The Poker Mag

This poker hand was another early one which found me making a strong hand but ending up splitting the pot. I had been dealt (Qh,10d) and as is generally my custom early on when the blinds are small, I decided to try and see a cheap flop. The flop came down (8s,9d,Kd) after two other players had called preflop, and we all checked.

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I was obviously delighted to see the perfect card for me come off on the turn (Jd). I say the perfect card, but it also afforded interesting opportunity and danger. I had picked up an inside draw to the Straight Flush, but if any diamond other than the Queen happened to fall on the river, I might find myself in trouble. I decided to raise quite strongly, and the player to my left immediately called. Two of us saw the river, which was a (Js). This really wasn’t the card I wanted at all, because of my slight worries about my opponent holding a Flush, now were compounded by the possible Full House.

I knew these poker hands weren’t the most probable hand my opponent was holding due to the fact that his range of calling hands on the turn were quite varied. I made the same bet again, hoping I wouldn’t be faced with a large reraise, and thankfully I wasn’t, as my opponent flat called. He showed the same hand of (Q,10) with no diamond, but I was happy enough to split it due to the potential dangers of the board. You might wonder why I would bet the river if I was concerned about the board cards, but I felt strongly that if I showed weakness on the river, my poker opponent would try and steal the pot.

Whether you play live poker or online poker, table talk can be a big part of the game. It is often said, that you shouldn’t talk when your opponent has a big decision in case you give away the strength or weakness of your hand. I think this is true in most cases, but talking to your opponent can also have a positive effect too. I remember one hand recently where we had (8,8,4,4) on the board on the turn. I had raised preflop with (A,9) and been called by a fairly inexperienced player. I had a big chiplead over him and he had been thinking for quite some time before calling my raise on the flop.

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When the turn came down, I was strongly feeling that he had a fairly strong Ace that he was struggling to put down. My thoughts were that the pot would be split, but I did not want to see a Jack or Queen on the river that could give me a problem, and wanted to pick up the pot there and then.I knew he was thinking about calling me down with his Ace high, and probably trying to convince himself he might even be leading.

I decided I had nothing to lose by trying to sway his decision, and so I said "Only one of us knows how much it’s going to cost you on the river to see if your Ace high is good". At this point, I feel that if I am right and he does have Ace high, he will be very unnerved by the fact that I know the hand he is holding, also though, I was emphasising the main problem he faced in his situation. If I am wrong and he has something better than Ace high, he will probably call (which he might well have been about to anyway) and I will have a hint that my Ace might not be good. I choose carefully which players I talk to when they have a marginal decision, but players who are not overly experienced are usually the best bet.

My opponent later admitted he had (A,Q) in this hand, and these few choice words persuaded him to fold.

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How to play an Omaha hand in online poker: In this instance, we find ourselves dealt (2d,2c,Ac,Jd) in an Omaha tournament. Let us say we are fairly short stacked, and see a small raise, and a reasonable reraise in front of us. In this case I would be thinking there is probably a big pair out there somewhere, but this is no reason to discard the hand immediately.

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So much can change on the flop in Omaha, and with a double suited hand, I would call. We would much rather hit a club Flush than a diamond one of course as this might not be the best Flush out there, but I still feel we can take our chances if we make a Flush with diamonds.

If a (2) falls on the flop we are probably in good shape too, with a high card or two on the flop we may be beaten by a bigger set, but again, when short stacked, I think you have to take a chance sometimes.
If three players then see a flop of (2s,Kd,Qd) and one of the first players to act raises enough to put you all in, this would be a difficult decision to make. Such a raise would often warrant serious concern about a bigger set, and it still does, but in this instance I think we have to call, as there is a hidden aspect of those two big cards that improves our chances. It does mean we should be concerned about a bigger set, but it also means if we now make a diamond Flush, it is the second nut flush. In order for our opponent to be raising into us here with a bigger Flush draw, I would say there is a fair chance they would have diamonds with the back up of a pair such as (xd,x,Ad,A). In that scenario we are in front anyway with a set of twos, and we always have the extra point of interest in hitting a (10) for a broadway Straight. In a shortstacked scenario with a fair pot having been built already, I think this is the type of hand we can take a shot with.

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When you start out playing poker, it would perhaps be unwise to play for real money. You may feel that luck will decide whether you win any money or not, but there is much more to it than that.

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In the long run, more experienced players are much more likely to win the money than you are, although you may get lucky on the night. If you are happy to gamble on that occurence then that’s fine, but there are avenues available that allow you to learn the game without risking a lot of capital. the most obvious of these are the play money tables in online poker rooms. These involve players gambling with fake money, and provide an easy way for beginners to grasp the basics of the game.

Despite the advantages of being able to learn the game in this way, you should be aware that if you play for reasonable amounts of money, there will be key differences in the way people play. For this reason, I would gradually move from play money, onto micro stakes, then reasonable sized stakes, to give yourself a chance to adapt to real money play.

The simple fact is, when people play for fake money, they throw it into the pot without a care. This all but eliminates any opportunity to bluff, and leads to multi way pots very often. As you progress through the stakes, you should find that players become much more careful and conservative with their money. In this environment you can begin to understand the skill of the game much better, and bluffing can be used to a greater effect.

Most online poker rooms have a poker school, and as I mentioned, the play money tables are good for gaining a basic understanding of poker. Always be prepared for the change in play as you progress to real money games though.

As any skilled poker player will testify, these two aspects of the game can have a very big influence on the results you achieve within a night, a week, or even a year.

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The difference between the two is that one is in your hands, and the other is not. When it comes to composure, everything rests on your ability to remain utterly focussed no matter how much a bad beat, or run of poor cards, begins to frustrate you.

Because even in the middle of a boring run of seeing no cards, suddenly you can find yourself with a crucial moment needing your judgement to be at it’s pinnacle. Whilst it is true that even the most perfect of decisions can result in a blow to your chipstack, you simply have to disregard these moments of bad luck and keep making the right choices.
Personally I am only ever truly disappointed in myself after a tournament if I know I have made key mistakes. If I feel my play has been at the best it can be, getting eliminated never hurts as much. If the architect of your downfall was misfortune, you know you did all you could as a poker player.

There is nothing better than to be playing poker great and being quite lucky, and it is in these instances that you might find yourself feeling invincible. Be wary though, because luck turns quickly. If you have lost that concentration and composure when it does, you will probably not limit the damage as well as you potentially can.