 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|||
 |
||||
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Poker Articles Got any ideas or thoughts on poker you'd like to express in writing? Here's the place to express them. Simply email your writings to Doc at doc@bigdocpoker.com to get them published. Doc does reserve the right to edit writings as deemed necessary Thoughts on Moving on to Online Texas Holdem By Learn Texas Hold Em.com Online Texas hold'em is enormously popular with poker players the world over. Any hour of the day thousands of people are playing online Texas hold'em. Whether you are an experienced poker player or a stranger to the game planning to join the fun, the following information will help to get you started. A Little Less Conversation, a Lot More Action In the transition from live poker play to online Texas holdem, there are some noticeable changes to consider. First of all, you no longer need to round up a group to play poker. Getting your best friends wife to give him permission to play is no longer an issue. You can go online at any time of day, on any day of the week and find a game of Texas hold'em. Next, you will find new ways to read your opponents. Physical tells are not available here, so they have been amply replaced with alternatives. Online poker allows you the ability to monitor your opposition's betting speeds and patterns. Most sites provide indicators of a player's experience and skill level. Further, there is a variety of software programs available that carry poker calculations and odds. Jumping Into Online Texas Hold'em Coming into the world of poker through online Texas hold'em can appear to be a complex task. However, with some time going over the rules and a few practice hands, you will catch on quickly. If you know anyone who already plays online poker, you should ask for some advice as his experience will be useful to you. The first bit of advice that you are likely to hear is to be very selective in choosing the hands that you decide to play. The most frequent mistake newcomers make is playing too many hands. Large sites are a good place to start playing, as they offer free money tables or freerolls for you to practice with before raising the stakes. Better, Faster, Stronger Initially you might find victory hard to come by, but this is to be expected. Only through gaining experience, will you become a better player and find yourself winning more often. Keep playing and after a while, your statistics can be formidable to would-be opponents. Learn Texas Holdem will contributing articles on a regular basis. For more info visit their website
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bar Poker Is Entertainment - Have Fun With It! Recently at one of my tournaments a player got upset by the payout that day. The numbers were down due to the weather, and only the top 2 places were paid out. The player that finished 3rd asked, upon being eliminated from the tournament, "What does 3rd place get?" and was answered with "8 points!". The reply was "And you wonder why I don't play all the time. You don't pay out enough!" I guess I was wrong thinking that bar poker is a form of entertainment! Actually I'm not wrong. Most people fail to realize that bar poker IS entertainment. It's not meant to be serious poker or competitive poker. In fact I've seen places advertise their bar poker tournaments as "for entertainment purposes only". Well that's exactly what they are!!! ENTERTAINMENT. It doesn't have to be advertised as such! Yes anytime you play a game, whether its poker, darts, pool, or softball, competitve juices will flow. We're humans, we can't help it. I know I've gotten on people before, and usually when I do I apologize later. I'm competitive by nature, but I realize what bar poker truly is. People should be playing bar poker as entertainment and for entertainment. Have fun! Loosen up! Have a drink or 2! Enjoy the night! Some people complain about people having too much drink sometimes at poker tournaments. The ones complaining are the ones not having fun and the ones getting complained about are having a blast! If you can't lighten up just a little bit and have some fun, perhaps you should find a different game to play. Try Bingo. They take that game way too seriously!!! And as far as payouts go, if you're really playing for the prizes, you're playing for all the wrong reasons. Sure, we all like to win something. It's an incentive for you to show up. But if you're walking in with the mindset you need that $100 to pay a bill, maybe you should get a second job. It's one thing to want to win. You can still have fun. It's another to need to win. You're not having fun and chances are you'll ruin it for other people. So everyone, let's remember to have fun when playing bar poker. You go to a bar to see a band or hear a DJ and have fun right? Let's do the same with poker! Doc is the owner / operator of Big Doc Poker and the webmaster for bigdocpoker.com
