The next step against poker operators was taken in 2011 when the Department of Justice banned sites of major poker rooms including Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker. Experts said that the campaign against online poker was won. In fact quantity of American players at poker sites decreased dramatically.

Well, anyways online poker is still alive. And the army of supporters of poker legalization grows quite fast. Poker is not a crime thus it should not be treated as criminal offence. Possibly US government will legalize online poker one day. But nowadays some restrictions are applied and just a few poker sites are absolutely legal and accept US players.

Here is the list of online poker sites for US players:

Carbon Poker | Rating 9,83/10 | Deposit bonus 100% up to $600 Read review

Cake Poker | Rating 9,82/10 | Deposit bonus 110% up to $600 Read review

Carbon poker short review

Since “Black Friday” Carbon Poker has become one of the most popular sites among US players. This new poker site with fresh interface belongs to Merge Gaming Network previously known as Poker.com. The software is 100% reliable and trouble free. Moreover it works extremely fast regardless of productivity of your PC.

But the most important hit of Carbon Poker is that this poker site accepts deposits from US players. Poker fans will have a great chance to compete with their fellow men. Large player volume 24/7 is guaranteed. Another advantage is extremely wide game variation offered by Carbon Poker. And the last but not least is great bonuses. Signup today and get amazing 200% bonus on your fist deposit up to $500. Read full Carbon poker review

Cake poker short review

“Black Friday” didn’t force this poker site to stop accepting US players. Luckily Cake Poker managed to survive and increased the quantity of clients. The online poker site is one of the oldest; it was founded in 2006. Cake Poker is owned by respectable PokerListings.

Definitely the most notable advantage of Cake Poker is that the poker site accepts US players without any limitations. The poker site offers great variety of poker games including all types of Texas Holdem and Omaha . Moreover a true poker fan will always find competitors at every limit available at Cake Poker.

Cake Poker is one of the best choices for US players. And don’t forget about generous bonus offered by this poker site. Sign up and receive 110% bonus up to $600. Boost your bankroll signing up through RoomReview.net.

The listed online poker sites are 100% suitable for US players. Thus if you are looking for 1 st class poker experience, Carbon Poker and Cake Poker should be among your first choices. Read full Cake poker review

Note: Since 15 April 15, 2011 – "Black Friday" for PokerStars, Full Tilt poker and UB/AP, popularity of Cake Poker among US residents increased dramatically.

Summary

Cake Poker was founded in 2006 by the group of professional players. For a long time the poker room belonged to Cake network and was operated by Cake Gaming N.V. But recently the room was acquired by PokerListings. And the administration of PokerListings announced upcoming changes, they promised to take Cake Poker to new heights.

Cake Poker is considered as one of the most undervalued poker rooms. The important advantage of this poker room is its availability for players from the USA. Cake Poker accepts deposits from American poker fans. The poker room offers good variety of different poker games. You can find here quite loose game with soft competition. Cake Poker is also famous for its generous and innovative promotions.

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Cake Poker Hits

I would like to underline several advantages of Cake Poker. I believe that the most attractive features of the poker room are the following:

• Perfect game variety
• Works with U.S. players
• There are special “pro” tables for competitive players
• Plenty of weak players
• Wonderful promos
• Outstanding freerolls for newcomers
• Possibility to play via mobile phone  

Cake Poker Misses

Every poker room has got its own misses or cons. Therefore we can also detect several cons of Cake Poker. However I am pretty sure that the misses are not too critical. Still Cake Poker management should consider improving the following things:

• Lack of opponents on high stakes level
• Cake Poker does not support specialized poker software including PokerTracker

Cake Poker Complete Review

Cake Poker is the very reliable poker room with huge client base. The room attracts new players successfully and the recent acquisition by PokerListings will definitely give a great boost to Cake Poker.

Cake Poker Traffic Volumes and Competition

Cake Poker constantly added new rooms to its network. Therefore the auditorium of the room was growing. According to the last year’s data, Cake Poker was among top 10 visited poker rooms. There are more than 1700 active ring game players and more than 6000 tournament players during rush hours. Most Cake Poker clients prefer micro and low-stakes ring games. At the same time it is quite difficult to find opponents at high limit tables.

Cake Poker Game Variety

As it was mentioned Cake Poker offers great variety of poker games. The list of games includes Texas Holdem (NL, FL, PL), Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo, 7-Card Stud and 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo. Mixed games are definitely missing at Cake Poker. Obviously No Limit Texas Holdem is the most popular game among clients of the poker room.

Cake Poker Tournaments

Poker fans who prefer MT tournaments and S&G’s will be definitely pleased with Cake Poker. The poker room offers different tournaments with relatively high guaranteed prize pools. For instance there is the $1 Million Dollar Freeroll Series and Gold Card Tourney ($52 000 guaranteed).

Every Sunday players can participate in the biggest regular tourney – $100 K Guaranteed with $162 buy-in. On the last Sunday of each month $250 K comes into play.

Players can also qualify to biggest live tournaments via Cake Poker satellite. For example the poker room holds tournaments with prize packages for WSOP and WPT. At the same time there are many wonderful freerolls available. 5-6 different freerolls with prize pools up to $50 run daily. You should also take a closer look to Weekend Freerolls ($250 guaranteed). Obviously most people who participate in freerolls play too aggressive and loose therefore it is quite easy to beat them. All first time depositors receive tickets for $500 New Depositor Freeroll.

Cake Poker Promos and Bonuses

Cake Poker offers numerous bonuses and promos. For instance, new clients of the poker room are awarded with 110% bonus on the first deposit up to $600. Newcomers also receive free ticket for New Depositors $500 Freeroll. There is also refer-a-friend bonus system. A player and his friend who becomes a new member can be awarded with $100 each. Cake Poker offers special freerolls for its players. Cake Poker conducts exclusive freerolls for players who follow the poker room in Twitter and Facebook.

Cake Poker Software

Cake Poker uses reliable trouble free software. However the graphics might look a bit primitive. At the same time all important functions are available, e.g. different table layouts, quick notes, statistics, hands history, in-game chat, possibility to play at several tables at the same time.

Cake Poker Customer Support

Unfortunately there is no telephone or instant-chat support available. Therefore you should use e-mail to contact Cake Poker customer support. But first of all it might be wise to visit FAQ section located at cakepoker.com. You can expect to receive fast and comprehensive reply from the customer support. Usually these guys reply in several hours.

Cake Poker Deposit and Withdrawal Options

Cake Poker offers numerous methods for deposit money. You can use Visa, MasterCard, Dinner’s Club, Netteller, Moneybookers, Click and buy, Paysafe, UKash, Maestro and other popular payment systems. Please note that withdrawals can be done only via Netteller, Moneybookers, Click and Buy, PayDirect, Use my Wallet, Eco Card and Direct Bank Transfer. Cake Poker offers 110% bonus on the first deposit up to $600.

My overall impressions of poker experience at Cake Poker are very positive. I believe that this poker room is suitable for both newcomers and experienced poker players. At the same time prohibition of poker software makes Cake Poker a perfect place for amateurs who don’t care about PokerTrackers and other soft. Amateurs have got the same possibilities here as experienced players who usually use specialized software. I would also underline relatively soft competition. Most players at Cake Poker are very weak; they play too loose and ready to call every single bet.

Tom durrrr Dwan is known as a strong Texas Holdem online poker player who has been winning much money playing with big limits.

Full Tilt Poker has published an official press-release on their website. Dwan is called one of the most influential and successful online Texas Holdem players of all times. 23-years old Tom born in New-Jersey deserved fame as offline Texas Holdem player as well. So, he is not only a kind of virtual hero with all achievements reached online. He has won already more than one million playing at different tournaments. Another big achievement is a perfect play at the Fifth Season of High Stakes Poker. Durrrr resisted his famous opponents with a confidence and didn’t show any weaknesses. Tom Dwan has also won biggest ever TV Holdem Poker pot. He has beaten Phil Ivey at Full Tilt Poker’s Million Dollar Cash Game in London and grabbed $1.1 million.

Tom durrrr Dwan started his Texas Holdem career at the age of 17 with a $50 deposit. He was lucky and skilled enough to win money at $5 Sit&Go tournaments. Then he started to play cash-games and in several years became frequent visitor of online poker rooms. Dwan is known as a brave Texas Holdem player who is not frightened of playing with high stakes.

Successful cash-games gave Tom durrrr Dwan needed confidence and he dared to challenge top players. He placed $1.5 million saying that he is ready to compete with any other player who can bet $ 500 000. Tom Dwan promised to beat anybody on the distance of 50 000 hands. This heads-up tournament is known as “Durrrr Chalenge”. And the first rival of Tom Dwan is Finnish professional player Patrick Antonious. Dwan is leading at the moment and his advantage is significant. So, he has got a good chance to outclass Patrick Antonious.

As I said, Tom durrrr Dwan is a famous and charismatic Texas Holdem player. His most notable specialty is an absolute fearlessness. He doesn’t look for weak rivals and play with world top Texas Holdem players. And he plays regularly almost every day. Of course, he doesn’t win always and looses money sometimes. For example, he already lost around $ 2 mln during this year. But failures do not influence him much and Tom continues to play Texas Holdem beating opponent by opponent.

In conclusion I would like to mention that Tom durrrr Dwan became the youngest member of Team Full Tilt pro team. And definitely he has got bright future in Texas Holdem ahead.

Guru of professional poker Doyle Brunson said once:” Different sports hall o fames are arranged for sportsmen who have got a lot of memories but nothing to wait for”. If poker Hall of Fame jury agrees with Old Texas Dolly 30-years old Phil Ivey and Daniel Negranu do not have big chances to be accepted to this highly-respected society. They are just too young for this club. Ivey and Negranu are great players, they really deserve to be in the Hall of Fame and no doubt they will be accepted but not in 2009.This year number one Hall of Fame 2009 candidates are Mike Sexton, Erik Seidel and Barry Greenstein.

Mike Sexton

Mike Sexton was a professional ballroom dancer. Then he started to play poker and became World Poker Tour host. He is very famous and experts say that Sexton is a part of professional poker as well as World Poker Tour brand. Mike Sexton earned $3.8 million playing poker. He holds 1 WSOP bracelet and he has won WSOP 2006 Tournament of Champions. Sexton is a voice of WPT and respected representative person of Party Poker. Thanks to him Party Poker is very popular nowadays. Importance of his input in the development of Party Poker software can scarcely be overestimated. Sexton is also famous for his charity. He makes donations to different charitable institutions quite often.

Poker experts say that Mike Sexton is a number one Hall of Fame 2009 candidate. His chances to be accepted to the Hall of Fame are rated as 4 to 1.

Erik Seidel

Erik worked on Wall-street in New York for long time. Probably his experience in the field of economics helps him to win poker games. His achievements include 8 WSOP bracelets and the WPT title. He has already collected $9.8 million prize money and it is a serious result.

Seidel is a true pro of poker. He reads concepts of all kind of pokers well. Unlike other players he doesn’t specialize on Texas Holdem tournaments only. Moreover Seidel earned a lot of money in Melbourne , Australia at Down Under.

Erik is an opened and versatile person. He publishes notes on Twitter quite often and his commentaries are very emotional. He played in a movie once. He had walk-on part in “Sharper” and was a bluffing poker player.

Poker fans do not know much about Erik’s private life. He tries to keep his perfect reputation clean and there are no dark rumors about him.

His chances to be accepted to the Hall of Fame are rated as 8 to 1.

Barry Greenstein

This ex-programmer is a successful poker pro with 3 WSOP bracelets and 3 WPT titles. During his long career he won $7 million prize money.

Barry started to play card games when he was a kid. He has got wonderful genes for poker. His parents were keen on playing cards and Barry adopted their hobby.

He is 55-years old now and Greenstein is a real shark of Texas Holdem poker.

Barry Greenstein likes to play cash-games with biggest limits at Bobby’s Room in Bellagio. He is a real threat for poker players. This guy is not the easiest opponent and he proved it many times. Barry Greenstein is also famous for his charity. People even call him “Poker Robin Hood”.

His chances to be accepted to the Hall of Fame are rated as 8 to 1.

• You have finished second at one of the most prestigious tournaments. It is a very good result but you are little bit disappointed, are not you?

•  I let it go pretty fast. I was very confident at WSOPE and played strong. I had a chance to win my fifth bracelet. But I have been so unlucky playing at final tables this year! It was a second time I had to stop just in one step from a title! But I have reached one of my goals – I became first in the list of poker players ranged by money earned at different tournaments. And my second place at WSOPE was enough to be number one in this list.

• You have noticed in your blog the input of your mother…

- My parents are much better than me. They are truly kind and wonderful people. If I have something good it came from them. My mother taught me to love people, not only friends or relatives. She was the most disinterested person I ever met.

• You have started to play at the final table of WSOPE with a small stake. And you did a great job to get to the final battle against Shulman. How does it feel to play so brilliant and become only a runner-up?

• It is difficult to understand. I spent 7 hours at the table before all other players except me and Shulman were eliminated. Every time when I fell down I climbed back. And again I faced problems and fell down. When I am thinking about this game I understand that I did everything right. If I had a chance I would not change anything.

•  There are many disputes about WSOPE and Las-Vegas World Series tournaments. Experts compare value of two bracelets.
- Of course, Las-Vegas Main Event bracelet is the main goal. Journalists think that this tournament is the most interesting. But just imagine how difficult it is to win several thousand Texas Holdem players. There were nine strongest players at my first table at WSOPE. It would never happen at World Series in Las-Vegas. People make many mistakes at ME WSOPE. And I had to force opponents to make mistake in London. So, we just talk about two different poker brands. Definitely, WSOPE is the toughest No-Limit Texas Holdem tournament.

• You became number one in the list of poker players ranged by size of winnings after WSOPE. It means that nobody earned more than you at different tournament. How do you feel about it?

- I am really proud. All the more I am proud because I achieved it little by little. Not like Jimmy Gold who won one tournament. I gained 4,5 million in 2004 but it was a big surprise. So, I can repeat that I am really proud.

• Obviously Phil Ivey has got good chances to leave you behind after November Nine. Will you grieve for or against him?

- I will not grieve for him to beat my record. I will grieve for him winning the tournament. He is my friend and best poker player in the world. Imagine, how it would be great if the best poker player wins largest tournament taking biggest prize!

• Let’s go to the society column. You took part in naked photo session for ESPN the Magazine’s Body Issue. Tell us about it.

- I believe everyone was thinking if we need it or not . Actually, I refused the offer twice and decided to take part only at the third time. But as soon as I found out that Patrick Antonius and Gus Hansen won’t take part in photo session I decided to try. I can look fine among other guys.

• Were you nervous during the shooting?
- No I was not cause it was my job. And we had good results. Besides I saw Jennifer Harman naked before. So, I felt comfortable enough. And I became tanned for this project. I also tried to pull in my stomach to look better.

Some experts say that 26-years old Akenhead doesn’t play as good as his opponents from ME WSOP final. But Irish Open champion legendary Neil Chenning doesn’t agree with them. This guru says that Akenhead’s chance to win ME WSOP final is 25 %. Not bad, is not it?

Akenhead is a representative of young poker players group from the UK . He is a member of HitSquad team. This team has been winning Texas Holdem tournament by tournament during last years. They started their careers from cash-games with small stakes. But very soon they became real pros of Texas Holdem and HitSquad enjoys fame at the national level.

Akenhead is considered to be the most talented player of HitSquad. He prefers aggressive style of play and this Texas Holdem strategy works. It is incredible that he has not won any bracelets or big titles in the poker industry. He raised a lot of money playing poker ($ 2.2 million), but he starves for world titles.

He reached final tables at big tournaments several times but he could not climb higher yet. His biggest achievements are:

•  ME GKUPT final table

•  4 th place at 888 UK Open

•  2 nd place at tournament 2 No-Limit Texas Holdem WSOP 2008 $ 1 500 buy-in

Akenhead could win Tournament 2 No-Limit Texas Holdem WSOP 2008 $ 1 500 buy-in but he sunk without a trace because of a bad luck. In the final hand he had A-K and forced his opponent Grant Hinkle to be all-in. Hinkle held 10- 4 in his hands and it looked like a disaster for him. But the flop brought pair of tens and another ten came from the turn. Therefore Hinkle collected four of a kind and won bracelet of the tournament. Akenhead had to be satisfied with $ 520 219.

On the way to November Nine

Akenhead first steps at the tournament were not successful. He tried to bluff and lost most of his chips. His situation was extremely dangerous and the poker player’s stake reached 4 000. But Akenhead got back on the track pretty fast and collected 70 000 chips. This success allowed him to climb on the top and he didn’t make big mistakes keeping his stake. By the end of Day 2B he was among the leaders with 278 000 chips. By the Day 5 Akenhead kept his position in the top 10 having 2.7 million-sized stake.

At the ME WSOP final table Akenhead played with a confidence. But the luck let him down and his A-K was beaten by pocket 8-8. James had to start from the very beginning. He adjusted his Texas Holdem playing style to fight with a small stake and finally Akenhead came up to high positions. Unfortunately he could not capture big amount of chips but the main task is to be in the final of WSOP November Nine was completed.

So, what is next?

Akenhead will have not an easy job to do. His small stake forces him to risk and he will either snip off chips or leave the table pretty fast. No doubts the game at the final table will be challenging for Akenhead. He will be surrounded by the chip-leading Darvin Moon (seat N 1) and legendary Phil Ivey (seat n 3). Knowing ambitions of Akenhead, experts are sure that he will be playing aggressively. Akenhead’s goal is to win his first big title and he will do his best to make his dreams come true. WSOP November Nine is the perfect tournament to prove skills of Akenhead.

Dan Harrington

Dan Harrington is known as “Action Dan”. This former lawyer climbed on the top of world poker five years ago. He became WSOP ME champion in 2003 and 2004. He holds 2 WSOP bracelet 1 WPT title and he has also won WSOP ME 1995.

Dan Harrington made a lot of money playing poker. He collected $6.6 million prize money. It is interesting that Harrington does not participate in Texas Holdem tournaments as often as other top poker players. He aims at just some of the most attractive tournaments and thinks about the quality of his play and not about the quantity.

Pundits outline Harrington input in the development of poker. Dan is a teacher of poker and many young players learn how to play Texas Holdem reading his books. People say that Harrington is a perfect teacher he can easily explain difficult game concepts. Dan definitely is one of the best theorists of poker.

Despite all achievements of Harrington it is difficult to predict if he is going to be accepted to the Hall of Fame. Most experts believe that he has a chance. Maybe we will see him among members of the Hall of Fame this year.

Phil Ivey

Phil is one of the most-titled poker players of the present time. He has collected $12 million at different tournaments in his career. He has also won 7 WSOP bracelets, WPT title. Ivey is one of November Nine member.

This guy is known as a quiet and reserved person. Ivey calls himself “No Home Jerome”. People say that Ivey’s passion is gambling. Once he lost $2 million betting on NBA final 2008. Another famous case of Ivey’s gambling life was recorded at WSOP tournament. Poker player lost somehow $1.1 million playing crops during lunch break!

But it would be unfair just to underline his passion to gamble. Ivey is a highly-respected top-level Texas Holdem player. Most experts say that 33-years old Ivey has a big chance to be accepted to Hall of Fame. And it is fair to say that winning 2009 WSOP title would definitely open gates of the Hall of Fame to Ivey.

Tom McEvoy

Tom McEvoy is a kind of a dark horse in this list. He launched an aggressive self-promotion online campaign using Facebook. His sponsor online poker club PokerStars supports McEvoy and lobbies ex-world champion.

Poker is McEvoy’s passion. He is an active player and he deserves respect. Even poker guru Doyle Brunson marked Tom’s achievements. He said: “Tom is an ambassador of poker. I respect this good fellow. I understand that it is not an easy job to play so often with high stakes. You should be little bit cranky to play on money. But Tom can perfectly stand this pressure”.

He is not rich in comparison with other professional poker players. He has earned $2,9 million. His biggest success is the ME WSOP 1983 championship. He has 4 WSOP bracelet and Champions Invitational 2009.

He is the first player who won Main Event satellite. Many poker players like McEvoy because he supports anti-smoking laws. McEvoy says that it must be prohibited to smoke in casinos. Thanks to him players are not allowed to smoke in poker rooms.

Journalists believe that McEvoy has got a good chance to be accepted to the Hall of Fame. When he started his professional career he was surrounded by many present reigning members of the Hall of Fame. Therefore he has many friends among the Hall of Fame and they might support their fellow-man.

Men «The Master» Nguen

Ex-bus driver Men “The Master” Nguen is famous in Asia . He is a real Texas Holdem poker guru in Vietnam . Most of poker pros from this country learned from Nguen. He bears prestigious nickname “The Godfather” of Vietnamese poker. Nguen has good achievements reflected in prize money. He won $ 9.2 million during his professional career. Men “The Master” Nguen holds 6 WSOP bracelets.

According to rumors, Men Nguen was the head of fraud gang. Nobody could prove it, but rumors did not vanish. Nguen blew away all accusations and did his best to stop gossips. He even threatened to start court process. At the same time Nguen was invited to a court twice. He was charged for breaking different laws but it was not about fraud cases.

As it was mentioned, Men Nguen is famous first of all in Asia . And it is a big obstacle for him to join the Hall of Fame. Therefore bookmakers do not believe that jury will choose him.

Scotty Nguen

This guy was working as a poker dealer for long time. Then he stopped to shuffle cards for others and became a Texas Holdem player. Scotty Nguen is a very successful pro. He holds 5 WPT bracelets and 1 WPT title. He has also won several big tournaments including WSOP ME 1998 and $ 50 000 H.O.R.S.E. His total pot is $10.7 million.

World-wide Fame came to Scotty in 1998 when he won WSOP ME. Nguen outclassed Kevin McBride and his phrase “call and it will be over” became famous. McBride was forced to call and Nguen enjoyed his full-house winning biggest title in his career.

Scotty Nguen stained his good name at $ 50 000 H.O.R.S.E. Poker pro was wasted and just lost his face. Many poker fans turned their backs to Scotty after the accident. Journalists also condemned Nguen actions. “Poker Prince” lost respect of poker world. In comparison with other Hall of Fame 2009 candidates chance of Nguen is not high at all. But surprises happen and jury might decide to mark Nguen’s achievements by taking him into the Hall of Fame.

Daniel Negranu

Daniel Negranu can be called a Cinderella of poker. This guy did not graduate from a university and was just a small bet cheater in Toronto , kind of nobody. But things turned his way when he started to play poker. Canadian player has earned $12.4 million already and is not going to stop. He holds 4 bracelets and 2 WPT titles.

Negranu is known as one of the best offline poker players. He specializes on offline Texas Holdem Tournaments. Nobody else could win as much as him in offline tournaments. It is difficult to believe but Negranu has not won any WSOP ME yet!

In personal life Negranu can not get rid of his betting past. Betting is still his passion and Negranu looses a lot of money. People say that Daniel lost $1 million betting on different golf competitions. Bets make him grow heated.

Anyway Daniel has a small chance to be accepted to Hall of Fame. His chances could be slightly higher if he had won WSOP ME 2009. And Negranu had a wonderful chance to do it but he was beaten by Barry Shulman at the final table.

When you switch on your TV and see Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge first of all you notice staggering design of the show. Colorful stage, flashing lights and irreproachable sound prove high skills of the Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge team. When I watched the show I didn’t even notice many small defects you cannot get rid off making a debut with a show. Show producers did a great job and took care of every small detail. They entertained the audience all the time and it was just a great fun for everybody, including the Texas Holdem players and spectators.

I’d like to underline the input of Chris Rose. This guy is a truly-born showman. Unlike other hosts he was commenting the show all the time and was analyzing actions of the players. Sometimes commenting and analyzing can be destructing. Most commentators are not experienced players therefore they do not understand much. Lack of professionalism just ruins impressions of a show. But it is not about Chris Rose. This guy handled his job perfectly.

But the main star of the show was Daniel Negranu. Negranu carried responsibilities of mentor of John Trapp. Smiling all the time Negranu radiated happiness and was really helpful. Poker pro gave many important advices to Trapp and never stopped to joke.

The first obstacle of Trapp on the way to a $1 million was fourfold NBA champion John Sally. The priest didn’t have the best moments of his life and once he even took prayer beads. Probably Trapp requested spiritual help. But John Sally did the same and took his beads (he is a Baptist). Fortunately the luck played on the side of John Trapp and the priest overcame resistance of Sally in Texas Holdem game.

Trap’s opponent in the second round was Vanessa Russo. The priest already won a trip to Bahamas and was fully resolved to continue his winning streak. This round was even tougher than the first one. According to the rules, Negranu were not allowed to help Trapp anymore and the priest had to use his own knowledge and skills. The fortune did not betray Trap and he won again. This time his prize was $ 100 000.

Trapp could just stop and take his money home after the second round. But encouraged John decided to call out Negranu! Trapp promised to build a new church if he wins $1 million. Spectators gave him standing ovation and one couple even asked the priest to be a godfather to their future kid. Supported by fans Trap somehow outclassed Negranu. Nobody knows if Negranu gave away win in Texas Holdem to Trap or priest was just so lucky. In the decisive hand Trapp collected pair of eights. Negranu was expecting to get straight but finally held no combinations in his hands at all. Anyway the priest became a poker champion on Fox. He will battle against other non-pro winners of Poker Stars Million Challenge. And who knows, maybe the gambling priest who looks so ridiculous at poker table will be this lucky guy and the winner of Poker Stars Million Challenge.

It makes no difference who will win, it is much more important that the new show became successful and no doubts Poker Stars Million Challenge will boost Texas Holdem!

Nick Maimone against Melissa Verrett.

Nick Maimone was definitely pleased with his cards at one of the hands at Aruba Poker Classic. He was battling against Melissa Verrett and had A+K. Mellissa also held one ace but the another card was 10. The flop brought 4, A and 10. Verrett raised and Maimone re-raised. Verrett didn’t expect to have any problems holding such good cards and re-raised once again forcing Maimone to call. Then Verret opened her cards showing two pairs (AA and 10’s). Second pair pushed Maimone on the verge of a disaster. But the luck played on Nick’s side that evening and the river brought a king giving Maimone a win in the tough clash at Texas Holdem tournament.

Jacks against Eugeniy Timoshenko

Luke Schwarz eliminated Eugeniy Timoshenko at PKR Heads Up Grand Slam last week. Timoshenko was very confident holding pair of kings and he placed a bet. Luke Scwarz had jacks and re-raised 1 300. Timoshenko definitely didn’t expect his opponent to play so aggressive and had to think for a while. After several minutes of thinking Timoshenko re-raised 2 600 and Luke Schwarz was all-in. Timoshenko just replied: “You are all-in? Ok, I call!” Players opened their cards and Timoshenko had the advantage unless turn brought third jack for Schwarz. English Texas Holdem player was smiling enjoying three of a kind and reigning champion of World Poker Tour and World Championship of Online Poker had to leave the table blaming the fortune and third jack of Schwarz. No doubts it was one of the most painful bids of the last week.

Betraying Aces

There is one more example of bad luck from Aruba Poker Classic. Texas Holdem pro Phil Hellmuth was in the centre of attention when he decided to be all-in without seeing the flop. Two of his opponents called. John Venturini had AK and Jonathan Lessin KK. Then Phil Hellmuth opened his cards showing fans two aces. Emotional poker player was repeating all the time “Just don’t let me down, don’t let me down!”

The flop didn’t change the situation bringing Q,Q and 9. 10 came from the turn and Hellmuth started to be nervous because Venturini could outclass him collecting straight. He just needed to get jack from the river. But neither Venturini nor Hellmuth won that round. The river brought a king and Jonathan Lessin just shoveled up all the chips.

Hellmith became absolutely furious after the hand. He just could not stop blaming his luck but the Texas Holdem game was over.

