How to Win at Poker

Position is practically the only way to win at pokerboya.

Most players lose position all the time. They argue that it’s not as important as other factors such as your cards, but position is an important concept. Position, much like game flow, is something you can exploit to the extreme, and nothing pairs better than pocket aces. Let’s take a look at some interesting aspects of holding position and how to approach it.

The first thing to consider in an online situation, especially with a tighter range, is to identify the plays you are COM equipped to exploit. These types of powers are rarely used in live games. A basic rule of thumb is that you don’t want to be in early position. You will always be dealing with a few imprinted players in the blinds who are keen to see the flop and take any chance they get. Their range is extremely weak, and even though they may be opening with a wide range, they are as Drawn as a button. Come over the top of these players with a big pair every now and then, and slowly work your way up the stakes. Play your tight aces and suited connectors aggressively against these type of players, and you will start to win a lot of small pots without many confrontations. If you are in early position, you can play looser and be more likely to run into trouble.

When you are in late position, or the cutoff to the right of the blinds, you want to play your big hands a lot more cautiously. Even still, you will still want to use your position to your advantage at times. How you do this largely depends on your opponent. Observe your opponents and their playing style. If you are playing against a player who is keen to call raises, all-in with quits is generally the playing style you want to try. Against a player like this, you can get away with playing your hand a lot more aggressively and simply playing for the kill. If you think you are up against a good player, simply setting a trap is a good strategy. He may bet out on the flop with a good hand, but will back off if you bet large.

The cutoff and button are your main opposition and should be your first concern after seeing a flop. Take careful aim when using an Ace or King if your opponent is using connectors or face cards to try and make a straight. When an Ace or KingFloats, you should keep the pot small unless the board has other high cards that make it worth your while to go out. These cards are more likely to have a solid low hand, and you should be able to take the pot without many raises. When the blinds get high, you should look to steal the blinds with small raises. Low limit players seem to realize that you are not raising on marginal hands, so they are more likely to fold to you when you have a strong hand. Remember to always monitor your opponents chip stack and emotional state. If they are pot committed, they are probably� aware that you have a better hand and are more likely to fold, unless they think you board cards are really good.

Conclusion: Use your position at the table to your advantage at all times. If you are in late position and no one has raised in front of you, its probably best to just call the blind and hope to get heads up in a few hands. Use your position to your advantage at all times and you will win more pots than you do now.

The Real Poker Crack to Winning Online Poker

You have probably heard players complain that pokerstars is rigged or you may yourself have been a victim of the rigged poker sites.  Although on the surface it appears that online poker is fairly honest (with most of the sites being real money poker rooms), a deeper look reveals a different story.

Most of the bad beats you witness online are because of two factors.  One is a player going about his normal “normal” poker strategy and the other is a simple computer cheating.

The popular poker term of rigged poker sites is apt, as the sites are rigged to “pig” or hurt your stack size in the hopes of getting you to fold.  The reason a computer is attempting to break your poker is the same reason that a computer manufactures any software, algorithms included, that gives you bad beats.  The fact is, the computer isSimply Awful at poker, all the time.

Think about it.  Let’s say, for example, that you are holdem-king heads up.  You raise 3x the big blind and get one call.  The flop comes 5-7-9.  Great, you have top pair and a straight draw, in case your opponent has a pocket pair, you are in a good position.

Now, the next card, the 8 of spades, gives your opponent a flush draw.  Granted, your opponent still has you beat, but let’s face the fact that the odds of your opponent hitting a flush on the last card are about 35%, so you probably want this one to go to the river.  That’s when the computers step in, making it an almost 50-50 chance.

Now, the afapoker stars software will Cycle through your opponents, all of them, just keeping track of them, and eventually it will find a match or a pretty close one, where you can take your odds and breather.  The match it finds will probably be the outcome of the hand anyway, so it makes no difference now whether you won or not.  It just finds a situation where you are an overwhelming favorite, whether you are holding or not.

The reason you may be favored in a hand regardless of your cards is because of your position.  In early position, you can be a small favorite.  In middle position, you can be a very large favorite.  In late position, you can be a very small favorite.

The way you play after the turn card is entirely up to you.  Try to play to your strengths and to get value for your hands.  If you have a good hand, you can certainly play free poker, losing nothing.  If you did not hit your hand, you can certainly play for free poker.  But, when you get a monster hand, you might want to start putting in a small raise, or re-raise the pot.

Basic poker strategy often says that you should not slowplay weak hands.  Because, when you play a hand weak, you give your opponents a free shot at the pot.  Don’t be bluffed, don’t be called cheap, and don’t be predictable.  Instead, try to play strong hands most of the time, unless you are pushing against a big stack.

These are some of the basic guidelines for online poker, and they are a good foundation for getting started.  Stay tuned, as this is an ever-growing online poker community, and new possibilities for improving your game will emerge from every corner of the globe.