Hi,

I hope you don’t mind but I want to know your thoughts on showing other players your cards if they all fold or if according to the rules you don’t have to show them. I heard some say that showing your cards won’t give you anything good instead would just give other players information about you. But I also heard from some players that if you play tight in the beginning and show those good cards even when you don’t have to, you can later bluff more effectively. What’s on your thoughts?

Thanks a ton!

Best regards,
Franc
Franc,

Showing your cards gives other opponents information that they can use against you. You can also use this to your advantage. Personally, I don’t start showing most hands until later in the tournament to try and give off the illusion that I always have a strong hand when I’m in the pot. That way, I tend to get less action from people with stack equal to mine unless they have a big hand. This in turn allows me to put people on hands easier and allows me sometimes to ease into the money without massive confrontations.

Related articles:

1. Revealing Lost Hand
2. More On Odds
3. About Revealing Hands and Computer Opponents

Hello,

I’ll be hosting a game with up to 8 players and with a dealer. What I want to know now is that, can I actually declare no side bets? Or else it’s forbidden?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks a ton!

Best regards,
Collin
Collin,

You cannot declare no side bet in regards to the actual play of hands. Now if you are talking about people making prop bets or having bets on the side that are unrelated to the poker hands being played, then that is your right to outlaw that. Otherwise, you cannot tell player that they cannot bet if they are not all-in.

Related articles:

1. On Side Pots and Split Pot
2. Side Pots and Calls
3. An Argument About Side Pot

Hello,

Just want to ask if what’s the percentage of hands won by the following -100 hands:

flush ex- 10%
straight ex- 12%
full house ex 5%
3 of a kind ex 7%
2 pair ex 35%
1 pair ex 25%
high card ex 3%
straight flush ex 1%
royal flush ex 1%
4 of a kind ex 1%

Any thoughts?

Many thanks,
Albert
Albert,

This looks about right and normal. Two pair is the average winning hand in Holdem. Straight flushes and royal flushes I would say is a little less than 1% of the time.

Related articles:

1. Winning Hand
2. Stats and Hand Grouping Percentages
3. Hand Percentages

Hi,

First, I want to congratulate you for having this site. Congrats and keep up the good work!

Well, I’m actually here to ask something. A certain guy said something about the 4/2 rule for assessing odds on hands to me before but unfortunately didn’t understand well what he meant. Do you have any idea about such rule?

Another thing, say you have KsTs, all called and you have one guy raised, how strong is the hand then, particularly when you have 5-8 players?

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Richard
Richard,

The 4-2 rule is used in determining what your percentage is to make your hand by the river. On the flop, you count your number of outs and multiply by 4. If you have 9 outs, you have a 36% chance to hit your hand by the river. If you are on the turn, you multiply your outs by 2. In the same scenario, you have an 18% chance to win.

Ks-Ts in a 5 handed pot is not very strong. It is likely behind. Without more information on the hand, I am unable to give specific percentages.

Related articles:

1. On 4/2 Rule
2. Turn or River Odds
3. 4/2 Rule

Hi,

For 18 months now, I’ve been playing holdem and been reading some helpful books. Good thing now is, I can already calculate pot odds after the flop, turn, and river. However, I still have no idea how to calculate odds before the flop. Any idea?

Say I was dealt KQs and then raised on the button and consequently was re-raised. Do you think in case I put my opponent on AA, I’d be a 2-1 or 3-1 dog? I haven’t found any chart on this.

Another thing, how much of a dog is 7-2 vs. AA 10-1 etc.? Your thoughts please.

Thank you in advance!

Regards,
Lloyd
Lloyd,

Pocket Aces are an 87% to 12% favorite over 7-2. That’s around a 7.25 to 1 underdog. The best thing would be to get a preflop odds calculator or draw up a chart of common hands. Many odds calculators can be found online.

Related articles:

1. Hands in Holdem
2. On Odds
3. How to Calculate Poker Odds

Hi,

Just the other day, I saw and have actually read the question about the Ultimate Bet’s Algorithm. I would like to make some points, I hope it’s okay.

First, most if not all of the poker sites use software from the Microgaming organization. Second, some poker sites have letters of approval from auditors who are internationally renowned. Third, I believe it’s quite easy and simple to fall into the trap of questioning card activity due to the amount of hands played. Fourth, turn at such instance was expected to be 1 of 5 cards listed as 6 (4 of), K (4 of), pair 1 of the flop cards J,8,3 (3 of, each) which then equaled to 17 cards and 1/2 odds or 67% probability. Therefore, the 81% sample doesn’t fit. Finally, the odds of the river are actually moving or acting the same as the turn, in case turn doesn’t hit, two will be the same.