Flush for Ross

It would be fair to say that all the most interesting last week moments happened at Aruba Poker Classic. At one of the hands at Aruba Poker Classic Matt Ross raised 2 500. One of his opponents re-raised increasing the bet three times. All other players decided not to join this battle and folded. Matt Ross called and players were waiting for the flop. The flop brought 3♣ , J♣ and 9♣ . Ross casted a glance at the cards and checked. His opponent raised 8 000 and forced Ross to be all-in. Both players opened their cards. Ross had A♣ K♥. Another player had better combination at that moment. K♣ K♠ . Turn brought 4♦ and it didn’t change the situation. The affair came to a head when 5♣ from the turn helped Ross to collect flush. Matt Ross was over the moon when he grabbed the chips. But for his opponent it was just one of the most painful Texas Holdem bids.

Young American player Aaron Gustavson finished Day 4 as a chip-leader having two times more chips than his closest opponent. 23-year old Las Vegas resident could protect his lead and won £850 000 becoming best at Poker Stars EPT in London .

Gustavson was not famous in Europe . But this young poker player had several big successes in the USA including the title of Texas Holdem champion in Borgata this summer and a second place at the another big tournament.

The main Gustavson opponent in London was World Series of Poker champion Peter Eastgate. At the beginning of the last day of the tournament Eastage had second-sized stake. Most pundits believed that reigning champion was a clear favourite in the final clash.

Karim Bennani was the first player who had to leave the table. He lost most of his chips when he could not beat young Portuguese player Rui Milhomens. Bennani risked with K-3, Milhomens had K♠ – 10♠. Flop brought two more spades and Milhomens received flush draw. The turn gave Milhomens flush and it was enough to shove back Bennani.

The next victim was Raymond Wu, a professional player from Asian PokerStars team. He had to be satisfied with 7 th place. Rui Milhomens followed Raymond Wu and finished as number 6. It took two hours to eliminate Wu and Milhomens.

There were only five players left and Eastgate had leadership. But Gustavson took over chip-leader title beating Dominic Cullen. Gustavson played pocket 8-8 against Cullen A-10. Thereby last Britt had to finish his participation in the tournament.

Next one to leave the table was Norwegian player Martin Gudvangen. Gustavson made several attacks trying to capture stake, but Gudvangen could keep some chips. Nikolay Senninger ( Germany ) celebrated success over Gudvangen shortly. Senninger played full-house and raised his stake up to 4.9 million. It was funny that Senninger “hired” a guard for his chips – small plush King Lion toy.

But Senninger and his little helper could not stay long at the table. German poker player lost to Gustavson. Future champion overcame his opponent with high card queen. What a bad luck for a high-flying Texam Holdem player from Germany!

Before watching last battle between Gustavson and Eastage it was decided to make a lunch break. Before the break Gustavson had 2-1 lead . It took just 7 hands after lunch to finish the tournament. Eastgate lost half of his stake in the first hand, raising several times and folding in the end. Gustavson was not frightened by champion’s bluff and left Eastgate with a small amount of chips. Eastgate tried to use his chance in the final hand and was all-in with A-9. Gustavson called and outclassed his opponent with help of A-Q. No one collected any pairs and Gustavson captured the title with pocket cards.

This big success of Gustavson made him famous in Europe . From now he is not known only as a big poker player In the USA. Gustavson won the biggest pot ever in his career and became best at Poker Stars EPT in London .

Final Standings (based on stake-size)

1. Aaron Gustavson ( USA ) – £850 000
2. Peter Eastgate ( Denmark ) – £530 000
3. Nikolai Senninger ( Germany ) – £285 000
4. Martin Gudvangen ( Norway ) – £227 000
5. Dominic Cullen ( England ) – £173 000
6. Rui Milhomens ( Portugal ) – £124 000
7. Raymond Wu ( Hong Kong ) – £87 000
8. Karim Bennani ( Morocco ) – £50 100

Aaron Gustavson finished Day 4 as a tournament leader. At the beginning of the day there were 24 players including World Series of Poker champion Peter Eastgate and ex-champion WSOPE Annete Oberstad. Surprisingly neither Eastgate, nor Oberstad could climb on the top of Texam Holdem tournament. And tomorrow Aaron Gustavson will have to prove his skills in the final game at the table.

But in the beginning of Day 4 Gustavson was not in the centre of attention. Martin Gudvangen has started the game by beating Philip Byers in a con-flip. Martin Gudvangen was unstoppable and Theo Tran could not resist him. Tran had A-K but it was not enough to overcome Gudvangen pair of jacks. And Tran had to go home early.

Obrestad tried to return back on the top of Texas Holdem. But fortune did not play on her side that evening. Firstly Annete relied on A-T. But Eastgate collected jacks and ex-champion lost a big amount of chips. Then the last hope of Annete was K-Q but Ivo Donev held A-K and Oberstad had to leave the table.

The member of November Nine Kevin Schaffel has all reasons to blame his luck. Dominic Cullen outclassed Schaffel beating his deuces by 7-7. No doubt Schaffel will be hoping to have his revenge in next few weeks at the final table of WSOP.

Michael Berry started Day 4 really well. He proved his skills during Day 3 and acquired reputation of an aggressive player and dangerous opponent in Texas Holdem tournaments. He was a free-roll winner at PokerStars and Daily Mirror. But this self-confident amateur could not stand pressure of other players during Day 4. The opponents forced him to be all-in with 3-3 and Berry lost to Gustavson who had jacks. Thereby Gustavson became new chip-leader and eliminated Berry . But Berry still earned £19 000 and it is not a bad result for sure. Berry commented his defeat saying just one word “stupid” and seemed to be extremely dissapointed.

Hyperaggressive German player Benny Spindler did a great job raising his stake. But it came to nothing when he lost a battle to the winner of Irish Open Marty Smith. Marty Smith could not benefit from this success and finished only 10 th . He was all-in with ace from big blind against small blind of Raymond Wu (7-7).

Last players at the table had equal chances to be kicked out. Nine hand game was extremely dangerous for Eastgate, Cullen, Senniger, Bennani and Vivek Rajkumar. All of them could easily loose everything. But the affair came to the head when Cullen outclassed Rajkumar. Last Britt lucky A-Q was higher than World Poker Tour ex-champion K-J. Elimination of Rajkumar set final standings.

Here you can see final standings based on stack size:

1. Aaron Gustavson – 7 140 000
2. Peter Eastgate – 3 535 000
3. Martin Gudvangen – 3 510 000
4. Nikolai Senninger – 2 175 000
5. Dominic Cullen – 2 105 000
6. Raymond Wu – 1 535 000
7. Rui Milhomens – 1 100 000
8. Karim Bennani – 845 000

Matt Hawrilenko was defeated by the future champion Barry Shulman. A♦ Q♣ became the mortal weapon of Barry Shulman. Matt Hawrilenko held J♦ 7♥ but it was not enough and Hawrilenko had to walk home early.

Other five players were outclassed by lit up Negranu. the member of November Nine Antoine Saout was the first who had to leave the table. He could not benefit from all-in with #5 с 5♦ against Negranu A♠ Q♠. Saout was followed by Cris Bjorin and Marcus Ristola. Ristola set his best ever career result taking with place and big amount of cash. Jason Mercier lost his 90-minutes leadership and then had to quit the game. Praz Bansi was beaten by evening hero Negranu as well.

At the beginning of the final battle between Negranu and Shulman Daniel had almost two times more chips than Barry (6 180 000 vs. 3 850 000). Negranu was a clear favorite of the final duel. One-on-one game lasted about five hours. Shulman was twice critically endangered. For example, once he somehow resisted Negranu AA collecting flash with A♥ 5♥.

The winning hand was a disaster for Negranu. The decisive hand came when Negranu had Q♣ J♦. The flop came down J♣ 8♦ 5♦ and Shulman raised 300 000. Negranu did not expect to be beaten with top pair and tripled the bet. Shulman answered all-in. Daniel had to think for a while to make his decision. Finally he called. Shulman showed his cards, he had # А s # А h. But this clash was not over yet. The turn came down J♥ and it seemed like Shulman does not have a chance. Negranu was just one card away from his another big win. But Fortune did not play on Daniel side this evening and A♦ came on the river!

After such disaster Negranu kept just a few chips and bet all of them receiving pair of fours. Shulman called and won gold WSOPE ME 2009 bracelet with pair of tens. Another ten was flopped and Shulman collected three of a kind. At 5:17 in the morning Shulman became a champion, getting final reward of £801 603.

Final Table Final Standings:

1: Barry Shulman – 801 603

2: Daniel Negreanu – £495 589

3: Praz Bansi – £360 887

4: Jason Mercier – £267 267

5: Markus Ristola – £200 367

6: Chris Bjorin – £150 267

7: Antoine Saout – £114 228

8: Matt Hawrilenko – £87 074

9: James Akenhead – £66 533

Most of such shows, including Main Event Charity Poker’s Windy City Poker Championship, which is already airing at Comcast Sports Net are done in ESPN style, which means that they usually focus on the final table, showing just the most interesting situations of intermediate games. These shows are pretty entertaining, but its significant educational value also is another attraction that draws hundreds of Texas Holdem players to their TVs.

TJ Cloutier, who won 2nd place in the WSOP two times and won six other World Series of Poker events will be heading the event. Besides of this, many other sharks, such as the former cop and World Poker Tour winner Rick Fuller and Crispin Leyser, a scandalous WSOP player, will participate in the tournament.

The 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event accumulated the largest prize pool in the entire history of card games in general and poker tournaments in particular. Jamie Gold, the winner of the 2006 WSOP was supposed to get the entire $12,000,000, but it appeared that the Hollywood agent had promised half of his tournament winnings to Crispin Leyser before the beginning of the tournament. Crispin Leyser sued Jamie Gold and won the trial, although the amount of his claim was not disclosed.

Rumors swirling that Crispin Layser’s wife Jules will also participate in the tournament together with some other famous women that played Texas Holdem in many popular events. The buy-ins for charity poker tournaments are usually low, so there are pretty affordable for all, which draws additional money.

Karl Hevroy from Bergen, Norway says that he hasn’t actually planned to play the tournament in general and its Main Event in particular. However, with help of a group of Peruvian players Karl had met earlier at European Poker Tour in Copenhagen, he signed up to participate in Latin American Poker Tour, which made him almost $300,000 richer.

The LAPT’s Main Event, hosted by Punta del Este Casino and the Mantra Resort attracted more than three hundred player. Almost incredible $1,100,000 prize pool, which is the largest prize pool in the comparatively short history of this tournament, was accumulated due to an expensive $3,700 buy-in and a solid turnout.

The LAPT’s Main Event went pretty steamy and tight, although Karl Hevroy didn’t seem to experience any difficulties on his way to victory. First, one of Hevroy’s opponents Oliver Rowe flopped a set of 3s with his entire chip stack in the middle of the table, which put him to the fifth place with only $59,960, while Hevroy’s KQ hit a straight on the river. Then Ron Wasiel got his fourth place in the table with $82,160, with his J9 and TT9 flop against Hevroy’s two Jacks. The only danger that Karl Hevroy faced during the tournament was a stressful confrontation with Angel Guillen, who was the only player that had the best opportunity to break Hevroy’s success. He went all-in in the middle preflop holding AJ against Hevroy’s AT on the last hand played before the break, but Karl Hevroy managed to win in this extremely difficult situation, when the board brought him QT667, which immediately sent his opponent to the third place with $99,120 in cash.

After that, Hevroy was on the straight path to the victory and needed only one first hand right after the dinner break to defeat the only remaining opponent, Alejandro De Arruabarrena, who started with QJ, which didn’t work out with the 998 flop, while Hevroy’s luck brought him 98. Alejandro De Arrubarrena had only 0,81% chance of winning, but the turn didn’t show him a saving card. Second place left the tournament with $155,420.

Hevroy says that he didn’t feel that he was really stronger than his opponents. Anyhow, he leaves the tournament with almost 300 grand. Hevroy and other LAPT champions will be back in action in the end of the next month at the Latin American Poker Tournament Grand Final that will take place in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Timins had to choose the five opponents at his table in the weekly $120,000 winner-take-all Texas Holdem Tournament. Although such choice is pretty difficult, Timins finally decided to chose the following players: Jennifer Tilly, Mike Matusow, Phil Laak, Daniel Negreany and the former world poker champion Johnny Chan. The televised episodes featuring Timins and his five opponents will start airing late night Monday and will then air each night until Firday on NBC. However, besides of the tournament itself, there will be a director’s cut airing late night Saturday. This episode will show some highlights of the entire tournament followed by commentary from Timins and his five opponents.

This will be a fascinating poker event with five players, all except Jennifer Tilly, having previous victories on Poker After Dark. Jennifer is a former actress that became a poker player and then turned actress again, as a famous poker player failed to gain a victory during her both previous attempts on this thrilling poker show. At the same time Johnny Chan stands at the other end of this poker team – he scores three Poker After Dark victories in five appearances on this show, besides of two World Series of Poker Main Event wins. The rest of Thimins’s opponents – Mike Matusow, Phil Laak and Daniel Negreanu score one win on the Poker After Dark each.

In case if Arnold Timins will be able to withstand these sharks and win the tournament, he will become the first Poker After Dark winner qualified through a freeroll. Both previous qualifiers, Paul Featherstone and Ken Light failed to grab $120,000 first place tournament prize.

A non-wagering poker training site called Bluefire Poker has recently thrown a challenge to the main lawmakers of the U.S. to play the poker game with $1 million against $1 on the pot. One of the site’s pros will be playing to prove that Texas Holdem is a game of skill. All winnings will be donated to charity.

In the long run a professional poker player will try to demonstrate that in all poker games skill has the main role and it is impossible to win relying on luck mostly.

All poker community wants poker to be recognized as a legal game of skill. Currently, it goes together with the rest of gambling where games are luck-based actually. The poker training site expects that this challenge will help to spotlight this issue again.

Bluefire professional players believe that this action will be a kind of eye opening to the public. For non-experts in the filed it is rather difficult to understand the difference between Texas Holdem or another poker game and the rest of gambling, like blackjack, roulette or slots. They tend to believe numerous myths and clichés regarding gambling in general which exists nowadays.

Poker players can’t wait to give a push to the matter as it will prove that they “know” what they are doing. Here is professionalism involved and not just a piece of luck.

This kind of game is not a new one. It has rather ancient history. Every day it becomes more popular around the world as every time more people become exposed to the game.

“Poker is a national pastime and a worldwide tradition,” said Bluefire pro PBJaxx.

He underlines that Texas Holdem is played by millions of Americans on a regular basis at home, in casinos and online. Besides almost all long-running TV series have once shown episodes with poker playing scenes. ESPN is used to broadcast the reporting from various poker championships and tournaments. You can see the faces of famous poker players on ESPN almost every week.

PBJaxx says: “Thousands of Americans support their families by playing poker, and the fact that it is not recognized as a game of skill is both ridiculous and insulting.” He has many expectations that poker will be recognized as a game of skill and necessary changes will be introduced into the current legislation.

It was informed that Rep. Barney Frank is going to reintroduce his legislation addressing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act soon.

Last week in a press conference he was asked what the prospective of Internet gambling was. He answered that he would be pushing it. He promised to give more details on the issue in the next press conference.

During the final tournament’s table, King’s opponents attempted to negotiate for a chop several times, but King didn’t show any interest in splitting the chip stack and stopping the game. On the contrary, he expressed a fervent desire to play the game out. Once all King’s opponents except *xen left the game and the play got heads-up, King’s opponent asked him not to repeat the situation that took place, when they were in the same position last time. However, King had other plans and did exactly what his opponent asked him not to do. After the flop of the last hand in the tournament, both players got all their chips in the middle (2-1 chip advantage for King). When the cards were turned over, *xen held pocket nines and King held pocket Jacks. The river brought a Jack and King won another Major title.

This battle and all the consequent cases stem from another case that occurred last summer. It was a fourteen-day undercover sting, which involved five keen poker players, known as the All-in Bombers and their illegal twice-weekly tournament, which took place at Rafferty’s. On August 12, 2008, ten law enforcement officials and one FBI agent stormed the All-in Bombers’ tournament that featured a total pot of more than $600 and involved 30 players. One of the All-in Bombers, Jim Vaughn stated that he was playing poker with that FBI agent several times before the assault. “You’ve got to be kidding me�?, Said Jim, “I’ve played poker with you before!�?

Regardless of Jim’s statement, all the Bombers and the rest of poker tournament players were handcuffed and transported into the jail for illegal gambling. All they had to do is to plead their guilty and pay a $100 fine, but all the Bombers and some other tournament players decided to spend thousands of dollars for lawyers to fight these charges. Kevin Raley’s attorney built his defense on the statement that poker is not a gambling game. He said that poker is a game of skill, just like football or chess, and thus it has nothing to deal with games of chance, like slot machines or dice.

The major victory of this trial is that although Kevin Raley cannot be retried, the state officials have filed an appeal with the Colorado district court, claiming that Raley’s attorney should not have been allowed to build his defense on the expert testimony about possible skill aspects of poker. Blake Sartini, chief executive of Golden Gaming said that this case can have terrible ramifications for the state, if the Bombers would hold that up. The fact is that the Bombers case can possibly put a significant wrench in future gambling prosecutions.

In case if the district court would find that the trial court was basically correct, then they will have another opinion regarding the key aspects of deciding whether or not to punish the players for illegal gambling.

UltimateBet and Absolute Poker have prepared something special this week. The leaders of the industry have announced that their unique Bad Beat Jackpot has overtopped $500,000 and thousands of keen poker players are crowding around the tables in hopes to make a strike.

Annie Duke, UltimateBet’s poker room consultant stated that this outstanding, truly life-changing jackpot is right about to be hit at one of the online poker tables of the Cereus poker network. This lucky Texas Holdem player is going to win as much money as most people earn by working hard for several years. It’s truly amazing!

At the $500,000 mark, the lucky loser of the UltimateBet’s and Absolute Poker’s Bad Beat Jackpot hand will get a chance to grab $162,000. The winner of this Bad Beat Jackpot Hand will get $81,000 and the remaining $81,000 will be split among the players that will be seated at the Texas Holdem table, where the bad beat will occur as well as those players that will be seated at other tables with the same stakes.

Online poker players at UltimateBet and Absolute poker are already discussing what would they do with the money, if they’d hit the Bad Beat Jackpot. Some say that they’d pay off the mortgage, some are planning to put their kids through college, or buy a dream car and some pretenders are dreaming of a trip around the planet. Anyway, the life-changing Bad Beat Jackpot is still there and you have a chance to become the “lucky loser�? and make your own dreams come true.

Let me explain you what the Bad Beat Jackpot is. It is a bonus component added to a traditional Texas Holdem game. The only difference relies in additional 50 cents charged from qualifying poker hands and added to a constantly growing pile of money until the “lucky loser�? will hit this jackpot.

If you will get lucky and lose a hand with four eights or any better hand, while playing at a Bad Beat Jackpot Texas Holdem table, then sixty five percent of the jackpot will be distributed among all Bad Beat Jackpot players, which also includes all players seated at Bad Beat Jackpot tables with the same game type and stake limit. You can read more about the rules and conditions of Bad Beat Jackpot at UltimateBet’s and Absolute Poker’s websites.

Professional poker players of Bluefire poker are willing to play with Obama or any member of the U.S. Congress in intention to show that in Texas Holdem or any other poker game the skill is a dominant factor.

Bluefire Poker is a non-wagering poker training site, and resolving the question is an affair of honor for them. They announced to put up $1 million against $1 and all the winnings will be contributed to the charity of the players’ choice.

Representing Bluefire Poker, Billy Murphy informed that it is still unknown who will play this poker session from the side of the U.S. legislators, and who will compete against him from the pros of poker community. The terms of the game are also to be specified. He said that the opponents would have an equal number of chips to begin their play with and the session would take time long enough to show the advantage of skill in Texas Holdem.

In a press release the poker training site explains why it is important to play for a long time. It is said that poker mastery and professional experience are better shown in the long run. Literally “…the better player wins the game because the player’s skills increase the odds of success”.

As Republican Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is going to introduce legislation again on March which is addressed to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the web site decides to launch the challenge.

Advocates of live and online poker disagree that this game is gambling. They insist that all poker games, including the most popular variation Texas Holdem, are skilled-based and should be allowed without limitations under the law.

John Pappas, Poker Players Alliance executive director, makes the example of numerous legal cases throughout the U.S. when judges and juries have come to the conclusion that poker is a really game of skill, the truth which has been known by poker player for many years.

This year in Pennsylvania judge Thomas James Jr. has also attained a verdict in a court hearing that poker is a game of skill. It was rather odd to hear the citation from Mike Caro’s Secrets of Winning Poker by the judge saying “the money flows from the bad players to the good players.”

Sometimes poker experts are attracted to witness in the courtrooms. Thus, in February the lawsuit in South Carolina was won and poker was declared a skill-based game after hearing the testimony of such expert as Mike Sexton. Besides, the same month the organizer of a poker league was found not guilty by a Colorado jury as poker was proved to be a game of skill and this way it was not illegal gambling.

Pappas admitted: “This common sense argument is gaining ground, even in Washington D.C. , and by putting their money where their mouth is, Bluefire Poker is effectively capturing the attention of the highest levels of government – the White House and Congress”.

It is really doubtful that any of lawmakers of the U.S. Congress or the President himself agrees to take part in the game against one of the Bluefire Poker pros. However, this action of the poker training site will surely help to review the policies and contribute in separating Texas Holdem and poker in general from other forms of gambling.

After all, if anyone accepts the challenge, his opponent will be one of Bluefire’s team of pros., starting from the team leader Phil “Jman” Galfond, comprising Niman “Samoleus” Kenkre, Jason “PBJaxx” Senti, Martin “Giggy” Fournier Giguere, Ryan “Fees” Fees and Don “SoCalQuest” Nguyen.

Note: Since 15 April 15, 2011 – "Black Friday" for PokerStars, Full Tilt poker and UB/AP, Carbon Poker has become most popular online poker room among US residents.

Summary

Carbon Poker is a comparatively new poker room based on the newly created Merge Gaming network, which is mostly based on the former Poker.com software, functionality and player base. The most obvious advantage of this online poker room is that they accept deposits from U.S. players, therefore offering a large player volume, especially during peak hours. There are plenty of outstanding promotions, stylish and very playable software and a lot of loose games. The game variety is also very impressive – players will find all popular poker games including variations. I must also admit that according to my observations their player base is growing faster than at some other poker rooms.

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Carbon Poker Hits

I want to highlight the most important hits of Carbon Poker, besides of those, mentioned in the Summary section of this poker room review. So, the most attractive features of this poker room are:

• Outstanding game variety
• Slick, fast and reliable software
• Accepts deposits from U.S. players
• Outstanding Multi-Table-Tournament Leader Board program
• Site, lobby and software design are top of the industry
• Flexible deposit and cashout options
• Lots of satellite tournaments with smaller fields to top live events

Carbon Poker Misses

Even the best poker rooms have certain misses and Carbon Poker is not an exception. These are not critical misses, but I think they should consider improving the following things:

• Their software does not support ring game and tournament data to Poker Tracker
• You can’t export your hand history from the software suite

Carbon Poker Complete Review

Although Carbon Poker is a comparatively new online poker room in the market, it’s clear to me that they’re determined to succeed and gain one of the leading positions in the industry. They already have a large player base and constantly attract thousands of new players with massive promotions, outstanding game variety, best software and flexible financial options, which include quick withdrawals and wide variety of payment methods. Carbon poker is based on the Merge Gaming network that allows them to accept deposits from U.S. players, which is a great advantage over many other poker rooms.

Carbon Poker Traffic Volumes and Competition

Carbon Poker has a large player base, which is constantly growing because of great options and outstanding promotions they offer to both new and returning players. Due to increasing popularity of the entire Merge Gaming network, the number of active poker players is growing daily. Real money player statistics as of January 2009 – March 2009 show up to 1,200 ring game and 2,500 tournament players during peak hours.

I must also admit that games at Carbon Poker are pretty loose, because there are plenty of new and therefore inexperienced players, which take their first shot at poker in general and online poker in particular. If you are looking for fish – check low and micro stakes, though you can find loose games at higher levels as well.

Carbon Poker Game Variety

Carbon Poker is probably the best poker room in terms of the game variety. They offer Texas Holdem, Omaha, Imaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud Hi and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, Five Card Stud, Five Card Draw, A-5 Lowball, 2-7 Lowball, H.O.R.S.E., Razz and Badugi poker. Although Texas Holdem and Omaha are definitely the dominant games offered in tournament format, you can also enjoy thrilling tournaments running in Draw Poker and Badugi Poker.

Carbon Poker Tournaments

Tournament players will definitely enjoy variety and quantity of poker tournaments offered by Carbon Poker. Lots of MTTs and Sit-and-Goes, live event satellites with smaller fields, number of special tournament offers, giveaways and a lot of thrilling and profitable freerolls will definitely satisfy your passion for tournament play.

Carbon Poker Customer Support

Although there is only e-mail support, you will be satisfied with fast response time and very accurate, comprehensive answers and explanations.

Carbon Poker Deposit and Withdrawal Options

Carbon Poker is played in US dollars. You can deposit money via ePassporte, Entropay, MoneyBookers, eWalletXpress, NETeller, ECOcard, Fast Checks, 1-Pay, InstaCash, Click2Pay, PINdebit, Wirecard, FoneLinx, iBankG, Citadel and credit card. The minimum deposit amount is $25. You can withdraw money to your MoneyBookers, Click2Pay and Citadel accounts, or request a check.

Reviewed By

Carbon Poker Fan

Summary

Absolute Poker has recently become one of the leading poker rooms in the world right after their merge with UltimateBet in the end of 2008, which resulted in the creation of Cereus poker network, offering thrilling and juicy 24/7 action, plenty of loose games and terrifically expanded player base. But what is more important, Absolute Poker accepts deposits from U.S. residents, which makes this poker room an excellent choice for American players. Besides of this, Absolute Poker software is pretty fast, eye-friendly and very playable with multitude of useful adjustable features, including smooth multi-table functions.

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Absolute Poker Hits

Absolute Poker is probably the largest poker room on web, so you won’t have to search for a table matching your bankroll and player skills – there are plenty of loose games, freerolls and poker tournaments. So, the most attractive features of Absolute Poker are:

• Accepts U.S. player deposits
• Offers flexible and attractive blind structure for poker tournaments
• Offers plenty of heads-up sit-and-goes
• Supports automated import of both ring game and tournament data to Poker Tracker
• Supports instant cash transfers between all players within the Cereus poker network

Absolute Poker Misses

Some way or other, even the greatest poker rooms have certain misses and Absolute Poker is not an exception. However, I must admit that these misses aren’t that bad and I honestly believe that their misses will be eliminated with the development of this truly outstanding poker room. So, the misses of Absolute Poker are:

• There is no live support
• Built-in hand replayer is unable to display bet sizes or action

Absolute Poker Full Review

Absolute Poker is probably the best choice for U.S. players. Although it is known for several missteps in the past, it has recently made a major step forward by merging with Ultimate Bet to form the new Cereus poker network managed by a new ownership group. One of the most exciting innovations relies in the ability to transfer funds between all player accounts within the Cereus network, which includes both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet player accounts. Besides of this, they have greatly expanded their player base as well as overall traffic volume.

Overall, Absolute Poker became a high-quality poker room with large player base, user-friendly and reliable software and a terrific set of popular poker games. If you are looking for an online poker room that offers quality software, juicy action and outstanding playing experience, then you should definitely give Absolute Poker a try.

Absolute Poker Software

After a recent merger with Ultimate Bet, the Absolute Poker software went through a complete update, which resulted in the creation of a completely new software suite offering all basic features available across many other online poker rooms and an impressive set of unique features that will definitely satisfy even the most sophisticated poker players. You will enjoy fast play without annoying freezes and crashes, slick, eye-friendly graphics, advanced hand and game statistics as well as truly outstanding multi-table functionality.

Absolute Poker Game Variety

Absolute Poker offers an impressive game variety, which includes Texas Holdem, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud (including Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo), H.O.S.E., H.O.R.S.E. and Razz. Although the action is concentrated to Texas Holdem tables (just as in other poker rooms), Omaha and mixed games (H.O.R.S.E. and H.O.S.E.) are also gaining popularity.

Absolute Poker Traffic Volumes

Absolute Poker real money player stats as of January2009-March2009 show approximately 1,900-2,500 ring game and 9,500-12,500 tournament players during peak hours.

Absolute Poker Support

Unfortunately, Absolute Poker does not provide phone or live chat support. The only option is e-mail correspondence. However, they usually reply in less than 5 minutes, so you won’t experience any difficulties in solving your questions.

Absolute Poker Deposit and Cashout Methods

You can deposit money through FirePay, NETeller, CentralCoin, Electronic Check, or via credit card, wire transfer and bank draft.

You can withdraw your winnings to NETeller, FirePay accounts or via check.  

In the world of sports people are struggling to get rid of drugs enhancing physical performance, meanwhile a great number of various specialists are seeking for remedies to sharpen their minds and improve mental skills and talents.

Despite the fact that side effects haven’t been fully studied yet, the world brainpower comprising scientists, musicians, corporate executives, students and even professional Texas Holdem and poker players won’t refuse taking brain enhancers to have their minds clarified, control their emotional state and have better concentration.

Paul Phillips, a 35-year-old professional Texas Holdem player says that these pills let him play much better than if he would play without taking them at all. He considers that thanks to such drugs as Adderall (the attention deficit drug) and Provigil (the narcolepsy pill), he has won over $2.3 million playing in different poker tournaments.

Among great variety of medicaments which are called “cognitive enhancers” the most popular are the following: Ritalin, which is usually prescribed to schoolchildren as a remedy for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and beta blockers, e.g. Inderal, a drug for heart diseases treatment. Many drugs of a kind have being investigated today, like Aricept, which is normally given to Alzheimer’s patients to slow the decline.

It is worth mentioning that these enhancers haven’t been tested in healthy people to a great extend, but the scientists have clear understanding and knowledge on how they affect the brain at physiological level.

These drugs are considered to be just precursors to the efficient and profitable product which numerous labs throughout the world are trying to develop.

The difference between the human growth hormone, anabolic steroids, blood-oxygen boosters used by some athletes and brain drug is that the latter doesn’t provoke such outrage as that do. For instance, Texas Holdem players who resort to the help of brain pills say that this doesn’t give them any extra-advantage as the drugs allow them to fully use their present skills and knowledge in practice in the best manner.

As the matter of fact, under the law or any other regulations, to take these enhancers is completely legal, as no one can bring a lawsuit against you because you use prescribed medicine to improve your mental state.

According to Charles E. Yesalis, a doping researcher and emeritus professor at Pennsylvania State University , people will always search for the ways to become more successful in their professional field or in life in general. If there were drugs for such specialists as journalists, teachers, bankers and others, they would use them too.

However, local Texas Holdem players hope that it will at least begin discussions about changing certain laws that forbid people to enjoy their favorite games. Many say that they aren’t playing real money games at all, but in some cases they were arrested and fined for playing play money games, because they could conceal real money events. The overall situation with poker in general and Texas Holdem in particular is very interesting. In the United States, Texas Holdem poker is played by at least 1\5 of residents of all ages, but if you will count the actual quantity of people living in those states, where Texas Holdem is not prohibited, then you will be able to easily calculate that at least 30% of Texas Holdem players are living in states, where all card games are strictly prohibited, which includes South Carolina, Utah and some other states.

Of course many people are playing Texas Holdem online, from their homes, but how do you determine whether they’re guilty of something or not? For example, if card games, including Texas Holdem poker are played in Las Vegas, then you can go to one of Las Vegas casinos, regardless of your citizenship. But what if an online poker room is hosted in Silicon Valley (where card games do not violate poker laws) and you are playing from your home in South Carolina? Where do you play from the legal point of view? Hence, incompleteness of laws and partial understanding of basic principles of the game, forces judges and senators produce controversial laws and make doubtful decisions regarding Texas Holdem players in different states.

Some say that this situation cannot be solved, unless all the states will come to an equal agreement regarding gaming laws, but some say that things are better the way they are, since if all states had the same laws, then such cities as Las Vegas and Philadelphia will actually lose their businesses due to incompleteness of laws. Although judge Duffy said evidence was completely overwhelming that Texas Holdem in particular and all other poker games in general (except video poker) are actually games of skills, he said that he still needs more guidance and assistance from higher courts and state lawmakers to find out whether this sort of analysis makes any difference under older South Carolina laws that forbid any games involving either playing cards or dice. Therefore, South Carolina’s players are still afraid of arranging tournaments and other open games until they can be sure that their activities will not entail any fines and other unpleasant consequences.

As you may remember, more than twenty players were arrested and fined $1000 for arranging Saturday Texas Holdem games in Perth this spring. McMaster’s office called Duffy’s ruling insufficient to make Texas Holdem poker completely legal in South Carolina, but if the state’s Supreme Court will approve the appellation, then it is quite possible that Texas Holdem will be proclaimed a game of skill that can be legally played within borders of the state. Therefore, all South Carolina players are waiting for the forthcoming decision of the Supreme Court.

• If you’ve mastered the table selection concept, while playing Texas Holdem poker, then you definitely remember that table selection is probably one of the most important decisions you make during the game. This is the way how you look at the market and how you feel it.

• You know that it’s quite normal to quit playing at a certain table if the game’s to tough and switch to another table, where you can make more profit.

• Skilled Texas Holdem players know what does competition means. They know that it’s very hard to play in a crowd, so it is better to try short-hands (i.e. smaller markets).

How do I improve my marketing and branding using my Texas Holdem skills?

• Texas Holdem poker teaches you to bluff. Pretend strong, when you’re actually weak and act weak when you are strong.

• Player’s nickname is a brand itself. Everyone knows WSOP winners.

• You can learn to shape the tells that people tell about you and your business.

How do I understand financials using my Texas Holdem skills?

• Wise player is always prepared for the worst scenario ever.

• You know that even if your opponent wins more hands than you, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he earns more money than you in the long run.

• Even absolute winners don’t earn all the money at the table. You can always find a way to get your slice of the pot.

• Put emphasis onto your expected value rather than at less risky combinations.

• Start playing with a sufficient bankroll, unless you want to lose your stack after facing a bad beat.

• Invest money that you can actually afford to lose, regardless of your expectations.

• Texas Holdem poker, as well as any business is a long term game. You can make good deals time to time and lose a lot of deals as well, but only your overall progress really matters.

What does business strategy has to deal with Texas Holdem strategy?

• Strong No-Limit Texas Holdem players can easily lose in Pot-Limit or Fixed-Limit variants of the game. This means that you shouldn’t play games you don’t understand, even if you’re good at other games.

• Learn the game at low stakes and only then risk big money.

• Using wise tricks is good, but cheating never wins you a lot of money.

• Be disciplined and try to keep to your major principles.

• Try to be and think flexible, learn to adjust to circumstances and tendencies of the market.

• If you are going to be successful, then you must learn to be patient and think long term.

• Don’t follow the crowd – lead the crowd.

• If you rely on luck, or even hope to get lucky, then you shouldn’t play Texas Holdem poker.

• Never go on tilt, regardless of circumstances.

What miscellaneous skills can Texas Holdem give to a successful businessman?

• Texas Holdem requires you to learn and never stop learning. Same skills are very important for any sort of business. Be aware of all the tendencies in your industry, know about your opponents’ tricks, plans and prospective.

• Always practice what you’ve learned. Don’t rely on your theoretical knowledge only. Many things look good in theory, but just few of them work out fine.

• You’ve got to play against the sharks in order to become a shark. Weak players won’t teach you to be tight and aggressive.

• If you’ve missed some important things – don’t hesitate – just ask for a tip.

Summary

Doyles Room is the poker room of Doyle Brunson, one of the world-famous poker players. The room was opened in 2004 and aimed generally at U.S. players – that’s why the passing of the UIGEA in 2006 has terribly decreased the number of real money players. However, the room has shifted through several networks, finally landed on the Cake network and started accepting deposits from US players again. Doyles Room is remarkable for clean, eye-friendly design, excitingly high playability, wide variety of nice bonuses and promotions, impressive traffic volumes at peak hours and quality customer support.

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Doyles Room Pros

•  A lot of loose players, including plenty of loose action at high stakes

•  Unique Doyles Room VIP program that awards player points, which can be redeemed for cash

•  Multiple table play. Doyles Room software supports up to nine tables for simultaneous play.

•  Accepts deposits from US players.

Software

Doyles Room software is one of the greatest examples of what decent poker software should look like. The room’s lobby comes with useful folder-like filters, which help you easily sort tables and find what you are looking for. Table environment is also very handy and the controls are pretty comprehensive. Besides of player notes and other standard features, you can switch to mini table views, which allows you to play at up to 9 tables at the same time.

Traffic
Doyles Room has large player base – roughly up to 40,000 players during peak hours. Most players occupy No-Limit Texas Holdem players, but there are many people at Omaha tables as well. There are a lot of tournament players at any time of the day, but most players are into ring games, so this room especially attractive for those, who prefer ring games to tournament play.

Tournaments

Doyles Room offers decent set of poker tournaments for Texas Holdem and Omaha, including popular game variants. Room’s STT’s range from as low as $0.10 to $100 buy in. Room’s MTT’s range from freerolls that require player points and up to expensive $200 buy-in tournaments.

Game Variety

Although Doyles Room is an excellent place for Texas Holdem and Omaha players, there are only several hundred Seven Card Stud and Five Card Stud players. Most players focus on No-Limit and Pot-Limit Texas Holdem tables (up to 90% of traffic).

Soft Competition
Doyles Room is not the best place to look for fish, although you won’t be disappointed with number of loose and inexperienced players either. Most players are average or below the average. The fish can be found in No-Limit Texas Holdem games, mostly on the lower stakes, but sometimes even at $2/$4 tables. Flop viewing percentage is usually 40-45%, depending on the time of the day, but even 40% is quite high.

Sign Up Bonus
Doyles Room offers great 110% up to $550 bonus, which is one of the most generous bonuses in the market. In case if you deposit enough money to get the maximum bonus and clear it – you will additionally get free copies of world famous books by Doyle Brunson: Super System and Super System 2.

Loyalty Rewards
All Doyles Room players accumulate APs (Action Points) by playing real money ring games and tournaments, including STTs. Besides of this, Doyles Room may randomly offer additional opportunities to earn APs. The APs can be redeemed for cash, free entries into room’s tournaments and wide variety of prizes.

Promotions
You can earn $25 for each referred friend. You will get $25 as soon as your friend will earn more than 2,500 APs. Besides of this, Doyles Room hosts a breakfast cash game lottery, available from 3am to 7am EST. Each player can participate in eight lotteries that give you a chance to win $1,000. Besides of this, Doyles Room offers a lot of freerolls.

Support
Doyles Room provides quality phone support as well as e-mail and live-chat support for less urgent issues.

Deposit & Cashout Methods
You can deposit and withdraw money via credit card, wire transfer, FirePay and NETeller.

Summary

In late 2008 UltimateBet completed its merge with Absolute Poker forming the new Cereus poker network. At present, UltimateBet is the leading poker room in the world, with the largest player base and good action running 24/7, plenty of loose players and number of exciting features unavailable in most poker rooms. One of the most attractive features of the room is that UltimateBet runs some of the best poker tournaments in the market, so if you are into poker tournaments, then get ready to enjoy UltimateBet tournaments’ great. .structure and outstanding game quality. UltimateBet accepts deposits from US residents.

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UltimateBet Pros

•  High quality software

•  Very fast and quality customer support available 24\7

•  Very fast deposit processing and payouts

•  Accepts US players

•  Offers free poker lessons from poker pros

•  Sponsors number of large tournaments and other poker events

•  Supports mobile play money and real money games

•  Supports automated import of both ring game and tournament data to Poker Tracker

UltimateBet Cons

•  Very tough competition at higher levels

•  Only Windows-compatible software

Software

UltimateBet software has clean and sleek design. The lobby welcomes you with a list of tables and several adjustment options. You can view table statistics, hand statistics, reach account settings and view cashier. However, the poker table is where the really outstanding experience with this poker room begins. UltimateBet software offers probably one of the best tables I’ve ever seen. It supports 3D perspective, capturing the true feeling of sitting at a poker table. Their mini table function is another outstanding feature, which I simply adore. Besides of this, you can view detailed statistics, adjust various features and add players to your buddy list.

Traffic

As the largest online poker room in the world, UltimateBet has the biggest auditory on the Internet. There are up to 25,000 ring game and more than 60,000 tournament players during peak hours. Roughly 75% of players concentrate to Texas Holdem and its derivatives, but you will easily find a lot of good games of Seven Card Stud and Omaha as well.

Tournaments
Poker tournaments is probably the strongest side of this room. You can join either the WSOP (the World Series of Poker) qualifiers or the WPT (the World Poker Tour) qualifiers. However, you should remember that you’re up against plenty of skilled players, so get ready for some really tough competition. Besides of this there are plenty of freerolls and some regular MTTs ranging from $1 to $200 buy-in. You can also enter a lot of satellite tournaments starting from $3 buy-in, but the average buy-in for most tournaments will cost you $20.

Game Variety

The variety of poker games available at UltimateBet is very good. Besides of the regular set of poker games, such as Texas Holdem (including Limit, No-Limit and Pot-Limit variants), you can play Seven Card Stud (including Hi/Lo variant), Triple Draw, Pineapple poker and Omaha (including Hi/Lo variant). Table stakes for all games range from micro stakes ($0.01/$0.02) to super high stakes ($150/$300).

Soft Competition
The competition is slightly above average. Flop viewing percentage ranges from roughly 40% in low stake and 35% in high stake games. If you are looking for softer play, then you should either stay at lower stakes, or try another room. This doesn’t mean that there is no fish at UltimateBet, but the competition is still tighter than in many other poker rooms recommended by our site.

Sign Up Bonus

UltimateBet offers an unbelievably generous first deposit bonus – 111% up to $1100 on your first deposit. The minimum deposit is just $25. Besides of this, you will earn $1 per each 10 raked hands.

Loyalty Rewards

Regular players earn 1 UP (Ultimate Point) per every raked hand. In addition, each player is awarded 1 UP per every hour spent at the table. These points can be redeemed for entries to freeroll tournaments or for purchasing merchandise.

Promotions

UltimateBet is one of the most generous poker rooms in terms of promotions. You can earn $100 per each referred friend, who cashed in at least $100 to his player account. Besides of this, your referred friend will get a $50 bonus. Also, UltimateBet awards the top 4 hands every 1,5 hours. There are plenty of freerolls and other attractions, including WSOP and WPT qualifiers.

Support

UltimateBet provides top notch customer support available via e-mail. Although they don’t provide phone and live chat support, the average response time is just about 5 minutes!

Deposit & Cashout Methods

You can deposit and withdraw money via credit card, bank draft, wire transfer, check, Citadel, FirePay and NETeller.

Summary

Duplicate Poker is a completely new gaming concept in the market. Unlike the rest of online poker rooms, offering games that involve an aspect of luck (at least a bit of it), Duplicate Poker is a room that claims to offer a totally skill-based set of games that are technically cannot be called gambling games. Due to this fact, Duplicate Poker is completely legal everywhere, including countries and regions, where any kind of gambling is strictly prohibited.

How the non-gambling concept of the Duplicate Poker works?

As mentioned above, all Duplicate Poker games are totally based on skill. The major game offered by duplicate poker has exactly the same rules as Texas Holdem, except several key features. In order to explain the non-gambling concept, let’s take a look at two tables with the same number of players. Players at these two tables get identical hand, which means that, for example player 1 on the first table will get dealt exactly the same cards as player 1 on the second table. The community cards dealt on both tables are also identical. All players (at both tables) receive the same amount of chips and as the hands play out, the poker room then gives points to those players, who have the highest amount of chips at the end of each played hand.

Now, instead of competing with your opponents sitting at your table, you actually play against all the other players, occupying your seat at different tables. By giving the players identical sets of cards respectively throughout the different tables decreases the amount of luck, which can be involved and therefore the entire scheme results in a more skill-based game. If you still misunderstand the principles of Duplicate Poker, you can view live demos at the room’s website.

Bonuses and Promotions

Duplicate Poker offers generous first deposit bonus – 200% bonus up to $100 on your first deposit. Besides of this, new players get access to special freerolls that help you to learn the basics of the game and understand some unique principles of Duplicate poker. In order to clear bonus money, you must earn certain amount of bonus points.

Games and Traffic

The only game available at Duplicate Poker is Texas Holdem, including Limit, No-Limit and Pot-Limit variants of the game. Because of complicated and unusual concept of the game, traffic is a big problem at the site. It usually takes up to twenty minutes for games to start and most games are played at the lowest stakes.

Software

Besides of the uniqueness of play, Duplicate Poker offers unique and innovative software with eye-friendly color schemes and interesting features. It may sometimes lag, when you navigate through the lobby, but I didn’t notice any lags or freezes while playing.

The only unpleasant downside of the entire gaming process is that must wait several seconds, until play finishes at the other tables. However, considering that the site is still in its development and testing stages, I hope that they’ll fix all downsides and misses in the nearest time.

Customer Support

Currently, Duplicate Poker offers e-mail and phone support, which is pretty professional and responsive.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods

Because of the fact that Duplicate Poker is the only legal poker room in the industry, it accepts all major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

The PlayersOnly online poker room has the look and feel of a decent place to enjoy your favorite game. The overall environment and atmosphere give that unique taste of poker lifestyle with both high class and real party feel. If you want the best out of the gaming lifestyle, the PlayersOnly is the right room to try. This place made a stunningly good impression on me for my first visit. Besides of this, I found that they accept payments from USA players, which makes this place even more attractive and playable, because the larger is the room’s auditory – the more loose money they put in your pocket.

PlayersOnly Bonus

Please note that this first deposit bonus is only available for poker players and cannot be used with PlayersOnly casino and sportsbook, although both give you 10% instant bonus.

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PlayersOnly Lobby and Tables

I must admit that PlayersOnly has probably the smoothest and the most eye-friendly design and convenient controls, which makes your gaming experience quite pleasant and easy. The entire poker room software is about 13 MB, so it downloads within a wink of an eye and quickly takes you to the lobby.

The room offers many pleasant options, such as a great selection of avatars, including the ability to upload a photo. Other useful options that will be helpful for all players are:

•  Detailed hand history

•  Typical action button, which automates fold, raise and re-raise actions

•  Notes on players, which can be easily viewed during the game

•  Wide variety of layouts

The PlayersOnly poker room lobby is pretty functional too. It looks just nice and is quite easy to use. Although there’s nothing flashy or revolutionary, it looks just the way a decent lobby should look and what is more important, it has a stable platform that it very simple to use and navigate. The lobby’s table information includes:

•  Number of players in waiting list

•  Average players to the flop

•  Stakes range

•  Type of the game

•  Average pot size

This information is quite sufficient to feel comfortable with the room. Besides of table information, you can check your rewards, cashier and account information.

Loyalty program

Each PlayersOnly player earns FPP’s, awarded faster than in many other online poker rooms. 1 FPP is awarded for every buck in rake with a max of 3 FPP’s per each hand. Besides of this, players earn 7 FPP’s for every buck in tournament rake, which also includes fractional points. Gold chips are awarded in addition to FPP’s and can be redeemed with free tournament entries, money and various merchandise.

Available poker games

At PlayersOnly, you can play all popular poker games, such as Texas Holdem (including Limit, No-Limit and Pot-Limit variants of the game), Omaha (including Hi/Lo, Hi, Limit and Pot-Limit variants of the game), Seven Card Stud (including Limit, No-Limit and Pot-Limit variants of the game). Besides of poker games, you can bet in PlayersOnly casino, which offers blackjack, 3 card poker, slots, roulette, video poker and craps, or in PlayersOnly Sportsbook.

Traffic Levels

There are plenty of traffic at the small stakes ($0,05 – $0,10 to $5-$10 tables). However, you will always find a lot of players at $10-$20 tables as well. In the beginning of 2009 there were up to 30,000 players during peak hours in ring games and up to 12,000 tournament players.

Competition

If you are looking for a poker room with plenty of fish, then PlayersOnly is the right choice. There are plenty of fish at all stake levels, so strong players can go fishing here without any doubts. The average percentage of seeing the flop is sometimes reaching 45%, which means that there are so many fish that you’ll definitely earn good money there.

Tournaments

PlayersOnly guarantees $3,000,000 in monthly tournaments. Poker tournaments are very popular among the players of this room, although I must admit that the competition may be a little bit tense. The guaranteed events at PlayersOnly range from $5,000 to $25,000 in guaranteed prize pools. At Sundays, there is a $75,000 guaranteed tournament with a buy-in of only $100. Besides of this, there are plenty of sit-and-go tournaments, so you can always find a wide selection of buy-in levels regardless of the time of the day.

Deposit and withdrawal options

PlayersOnly accepts payments from US residents and they claim that they have the highest acceptance rates of credit cards in the industry. The minimum first deposit amount is $20. You can withdraw your winnings to your bank account or request a check.

Conclusion

PlayersOnly is one of the best online poker rooms I’ve ever seen. They don’t overplay with unnecessary things, they have nearly ideal graphics, plenty of useful features, great bonuses and excellent loyalty program. Considering the fact that they’re a growing poker room, I think PlayersOnly is definitely worth to try.

Summary

PartyPoker is probably the most remarkable poker room in the industry, not just because of its exceptional size, but also because of long and interesting history, unique development ideas and innovations. The room has attracted one of the largest player bases and over time, it has remained very popular, even though they don’t accept deposits from US players anymore.

Such an exceptional popularity of this poker room can be attributed to numerous factors, but the general reasons for its popularity are reliability and high performance of software, outstanding poker tournaments and plenty of freerolls.

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Software and features

PartyPoker software is frequently updated to improve and perfect your experience with this poker room. The software is always fast and completely reliable (there were no proven facts of data losses). You can play at up to four tables simultaneously.

You can either download their software (for Windows), or use their no-download version, which means that you can play from Mac and Linux-based computers. Besides of this, one unique feature that is unavailable in other poker rooms is the Deal Making facility, which comes into play, whenever a poker tournament is down to the final table and is entirely optional. This feature allows players to stop the tournament and split the chips in the agreed way (all players at the table must agree to do a deal).

Player Traffic and Competition

PartyPoker was once an undisputed market leader, but then it was hit by the new law that banned US players from making real money deposits online. At present PartyPoker is 3rd after Ultimate Bet and Poker Stars that still accept deposits from US players. Currently there are about 10,000 ring game and 50,000 tournament players during peak hours.

Sign up Bonus

Party Poker is well known for its generous bonuses, which includes first deposit bonus as well. They offer instant $25 bonus, 30% up to $150 on your first deposit and the recently introduced 100% up to $500 bonuses.

Game Variety and Promotions

PartyPoker offers great variety of games: Texas Holdem, Omaha, Seven Card Stud including Limit, No-Limit, Pot-Limit, Hi/Lo and Hi variants of these poker games.

The tournaments are also well-served with a wide selection of buy-in options and STT’s available from as low as $3. Available ring games range from $0,02-$0,04 and up to $25-$50. The room’s main event is the well-known PartyPoker Million and the newly introduced $300,000 guaranteed tournament taking place every Sunday. Another attraction available for PartyPoker players is club freerolls. Players can earn PP’s (Party Points) and redeem them to enter numerous freerolls and other tournaments available in the room.

Deposit/Withdrawal Methods

You can make deposits with major credit and debit cards or use one of major online payment processors, such as Click2Pay, Moneybookers, FirePay and Click&Buy, bank transfer. Besides of this, there are several deposit methods specific to particular regions, such as BPAY for Australia.

You can withdraw money to your bank account (through Bank Wire Transfer), credit or debit card and through Click2Pay, NETeller, Moneybookers or FirePay. You can also request a check shipping by mail or FedEx.

Beginners Tables

Another unique feature offered by PartyPoker is Beginner Tables, which are reserved for newly registered real money players only. New players can use these tables within 45 days after making first deposit. This feature protects new players from the sharks fishing for inexperienced players. Note that Texas Holdem is the only game available at beginner tables. The stake ranges at the beginner tables are:

$0.5/$1, $1/$2, $2/$4 and $3/$6

Customer Service

PartyPoker offers excellent customer service with free phone support available 24×7. Besides of this, there is e-mail support for less urgent issues.

comes, you can use an information bet against some holdem opponents to clarify the situation. If you make a substantial bet, some straightforward players will tend to raise with a big pair (say pocket aces or kings), but just call with a smaller pair. Since you have only two outs when you are beaten, you can use their response to help you play when you aren’t sure about your pair.

Conclusion

As with any play, betting slightly more for information is not without its perils. Against perceptive, skilled hand-readers, an information raise might invite a big bluff. Or, more generally, they might pick off bets slightly larger than average as information-gathering attempts and feed you intentional misinformation.

Many Texas Holdem players make a very obvious information-gathering attempt. If they find themselves under the gun with a good, but potentially vulnerable, poker hand such as pocket jacks, they often make a big raise. In a $2-$5 Texas Holdem game, they might make it $40 to go under the gun. This uncharacteristically large raise is designed to scare out the riff-raff, while limiting reraises only to hands bigger than jacks. The play works poorly in the best of circumstances. It puts too much money at risk, out of position, with a hand that isn’t strong enough, and it encourages everyone to play more correctly.

Against a player who can read it for what it is, this play is truly horrendous. The big jacks raiser is out of position and has told everyone else almost exactly what hand he has (usually jacks, possibly tens or maybe ace-king). That’s a terrible situation to be in when you’re playing deep stack no limit Texas Holdem.

So use the information-gathering play wisely. Try it most against straightforward and unaware players (players who will almost never just call your information bet or raise with a great poker hand or raise it with a merely good one). You can use it against better players also, but use it sparingly, and mix up your play. Make sure those bigger-than-average bets are often big hands as well. But, used correctly, the information you glean can be worth far more than what you have to pay for it.

Good luck.

In limit Texas Holdem, though a popular tactic, paying for information is usually dubious. Throwing in an extra raise you otherwise wouldn’t, or calling a bet you otherwise shouldn’t, often doesn’t work out.

We’ve written often that aggressive players in limit Texas Holdem usually respond too unpredictably to allow you to alter your play profitably. Limit pots are usually so large compared to the bet size that the information has to be quite specific and accurate to allow you to fold. And the cost of making a bad calldown is relatively small anyway, so even when you can profit, you don’t profit much.

In no limit Texas Holdem, though, the right information at the right time could save your whole stack. So the potential upside is much greater than it can be in limit Holdem. Also, the information tends to be somewhat more reliable. In aggressive limit games, a flop bet can be almost a dare to raise. If you follow through and actually raise, you’ll often be met with a three-bet, sometimes made seemingly on principle alone.

In no limit Texas Holdem, only the most reckless players would raise and reraise so blithely since the penalty for putting in a "light" raise (with a weaker-than-average hand) can be so much harsher. Instead of being charged an extra small bet in a pot ten times its size, light raisers can be met with enormous reraises that they can’t call.

Also, a mere call transmits much more information in no limit Texas Holdem. In limit Texas Holdem, a flop call can frequently mean almost any range of hands: any pair, overcards, any draw worth discussing, and other holdings so bad we don’t have the stomach to mention them. Such a call is, by no means, a sign of a strong hand.

In no limit Texas Holdem, though, good players call with far more consideration. Typically a call will signify a good made poker hand, a strong draw, or occasionally something weaker. But even the weaker calls often portend an ominous turn of events.

In any event, betting top pair on the flop and getting called in limit is usually a good thing. In no limit Texas Holdem, it’s often a sign of trouble ahead. If the pot’s $150, you bet $120 with top pair, and two good players with $1,000 stacks call, you very likely should give up on the turn.

(One exception to this rule is when the bet and call are small, compared to the stack sizes. If the pot’s $20, you bet $15, and one or two players with $1,000 stacks call, you aren’t necessarily in trouble. They could be "fishing," relying on the implied odds of the deep stacks to reward their speculation on weak holdings.)

Big bets and calls are telling. Small bets and calls aren’t nearly so. Thus, you sometimes have the opportunity to "pay" for information by making a somewhat larger bet than you otherwise might. If your opponents will call $15 with lots of hands, but $30 with only good ones, it often behooves you to bet $30. You don’t do it because the $30 bet makes you more profit; you do it because it helps you to save a large chunk of your stack when beaten.

It’s often cheaper to bet $30 with a mediocre hand and give up if called than to bet $15, get called in two places, and have to follow up for $60 or more, out of position and clouded in uncertainty. So look for opportunities to bet a little bit extra if it will give you reliable and useful information about your holdem opponents’ hands. These information bets are particularly useful when you are out of position, as they chip away at your holdem opponents’ advantage.

An Example

You’re playing $5-$10 with $1,500 stacks. One player limps, and a tight and straightforward player makes it $40 to go from two off the button. You are next to act with A♥ K♠.

You might sometimes call, but you can do something clearly better against this specific opponent. That’s because she’s straightforward in the following way: if you reraise her, she’ll put in the third raise always and only with pocket aces or kings. With any other hand, she’ll either call or fold (depending on the hand and how large your raise is). This is true regardless of the size of your reraise; a third raise always means pocket aces or kings, and she will always reraise with aces or kings. (You could change "always" to "nearly always" and the following logic would still probably hold. But as soon as your holdem opponent mixes her play up to any degree, this play doesn’t necessarily work as described.)

In this situation, it makes sense to make a small reraise, perhaps making it $80 or $100 to go. You are reraising to see if she puts in the third raise. Your reraise is small because you don’t want her to fold ace-queen, ace-jack, or king-queen if she happens to have one of those poker hands. You also keep it small to avoid risking more than necessary to find out if you are up against aces or kings.

Indeed, this reraise doesn’t give you information only about the initial raiser’s hand. It gives you information about all of your other holdem opponents’ hands as well (the button, the blinds, and the limper). Just calling might encourage an enterprising player to call with some unreadable poker hands or to take a shot at both you and the initial raiser by putting in a big semi-bluff raise. By reraising, you all but eliminate that possibility, since you very well could be holding pocket aces. So not only does your reraise tell you about the initial raiser’s poker hand, it also keeps the remaining players’ actions more "pure," allowing you to make better decisions.

Good luck.

Say your holdem opponent has raised $100 all-in, and you think (correctly) that she would do this with pocket aces through nines, ace-king, and ace-queen. With kings, you’re calling against every poker hand except aces. When she has aces, you’re roughly a 4.5-to-l dog, so calling costs you $64 (assuming, for simplicity, that the $ 1 and $2 blinds get raked away).

$64 = (0.82)(- $100) + (0.18)($100)

So avoiding aces is worth $64. But usually, in Texas Holdem, you won’t see aces; usually you’ll see something else. She can have aces six ways, kings one way, queens through nines six ways each, ace-king eight ways, and ace-queen sixteen ways. The chance you’ll see aces is approximately 11 percent.

0.11 = (6 + 1 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 8 + 16)

Thus, getting to see if your holdem opponent has aces is worth (0.11)($64) = $7.04. If you had queens instead of kings, the information would be worth twice that, or $14.08, as you would be exactly twice as likely to see a hand you would fold to.

Jacks wouldn’t be worth three times, though, as ace-king and ace-queen could now be made 16 ways each instead of 8 and 16.

Now what if the information weren’t perfectly specific and accurate? Say you have pocket kings again, but instead of showing her cards, your holdem opponent answers the question "Do you have aces?" Half the time that she has aces, she says "yes," and the other half, she says "no." She always says "no" when she doesn’t have aces.

She’ll still have aces 11 percent of the time, but she’ll tell you she has aces only 5.5 percent of the time. So this information is worth (0.055)($64) = $3.52. Even though it’s not perfect, it’s still worth something. The information would be worthless, however, if she tainted her "yes" answers with enough hands you can beat that you would have to make the call regardless of what she says.

Good luck.

and the blinds fold, so the pot is $190. The flop comes

giving you a double-gutshot straight draw. Your holdem opponent bets $150, and you call ($490 in pot).

The turn is the A♣. Your holdem opponent checks. At this point, it’s reasonably likely that he plans to fold if you bet a "standard" amount. So you bet $500. Your holdem opponent thinks for a while, and then, to your surprise, calls. ($1,490 in the pot.)

The river is the J♥, pairing the top card and completing the front-door flush. You move all-in for $1,770, offering your holdem opponent slightly worse than 2-to-l to call. Hopefully your holdem opponent will think for a while and then fold.

Your turn bluff is a somewhat "automatic" play; your holdem opponent raised preflop and continued on the flop. If it turns out that he doesn’t have much (in this case, less than a pair of aces), usually he’ll check and fold the turn. To show an immediate profit, your opponent must fold about 50 percent of the time. Given the action, it’s likely he will. (Of course, it’s even better than that because he will sometimes call and lose to your straight in Texas Holdem poker.)

Of course, showing an immediate profit isn’t enough to justify the bet, by itself, as you might make more by checking. Nevertheless, in many situations and against many holdem opponents, the turn bluff is a no-brainer.

A river bluff is somewhat more daring. By calling the big turn bet, your holdem opponent establishes that he has a fairly good poker hand. A reasonable read would be an ace (ace-king probably) or one of the two available flush draws (hearts or clubs), perhaps with an extra draw like a straight draw or flopped pair. He could have other poker hands — a set, two pair, or a straight draw perhaps — but checking and calling after betting the flop is most consistent with a good, but not great, poker hand.

With a great poker hand, your holdem opponent might have bet again on the turn, hoping for a raise. Or he might have check-raised the turn. Or he might have checked and called the turn, but bet big on the river. Check-call on the turn and check on the river is likely not a monster.

The J♥ on the river is unlikely to please your holdem opponent. If he has a club draw, he missed. If he has an ace, he can’t like that the flush came in or the possibility of three jacks. And if he has hearts, he’ll be worried, given your big bets, that you flopped a set and now have a full house. With a flush he should probably call getting almost 2-to-l on the river, but a few opponents won’t, letting their fear get the best of them. And with anything less than a flush, you’ll usually get most opponents to lay down.

Different strength poker hands will require different bluff sizes to "get the job done." If your holdem opponent has a busted draw, then maybe almost any bet (say a quarter pot-sized bet) will likely be enough to get a fold. If your holdem opponent has a pair, then maybe he’ll call a quarter pot-sized bet, but fold for a two-thirds pot-sized bet. And maybe he won’t fold a set no matter how much you bet.

Finding the right bluff size in Texas Holdem is again a matter of maximizing your expectation. For instance, say you are choosing between two bet sizes: quarter pot-sized and two-thirds pot-sized. (Let’s say the pot is $300, and the candidate bet sizes are $75 and $200.)

You think your holdem opponent has one of three poker hands: a busted draw, a pair, or a set. You think she has a busted draw 30 percent of the time, a pair 60 percent, and a set the other 10 percent.

A $75 bet will get the busted draw to fold 80 percent of the time (you’ll get bluff-raised occasionally) and the pair 20 percent.

A $200 bet will get the busted draw to fold 90 percent of the time and the pair 70 percent. The set will never fold. The expectation of the $75 bet is then $60.

$60=(0.30)[(0.80)($300)+(0.20)(-$75)]+(0.60)[(0.20)($300)+(0.80)(-$75)]+(0.10)(-$75)

The expectation of the $200 bet is $145.

$145=(0.30)[(0.90)($300)+(0.10)(-$200)]+(0.60)[(0.70)($300)+(0.30)(-$200)]+(0.10)(-$200)

Thus, in this example, $200 is the better bluff size. You’re better off trying to get both the busted draws and the pairs to fold rather than just the busted draws.

At the table, obviously you can’t solve equations like this. (And you wouldn’t know the percentages precisely anyway, so even if you could solve equations, it wouldn’t necessarily help you much.) Just think about what hands you think your opponents might have, and what poker hands they might fold for what bet sizes. Choose the size that seems to give you the most benefit for the least risk.

Good luck.

Sportsbook Poker Review

Summary:

One of the greatest advantages of Sportsbook Poker is the fact that this poker room accepts US player deposits and you can make deposits directly through the room’s cashier. The average acceptance rate nears one hundred percent, so US residents should not experience any problems with all types of US credit cards. Besides of this, the minimum deposit allowed for new players is only $20, which makes this room even more attractive for those, who haven’t chosen a room to play in yet and want to try several poker rooms comparatively cheaply. For the purpose of this review, we have tried major US bank credit cards, which were successfully processed by Sportsbook Poker cashier within a couple of minutes. I must say that the same set of credit cards was often denied by many other poker rooms.

Exclusive Sportsbook Poker 100% bonus up to $650 on your first deposit for all RoomReview.net visitors.

All RoomReview.net visitors are eligible for an instant $100% bonus up to $650 on their first deposit. In order to receive this bonus, click the “play now” link, create your account and make first deposit within 1 month from the registration date. Also note that you will need to download Sportsbook Poker software suite, which is necessary to create your player account, make deposits, play at Sportsbook Poker and withdraw your winnings.

Exclusive $500 welcome freeroll for all RoomReview.net visitors.

Besides of the outstanding first deposit bonus, all RoomReview.net visitors will be able to enjoy a thrilling $500 welcome freeroll right after making their first deposit. Welcome freerolls take place every Wednesday, sharply at 10:30 PM EST and are available for all players registered through RoomReview.net.

Note that Sportsbook Poker only accepts real money deposits from the US and Canadian residents.

Screenshots:

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Sportsbook Poker room review:

Although I am always pensive and wary about new brands in the poker industry, I must say that I was pleasantly impressed with Sportsbook Poker. Basically, there are three aspects which attracted me most and which, in my opinion are the room’s greatest draws: plenty of fish (weak players, which you can earn from), the ability to make deposits with US credit cards and finally the rare combination of an instant first deposit bonus with a bigger play-through bonus.

Just as the rest of crossover gambling sites (sites that offer casino games, poker room and sports betting under one brand), Sportsbook Poker is crowded with probably the worst players among top10 online poker rooms. However, there are plenty of players and a lot of busy tables all the way up to $10/$20 tables. This is an extremely juicy opportunity to earn easy money and, if you are new to poker in general and Texas Holdem in particular, find plenty of players matching your skill level. Don’t forget that you can fund your player account with any US credit card in literally less than one minute.

Remember, that besides of basic sign up and play through bonuses, RoomReview.net visitors get an increased 100% deposit bonus, a $500 freeroll and an extra 10% instant cash. Combined with plenty of weak players, excellent customer support and number of bonuses for loyal members, Sportsbook Poker appears to be one of the top poker rooms available for US players.

Most player promotions offered by Sportsbook Poker are done with Gold Chips and Gold Cards. Sportsbook Poker Gold Chips are earned through player’s activity and can be redeemed for free seats in special freerolls. Sportsbook Poker Golden Cards represents a random card in the deck. Golden Cards can be redeemed for cash, if you make a poker hand that includes a Golden Card.

One of the hottest events available for all new players registered through RoomReview.net is a weekly $500 freeroll. You can enter this freeroll right after making your first deposit on the nearest Wednesday at 10:30 PM EST. Fund your account and click “Private” tournament section to learn more about this freeroll. Besides of this, all RoomReview.net visitors are eligible for hot Monday night freerolls available during the NFL season.

Auditory:

It’s always refreshing to see such quantities of truly worthless players. Average skill level of Sportsbook Poker players tends to “fish”, although you can meet a shark hunting for their money. All crossover gambling site, which is mainly a sportsbook, Sportsbook Poker is bound to have plenty of weak, inexperienced players occupying many tables at low, middle and even high levels.

Tournaments:

Sportsbook Poker offers plenty of tournaments running every 20 minutes during most hours. Such a tense schedule is surprisingly tense, because most new poker rooms have to struggle for years in order to build decent auditory of Texas Holdem tournaments. The most interesting guaranteed poker tournaments with $5-$30 buy-ins attract more than 500 players. These tournaments usually offer guaranteed prize pool ranging between $1,000 and $30,000. One of the most attractive tournaments hosted by Sportsbook Poker is the Bounty tournament. The series of events take place throughout the day with half the size of the buy in being player’s bounty. Your goal is to knock out your opponents and collect their bounty throughout the tournament. The guaranteed prize pool is usually shared by top10 players that successfully reached the end of the tournament. The most attractive draw of this tournament is that you can earn a lot of money regardless of your overall result.

Software: 

Sportsbook Poker software works smoothly and gets the job down without annoying freezes. Although it won’t amaze you with slick and glamorous graphics, it has eye-friendly colors and easy controls which significantly improves the ease of your play. Besides of custom avatars, you can upload and use your own photo or any picture to represent yourself at the poker table. All games available in the lobby can be conveniently organized helping you to find certain levels of tournaments and ring games.

Sportsbook Poker software includes the built-in bonus and Gold Chip meters, which help you to determine how many bonus chips you earned. Besides of this, you will definitely enjoy detailed table statistics (such as flop percentage, average pot size, etc.) and comprehensive hand history that will help to improve your play.

Money withdrawal:

In my opinion, Sportsbook Poker is using probably the best withdrawal methods in the industry: Fedex check and direct checking account payments. I think that receiving money directly to checking account is much easier, especially for those who plays during the night. You can either receive your payouts via ACH, or request a paper check sent through one of courier services delivering to your area.

Customer Support:

Sportsbook Poker provides excellent customer support, which is especially important for novice players that may have bunch of questions regarding bonuses, promotions, tournaments and about how the software and some cashier features work. Besides of the standard e-mail and phone support, Sportsbook Poker provides Live Chat option, which is extremely convenient and you don’t have to wait more than a minute.

Sporsbook Poker Pros:

•  Strong traffic. Plenty of ring games and tournaments going at all levels.

•  Good bonuses and promotions. 100% first deposit bonus, guaranteed $500 freeroll and many other promotions for new and loyal players.

•  Many terrible players. Plenty of fish, which you can earn from.

•  Accepts most US credit cards.

•  Easy withdrawal and deposit methods.

•  Quality customer support.

Games: Texas Holdem (Including Limit, No-Limit and Pot-Limit Texas Holdem Poker), Omaha (including Omaha Hi\Lo) and Seven Card Stud.

Game limits: Limit Texas Holdem tables: 4c/8c up to $100/$200, No Limit Texas Holdem tables: 2c/4c up to $50/$100.

Available deposit methods: You can fund your account using Visa and MasterCard. Sportsbook Poker is probably the easiest poker room for US residents to deposit with.

Minimum deposit: $20

Reviewed by Ronald Norris

A planned follow-up bluff provides an extra incentive to make a larger bet: you may win a bigger pot on the second round bluff.

For instance, say you bluff $500 into a $1,000 pot. Your holdem opponent calls. The pot is now $2,000. You bluff again, and this time your opponent folds. You’ve won $1,500 — the $1,000 that was in the pot originally plus your opponent’s $500 call.

If you had bet $800 instead of $500 on the first round, then your second round bluff would have won $1,800 instead of $ 1,500. Sometimes, in Texas Holdem this extra incentive to bet more will affect your bluff-sizing. See the next article "Bluffing on the Turn and River" for a more detailed analysis of this situation.

Good luck.

"Well, $20 will get him to fold a pair of deuces. $25 will fold treys. $50 will fold sixes, and $100 will fold kings. $200 will fold two pair, and $500 will fold a straight."

Things don’t work that way at all. Finding the right amount is a psychological problem more than anything else. "If I bet $X, what will he put me on, what will he view his pot and implied odds as, and will he see his pair of queens as profitable?" You have to get into your holdem opponents’ heads and see your bets from their perspectives.

Indeed, in Texas Holdem, sometimes a smaller bet will be more likely to get the job done than a bigger one. Obviously, when that’s the case (or even if you suspect that’s the case) then a small bluff is almost certainly a better play than a big one — less risk and higher chance of success.

There’s no formula to tell how much it will take to get the job done. You have to analyze each case separately.

Why Play Poker?

You don’t need supernatural powers to do extraordinary things. You can be just an average lad, just sufficiently motivated, to achieve your goals.

Besides of only enjoying the game, why people have to play poker for real money? This question is rhetorical for most people out there, but what about you? And why people choose to play free games, if they can go watch a football game, or hang out with their friends? In fact, each player has his own reasons to play poker, but in general, all these reasons can be divided into several groups. Most people play poker just for fun. Another group of players gathers around tables to communicate, make new friends and become a part of community and improve their social skills. A lot of players enjoy playing poker, because its unique structure presents an opportune game for mathematical and strategic analysis. In other words – poker is a really interesting and challenging intellectual game. Besides of this, large share of global poker auditory are real money players. Real money players can be also divided into several groups. These are: people who play poker time to time, players that earn at least 1\2 of their income at the table and poker professionals that become millionaires winning world poker tournaments such as WPT or WSOP.

How to play poker

In order to begin a successful player career, you need to patiently and carefully pass through several basic steps. Don’t start with advanced and expert poker guides and articles, because you can miss some of important basic concepts of the game. Choose one of popular games (for example – Texas Holdem) and start with its basic rules, learn basic strategies of the selected game and take enough time to read poker tips. Besides of this, you must know the difference between land-based card room games and online poker. There are certain differences in style of play, environment and applicable strategies, when you play poker online or in brick-and-mortar casinos.

Where to play poker

If you have decided to play poker online, then you will have to choose one or several poker rooms and register player accounts. Though there are hundreds of rooms out there, it is better to choose one (or several) rooms based on expert recommendations of reputable poker portals. The purpose of poker portals is real-time monitoring of top online poker rooms based on different criteria, which includes safety, security, quality of customer support, average skill level of the auditory, usability of the rooms’ software and subjective player rating.

Tip: remember, that just as it is only possible to become a skillful football player, playing against the strongest teams, it is only possible to become a strong and winning poker player, playing against the sharks (poker professionals).

Besides of this, you need to consider choosing an online poker room supporting your language and payment methods available in your region. For example, US residents can only make deposits in few US poker rooms.

Learn to play poker

If you are ready to begin your poker education, then you can start it by reading our step-by-step guide, completely dedicated to learning Texas Holdem, the most popular poker variant played in land-based casinos and online rooms across the world. Besides of this, you should consider reading other useful poker articles and professional tips available on this portal.

You can play poker for free

Unlike in land-based casinos, in online poker rooms it’s not necessary to pay in order to enjoy your favorite game. Online rooms recommended by our portal offer free poker (play money) games. However, you should remember that play money poker games are only suitable for the beginners and people who play poker just for fun. The point is that if you are planning to play poker for real money and become a winning professional, then you shouldn’t play free poker games, because strategies and tactics applied in play money games are completely different to those, applied in real money games, so therefore you can fall into bad habits of play money players and spend a lot of money and time to rebuild your vision of a game.

Meet you at the tables.

Sincerely, Ronald Norris

The more likely your holdem opponent is to have you beaten, the less likely you should be to bet at all.

If you are sure you have the best hand, then the trick to bet-sizing is to find the amount that causes your holdem opponents to make the biggest aggregate mistakes (given your poker hand and their possible ranges).

But if you aren’t sure, then betting at all could be a mistake for you. The larger the chance that you’re beaten, the bigger that mistake becomes. As the chance you’re beaten rises, you may be better off just letting your holdem opponent draw.

Checking is usually best if you aren’t the favorite,

You aren’t the favorite as calculated by combining the chances that you are beaten already with the chances you will be outdrawn.

and you act last. If you are out of position, however, sometimes you should make a small bet even if you aren’t the favorite. You do this if you frequently expect your holdem opponent to make a large bet if you check. This sort of "small bet to stop a large one" is called a "blocking bet".

Conclusion

You now have a solid theoretical understanding of how to size your bets in Texas Holdem. As a quick summary, here are the rules we learned:

1. Bet enough so that your holdem opponents can’t call profitably.

2. If your holdem opponents could have one of several draws, and that fact means that you’ll sometimes lose money on the river, bet more to cut down their implied odds.

3. Don’t bet so much with the best hand that you blow your poker opponents out of the pot. You’d prefer they sometimes make a bad call than that they fold every time.

4. Size your bet to maximize your expectation, which is the size of your opponent’s possible mistake times the chance he will make the mistake.

5. If your opponents might have one of several draws, size your bet to maximize your expectation against the total range of hands. Sometimes that will mean letting them draw correctly with strong draws if they’ll also draw incorrectly with weak ones.

6. If your opponent might make a second-best hand that would cause him to lose a lot on the river, keep him in the hand. It’s usually better to make a small bet that gets called than to blow him out of the hand with a big bet.

7. Ignore the number of outs your opponent might have if you think he has a hand that he believes may be better than yours without improvement. In that case, your bet should be much more than what his outs might indicate.

8. Don’t forget that you may not have the best hand. The more likely you are to be behind, the less likely you should bet at all. If you aren’t the favorite, checking is usually best if you act last, but if you are out of position, sometimes you should make a blocking bet instead.

Good luck.

For instance, in a typical No-Limit Texas Holdem game, if on the turn you have bottom two pair and you put your opponent on an overpair, he has eight outs. But that fact is largely irrelevant to your bet-sizing decision. Your bet should be significantly more than the minimum one-third pot-sized bet that having eight outs would suggest because your holdem opponent isn’t counting on having to improve to win. Your holdem opponent is likely to call a sizable bet, so make one.

However, even when you’re choosing a large bet size because your opponent may think he has the best hand, you still should consider whether he has outs. If he has no outs, and you think that he will call X dollars 100 percent of the time or 2X dollars 50 percent of the time, the two options have equal expectation. But if he has outs, the bigger bet is better because you now gain something when he folds.

Good luck.

Let’s reconsider the same example, except now you hold Q♥ Q♠. You have top set instead of an overpair, and the 4♦ and 2♦ make your holdem opponent’s flush, but give you a full house. Your opponent now has seven outs instead of nine, so he’s 5.3-to-l to beat you (7/44). By our earlier reasoning, you should offer no better than 5-to-1 pot odds, so you should bet at least $25 (offering $125-to-$25).

But our earlier reasoning doesn’t hold anymore! Why not? Because if the 4♦ or 2♦ comes, not only do you not lose, but you stand to win your holdem opponent’s remaining $400 on the river. Let’s compare two expectations: one where you make a big bet, forcing your holdem opponent to fold, and another where you check, allowing him to draw for free.

If you bet a lot, forcing your holdem opponent to fold, you’ll win the $100 pot every time. So your expectation is $100.

If you check, then you win $100 whenever no diamond comes (35/44), win nothing when a non-pairing diamond comes (7/44), and win $500 ($100 plus $400) when the 44 or 24 comes (2/44). Your expectation if you check is $102.28.

$102.28 = (35/44)($100) + (7/44)($0) + (2/44)($500)

Because your Texas Holdem opponent will occasionally make a second-best hand and get stacked, you’d prefer that he draw for free than that he fold. The lower bound of your betting range isn’t $25 — it’s $0.

Obviously, you’d rather bet and have your holdem opponent call than check. But you should bet an amount that you’re fairly sure your poker opponent will call, even if that’s less than $25 (although in this case it wouldn’t be)

If your opponent could catch his draw, but still be second-best, tend to bet an amount you’re fairly sure he’ll call. Don’t miss a chance to stack him by blowing him out too early.

Put another way, if your holdem opponent can have a 4 out draw, an 8 out draw, or a 15 out draw, the bet size that maximizes your expectation might allow the 15 out draw to draw profitably if your opponent will call incorrectly those times he has the 4 or 8 out draws.

Say you think your holdem opponent has one of two draws: one that’s 4-to-l to come in and one that’s 2-to-l. You think your poker opponent will have the 4-to-l draw 75 percent of the time and the 2-to-l draw 25 percent of the time.

Again, for simplicity, assume that there will be no betting on the river (we’ll adjust for river betting at the end). The pot is $1,000.

The break-even point for the 2-to-l draw is a $1,000 bet ($2,000-to-$ 1,000). The break-even point for the 4-to-l draw is a $333 bet ($l, 333-to-$333).

You’re considering two bet sizes: $ 1,500 and $500. If you bet $ 1,500, you’re fairly sure your poker opponent will fold either draw (and be correct to do so). If you bet $500, you’re fairly sure your opponent will call with both draws (correctly with the 2-to-1 draw, but incorrectly with the 4-to-l).

If you bet $1,500, you will win the pot and no more. We’ll call this the "baseline" and assign it a value of $0. You don’t win anything from your holdem opponent’s mistakes, but you don’t lose anything by giving away a profitable call either.

If you bet $500, then you gain because the 4-to-l draw calls incorrectly, but you lose because the 2-to-l draw calls correctly. The value of your poker opponent’s mistake of calling with the 4-to-l draw is $100.

$100 = (0.20)($1,500) + (0.80)(-$500)

The value of your mistake by allowing your holdem opponent to call with the 2-to-l draw is $167.

$167 = (1/3)($l,500) + (2/3)(-$500)

So you gain $100 when your Texas Holdem opponent calls incorrectly with the 4-to-l draw, and you lose $167 when he calls correctly with the 2-to-l draw. But he has the 4-to-l draw three times more often (75 percent versus 25 percent), so your total gain against the baseline is $33.33.

$33.33 = (0.75)($100) + (0.25)(-$167)

Even though you made a mistake by allowing your opponent to draw correctly sometimes, your poker opponent made a bigger mistake by drawing incorrectly the rest of the time. Overall, in this case, you maximize your expectation with the smaller bet.

Choose your bet size to maximize your overall expectation, even if that sometimes means that your opponent can draw correctly against you.

We ignored possible river betting in our analysis. In reality, the fact that your opponent can have one of several draws will mean that his implied odds are greater than his pot odds. Thus, according to the rule from earlier, you should bet a larger amount than you would if you knew your opponent’s poker hand. So you might want to bet significantly more than $500 to ensure that his calls with the 4-to-l draw are still significant mistakes.

You want to choose the size that will maximize your expectation. Roughly speaking, your expectation is equal to the approximate value of the mistake times the chance that they’ll make the mistake.

By "value of the mistake" we mean how much money, on average, your holdem opponent loses to you by making the mistake. Say your opponent can break even by calling a $100 bet (and profit by calling a bet smaller than $100). If you bet $101, then your holdem opponent is making a mistake by calling, but it’s a tiny mistake. The value of that mistake is less than $1 (less than because sometimes your holdem opponent will draw out and win the extra dollar).

On the other poker hand, if your holdem opponent calls a $1,000 bet, then he’s made a huge mistake. Let’s do a little math to get a feel for exactly how big these mistakes are.

Say you bet $100 into a $200 pot, and your poker opponent is a 3-to-1 dog. Ignore future betting for the moment. If your holdem opponent calls, on average it will be break-even for him.

$0 = (1/4)($300) + (3/4)(- $100)

Now say you bet $150, and your holdem opponent calls. On average, your opponent expects to lose $25 on a call.

