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Oct 27, 2007

The Odds by Clonie Gowen

A Way To Approximate The Odds
by Clonie Gowen



It is very difficult to calculate the exact odds of hitting a drawing
hand when you're sitting at the poker table. Unless you're a genius with
a gift for mathematics like Chris Ferguson, you will not be able to do
it. That leaves two options for the rest of us: The first option is to
sit at home with a calculator, figure out the odds for every possible
combination of draws, and then memorize them. That way, no matter what
situation comes up, you always know the odds. But for those of us
without a perfect memory, there's an easier way. Here is a simple trick for
estimating those odds.

The first thing you need to do is to figure out how many "outs" you
have. An "out" is any card that gives you a made hand. To do this, simply
count the number of cards available that give the hand you are drawing
to. For example: suppose you hold Ac 8c and the flop comes Qh 9c 4c.
You have a flush draw. There are thirteen clubs in the deck and you are
looking at four of them -- the two in your hand, and the two on the
board. That leaves nine clubs left in the deck, and two chances to hit one.


The trick to figuring out the approximate percentage chance of hitting
the flush is to multiply your outs times the number of chances to hit
it. In this case that would be nine outs multiplied by two chances, or
eighteen. Then take that number, multiply times two, and add a
percentage sign. The approximate percentage of the time you will make the flush
is 36%. (The exact percentage is 34.97%.) Now let's say that on that
same flop you hold the Jd Th. In this case you would have an open ended
straight draw with eight outs to hit the straight (four kings and four
eights). Eight outs with two cards to come gives you sixteen outs.
Multiply times two and you will hit the straight approximately 32% (31.46%
exactly) of the time.

One important thing to keep in mind is that the percentage stated is
merely the percentage of the time that you will hit the hand you are
drawing to, NOT the percentage of time that you will win the pot. You may
hit your hand and still lose. In the first example, the Qc will pair the
board and may give somearticle a full house. In the second example
both the Kc and the 8c will put a possible flush on the board, giving you
the straight, but not necessarily the winning hand. Still, knowing the
approximate likelihood of making your hand is a good beginning step on
the road to better poker.

Good Luck!

Clonie Gowen

Oct 24, 2007

Poker Chip Review

Poker chips from iconpoker.com
From their webpage;
Icon Poker announces their new wager marker, the .001 series for the consumer market. At 13 grams, the .001 meets the consumer's desire for a heavy casino chip, while providing a level of craftsmanship that was not available until now.

The new .001 features Icon's integrated full color print technology. All images are integrated into the surface of the marker. There are no labels to peel, no paint to scratch. The full color, high dpi quality imprint will last the functional life of the marker.


I received my sample chips via UPS yesterday. After spending some time trying to get the "new" off of them, I decided to put these chips through a little stress. Let's just say that short of hitting 'em with a hammer, they withstood just fine. At 13 grams each, these chips have a really good feel and a great sound. The images are embedded in each chip so well that I couldn't make a mark on them with my fingernail, and I have some hard fingernails. I even took 2 of the chips, rubbing the edge of one against the image of the other and nothing, no transfer of color or scratching of either surface. The image actually seems to be part of the chip. The sample set had 9 different chip colors; black, blue, orange, pink, red, yellow, green, gray, and purple. Another great feature of these chips is that they are made right here in the gold ole USA. If you are looking for a nice set of chips, that can handle the abuse, and can be fully customized, these chips are it.

Oct 23, 2007

Getting Burned on Straight & Flush Draws?

Have you ever lost a huge pot because you had a flush draw
or straight draw and didn't catch the card you needed?

It's happened to all of us.

And frankly, it sucks.

Because when you're on a draw, you're just ONE CARD AWAY
from raking in a ton of chips.

And you WANT to keep calling everyone else's bets, in hopes
that your card will pop out on the turn or river.

Am I right?

Of course, what ends up happening is you have to put a ton
of your chips in the middle... just to call everyone else's
bets.

That makes you pot-committed... and if you DON'T catch your
card, you're screwed.

Now let me ask you...

Wouldn't it be WONDERFUL if every time you were on a draw
all the other players would CHECK around?

