partypocker – Playing (A,K) in Holdem
Having (A,K) as your two hole cards is an excellent situation to be in and if you manage to lure in a hand such as (K,Q) or (A,Q) then you will always be a huge favourite going to the flop, despite this the hand often tends to throw up certain conundrums for a player, especially when you miss the flop entirely. The following is a hand I played recently and demonstrates not so much the problem of missing the flop entirely but how a hand can be played and perhaps misplayed when the flop is favourable.
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Having (A,K) of clubs I raised strongly pre flop and was called by one solitary and very aggressive player at the table, the flop showed (A,K,3) all off suited and I immediately felt that if I raised my opponent may fold and so I checked to him. I am certainly not a player who tries to slow play two pairs often, but I felt with the previously noted aggressive nature of the player, and the lack of any obvious danger whatsoever on the flop, I would give my opponent the chance to bluff at the pot. He checked too at this point and an 8 came on the turn, the board showed all off suited cards giving no danger of a flush or straight, with this in mind I checked once more hoping to extract some extra chips when my opponent bluffed at the pot, but again he checked.
Finally a 5 came on the river and I made a small raise, and was immediately faced with a reraise. Thinking my opponent was perhaps just asking me if I really had a hand here, I reraised all in. Now many players might say that I had played this hand badly and could see their point, I didn?t protect my hand at all, but with the board cards looking to lack any clear danger, I felt at the time it was the correct decision, of course when my opponent showed hole cards of (5,5) for a set, I wasn?t so sure.
As I mentioned earlier however more often the problem faced with this hand is what to do when you miss the flop, every player is different of course but if you have made a preflop raise as I feel you should, then you can certainly find value in betting out on the flop, especially if all low board cards are showing as your opponent might have a similar hand to yourself, and if they have a higher pocket pair they are likely to reraise and you can get out of the hand fairly cheaply.
I would also advise raising, although more strongly, If you hit the flop in the most probable of ways, making top pair top kicker when an A or K hits the flop. However you play your (A,K) it is rightly considered to be one of the best starting hands and should be played accordingly, only being up against a hand of (A,A) or (K,K) will have you in deep trouble preflop, although you must be wary of calling all in bets as you can often end up with around a 50% chance to win if your opponent has a pocket underpair.
Playing Weaker Hands Preflop
When talking about weaker hands, the hole cards I would encompass in this description are hands such as (K,J) (A,10) and any suited Ace, these hands can often get you into trouble but sometimes you might feel it necessary to get involved with them. One such reason might be that you have made it far into a tournament and the large blinds coming round might be an issue, another might be that you feel you can outplay a weaker player later on in the hand or wish to try and pick up their big blinds, whatever the reason for getting involved with them, there are a few options available to you here.
I can?t really make a case for moving all in with these types of hands unless you have little or no choice, the only hands you are likely to be called by are hands that have you in deep trouble, I do feel some sort of raise preflop is often necessary however. Once you have made a preliminary raise you should have narrowed the number of players down, hopefully, to just one other person, if you are reraised substantially preflop then I would just fold here. Once the flop comes down, if it isnt overly dangerous I would often bet out regardless of whether you hit your hand or not as an exploratory bet, you can often win the pot outright here if the opposing player hasnt connected with their hand, if they call then they probably have and its time for some careful decision making depending on the individual circumstances.
Most of the time I would fold these hands pre flop, unless my chipstack is under pressure from the blinds, just calling and getting involved in a multi way pot can often spell danger as, if you hit your hand of (K,J) on the flop and make a pair, you have multiple players who could be holding anything at all considering they didnt have to have a strong enough hand to call a preflop raise, and you will probably end up getting called or raised and not being able to tell how strong your hand is in relation to the opposing players. However you choose to play these weaker hands, always keep in mind that although they look pretty and can sometimes be tempting, there is a decent chance you will be an underdog going into the flop, so be wary, and use your discretion to the best of your abilities.
partypocker – Poker Magazines
Many magazines dedicated solely to poker are available in the shops today and offer the poker enthusiast a great insight into many aspects of the game. Topics covered include latest updates from any ongoing major tournaments, player of the year rankings in both live and online sectors, and plenty of poker theory based write ups too.
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Also discussed are the changes in american law and it?s implications in poker rooms worldwide which shows the initiatives of these magazines to cover a broad range of subjects and their possible ramifications for the average poker playing reader.
As you might expect, issues of such magazines often include articles from some of the most revered players in poker which of course holds great allure to the reader hoping to pick useful pieces of information on a tactical level. Updates can usually be found in these magazines of how the top pros are playing each year, and include some of their best and worst moments in tournaments on the poker circuit too.
Most poker magazines release their issues monthly and if you are an aspiring poker player they are a great read and will always provide you with either some tactical information to think over, or some latest piece of news from the world of poker, as such, they are certainly worth the time to look through and most are very reasonably priced too.