$25 = (1/4)($350)+ (3/4)(-$150)

If you bet $200, and your holdem opponent calls, on average he will lose $50.

$50 = (1/4)($400) + (3/4)(- $200)

If you bet $600, and your holdem opponent calls, on average he will lose $250.

$250 = (1/4)($800) + (3/4)(- $600)

So when you bet $50 more than break-even in Texas Holdem, he loses $25. When you bet $100 more, he loses $50. When you bet $500 more, he loses $250.

In general, the value of your opponent’s mistake will be proportional to the excess amount you bet beyond the break-even point.

This is an important concept of Texas Holdem betting, so we’ll repeat it. Your opponent’s expected loss (and, thus, your gain) is proportional to the excess amount you bet (and he called), beyond what would have been break-even, not the total size of the bet. If $500 is a break-even amount, then you double your profit by getting $600 called versus $550. (A conclusion worth noting is that $600 will almost always be better than $550 in this scenario, as it offers double the profit potential. Your opponent would have to call $600 less than half as often as $550 to make the smaller bet better, and in practice, that will almost never happen.)

The value of your opponent’s mistake is only half of the expectation equation. To get your total expectation, you have to multiply the value of the mistake by the chance your opponent will make the mistake. Again, a big all-in bet may offer your opponent the opportunity to make a huge mistake, but if your opponent will never be dumb enough to call, then you don’t gain anything.

Say you are fairly sure your poker opponent has a flush draw, and a $100 bet will be break-even for her. You are choosing between three bet sizes: $150, $200, and $500.

You think that your poker opponent will call the $ 150 bet about 70 percent of the time, the $200 bet about 40 percent of the time, and the $500 bet 5 percent of the time. To find the best bet, you have to multiply the size of the mistake by the chance your opponent will make it:

$35 = ($ 150-$100)(0.70)

$40 = ($200-$100)(0.40)

$20 = ($500-$100)(0.05)

The best bet is the $200 bet. It doesn’t get called the most often, but it has the highest expectation.

Bet the amount that maximizes your expectation: the value of your holdem opponent’s potential mistake times the chance your opponent will make the mistake.

Good luck.

While moving all-in anytime you know you have the best poker hand might prevent your opponent from calling profitably, it’s still a dumb thing to do. Huge bets in Texas Holdem will blow your opponents out of the poker hand and force them to play correctly. According to the Fundamental Theorem of Texas Holdem Poker, you should avoid plays that force your opponents to play correctly. Put them to a decision; let them make mistakes.

Bet more than your holdem opponents can call profitably, but don’t bet so much that you blow your opponents off their poker hands. Bet an amount that entices them to make a bad call.

Say you again have A♥ A♠ on the turn in a $100 pot with $400 behind. But now the board is J♦ T♦ 6♣ 9♣. You are fairly sure your opponent has a draw, but you don’t know whether it’s a diamond draw or a straight draw. It could even be a backdoor club draw with a hand like A ♣ T♣.

Whatever draw he has, he’s likely to have about eight or nine outs (though big combination straight, flush, and pair draws are also possible). So he’s still likely to be approximately 4-to-l against to make his poker hand.

Unfortunately, your holdem opponent won’t make it easy on you and tell you which draw he has. If any of the "obvious" draws comes in, that is any diamond, king, queen, eight, or seven, he may bluff even if the card didn’t complete his poker hand.

Now you can’t just fold on the river if a diamond comes and your opponent bets. Depending on exactly how much he bets and how often he bluffs, you may still fold, or you may call. But either way, you lose money: if you call, sometimes you’ll be paying him off, and if you fold, sometimes you’ll be getting bluffed out.

Since your opponent can now sometimes make money from you on the river, his implied odds are significantly better than the pot odds. A bet offering slightly worse than his pot odds doesn’t cut it anymore. You have to bet a larger amount to prevent him from calling profitably.

If your Texas Holdem opponent could hold one of several draws, bet a larger amount than you would if you knew which draw he had.

Good luck.

If she’s right, and she does stack you when she hits her straight, then, in addition to offering her high implied odds, you have made the error of "justifying her optimistic call." If, on the other poker hand, you thwart her by folding before she gets your whole stack in, then you have done well.

Many no limit Texas Holdem players’ eyes are bigger than their heads. They often call decently-sized flop bets with longshot draws because they assume that if they get there, they’ll stack you a large percentage of the time. If they are wrong, though, and they get your stack only a small percentage of the time, then they will lose money in the long run on these calls.

You can use this loose-calling tendency against your opponents if you refuse either to offer too high implied odds or to justify optimistic calls. That is, before you bet with good poker hands, you should mentally decide whether you are willing to pay off a big bet with the poker hand or not. (Obviously in Texas Holdem, sometimes you will decide one way, but change your mind later in the hand. Nevertheless, you should always be asking yourself, "Am I willing to lose a lot?")

Whenever you bet or raise in Holdem, always have an answer in your head to the question: "Am I planning to pay off a big bet on this poker hand, or will I fold if it comes to that?"

If you are willing to risk losing a lot, then you should usually avoid offering too high implied odds to players with the most likely draws. Bet enough so that if they call, they will lose money over the long term even if they do get you to pay off a big bet when they get there.

If you aren’t planning to pay off a big bet (because you don’t think this player will often bluff), though, then consider whether your opponent will call too often with weak draws, hoping to bust you. If she will, then use the fact that you aren’t justifying her optimistic call to your advantage. Bet an amount that will look small enough to her, but that you know actually is too much for her to call because you know that you won’t go broke.

For instance, say you have

on the button with a single opponent and a flop of

There is $100 in the pot, and you have only $800 left in your stack. With such a strong poker hand and so little left to bet, you likely will be betting your entire stack before the end of the hand. So if your Texas Holdem opponent assumes he can call a flop bet, hoping to bust you on a happy turn card, he’s right. He can bust you that way.

In that case, you should bet enough on the flop to avoid offering your opponent too high implied odds for the likely draws. In this case, the strongest likely draw is middle or bottom pair, a hand like 9♠ 8♠. With five outs (ignoring the backdoor draws for simplicity), he will get there about 5/45 times, or he’s 8-to-l against. With $100 in the pot and $800 left in your stack, he’s got $900 total he can win.

If he gets there with a nine, which will happen 3/5 of the time he improves, you have eight outs (three aces, two queens, and three treys). If he gets there with an eight, then you have only the two queens. So even if he gets there on the turn, you’ll draw out on the river 12.7 percent of the time.

0,127 = (3/5)(8/44) + (2/5)(2/44)

So, on average, when he gets there on the turn and all the money goes in, he’ll win $900 87.3 percent of the time, and he’ll lose $800 12.7 percent. His expected win in that circumstance is $684.10.

$684.10 = (0.873)($900) – (0.127)($800)

He’s 8-to-l to make his poker hand, and he stands to win $684.10 if he does. You should bet at least $684.10/8 = $85.51 to avoid offering too high implied odds. If you bet any more than $85.51, then you will profit from his call. A pot-sized $ 100 bet would be fine. Slightly more than the size of the pot, perhaps $120, would be even better if you think your opponent is likely to call such a bet with middle pair.

You don’t have to figure this precisely while you play Texas Holdem. Just realize that you should offer him less than about 10-to-1.

But what if you have $5,000 left rather than only $800? Now a willingness to go to the felt indiscriminately can be costly. To avoid offering too high implied odds to someone with middle pair or a gutshot, you’d have to bet many times the pot. And if you do that, you’re likely to get action mainly from flopped two pair and sets.

While A♥ Q♥ is likely to be tops on a Q♠ 8♦ 3♥ flop, it is no certainty. And when you commit to $5,000 in betting to protect the $100 in the pot, those rare times you are beaten will destroy you. Instead, you should estimate how much you’re likely to lose while finding out that your ace-queen is no good in Holdem. Let’s say for simplicity that you’ll lose an average of $684.10 (as you did in the previous example) figuring out your ace-queen has been outdrawn. (The better your opponent plays, the higher this number will be, almost by the definition of "good" versus "bad" player.)

In Texas Holdem practice, it’s very difficult to make such an estimate with any real precision. For the purpose of this text, we will often make "estimates" with the foresight of Nostradamus. We are primarily teaching the mathematical processes for coming to conclusions, not telling you whether to raise or fold in specific situations. Thus, the actual numbers we choose are largely irrelevant. It’s the process we use to come to a conclusion from those numbers that is important.

You should now bet an amount large enough to make sure your opponents won’t profit by trying to outdraw you, but small enough so that they might think that you have mistakenly offered them too high implied odds.

Since $85.51 was a large enough bet to avoid pricing your opponent in for an average loss of $684.10 before, it still is now. So you should bet more than that. But you shouldn’t bet so much that your opponent will never call. Once you have bet enough to offer too low implied odds, you want your opponent to call. So don’t blow them out of the water. Bet an amount that they might call.

Keep in mind that your better opponents will look at your remaining stack and try to estimate how much they can get out of you if they hit their draw. Then they will compare that amount to your bet and try to decide whether they can draw profitably or not. Ideally, you want to bet an amount that you know is too much for the likely draws to call, but that is small enough that it might tempt your opponents.

When betting good poker hands with deep stacks, bet enough to make your opponents’ draws unprofitable, but not so much that they won’t often call.

Good luck.

Real Texas Holdem is played with hands facedown, though. If you have pocket jacks and all you know from your opponent’s reraise is that he has a "good" poker hand, but not necessarily pocket aces, then your situation is weaker.

For instance, we said before that about one-ninth of the time you’ll flop a jack without him flopping an ace. But about one-one-hundredth of the time, you’ll both flop a set, and if you don’t know he has pocket aces, you’ll almost certainly get stacked. Now your EV for a $65 reraise is -$4.80.

$4.80 = (0.88)(- $65) + (0.11)($520) + (0.0l)(- $480)

The remote threat of getting stacked if you both flop a set costs you almost an extra $5 a poker hand. That means that your opponent with secret pocket aces doesn’t have to raise as much to keep your call from being profitable.

Also, if your opponent sometimes will reraise preflop with smaller pairs or unpaired hands like ace-king (as almost everyone will), then your implied odds situation is much weaker still. Sometimes when you hit your set, you won’t get your opponent’s stack. Meanwhile, when you don’t hit your set, the raiser will get you to lay down what turns out to be the best hand. In this situation, the most typical in real Texas Holdem play, the raiser needs to raise less still to avoid offering you too high implied odds.

Also in this situation, the player with aces need not reraise so much because he has to balance out the threat of giving a pair the right implied odds with the risk of scaring out hands like ace-king, ace-queen, or king-queen.

So, putting you in the raiser’s shoes for a moment, the more your opponent can narrow down the range of poker hands you might have, the larger of a percentage of your total stack you must bet immediately to avoid rewarding your opponent’s ability to take advantage of his knowledge.

Again, when the stacks are deep, knowing when to get away from your poker hand will allow you to make smaller bets. Keep reading hands.

The more your opponents know about the exact nature of your hand in Holdem, the more you have to bet immediately to avoid offering them too high implied odds.

Here’s another example. Say you are playing $5-$ 10 blind no limit Texas Holdem with $2,000 stacks. Someone raises to $30 in early position, and you call on the button with 6♦ 5♦. Both blinds fold ($75 in the pot and $1,970 left to bet). The flop comes J♣ 7♣ 3♠, giving you a gutshot. Your opponent bets $100. At that point, he tells you (he’s not lying) that he has a set of jacks. Furthermore, he promises to bet all the rest of his money on the turn no matter what comes.

If you call and miss your straight, you lose $100. If you call and make your straight, you still have to dodge a board pair on the river to win. Ten cards out of forty-four pair the board, so 23 percent of the time (10/44) you’ll lose $1,970, and 77 percent of the time (34/44) you’ll win $1,970 + $75 = $2,045. So your expected win if you catch your straight on the turn is $1,132.50.

$1,132.50 = (34/44)($2,045) – (10/44)($1,970)

Thus, your Holdem implied odds are $l,132.50-to-$100 or about 11.3-to-1. Your chance to catch your straight is 4/45 or about 10.25-to-1. Since your implied odds are greater than your chance to make the straight, you should call.

Let’s say that the preflop action and flop cards are the same, but now your opponent tells you (again, he’s not lying) that he either has a set of jacks or A♣ K♣ (for a big flush draw). And again, he promises to bet all-in on the turn no matter what happens.

First, there are three ways to have a set of jacks (J♥ J♦, J♠ J♦, J♠ J♥), while only one way to have A♣ K♣. So there is a 75 percent chance he has the set and only a 25 percent chance of the flush draw.

Knowing that, you have to fold to the all-in turn bet if you miss, even if you catch a pair, since even though you are now ahead of the flush draw hand, he’s three times more likely to have the set and have you still drawing to the gutshot.

So again, you lose $100 if you call and miss your straight. But if you call and catch your straight, the math changes.

If you call and catch the 4♦, 4♥, or 4♠, then you are the favorite over both the set and flush draw. The set has a 23 percent chance to outdraw you (10/44), and the flush draw has a 20 percent chance (9/44), so weighting the jacks at three times the likelihood, he has on average about a 22 percent chance to outdraw you.

0.22 = (1/44)[(10)(3)+(9)(1)/4]

If you catch the 4♣, then 75 percent of the time, you are ahead and will be outdrawn 23 percent of the time (10/44). The other 25 percent of the time, you are drawing dead, the equivalent of being outdrawn 100 percent of the time. So he has about a 42 percent chance to outdraw you.

0.42 = (1/44)[(10)(3)+(44)(1)/4]

That is, three times out of four, you’ll have a 22 percent chance (9.75/44) of being outdrawn. And one time out of four, you’ll have a 42 percent chance (18.5/44). Together, this represents an aggregate 27 percent chance to be outdrawn.

0.27 = (1/44)[(9,75)(3)+(18,5)(1)/4]

Note that your chance to be outdrawn when your opponent always had the jacks was 23 percent. So things are now worse for you. How much worse exactly? Well, now your expected win is approximately $970.

$970 = (32,06/44)($2.065)-(11.94/44)($1,970)

Thus, your implied odds are $970-to-$100 or 9.7-to-l. Your chance to catch the straight in Texas Holdem poker is still 10.25-to-l, so now you can’t call profitably. Adding a little uncertainty about your opponent’s poker hand turned a profitable call into an unprofitable one.

Put another way, your opponent made a mistake by betting only $100 when he told you he had exactly jacks. He offered you too high implied odds. With some uncertainty about his holding, though, his $100 bet is enough to make you fold.

While you will rarely play a Texas Holdem poker game where you will know your opponents’ hands with such certainty as in this example, the general principle applies: The more accurately your opponents can read your poker hand, the more you have to bet in proportion to your stack to prevent them from calling profitably. The more accurately you can read your opponents’ possible holdings, the larger the bets you can call to try to bust (or bluff) them.

Everyone folds to the big blind, who has you covered. He says, "raise." As he goes to his stack to cut off enough chips for his raise, he accidentally shows you his poker hand (though he’s not aware that he did it):

Should you always fold? Or does that decision depend on how much he raises? Clearly if he raises all-in, $480 more, you should fold. You are roughly a 4.5-to-l dog, while you would be getting barely more than even money (520-to-480) to call.

But hopefully just as clearly, if he raises the minimum, $15, you should call like lightning. Why is that?

Including his raise, the pot would be $55 (your $20 plus the big blind’s $35). So you are risking $15 to win $55. But that’s not all, for almost no matter what cards come, you can expect the player with aces to bet the flop. Say he will usually bet the size of the pot: $70. If you don’t flop a jack (or if you do, but he flops an ace also), you’ll fold. But if you flop a set and he doesn’t, you almost always win that $70, plus the $55 that was in the pot, plus even more.

So really you are risking $15 to win at least $55 plus $70, or $125. That’s immediate odds of 125-to-15 or about 7.33-to-l. Since the odds of you flopping a jack without him flopping an ace are about 8-to-l against, calling shows an immediate profit if you can win an average of about $10 more than that over the course of the poker hand.

In Texas Holdem play practice , you’ll win significantly more than $10 more on average. To fail to hit that mark, your opponent would essentially have to refuse to give any more action at all. That is, with A♠ A♣ on a J♣ 7♥ 2♦ flop, he would have to give up immediately every time his flop bet is called or raised. If you meet someone who actually plays that weakly, you can steal almost every pot from them. In any event, while you’ll lose eight times out of nine when you don’t flop a set, you’ll make, on average, significantly more than eight times your $15 investment those times you do, so you have an easy call. So where did your opponent with the aces go wrong? He made the Texas Holdem mistake that we’ll call "offering too high implied odds." That is, he raised too little, so even though you called as a big underdog, you could afford to gamble because you’d be adequately compensated if you got lucky.

When the stacks are deep, you also must know when to get away from poker hands on the turn and river to avoid offering too high implied odds.

Avoid offering your opponents too high implied odds. Make sure that you bet or raise enough with your good poker hands so they can’t profit by playing for a longshot.

How big a raise would be "enough?" Since the pocket jacks will flop a set (with no overset) one time in nine, if he raised an amount equal to one-eighth (offering you odds of 8-to-l) of your total possible win, calling would be break-even at best. Your total available win is $520, the $500 in your opponent’s stack and the $20 you already raised. (Remember, once you bet, the money is no longer yours.) So if he were to raise $65

$65 = $520 / 8

you could not possibly make any money with your jacks. To see that for sure, let’s play poker hand nine times.

Eight of those nine times, you will call the $65 raise, fail to flop a set (or flop a jack while he flops an ace), and fold to your opponent’s $170 (pot-sized) bet. That’s a loss of $520.

$520 = (8)($65)

The last time, you’d flop a jack, raise the pot-sized bet all-in, and (hopefully) get called for a total win of $520 (your opponent’s $500 plus your $20 raise). Actually, you wouldn’t even win the full $520 because sometimes your opponent will catch an ace on the turn or river and win instead.

The bottom line is, if your opponent, in Texas Holdem, reraises only a small amount, you can call him, hoping to get lucky and bust him. If he reraises about $65 or more, though, there’s nothing you can do. You have to fold.

Good luck.

Someone opens from middle position for $20. You call. The flop is so you flopped a set.

Obviously, you want a big pot. Your goal should be to get the remaining $480 into the pot. It’s going to be hard to do that if your opponent raised with T♠ 7♠ or 2♥ 2♣ . But if he has aces, ace-king, or even a flush draw, you have a decent shot at his stack.

The first thing you should do is assume he has a poker hand that he might go all-in with. Pretend he’s got pocket aces or ace-king, and formulate your plan based on that assumption. Why so optimistic? You’re optimistic because the other possibilities, though likely, are largely irrelevant. No matter what you do, you’re likely to achieve the same result in many cases. If your opponent has pocket nines or kings, then you’re destined to get stacked almost no matter what. If he has flopped two pair, then you’re destined to stack him, unless he outdraws you. (Note: These hands are "destined" only because of the size of the starting stacks in Holdem poker. If you were playing ten times deeper, with $5,000 stacks, your destiny might be different.)

If he has a weak poker hand, and he’s not a habitual bluffer, there’s almost no way you can play it to make out big. If he has ace-high, then you might catch him for a little something if you check the flop and an ace happens to come off on the turn. But against most players, you won’t make much extra profit even in that circumstance. You’ll have only two streets to get $480 in on a $40 pot. That’s going to require excessively large bets on your part, and any decent opponent with only one pair will rightly be suspicious. You’ll usually have to be content with only a small win if the flop gets checked.

Against opponents who aren’t habitual bluffers, your playing decisions matter most when your opponent has one of only a few holdings: good, but not great, poker hands like aces, ace-king, or a flush draw. Thus, tailor your Holdem strategy to maximize performance against those hands.

Note that this trick of narrowing down your opponent’s holdings to the "important" ones works best against conservative opponents. Against a habitual bluffer who bets the flop and often the turn with weak holdings, allowing him to bluff makes the most money. You become more concerned with making money against his weaker poker hands, because they are so profitable to you (assuming you allow him to bluff). In that setting, you would check multiple streets.

The way to get the most money out of the good, but not great, poker hands is to make sure that it’s "too late" by the time your opponent suspects he’s beaten. Don’t let him suspect when there’s only $200 in the pot and $400 left to go. Give him the bad news of a big bet only once there’s more like $500 in the pot and $250 left to go. Even though he’ll suspect he’s beaten, he may feel "pot committed" (in many cases, he’ll be right) and pay off.

So, working backward, you want your last bet or raise to be about $250 (or somewhat less). How should you construct the betting to get the first $230 in without raising too many suspicions?

Generally speaking, the last $250 bet will materialize either as a river bet or a turn raise. You might get it all-in on the flop, but if that happens, it usually won’t require much planning on your part. It will just require an opponent who wants to get it all-in as well.

That first $230 to be bet can be broken up in roughly two different ways: a $70 bet and a $160 bet, or a $30 bet, a $70 bet, and a $130 bet. (The numbers are obviously only approximate. This whole planning process is approximate; the plan may need to be changed or abandoned entirely, depending on what actually happens.) That is, bets generally escalate in size during no limit hands, and so you should break your $230 down into two or three "chunks," each one bigger than the last.

Which option you choose, the two- or three- "chunk" option, depends on your opponent. The $70 and $160 option has the upside of offering your opponent few chances to gauge your hand strength.

Say you bet $70 on the flop, and he calls. Then you bet $160 on the turn. Should he call? Move in? Fold? Anyone with aces or ace-king will have an extremely tough decision because there is so little information for him to go on. Sure, you’re betting strongly, but you don’t know that his hand is as strong as it is. Maybe you are trying to push him off something weaker. It’ll be hard for him to tell, so often he’ll end up guessing. Whenever your opponents guess in critical situations, you’re looking good. Sometimes they’ll guess wrong, and you’ll be rewarded with their stack.

The downside to the two-chunk option is that it forces you to overbet significantly on the flop. First, you’re betting $70 into a $40 pot. Then you’re betting $160 into a $180 pot. Those big bet sizes (compared to the size of the pot) will make some opponents skittish. They may see the big pot brewing and lay down quickly if they are particularly timid (or astute) players.

Your flop overbet will seem out of the ordinary to some adept opponents. They may figure out that you are trying to manipulate them into playing a big pot, and this may allow them to abandon ship. That’s why it’s so important to think about not only what your opponent might have, but also what your opponent might think you have, and how your opponent might interpret your bets. Some opponents will get snookered by the overbet, seeing it as a sign of semi-weakness. Others will see the overbet as a threat.

The three-chunk option, bets of $30, $70, and then $130, doesn’t require overbetting at any juncture. If you bet $30 initially, it’ll be into a $40 pot. The $70 bet will be into a $100 pot ($40 plus two $30 bets). Then the $130 bet will be into a $240 pot ($100 plus two $70 bets).

Depending on your opponent, you may want to bet slightly more on the $70 and $130 chunks, leaving less than $250 for the final bet.

The downside is that, since those three bets are intended for at most two betting rounds, your opponent has to make a bet or raise somewhere along the line. That is, if you are to get your $250 final bet in on the river, you somehow need to get $30, $70, and $ 130 in on the flop and turn. You can’t get all three bets in if your opponent just calls twice; you’ll just get the $30 and $70 bets in and be left with $380 on the end.

If you can count on your opponent to raise at least once with aces or ace-king, three chunks may be the way to go. Particularly, if you can count on your opponent to raise the flop and then bet the turn if checked to, then three chunks are surely your best option: bet $30 on the flop and get raised (hopefully about $70 more). Then check and call on the turn (hopefully about $130). Finally, bet $250 on the river. (Or you can check-raise all-in on the turn.)

If your opponent is less aggressive, though, then you may have to put in the raise. You could check-raise the flop: check, allow him to bet $30, and raise $70 more. Then bet $130 on the turn and $250 on the river.

Unfortunately, that’s a "strong arm" line; check-raising can be very intimidating, particularly if you have a lot of money behind. You may lose your opponent, especially to the $130 turn bet. (Check-raising the flop and checking the turn usually won’t work either, because most opponents will merely check the turn back.)

You could also check and call on the flop, planning to check-raise the turn. But again, that’s a "strong arm" play, and you’ll lose many players on the big check-raise.

The right line will differ from opponent to opponent and situation to situation. If your opponent calls big bets too often, but doesn’t put in enough raises, then two chunks should be best. If your opponent is hyper-aggressive, but looks to make tough laydowns, then go with three chunks, and let him put in a raise. If you recently got caught on a big check-raise bluff, then any option that involves check-raising becomes more attractive. Your opponents will remember the bogus check-raise and look you up.

The overall philosophy, however, is the same no matter your opponent or situation. You have a big hand, and big hands are looking to win big pots. Break down the future action, and figure out how you can best construct the big pot in Texas Holdem. Figure out how big you want your last bet to be, and work backward from there. How can you maximize the chance that your opponent is still around when that big bet comes down in Holdem? How many "chunks" will you need to get there? Do your opponent’s tendencies naturally suggest one line or another?

Perhaps this process seems cumbersome or superfluous to you now. So many things can happen; perhaps you figure you should play one street at a time. But this sort of bet planning and pot size manipulation is the key to successful deep stack no limit Texas Holdem. Learn to think this way during every poker hand, and you won’t regret it.

Good luck.

They also might play one way or another if someone (you) at the poker table is talking to them, flirting with them, taunting them, or arguing with them. Manipulating your opponents means behaving in a way that gets them to play holdem the way you want them to play. Put them on tilt. Put them at ease. Get them drunk. Make them feel sorry for you. Make them fear you.

Good luck.

Hand reading is deeper than many players seem to think it is. It’s not just about knowing what you have and guessing what your opponent has. It’s about getting into your opponent’s head. "Given how I’ve played the hand so far, what might my opponent think I have?" Or, "Given what my opponent knows about how I think, what might he think that I think he has?" Or even, "Is he trying to deceive me, and if so, what does he want me to think he has? And, therefore, what sort of hand might he actually have?"

Texas Holdem hand reading is also an exercise in juggling probabilities. Rarely will you be able to deduce with certainty what cards your opponent holds. Usually, the best you’ll be able to do is to sort candidate holdings into categories like, "Likely," "Somewhat likely," or "Unlikely." You might observe the way a pot has played out and conclude, "She’s probably either got a terrific hand, or she’s bluffing. It’s unlikely that she’s got a fairly good or a so-so hand."

Finally, the hand reading skill requires that you be able to use the insight into your opponents’ possible holdings to formulate your strategy. It does you no good to know which hands are likely and which poker hands aren’t if you can’t translate that knowledge into the right play. The translation process relies upon logical reasoning, and it too is a valuable skill.

What do I know about how they play? Finally, a key question:

What are the chances I’m playing for half or less of the pot?

Omaha High Flops

Of all the things you need to consider in Omaha poker games, how close you are to the nut hand and how you could only be in contention for less than the entire pot have everything to do with whether or not you should still be in the hand and how much money you should be investing. If you’re way out in front, it is your duty as a profit-maximizing poker player to get your money in. In Texas Holdem poker, it’s possible you’ll lose all your action if you push too hard on the flop, but in Omaha poker the possibilities are almost endless. This does mean you’ll sometimes end up snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, but knowing where you are relative to other likely hands is paramount in Omaha poker.

Let’s look at some basic situations in which it appears your hand is strong but is in fact weak. Suppose you hold Q♥K♥T♠J♣, and you get the flop shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 In Omaha poker, the nuts don’t often stay nutty.

