A Way To Approximate The Odds

Clonie Gowen

March 21, 2005

It is very difficult to calculate the exact odds of hitting a drawing hand when you're sitting at the poker table. Unless you're a genius with a gift for mathematics like Chris Ferguson, you will not be able to do it. That leaves two options for the rest of us: The first option is to sit at home with a calculator, figure out the odds for every possible combination of draws, and then memorize them. That way, no matter what situation comes up, you always know the odds. But for those of us without a perfect memory, there's an easier way. Here is a simple trick for estimating those odds.

The first thing you need to do is to figure out how many "outs" you have. An "out" is any card that gives you a made hand. To do this, simply count the number of cards available that give the hand you are drawing to. For example: suppose you hold Ac 8c and the flop comes Qh 9c 4c. You have a flush draw. There are thirteen clubs in the deck and you are looking at four of them -- the two in your hand, and the two on the board. That leaves nine clubs left in the deck, and two chances to hit one.

The trick to figuring out the approximate percentage chance of hitting the flush is to multiply your outs times the number of chances to hit it. In this case that would be nine outs multiplied by two chances, or eighteen. Then take that number, multiply times two, and add a percentage sign. The approximate percentage of the time you will make the flush is 36%. (The exact percentage is 34.97%.) Now let's say that on that same flop you hold the Jd Th. In this case you would have an open ended straight draw with eight outs to hit the straight (four kings and four eights). Eight outs with two cards to come gives you sixteen outs. Multiply times two and you will hit the straight approximately 32% (31.46% exactly) of the time.

One important thing to keep in mind is that the percentage stated is merely the percentage of the time that you will hit the hand you are drawing to, NOT the percentage of time that you will win the pot. You may hit your hand and still lose. In the first example, the Qc will pair the board and may give some article a full house. In the second example both the Kc and the 8c will put a possible flush on the board, giving you the straight, but not necessarily the winning hand. Still, knowing the approximate likelihood of making your hand is a good beginning step on the road to better poker.

Seven Card Stud Guide and Brief Strategy: Author :sweetieJB

GUIDE

Most poker players are intimidated by seven-card stud. This game can be very formidable, mostly because a nut starting hand can easily and spasmodically be vanquished by a better hand. Seven-card stud is a game requiring much skill, concentration, patience and thought. Seven-card stud, as with other poker games, builds on basic skills.
Seven-card stud, as its name implies, is played with seven cards. To start, every player is required to post an ante (in most games). Then every player is dealt three cards, the first two dealt face down, the third face up. These three cards are referred to as first, second and third street, with the face up card called the door card. The player with the lowest door card (starting with a deuce) is required to 'bring-in' the bet, or start the game by betting the smallest bet. If two or more players share the lowest door card the bring-in is determined by the cards' suit, in alphabetical order (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades).
The game play then moves clockwise, with the player to the left of the bring-in given the options to fold, call or raise the bring-in to a full bet. If the player decides to raise the bring - in, the player to his left can fold, call or raise to double the bet on the board. It is always important to look at your opponent's door card before betting or calling, to determine if your hand is considered dead. For instance, if you are dealt three suited cards, referred to a three suit, and cards of the same suit are scattered around the board, it is advisable to fold your hand. It is harder to make a flush when your suited cards are taken.
After the third street bets have been called, another card, called fourth street, is dealt face up. First to act is determined by who has the highest fourth street card. Again as with the door card, if two or more players share the same card, the higher card is determined by the cards’ suit alphabetically. The first to act the fourth street can raise to a double bet if there is a pair shown in that players’ upright cards. For example, in a $2-$4 game, if the first to act holds an upright pair, he can fold, bet $2, or double to $4. All other raises after the first to act bets can only be in $2 increments, regardless if you hold an upright pair. There is not as much skill required when betting/calling the fourth street as with the third street, but again, consider your opponent's door and fourth street cards. If you hold two Queens, and the other two Queens are held in your opponent's hands, all the Queens are used, and a hope of making a three of a kind, Queens, is a moot point.
Next, the fifth street is dealt, again face up. Betting/calling here is a decision best made with much consideration. The fifth street represents the final opportunity to lucratively fold a hand. If your hand is worth nothing or weak, calling or raising on the fifth street can cause you to lose money in possibly three double-sized bets. Fifth street is where double-sized bets become required. For example, in a $2-$4 game, a move on third street to could be to call the bring-in, bet $2 or raise to $4. Fourth street you can check, bet $2 or raise to double if you have an upright pair. Fifth street requires you to bet at least $4, and each raise is in $4 increments. This is required EXCEPT when any player makes a pair with their face up cards, or open cards, on the fourth street.
The last card dealt face up is called sixth street, and if you have made it this far with checks/calls/raises, it is usually beneficial to stay in until the end. If you have an absolutely garbage hand, and there is now no way to make anything with it, obviously fold. Also, if an opponent shows a good hand with their open cards, for example a flush, and bets/raises a large amount, folding is an intelligent decision. Lastly, the seventh street or river is dealt face down. This is your last chance to make a strong hand stronger. Again, if you've made it this far, it is usually beneficial to stay in until the showdown.

BRIEF STRATEGY

There are tips to consider when playing seven-card stud, the first being to ALWAYS play a live hand. But always be aware of your opponent’s open cards, because a live hand can easily become a dead hand when the cards you are waiting for are taken. As in any game of poker, small and medium pairs are not as good as large pairs. In seven-card stud, small and medium pairs can easily become worse. Because everyone is dealt seven cards, a pair of threes made into a three of a kind can easily be beat by a larger three of a kind.
Cards referred to as scare cards, or cards to improve or help you to later improve your hand, are cards to look for. Look for them in your own hand, but beware them in an opponent’s hand. Catching a high card in your hand will add value to your hand, and scare your opponents with weaker hands away. Another tip is to play large hands against a few opponents, but playing hands where a straight or flush can be made, drawing hands, fare better with many opponents. ALWAYS be aware when an opponent pairs his door card. This could mean your opponent already has three of a kind, or may make one before the showdown. Lastly, if you can afford to call a bluff, call on the seventh street or river even if you have a hand you think won't win. Many people bluff when their open hand shows a pair or three suited cards.

There are odds associated with seven-card stud, as in all poker. Getting the following starting hands are considered "lucky;" Three of a kind - 424:1, Pair of Aces - 76:1, Pair - 5:1, Three suited cards - 18:1. Have fun learning how-to, or competing in this game!
Finally, having a larger bankroll while playing seven card stud is a good idea. Before playing, consider your bankroll because calling down while trying to make a hand is more expensive with an extra round of betting. You should count on needing a larger bankroll because missed draws will tend to cost you more, and you will have to play a couple of rounds betting before you have a full hand. You also may need to see more rounds of betting before you can be confident whether your hand is liable to hold up or not.

Play More Pots - Erick Lindgren

In tournaments, I play lots of hands. I'll put my money in with all kinds of connected cards, especially when in position. I might limp, I might min-raise or raise a little more than the minimum, depending on the circumstances. I'm looking to keep my table off balance so they don't know where I'm coming from.

My overall goal is to pick up a lot of small pots without a lot of resistance. I might raise in position and hope for a call from one of the blinds. If I raise pre-flop with something like 6-7, I might miss the flop entirely, but the raise puts me in control of the hand. On the flop, I'll likely bet if checked to, even if I miss. That small bet on the flop will usually win me a small, but helpful pot.

Of course, sometimes it won't work out. I'll bet and get check-raised on occasions. But that's okay, because I actually don't lose much in the hands that I have to surrender. Overall, I get to gradually add to my chip stack by chopping at small pot after small pot.

The other major advantage to my style is that, occasionally, I will hit a flop hard. If I do happen to flop a straight, it's difficult for other players to put me on something like 5-7 or 6-8. If one of my opponents also gets a piece of the flop, I'll get paid off in a big way.

By adding to my stack early, I have a real advantage over players who play a cautious, tight game. The extra chips that I accumulate allow me to survive some tough spots. So, if I happen to get involved in a race with A-K or a pair of Tens, I can withstand a loss. An opponent who's playing tight will likely be on the rail after losing a single race.

New players often ask me how they can learn to play more pots. I always suggest that they drop down significantly in stakes and practice. If you're playing $2-$4 no-limit, drop down to $.50-$1 - a level where some losses won't hurt you.

Once you're at that table, try to play eight hands out of 10. Play everything but 2-8 or 3-9 - hands that are entirely unconnected. When you get yourself involved with this kind of frequency, you'll have to concentrate more on your opponents than on your own cards. You'll have to be on the lookout for opportunities to take down pots with well-timed stabs. You'll also learn how to proceed in situations where you flop a good, but dangerous hand.

By dropping down and playing a lot of hands, you're going to learn a lot about poker. You're also going to have a lot of fun. Lord knows, playing 50% of the hands is a whole lot more entertaining than sitting around waiting for Aces.

If you look at the success that Gavin Smith, Daniel Negreanu and myself have had over the last couple of years, you'll see that being active can be an excellent way to score big in tournaments. It takes practice to play this style, but it can lead to great results and be a lot of fun.

Pot Limit Omaha: pantin007

PLO ( Pot Limit Omaha )

Author : pantin007

Pot Limit Omaha

Simple Introduction To The Game Of PLO
In PLO u are dealt 4 hole cards and like in holdem there are 5 community cards dealt out onto the board but in PLO u can only use 2 out of ur 4 hole cards and 3 out of the 5 community cards on the board and obviously the best 5 card hand wins.

Some differences between HE and PLO
Now there are big differences between Holdem and Pot Limit Omaha.

1) The strength of big pocket pairs. AA in holdem is the strongest starting hand in the game and even if ur unimproved after the 5 community cards, there is still a a good/great chance that u have the best hand. in PLO AAxx is a good starting hand but if unimproved after the flop/turn/river, it is very unlikely that ur still holding the best hand.

2)combinations. In PLO combination hands can be golden. a lot of players in holdem would overlook the capabilities of big combination hands like 10-9s but for example: 4-5-6-7 double suited has 49.3% to win against A-A-9-2 {4 suited} if the money is put in preflop. Also in PLO out of ur 4 hole cards, u have 6 possible 2 card hands.The more of these 2-card combinations that you have working for you – particularly with the potential to hit the nuts – the better your hand

3)another difference in PLO and holdem is the fact that ur never going to be an overwhelming favourite preflop in plo, while in holdem u can be a huge favourite..A made hand in holdem on the flop is usually a huge favourite against most draws but in PLO it is possible and occurs quite often that the draw is the favourite against a made hand, even if ur up against a set. for example : ur opponent has AAxx 4 suits, u have 9-10-J-Q double suited, the flop comes:A-7-8 with 2 hearts. what do u think the percentages are? in this situation, ur hand{monster draw} is a 55% favourite compared to the villains set which is only a 45% favourite.

PREFLOP PLO PLAY

1)starting hand selection
The key to good Omaha High starting hand selection is to play cards that work together for the maximum chance of hitting the flop. Suited cards and connected cards are both desirable, combinations of high pairs with other cards working with them are also strong.While Aces are the strongest hand before the flop in Omaha these are rarely more than a 3-2 favorite over small connected cards. Hands such as 7-8-9-10 (particularly when double suited) are known as ‘rundown hands’. The strength of these hands lies in their drawing capabilities.One of the peculiarities of Pot-Limit Omaha is that, no matter what you hold, preflop, your opponent's hand will almost always have a decent chance of beating your hand.

2)betting consideration
The nature of pot-limit betting is that the bets are very small before the flop compared to the size of the pot by the end of the hand. This means that the implied odds in PLO are huge.Now again, ur never really going to be a big favourite in any hand preflop thus u dont want to be committing too much chips into the pot preflop.