That way you didn't have to risk any chips, and could bet
only after you KNEW for sure whether or not you caught your
card.

That sure would be nice, wouldn't it?

AND...

What if there was a way to STILL WIN THE HAND... even if you
DIDN'T catch your card?

That'd be nice too, huh?

Luckily, there IS a technique you can use to make BOTH of
these things happen.

Let me show you how...

OK, so let's say I'm at an 8-person no limit table and I'm
sixth to act.

I'm dealt a 5-6 of diamonds.

Josh comes out firing with a $10 pre-flop bet. Sarah and
Derek both call.

Now it's on me.

I love suited connectors... especially busting my opponents
with them unexpectedly, so I jump in and call.

The players behind me muck their cards right away... scared
to death of so much action.

The flop hits:

4d-9s-7d

That means I've just flopped an open-ended straight flush
draw. I couldn't have asked for a better flop in this
situation.

Unfortunately, Josh comes out firing (again) with a
no-hesitation bet of $20.

Sarah and Derek both FOLD this time...

And the action is to me.

I'm putting Josh on a high pocket pair, or maybe A9 or A7.
And he's figuring the scraps on the board didn't help
anyone, hence the strong bet.

Which puts me in a tough situation.

Think about it... If I CALL, I might miss my flush or
straight on the turn card. Then what? Josh will make another
strong bet... what will I do then?

And if I call to see the river and miss, then I'll have just
given Josh most of my chips and lost a major hand.

On the other hand, I don't want to FOLD, because I have a
ton of outs and I want to WIN this!

Now let me ask you, what would YOU do in this situation?

Most amateur card players don't think ahead, and they'd call
Josh's $20 bet. And if they missed on the turn, they'd call
another bet to see the river.

And if they missed on the river, they'd probably fold, watch
Josh rake in all the chips, and wonder why they "never catch
the right cards".

Now a more skillful player would ANTICIPATE what's about to
happen... and would probably call to see the turn, but then
fold if Josh bet again.

And of course, there are always the tight players who would
never have played the 5-6 of diamonds in the FIRST place.

So what do I do?

Remember, I'm sitting on 5-6 of diamonds. The board reads:

4d-9s-7d

And Josh, who made a strong pre-flop raise, just bet $20
after the flop.

Here's the answer...

I RAISE.

Not some wimpy raise either... I raise him $40 more to play.

Most players would NEVER think to raise in this situation...
but here's what I've done:

1. I've TAKEN CONTROL of the hand and bought myself a FREE
CARD when it matters most.

You see, if Josh calls the $40 raise, when the turn hits
he'll CHECK to me.

(Remember what I said at the beginning of this email?)

That means I get to see the turn and river for a total of
$40 more, which is a BARGAIN compared to what Josh's next
bet would have cost me.

2. I'm representing possible trips.

Josh now has to wonder whether I called his pre-flop raise
with a low pocket pair and just caught trips on the flop.

Or I could be sitting on a high pocket pair and I'm not
"phased" by the flop.

3. I've raised the stakes of the hand in MY favor... not
his. You see, if I just call Josh's bets and then hit a 8 of
diamonds on the turn, what will happen?

Well, Josh will SEE the three diamonds and the straight
possibility, and he probably won't make any more huge bets
or call any huge bets from me.

This way, I've raised the stakes $40, which increases MY
CHANCES at winning an even bigger pot than if I had just
called.

Make sense?

And last but not least...

4. I've given myself a way to WIN even if I don't catch the
straight or flush.

Now I get to see Josh's reaction to my $40 raise...

If I sense weakness, I may decide to BLUFF and buy this pot
if I don't catch my flush or straight.

If I only call Josh's bets the whole way, he would't fall
for this type of bluff. But my raise of $40 will sure get
him thinking.

OKAY, BACK TO THE HAND...

Josh shuffles his chips around for a moment, and looks back
down at his cards. It turns out he's holding an A9... so
he's got top pair with the kicker. A good hand, but not a
monster by any means.

He calls.

The next card comes out... Queen of spades.

No help.

Josh checks.

THAT WAS IMPORTANT.

This is my "free card" opportunity that my $40 raise bought.

