Friday, August 8, 2008

Winning Poker From Home

By Hairy Gingo


To some it might seem frivolous to want to make playing poker a profession. There is no other profession desired by others. To the rest of the people, playing poker is a fun pastime that not only can be financially rewarding but also a powerful confidence boost.

For those of us who wish to make money from playing poker, professionally or otherwise, it is necessary to know a few simple rules of the game. The most important rule, when playing a game like poker, is to know your opponents. Knowing the other players and the signs the players provide telling you whether they have a good hand or a poor one, will help you become the best poker player you can be.

These signs that players have are called tells. It is almost like holding your hand so everyone can see what cards you have when you have a tell. Facial expressions that come when you have a winning or losing hand to how you bet are different tells.

Facial expressions like surprise or anguish are beginner tells that most players who have been playing for a while will no longer convey. Knowing your own facial expressions and controlling them is a rudimentary law of poker. This tell is, if you are playing with seasoned players, one that you cannot always trust.

Most People cannot control consciously the basic of tells which is the betting. Forcing other players to bet more on a hand that the player knows will not succeed is being an aggressive player. In most cases this is a good move.

The bettor usually has a very low hand that might win, like an ace in the hole, in a case where aggressive playing is a good choice. If the other players do not have many chips left, it is a good play to bet aggressively. However, if the other players, or at least one of them, has a better amount of chips, that player can equally force you to bet all in when you only have a slim chance of winning.

Pay equal attention to the other players' tells and the other characteristics of the game. An important characteristic you should watch is what cards are in the window, or the community cards, and how the other players are betting on them. It is a good idea to fold your hand if the window and the betting show that someone has a sure-fire winner.

If you have a matching pair in the face-down cards you were dealt in the beginning of the round, the hole, then you have a good hand. It is a hand with which you can play aggressively even if it is just a pair of twos. Bluffing with a pair usually wins because the chances of getting a pair are much higher than getting two pair.

If you have only an ace in the hole, and no other player seems to want to bet more than the minimum, then the chances are that they do not have a pair. With this, you can bet, but not aggressively, unless you enjoy risks and have enough money to back up your adventuresome nature. There is always the chance that the window will reveal a pair to an opponent.

It is a good bet that you might get a flush if you have a matching suit in the hole and at least two more show up in the flop, because another of that suit might come with the turn or the river, the last two cards dealt. This is, however, just as hard to pull as the inside of a straight. Make sure that you have a backup plan for that hand if you are going to bet because there is actually less than a .5% chance of getting either a flush or a straight.

A good play is any play that you feel comfortable with. You will be able to tell what to do with the first two cards you are dealt, after you have been playing for a while against people who have a little knowledge of the game. Most important, watch for tells, yours and theirs.

About the Author:

No comments: