.
>An open end straight draw is about a 4.9:1 dog on either the turn or the river. If you flop an open end straight draw, you are a 2.2:1 underdog to make it by the river. With a gutshot (inside) straight draw, you are an 11:1 dog to make your straight on the next card.

It's a pretty handy FYI.

 

[VF21]

AKS - Thanks! That brings up a question I've been meaning to ask. I was at Barnes and Noble a couple of week-ends ago. Before I got kicked out (that's another story for another time ), I noticed a whole bunch of Texas Hold Em books. If you were to recommend ONE BOOK, which one would it be? I'm thinking they'll probably let me back into the store...

 

[6th]

I found a new avatar...they only let you change it once. Anyway, once they approve it (in the next 48 hours, hopefully) do not look for the rose. I will have a picture of Diana Rigg, a.k.a. Emma Peel.

 

[NME]

VF - I've seen "Winning Low Limit Hold'em", which AKS quotes above, pretty widely recommended as the first and most essential book to read. I'm starting on it just now myself.

 

[Kingsgurl]

AKS - Thanks! That brings up a question I've been meaning to ask. I was at Barnes and Noble a couple of week-ends ago. Before I got kicked out (that's another story for another time ), I noticed a whole bunch of Texas Hold Em books. If you were to recommend ONE BOOK, which one would it be? I'm thinking they'll probably let me back into the store...

You got kicked out of Barnes and Noble? ROTFLMAO. Do tell

 

[6th]

VF - I've seen "Winning Low Limit Hold'em", which AKS quotes above, pretty widely recommended as the first and most essential book to read. I'm starting on it just now myself.

I just ordered it myself. I'd be happy to send it to you when I've read it, if you are willing to wait about a month.

 

[AceKingSuited]

AKS - Thanks! That brings up a question I've been meaning to ask. I was at Barnes and Noble a couple of week-ends ago. Before I got kicked out (that's another story for another time ), I noticed a whole bunch of Texas Hold Em books. If you were to recommend ONE BOOK, which one would it be? I'm thinking they'll probably let me back into the store...

Definitely would be the Lee Jones book I quoted. Very good all-around book that uses simple terms for complicated theory.

Even has little quizzes at the end of each major chapter to reinforce the key points, which is very helpful.

 

[VF21]

You got kicked out of Barnes and Noble? ROTFLMAO. Do tell

Well, let's just put it this way:

If a store in Northern California is going to carry daily calendars for sports teams, one would think they'd carry the one for the closest franchise, right? And one would think the manager of the store would understand that a customer sporting a Kings t-shirt, purple fingernails, and a Kings themed Italian charm bracelet asking for the location of the KINGS daily calendars wouldn't be very happy if said manager directed said customer to the LAKERS daily calendars instead... Wouldn't one?

 

[VF21]

About the book: Thanks, all, for the info and thanks, 6th, for the offer. I'll probably order it myself. Sounds like something worth reading more than once.

 

[Iggy]

I;'ve just bought doyle brunson's super system

 

[AceKingSuited]

That's cool, I hear it's a must read. Please let us know how it is when you're done.

 

[6th]

Got my Lee Jones book today. Hopefully, I will have time to read some of it this weekend.

 

[NME]

I'm giving "Winning Low Limit" a second read-through now - lots of good information and quite concisely and painlessly presented. I hear that some criticize Jones's tactics as a bit on the passive side, but even the detractors still seem to agree it's an essential read. Next I'm moving on to a couple of books that I've read are good early texts - "Hold'em Excellence" by Lou Krieger, and "The Complete Guide to Hold'em" by Gary Carson.

After that I plan to read "Small Stakes Hold'em" by Ed Miller which is getting rave reviews from low limit players. It's a bit more advanced, but I figure those other books should give me a solid starting foundation, and I want to get somewhat proficient in Limit Ring Game strategy before I get too much into No Limit or Tournament play. I'll probably cycle through the above books a few times, and then mix in "Theory of Poker" and "Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players" by Sklansky.

By the way, for those who want to read up on no limit, from my research the consensus seems to point to Brunson's section in "Super/System" (as Iggy mentioned), "Pot Limit & No Limit Poker" by Ciaffone and Reuben, and "Championship No Limit and Pot Limit Hold'em" by McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier. Apparantly, there's not a whole lot out there to recommend written on No Limit in particular. I guess I'll get to these eventually in my curriculum.