How and what hole cards to play and from what tables positions is what you’ll learn about in this free poker online games training article. Limping, a topic not often looked at will also be covered at the end.
Before we get into that we must understand the term “hand range” which means “the range of hands it’s possible for my opponent to have”.
Understanding ranges is the most important SKILL a poker player has.
For example, an opponent is super tight and reraises you big preflop. An example range for them to have is (QQ,KK,AA). You know they must have one of these hands, though not which one exactly.
When writing a range, though, don’t write out every possible hand in the range. The range of (QQ, KK, AA) is shortened to (QQ+), meaning any pocket pair QQ or above.
KT, KJ, KQ offsuit would be written KTo+ to mean offsuit king KT or better. Offsuit is designated “o” and suited with an “s”, so, K8o+ is any offsuit king K8 or above.
Playable hole cards
There are 3 factors to consider:
1) The action before our turn to act.
2) Your Table Position
3) The opponents’ tendencies
The first is self explanatory. For example, you fold your pocket 9s if there has been a raise, 3 bet or 4 bet before your go. Basically just understand that when your opponents open you need to be tighter.
Table Position –
You should be opening progressively wider the get closer you get to the button.
1) There is a lower chance of other players getting a playable hand and better chance of folds as there are fewer players left to act after you.
2) Your postflop position is superior. For example, you’re on the button, your opponents have to act before you meaning you get to act with more information than them at every point in the hand. They do not know what you have but you know they elected to play preflop AND their reaction to the flop.
Opponents’ tendencies examples –
> If the big blind is going allin every hand, don’t open wide from the button as you’ll have to fold to his shove with weaker holdings.
> Loosen up if the players still to act are tight, it gives you a better chance of stealing the blinds.
Make these 2 tweaks if the players behind are loose aggressive:.
> Play tighter..
> Play more high card hands and less suited connector hands.
Against loose aggressive opponents you can play hands like KJo, flop top pair, and move All in OK. But with lesser hands such as 87s if you miss and continue bet the flop asggression may result and few folds. So high-card hands go up in value while middle connectors go down.
Some hands you nearly always play, for example, JJ+, AQ+. Some hands we’ll never play like 52o, but for tons of others the answer is “it depends on the situation”.
Typically:
- Play tight early position, looser late position
- Play tighter against loose players, looser against tight players (preflop)
- Play tighter against aggressive players, looser against passive players (preflop)
- Play tighter if there has been action before you
- Nearly never play trash and nearly always play premiums.
Here are some examples to illustrate.
- UTG (first position) 10 handed example range: (TT+, AQo+, AJs+)
- Button range vs tight blinds: (22+, A2o+, A2s+, K6o+, K5s+, Q9o+, Q8s+, JTo, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s)
- Button range vs loose blinds: (22+, A7o+, A2s+, K8o+, K8s+, QTo+, Q9s+, JTs)
- Button range readless: (22+, A7o+, A2s+, K8o+, K7s+, Q9o+, Q9s+, JTs, T9s, 98s)
Now a relatively uncovered topic – limping.
Should you limp preflop? The answer is almost never, apart from:
> When against a loose passive opponent with a marginal hand.
> More common, especially in free poker games, a limpede. Where several players limp preflop (limp+stampede = limpede!)
If you have low pockets or suited connectors join the Limpede as there is a good chance to flop good very cheaply. Your only goal is to flop a very strong hand – if you don’t you should give up and check/fold the flop.
This is not a simple subject but it is fundamental to poker success so to get comfortable with all this practice hard on free poker sites such as NoPayPOKER until you are happy, play with ranges and the way of thinking and different scenarios and so on. with absolutely no monetary loss.
So experiment away! It is a deep subject and in this article I have only touched on many areas. there is another longer version of this lesson, see it at the NoPayPOKER.com free poker education blog (where you can also play free poker games online for fun and practice)
Filed under london travel services by on Dec 4th, 2011. 