3)Balancing ur raises
now u dont want to be at a table where everyone else knows what u are doing. u dont want to be too limpy as you will always giving ur opponents the oppertunity to see cheap flops. this is the reason that a balanced raising strategy is need.A way to balance ur raises is to raise when u feel u have the best hand. simple, yes.Basically, u cant just be raising when u got big pairs in the whole, u need to also raise with big combo draws (eg-J-J-10-9 {double suited}), this helps to ensure that ur opponents will be guessing as to what hand combination u actually have.

4)position. most of ur profits in PLO come from when u are in late position/last to act post flop. because of this u should try and avoid making raises preflop from early positions and from the blinds. acting first is a huge disadvantage as again, there are no real favourites preflop.When first to act, especially against several opponents, you could spend many chips to get the information that your hand is beaten. Last to act you may see a pot sized bet and a re-raise ahead of you, your decision is now easy – either you commit to the hand or exit cheaply.

5)last thing to touch on about preflop play is the image of the players on the table, applies to PLO and NLHE, if u are raised by someone who is nitty and extremely tight, hesitate before going into the pot with some sub-par holding, fold hands that u may have otherwise called with, the opposite can be done for loose/ maniac players. u must also be aware of raises and reraises infront of you, u dont want to get too attached to a hand preflop and u dont want to put too much money in preflop.

POST FLOP PLO PLAY {flop/turn/river}

for this we will look at 3 things
1) the texture of the flop
2)ur opponents
3)assesment of outs

1)texture of the flop
lets compare 2 flops, ur hand is AAxx 4 suited
flop a- 9-10-J 2 suits-----in the unlikely event that none of your opponents already have a straight then there are likely to be many combination draws against you. In fact with 2 or more opponents you might as well fold those bare aces right now. Here almost every card in the deck has the opportunity to make a nut hand against you
flop b-3-8-K rainbow---- rag flop,no flush or straight possibilities for the turn, the most likely circumstances that ur up against is a set or 2 pair. it is even unlikely that someone has a set of 3's or 8's if it was raised preflop. it is MUCH safer for u,holding AAxx, to bet out at this flop.
Of course, most flops will be in between these extremes. The general point is that some flops will help the likely holdings of opponents more than others. The betting before the flop can often give you information about the kind of hands you are up against.
fopr example, if there is a lot of action preflop, this indicates that ur opponents are most likely holding big pairs or big ppicture card combinations, so if there is a low flop on the board it is very unlikely that they hit anything. Also in multiway pot after the flop, almost every flop that has straight and flush possiblities is a dangerous flop. Another thing to focus on is when there are pairs on the board, when there is a pair on the board, there is a high chance that someone has a full house and trips. u dont want to be chasing flushes and straights when there is a pair on board, the reason for this is that ur mostly only going to be called if ur beat and get no action if ur ahead of ur opponent.

2) ur opponent/villain
There are multiple factors to consider when looking at the role that your opponents play in PLO post flop play.

a)how much players have seen the flop, OK 1 PLO starting hand has 6 possible holdem hands(2 card hands), now say that 4 ppl have seen the flop, that means that ur potentially facing 24!! 2 card combination, this is 1 of the reasons why u should always only draw to the nutz in PLO.

b)tendencies, obviously when u sit at a table there are going to be some maniacs and some nits. Watching your opponents is key in PLO and will help you make good decisions. For example if you face a raise from a tight player you may fold a hand that would have made a good re-raising candidate against a wild and loose opponent.Your chances of being paid-off should you make a nut hand also need to be factored in. If you see a player calling a very large bet with a questionable holding then make a note – this could be a source of profit at some point in the future. u must also look at the player who took the lead preflop, this person is the most likely candidate to raise post flop.

c)position.Where you sit in the betting order after the flop will have a big impact on how you play a hand. The dealer button is the best position as you will see the actions of all your opponents before you need to make a decision

3) assesment of outs
this is extremely crucial in PLO.In Omaha it is common for a strong draw with many outs to straights and flushes to be a favorite over an already made hand. It is therefore important to quickly assess the ‘outs’ you have using the 2 from your hand / 3 from the board combinations. A good practice is to divide the cards that might come on the turn or river into categories

a) nut outs, these are the cards/outs that will make u a nut hand (ie nut straight, nut flush, etc)

b)outs, these are the cards/outs that will not give u the nutz but they will make u a very strong hand

c)helping cards,cards which might come on the turn which give you a number of further outs on the river

When facing big bets after the flop it is important that you assess your likelihood of winning the hand if you do make the draw you are chasing. Drawing to a non-nut hand is one of the most expensive errors in PLO, and should only be considered against a single opponent who is known to be aggressive. Betting your draw may in fact be a better option – this gives you extra chances to win the pot if your opponent should fold.



what do u think? If u would like to add anything to this go ahead

These Are Real Poker Tells

I'd like to share with you the REAL poker tells that take
place in Texas Holdem.

I'm not talking about when your opponent scratches his
eyebrow... or when he shuffles his chips... or when he chews
his gum aggressively.

I'm talking about BETTING PATTERNS.

It's been my experience that approximately 80% of the
betting action at a poker table fits within PREDICTABLE and
RELIABLE patterns.

Here's what I mean:

The other day I was playing at a $2-5 no limit cash game
with my buddies. I focused all of my energies just on
keeping track of PRE-FLOP RAISES and POST-FLOP BETS.

Here are some examples of the patterns I discovered...

First off, this older guy named Elroy would throw out the
occasional pre-flop raise. By the end of the night, it was
almost TOO EASY to figure out what he was holding... just
based on his bets.

His first pre-flop raise was $15. The hand played out and he
turned over 10-9 suited.

Later he made it $40 pre-flop to play. Again, I was
fortunate to see his hand... this time it was pocket Queens.

Later he made it $25 pre-flop to play. That one ended up
being pocket Kings.

And he made it $15 to play on the button again later... with
an A-4 of diamonds.

As the night progressed, I "cracked the code" to Elroy's
betting patterns. When he had a monster like K-K or A-A,
he'd bet $25 pre-flop. It was a bet that usually gets one or
two callers.

