Patience

When you're making an important decision pause to think about how the betting has gone and what your opponent might have. Take your time. If the timer times out on you, and your auto-folded, then chances are high that you should not have stayed with that hand, anyway.

Don't pre-select your action

Avoid those little checkboxes that preselect your action, unless your hand sucks so bad there is no way you would play it. The actions of other players should usually impact your decisions

I do, however, check "auto-post blinds" unless I am getting ready to leave the table.

Mediocre flop

If your cards don't match any of the community cards and you don’t have a high pair in the pocket throw your hand away when someone else bets.

Note the chip stacks

Always be aware of everyone's chip count. Know who has more chips than you and play more carefully against them - a mistake could knock you out. It's usually better to play pots with players who have fewer chips than you do.

Study your opponents

Watch who's playing in an aggressive or loose way and who's playing tight, try to play the loose players and avoid the tight players, unless you've got a strong hand.

Watch the raises

If someone raises you a large amount, only stay with a good hand. Players seldom bluff large raises with weak hands.

Play Tight

Especially for the first couple of rounds at the table, so you see who is good who is running hot, and what kinds of hands are winning.

Limits, and what they mean: No Limit, Pot Limit, Limit

Limit Poker



In limit poker, the amount you are allowed to bet is limited to a pre-determined size.

So if you're playing in a '$1/2 limit' game, for example, the minimum bets would be:

• Pre-flop: $1

• On the flop (when the three first community cards have been dealt): $1

• On the turn (when the fourth community card has been dealt): $2

• On the river (when the fifth and last community card has been dealt): $2

You can't make a smaller bet than the big blind (BB). Furthermore, all raises must be done in increments of the betting amounts.

For example, in a $1/2 limit game, the raises will be as follows, limited to four times the first bet that was made:

• Pre-flop: $1, $2, $3 up to $4

• On the flop: $1, $2, $3 up to $4

• On the turn: $2, $4, $6 up to $8

• On the river: $2, $4, $6 up to $8



No-Limit Poker


In no limit, as the name implies, there is no limit to the maximum bet that you can make in any betting round. However, there is a minimum bet that is equivalent to the BB.

The minimum raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. For example, if the first player to act bets $1 then the second player must raise a minimum of $1 (total bet of $2). There is no maximum raise - you can raise as much as you want. However, if you wish to call a bet but don't have the chips to cover it, you'll be 'all-in'. At this point, you can only win the portion of the pot covered by your chips.

Pot-Limit Poker

Pot-limit is the most popular variety of poker game in Europe. It is quite similar to no-limit poker but there are certain key differences.

In pot-limit poker, players may bet any amount from the size of the blind to the size of the pot. The pot includes the sum of all bets and raises made during the current round.

Here's an example: The pot in the center of the table contains $10. On a subsequent round, one player bets $2, and two following players each call this $2 bet. The fourth player could call the $2 bet and then raise by a maximum of $18. This raise matches the $100 in the pot, the first $2 bet, the two additional $2 calls and the player’s own $2 call, which together add up to a $180 raise.

Getting Started (for the newbie)

If you are a newbie, pay attention!

1. Play low stakes. Start out playing very lose stakes. I can speak from personal experience; if you are new at this, you are guaranteed to lose for awhile particularly if you are foolish enough to try higher stakes before you are ready. You can lose several hundred very quickly. The people at the higher stakes know what they are doing and will take your money. Sure, not everyone in the higher stakes are super poker players, but you will almost find one at every table. Sometimes 2 or 3. these people will read you like a book. You'll be lucky to win one or two hands before they figure you out. They are like the Borg in the way they adapt quickly to your playing style. Stay at the micro stakes for a thousand hands, at least, until you get the feel for it. And even though the amount of money seems like chicken scratch, play it like it's a hundred dollars. Take it very seriously. That is the only way you will learn poker . Learn how to play the hands, and how to read your opponents while you are doing this. Study everyone; figure out what they have and the way they play, even if you are not playing

2. Only play one table at a time. I was fascinated when I first started, to find players at several tables, and these were the players that were winning. So I tried it. Guess what? When you are a nube, you can't handle more than one table. You can't even handle one. Stay focused and pay attention.

3. Play larger rings. If you play the smaller rings, you will lose more on blinds alone then you will win. You need the larger tables for two reasons. One; you have more hands for "free" in between blinds. It costs you less to simply sit at the table and do nothing. Two; you get more practice this way.