________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cash Game Poker 101 By Learn Texas Hold Em.com Playing a cash poker game is very different from playing tournament poker. Of course, the same basic rules of the game apply, but there are some differences that will affect the strategies you use. If you have only played tournament games before, then it is a good idea to get together with some friends to practice cash games before you move on to bigger challenges. Bankroll You need to make sure that you have enough money with you when you come to a Texas holdem poker cash game. When you play in a tournament, you only need to buy in once. When you play a cash game, though, you can buy in as many times as you want. This can be unfortunate for those who keep trying to win back their money on a night when they are having bad luck. However, having enough money to buy more chips can be very helpful if you do not want to lose your influence in the game. You should bring enough money to buy in at least three times, but you should only bring as much as you are willing to lose. Blinds Some tournament players are shocked to find that the small and big blinds do not increase in cash games. The blinds stay the same from the game's beginning to end. Since the blinds are usually reasonable amounts, some players prefer to sit back and wait for good hands to come their way before they start betting. If you are tempted to play like this, though, you should realize that other players might recognize this pattern, which will make it difficult for you to get much action when you have a winning hand. Ending the Game A cash game is over whenever the players want it to be. You could play for an hour or you could play all night. A player can walk away from the game before it has even ended. Note, though, that some players feel that it is bad etiquette to walk away right after winning a big pot. Learn Texas Holdem will contributing articles on a regular basis. For more info visit their website ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ways To Become A Better Poker Player By Doc Shipton One thing every poker player should strive to achieve is to continuously improve their game. If you are not attempting to improve your game every time you play, you will not become a winning poker player. With that being said, there are 5 simple things any poker player can do to improve their game. 1. Play Fewer Hands And Be Patient The biggest mistake players make is they play way too many hands. At least 75% of the hands you will see during a game are not playable, yet players will play them anyway, and lose chips or go broke in the process. It is ok to fold. It's part of the game. Play premium hands, like high pocket pairs, medium pocket pairs, and over cards like AK, AQ, AJ, and even AT. Suited connectors can be played, but often they are overvalued and overplayed. Hands like KQ, KJ, QJ, and JT fall into the same category. Small pocket pairs also fall into this category. Too often people will go broke playing a hand like 55 with a board no lower than a 6. Playing good poker does require patience. This is one of the hardest lessons to learn in poker. You can't wait for AA all the time (they only come once every 221 hands) but don't play a hand like K7 just because its the best hand you've seen in a while. Doing so usually costs you chips or your chair. Learning patience is one of the best things you can do to improve your game. 2. Be Aggressive Now that you've been patient and waiting for a hand, you get dealt pocket Queens. What do you do? Play them aggressively. One mistake people make is when they get a good hand they bet the minimum. By doing this you're encouraging bad players to play bad hands. This is when most of your "bad beats" occur. What you should do when you get a good hand is raise, generally 3-4 times the big blind. By doing this you can get the bad hands out of the hand, and see where everyone stands in regards to their hands. If you pick up the pot right then and there, that's a good thing. Its better to win a pot than to not win a pot at all. But lets say you get some callers. When the flop comes out read it carefully. Is there a card on the flop higher than yours? Does your hand beat the flop? If you can beat the board, bet the flop hard. Bet about 2/3 to 3/4 of the pot and you should be able to pick it up right then and there. Can the board beat you? If so, this is the time to do a feeler bet. A feeler bet is a small bet to test the waters, generally 1/4 to 1/3 of the pot. Here are some examples with numbers. The blinds are 50/100. You are on the button and make it 400 with your QQ and get 2 callers. The pot is 1350. The flop comes J83 rainbow. Action is checked to you. A bet of 800-900 should be enough to win the pot. By betting less you're encouraging players to call, possibly allowing them to hit for 2 pair or trips. Now lets say the flop is K83 rainbow. Action is checked to you. The King is a scare card, and a bet of 800-900 may be foolish as someone may have a King and is waiting on you. Here a bet of 400-500 is correct, as a call will indicate if someone has a King. This bet may also be enough to win the pot without risking a lot of chips. 