If he had pocket 10s, Jacks, or Queens, he bet $40-$50
pre-flop. This makes sense. He didn't want to see a flop
with these hands... he just wanted to steal the blinds. Or
if he saw the flop, he only wanted one caller.

And his $10-$15 raises were simply "pot builders" when he
had hidden hands or something decent... like K-Q, 10-9, or
A-4.

Of course... it was NOT just Elroy that fell into these
predictable patterns...

Another guy at the table, let's call him Jeff, would throw
out a $10 bet on the flop every time he was on a draw.

Of the fourteen times he bet $10 on the flop, I saw his hand
turned over eight times (it was an 8-hour game). AND EVERY
SINGLE TIME HE SHOWED, he was on some type of draw...
whether it was for the flush or straight.

So of course, every time the "make" card came out of the
deck, I knew Jeff had the goods... and I folded my hand.

I even busted him once when he tried to BLUFF his busted
draw on the river and I won a major pot because of this
read.

The last great example from the night was with my buddy
Jack. He made several $40 pre-flop raises with early
positioning. He'd normally get a caller or two for the flop.

AFTER the flop, it was always obvious if he had hit or
missed his hand.

Let's say the flop came out:

Q-9-7

All different suits.

If Jack came out firing $80 after his $40 pre-flop raise, he
had the goods. This is when he was holding a monster like
Kings or Aces and wasn't scared of anything on the board.

But let's say he threw out a $40 bet... which was the same
as his pre-flop raise. That means he was holding a hand like
Jacks, Tens, or A-K.

He was scared of the flop but still wanted to throw out a
bet to represent the board and try to win the pot.

It was a simple pattern. Plain to see.

But the sad thing was, no one else at the table read into
these patterns...

If I were in the hand with Jack when he followed his $40
pre-flop raise with a $40 post-flop bet, I would go back
over the top of him. I got to do this a few times... and
each time I won a lot of money.

Overall for the night, I walked out of that poker room a BIG
WINNER. And the primary reason was because I tracked betting
patterns and took the time to get a read on my opponents.

OK, so let's talk about how to immediately apply this new
information for your next poker game.

There are THREE MAIN PATTERNS you want to pay attention to:

1. Pre-flop raises

Watch carefully when someone raises before the flop. PAY
ATTENTION TO THEIR POSITIONING. A common pattern is that a
lot of players will raise from the button no matter what
they have... and this can be "free chips" for you when
you've got a read.

Often times the HUGE pre-flop raises aren't the ones to be
scared of. Like in my example earlier, Elroy bet $25 with
monsters and $40 or more with pocket 10s, Jacks, or Queens.

Find out what someone does when they pick up low pocket
pairs, suited connectors, and two high cards.

2. Post-flop bets

The next pattern is what a player does AFTER the flop. How
much does he bet?

You'll discover players who "represent the flop"
consistently with the same bet size over and over again.

You'll also discover other players who check-raise every
time they have a big hand.

And so on...

3. Post-flop bets AFTER pre-flop raises

This is important. This is perhaps the EASIEST pattern to
pick up.

After someone raises before the flop, watch what they do
AFTER the flop (this works best when they have early
positioning).

A lot of your opponents will "back down" from their pre-flop
raises if they didn't catch anything on the flop.

This is because they're afraid of losing too many chips on
this one single hand...

If they DID catch something great, they'll show it with a
huge bet on the flop. The pot is big enough to take down
now, so they won't be afraid of everyone folding.

And last but not least, watch out for post-flop bets that
are SMALLER than the pre-flop raises... or that equal the
MINIMUM bet allowed.

Sometimes this is a MONSTER in disguise... someone who's
INVITING you to go back over the top of him. Be careful.

OK, so those are the three main patterns to look for. The
next step is to remember that a lot of this "betting
behavior" is COMPLETELY UNCONSCIOUS.

In fact, you want to SEEK OUT players who seem to get into
their "zone" and make bets unconsciously.

When you find a player like this, it's like taking candy
from a baby. Seriously.

You DON'T want to try to "figure out" an opponent who's
always CONSCIOUSLY trying to think of ways to change their
betting patterns... that will just give you a headache and
waste your time.

When tracking bets, categorize them by RANGES.

Most players don't bet the IDENTICAL amounts again and again
and again... but they bet the IDENTICAL RANGES over and
over.

For instance, Elroy bet between $40 and $50 when he was
holding a medium pocket pair. He bet between $10 and $15 for
his "pot builder" hands like suited connectors.

OK, so now that you know the POWER behind betting behavior
and patterns, you must realize these THREE crucial things:

1. MIX UP YOUR BETTING.

Don't fall into betting patterns yourself. Watch your bets
closely and track your OWN bets to make sure you aren't
getting into predictable patterns.

2. WATCH WHEN A PLAYER'S CARDS ARE TURNED OVER.

The only way to successfully discover betting patterns is by
watching when someone WINS the hand and turns over his
cards.

When this occurs, immediately review the hand in your mind
and the player's bets pre-flop andvpost-flop.

3. DON'T TELL ANYONE YOU'RE TRACKING THEIR BETS.

If you tell your opponents (who may be your friends) that
you're tracking bets, you've just shot yourself in the foot.

Because now THEY will start paying attention to their bets
and will mix them up accordingly.

If you're tracking bets with a pen and pad, tell everyone
the notes are for something else... don't reveal your true
intentions.

This concept of betting behavior is EXTREMELY POWERFUL. If
you use it, you'll win a lot of money. Period.

When you first start off, the actual TRACKING will be
challenging in real-life games. If you're playing ONLINE,
tracking will be easy.

But don't get discouraged. The great (and amazing) thing is,
a lot of players fall into the SAME BASIC patterns. You'll
even start categorizing PLAYERS THEMSELVES... not only their
bet sizes.

Your game will jump to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

Betting behavior is the ULTIMATE "poker tell", because it
offers the fastest and easiest way to put your opponent on a
hand.

If you'd like to take this skill to the "mastery" level,
then it's time you invested in my course, "No Limit Holdem
Secrets".