Now I'm in complete control... and feeling pretty good about
this hand.

I can check and see the river for free. I've still got a lot
of outs here.

Or I can bet STRONG and try to scare Josh away.

"One hundred dollars", I say, as I push a huge stack of red
chips into the middle.

True, I only have a Queen high... and the beginner card
player may think this type of play is crazy.

But then again, that's why they're called "BEGINNERS".

Anyway...

Josh thinks for a minute and then mucks it.

I rake in a beautiful pot.

Even if Josh had called, I still had a good number of outs.
And if I missed, I could have tried to bluff again.

Now think back to when the flop came out...

After Josh bet $20, what if I had called? (And not raised.)

Well, here's what would have happened...

The Queen would have came and Josh would've immediately
fired a huge $80 bet.

I would've had to either call the $80 to see the river, or
muck my beautiful straight flush draw.

And THAT, my friend, is why it's CRUCIAL that you TAKE
CONTROL of the betting.

This type of technique allows you to truly DOMINATE THE
TABLES and win more money playing poker. Period.

From: Roy Rounder Oct 22, 2007

Oct 21, 2007

Dangerous Mistake Playing Out of Position

Here is a DANGEROUS MISTAKE that I'd say about 97% of people
make when playing Texas Holdem:

THEY DON'T KNOW THE RIGHT METHOD FOR PLAYING IN FIRST
POSITION, BEFORE THE FLOP.

This is the player immediately to the left of the big blind.
It's the first person to act as soon as the cards are dealt.

This position is nicknamed "under the gun".

And with good reason, too.

Because this is THE most DANGEROUS and COSTLY position at
the table.

Here's why:

1. When you're under the gun, you are FIRST to act BEFORE
the flop... and one of the first to act AFTER the flop.

This means you DON'T EVEN GET A CHANCE to get a read on the
other players before you must make your decisions about
betting...

2. The other players can check-raise you, trap you, and get
a READ on YOU much more easily when you're in this position
at the table...

3. You are more likely to get bluffed, pushed around, out
drawn, and BEAT when you're in this position.

Let's examine WHY this table position is so terrible... and
what proven strategies you can use to play under the gun
PROPERLY, so that you don't lose any more money because of
it.

Here's an example...

Let's say you're under the gun at an 8-man table.

You get your cards and look down at an A-10 off-suit. You
decide to limp in, and you call the big blind (50).

The action goes around the table to the other players. The
man on the button (Don) decides to RAISE and make it 300
total to play.

You're not sure if this is a position raise, or if he really
does have a solid hand.

With all the chips already in the pot... plus the 50 you
already put in from your own stack, you decide to call with
your A-10.

There's one other caller, and both the big blind and small
blind players fold.

The flop comes out:

A-3-6

All different suits.

You've hit top pair. Congratulations.

What sucks is that you're FIRST to act, and you know that
Don is probably going to raise you no matter what you do...

But you don't have a read on Don or the other player. If Don
raises, you have to call, right? I mean, you hit top pair in
a raised pot.

So let's say you throw out a "feeler bet", just to see where
you're at.

Don calls, and the other guy folds.

Hmmmm... so now you wonder if Don is SLOW-PLAYING a big
hand or if he's just going to bluff at this.

The turn comes. It's an 8.

You check... and now Don bets 1000.

What now?

You're "pot committed" and you still have top-pair, so you
decide to call.

Now the river comes, you check again, and Don goes all-in
for 3000 more.

You've already got about 1500 in the pot. You're getting
over 2:1 on your money, and you're really not sure if Don's
bluffing or not. So you call...

And sure enough, Don throws over his Big Slick (A-K), and
rakes in the pot.

Ouch.

And the REASON you lost that big pot wasn't just the
cards... it was your POSITIONING.

If you're under the gun and you hit top pair on the flop,
you're just ASKING for trouble...

Because it's very difficult to get an accurate read on your
opponents when you're first to act.

I mean... let's just look at the many ways you can LOSE your
money when playing under the gun:

- If you call the blinds, but then the pot gets raised
before the flop and you fold. (You've lost your blinds.)

- If you call the blinds (and maybe a pre-flop raise) and
the flop is no help to you. You check, and there's a big bet
by another player and you are forced to fold.