We hope you already know about all the free online poker training to be had at NoPayPOKER that covers all levels from beginner to advanced as well as playing live room games.
If you have not checked those free poker online training lessons out yet see the education master page and look now, check them out, there is loads for all there.
While there is an invaluable storehouse of poker knowledge there we also know that some of you may want more.
So to that end we’re starting a series of posts highlighting some of the best poker books to read we know about.
The poker books reviewed has been filtered from the huge heaving mass that has resulted from the poker boom of the last 2 decades so that only the best poker books to read make it to the list.
This first article looks at what for most of you NoPay members is the top most obvious topic, that of online poker guides. This is a difficult subject area, there is less published that you’d imagine and a lot of it has bad reviews plus, of course, online poker is a fast changing subject meaning that some good review but older books are now outdated. Because of this only a handful make it to the “best of” list.
The structure is always to give the essential information on the book, a summary of the content and then summarised reviews we have discovered on the pros and cons of the book.
To get hold of these books visit the NoPay best poker strategy books page.
Following that you can also go play some free online poker for fun against real people with no danger of losing your cash, an ideal spot to test what you read before taking a chance on real cash.
Title – Harrington on Online Cash Games; 6-Max No-Limit Hold ‘em
* Author(s) – Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
* This edition published – June 2010
* Pages – 530
Outline –
Dan Harrington teaches you the primary strategies and techniques which will allow you to master on-line poker. Internet poker is a environment, as any of you who also play live games know, which varies in some important ways from the realm of casino games.
Topic areas dealt with include:
* How to handle sizes of stack.
* Playing at 6-max tables.
* Tackling high aggression.
* And, unlike most on-line poker books, ways to use poker databases and heads up displays (HUDs) to obtain in depth and useable information on how your opponents play.
Plus, there are detailed strategies for micro and small stakes preflop and post-flop play.
This book is highly recommended for all online poker players who already play cash games and lose more than they like! Plus it’s the perfect bible for free online poker players looking to make the move and live card room game players looking to go online who have not played online much before.
For players just starting poker we strongly suggest that you start by playing free online poker games first and learn the ropes before risking your real money. Yes, you can get the book and read it as you learn to play just don’t risk your real money yet please!
Favorable review comments –
* Don’t Buy this guide – I do not want you getting any better! I strongly recommend this book to any online player who is not my opponent.
* Specifically explains numerous handy statistics that may be utilized to take full advantage of patterns in your opponents pre and postflop behaviors.
* Some genuinely good tips on note-taking.
* He gives you the tools to assess your opponents play and exploit them when they are poor, or when they are strong.
* I am amazed with this book. All of his books are good, but this particular one really gets into details regarding the different types of games and scenarios you will come across.
* Its a good book and a must for every online player. You can use the tools in the book for full ring game too. Great book.
Cons –
Nothing major seen aside from one crazy naysayer sort that would most likely say night was day just to be different.
Title – The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition
* Author(s) – Andy Bloch, Richard Brodie, Chris Ferguson and Ted Forrest
* This edition published – June 2007
* Pages – 448
Outline –
Full Tilt will be dead and buried now but the knowledge from their team professionals who collaborated to write this book remains awesome for all on-line poker players.
Pros –
* I feared this book would be a quick buck job cashing in on the online poker craze boom with the writers shoving out a cheap chapter for a fast fistful of dollars and that the results would be poor. This is not the case. There is stuff in here that you won’t get elsewhere.
* Ferguson’s section is like a little instruction class with him.
* It will become a “have to have” book for poker tournament players.
* I hate to have to endorse this. It really provides far too many trade secrets.
* Newbies and players who have played for less than a few years could possibly play 10 more years and never absorb close to this much knowledge.
Cons –
* Separated into several chapters with each different from the last and written by another player. As a result it is a bit mixed up.