I'll teach you step-by-step the in-depth strategies and
techniques that will transform you into a POKER GENIUS.

And you'll be able to read your opponents almost as if you
were a PSYCHIC. You'll know what someone will bet BEFORE
they even reach for their chips...

You'll INSTANTLY know what a player is holding when they bet
after the flop...

You'll know EXACTLY when to bluff, when to bet, and when to
fold...

Honestly, it will almost seem TOO EASY to win ridiculous
sums of money at the poker tables.

Double_Reppuken

Since no one has done this yet, I'll go ahead and give it a go. Im not too good on writing strategies, so I'll just post random tidbits and stuff that I keep in mind whenever I play. Please keep in mind this is based on how I play, so others opinions may differ.

-During the early rounds of an SNG or MTT, Tight is Right is the correct play. The blinds compared to stack sizes are so low that there is really no reason for you to get involved in pot with less than a premium hand. Dont be so quick to try and double up or triple. The object of a tournament is to survive, not to get a big stack early on. Unless you're holding AA, there is no reason to get involved in a mulit-way pot. I'll even fold KK if its against multiple all-ins. And there is absolutely no reason for someone to risk their tournament life on a race situation. Survive the early rounds, take your chances in the later rounds. Also, the blinds are so low, that blind stealing is not worth it since you'll be risking a lot more to pick up such small pots.

-The 1/3rd rule: If you raise or call a raise that is equal to or more than 1/3rd of your stack, you should be prepared and willing to go/call an all in with your hand. The reason being is that you're committing yourself to the pot and you'll be getting good odds to call any bet by your opponent if you're holding a strong hand or a hand with a strong draw.

Also, if your opponent is raising or calling a raise that is equal to or more than 1/3rd their stack, its very likely they'll be willing to go all in or call an all in.

So, in both situations, if you're calling or raising 1/3rd of your stack, you should be willing and ready to go all in with your hand. If not willing to, then you're better off folding.

-The 1/2 rule: If you are calling or raising equal to or more than half your stack, then you are better off just shoving all in because you will be getting to great of odds to fold any hand after the flop. Any hand your are willing to bet or call half your stack with should be a hand you'd be willing to go all in with.

-The 10:1 rule: If you're planning on calling a raise with a small pair, but you arent getting the right odds to go set mining with, look to see if you are getting the correct implied odds. If your opponent stack has 10x or more of their initial raise, then calling the raise could be profitable pay. Since the odds of flopping a set is 9:1, if you do hit it there is a good chance you'll be taking most of your opponents stack. And since you're opponent stack is giving you the right implied odds to call, the play is profitable. However, if the opponent stack doesnt reach the 10:1 rule, the implied odds arent there and the play isnt profitable.

-Dont worry about the chip leader and the average stacks. For the most part, hey should not mean anything to you. Being below average in chipstack does not mean you are trailing behind. As long as you have an Mzone of 20+ or 24+ BBs, you have a healthy stack size, regardless of what the average stack is. A lot of players worry if they dont meet the average stack and start to play reckless just to catch up. Instead of worrying, keep your focus on your own table. Pay attention to you and your opponents' stack compared to the blind.

The only time I pay attention to average chip stack is during 'pulse' of an MTT. Which, IIRC, is the point of a tournament where the blinds vs the average stack is 10BBs or less, or short stack. At this point a lot of average and smaller stacks will be going all in. So, if blinds were at 300/600 and average stack was 6K, expect a lot of action. You'll usually notice it when there is a huge drop in players during an MTT.

...I have more that I'll post later.
Double_Reppuken

ePassporte Shutting Down According to Online Poker Community

Throughout the day and night Friday, the online poker community feared the worst as a popular payment solution, and one of the few still catering to US customers, went down for much of the day. ePassporte had been telling some merchants they were having "technical issues".

Cake Poker and a few other online poker merchants advised their clients, however, that ePassporte would no longer be servicing US customers.

To all Cake Poker Customers:

We have received notice from ePassporte today that they are unable to continue to provide CakePoker with merchant e-wallet services. We have since confirmed that this situation is not unique to CakePoker and is, in fact, industry wide.

Other reports have indicated that the ePassporte issue may be "worldwide" and not just isolated to the US market. The payment solutions company is based out of the United States.

By Saturday morning, some customers on the TwoPlusTwo Poker Forum posted that they could now withdraw monies using their ePassporte ATM. How long that lasts remains to be seen.

In a letter obtained by Gambling911.com, the payment solutions company advised other merchants that "a widespread investigation of Internet gambling, including poker" by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Southern New York and customer issues would be dealt with by ePassporte.

A number of online poker rooms have relied heavily on ePassporte over the last year after the industry's largest payment solutions firm, Neteller, was forced to exit the US online poker market.

"The issues surrounding ePassporte have long been addressed by sites like Gambling911.com," expressed Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of G911. "It really was only a matter of time before something would happen." (read more here)

Over the past year, online gambling websites have been hurt internally by processors who have shut down without warning. These solutions were used mostly for issuing checks whereby ePassporte - like Neteller - acts as an eWallet that can be accessed directly by the gambling public.

The good news for online poker players is that major i-gaming operators have had some time implement "more reliable" solutions.

Sizing Up Your Opening Bet

Chris Ferguson

August 1, 2005

I never get tired of saying it: If you're the first to enter the pot in a No-Limit Hold 'em game, never call. If you aren't prepared to raise, throw your hand away.

Why, you ask? Simple. By raising, you put pressure on the blinds and the other players at the table, making them consider just how strong their hands really are. Chances are that by raising, you'll force marginal hands to fold before you even see the flop, limiting the number of players you have to beat through the rest of the hand.

OK, with that out of the way, the next obvious question becomes: How much should I raise?

To that, I say; it depends. First off, you shouldn't allow the strength of your hand affect the size of your raise. A tough poker game is like real estate. The three most important factors in deciding how much to raise are: Location, location, location.

You always want to make your opponents' decisions as difficult as possible. In choosing the size of your raise, you want to give the big blind a tough decision between calling or folding if the rest of the table folds around to him.