- If you bet after the flop but get raised and are forced to
fold.

- If you have a good hand but someone else has a MONSTER and
slow-plays you. (It's much easier for someone to slow-play
you when you're first to act.)

- And more...

Now multiply all of these LOSSES by the number of times you
will be under the gun every single time you play cards.

The result is a TON of lost chips...

But I do have good news:

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

You don't have to lose money every time you're first to act
before the flop...

You just have to know EXACTLY WHICH HANDS TO PLAY and HOW TO
PLAY THEM.

Let's take a look...

In our example above, the biggest mistake made was playing
A-10 in the first place.

Since under the gun positioning is so dangerous, you
shouldn't play anything except PREMIUM HANDS.

The rule is this: TIGHTEN UP YOUR GAME.

Only play these exact hands:

A-K, A-Q, K-Q, and pairs.

The only other hand you may want to play is suited
connectors, but that just depends on your style...
Personally, I don't like to play them here.

OK, now let's look at HOW to play the starting hands. There
are basically two groups:

Group 1: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K.

Group 2: A-Q, K-Q, and all other pairs.

Got it?

Now stick with me here, because this is VERY SIMPLE to
understand and will save you a lot of money at the Holdem
tables.

When you're under the gun, you should always CALL THE BLINDS
(LIMP-IN) when you get any hand in Group 2.

That means if you get any pair between 2's and Jacks... or
A-Q or K-Q... you should CALL.

Period.

The goal is to hit something good on the flop. If someone
makes a reasonable raise before the flop, you can feel
comfortable calling it with one of these hands.

I love playing small pocket pairs, because if you spike your
card on the flop (giving you a three of a kind or a "set"),
your opponents will usually never see it coming.

Now let's talk about Group 1 hands. The monsters:

A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K

The way you play these depends on whether the table you're
at is LOOSE or TIGHT.

Here's the rule:

If you're at a LOOSE table (where a lot of pre-flop raises
occur), you should LIMP-IN (call) with your monster.

If you're at a TIGHT table (where not many pre-flop raises
occur), you should RAISE the pot before the flop.

Here's why...

If the table is LOOSE, and you limp-in before the flop, the
pot will most likely get RAISED and the action will come
BACK to you.

This is good. It means more money in the pot for your
monster hand.

But if you make a big bet, there's a good chance you will
NOT get raised. Because you're first to act and everyone
will know you probably have a good hand.

If you limp-in and the pot gets raised, you should probably
make a RE-RAISE. Always try to get as much money in the pot
whenever possible with your monster hand...

But you DON'T want more than 1-2 callers, because that would
increase the odds of catching a bad beat.

Now if the table is TIGHT, you want to make a RAISE before
the flop. You don't want a bunch of players to all limp-in
and see a cheap flop...

Instead, you want to narrow down the field to 1-2 players
and get some money in the middle before the flop. Period.

Playing first position before the flop is just plain
tricky...

You're first to act pre-flop, in early position after the
flop, you can't get as good of a read on your opponents, and
you're at risk to getting slow-played.

So just remember, the next time you're under the gun, follow
these three simple rules:

1. Only play premium hands: pairs, AK, AQ, or KQ.

2. With AA, KK, QQ, and AK, you should RAISE at a tight
table and LIMP-IN at a loose table.

3. With the other starting hands you should just LIMP-IN.

Play by these easy rules and you'll stop losing money and
start MAKING money from this very dangerous position.

And you'll have a MAJOR ADVANTAGE over everyone else at the
table who DOESN'T know this strategy.

Which brings me to my next point...

You should always try to have MORE POKER KNOWLEDGE than the
other guys at the table... because if you do, you've
literally "stacked the deck" in your favor.

But if other guys you're up against know MORE about the game
than YOU, you're going to be in DEEP TROUBLE...

Because poker is a SKILL game... and it is very complex. If
you want to learn how to play and WIN, you've got to know
the strategies and techniques of the pros.

From: Roy Rounder Oct 12, 2007

Oct 19, 2007

How to Play Big Slick

The way to play Big Slick (AK) depends largely on your
positioning, how many players are in the hand, your "read"
on the situation, and so on.