You have flopped the nut straight! As Andy Garcia’s character said to Brad Pitt’s character on the phone in Ocean’s Eleven , “Congratulations, you’re a dead man.�? The problem you are facing is that you have no redraw to speak of. The only way you could improve your hand is by making a full house, which would mean another King and one of your other cards would have to come runner-runner or two Queens , Tens, or Jacks would need to come runner-runner. Two Kings runner-runner would give you quads, but that’s not terribly likely. The odds of exactly two cards coming on the turn are about 1,000 to 1. But wait! You may say, “I thought I flopped the nuts. Doesn’t that mean I have the best poker hand?�? Yes, it does, but the problem is, the nuts can usually change when the next card comes. If the J♦ comes, for example, the nut hand has changed from an Ace-high straight to a Royal Flush, completed by Q♦T♦. Let’s see how your straight on the flop holds up against three other likely hands, as seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Nut straight but no good!

As amazing as it may seem, the nut straight hand with no redraw is close to dead against these hands. See Table 1 for how the simulation results break down.

Hand	Percentage of Money Won (Flop = A♦K♦T♥)
Q♥K♥T♠J♣	27.8%
A♣T♣T♦8♥	18.7%
K♣Q♠J♦9♦	53.5%
J♠9♣9♥8♣	0.0%

Table 1 Omaha High Hand Results

The important thing to consider here is that the dominant hand is behind after the flop, in that the player has two pair and a flush draw to go against the made straight. But how in the world will this translate into 53.5 percent of the money? Let’s walk through it. First and foremost is the fact that the big hand has the straight along with you and a flush redraw. This hand is the only one with two diamonds in it, which means it can only make a flush. It wins even if four diamonds end up on the board; remember that in Omaha, exactly two cards from your hand must be used. No singleton flashes, full houses, or straights work in this game. One card is good to make quads when three of a kind end up on the board, though, as any other card from your hand will be used as the fifth one. But anyway, the straight is made, and the flush redraw is also there. What’s interesting is that the set of Tens held by the second player isn’t all that strong, winning a little less than one-fifth of all money. Most of this player’s money will be won when the board pairs, giving them a full house without giving someone a higher full house. It’s difficult for an underset full house (in this case the set is of lower rank than the pair) to win in Omaha poker, but obviously it does happen regularly. Be wary if the board has high cards with one of them paired up, as someone who likes to play wrap hands (poker hands with lots of straight and flush possibilities) might just have caught a better full house. A good friend calls Omaha high the place where you “peddle the nuts.�? She makes sense when she says these things.

You can likely see how the lowly J998 is hopeless. First, it has no flush draw. Second, it has no chance to counterfeit the Ace-high straight because the highest straight it can complete is King high. Remember, two cards must be used. A straight starting at Nine only makes it up to the King. In addition, any full house will lose because the Nines will lose to the set of Tens, or any other set will necessarily win out over this hand. Finally, it is impossible for the poor slob to catch four of a kind, as another player has a Nine in their hand. Check and fold—oh well.

The second hand we’ll look at is a key example of how a positively raggedy hand turns into a monster in the blink of an eye. As an example, look at the following four poker hands before the flop:

Hand	Percentage of Money Won
A♦A♣8♦T♠	36.6%
J♣9♣T♥4♠	19.7%
6♥6♦K♣J♥	22.3%
K♠Q♠7♦7♣	21.4%

Table 2 Omaha High Hand Percentages before The Flop

As you can see, the pair of Aces has a diamond flush draw and two ways to make a nut straight (Ace-high with a board of King-Queen-Jack and Jack-high with a board of Jack-Nine-Seven) as well as full house possibilities with the best set possible (Aces). Note that the rest of the hands will also do well less often but still with regularity. The second hand has one almost useless card in the 4♠, but it does enjoy the only club flush draw and a three-card wrap straight opportunity. The third poker hand has a high-straight opportunity with the K♣J♥combination and a pair of Sixes as well as a bad but sole heart flush draw. Finally, the fourth hand has a high spade draw with the King and Queen, the nut straight possibility, and a pair of Sevens. It all depends on the flop, then! Say it is the flop you see in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Once again, the flop determines your hand’s value.

Everything changes with this flop. The new percentages are in Table 3.

Hand	Percentage of Money Won (Flop = 6♠8♣K♦)
A♦A♣8♦T♠	16.0%
J♣9♣T♥4♠	15.2%
6♥6♦K♣J♥	62.2%
K♠Q♠7♦7♣	6.5%

Table 3 Omaha High Hand Percentages after the Flop

As you see, the hand with the pocket Sixes is now dominant. Even without a flush draw, as no hearts are on board, the set of Sixes after the flop approaches the two-thirds mark in total money won. Not only is it the only poker hand that will make a full house if the board pairs on the turn, but it will also make Kings full of Sixes if the case (only remaining) King comes before the end of the hand. The hand with the pair of Aces is drawing to another Ace to give it top set . Luckily for it, a third Ace on the turn will not give anyone a straight.

It will also not complete a flush as the flop came rainbow (three different suits). It also has a backdoor flush draw , as runner-runner diamonds on the turn and river will win the pot. In fact, in this example, it is impossible for the board to pair if two diamonds do in fact show up. Can you see how that is? Notice the flop has one diamond, the King. Now see that the other two ranks, Six and Eight, already have the diamond accounted for in the third and first hands, respectively.

In pure matter of fact, this is a false dilemma, because in a board game like Omaha poker it is impossible to know specific cards are dead (out of play or in play in another poker hand) unless you yourself hold them (in brick-and-mortar games, cards may be exposed accidentally or people may not protect their hand well enough). But the ability to answer the question we posed to you demonstrates a skill that a poker player needs to succeed: Know what can beat you. In brick-and-mortar Stud, the ability to follow dead cards is critical.

Let’s talk about the fourth hand, and incorporate the second into the discussion. The fourth hand has very limited possibilities and only wins 6.5 percent of the money over time. The only way it wins is if the turn and river cards both help it. The best way for it to win is for the two remaining Sevens to come perfect-perfect. A slightly more plausible way for it to win is for a King and a Queen to come, giving the player the best full house possible in that situation. A King and a third Seven would also give it a winning full house.

But what if a Seven comes on the turn? Wouldn’t that mean this hand is now crushing the set of Sixes? Yes, but that’s not relevant because the second hand has just completed a Jack-high straight. So many possibilities? Yep. Welcome to Omaha poker. The player holding the straight would then hope something like the 3♥ comes on the river, as it would not pair the board, complete a flush, nor enable a higher straight. The second poker hand has several ways to make a straight, but it’s a big underdog because there are a lot of ways for a higher straight, a flush, and a full house to make by the end of the hand.

Omaha Hi/Lo Flops

If you thought the Omaha high-only discussion fills your brain to capacity, you’re right, it does. When you add the ability of a low hand or hands to take half the pot, the complexity of the situation simply explodes. That being said, Omaha Hi/Lo is Doug’s favorite game. It’s a fickle lover, though. When luck is on your side, this game is the sweetest, but when it’s not, it’s the most bitter. Not for the faint of heart…

With that pleasant thought in your head, let’s see what we can do with some good cards.

We’ll start with the mother of all Omaha Hi/Lo hands, Ace-Ace-Deuce-Three Double- Suited . This is strong in several ways. First, the holder has two nut flush draws. Second, they have a pair of Aces; and while it is common for a third and (less often) all four Aces to be accounted for, it does in fact mean that if an Ace does appear, it makes a possibility for the best full house (Aces full of Deuces or Threes). Playing four-handed against three random hands AA23 double-suited will win 43.3 percent of the money. So it’s a little more than twice as likely to win money. But how could the best starting hand only be a 2:1 favorite over three random hands, you may ask?

First, a low hand will only be possible around 50 percent of the time. Remember, in order for a low poker hand to qualify, there must be at least three different cards ranked Eight or lower on the board, and a player must be able to use two cards ranked Eight or lower from their hand to complete a five-card low.

A qualifying low hand only shows up about half the time in Omaha Hi/Lo.
Second, flushes don’t come regularly. True, you’ll have twice the chance with a doublesuited poker hand, but it’s still not something you can count on. In addition, there is no way for this hand to make the nut straight unless it is the wheel (a Five-high straight). This is often good for a scoop (winning the entire pot), but it’s vulnerable to redraws. For example, if someone’s in the big blind and no one raises, they get to play 6♥7♣8♠9♦ for time served, or, what they’ve already put in the pot. Assume you see the flop shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 Even this flop can produce unexpected winners.

An Ace-Deuce now gives you both the best low poker hand and what is known as the ignorant straight , or a straight made with two cards from your poker hand connecting on the low end of the cards on the board. You may also have a backdoor flush draw if you have clubs, spades, or diamonds. If you have no flush possibilities, though, the only way you can win the high part of the pot is if you catch a combination of Aces, Deuces, and Threes to make a full house. It’s very possible that you may need to split the low portion of the pot with at least one other player. You will learn to hate the thought of getting quartered , which happens when you split the high or the low part of the pot with another player (a half of a half is a quarter). Twenty-five percent of the pot is certainly better than nothing, but it stinks relative to what you’re hoping for.

With the flop we just described, you know you’ll at least be getting some of the money back at the end of the hand that you initially put in the pot. A much more dicey situation comes if you have A♣2♣A♦3♦, and you get the flop in Figure 5.

Figure 5 It’s sad when a good poker hand goes bad.

Quite frankly, this flop is an unmitigated disaster. Your low draw is counterfeited , in that the Two and Three in your hand are now repeated on the board. The new nut low draw is Ace-Four, as it would make the Four-Three-Two-Ace countdown. The only way you can make a low is if two more low cards come, and then they would need to be a Four and a Five to make the nut low.

If you get this flop with that hand, you’ll be talking to yourself. In looking at the high part of the hand, you’re in even more trouble, as you have bottom two pair . Anyone with a Ten and other cards will almost certainly make a better two pair, and chances are a straight draw will make. A pair of Tens is especially deadly with this flop. Our simulation established that the AA23 hand will only win 8.4 percent of the money against a player with a pocket pair of Tens and two random cards and two players with completely random poker hands. The set of Tens wins 49.4 percent of the money, which accounts for when its set of Tens holds up as well as when some sort of straight or random low holds up. The AA23 hand is basically hoping an Ace and another Two or Three comes or that it makes a low no one else can beat. As we mentioned in the Omaha high–only discussion, it’s all about how you fit the flop. This situation is a great time to fold and curse your luck.

A much more common occurrence is for a flop to hit you pretty well but not perfectly. For instance, assume you have A♥2♥K♠5♠ and you see the flop in Figure 6.

Figure 6 This flop probably helped your opponents more than it helped you.

The possibilities are so numerous as to border on the absurd. The only thing you do know is that you will not be making a straight flush, four of a kind, or a full house. Remember, without a pair or three to a straight flush on the flop, it is impossible to make these hands. What you do have is bottom pair, an easily beaten low, and two possibilities to make a runner-runner flush (hearts and spades). Unless there is a lot of money in the pot, this may be a good hand to minimize your losses. First, any of several commonly played low combinations beat you. Any Ace-Three, Ace-Four, and Three-Four beats you as of this moment. If there are four players in the pot, it’s safe to assume at least one of them has a better low draw than you have. Because at least one of the cards you’re looking for is dead, you are not shooting for four or eight cards, but rather seven, six, or even fewer. The news doesn’t get any better on the high side of the hand. Many players will have played a pocket pair of Queens and will now have a set. A set of Eights is also a threat. It is also very possible for someone to have played a wrap-style poker hand containing one each of a Nine, Ten, and Jack. What this wrap straight draw does is allow for any of those three cards to give the holder a straight, with the Nine making the nut straight at that moment. You have a runner-runner draw to the nut straight, as a Ten and a Jack give you the best straight assuming no flush is made, but this is a long way to walk for the high half, no matter what possibility you consider.

On the other hand, if the flop is only slightly different, such as 3♠8♥Q♦, your hand is now going to be good for the low much more frequently. While not all that great as a high poker hand, there are still possibilities. At this point, it becomes necessary to ascertain how many players still in the hand are going for the low along with you. The easy rule of thumb when going for the low is that if there is an even number of players in the hand and half or fewer are in competition for the low, as best you can tell, it is worth staying in. This is especially true if you have any realistic shot at the high as well. To be perfectly honest, this hand does not have much expectation to win the high side of the pot, as you need help on both the turn and the river. The low side is robust because it has the Five as backup in case a Deuce comes on the turn or river, counterfeiting your nut low. The best thing you have going for you is that any Ace-Three is counterfeited, and now only an Ace-Four beats you. While very possible, the good news is that if it’s the 2♠, you now have the second-nut flush draw. We did say earlier that this game is all about showing down nut hands, but two second-nut hands isn’t as bad as it could be. Try as hard as you can to will the A♠, or especially the 4♠, to come on the river just in case, though.

Everybody goes through this many times during any session lasting more than 20 minutes. For example, you are dealt A♥K♥ on the button, and five players have called the big blind. You happily raise and everybody calls. Nice! There are now 10 small bets in the pot (or 10.5 if the small blind folded). Assume the flop comes, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 This flop looks nothing like your cards.

Ugh, no good. There are all sorts of problems with this poker hand.

First, it’s the wrong “flavor�? in that you now have no chance at all of making a flush (at most there will be two hearts on board at the end of the hand for a total of four). If someone doesn’t already have a flush, there is almost certainly at least one club in someone’s hand. It’s also very possible that someone has an Ace and an Eight, which means you would be drawing to the three remaining Kings in the deck to make a higher pair while under the mistaken impression that you would also be “good�? if you hit an Ace on the turn or on the river. In fact, you would then be going against two pair with one or no cards to go. Another vulnerability is that it is very likely someone has a Nine in their poker hand, as in lower-limit games it is very common for someone to call two bets with a hand like J♣9♦. In this situation, you would be vulnerable in two ways. First, this player has an open-ended straight draw, which means they will make a straight if either a Ten or a Five comes on the turn or on the river. In addition, they have a medium flush draw.

Why would J♣9♦ be a particularly strong poker hand here? Answer: Because if a Ten shows up, the hand will not just be a Ten-high straight but a Jack-high straight! And if the Ten is the T♣, the player will have an unbeatable straight flush! In the end, there’s simply no way you can play this hand after the flop.

You are only as good as the flop! The perfect example comes when Doug slowplayed (limped in for one bet) a pair of Aces before the flop. The flop came two Sevens and a Deuce! Guess what the big blind had. Yep, Seven-Deuce! Imagine the embarrassment when the cards got turned over. Doug did have two shots at one of the two remaining Aces to make Aces full of Sevens, but still. Makes you sick….

Partial Success

This is the part where a player will have a hand requiring some skill, some knowledge of the players they’re going against, and a solid grasp of the percentages involved to be a winning player.

Three of a Kind

Three of a kind (“trips�? or a “set�?) is very often a winning hand in Texas Holdem. To flop a set is mainly a great thing but is all too often a heartbreaker. When you have a pocket pair and a third one comes on the board, you’re way ahead! Well, except for a few things. Let’s say you have 9♠9♣, and the flop shown in Figure 2 appears.

Figure 2 You’re in good shape, but you aren’t invulnerable.

While you are obviously in a great position with your trips, this is a major danger flop, which means your strong poker hand is very vulnerable. Let us count the ways. First, you’re vulnerable to any straight draw or made straight. QJ is a common hand in loose games, so that’s a possibility. Unfortunately, any 7 or J now has an open-ended straight draw, giving them two shots at eight cards (any of the four 6s or Qs). In addition, anyone with two diamonds in the hole will now have two chances to catch another diamond and make a flush. Of course, you can solve this little problem by pairing the board with an 8, 9, T, or if the turn and river cards pair themselves—for example, if the turn and river are both 3s. Once in a great while, the T♦ and/or the 7♦ will come before the end of the hand and give someone a straight flush.

In that case, all you can do is raise a couple of times, either on the turn or the river, and have the sense to realize they’re not going to stop raising and call. When you’re online, no one will see you cry.

Two Pair

This is another very good poker hand to get on the flop, but it also has vulnerabilities, similar to trips, in addition to being far behind someone else also holding trips. Doug actually met a good friend of his at a $10–$20 Holdem table when this scenario played out. He held T♥J♥ or something like it, and the flop in Figure 3 appeared.

Figure 3 You need to recognize when you’re behind.

He of course bet and re-raised on the flop, oblivious to the fact that he was up against a set of Fives. Another Ten or Jack came at some point, and his full house was victorious over the underset full house over his opponent (Jacks or Tens full beat his Fives full). Doug didn’t really understand how big of an underdog he was after the flop at that point in his poker career. In this case, he needed to hit one of the four remaining Jacks or Tens to win. Anyway, Doug was very pleased with himself and looked to the guy to his right, expecting some sort of positive feedback. What he got instead was a snort and “Wow, you were way behind!�? Doug asked how that was, got it explained to him as just described, and learned from it.

Overpair

In this case, you have a hand higher than the highest poker hand on the board. To illustrate, let us tell you a brief story about Smitty, a good guy from a home game Doug used to play in.

He likes to play what became known to the group as “Smitty Hands,�? which would be small suited or one-gap cards. Through an online promotional tournament, Smitty won a $5,000 seat in the initial Borgata World Poker Tour no-limit Holdem main event. He was going along well, until he got into a hand against top pro Layne Flack. Smitty held 3♥5♥, while Layne held a pair of Tens. The flop came, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 It’s better to have a made hand than a draw.

At this point Layne had the overpair of Tens and Smitty the top pair on board and a straight flush draw (any Ace, Six, Five, or heart would have won Smitty the pot, actually). Flack had more chips than Smitty and bet enough to put him all-in. Statistics demonstrate that Smitty held a 65 to 35 percent advantage after the flop because of his draws, but in this case he failed to improve and Layne busted him out.

Overcards

To have overcards is when both of your hole cards are higher than the highest card on the board. A very common hand to have in this case is AK or AQ. To say you have overcards could mean you have a straight or a flush draw, but common usage is reserved for the times when you have neither. Instead, you’re hoping to catch a pair higher than your opponents are holding. Of course, this could leave you in the position of having false outs , which are cards you believe will give you a winning hand but will actually put you even farther behind. Let’s say, for example, that you have A♣K♦, and the flop comes, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 This flop forces you to decide how good a hand your opponent has.

One of the most important skills a successful poker player must possess is the ability to put someone on a hand, meaning they are able to analyze the situation and figure out what poker hand their opponents are most likely to have. In low-limit poker, several players often see the flop, and it is not at all unusual for a player to play K9 suited or A9 either suited or unsuited. Should you be up against one of these hands, there are two implications.

First, against A9 unsuited, you will only win around 13.2 percent of the total money over time. Against K9 unsuited, you will be for all intents and purposes just as large an underdog (winning only 14 percent of the money in our simulation) because in both cases you will be shooting for only three cards in the deck instead of six, as your hand is now reverse dominated . To be reverse dominated is to have an opponent who has made a pair on the flop who also holds one of your unpaired cards. In wrestling terms, they have “reversed�? your hold in that your dominant hand is now the one dominated. So be aware of players who might have these hands, and look closely to see if you might have a drawing hand to get yourself back in.

Flush Draw

Any flush is consistently a winning poker hand when only three suited cards are on the board. Let’s say you hold Q♦K♦, and you get the flop shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 You have a good draw, but not the best draw.

This is a very good draw for you in one way, but it’s also a vulnerable holding. Four ways in which your K♦Q♦ can be beaten come to mind immediately. First, someone could have A♦x♦, which means you’re basically out of luck unless a King or Queen comes and you also dodge an Ace. Second, a player may have played small suited connectors such as 5♥6♥, which means you will now need to catch your flush to win the pot. It is impossible for you to make either a straight or a full house, so you’re shooting for one of the nine remaining diamonds in the deck, which is a little bit more than a 5:1 disadvantage for you on each of the turn and the river.

A third way in which you are endangered is if someone plays what is known as “Ax.�? A, in this context, represents an Ace, and you’ll recall that an “x�? means any card under a Ten.

In low-limit Texas Holdem, it is very common for someone to play Ace-anything. It’s what’s known as Aces and spaces and puts the player at a huge disadvantage, but that doesn’t stop them. A5 or A6 unsuited is particularly dangerous poker hands for you, as they give the holder a double gut shot straight draw. In this example, either a 2 or a 6 for the A5 and a 2 or a 5 for the A6 will give them a straight. In this case, they are not drawing to the nuts (neither are you, technically, since you don’t have the Ace, but compared to them you are), but they do have six outs to beat you. Do you know why it’s six and not eight outs?

That’s right, it’s because one of each card is a diamond, which would make your flush, assuming your opponent is not holding a diamond.

Finally, someone could have a set. It’s unlikely someone would have two pair because Threes, Fours, and Sevens don’t play well. (One exception: Beware of someone who plays any two suited cards; they have an annoying habit of flopping two pair. It drives you crazy, it really does.) Low pairs, like Threes and Fours, are usually only good after the flop if they catch a set, but a pair of Sevens is a very different story. Phil Hellmuth, for example, puts pocket Sevens as one of his must-play hands for beginners, based on the success he’s seen them have over his years of playing. If someone has a set, they can make quads by catching the case (sole remaining) card they made a set with, or the board can pair another board card on the turn or on the river, which is six, and then nine, chances for the three of a kind to fill up .

Straight Draw

Straights are strong poker hands and will often win in Texas Holdem. Straight draws come in a few varieties. The best straight draw is one in which either of two cards will give you a straight. There are a few ways to get there. The first is an open-ended straight draw . Let’s say you have T♣J♣, and you see the flop shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7 Open-ended straight draws are usually worth pursuing.

You will now complete your straight if an Ace or a Nine comes on the turn or on the river. This draw, also known as an up and down straight draw , is quite good in that anyone with two hearts, diamonds, or spades will need for them to come runner-runner on the turn and river. It will be very likely you will be behind in the hand because it’s a safe bet someone’s stuck around with a Queen or a King. Someone could also be playing Ace-2. If someone raised before the flop, it could be they’ve made a set, which should set alarms off in your head when that kind of flop comes out. If they have a pair of Aces, you have what is known as a trap hand in that if a third Ace comes before the end of the hand, they will have made trips and will often think they’re in the lead, but you will have completed your straight. If there’s no pair on the board, you have the nuts. If the board has paired, you will need to decide how aggressively you play the hand. It may do you well to check and call. If you don’t think they have it, you could simply bet; but if the player is aggressive, they may be betting because they know the only way they’re going to win is if you fold. The pot will almost always be big enough to call one bet on the end, so if you think you’re probably beat, check and call. Do call, though, when the pot is in any way substantial.

A second way in which two ranks of cards will make your straight is when you have a gut shot straight draw . For example, if you have J♦Q♠, and the fl op comes, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8 Drawing to inside straights will cost you money in the long run.

You will now finish your straight if you catch a King. As of now, you have only one way to make the straight, which could change on the turn. You are now hoping to catch one of the four Kings, which only gives you half as good a chance as an open-ended straight draw. At about 12.5:1 against, the pot must be quite large to justify staying in. If you were to have two suited cards, your hand would be slightly more playable, but don’t count on making a living chasing gut shots.

Danger Flops

In previous discussions, we’ve described the various ways in which a hand has both strengths and weaknesses. We’ll now specifically identify three scenarios you will commonly confront. First, you could have a straight draw with two suited cards on the board. For example, you hold Q♠T♠, are against an opponent holding A♦4♦, and the flop in Figure 9 appears.

Figure 9 Be careful of potential flushes.

In this specific case the flush draw will win 70.5 percent of the money, as it is more likely a flush will come by the end of the hand with nine remaining diamonds out versus the six non diamond straight cards. The news is much better if you are against A♦4♦ and the flop in Figure 10 appears.

Figure 10 Making a hand on the flop improves your winning chances significantly.

In this case you would still have a straight draw but also a pair of Queens, the percentages change to 56.3:43.7 percent in your favor. We can work with that! The second kind of seemingly vulnerable hand is when you flop a straight or a flush draw, but there is a pair on board. Let’s say you have Q♠T♠, and the flop in Figure 11 appears.

Figure 11 This hand is dangerous for straight draws.

Against three random hands you will win 32 percent of the money, which isn’t so bad. Check and call one bet here if you want to play conservatively. If you want to be a little cheeky, you can go for a check-raise, as flush draws will be afraid of a third Nine, and a Nine will be afraid of a flush draw as well as a Nine with a higher kicker. Danger poker hands for you here are of the JT or J9 variety, as they give the opponent a second pair, trips, or even a full house. These are both commonly played hands, so watch the betting pattern.

Straightforward play would be to check a Nine on the flop and bet it on the turn because of its strength, while a Jack will likely be bet out to get rid of straight draws. If someone does have a third Nine, such as A♥9♥, you are a major underdog, winning only 26.5 percent of the money. Against AJ, you are on the wrong end of the equation, but not as badly at 61:39 percent against. At this point, you need to decide whether the pot is large enough to stay in.

A flush draw with a paired board puts you in no better shape. Let’s say you hold Q♠T♠, and you get the flop in Figure 12.

Figure 12 Potential flushes rarely beat made trips.

Against A♥6♥ you are a 25.2:74.8 percent loser going to the turn. Hey, the player holding the Six has made their hand and is more than happy to let you come a-chasing. Your one saving grace is that a player holding the Six will often check the flop, so you will perhaps get a free shot at one of the nine spades in the deck. It’s even worth calling one bet if the pot’s big enough. If you call two bets, turn off your computer and go to bed—you’re too tired to play any more tonight.

Finally, we’d like to talk about when you flop two pair, but there is both a straight draw and a flush draw on the flop. Admittedly, this is not as common of an occurrence as the other two situations, but it will happen. Let’s say you’re in the big blind with 9♣7♥. Never play these two cards, unless no one raises. If, by some miracle, you get to click Check and see the flop, you might see the miracle shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13 Sometimes trash turns to gold, then back to trash.

Yippee! You’ve hit the Big Blind Special. But have you? This poker hand is good, but there are a lot of ways it can lose. First, anyone playing JT will have a straight, leaving you with four cards (the remaining Nines and Sevens and, OK, two running Eights, whatever…) to win the pot. You are officially an 82:18 percent underdog as of now. Against a Ten or a Six, giving one opponent an open-ended straight draw, however, you are a solid favorite at 69.4:30.6 percent. Aggressive players will push their straight draws, so it may behoove you to bet or raise for information . If a re-raise comes, it will be best to slow down, unless the turn gives you your miracle. If it looks like the turn completed someone’s straight, and there are a few players left, it may just be time to cut your losses. Look at the pot, though, and think hard before mucking two pair. Just how crazy are these folks? One more big bet in limit poker rarely kills anyone, especially against only one other player. If someone has a double draw with A♦T♦, you are virtually 50:50 percent to win the pot.

A Final Texas Holdem Scenario

A lot of money is lost when a player falls in love with a great starting hand that doesn’t end up so well when all the cards have come out. Some folks just can’t stand losing with pocket Aces. Tragically, it happens all the time. Against three other random poker hands before the flop, pocket Aces won 63.8 percent of the money in our simulation. With the all-too common seven players seeing the flop, however, it only wins 43.3 percent of the money.

Even though this is true, give us Aces anytime! Remember, we’re only as good as the flop. For example, you look down and see A♠A♣, so you raise and get three callers. You are against two pretty good poker hands: J♣9♣ and 6♥6♦and a random hand. The flop comes, as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14 Your Aces are probably still the best hand.

With the hands as described, your pair of Aces is a heavy favorite, as J♣9♣ must either complete a straight, catch two running clubs, both a Jack and a Nine, or two of either by the end of the poker hand. In this scenario, your Aces will win 49.7 percent of the money, according to our simulation. J♣9♣ will win 34.6 percent, and the pair of Sixes will win 6.3 percent with the random fourth hand winning 8.9 percent, which tells you how strong the Sixes are in this situation. If, however, the flop is just a little different, as in T♦Q♣3♣, the statistics change dramatically as to the relative strength of the Aces versus the other poker hands. Because of the double draw J♣9♣ now enjoys, it is projected to win 49 percent of the money, while the pocket Aces will only win 39.7 percent. Those are still pretty strong odds for the pocket rockets , but when two draws are out there things change dramatically.