Raising from early position is to advertise a very strong hand - one that can beat the seven or more other players who still have to act. Since you are representing such strength, it doesn't take much of a raise to convince the big blind to fold. Also, since your hand is so strong, you actually don't mind a call from the big blind anyway. The real reason for a small raise is that you have so many players acting after you, any of whom might wake up with a monster and re-raise you.

When you raise in late position, you're representing a hand that can beat the two or three remaining hands. This gives you a lot more freedom to raise with marginal hands, but your raise must be bigger or the big blind can call too easily. Another reason to raise more from late position is that you're trying to put pressure on the big blind to fold, not call and, more importantly, you don't have as many remaining opponents who can re-raise you.

One of the most common mistakes in No-Limit Hold 'em is coming in for a raise that's too big. In early position, you want to keep your raises at about two times the big blind. With four to six players to act behind you when you're in middle position, raise to about two and a half big blinds, and raise to about three times the big blind from late position.

If you're representing a big hand by raising from early position, it stands to reason that you'll only get played with by huge hands. Why risk four, five or more bets to win only one and a half bets in the blinds when you're often going to be running into monsters along the way? If you're holding A-Q rather than A-A and a player comes over the top, you can lay it down without having risked much.

Some beginners raise more with their strongest hands to build a bigger pot or raise less with these monsters to get more action. Instead, I recommend that you play your starting hands the same way no matter what you have. With A-A or A-J, raise the same amount so you're not telegraphing the strength of your hand to watchful opponents. An exception would be if you know your opponents aren't paying attention and you feel sure that you can manipulate them.

These numbers need to be modified if there are antes. You should generally add about half the total antes to any raise. Your early position raise should be two big blinds plus half the total antes, and three big blinds plus half the antes for your late-position raises.

There are many loose live games these days. If you find yourself in one of these games and you can't steal the blinds with a normal raise, tighten up your starting requirements slightly and make larger raises. If this raise still can't take the blinds, don't tighten up anymore, but choose to raise an amount that you expect to get called once or twice behind you. Since your opponents are playing too loose, take advantage of it by building bigger pots when you think you're getting the best of it.

The last exception is when you're short-stacked. If making your typical raise means putting over a quarter of your stack in the pot, just go ahead and move all in instead. Betting a quarter of your stack before the flop commits you to calling just about any re-raise or, at the very least, it gives you a very tough decision. Moving all in here instead of raising less forces the tough decision on your opponents and eliminates one of your tough calling decisions. All of which brings us back to my first principle: Avoid being the one to just call.

Prepare For Battle

PokerStars is proud to present a fresh new challenge for our thriving Sit & Go player community. In fact we’d say that our new weekly Sit & Go Tournament Leader Board (TLB), the Battle of the Planets, is out of this world!

In addition to our popular weekly, monthly and yearly multi-table (MTT) Tournament Leader Boards, currently paying out over $1M in prize money each year, our new Battle of the Planets weekly Sit & Go Tournament Leader Boards will provide more players with the chance to have their skills recognized…and rewarded.

We’ve split up our Sit & Go tournaments into eight divisions – named after the planets in our solar system – each covering a different level of buy-in, ranging from $1 - $2.99 (Mercury) all the way up to $300+ (Jupiter). To make things fair for the different types of Sit & Go players, within each division there are both a Low Orbit and High Orbit Leader Board.

To be eligible to chart on the Low Orbit Leader Board, you only need to play 20 tournaments in a week, in a particular division. The High Orbit Leader Board requires a larger number of tournaments to be eligible for the rankings – at least 100 in a particular division in a week. And if you play at different levels, you can win prize money in as many divisions as you like! Every week the Battle of the Planets Leader Boards will award more than $50K in prize money:

Buy-in	Division Name	Total Weekly Prize Pool	Tourneys for Low Orbit Ranking	Tourneys for High Orbit Ranking
$1-$2.99	Mercury	$3,000.00	20	100
$3-$4.99	Mars	$4,000.00	20	100
$5-$9.99	Venus	$5,000.00	20	100
$10-$19.99	Earth	$6,000.00	20	100
$20-$49.99	Neptune	$7,000.00	20	100
$50-$99.99	Uranus	$8,000.00	20	100
$100-$299.99	Saturn	$9,000.00	20	100
$300+	Jupiter	$10,000.00	20	100

Once you hit the rankings summit, the weekly prize money is just the beginning of your Battle of the Planets experience. Each month we’ll also put the top 10 players from each BOP Leader Board into a special triple shootout event, where the planetary divisions will battle it out with another $50,000 in prize money up for grabs!

If you’ve got the game, then a share of the rewards could be coming your way. All of this is in addition to what we already offer on our MTT Leader Boards. In total, we’ll be rewarding our loyal tournament players with more than $4M in Leader Board payouts every year!

Get ready for blast off, because PokerStars new weekly Leader Board promotion is truly out of this world. The Battle of the Planets gives PokerStars Sit & Go players a chance to compete against each other for prizes worth more than $3,000,000 per year.

To launch the Battle of the Planets, PokerStars is offering a 20% reload bonus up to $120, from now until April 16. Visit the Battle of the Planets Reload page for more information.

In the Battle of the Planets, PokerStars multi-player Sit & Go tournaments have been separated into eight divisions, all named after planets in our solar system. Everyone can take part in the competition, no matter how high or low stakes they play. Each planet represents a different range of buy-ins, from Mercury ($1-$2.99) to Jupiter ($300+).

Each of the eight planet divisions are split into two individual Leader Boards. The first is the Low Orbit Leader Board, which is tailored towards casual and recreational players. The second is the High Orbit Leader Board, which is more suited to high volume players.

Each planet division has its own weekly prize pool, distributed evenly between the two Leader Boards. This gives all players a chance to win some serious cash prizes, no matter what their level of experience or the size of their bankroll.