Remember this mantra:

PLAY THE PLAYER, NOT THE CARDS.

Is Big Slick a monster hand?

Yes, of course it is.

But you'll get BURNT with it if you don't take the right
things into consideration.

When you're in late positioning, you should raise
aggressively pre-flop with Big Slick and try to narrow the
field down to one or two callers.

If you're in an early position, you should make a raise with
the same goal in mind: to narrow it down to a caller or two.
Except this time, you'll have to use more of your
"intuition" to decide how large your bet will need to be.

With Big Slick, you want to get RID of anyone at the table
who's holding a deuce... that way you're not scared about an
opponent having a pair of two's!

After the flop, YES, you should represent with a bet. Don't
CHECK the flop after making a pre-flop raise... only a wuss
does something like that.

If the board hits all scraps, you should be able to take the
pot down no problem. Make your opponents put you on a hand
like K-K or A-A and force them to fold.

If the board hits with either your King or Ace, once again
you'll have no problem winning the pot.

The times you need be careful are when either:

1. You think your opponent has a monster hand, like Kings or
Aces. (If this happens, fold!)

2. The board pairs up or there's a straight or flush draw
there.

In the latter case, you want to be careful not to bet into
your opponent if he's holding trips or a draw.

You won't be able to force him to fold, and you'll have
gotten yourself into a lot of trouble.

Now... if you represent the flop with nothing but Ace high
and your opponent calls, NOW it's time to back down.

If the turn card doesn't help you, just ease off.

Cut your losses and move on.

From: Roy Rounder Oct 7, 2007

Oct 15, 2007

The Donkey Ten Commandments

1. Play every hand. You never know when the poker gods will bless you with an incredible suck out. Consider all money you lost a sacrifice for your big score.

2. Play any suited cards. They are a gift from the poker gods and should never be squandered.

3. Call any all in when you hold any of face card. Even with a kicker of 2. Again these are a gift from the poker gods. They shouldn't be squandered.

4. Always call from the blinds. The poker gods will look kindly on you and give you a good flop.

5. Never let some bluff you out of the pot if you hold any of the following hands. An A with and kicker suited or not. You could catch an A on the river and squash them. That goes for Kx QX and Jx too. Any three to a flush or three to a straight. You never know. They could have nothing and you could catch runner runner.

6. When you catch the only card on the river that would beat the trip aces, or any other hand that had you preflop and all the way to the turn make sure and comment about how good a player you are and how stupid they were for ignoring your mastery at the poker table.

7. Kick and scream when you don't get your 2 outer on the river. Call the player the Anti-Poker God and say he is in league with the forces of evil and should be burnt at the stake.

8. Always check your good hands and bet at the river. If the other players made it that far they will always call you on the river. You will have the best hand as reward for your patience.

9. Any two cards can win. Always remember that. They are words to live by.

10. Never read any poker books or articles. They will only ruin you as a player. Remember. POKER IS ALL LUCK. Anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot.

Oct 13, 2007

SNGs Made Easy by Howard Lederer

Sit N Goes Made Easy
by Howard Lederer

====================================================================

The Sit N Go (SNG) is online poker's great gift to the aspiring
tournament player. Prior to the SNG, final table experience was hard to come
by. You could enter a dozen multi-table tournaments and never find
yourself at a final table. Or you could make one or two, only to get knocked
out in 8th or 9th place. Adapting to an ever-diminishing number of
players at a single table is a crucial skill in tournament poker, and it's
a hard experience to find offline without investing a lot of time and
money. Online, this experience is a mouse-click away. The SNG's
advantages are many. For starters, it's low-cost, or even free. It's also fun,
and convenient: You don't need to schedule it -- a SNG starts every
time the table fills up -- and it's usually over in less than an hour. It
is the flight simulator of Final Table play, and mastering it should
be considered mandatory homework for the serious student.