I hope I make sense here.

Many thanks,
Mr. Hansen
Mr. Hansen,

With all the recent investigations involving Ultimate Bet, it probably would be inappropriate for me to comment on their site specifically. I would say that with most sites, that due to the high number of hands played, there will be some abnormal looking occurrences. My best suggestion to players would be to switch sites if you think something is fishy with the site you play at. Of course, there is also live poker.

Related articles:

1. Chances of Hitting
2. Poker “Bots” and Legitimacy
3. Trey Vs. Deuce

Hi,

I was originally into neighborhood games and just tried online games recently. Well, on this site, random deals are present which later produced silly flops, turns and river combos not common in live brick and mortar game. Random deals on the site are said to be as random as present technology allows and actually have yielded favorable results when examined against a live deck.

Now, do you think there is a consensus among experienced casino and/or tournament players with regards to the validity of accepted poker probabilities against online play? I badly need to hear your opinion.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Luke
Luke,

Most players will tell you that live and online probabilities are the same. The difference is that with online poker, hands are played so much faster that there appears to be a variance in the numbers. Online poker is wildly popular with many pros. If they thought it was all rigged, they wouldn’t play.

Related articles:

1. Playing Online Probabilities
2. Poker Pro
3. On Randomness of Poker Sites

Hello,

I believe most casinos in Atlantic City now have holdem tables similar to black jack. What I know is that you have to play against the 2 hole cards of the dealers and there’s an upfront bet you place for your 2 cards. In the event you want to go on to the flop, you must bet again. Same thing for the turn as well as river except the bet is doubled if you want to go on. Later part, dealer will show his cards and of course better hand wins.

In case I play at the tables above, is there any strategy I should apply? What hands should I be playing and how do you think such tables be played?

Many thanks,
Michael
Michael,

You are not playing normal Texas Holdem here. You are playing a table game of Texas Holdem that is setup for the casino to make money similar to blackjack. Basically, you are playing against the dealer only. Unless I have a hand such as AK or AK or AJ, I usually get out the hand if I don’t hit a pair on the flop, unless I have a draw. Also, this game pays bonuses based on certain pocket cards etc.

This is something you can play for fun, but don’t go into this thinking you are playing normal poker. You are not. This is a house game and the advantage is with the house.

Related articles:

1. From Full Tables to Short-Handed Ones
2. How Many Hands to Play
3. Unusual Offer

Hello,

I’ve been playing for two or three months now. I just arrived from the bowls club. One thing I can’t forget, I pulled $900 out of the button mashers. Well, I used to play the mashers, $2/300 every month.

To keep this short, I’m actually here to share you something, Five guys and me, no 2k for the first one. I admit I was a little nervous to start out as I’ve been far in terms of everything. Well, I could read on “TG” however after some performances I wasn’t so sure then. Big clincher for me then was that the chips finally arrived via courier. Much later, we started playing $1/2 with $32.50 each. There were some young girls present at the room. One girl ended up with $47 odd. There were also some guys and one ended with $44 odd. Hero a crunched $20 odd. Queen, a busted up $13odd.

It was actually a game of play money but it was one of my best poker games where I learned some golden lessons.

Now, next game’s coming. Finally real stuff came and started at 7pm and finished at 4am. My opponent had $48 up and able to turn around and go sleep in my own bed.

If I try to look back, all I can see is the need for me to move up to $1/2 soon. Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks a ton!

Best regards,
Francis
Francis,

This really doesn’t give me much of an idea of your overall playing ability. What I will say is that starting out you will want to probably play a tight aggressive style until you determine how the other players are playing and then adjust accordingly. Be careful about playing speculative hands for raises and push your advantages when you have them.

Related articles:

1. How Many Hands to Play
2. Sharing Information With Players Outside the Game
3. Playing Online Probabilities

Hello,

I’m actually here to ask something. Do you have a general catalog of all the hands, which listed hands a player would absolutely fold? I’m referring here to hands that players will fold more often, hands that players will always bet however not necessarily raise, and hands that players will always bet and at the same time raise.

Well, I’m not sure but you more or less raise group 1 hands always. But about the other groups, what do think players should do with them? And should you play hands in groups 6 & 7?