Sit & Go Buy-in	Division Name	Low Orbit Leader Board Prize Pool	High Orbit Leader Board Prize Pool	Total Division Prize Pool
$1-$2.99	Mercury	$1500	$1500	$3,000.00
$3-$4.99	Mars	$2000	$2000	$4,000.00
$5-$9.99	Venus	$2500	$2500	$5,000.00
$10-$19.99	Earth	$3000	$3000	$6,000.00
$20-$49.99	Neptune	$3500	$3500	$7,000.00
$50-$99.99	Uranus	$4000	$4000	$8,000.00
$100-$299.99	Saturn	$4500	$4500	$9,000.00
$300+	Jupiter	$5000	$5000	$10,000.00

Click on the planet name in the above table for a detailed payout structure and other division information.

But that’s not all. Every player that finishes in the top 10 of any weekly Sit & Go Leader Board will receive an exclusive ticket to a monthly tournament. This “Battle of the Planets” will see the highest ranking players from each division come together to fight it out in a triple shootout, for a monthly prize pool of $50,000!

Here’s how it works:

Every time you cash in a regular multi-player Sit & Go with fewer than 40 players, you will receive Leader Board points. You have a set number of games to accumulate as many points as you can in a given week, starting at 12:00:00 am Sunday and finishing at 11:59:59 pm Saturday.

Points are awarded every time you cash in an eligible Sit & Go tournament. The points are awarded as follows:

	Number of players
Place	6	8	9	10	12	16	18	27
1st	39	40	45	50	54	55	61	80
2nd	21	24	27	30	32	41	46	58
3rd	0	16	18	20	22	26	30	38
4th	0	0	0	0	0	14	16	22
5th	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18

Low Orbit Leader Board:

For the Low Orbit Leader Board, your points total is recorded in blocks of 20 tournaments. You may play up to five 20-tournament blocks per division in any given week.

The 20-tournament blocks will be recorded in sequence, i.e. 1 to 20, 21 to 40, 41 to 60, 61 to 80 and 81 to 100. Only your best block score will count towards the Leader Board, and only completed blocks of games will be eligible for the leader board.

Example 1:

You play 42 tournaments in a given week, and they were all 9-handed $5 tournaments. You therefore have completed two 20-tournament blocks for the Venus Division: Low Orbit Leader Board. The completed blocks were games 1 to 20 and 21 to 40. The block in which you scored the most points will be the one that gets ranked on the Leader Board.

The final two tournaments were not part of a complete block, so they do not count towards the Leader Board.

High Orbit Leader Board:

For the High Orbit Leader Board, your points total is recorded in blocks of 100 tournaments. There is no limit to the number of high volume blocks you can play in a given week, and no limit on the number of divisions in which you can participate.

The 100 tournament blocks will be recorded in sequence, i.e. 1 to 100, 101 to 200, 201 to 300 and so on. Only your best block score will count towards the Leader Board.

Example 2:

You play 106 tournaments in a given week. They were a mixture of 9-man and 18-man tournaments, but all of them had a $25 buy-in. The first 100 tournaments comprise a complete block for the Neptune Division: High Orbit Leader Board.

The final six tournaments were not part of a complete block, so they do not count towards the Leader Board.

* Maximum 5 blocks.
** No limit on High Orbit blocks.

Roy Rounder Tips

There is one KEY PRINCIPLE to keep in mind when deciding if
someone is BLUFFING or has a GREAT HAND...

Here it is:

If a player acts STRONG, he is probably WEAK.

If a player acts WEAK, he is probably STRONG.

It's simple human nature.

This is NOT an original idea... Mike Caro was the first to
put this amazing insight into words many years ago.

And after I had heard this wisdom, my poker winnings soared
to a NEW LEVEL.

Because every poker TELL boils down to this fundamental
principle.

Now, the UNFORTUNATE thing about this advice is that even
though it is SO SIMPLE, most card players just don't "get
it", or don't apply it properly.

So let's discuss how you can use this concept to spot bluffs
QUICKLY, EASILY, and CONSISTENTLY...

First off, it's important to remember that in order to spot
BLUFFS, you must be tuned into signs of STRENGTH as well.

For example... if you only look for "tells" that suggest a
player is BLUFFING, you're only getting half the picture...

When trying to get an accurate read on an opponent, you must
be looking for both signs of strength AND weakness.

Let's go back to our main "rule" again and look at the first
part:

"If a player acts STRONG, he is probably WEAK."

This means that when a player does something that makes it
LOOK like he's got a monster hand, he's probably bluffing.

The CRUCIAL point to keep in mind is that most players don't
TRY to act strong. They just do it unconsciously...

I know that sounds strange, but think about it.

Let's say you've got 9d-2s and you decide to make a bold
bluff by going all-in pre-flop (which I don't recommend, by
the way!).

Anyway... in your mind, you're thinking, "Damn I sure hope
no one calls!"... but when someone starts contemplating a
decision, you REALLY start to get worried.

So what do you do?

Well, the NATURAL thing to do... the thing that MOST players
do... is to act like you're NOT afraid.

Obviously you don't want someone to know that you're SCARED
of getting called, right?

So you sit up straight, your hands don't tremble, your voice
has a little "arrogance" to it...

And ultimately, all of those things are signs that you're
BLUFFING.

But you didn't MEAN to act that way... it just kind of came
naturally. You didn't think, "Oh, I don't want him to know
that I'm scared, so I'm going to sit up straight and act
smooth and talk with arrogance."

It just kind of HAPPENS...

Still with me?

Ultimately, a BLUFF is a LIE.

That's right... just a plain old lie.

So when someone is bluffing by betting, they're simply LYING
about what they have in their hand.

Which means technically, the real skill is not the ability
to spot a bluff... it's the ability to spot a LIE.

But anyway... back to my point...

When the player acts strong, he's probably weak. But he
didn't really CHOOSE to act strong... this is just a
"mechanism" inside of him that turns on, simply because he's
LYING to you about his hand.

Let me show you a few practical examples. Here are THREE
valuable "tells" to look for:

1. When a player "flicks" his chips in the middle with extra
OOMPH or tosses them in aggressively...

What's going on there?

I'll tell you what:

The player is ACTING strong... which means he probably
doesn't have a very good hand.

