After years of play, the masters of the most popular poker game
in the world, Texas Holdem, have honed their skills at bluffing,
strategy, slow playing and reading other players. But the one thing
it doesn’t take an expert to know is that the pocket cards
in Holdem hold all the power.
This is the period of the game in which the most important decisions
are made. You have to evaluate position; whether the game is loose
or tight; the skill level of your opponents; and the number of players
who have already called. All of these components, along with those
two cards face down in front of you, will determine whether you
get in or get out.
Since five of the seven cards dealt in Holdem are community cards,
the game is all about what you have in the hole, not all about chasing
pairs. The reason is, if you improve, your adversary usually may
too. If you don’t consistently begin with higher cards than
your adversaries, no matter how many years you’ve put in at
the tables, you will not come out a winner.
If you draw pocket pairs, where odds run 16-1, consider yourself
lucky, and in good position to grab the pot. But you still have
to know how to play them correctly, whether you’re sitting
with a pair or deuces or a monster pair of aces.
High Pairs
Pocket Aces - There is a large advantage with this pair. You have
a huge advantage with this pair, and the first thing that should
go across your mind is maximum profit. However, don’t get
greedy and scare away the entire table away. You want at least two
to three callers left to pluck before the flop. Anymore callers
than that and something strange might occur by the time the river
comes up. In other words, a big pair plays well against a five-player
table, However loses steam to a 10-player table.
Second to aces, of course, are pocket kings, which are almost as
powerful. Your main concern here is letting in drawing hands with
a suited A-X. You’re still coming from a strong position because
an ace will flop only once every eight hands.
A pair of queens is nervous time. You have the confidence of a
monster hand, But the trepidation of getting hit with a king or
ace overcard, a card that opponents may more than likely play. Jacks
can be played like queens, hitting the table with a big raise, betting
on the flop, then hoping everyone folds.
Low Pairs
It is important to understand the value of small pocket pairs.
These hands fall under the category of playing well with very few
(heads-up) or several (6 or more) other players. Once you do decide
to play a small pair, your ultimate goal is to flop three-of-a-kind,
also known as a set. If you have 5-5 and the flop doesn’t
produce the third 5, begin thinking of an exit strategy. So, you
need to think economy class when getting to the flop, playing your
small pair as cheaply as possible. The cost to see the flop with
a small pair should be no more than a single blind bet. And since
it’s rare that a set will be beaten by a higher set, having
two’s in your pocket is only slightly worse than a set of
nine’s. As with any hand, your position makes a difference
on how to play a low pair as well. Since they’re not solid
raise material, early position hurts. Middle is OK in a loose game
and, if you’re aggressive, a raise if you’re near the
button.
The most important advice when playing pocket pairs? "Never
marry small pocket pairs." This means you must be ready to
fold if you do not make a set on the flop.
Kelly Kim has to know the odds are against him. The 31-year-old poker pro from Whittier, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, is going into the final table of the 2008 WSOP Main Event with just 2,620,000 in chips...
Using a formula which has been part of the Dutch government's official determination for games of skill when compared to games of chance, Dutch mathematics professor Ben van der Genugten has criticized the Netherlands' official...
A healthy contingent of star players is expected to be on hand for the main event of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour's upcoming Auckland stop, which begins Oct. 9th at Auckland's SKYCITY Casino. It's the third of five...
Debates about the best-ever poker movie nearly always resolve into discussions of the relative merits of a few favorites, with The Cincinnati Kid (1965) usually figuring as one of a small group of candidates for top honor. The relative
After two days and a couple of timely double-ups, EPT San Remo champion Jason Mercier came out atop the 85-player field at the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour London £1 Million Showdown. Mercier made it through...
For the second consecutive Sunday, the major online tournaments at PokerStars and Full Tilt fell just short of their announced guarantees, thereby offering a bit of extra money for the players that did make it to the fun...
With the World Series of Poker Europe finished and the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour London final table in progress, what better way for 85 of poker's biggest stars, champions and action junkies to spend a rainy Sunday than...
In a comeback for the ages, Michael Martin battled back from a one-time micro stack to take down the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour London Main Event title and its £1,000,000 first prize. The young American beat out...
In a brief update to its home page and a similar e-mailing to its customer base, US-facing site Duplicate Poker pulled the plug on its operations on Sunday, effective immediately. A check of the online Duplicate Poker...
I'll admit right up front that I haven't been impressed with most of the Harrah's poker rooms I've visited. They're adequate, to be sure, but they tend to be, in my opinion, somewhat cold and inflexible with too many rules...