By the way, for the ones below what kind of general percentages would you expect to see? As a fairly new player I don’t know what will you expect aside from:

Saw the flop (90%)
Went to the river (41%)
Folded to a river bet (58%)
Showdowns won (42%)

I love playing online and of course I’m using play money. Just the other day I tried to play at some online $1-$2 tables and unfortunately lost. I must admit I’ve stayed on too many hands to begin with and let myself be trapped while trying to make a hand then.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Vincent
Vincent,

First, you are playing 9 out of 10 hands. You are playing way too many hands. You need to lookup general starting hands or buy a book or DVD about beginning holdem. Strong hands such as Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and A-K suited can be played in most positions for a raise. Medium pairs down to 9’s and A-Q, A-J can be played for a raise from middle position. Other pairs can be played for a raise from late position. In other positions, the hands can be limp hands.

Related articles:

1. Hand Percentages
2. Strategy on Isolating an Opponent
3. On Various Stack Sizes

Hi,

Just recently, I joined a no limit cash game and tournament. Well, I noticed that playing with cash chips is actually far different from playing with tournament chips. I noticed different typical pre-flop raises, different standards on what kinds of hands to bet, raise, or call, etc.

Luckily, I got a feel on good tournament strategy, however it was a different story when about cash games. I wasn’t able to get a feel on good cash game strategy. Any advice?

Your help will be much appreciated!

Thank you.

Regards,
Nick
Nick,

Cash games play a lot differently than tournaments. If a player busts out, they can buy back in. As a result you will see more drawing, and more play with speculative hands. One way you can play is a small ball method. This means seeing a lot of flops cheaply in the hopes to hit the flop hard. When you do hit, you can then punish your opponents.

Related articles:

1. Home Cash Game and Rake Issue
2. About Overplaying
3. Final Table Chip Count at WPT

Hello,

I don’t know how many hands one should exactly play. Well, a tight one will play approximately 20-25% of the hands they are dealt. By the way, play here means the hands that see the flop.

In case you calculate the percentage, will you include the percentage of times you saw the flop from the big blind position? I tried deducting the big blind from the total to get the percent of hands that I do play and I got approximately 30-40%. Is my percentage good enough?

Since I started playing poker, I’ve been earning fairly. Maybe if I tighten up a bit, I might earn more. I’ve been playing limit holdem (not exceeding .25/.50), however I’m oftentimes short in bankroll. At times cleaned the house and other instances ended a loser.

I’ve tried to play right. Quit when there’s a need to do so. At times if I started with $20 and make $10 then I will quit for a while. Any thoughts?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Richard
Richard,

The 20% or so rule usually applies to No Limit Holdem and is for a solid tight-aggressive player. A loose player will obviously see many more flops.

Related articles:

1. Playing With Loose Colleagues
2. What if I Acted Differently?
3. Bluffing Weak Players

Hi,

For some time now, I’ve been thinking on what’s the proper way to play starting hands like AA or KK as I oftentimes hear that normally with AA or KK you will either win a small pot or lose a big one. Well, I started thinking that because you rarely get such cards in the hole, probably these are actually not so good hands.

Consider what I have above, what if instead of following customary wisdom and betting such hands hard preflop to eventually clean up the field and reduce the number of players, why shouldn’t I just consider such like any small pair and then try to see the flop cheaply? In this way, I believe strength will remain kept and in case I flop a set I can have the opportunity to extract important value from the hand itself. In case I won’t flop the set, I can still have a feel as to where I stand. But more or less I have to muck on the turn, however at least I gave myself the opportunity to fight out.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Joey
Joey,

You can play the hand that way if you desire, but when you let multiple players in, you give them the same opportunity to draw out on you and chase after larger hands. If you are heads-up with one opponent, this is sometimes a decent strategy. Another option would be to limp into a pot that you know will be raised by an overly aggressive player. When they raise, you reraise them. Chances are they will go all in and you will be a big favorite.

Related articles:

1. On Pocket Aces
2. Quite Unusual Holdem Tables
3. With Implied Odds

Hi,

I’ve been into poker for quite some time now. As of the moment, I consider myself a good player. I believe I can be like a pro if I just work on some of my weak areas like discipline.

Most of the time, I play online. And because I don’t have much money I oftentimes play in 25 and 50 dollar NL tables. I heard your three stages and they sound really interesting to me. Well, I believe I’m in the third stage but I don’t have enough discipline. Almost every time I find myself falling in love with trash hands, suited connectors especially from bad position.