2. When a player speaks aggressively and talks a lot...

Once again, this is usually a sign of weakness, since the
player is "covering up" his bad hand by acting like he's got
something.

BUT... this poker tell is very easy to confuse and get
COMPLETELY WRONG, and here's why:

There is a major difference between SPEAKING AGGRESSIVELY
and DEMONSTRATING CONFIDENCE.

Here's what I mean...

If a player talks a lot in a manner that's NOT normal for
him, it's usually a sign of WEAKNESS.

The way to sense this is to look for any signs of
DESPERATION with his voice...

But if the player is chatting along, having a good time, and
seems quite CONFIDENT in general, it usually means he has a
strong hand.

It's a very subtle difference, and takes time to learn.

3. When a player looks you dead in the eye...

This usually means the player does not have a strong hand.

The "death stare" is simply an ACT of strength, but what it
really means is WEAKNESS.

Now...

Let's flip this over and look at poker tells that will show
you when a player is sitting on a monster hand...

Because knowing when to FOLD is often times MORE IMPORTANT
than just knowing when someone's bluffing you.

So, repeating the second part of our mantra:

"If a player acts WEAK, he is probably STRONG."

ACTING WEAK is usually more subtle than acting strong...
it's usually demonstrated in a way that is more like
DISINTEREST.

And once again, the player doesn't usually MEAN to act
weak... it's simply a NATURAL MECHANISM. Of course,
sometimes a player will INTENTIONALLY ACT WEAK, but the
meaning behind it is still the same:

He's got a strong hand.

Here are three poker tells when a player is acting WEAK, but
has a really great hand:

1. Looking AWAY and acting disinterested... and NOT making
eye contact with you...

This is the opposite of STARING YOU DOWN, which is a sign of
weakness.

This poker tell is ESPECIALLY apparent when the flop hits...
if the flop REALLY helped a player, he'll usually just
glance at it for a brief moment and then look away.

(On the other hand, if a player stares at the cards on the
flop for a long period of time, that usually means the flop
did NOT help him.)

2. Being very quiet...

When a player is PRAYING to himself that you're going to
call his bet, he usually stays very quiet and to himself...

If everyone at the table is laughing at something and a
player suddenly gets QUIET... or kind of "forces" his
laugh... then that's a sign he just picked up a monster
hand.

Beware!

3. Getting shaky...

When a player's hands get very shaky, watch out.

Some people think it's a sign of BLUFFING, but I sure hope
you're not one of those people. Shaky hands is almost always
a sign of a MONSTER HAND.

Also... I might add here... that after someone WINS a really
big pot, sometimes they get shaky as an "after effect".

Honestly, I have no idea why. But I do know that it happens.
So if someone just won a huge pot and is looking kind of
shaky, that's probably why.

Knowing about poker tells like these... both signs of
WEAKNESS and signs of STRENGTH... is a very important part
of WINNING POKER.

Sit & Gos Made Easy

Howard Lederer

March 14, 2005

The Sit & Go (SNG) is online poker's great gift to the aspiring tournament player. Prior to the SNG, final table experience was hard to come by. You could enter a dozen multi-table tournaments and never find yourself at a final table. Or you could make one or two, only to get knocked out in 8th or 9th place. Adapting to an ever-diminishing number of players at a single table is a crucial skill in tournament poker, and it's a hard experience to find offline without investing a lot of time and money. Online, this experience is a mouse-click away. The SNG's advantages are many. For starters, it's low-cost, or even free. It's also fun, and convenient: You don't need to schedule it -- a SNG starts every time the table fills up -- and it's usually over in less than an hour. It's the flight simulator of final table play, and mastering it should be considered mandatory homework for the serious student.

Now that you know why you should play, let's look at how:

The most obvious difference between a SNG and a multi-table tournament is that when someone goes broke in a SNG, there isn't someone waiting to fill their spot. Multi-table play consists mostly of full-table, ring game poker. But as players get eliminated from a SNG, the table gets shorter- and shorter-handed. This reduction in players basically serves to artificially raise the antes. For instance, say you're playing five-handed and the blinds are 100-200: You're paying 300 in blinds for every five hands, or 60 per hand. As soon as someone gets knocked out, you're four-handed. Now you're paying 75 per hand -- a 25% increase -- despite the fact that the blinds have remained the same. Accordingly, you're forced to gamble more, or risk getting blinded out.

Since the size of the blinds relative to your stack size should always play a major role in your hand selection, I recommend starting out with pretty conservative starting hand requirements. This serves two functions: First, the blinds dictate that you play fairly tight early; the blinds are small and you are nine-handed, so they don't come around as often. Second, this helps you establish a tight image, which you hope will pay off later when the blinds are high and you might really need a timely ante steal.

But there's another not-so-obvious reason to play tighter earlier and looser later: The payout structure rewards tight play. Most SNG's pay 50% to first, 30% to second, and 20% to third. This payout structure dictates that you play for third. Why? Looking at the payout structure another way might help. Basically, the payout means that 60% gets awarded once you're down to three players, 20% gets awarded when you get down to two players, and the final 20% gets awarded to the winner. If you can just get to third, you get at least one-third of 60% of the prize pool, or 20%. You've locked up a profit, and you have a chance to win up to 30% more. It's only now that you're in the top three that your strategy should take an abrupt turn. Now it pays to gamble for the win. Let's look at the numbers again: 60% of the prize pool is off the table, and moving up one spot is worth only another 10%. But move up just one more spot and it's worth a whopping 30% extra -- that's three times more for first than it is for second. And with the blinds going up, gambling for the win is even more clearly the correct play.

I see many players employ a nearly opposite strategy. They figure they have nothing to lose, so they go for the quick double-up early. They take chances too soon when, in their view, there's "nothing on the line". Then, once they're in the money, they tighten up, thinking about that extra payout for moving up a spot. If you start to rethink your SNG approach and adopt a "slow early, fast late" strategy, you'll see an almost immediate improvement in your results.

Best of luck and see you at the tables,