Now that you know why you should play, let's look at how:

The most obvious difference between a SNG and a multi-table tournament
is that when someone goes broke in a SNG, there isn't someone waiting
to fill their spot. Multi-table play consists mostly of full-table, ring
game poker. But as players get eliminated from a SNG, the table gets
shorter- and shorter-handed. This reduction in players basically serves
to artificially raise the antes. For instance, say you are playing
five-handed and the blinds are 100-200: You are paying 300 in blinds for
every five hands, or 60 per hand. As soon as someone gets knocked out,
you're four-handed. Now you're paying 75 per hand -- a 25% increase --
despite the fact that the blinds have remained the same. Accordingly,
you're forced to gamble more, or risk getting blinded out.

Since the size of the blinds relative to your stack size should always
play a major role in you hand selection, I recommend starting out with
pretty conservative starting hand requirements. This serves two
functions: First, the blinds dictate that you play fairly tight early; the
blinds are small and you are nine-handed, so they don't come around as
often. Second, this helps you establish a tight image, which you hope will
pay off later when the blinds are high and you might really need a
timely ante steal.

But there is another not-so-obvious reason to play tighter earlier and
looser later: The payout structure rewards tight play. Most SNG's pay
50% to first, 30% to second, and 20% to third. This payout structure
dictates that you play for third. Why? Looking at the payout structure
another way might help. Basically, the payout means that 60% gets awarded
once you are down to three players, 20% gets awarded when you get down
to two players, and the final 20% gets awarded to the winner. If you
can just get to third, you get at least one-third of 60% of the prize
pool, or 20%. You've locked up a profit, and you have a chance to win up
to 30% more. It's only now that you're in the top three that your
strategy should take an abrupt turn. Now it pays to gamble for the win. Let's
look at the numbers again: 60% of the prize pool is off the table, and
moving up one spot is worth only another 10%. But move up just one
more spot and it's worth a whopping 30% extra -- that's three times more
for first than it is for second. And with the blinds going up, gambling
for the win is even more clearly the correct play.

I see many players employ a nearly opposite strategy. They figure they
have nothing to lose, so they go for the quick double-up early. They
take chances too soon when, in their view, there's "nothing on the line".
Then, once they're in the money, they tighten up, thinking about that
extra payout for moving up a spot. If you start to rethink your SNG
approach and adopt a "slow early, fast late" strategy, you will see an
almost immediate improvement in your results.

Oct 8, 2007

Playing Big Slick

The way to play Big Slick (AK) depends largely on your
positioning, how many players are in the hand, your "read"
on the situation, and so on.

Remember this mantra:

PLAY THE PLAYER, NOT THE CARDS.

Is Big Slick a monster hand?

Yes, of course it is.

But you'll get BURNT with it if you don't take the right
things into consideration.

When you're in late positioning, you should raise
aggressively pre-flop with Big Slick and try to narrow the
field down to one or two callers.

If you're in an early position, you should make a raise with
the same goal in mind: to narrow it down to a caller or two.
Except this time, you'll have to use more of your
"intuition" to decide how large your bet will need to be.

With Big Slick, you want to get RID of anyone at the table
who's holding a deuce... that way you're not scared about an
opponent having a pair of two's!

After the flop, YES, you should represent with a bet. Don't
CHECK the flop after making a pre-flop raise... only a wuss
does something like that.

If the board hits all scraps, you should be able to take the
pot down no problem. Make your opponents put you on a hand
like K-K or A-A and force them to fold.

If the board hits with either your King or Ace, once again
you'll have no problem winning the pot.

The times you need be careful are when either:

1. You think your opponent has a monster hand, like Kings or
Aces. (If this happens, fold!)

2. The board pairs up or there's a straight or flush draw
there.

In the latter case, you want to be careful not to bet into
your opponent if he's holding trips or a draw.

You won't be able to force him to fold, and you'll have
gotten yourself into a lot of trouble.

Now... if you represent the flop with nothing but Ace high
and your opponent calls, NOW it's time to back down.

If the turn card doesn't help you, just ease off.

Cut your losses and move on.

From: Roy Rounder

Oct 3, 2007

Poker Meetups

Are you having trouble finding a local game? Well, check out this site to find poker games in your area. Poker Meetup is a great site to post your game or find games near you. The listings usualy show you the type of game, buy in, stakes, and location. You can directly email the host and hook up for play. Enjoy.

The Ogre