Your average, run-of-the-mill poker strategy suggests that you see cards as cheaply as possible with drawing hands. The obvious thinking behind this strategy is that you don’t want to waste money on a non-made hand. But if you’ve ever seen some of the aggressive high stakes players like Viktor “Isildur1” Blom ...
There is a common concept in online poker about trying to find out where you are in a hand. Unfortunately novice players often fail to get the hang of this concept and end up getting pot committed. Let us look at an example to highlight what I mean. ...
Preflop: AA96. Assume that all relevant players have $400 in their stack. Any hand with AA is strong enough to play preflop, but this is a fairly weak one. With a hand like this you don’t want to put in too much action unless you can get the majority of your (or your opponent’s) stack all-in ...
In my Beginner’s Guide to Pot Limit Omaha I went over a few of the basic preflop principles, but now I want to give you a more practical guide to choosing which hands to play. The huge majority of Omaha players play far too loose before the flop. ...
Preflop: You’re playing 10/20 Limit Hold’em. You’re on the button and you have KTo. Everyone folds to you. Even though KTo isn’t a premium hand, it’s more than enough to raise with when you’re in position . ...
Preflop: AQ. You’re at a loose $1/$2 NL Hold’em table. You have $250 in your stack. An early position player with $50 left makes it $6 to go. He’s a fairly aggressive player before the flop who could have a fairly wide range of hands. ...
Hand History Analysis — 2/4 Omaha Hi-Lo This hand is typical of some of the decisions that are common at lower stakes Omaha Hi-Lo games. Pots are often multi-way, and get lots of action. This is taken from a 10 handed, $2/$4 Omaha Hi-Lo game. Preflop: A25K. You are in early position playing ...
The game is 6-handed $200 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha, with blinds of $1 and $2. Your stack is $300. Preflop: You have KK75 in early position. Some aggressive players will enter the pot in early position for a raise with this hand, but unless the game was tight and I thought I ...
In the articles in this hand analysis section of the poker school, I walk you through my thought processes as I play a hand. Although you may disagree with individual decisions (and be right!), my hope is that you’ll learn something new from the way I think about a hand, especially how I try to ...
7 Card Stud Hi-Lo is one of the most entertaining poker games around. A classic in most home games, it figures to become more popular online as well. As with all split-pot games, the prospect of two winners leads to a lot of action and a lot of bad and crazy play. ...
Preflop: You’re playing $1/$2 Pot Limit Omaha. The game is 6-handed and your stack is $200. You’re in early position, with AJJ10. A strong hand. You can either call or raise. I don’t like to raise preflop in early position too much, because positional advantage is extremely important in Pot Limit Omaha. Let’s say ...
Putting an opponent on a hand is one of the most important skills in any poker game. However, many players, especially beginners, have the wrong idea about what “putting a player on a hand” means. These players think it means picking a single hand that you think your opponent has and playing ...