Hello,

I’ve been into poker for so long. I actually learned the game as a kid more or less 50 years ago. Well, for me, a weekend home game of 5-7 players was fairly common. Players I remember were mostly middle-aged or older and actually were immigrants. While the games, well mostly draw or 5 or 7 stud, and hi-low.

If I remember it right, check-raising in those games was forbidden. Back then, check-raising was something unethical. Bluffing on the other hand, though sounds ironic, was okay if you don’t do it that much.

As of the moment, I believe check-raising adds to strategy as well as to the enjoyment and fairness of the game. Your thoughts?

Thanks a bunch,
Lowell
Lowell,

Check raising used to be frowned upon and even outlawed in a lot of card rooms. Today, the move is considered a normal part of strategy. In fact, it is a skill that every poker player should utilize in order to make more money.

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Hi,

I’m a newbie and I love to play home games, mainly no limit tourneys. I play regularly with almost the same players all the time. At first, it wasn’t a big deal for me to play with almost the same players every week but later on I discovered some problems. One of the most alarming I guess was something about me knowing and mastering the way some players play and not recognizing any other style of play.

When I play, I am the aggressor, usually stealing pots from tight players. At some point, this had made me unsafe and weak to traps. Whenever I raise before the flop, bet out on the flop and get called and make a stab at it on the turn, I usually put lots of money into the pot. And whenever my opponent goes over the top of me, or raises me on the river I first have to check if he has been been trapping me.

Normally, before I act in any game I first check what kind of opponent I have. Does he bluff that much? Does he trap? What type of hands does he play most of the time? Unfortunately, every time I make judgments, I lose. Well, maybe because I often do not follow my instincts.

At some point, I made some realizations. First, don’t overestimate your own skill, but don’t try a check-raise semi-bluff against a player who just started learning. Second, don’t overplay your opponent. Third, get out of the way if you’re playing against a player you know loves to bet big and actually has big hands. And lastly, to determine whether or not you overplayed, assume that the strategy you used to win in the past has to change when playing against the same opponents.

And to somehow make sure you’ll win, always observe, observe, and observe. If you feel your opponents start to learn things about how you play, never wait and see how they would react instead act immediately. Make some adjustments, some changes.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Warm regards,
Duke
Duke,

You raise a lot of valid points. The main thing I would like to discuss is observing your opponents. Being able to put players on hands will help you a lot in overplaying your hands. Also, there are some times where you will want to overplay your hands, such as if you are trying to push out straight and flush draws.

Of course, in doing so, you need to know if your opponent will actually lay down to being pushed at. Again, it all goes back on reading your opponents.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Hello,

Do you think it is wise to switch your play from full table strategy to short table strategy or just go on based on concepts of full table in case you’re on the cusp between the two, say 6 or 7 players and two or three fold in front of you pre-flop?

Based on my own experience, most of the time I stack with my full table however once in a while I switch to short table strategy particularly when my starting hand comes with a face card. What’s your thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
James
James,

I tend to stay at full table strategy until I get to around 5 players or so. The only time I switch this is when I am a big chip leader, or I am playing with some particularly bad players. Otherwise, don’t risk your chips.

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I’ve been into online holdem for almost two years now. Well, I’ve been into no limit in general. Just recently, from full tables I moved to short-handed ones. The outcome of my decision was not that awesome but I promised to myself I’ll be good soon.

I know you’re the best person to help me. Do you know any good and effective strategy tips applicable in short handed tables?

Hope to hear from you in no time.

Thanks in advance!

Brent
Brent,

Don’t be afraid to play middle and even bottom pair if you think it is best. Players tend to miss the flop and 6 handed, when you flop middle pair, it is much stronger than at a full table. That’s not saying it wont be behind at times, but at times, middle pair and even bottom pair will win.

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