Respective Values of Omaha Starting Hands
Omaha can be a tricky game to understand for players who are new to the game, often starting hands may appear to show a lot of promise but ultimately do not amount to much by the end of the hand. There is always scope to form stronger hands in the game of Omaha due to the fact that you start with four hole cards, but it is important to bear in mind that other players have that same advantage too so try and keep your hand in perspective.
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In dealing with regular Omaha the premium starting hands are ones such as (A,A,K,Q) double suited or (A,K,K,J) double suited would be strong too. Double suited basically means you have two cards to one suit and two cards to another suit, this effectively gives you the chance of drawing to flushes of two separate suits and gives extra strength to a hand immediately. Also starting with a high pair gives a chance of making the highest possible three of a kind or full house and can occasionally win a pot outright by the end of a hand.
In the case of Omaha hi/lo split the strongest starting hands begins to alter somewhat, when taking the consideration on board that a low hand can often give you half the pot or all of it, if you already have the best high hand. Hole cards such as (A,A,2,4) would be good, as would (A,2,3,4) double suited for example, hands with high pairs like Queens and Kings are good starting points however it is always helpful to have some sort of cards which might draw to the low half of the pot too.
Sometimes you may feel the urge to take a flop with mediocre pairs or suited connectors and this is fine too, as long as you have the discipline to fold your hand when you only catch half of the flop. With a little practice you should get a feel for what hands are worth staying involved with and which arent.
books about pocker
When it comes to learning about the game of pocker books offer some of the most valuable information available, mostly this is because the authors of such books are experienced pocker players and have a great knowledge of the game.
Phil Hellmuth jr has written some good books on pocker theory, I own one myself and find it helpful to reread key sections now and then to help me fine tune my game or pick some more knowledge about other games aside from Holdem. Books of this kind do not deal only with the theory and rules behind pocker games, details about the World Series of pocker schedules can also be found in some books, along with guides to cash games, and stories of key hands the author has played in the past.
Personally I don’t feel you can ever be a highly skilled pocker player through simply reading every pocker book available and following the advice to the letter. I am a great advocate of developing your pacificpocker play through experience, and in general I don’t think any other type of learning quite compares to simply playing for hours on end. Regardless of this you can usually pick up some excellent points of reference and wisdom from pocker books which will always be helpful.
The ability to blend and incorporate some of these ideas into your developing pacificpocker game in the long run, can only serve to strengthen your play further.
pockerstars info and bonuses
pockerstars is the largest pocker room online, offering the highest player volume, the biggest stakes and the best incentives to play! These incentives, however, differ greatly from those offered at other pocker sites. pockerstars prides itself on its superiority, both functionally and visually and uses the promotion of its premier pocker product as its primary player incentive, rather than a multitude of promotions and bonuses.
Although this may dissuade the newer players, this strategy has proven incredibly successful for pockerstars, as millions of the best online players flock to the website to make it their home. pockerstars is renowned for offering quality pocker with quality competition and is the home of numerous famous pocker pros, including the winners of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 World Series of pocker.
In terms of actual bonuses, pockerstars offers a quite standard, but reasonable initial deposit bonus. New players can sign up to pockerstars and receive a 100% deposit bonus up to $50. This bonus has standard play through requirements through the accrual of their famous FPPs (Frequent Player Points).
pockerstars also offers regular reload and 2nd deposit bonuses that change on a regular basis, depending on the promotion of the month. If you’re looking for a pocker room that’s going to exceed your expectations and provide you with the best competition available, head on down to pockerstars, grab your initial deposit bonus and start enjoying yourself.
the cost of mistakes in tourney pocker play
I shall use the following example to demonstrate one of my own recent mistakes and how quickly a player can get themselves into trouble by making seemingly trivial errors of pocker judgement. I went out of a tournament a few days ago with (A,K) for precisely that reason, mostly in fact because I didn’t protect my pocker hand enough preflop. A great site like fulltiltpocker will give you all of the stats of each hand you play so that you can keep track of these silly errors and avoid them next time! You can also get a great free bonus from fulltiltpocker if you have never played there before when you register!
I only raised twice the big blind because I didn’t want to force the two remaining players out and only pick up the blinds, two hands called, one of which was (Q,8) suited. It is debateable whether this type of hand should have called the raise anyway but I have to shoulder most of the blame myself as I then proceeded to compound my first mistake with another. The flop came (8,K,8) and from this point it, if a King didn’t save me, it was always going to be a case of whether I could make it out of the hand alive or not. (Q,8) checked to me, I moved all in, and was quickly called, no cards appeared to improve my hand and I was out of the fulltiltpocker tournament.