3. Pay Attention So you've been patient, waiting for hands, and aggressive when you do get hands. Now what? Now is the time to pay attention to what's going on at your table. Are there any short stacks at your table? If so, don't play with them unless you have a hand that you are prepared to call an all in with, as that may be the next move for the short stack. Is there an ultra loose player at your table? If so, bet your good hands hard as they will likely pay you off by playing inferior hands. Is there someone who is playing ultra tight? If so, avoid them unless you have a really big hand. They are only playing premium hands and playing with them could be trouble for you. Paying attention sounds straight forward, but its one lesson people don't take advantage of. 4. Practice, Practice, Practice This may seem silly, but practice will only help to improve your game. One of the best ways to practice is by playing online. You can play anytime, anywhere, any game, at any dollar amount. You don't have to play for real money by any means. Online sites also have play money tournaments. They are played just like real money games, but there is no financial risk on your part. You can play for real money if you like, but that's up to you. I'd recommend a site that is well established. I play on Full Tilt Poker most of the time, because I feel it is the best online poker room available. It has a great game selection, and most of the top pros play here to. For more info on Full Tilt Poker, click on the banner
5. Learn From Other Sources If you truly want to improve your game, ask your fellow players for advice. Seek out someone who's game you respect, and ask them for their advice or give them your thoughts. Don't be afraid to get criticized though. If someone points out a flaw in your game, don't take it personally. Work on that flaw until it's no longer a weakness. Every player has a weakness or something they need to improve on, and if someone says otherwise they are just plain lying. Another thing you can do is simply read a book. Poker books provide a lot of knowledge that players have learned thru years of playing, which you can pick up in just hours of reading. Reading poker books is one thing; You must apply what you have read to your game. Not applying what you read is just wasting your time and money, and not improving your game at all. For a list of recommended poker books click on my poker books page for more info. If you apply these 5 simple ideas, your game can only get better. And in my opinion, the better you become at poker, the more enjoyable the game is for you and everyone around you - Doc Doc is the owner / operator of Big Doc Poker and the webmaster for bigdocpoker.com ________________________________________________________________________________________________
By Learn Texas Hold Em.com
Learn Texas Holdem will contributing articles on a regular basis. For more info visit their website ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Just Because It's a Freeroll, Doesn't Give You The Right To Play Like An Idiot By Doc Shipton You've all heard it at some point and in some form. You're at a table. Someone pushes all in, and someone calls and as they do, they say something along the lines of "What the heck. It's free poker." They make a bad call, and take someone out of the tournament. Well here's what I have to say to those of you who play that way: Shut the hell up!!! That's right. I said shut the hell up. I'm so sick and tired of people playing free poker who think that since they have no money invested, they have the right to play like an idiot. People will call your all in with AA with a hand like 34 offsuit, and hit with it. It's these people who give free poker in all its forms a bad name, whether it's online or in bars. It's these people who take the fun out of the game for those who play just for fun, and make it difficult for those of you trying to improve your game. Have you ever noticed that these are also the people who rarely make final tables and if they win it's a total fluke? You should play the same whether you're playing for no money, a nickel, a dollar, or a hundred bucks. You should be enjoying the game. You should try to be making yourself a better player every chance you get. Too often someone will play a certain way against people, but when it happens to them they freak out. Remember the saying "Do unto others as they do unto you."? No one realizes this, but when you play poker, even if it's a free roll, you're putting something on the line: Your reputation. I know a player, who likes to go all in just because you raise his big blind, who always says "Play me for cash!!!" Well for one I will never play him for money because, to me, his reputation is that of a super donkey, who will play any 2 cards because he can, and will push all in because you raised his big blind. Whether this is true in a money game with him I do not know, nor do I plan on finding out anytime soon. I like the guy as a person, but I have no respect for his game because of how he has played in the past. You may think you're a good player, but if you have a bad rep, people will avoid playing with you or just plain will not play with you. There are some people I despise playing with period, and I will not play them for money under any circumstance. I know I am a better player than they are, but they still play horrible hands regardless of what's at stake. This people will affect your game mentally, because there rep has already gotten to you. We all love to play poker. It's because of poker that I've met most of you, and made a lot of friends. I owe a lot to the game. There are just some players who I think need to realize they too owe something to the game and shouldn't play bad poker just because they can - Doc Doc is the owner / operator of Big Doc Poker and the webmaster for bigdocpoker.com
|
|
©Copyright 2008 Big Doc Poker. All Rights Reserved. Site Designed by | 
|