A brief note on Pineapple: Because you must discard one of your three cards before the turn, you will obviously need to decide your best two-card combination. If you have A♠A♥5♥, what are the chances you’ll be mucking an Ace, do you figure? Pretty good, if the flop shown in Figure 15 appears.

Figure 15 Sometimes choosing which card to get rid of is easy.

The Ace of spades will be in the muck in the blink of an eye, its services no longer required. Obviously, a pair of Aces is a very strong starting poker hand, so chances are you’ll be discarding the non-Ace more often than not. It all depends on how the flop fits your hand.

You can always play three of a kind in the pocket, of course, because you have a very, very good shot at capturing the high half of the pot. The set of Eights we tested in the seven-card Stud high section won 26 percent of the money in a 100,000-hand Turbo Stud 8 simulation, 0.3 percent of which were from four consecutive low cards fulfilling the ultimate backdoor low draw. You’re also a big favorite to win the money when you start with three consecutive suited cards ranked Five or below. With 5♣ 4♣ 3♣, for example, you would win 38 percent of all money put into the seven-card Stud Hi/lo pot. Three consecutive but unsuited low cards are also a very good hand.

Other two-way hands you can play aggressively are a pair of Aces with another low card or three low cards (again, those cards ranked Five or lower) that include an Ace.

On the high side, you’re looking good when you start with three cards to a high straight flush or what appears to be the best high hand based on your opponents’ cards. For example, if you have the hand in Figure 1, and the highest card on board is a Jack, you should figure to be in good shape to win half the pot.

Figure 1 This hand works in high-low, provided no one else has a competitive high draw.

Be very careful about playing three cards that are ranked Eight or lower, though. These hands are generally not strong enough to play against more than one other opponent going for low.

Playing Three-of-a-Kind on Third Street

If you’re dealt trips, you’re rolled up and have a tremendous starting hand. In fact, according to a 100,000-hand simulation in Turbo Seven-Card Stud, trip Deuces wins 72 percent of the time, trip Eights wins 79 percent of the time, and trip Aces wins 84.5 percent of the time against seven random poker hands when everyone stays to the river. Trips are so strong that you don’t have to worry if the fourth card of your rank is someone else’s upcard. The winning percentage for trip Deuces, Eights, and Aces drops only by about 2 percent when the fourth card of that rank is in another player’s hand. The bad news is that you won’t be rolled up that often. But when you are, raise until they make you stop.

Playing Pairs on Third Street

Pairs from Tens to Aces are great hands, but they’re a bit more vulnerable than trips, particularly when one or both of the other cards of your rank are dead, or you have a lousy kicker. For example, the hand in Figure 1 is pretty good if no one has an upcard larger than your pair, but it would be pretty dicey if there were a Queen and a King to follow you.

Figure 1 You can play unless you can’t improve to trips, or there are bigger cards behind you.

You can play a pair of Aces in the hole regardless of your kicker and whether there are any Aces in other players’ hands. The reason Aces are so good is that if you make two pairs, and there’s a good chance you will, you will have Aces-up, very probably the best two-pair hand. Believe us, you will win a lot of hands with two pairs. In a 100,000-hand simulation in Turbo Seven-Card Stud, A♣A♠2♦2♥3♣4♥6♣ won right at 50 percent of the time when every other player stayed to the river.

With that information in mind, you can usually play any pair of Tens or higher as long as you have a good kicker and no one with a larger upcard has raised you. If a player with a bigger upcard has raised, you can still call if you have a good kicker (preferably one that duplicates the raiser’s upcard) or re-raise if you have a larger pair than you figure them to have.

Pairs lower than Tens are still decent hands, provided your pair is live (there are no cards of that rank on other players’ boards), your kicker is higher than any callers’ door cards, and no more than one of your kicker’s mates is gone. Be warned, though: When you play a small pair, you need to improve quickly or get out of the poker hand.

Playing Three to a Flush on Third Street

Flushes are powerful hands in seven-card Stud, but they’re a lot harder to make than you’d think. When your first three cards are the same suit, the odds are 5 to 1 against you making your flush by the river, assuming none of the cards you need are in other players’ hands . This guideline applies to any three cards of the same suit, but if the upcards behind you are high and unmatched (that is, there’s an Ace, King, and Queen behind you), you might consider folding or just calling the bring-in.

If no one has raised before you, you can play if there are two cards of your suit out, but not if three or more are gone. If a player raises into you, and you have an Ace-high flush started, you need to determine whether the player is trying to steal or is raising on a good poker hand. If you have big cards and think your opponent may be trying to steal the antes, you can call if one of your flush cards is gone, or if you have three to a straight flush. If two flush cards are gone, and your cards aren’t high enough to make a solid two-pair poker hand at the river, you should probably give the player credit for a better hand and fold.

Playing Three to a Straight on Third Street

It’s easy to call when you have an Ace, King, and Queen as your first three cards, but calling with the hand in Figure 2 might give you pause if some of your opponents’ upcards are Tens or higher.

Figure 2 Sure, you could improve to a straight, but will you?

When you have three cards with no gaps, and all of the cards you need are live, the odds are about 6 to 1 against you making a straight, so you can certainly call the bring-in or even a full bet if your lowest card is an Eight or higher. If there is a one-card gap in your potential straight, however, you need to think very seriously about folding if any of your straight cards are dead. In fact, you should fold to a full bet if any of the cards you need to fill the gap are in another player’s hand.

You should also be careful of three-card straights that contain Aces, mainly because your outs are cut in half. For example, if you hold the hand in Figure 3, you must catch a Jack and a Ten to complete your straight. This hand contains three big cards, which is great, but it has a relatively low straight potential.

Figure 3 Big cards are good, but you have an inflexible straight draw.

•  Always throw away three of a kind.

•  In early position, raise any three card set that contains an Ace and two other cards ranked Five or below, where one of the cards shares a suit with the Ace. You should also play any A2 (regardless of kicker), any A3, where either the Three is suited with the Ace, or you have a kicker ranked Ten or higher that is suited with the Ace, any pair of Jacks or higher, and three cards ranked above a Ten, where two of the cards are suited.

•  In middle position, you may also call with any A2 or A3, any A4, where either the Four or your kicker is suited with the Ace, any A5, where either the Five or a kicker that is a Ten or higher is suited with the Ace, any three cards ranked Five or below with an Ace, any pair of Eights or higher, and any three cards ranked above a Ten. If someone raises in front of you, you should only play hands you would play in early position.

•  In late position or in the blinds, you may also call with any pair of Fives or higher and any Ace-high flush draw. If someone raises in front of you, only play hands you would play in early position, unless you are one of the blinds, in which case you may also play hands that you would play in middle position.

Pineapple poker is like Texas Holdem in that you can use both, one, or neither of your hole cards remaining at the river to make your hand. However, because you start with three cards in Pineapple and discard one after the flop, it’s very difficult to simulate results based on your hole cards. So how do you play before the flop? We recommend the following strategy:

•  Discard a hand with three of a kind, even Aces or Kings.

•  In early position, play any pair of Tens or higher, and consider raising if your third card shares a suit with one of the paired cards and is also higher than a Ten. You should also play any three cards that are ranked Ten or higher, and three cards to a straight where the bottom card is Eight or higher.

•  In middle position, play any pair of Sevens or higher where you have a suited card higher than a Ten as your third card, any hand with two fl ush cards that are Ten or higher that come with another card within two ranks of the bottom suited card, and three cards to a straight where the bottom card is Six or higher. When everyone has folded to you, consider raising with any hand you would call with in early position. If someone has raised in front of you, only play hands you would play in early position.

•  In late position and the blinds, play any pair of Fours or higher where you have a suited card higher than a Ten as your third card and any three cards to a straight where the total gaps between the cards is no more than one. In other words, you would play 8♠7♠5♥ but not 8♠7♠4♥. If someone has raised in front of you, only play hands you would play in early position, unless you are in the blinds, in which case you may also play hands that you would play in middle position.

These guidelines take into account the fact that three-card hands are, in general, stronger than two-card hands, so you need to be a bit more cautious in deciding which hands to pursue.

Good luck…

The first step is to figure out whether you can play the hand for high only. You can play a hand with no chance of a low (remember, there need to be three cards ranked Eight or lower on the board for a low to be possible) if your all four cards are ranked Ten or higher, does not contain three of a kind or quads, and meets one of these criteria:

•  The hand contains two pairs.

•  The hand contains one pair and two suited cards.

•  The hand contains two sets of suited cards.

If one of your hole cards is below a Ten, you can’t play the hand for high only. Instead, you need to evaluate whether your poker hand has a reasonable chance at winning the low part of the pot. The second step in the process is to score the lowest two cards in your poker hand.

Table 1 lists the values for the relevant card combinations.

Next, look at the other two cards in your hand (your kickers ) and add points as shown in Table 2. Add no points for a card that was already counted in the first step. If your kickers are paired, only add points once for that rank. (You’ll count points for pairs in the next step.)

If your hand contains a pair, you should add points as described in Table 3. But you’re not done with the pairs step! If you have three of a kind, subtract half the points you added for the pair. For example, if you hold A♥2♥2♠2♣, you would add 1.5 points instead of 3.

Table 1 Point Assignments for the Lowest Two – Card Combination in an Omaha Hi/Lo Hand

Table 2 Point Assignments for Kickers in an Omaha Hi/Lo Hand

Table 3 Point Assignments for Pairs in an Omaha Hi/Lo Hand

Finally, you need to account for the value of possible flushes you can make. Table 4 lists the values you should assign for the higher of your flush cards.

Table 4 Point Assignments for Flush Possibilities in an Omaha Hi/Lo Hand

Holding three cards of the same suit decreases the likelihood you can make a flush, so subtract half of the points you added if you have three cards of the same suit. If you hold four cards of the same suit, award no points for flush possibilities. It’s just too tough to make a flush when there are only nine other cards to help you do it.

The Hutchison system for Omaha Hi/Lo generates values from 0 to 45. Ed recommends playing any hand that scores a 20 or higher and to consider raising with any hand that scores 30 or higher.

As an example, try scoring the hand A♠K♦Q♦2♠. Here’s how it breaks down:

•  All four cards are not a T or above, so you can’t consider playing the hand for high only.

•  The hand contains an A2 combination, which is worth 20 points.

•  There are K and Q kickers, which are worth 4 points total (2 points each).

•  There are no pairs in the hand, so you assign 0 points for that step.

•  The hand has an Ace-high flush combination for 4 points and a King-high flush combination for 3 points, for a total of 7 points.

The Hutchison system score for A♠K♦Q♦2♠ is 31 points, so you should strongly consider raising.

A♠A♦J♠4♣

K♥Q♥J♠8♦

T♣T♠7♥7♠

9♥8♦7♠6♣

5♥5♠4♥4♠

You should assign the following scores to the sample hands:

A♠A♦J♠4♣ receives 4 points for the Ace-high flush draw in spades, 9 points for the pair of Aces, and 4 points for the straight cards (not all cards are an Eight or above), for a total of 17 points. There is only a two-rank gap between an Ace and a Four, so you don’t subtract a point.

K♥Q♥J♠8♦ receives 3 points for the King-high flush draw in hearts, no points for pairs, and 11 points for an Eight-low hand with four cards of different ranks, for a total of 14 points.

T♣T♠7♥7♠ receives 1.5 points for the Ten-high flush draw in spades, 6 points for the pair of Tens, 4 points for the pair of Sevens, and 2 points for the straight possibilities, but –2 points because there is a gap of more than one rank between the pairs, for a total of 11.5 points.

9♥8♦7♠6♣ receives no points for flush draws or pairs, but it does receive 9 points for the Six-low hand with four cards of different ranks, for a total of 9 points.

5♥5♠4♥4♠ receives 1 point for the Five-high flush draw in hearts, 1 point for the Five-high flush draw in spades, 4 points for the pair of Fives, 4 points for the pair of Fours, and 2 points for the straight possibilities, for a total of 12 points.

4 points for the Ace-high flush draw in spades

4 points for the Ace-high flush draw in clubs

9 points for the pair of Aces

8 points for the pair of Kings

4 points for the two pairs within two ranks of each other

–2 points for the Aces

The total is 27 points. How does the predicted worth correlate to the actual performance of the hand against nine opponents who never fold? Figure 1 shows the results of a 100,000 hand simulation in Wilson Software’s Turbo Omaha High.

Figure 1 When you add the split pots to the scooped pots, A♠A♣K♠K♣ wins at the predicted rate.

To interpret the results of this simulation, you need to know that the player with the test hand is in seat 10 (though you probably guessed that from the big positive number in the money column). The next step is to add all of the split and scooped pots for the nine players with random hands and compare it to the total split and scooped pots won by our hero with A♠A♣K♠K♣. The result? Our test hand won 26,736.67 out of 100,000 pots, which is near enough to the predicted 27 percent win rate.

Let’s try another decent hand to test the Hutchison system: K♦K♥Q♣J♠. The system assigns points as follows:

0 points for flush draws

8 points for the pair of Kings

6 points for all cards Eight or higher in a one-pair hand

The total is 14 points. Figure 2 shows the results of a 100,000 hand simulation in Turbo Omaha High.

This simulation shows that K♦K♥Q♣J♠ will win 14,255.33 pots out of 100,000, which is right at the predicted 14 percent win rate.

Figure 2 The Hutchison system accurately predicts another win rate.

Finally, let’s see how the system handles a mediocre starting hand such as 8♠7♠4♥4♦.

After all, the system wouldn’t be of much use if the point counts in the middle of the pack and below weren’t accurate. The Hutchison system assigns points to this hand as follows:

1 point for Eight-high flush draw in spades

4 points for the pair of Fours

4 points for the straight possibility in a one-pair hand where some of the cards

are ranked Eight or lower The total is nine points. Figure 3 shows the results of the Turbo Omaha High simulation.

In this simulation, 8♠7♠4♥4♦ won 8,436.42 pots out of 100,000, which is very much in line with the 9 percent predicted win rate.

The Hutchison system will occasionally be off by a percentage point or two in its predictions, but it’s very accurate for such a simple system.

Figure 3 This hand is a dog. The system predicted it, and the simulation proved it.

Table 1 Determine the Value of Your Suited Cards

The second step is to assign points to your poker hand based on any pairs it contains. Table 2 lists those point values.

Table 2 Pairs Add Value to Omaha Hands

Finally, you need to take the possibility of making a straight into account. When your poker hand contains cards of four different ranks, you assign points based on the lowest card in your hand. Table 3 lists the values.

Table 3 Point Values for Potential Straights

If there’s more than a two-rank gap between two of your cards, such as when you hold A♥K♦Q♠8♦, where the 9, T, and J fall between the Q♠ and 8♦, subtract one point from the total. For this hand, the total would be 10 points: 11 because the low card is an 8, minus 1 because of the gap of more than two cards.

There are two more cases you need to consider, though. The first case is when your hand contains a pair, which means it has cards of only three different ranks. If your hole cards contain exactly one pair, add six points if all cards are 8 or higher and four points for all other combinations. As before, you should subtract one point if there is more than a tworank gap between any of your cards.

When you have two pairs in the hole, you only have two ranks and far fewer possibilities to make straights. As such, you should add four points when both of your pairs are 8 or higher; otherwise, add two points. Pairs more than one card apart are difficult to make the nut straight with, so subtract a point if there’s a gap of more than one card. If one of your pairs is AA, subtract two points to reflect the Ace’s limited ability to make straights.

Add and subtract points based on the contents of your poker hand to come up with a total. The total you come up with represents the hand’s approximate winning percentage against nine opponents if everyone stayed through the river. Against nine opponents, you will win one out of every ten pots, or 10 percent of the time. Hutchison recommends playing only those poker hands with scores of 15 or higher and raising with hands of 20 or higher. In tight games, where only three or four players see the flop, you should strongly consider folding hands with scores of 15–17 when you’re in early position. In loose games, you might relax your requirements a bit and play hands with scores of 13–14 in middle or late position, but those hands are only slightly above average and could cost you a lot of money if the cards don’t fall your way.

The first hand is the absolute best hand you can have in Omaha high: You have the two best possible pairs and two nut flush draws. The low-card hand is weak, lacking a pair or even a flush draw. Despite its obvious advantages, however, A♥A♦K♥K♦ only beats 2♥3♦7♣8♠ 70 percent of the time. Yes, we say “only,�? because the best Texas Holdem poker hand, AA, will win 90 percent of the time against the worst poker hand, 72o. While having the worst hand win an additional 20 percent of the time might not seem like a big deal, it’s a huge consideration when you play heads up. To state the problem in terms of odds instead of percentages, the best Texas Holdem hand is just about a 9 to 1 favorite over the worst hand, but the best Omaha high hand is only a 2.3 to 1 favorite over the worst hand. When you play against more than one opponent, the edge a premium hand has over the field becomes quite small.

So why should you even consider playing a game where you can’t get a big edge before the flop? Because good Omaha players can take advantage of their less-skilled opponents after the flop. Calling with marginal hands gives players opportunities to come up second best, and that’s where good players make their money.

There are 270,725 possible Omaha starting hands, and even though many of them are equivalent to each other (A♣K♥Q♠J♦ is the same as A♠K♦Q♣J♥ before the flop), it’s useless to try to enumerate which hands are playable and which hands aren’t.

Good luck…

When you’re the small blind, you have to determine whether to put in the rest of a full bet. If you’re playing $15–$30 and the small blind is $10, calling that additional $5 is usually a no-brainer. Sure, you don’t want to play hands such as 72o or 93o, but when you’re in for most of a bet, hands such as Q7s, which you would normally never play if you had to put in a full bet, become playable. If the small blind is only $5 in a $15–$30 game, however, you’re in a more difficult situation. Remember: You must act first in each subsequent betting round, so you should guard your extra two-thirds of a bet closely. We recommend calling with any poker hand you would normally play in late position, but to fold everything else.

If you’re facing a raise in the blinds, you have to decide whether the player who raised is trying to steal the blinds with what is probably a weaker hand than someone would normally raise with or has a legitimate hand and wants a call to get more money in the pot.

If you believe the raiser is bluffing and wants to steal the blinds, you can either call with any playable hand and try to catch a flop, or re-raise and try to pick up the pot right there.

When you’re in the big blind and the small blind has folded, we recommend re-raising with any hand you would play from early position and calling with any hand you would play from middle position. If you’re in the small blind, we also recommend re-raising with TT or a higher pair, AQs or above, or KQs, but we only recommend calling if you could normally play the hand from middle position. Lower-ranked cards, suited cards with gaps between them, and small pairs need multiple opponents in the pot to make your draws lucrative enough to play, and when you’re against one other player the money just isn’t there to shoot at.

Ed Hutchison ( Cambridge University ) , has a system for evaluating Texas Holdem starting hands that takes a lot of the memorization out of choosing which cards to play and which cards to toss. We think his system is a bit conservative, but it’s a great bit of thinking and research.

These are the speculatin’ hands, folks. You want to flop a set, flush (draw), straight (draw), or two pair. If you don’t flop something good, get out of the way and let the real hands take over.

If everyone passes to you, you should strongly consider raising with any pair of Eights or better, ATs or better, or KTs or better. Your raise will either push the blinds out of the pot or make them put in more money to defend. Your raise also camouflages your hand a bit. The remaining players will figure you have something, but they’ll have no idea exactly what. Of course, you have no idea what they have, either, but you do have one big advantage: position. You get to act last during every betting round for this hand, so you can go after the pot aggressively.

In a loose game, you can play TT from early position, so it’s no surprise you can play it in middle position. We cut of the playable middle-position pairs at 55, however, because a Five is the lowest card you can use to create the high end of a straight. In other words, if you have 5♥5♣ and the board is A♠2♦3♣4♥9♠, you don’t have the best possible hand (a Six-high straight is the nuts) but you do have the high end of the straight.

Table 1 Playable Hands in Late Position

You can play suited Aces with cards lower than a Ten in middle position because it’s less likely that your opponents will raise and force you to pay an extra small bet for a hand that needs to flop a flush draw or two pair to be worth anything. The fact that you’re on a draw from the start is also the reason why you don’t raise: You want more players to call so there will be a lot of money in the pot in case you hit your hand. Be prepared to fold A6s a lot on the flop, though.

K9s is a hand with which you can build a good flush or a straight if you can catch the three cards (TJQ) to fill it in, but what do you do if you catch a King on the flop and another player bets into you? Your Nine is a lousy kicker, particularly against players who called the flop from early position. Whether you give up the hand when you flop top pair with a lousy kicker is one of the big decisions in Texas Holdem, online and otherwise. You’ll need to use your experience and observation of your opponents to make the best choice. The other hands in this group suffer from the same defects, so be ready to make a straight or move on to the next poker hand.

If you’re the first player in, you can raise with most of the suited or paired hands you’d play in early position, plus TT and 99. We probably wouldn’t raise very often with KTs unless we thought we could get everyone to fold, but KQs is a very good raising hand when you open the betting from middle position.

Now that we’ve established that some poker hands are playable and some hands aren’t, we need to analyze when certain poker hands are playable. In a flop game, the position of the Dealer button determines the order in which the players will act during the hand. Some players will probably fold during the course of the hand, which means that the player who acts first during a particular betting round might change, but the players who choose to stay in the hand will act in a known order until the next deal. Why is this consideration important? Because for every seat to the left you are of the big blind, there will be one fewer player left to act after you make your decision to play or not. And why is that important? Because when there are fewer players to act, it is less likely that someone behind you will raise and cost you more money than you wanted to put in to see the flop. After all, if you’re playing $10–$20 and you wanted to play the first round for $20, you would have raised yourself.

For a practical example of why position makes a difference, imagine for a moment that you are under the gun (one seat to the left of the big blind) and are dealt an unsuited KT.

KTo is a fair hand, but it’s not a hand you want to invest a lot of money in before the flop.

Yes, you’ve got two big cards, but there’s plenty of bad news: You have to act first, you need four cards of one of your suits to make a flush (one of which will be pretty weak at Ten-high), you need both a Jack and a Queen to make a straight, and you only have a Ten kicker if you pair your King. Kind of puts a damper on the fun, eh? If you’re still not convinced that playing KTo under the gun is a bad idea, take a look at the 100,000-hand Turbo Texas Holdem simulation results shown in Figure 1. In this simulation, seat 7 has the button, and Elsworth Tooey, representing you in seat 10, has K♥T♦ and always calls the first $10. We’ve created an average game with all sorts of players, many of whom are quite loose, but you can see the results aren’t that promising.

Again, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that you won a lot of pots, but the bad news is that you’re losing over $4 per hand on average. Now take a look at the results in Figure 2. You’ve still got Elsworth playing your money, but this time he has a choice of whether to call a raise or not.

In this simulation Elsworth still lost your money, but only to the tune of about $0.53 per hand. That’s still a lot of money when you play 100,000 hands, but it’s a lot less than the $400,000 loss he posted when playing KTo under the gun. The difference between the two positions? Elsworth won’t play KTo if he has to call a raise. You probably play a lot better than Elsworth after the flop and can win more money than you lose by playing KTo on the button when no one has raised in front of you, but you’re still facing an uphill battle when you play KTo with seven players yet to act. The same principle translates to all other hands in flop games: Many of the hands you can play when you’re last to act are hands you should toss without a second thought when you pick them up under the gun.

Figure 1 Calling with an unsuited King and Ten when you’re first to act is a
surefire way to get rid of your money.

Figure 2 When you’re last to act, calling with an unsuited King and Ten isn’t
quite as wrong.

• Same players always at the same table
• Same players always in the hand together
• Extremely aggressive two-way betting followed by a fold at the end
• Always/never chatting
• Chatting seems overly formulaic

If in doubt, report the hand to the room’s administrators along with the names of the players you think might have been colluding. The rooms take this sort of thing very seriously and will examine everyone’s down cards and betting patterns to see if anything is amiss.

A good way to avoid this is to increase the resolution of your screen to the maximum,

which you can do by clicking on Start, Control Panel, Display, and finally clicking the appropriate tab for the resolution. Move the slide bar all the way to the right for maximum resolution. The effect will be to make the image smaller, allowing you to fit two or more games on the screen without them overlapping. Another trick is to set up your system so you can use two monitors from the same computer. The games will be full screen, and you’ll be able to play them using a single mouse. Be aware that there are limits on how many games you may play at any one poker room at the same time. The way around this is to log on to a second poker room and play there as well.

When playing multiple poker games, be certain you’re acting on the correct game! Don’t accidentally fold your winners and call or raise with your losers because you lost track of which game was “active.�? Be aware: When it is your turn to act on a game, that window will automatically become your active window. You could be just about to click your action on one game, only to have the screen switch on you in mid-click! We recommend strongly that you increase your screen resolution in order to keep your games obviously distinct.

All-Ins and Disconnections

Sometimes we all come to a point where we run out of money partway through a hand, where we get disconnected because the leprechaun in the computer temporarily runs out of magic Internet dust, or maybe the power goes out. In this case, an “all-in�? situation arises.

If you have been able to meet any of the action in the hand, you are eligible to win that much from each of your opponents, as we mentioned on our page of “table stakes.�?

For example, you are playing $2–$4 Holdem and have $10 at the start of the poker hand. You have A♠A♥ and raise the bet to $4 before the flop. Three other players call. The flop is A♣A♦7♠. Bingo! You’re a winner, unless something truly traumatic happens (FYI: the only way you could lose this hand is if someone hits “perfect perfect�? to make a Royal Flush of clubs or diamonds or a straight flush using the 7♠). Let’s say that for some reason two other players are feeling extraordinarily lucky. One bets $2, one player folds, and the other calls. You call as well. On the turn, the 7♦ shows up! The first player bets $4, and the second player raises (meaning both likely have a 7, which is a moronic play because all you need is a single Ace to have a better full house, but just play along for a minute). You want to raise but, guess what, you can’t. Of your $10, you committed $4 of it before the fl op and $2 on the flop, which means that on the turn you have only $4 left. All you can do is click the Call–All In button that will appear. You will then need to wait for the other two players to fight it out for the remainder of the hand. You are not eligible to win any additional bets, and that money is used to make a “side pot.�? When the showdown occurs, the two players in the side pot will see who wins that money, and then the winning poker hand (or hands, in the case of a tie) will be compared to yours. You have four Aces, so you’ll get the “main pot.�? Not bad, but with the way the betting was going it could have been more. Lesson: Keep enough on the table to maximize winning hands! Minimize losing hands through knowing when to fold, etc. Another way to become all-in is through your connection to the poker room server going down. The room server will notice you’ve become disconnected and will wait until you have run out of time to act. At that point, you will be treated as all-in and will only be eligible to win as much as you’ve already put in the pot from each of the other players, as in the previous example. Be forewarned: There is a limit per day (usually two) of how many times you may become all-in as a result of becoming disconnected. After that, your hand is FOLDED. This is to ensure an enjoyable playing environment for the other players by removing the frustration of having a player with a bad connection constantly being all-in. In the past, players would simply let their time to act expire and the site would put them all-in. What would happen is, players would use the rule to their advantage by staying in the hand without needing to risk additional money. To correct this loophole, the poker rooms have instituted a rule that if your computer is connected to the server when you time out, your hand will be folded.

We believe they can also tell when you intentionally disconnect your machine, so be aware of that as well.

Assuming you have used all of your allotted all-ins, you will need to click on the dealer’s chip tray and request an all-in reset, which is usually granted. Should you miss three big blinds while you are disconnected, you will be “picked up�? from the table. Your chips will be placed back into your account for your use the next time you enter the room.