* Some have said it is little use for internet as on-line poker is all rigged…
So this ends the first best poker books to read review article, keep an eye out for the next which will have more online poker specific resources that, while not free have been proven to pay for themselves by those who are willing to read, learn and apply what they learn.
And if these are not for you then get over to our free poker skills sections and at least read or re-read one of our free online poker lessons.
Filed under london travel services by on Oct 17th, 2011.
In this free online poker games lesson you will learn how to manage your bankroll when playing online poker for real money as opposed to free online poker games. The same principles apply to free poker and if you are new to the game then free online poker sites are ideal places to practice bankroll management but the focus here is on cash games where how well you manage your bankroll is the difference between solvent and broke.
Bankroll Fundamentals
Some basics first. Your bankroll is the money you have in your poker gaming account. It’s a fact of poker that now and again you will suffer a series of bad beats, therefore you need to have a bankroll that is big enough, in relative terms to the games you play to keep you afloat and able to play when you get hit by a run of bead beats. At the core of the matter is the need to be realistic about how much you can risk per poker game. It is essential not to risk more than you can afford to lose as that inevitably results in frustration which is turn leads you to lose more.
Bankroll Goals
Growing your bankroll is your main objective. The mistake that some players made is to enroll often in tournaments they cannot really afford. The prize pools in a lot of multi table tournaments are very attractive. If we win, our bankroll rises dramatically but this is rarely the case. You will lose all your bankroll in a short period of time if you don’t follow the rules. Then, with no money you will be stuck doing very small freerolls in order to get back again and that is a long and boring road.
Bankroll Principles
It is recommended to bring only 5% or less of your total bankroll on Cash Game tables and around 2% Buy In or less for tournaments (Sit n Go and Multi-table). If you play the recommended percentage, you will see your bankroll increase more slowly but surely. The mistake of some peoples is to enroll in tournaments beyond their means and where lot of players go away without any gain.
It is impossible to win every time. That’s why when things do not go well at all, it is preferable to stop play for 1 hour and do something else. When you will return, the game may be in your favor. Any negativity must be left aside, there is no place for anger or frustration on a poker table. The other players will know quickly that you are vulnerable and will not hesitate to take advantage of this weakness.
Cash Game:
The main game many play is the Cash table. They can be long duration and boring at times and you will find all styles of player in them. We must know how to adapt to each of these players in hopes of winning out as often as possible. Overall cash games will pay you more money in the long term than tournaments. The important thing is not winning big but winning often.
Even if you only scalp a small win the key is to leave with a profit. In cash games, the funds go up and down slowly, you must be disciplined. Never risk more than 5% of your cash in a cash game. If you want to play on 2 tables, take 2.5% of your funds at most for each table. Playing on more than 2 table is not recommended because you will start to play your cards without real focus on the game of your opponents.
Sit n Go:
Sit n go’s (SNGs) can be good earners when you play the right type. Find tournaments where there are large stacks and the play is normal speed, by this I mean Blinds increase every ten minutes or so. These tournaments will let you see more pre-flop so you can play only the good hands. When the blind goes up quickly (Turbo games), luck becomes a factor more than strategy. In this case, playing bingo would be the same.
Multi-Table:
Multi-table tournaments are tournaments which look attractive but where a lot of players go away without a profit. Luck can sometimes be on your side but it is best not to abuse it because in this kind of tournament as you will learn, your money can go down quickly. The variance (swings of fortune basically) is too high, I advise you not to risk your money on them. Perhaps play them occasionally if you feel luck is with you but just for fun using a little bit, maybe 1%.
Essential Tips:
The first rule is always to have fun. Poker is mainly a game of luck blended with probability, few things are certain. If you have no fun, you better stop for a moment, your money is not going to disappear. It is better to reload emotionally before reloading monetarily. And rehearse your bankroll management on free poker sites and take advantage of all the free online poker coaching you will find there, this can help your massively when you find yourself playing for real cash.
Filed under london travel services by on Aug 11th, 2011.
Recent Comments