With hindsight the correct play for a pocker person holding an 8, in my opinion, would have indeed been to check it to me, and allow me the chance to bet out and lose more chips (especially as I had advertised two bluffs earlier on). I felt that the opposing player was likely to have (K,Q) or an underpair in the hole, if he called. I base this on the fact that if he had (A,A) I feel he would have reraised me preflop, the hands I mentioned would perhaps warrant a call, but anything with an 8 such as (K,8) (Q,8) (J,8) shouldn’t have called my raise preflop really, with the exception perhaps of an (A,8) suited. Despite this, when the opposing player checked to me I should have raised smaller to test the waters a little as opposed to pushing all in there and then, if I had done that he would in turn surely have reraised me all in. I may or may not have folded my (A,K), it would have been a very difficult decision, the point is I never gave myself the chance to make this decision.
The example above shows that small mistakes in a pocker tournament can often have devastating consequences and is very important to remain focused throughout, if you can maintain that level of concentration and carefully examine your decisions as you make them, then such crucial moments in fulltiltpocker tournaments will inevitably start to play out more in your favour.
online pocker sidegames
For those players who enjoy cash games and are perhaps more used to them from playing home games with their friends or family, pocker sidegames offer an excellent chance to build your funds up over time.
These cash pocker sidegames can be found and played at almost any hour of the day or night and a player has the added advantage of being able to choose their stakes and also when they wish to leave the table if they are satisfied with their wins.
Points which are often accumulated on sites for playing with cash, can be quickly built up in this way too and I often find a more relaxed atmosphere in which to play on such tables. You can also sit down with more money than most players on a table if you wish to play aggressively, this can be very beneficial if you are suited to that type of play as opposed to starting a tournament with a level playing field.
You have to be prepared however, for the worst to happen, if you make a good move with the best hand and get outdrawn you could easily lose all the money you have on the table.
This aside though sidegames are always a convenient way to play some pocker if your preference is for this type of game or even perhaps if you just don’t have enough time for long drawn out tournaments.
pacificpocker are an excellent site to try your hand at some sidegames and they will also give you a really great bonus when you register!
how to run a pocker game at home
Running a pocker game at home is relatively easy, once the other players are there, you need to decide which game or games you are all happy playing and of course determine the stakes. Pocker games at home can be just like online games seen at great pocker sites like pockerstars.
You may wish to divide pocker chips out and play for a first,second,and third place prize, or even a winner takes all game, it’s mostly a matter of preference really. Using pocker chips in a ’freezeout’ tournament is usually how the home games I have played in are run, but that does give rise to the problem of the first player or two losing all their chips and having to sit and watch for the next two hours.
A more convenient type of pocker game may be to just play for cash, although setting a pot limit may be a good idea unless you are happy for the pots to get rather big. Other than setting out the game rules and details of the game with the other players, there are a few things the host of the game needs to arrange first. A table of some sort is necessary of course, along with the deck of cards and if required, pocker chips, also you are unlikely to have a person present whose sole job it is to deal the pocker cards, and so you will have to rotate the dealership and blinds yourselves.
The most important thing with any home pocker game in my opinion, is that nobody leaves having lost serious amounts of money they can’t afford, and everybody has a good time, after all pocker can be a very sociable and enjoyable game, especially when played at home. You can also practice pocker online at sites where you can get a free bonus!
basics of razz
Razz is a game which is played at the World Series of Pocker each year, although it is unique in the World Series for the way that it seems quite unlike the game of poker in many respects, it has it?s own tournaments within the schedule and is one of the games played during the H.O.R.S.E events along with Holdem Omaha and Stud. The game of Razz does not use the usual poker hands and rankings to judge the winner, the players aim is to make a five card hand with as many low unpaired cards as possible, Ace counts as low. The format of how the cards are dealt out is the same as seven card stud with there being no board cards, each player has their own hand which is partially revealed face up and consists of seven cards by the end of the hand. This type of winning low hand can be found in the game of Omaha when playing the ?hi/lo split? version, although in Razz there is no cut off point for either qualifying or not qualifying with a hand, it?s simply a case of the lowest five cards out of the available seven making a players hand. For example, a hand of (2,3,6,K,J,5,8) would make an ‘eight low’ the hand being declared as (8,6,5,3,2) if another players highest low card (in this instance the 
is equal to another players, the next card is used to determine the winner, the 6 in this case, and the following cards if needs be.
The strongest hand in Razz is known as ‘the wheel’ and would consist of (A,2,3,4,5) the suits of the cards in this particular game do not have relevence nor do pairs. Although it is not a widely played game online, I have begun to enjoy Razz as I have played it more, and if you consider yourself a serious poker player then it is important that you familiarise yourself with Razz as you may wish to enter H.O.R.S.E events at some time. Also Razz can be a good change of the usual at home games, and is certainly worth the time to learn. It is not one of my strongest games by any means, and I myself am still in the learning process, but Razz definitely seems to me to be a very much underrated game in the world of poker.