Now, I want to know if you have any advice for me. And about trash hands and one or two gap connectors, is it worth the risk to play such hands and possibly go on hoping to break someone and eventually build a table image?

Thanks a lot!

Best regards,
Devrick
Devrick,

As far as discipline, you need to go back to a tight strategy for a while. The only way to fix this is to develop a plan and stick to it. Being disciplined requires making correct choices and sticking with them.

Related articles:

1. On Various Stack Sizes
2. AA or KK
3. On the Way I Play

Hi,

I’m now into 1-2 NL cash games. I play for two times a week. Typically, games are very loose with raises to 10 dollars being called by 3-5 players.

Recently, in a certain game, I was very tight and so I was not able to see a lot of playable hands. In the SB, I had pocket 8′s. At some point, I raised to 10 but before that there were around 3 callers. BB then called and 2 others followed. I placed BB on a good hand while others on second-rate hands. Flop then came and brought 8-7-5 rainbow. I then placed 20 bet. BB raised me to 60. Two players then called the 60 while I went all in. After a while, both players called and flipped 6-4 and 9-6 over. Unfortunately, board didn’t gave any pair therefore I lost about 85.

Any thoughts about the way I played? What else could have done to get away from trouble?

Thanks in advance.

All the best,
Chin
Chin,

I believe you played fine. You had two bad players that flopped incredibly lucky. Also, remember that while they did get lucky against, you still had outs to win. I would have lost the hand too. Its hard to get away from top set on a medium flop such as that.

Related articles:

1. Stats and Hand Grouping Percentages
2. Two Different Hands
3. Playing With Loose Colleagues

Hi,

I’m wondering if how do you normally decide to fire away or hit the breaks in cases where the game is very loose and aggressive, having lots of raises on pre-flop that often lead to flop.

When a player plays back at you, do you typically use stuff as flop structure and statistical understanding or just plainly read your opponent at the table?

Please help me. I hope to hear from you soon.

Many thanks,
Bryant
Bryant,

When I face a player playing back, a lot of my decision is based on the board, my image at the table, and my read of the opponent.

Related articles:

1. Playing With Loose Colleagues
2. How Many Hands to Play
3. No Limit Cash Game and Tournament

Hello,

I love playing no limit holdem with some colleagues. Typically they’re a bit loose. Some loves to see the flop even if it’s already been raised and re-raised pre-flop particularly when blinds are cheap.

Well, to later have positive results that would favor on my side, I believe I should play a lot of sub-par hands to adjust to the overall game pace and not be pushed around. Investing some time even with marginal hands as bottom pair with a couple of far-fetched draws or middle pair without kicker can also be of great help.

One thing, do you have any advice for me as to when I should rather muck my hand and keep my money in games with my colleagues?

Thanks!

Regards,
Lord Ian
Ian,

I would play a lot of cheap flop. If you can get in without a raise or get into a multi way pot with your substandard hands, you can make money when you flop lucky. But do this sparingly. Otherwise, you will bleed off chips.

Related articles:

1. Very Loose and Aggressive Game
2. No Limit Cash Game and Tournament
3. On Various Stack Sizes

Hi,

I know in NL tourneys that when you are moved from one table to another, you can’t then play small blind or play when you sit in on the button. But I don’t know how this one will work when you sit out hand on the small blind and then deal proceeds to the player on your left. Any thoughts on this? Do you have to sit out another hand or get dealt in?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Many thanks,
John Wales
John,

You cannot be moved to a new table in a tournament between the big blind and the button. If you are moved into the small blind position, you must wait 2 hands until the button passes you before you get a hand.

Related articles:

1. Regarding Our Set Up
2. Moving a Player From One Table to Another
3. Various Questions

Hello,

I’m Gerry and I’ve just started playing poker recently. As a newbie I have some questions so I hope you can bear with me. For now, I’ll just ask two questions.

1. On TV, I’m wondering if why players don’t opt to just reveal their cards after the showdown every time. Any idea?

2. Once I was able to watch a certain event. There were two players left, player 1 and player 2. Someone whispered to me that player 2 can only win as much money as he has in front of him. However I’m curious, what if player 1 raises and player 2 have a better hand though doesn’t have much money, will a side pot then with player 2′s money and the equal amount of player 1′s money be created? But in the event you create a side pot, what will happen if player 2 win the hand and he has only contributed with money in the side pot?

Thanks in advance!

Gerry Wetzel
Gerry,

1. Some players don’t like to show hands when they are beat, especially if they are beat or made some type of poor play.

2. If player two has fewer chips than player one, the most player two can win from player one is the amount in player two’s stack. Anything left in player one’s stack stays with player one. There will not be a side pot.