Chat

Many people enjoy poker as a social event, and online poker gives you the chance to communicate with other players through a chat function. The chat bar is found near the bottom of the screen and may be turned off if you wish. Chatting at an online poker table has many of the same characteristics as at a physical poker table: Most players carry on small talk, or talk about the hand (nh= nice hand, ty= thank you, gl= good luck, for example). Others like to try to put other players on tilt by making fun of the rest of the table when they win a hand. Some solid players can’t stand it when someone makes a low-percentage play and gets lucky, winning the pot. Instead of just letting the player happily contemplate their win, they feel compelled to tap the glass and tell them what a bad player they are. This is a terrible idea because many bad players are playing for fun, and if they are berated, they’ll take their “dead money�? to another poker table. You WANT these players at your table; you NEED these players at your table. Just grit your teeth and give ‘em an insincere “nice hand.�?

There are two big No-Nos regarding the chat bar. First, all chat must be in English. This is somewhat unfair to folks from non–English-speaking countries, but it is a rule. So those of us for whom English is our first language benefit greatly. Of course, it also becomes obvious that a lot of folks speak (type) some pretty darn good English. Good thing we don’t have to chat in German or French! Second, while some witty banter is allowed on the chat bar, you can get in trouble for being outright abusive. Calling someone a moron or cursing may be grounds for a complaint and for revocation of chatting privileges.

Remember, everything that happens on the site is recorded, so it’s not like being in a physical poker room where you may be able to say something without anyone hearing you. If you type it, it can be retrieved from the server. So if you’re an a**hole, be assured you’ll get nailed eventually .

Good luck.

The Rake

As we’ve mentioned previously, a poker room makes its money by taking a percentage of each pot for itself. Remember, unlike traditional casino games such as slot machines and blackjack, a player is not competing against the house for the money. In poker, we’re playing against the other folks at our table. The house has no interest whatsoever in who wins and loses, so it uses the rake as its source of income. Rake schedules vary, so search around your favorite poker room’s lobby to find how much they take and at what intervals. As a general rule, online rakes are less than those in brick-and-mortar poker rooms.

The Dealer’s Rack

We’ve addressed requesting hand histories elsewhere, so simply use this as reinforcement. Get those hand histories! You can usually do it by clicking on the rack of chips where the “dealer�? sits. You can also select the Rebuy option on the rare occasion when you have lost to the point where you need to reload. You will be required to put yourself back up to at least the table minimum and, for pot- and no-limit poker games, not more than the maximum buy-in.

Note Boxes

If you do a certain “click trick�? (right-clicking or perhaps double-clicking) on the player’s icon/circle/oval, you’ll be able to enter comments such as “plays any two suited cards�? or “tight, aggressive player.�? You’ll be able to combine these notes with the hand histories to develop a profile of your adversaries, and then be able to seek out the weaklings as you prowl for the best hunting!

To set your preferences for actions that occur routinely, you will have the opportunity to select some or all of the following:

•  Autopost blinds . You’ll remember from our earlier discussion that there are forced bets in flop games known as blinds . Because you’ll need to post these bets before the hand can proceed (the game will actually stop until you have done so), the best thing to do is to go ahead and post your blinds automatically. It is very annoying when a player does not do this because it slows down the game, but it is entirely up to you. A reason against doing this is, when you’re playing at more than one table simultaneously, you might not be able to keep up with which ones and how many players are at the table, and you might not be interested in continuing to play.

•  Show winners . At the end of a winning hand, if you have checked this box, your cards will be shown to the other players. If you don’t, you will get the option to “show cards�? or “muck without showing.�? We suggest against showing all your winning hands. Why give the other players information they didn’t pay for? If you are interested in advertising to the table the hand you won with, such as a bluff, two ridiculous cards, or the absolute best hand (“the nuts�?), you will have the option to click a button that says something like “show cards�? as opposed to “win, don’t show.�?

•  Automatically muck losing hands . This is when you’ve gone all the way to the “showdown�? but have come in second or worse. The general rule we suggest is to simply allow the cards to be taken without showing them. If, however, you want to show how you were very unlucky to lose (such as your opponent hitting one of two or the only card that beat you), then go ahead and click “show cards.�? We advise strongly against showing your cards any time you either don’t have to or you feel there is an advantage to be gained in doing so. Don’t let a fit of pique make you tell your opponents how you play your cards. The following are what you’ll see during a hand in which you are waiting your turn to act.

•  Fold . Since this is what you should be doing a good percentage of the time, we’ll go ahead and get it out of the way first. You don’t want to play any more, so check the box and see how the hand plays out, and/or shift your attention to another table. Fresh cards are often less than a minute away.

•  Check. After the first round, and when no one has bet, you will have the opportunity to also not bet. If no one else bets, it’s free poker for that round!

•  Check/Fold. After the first round, you will have this option. Once a bet has been made “in front of�? you, the box will change to show Fold only.

•  Call. As explained earlier, to call is to simply match the amount already bet. Other players behind you may raise, which would mean that to stay in the hand you would need to match any additional amount. If another player before you raises before it’s your turn, this box will be de-selected automatically. There may also be a box allowing you to Call Any bets, which means you will match whatever it is “to go�? (one bet, two bets, etc.). This box will stay checked unless you uncheck it yourself.

•  Raise. You like your hand so much, you know before any betting occurs that you’ll be wanting to “pump it up,�? and this box will allow you to raise if no one else raises after you check it. Should someone raise before it’s your turn, you’ll need to re-select it. There will also often be a Raise Any box, which means you’ll be raising as long as you have enough money and the maximum number of raises (three, in most cases) has not been reached. When playing in a pot- or no-limit game, you will have the opportunity to raise an amount of your choice. Rather than have you type in the amount, which is what Wilson Software’s Tournament Holdem application has you do, online programs give you a “slide bar�? to move. The farther you move it to the right, the more you’re betting. A box above the bar will let you know the amount as you move the bar. Some people move the slide bar all the way to the right so often they might wear a groove in their mouse pads!

There are some other check boxes you should know about.

•  Sit Out. Checking this box will allow you to miss poker hands until you are ready to resume playing. You will not be responsible for posting blinds or bring-ins during this time. There is a limit to how long you are allowed to sit out before you will be removed from the poker table (known as being “picked up�?). Once a player has missed three big blinds, he will typically be removed, and the first player from the waiting list will be given the opportunity to join the table.

•  I’m Back! Checking this box or clicking on the button tells the poker room’s server you’re ready to resume playing. In Texas Holdem , if you come in when it is your big blind, you may post it only. If you come in from any other position (you aren’t allowed to come in as the small blind, typically), you will be obligated to post both the big blind and the small blind. The big blind is “live�? in that when the betting comes to you, you will be allowed to raise if you wish. The little blind will be “dead�? money in the pot, not counting toward what you owe to stay in.

•  Leave Table . You’ve completed your conquest, have collected as many riches as you care to for the session, and you decide to get some sleep or to do something else productive, such as eating or showering. You’ll get a response requesting that you confirm you departure, something to the tune of “Are you sure you want to leave your seat?�? Click Yes, and you’re gone. One technique that protects your bankroll is to leave a table when you’re up a significant amount (especially in pot- and no-limit games). Get back in line, go to another table or poker room, or even give yourself the rest of the day off! These are the good times. If you go to another table or poker room, you will only be risking the maximum buy-in for pot- and no-limit poker games, while going to a limit game will also limit short-term losses because you won’t be able to blow your entire stack on one hand.

The first thing you want to decide is which games you do or don’t want to play during the session. A friend of mine who plays higher-limit games is cognizant of when he’s not as alert as he should be. He doesn’t play Stud at those times because he’s not able to “follow the cards�? as well as he should (in Stud, it is very important to remember which cards your opponents have had face-up in their hands but have folded, so you have a lot of information as to how many cards will help your and your opponents’ hands). When he’s tired, he sticks to Texas Holdem, which still requires a player to be alert but doesn’t tax the memory as badly as Stud. After deciding on games from which to choose, you should then decide how “high�? you want to play. As you will see when perusing the lobby, there are Holdem games for relatively high limits ($15–$30 and $20–$40 are commonly available) all the way down to what are known as “micro-limits�? (25c–50c, for example).

After you decide on the range of limits you want to play, check out the information on each table from the lobby. First, you will see a listing of the players currently playing and at least some of the players waiting for a seat. Additionally, you will see that the average pot size, the percentage of hands in which there is a flop (i.e., there are at least two players who remain after the first round of betting), and the number of hands per hour. This data will tell you how desirable this table is for you; because you will see if there are a lot of flops and big pots with players who you know are not as good as you are, this is a prime opportunity for you to increase your bankroll! You will be able to join either the table or the waiting list.

When you sit down, you will be asked how much you would like to “buy in�? for, meaning how much money you would like to put at risk. There is a minimum buy in, typically five times the big bet, and for certain games there is a maximum buy in. Maximums are for the pot- and no-limit games, and they protect a table from a person deciding to sit down with $2,000 and push everyone out of the pot.

Figure 1 Online poker room lobby

The first thing you notice is that the screen has several different sections from which to choose. The medium line, with Fixed Limit, No Limit/Pot Limit, and Play Money, allows you to see the different games and tables available to you at that time in each of those three categories. In this example, you are looking at PokerStars’s Fixed Limit Holdem page. Notice that the table listing the available poker games is divided by type of game (Texas Holdem , then Omaha, Stud, etc.), and then in descending order by stakes ($80–$160 to $4–$8 are pictured, but notice there is ample room to scroll down for smaller stakes and some likely no- and pot-limit games). Beside the Games tab, you see there are also tabs for Scheduled Tournaments and Sit and Go Tournaments.

A scheduled tournament is exactly that: At 7 PM, for example, as long as a minimum number of players pay the entry fee, the tournament will begin, with prize money being determined by the total number of players entered. A sit and go tournament, on the other hand, begins as soon as 10 (or however many) players buy in.

Two nice things about those $5 Texas Holdem tournaments are that they run several a day, and they don’t allow rebuys. The low cost means players won’t be too upset about blowing off their chips early in the tournament, but at least the really reckless ones are likely to go out early. Watch out for the ones that catch cards, though!

If you’d rather practice against the computer, you can invest in Tournament Texas Holdem from Wilson Software. As shown in Figure 1, you can choose between limit, pot-limit, and no-limit betting; play against average, above average, or tough competition; choose the number of players; allow or disallow rebuys; and choose the starting chip count and blind structure.

Figure 1 Set up the poker tournament you’d like to play today.

Each type of tournament offers a number of blind structures and progressions you can follow. Many tournaments in online poker rooms raise the betting limits very quickly to eliminate players and get the tournament over with, while the larger tournaments raise the betting limits more slowly so that better players can choose the hands with which they want to take on the competition. Figure 1 shows you the screen you can use to choose the bl­­ind structure and progression for no-limit tournaments.

Players in rebuy poker tournaments who have set aside money for rebuys will often be much more aggressive than players who intend to buy in only once. For that reason, you’ll often find players going all-in very early in the tournament with marginal poker hands in an attempt to double up and gain leverage against their opponents. Set aside whatever money you want to play for in the tournament, including any rebuys, and buckle your seat belt. You’ll be in for a wild ride until the rebuy period ends.

You can find the full standard payout schedule for PokerStars tournaments at www.PokerStars.com.

Table 1 The Standard PokerStars Payout Structure for a $40 Entry Fee Tournament with 500 Players

As the payout figures show, it doesn’t matter financially if you finish in 36th or 28th place.

It does, however, make quite a bit of difference if you finish third instead of fourth. The difference between fifth place and fourth place is only $300, but the difference between fourth and third place is $700, between third and second it’s another $980, and between second and first it’s a whopping $1,920. That’s a significant difference when your poker tournament investment was a $40 buy-in and $4 entry fee.

What’s the lesson? When you survive to the next payout level, such as making it to 36 th place in the tournament described in Table 1, and it’s a long way to the next payout increase, try to make a move to build your chips if your stack is below average. When your opponents can put pressure on you because you don’t have that many bullets to fire back at ‘em, you should be more willing to find a good poker hand and take a stand. If you’re only one or two places from the next increment, however, hang on for dear life.

When only a few more players need to be eliminated before all remaining players are in the money, and you have more chips than some of your opponents, you can often pick up pots from them by raising. Raising opponents with short stacks forces them to decide whether they want to risk being eliminated out of the money. Many opponents will want to guarantee that they get some money out of the tournament, especially when they’re so close to getting paid, so they will often fold and let you pick up a relatively small pot.

If you have a short stack and another player raises enough to put you all-in, you need to make the same decision. In most cases it’s just fine to fold, based on the premise that you should secure a guaranteed prize and fight to improve your position afterward.

Consider a sample hand in a no limit Texas Holdem tournament where you’re up against three other opponents, each of whom has gone all-in in front of you. It’s early in the tournament, and you’re still near your original chip count. You will have to go all-in to call, so if you lose the hand, you’ll be out of action. You hold Q♠Q♣. What do you do?

You should fold. We know it’s hard to throw away a pair of Queens before the flop, but you’ve got three opponents all-in in front of you, and at least one of them is bound to have either a pair of Kings or a pair of Aces. Not to mention the fact that even if you do have the best poker hand, there’s a real chance you’ll be unlucky and lose the hand anyway.

Take a look at two scenarios: one where your opponents have premium hands and the other where you have the best hand of the four before the flop.

In the first case, assume that one of your opponents has a pair of Aces, another has an unsuited Ace and King, you have Queens , and your final opponent has a pair of Jacks.

Table 1 displays the percentages for each hand to win, lose, or tie. As you can see, the pocket Aces are a huge favorite to win the pot despite the fact that

Table 1 A Pair of Queens Is Not Good Enough to Take On Three All-In Opponents

there is an Ace in another player’s hand. What’s worse, you will only get a share of the pot around 20 percent of the time, which means that the odds are 4:1 in favor of this hand being your last hand of the tournament. Even the pocket Aces, which are the best possible starting hand, are only 3:2 favorites over the rest of the field when you consider those three hands as a group.

In the second case, let’s assume that you have Queens , another player has a suited Ace and King, another opponent has a pair of Jacks, and the fourth opponent has a suited Nine and Ten. Table 2 displays the percentages for each hand to win, lose, or tie.

Table 2 Even with the Best Hand, You May Not Choose to Confront Three All-In Opponents 

When you don’t have players competing against each other for the same cards, as was the case in the first sample hand, the race between hands is much tighter. The odds against you winning the hand are 2:1 in this scenario, so the prudent action would be to curse your luck, toss in the Queens, and let the other players fight it out.

Doyle Brunson, two-time winner of the World Series of Poker main event and author of Super System (Cardoza, 1979), argues that the only hand you should be willing to go broke on before the flop is a pair of Aces. The previous analyses support his view.

These qualifying poker tournaments, called satellites , often charge you either one-tenth of the larger tournament’s entry fee and give away one seat, or charge you one-fifth of the larger tournament’s entry fee and give away two seats. You can also put up a smaller amount of money and play in a super satellite , where you compete against a bigger field for the same number of seats. If the satellite you’re in gives out multiple seats, you play until you get down to the number of players as there are seats on offer; there is rarely any additional money on offer for winning a satellite.

If you choose to go the satellite entry route, T.J. Cloutier advocates buying into three satellites to give yourself a shot at getting in for less than the full entry fee.

Playing in Ring Games

When you log on to a poker software and take a seat in a ring game, you can keep playing until you run out of money in your account or you decide to leave. How long you stay is up to you, but there are some aspects of ring games you should keep in mind before you take up residence at a table.

Analyzing Ring Games

It always pays to know whom you’re going up against. After you’ve been playing for a while and have notes on some of the players who play in your games, you should look for soft spots. Take the time to examine the lineups in each game at the limits you’re willing to play and take a seat or get on the waiting list in games where you recognize players you think you can beat. Players leak money in all sorts of interesting ways: calling too much early in poker hands, chasing any flush draw, not recognizing when they’re beat, and habitually calling on the end to see what you have when they have a weak hand. When you play $2–$4 or $3–$6, those extra few small and big bets may not seem like a lot of money individually, but if only one player per hand makes a $2 call they shouldn’t, there will be an extra $90 or so in circulation every hour. It’s your job to take advantage of their slips while minimizing your own.

When you log on to a poker software, you should take a look at the information provided in the lobby so you can choose a game based on something other than a cool table name. PokerStars, for example, displays the number of players in a game and the average pot size in their game list (shown in Figure 1). You’re looking for a game that has a fairly large average pot, but an average pot size that is significantly larger than in other poker games could mark the presence of a maniac or two who raise at will, making the game that much more expensive to play and increasing the swings you’ll go through. If you’re fine playing at a table with wild action, especially if you’re usually a $5–$10 player and have the bankroll to absorb some short-term setbacks, feel free to snap up that seat. If, on the other hand, you’re uncomfortable playing in pots that are raised on every hand, get on the list for another game and bide your time on the play money and lower limit tables.

Figure 1 The lobby information helps you choose the best games in poker room.

If you get on the waiting list for a game, make sure the game is still good before you take the seat! If the player or players you wanted to play against have moved on, you might want to wait for a better poker game to play in.

Finally, remember that there is more than one good poker room out there. If you can’t find the game you want on one site, try another on RoomReview.net – Texas Holdem Portal.

Good luck.

But what would happen if a player had the highest possible poker hand and two players tied for the lowest poker hand? Rather than split the pot into thirds, the high hand wins half of the pot, and the two players tied for the low would each win one quarter of the pot.

Work through the following three practice poker hands to form the highest and (if possible) lowest five-card Omaha poker hand from the board and the assigned hole cards. Once you’ve determined the best hands you can create using your hole cards, try to figure out the best possible hands you could create using any set of hole cards. The first hand appears in Figure 1.

Figure 1 What are the best high and (if possible) low hands
you can create with your hole cards? With any set of hole cards?

For this hand you have an Ace-high flush, but it’s not the best possible high hand.

The best possible high hand is a Queen high straight flush, which could be made by a player holding Q♠9♠. Someone could also make a straight flush with 9♠7♠. There are no pairs on board, so there’s no possibility someone could beat you with four of a kind or a full house. You also have the best possible low hand, 8♠6♠4♠2♣A♠.

The second practice hand appears in Figure 2.

Figure 2 What are the best high and (if possible) low hands
you can create with your hole cards? With any set of hole cards?

The best possible poker hand you can create from the seven cards available to you is three of a kind, Q♣Q♦Q♠A♠6♣. Your hand isn’t the best possible hand, however. It’s not possible to create a straight flush given the board cards, and no one can have four of a kind because you hold one of the Queens , but there are plenty of other hands that can beat you. Anyone with the Q♥ and any remaining Three, Five, or Six has a full house, as would anyone with a pair of Sixes, Fives, or Threes. There are also three spades on board, so any player with two spades in the hole would beat you with a flush.

It is possible to create a low hand given the three cards ranked Eight or lower on the board, but you only have one card ranked Eight or lower in the hole and can’t make a low hand.

The third practice hand appears in Figure 3 .

Figure 3 What are the best high and (if possible) low hands
you can create with your hole cards? With any set of hole cards?

The best possible high hand you can create with your hole cards isn’t all that hot:

9♠9♣A♥6♠5♣. Anyone with a card that matches any of the board cards beats you, so don’t count on getting any money from the high side of this pot. You do, however, have the second-best low hand, with 6♠5♣4♦2♠A♥. Only a player with a Three and a Two in the hole beats you, so you should feel pretty good about your chances.

The first hand appears in Figure 1.

Figure 1 What are the best high and (if possible) low hands
you can create with your hole cards? With any set of hole cards?

The best possible poker hand you can create using exactly two your hole cards and three board cards is an Ace-high flush, A♠2♠4♠6♠T♠. It’s not the nuts, though, because the pair of Tens on the board makes full houses possible (quad Tens is not possible because you have one in your hand).

With regard to possible low hands, there are three cards ranked Eight or below on the board, and you have two hole cards (the A♠2♠) you can use to create a five card poker hand where every card is unpaired and ranked Eight or below. That hand, 8♣6♠4♠2♠A♠, is the lowest possible hand given the three board cards, so you have the nuts on the low side.

The second practice hand appears in Figure 2.

Figure 2 What are the best high and (if possible) low hands
you can create with your hole cards? With any set of hole cards?

The best possible poker hand you can create using exactly two of your hole cards and three board cards is a full house, Q♣Q♦Q♠3♠7♣. There is no possible straight flush on board. Your full house has the highest possible trips, but you can lose to a player who has the Q♥ and the 7♦, the7♠, or the Queen and another Five.

Unfortunately, you can’t make a low hand using two of your hole cards and three board cards. Your 3♣ pairs the 3♠, and the 9♠ isn’t an Eight or lower, so you can’t make a five-card hand where every card is unpaired and ranked Eight or below.

The third practice hand appears in Figure 3.

Figure 3 What are the best high and (if possible) low hands
you can create with your hole cards? With any set of hole cards?

You’ve got the absolute nuts on the high side of this hand: a Five-high straight flush in spades (A♠2♠3♠4♠5♠). No one can touch you on the low side, either, though that fact may not be obvious at first. Your A♣, 3♥, and 5♠ all pair cards on the board, but remember that the object is to make the best five-card hand using two of your hole cards and three of the board cards. Your Five-high straight flush is also the best possible low hand. Figure 4 shows a similar situation, where all of your hole cards pair board cards, but you can still create the nut low hand.

Figure 4 Yes, you can create a low hand even though
each of your hole cards pairs a board card.

To create the nut low hand, take the A♣2♠ from your hole cards and combine them with the 3♠4♠5♣, or take your A♣3♥ and combine them with the 2♦4♠5♣, and so on. Of course, anyone with two unpaired hole cards ranked Five or below will also have the nut low hand, but beginning players may think that their paired cards can’t be used to make a low and throw away their hands on the turn. How do we know beginners can make that mistake? Because Ronald made that mistake when he started playing Omaha high-low.

♠♥♣♦ Note

You can play low-only games online if you like. Razz is seven-card Stud played for low, and triple-draw Lowball is five-card Draw played for low. There are two variations of Lowball: A-5 Lowball (also called California Lowball ) and 2-7 ( Deuce to Seven or Kansas City Lowball ). In California Lowball, straights and flushes don’t count against you and the Ace is considered a low card, so the best hand is A2345. In 2-7 Lowball, the Ace is considered a high card and straights and flushes count against you, so the best hand is 23457 of mixed suits.

To practice creating the lowest possible poker hand, consider the seven-card Stud hands in Figures 1, 2, and 3 to determine if a low is possible, and, if so, what the best low poker hand is that you can make.

You can make a low hand from the cards in Figure 1. The lowest hand you can make is 7♥5♣4♦2♣A♣.

Figure 1 Is it possible to make a low hand from these cards?
If so, what is the best possible low hand you can make?

You cannot make a low hand from the cards in Figure 2. The lowest hand you can make is 9♥8♠4♦3♦A♠, which doesn’t qualify.

Figure 2 Is it possible to make a low hand from these cards?
If so, what is the best possible low hand you can make?

You can make a low hand from the cards in Figure 3. The lowest hand you can make is 8♠5♣ 4♠3♠2♣.

Figure 3 Is it possible to make a low hand from these cards?
If so, what is the best possible low hand you can make?

The two players to the left of dealer button are forced to make a bet before they look at their cards. These bets are usually one-half of a small bet for the player to the left of the button and a full small bet for the player two seats to the left of the button. In a $2–$4 Omaha game, the small blind is $1, and the big blind is $2. Online poker sites don’t let players enter a game for free, so you’ll either have to wait for the big blind to come around or, if you would prefer to start playing immediately, post a big blind out of position. If you’re new to the game, or if you don’t recognize most of the players at your poker table, we recommend watching a few poker hands to start to get a read on how your opponents play.

If you want to sit out a few hands without giving up your seat, you can do so (there’s a button you can press in the casino software program that tells the dealer to skip over you). If you don’t miss a hand where you owe the big blind, you can jump back in at any time. Once you’ve missed the big blind, you’ll need to make up the blinds by waiting for the big blind to come around or by posting both small and big blinds in one hand ($3 in a $2–$4 game where the blinds are $1 and $2). In this case, the big blind is considered a live bet , meaning that it is an automatic call, but the small blind is a dead bet and doesn’t count as a raise.

When all of the blinds are posted, the house deals each player four cards. The players who posted the small and big blinds are already in the pot, so it is up to the player to the left of the big blind to fold, call or raise. Action continues around the table until everyone has called all bets or everyone except the big blind has folded (yes, it happens, but not that often). After that first round of action, it’s time for the flop, so the dealer turns up three cards in the middle of the poker table.

Getting four cards to start with doesn’t always make the game easier to play. At this point there is another round of betting at the lower increment ($2 in a $2–$4 game).

If there are two or more players still in the hand after the flop, the dealer adds a fourth card (the turn) to the board. Now all bets and raises are at the higher increment ($4 in this example). After this round of action (or inaction if everyone checks), the dealer displays the river card, and there is a final round of betting. If there are two or more players left after this round, the players who are still in the hand show their hands to determine a winner.

Figure 1 What is the best poker hand you cancreate with
your hole cards? With any set of hole cards?

There are three spades on the board, but you only have one spade in the hole, so you can’t make a straight flush or a flush. There is a pair of Tens on board, but you only have one Ten and can’t make four of a kind. You can, however, combine your T♥9♣ with the T♦T♠9♠ to create a full house. Is your full house the best possible hand? You have the T♥, so three of the four Tens are accounted for, which means that no one can have TT in their hand to create four of a kind. There is no card higher than a Ten on the board, so no one can have a bigger full house than yours, but one other player could have the T♣ and either the 9♥ or the 9♦ and tie you. Anyone with 99, 88, or 44 can also create a full house, but you beat those hands as well as any straights made possible by the Eight, Nine, and Ten on the board. The second practice hand appears in Figure 2 .

Figure 2 What is the best poker hand you can create with
your hole cards? With any set of hole cards?

If it weren’t required to use exactly two of your hole cards, you would have a straight flush: A♣2♣3♣4♣5♣. You do, however, have an Ace-high flush with A♣K♣5♣4♣3♣. There is no pair on the board, so no one can have four of a kind or a full house. You have the best flush possible, so you can stop worrying about anyone who also has a flush, straight, or worse. What you do need to worry about is whether any of your opponents might have the 7♣6♣, which would give them a Seven-high straight flush (3♣4♣5♣6♣7♣).

Given the impossibility of four of a kind or a full house, 7♣6♣ is the only hand that can beat you. You may need to show some restraint if an opponent raises or re-raises after the last card comes out, but overall you’re in very good shape. The third practice hand appears in Figure 3.

Figure 3 What is the best poker hand you can create with your
hole cards? With any set of hole cards?

There aren’t three cards of one suit on board, so you can’t create a straight flush or flush. You don’t have the pair of Eights you would need to make four of a kind, but you do have the 4♦4♥, which you can use to create a full house, 4♦4♥4♣8♥8♦.

That’s the best hand you can create, but is it the best hand overall? Nope. In fact, there are quite a few hole card combinations that beat yours. Any player with the 8♠8♣ will have four of a kind. In addition, any player with a pair of Tens, a pair of Nines, T8, 98, or 84 has a bigger full house than yours. You have to hone your judgment to perform well in hands such as this one. It’s no exaggeration to say that knowing when to lay down your small full houses is a key to playing winning Omaha high.

Good luck, and good hands…

The odds of being dealt three of a kind in the hole is a much more reasonable 867 to 1 against, but that’s the end of the good news. When you have three of a kind in the hole, your hand is almost as bad as if you had quads in the pocket.

The possibility of making mistakes like this one reinforces the

need to play against a specialized poker program or in free online

games before you risk real money in a new game.

As an example, suppose you hold A♠K♦Q♠J♥ and the board reads T♠4♣J♣Q