4. Money management. Remember ... you are going to lose! So start with the small stakes, and stay there until you win consistently! How much do you select to sit at a table? Select the max in limit poker. You need the power to back you up. If you select a small amount, or the minimum, you will burn through the money quickly. With a larger stack at the table, you will be in longer, and have more opportunity to win. You will also have the power to bluff. Bluffing is part of the game. You cant win overall without some bluffing, and you cant bluff without a big stack in front of you, because if you get beat on a bluff, you'll burn up your whole stack if it is small. For no limit, never buy in for more than 25 times as much than the big blind. This is the advice of the professionals from Full Tilt Poker Academy, and it is based on the fact that if you play above your bankroll, you will go broke. It's not unlike buying a house with a mortgage you cant afford. It is foolish, and it guarantees financial disaster.

Texas Hold ‘Em – the structure of the game

First, you are dealt two “pocket cards” that no one else can see. The player immediately after the dealer posts a “small blind,” and the next player posts a “big blind,” which is twice as big as the SB. Everyone takes a turn to either call the blind, fold, or raise.

Next, three cards are dealt at once. These are dealt on the table face up, and everyone shares these three cards to make their hands. These three cards are called the “flop.” You look at your cards, think about what other players could have, what do they have compared to their behavior? Decide to call, raise, or fold.

Then another card is dealt. This is called the “turn,” or “fourth street.” Again, everyone evaluates their hands and has a chance to bet, raise or fold.

Then the final card is dealt. This is called the “river.” One more round of betting, and then you see who wins.

Texas Hold ‘Em – Best pre flop hands

What are the most basic hands to stay with?

The first challenge you face in a hand, is what to do with these pre-flop cards. Do you stay, fold, call, raise? The answer has many variables. It changes based on where you are in relation to the dealer; that is, are you “early,” “late,” or in the middle? It also varies as you get to know the players at the table. Have the really good players checked, raised or folded?

Let’s start with the best hands to stay with: A pair of 8’s or better, AK, AQ. You can stay with these at any point on the table. Although, if you are in a late position, and several other players have stayed or raised, you might second-think the less valuable of those hands. Also, if you are later in the table, and no one has stayed except the blinds, you can consider staying with even lower pre-flop hands, but be quick to fold if you get a lot of raising.

Welcome to the world of Poker. ----- Purpose of this blog.

The purpose of this blog is two fold. First and foremost, we are here to teach you the basics of the most popular games. This blog is for the newbie, so we will start with the rules and basic game play. We will also cover enough strategy and tips to keep you from losing a bundle. That is, if you practice and apply the strategy.

If you are new to this game, do NOT start out at the high stake tables. Please start at the low stakes, and practice. Don't be in a hurry to get rich off of this, because if you are, you won't. Like any skill, it takes a lot of time, practice, and study.

Winning at Poker is a skill. If you want to rely on luck, you might as well toss twenty dollar bills out your window while you are driving. Let me know if you are planning on doing this, so I can drive behind you. Yes, you can be naturally adept at certain skills, but even with natural aptitude, talented people study and practice and take lessons. Most gifted musicians took lessons for years. Brilliant wood carvers learn from other masters. Athletes are driven by their coaches. You can't expect to win with out learning from the masters.

When I was a teenagers (the 70's), we used to play penny-ante poker in the basements of each others houses for fun. I would almost always walk away the winner; 20 or 30 bucks. But when I started playing at casinos and online, I lost hundreds before I started winning. Basement poker is a lot different than playing against people you don’t know, many of whom have practiced this a lot more than you and can look at a hand or the behavior of the other people at the table, and know with reasonable certainty what the other players have, and whether they should fold, stay, raise or bluff.

As I said, this blog is twofold. My second purpose is to promote my favorite online poker house, Full Tilt. I have tried quite a few online houses, and I like them the best. They have an excellent table structure, a wide range of available games and options. They also have more educational information for YOU, the player, than any other house. They actually want to help you learn to play well, which I have not seen at any other house. For that alone, they earn my respect and loyalty.

When you play poker online, you are not playing against the house. You are not playing against computers. You are playing against other humans. The house takes a small percentage out of the larger pots. They don't take any out of the little dinky pots where everyone folds. The small percentage they take is called the "rake." The rake is how they make their money, and it truly is a small percentage.

So why shouldn't the houses encourage you to learn to play well? The more good poker players they have, the more people playing poker, the more rake they get. They have nothing to lose by educating you, and everything to gain. That is why I am surprised that other houses do not offer the quality education that Full Tilt offers, which is one of the reasons I am here promoting them.