Related articles:

1. Remaining Players’ Cards
2. An Argument About Side Pot
3. Side Pot Issues

Hello,

I have some questions to ask. They are actually related to some stuff I’ve come to discover without any intentions.

In some discussion sections, I’ve come to hear about No Limit Texas Holdem being something related to Deep Stack No Limit or extreme short stack No Limit. In the first one, you can actually play a wide variety of starting hands as the implied odds are excellent. The post flop play is also much complex as bluffing is much more helpful and useful. In the second one, position is very vital as a hand like ATo may be an allin hand right after several limpers in the event you are on the button, however in the event you are under the gun, an easy fold. In connection with this, say in a game, suited connectors seem like of no worth as you will never hit your hand enough while pocket pairs are valuable due to their value. Post flop play on the other hand is more on all-ins and folding.

Now, what hands become more or less playable in no limit games with medium stack? Say in a 1/2 game with effective stacks of $100, I’ll call $10 raises heads up with medium and low pocket pairs to try have a set. In case there no callers would appear, I might call a not so high raise but if in case I’m up against a good player I might fold a PP to a raise to avoid a beat. Then say suited connectors’ value is seriously dependent on the aggressiveness of the game and your position as well, earlier, you will most likely fold but later I’ll limp in when there’s a cheap multi-way flop.

On the other hand, high card hands like AK are where my stress level goes up. More or less in deep stack events on a K98 flop, I’ll fold my AK when things get worst. However in short stack events, it would be a different story. In medium stack events, I’ll be right on the fence.

Oftentimes, when I raise $10 preflop, I’ll get one caller and then flop would appear K98. I’ll then bet about $20 and they’ll push their 90$ stack in. In the end, I’ll get irritated. At times, I’ll be tempted to lay down all as I seem to fold more pretty good hands compared to my opponents at the table.

Now, here are my questions:

1. Is there anything I need to adjust when it comes to my pre-flop raising, limping and raise-calling requirements? And because such games tend to be aggressive post flop particularly online, do you think hands as suited connectors go down in terms of value due to lack of odds to draw? Do I need to call generously in late position or else it should be a no-set-no-bet level of tightness? What do you think?

2. In such games, how should I play marginal hands? I believe in deep stack no limit you don’t want to bet your stack but in short stack you will do everything to have your chips in the middle. How about in medium stack?

3. Say somebody is putting pressure on your head as he has something that could beat you or else just know you are playing tight, how would you play? What will be your defense?

4. When you are in position, what are the moves you should use?

   
   

5. Do you think there is a reason for you to semi-bluff with your primary draw in games where everyone overvalues their hands? Or else just stick to calling in the event you have implied odds or the like?

Thanks for your time.

Regards,
Nickerson
Nickerson,

1. As far as your preflop play, I would stick with trying to see flops cheap with a wide array of reasonable hands. Obviously you want to raise with strong hands, but otherwise, try to see a cheap flop and hope to hit it hard. As far as calling a raise, I would tend to stick with stronger hands to call raises, unless there is a lot of action. Then you can widen the range some, but not get too crazy.

   Hands such as suited connectors do go down in value when the betting is very aggressive post flop. If you play suited connectors, make sure that they are on the higher side to give you better odds of hitting top pair or two pair. In late position after the flop, what you call depends on what you are holding and the number of players and the opponent you are playing. Sometimes playing super tight is right. Sometimes it’s right to call. Poker is situational. It depends on what is going on at the time.

2. With marginal hands, I would try and see cheap flops for the ones that I do play. This is a form of small ball poker. Get in cheap and then punish your opponents when you do hit well.

3. One of two things can be done here. Switch to playing small ball and punish him when your hands hit the flop well or play tight and punish him when your big hands hit. Don’t go crazy and randomly raise or play hands that have no value. This will just bleed your stack.

4. In position, I would bet out on the flop when checked to me a little more often. Semi-bluffing is obviously one tool you should use as well. Raising when you have no hand is something I would reserve for players that I deem that are just trying to steal the pot.

5. When players overvalue their hands, I would stick with calling in the event you miss your draw. When you semi-bluff, you still must hit in order to win. If players overvalue their hands, a bluff will not force them off their hands.

Related articles:

1. Strategy on Isolating an Opponent
2. I Don’t Have Enough Discipline
3. Stats and Hand Grouping Percentages