When you get dealt suited cards on www.BodogLife.com, they will obviously be either connected or gapped; I will start by giving you some basic advice for playing the suited connecting cards.

Suited connecting cards are fantastic hands to draw with especially if they are high cards such as AK, KQ, OJ, I would suggest you raise with these hands and obviously if someone else raises first you should call (unless you know your opponent well and know he/she would seldom raise with any hand smaller than AA, KK, QQ and perhaps AK)

Whilst these are fantastic hands to draw with, they are not fantastic hands in themselves. Yes they have the potential to grow into very powerful hands, but if the community cards don’t help you improve, your hand could quickly become worthless. Its important to realize this and be prepared to lay these cards down if its necessary to do so. I’ve played against a lot of players who also fall in love with these hands and are very reluctant to let them go regardless of what comes on the flop, turn and river.

When playing the lower and middle connected suited cards 8-7, 7-6, 6-5; these hands you should aim to see the flop as cheaply as possible and if not aided by the flop get out, also keep in mind that even though you may improve your hand other opponents can also improve their hands.

Alternatively when being dealt suited cards on BodogPoker they may be gapped/ spaced; obviously the smaller the space the more chance you have of making a strait with these hands. For example to use both your cards in a straight when they are gapped by 3 eg. 9-5 the only possible cards to make this straight would be 8-7-6. Whereas to use both your cards and they were for arguments sake 9-7 there are many more possibilities (J-10-8, 10-8-6, or 8-6-5).

Other tips: While pre-flop suited cards have no more worth than unsuited cards of the same rank, they do have one thing that the unsuited cards don’t have, and that is the potential to make a flush.

With suited cards its much more acceptable to play them with larger gaps than the unsuited cards for the exact reason above. Particularly if one of them is an ace. In late position you may even want to enter a pot with Ace-2 suited just for the pure fact of the flush potential. Note: when playing the ace with a suited low card beware of any aces that my fall on the community cards, because you could run into kicker problems if you are not careful. On the upside though you could always pair your low card as well which can often pay huge dividends as players with ace and a large kicker (such as a king) will problem think that he/she has the best hand and will be very reluctant to lay it down.

Aces

How many times have you heard players on PartyPoker.net complain that their “aces got cracked” or how much they hate getting pocket aces because they always loose?

There are two main reasons that this happens to poker players

A) They don’t raise (or raise enough) pre-flop in the hope that more players will enter the pot and that they will be able to slow play their aces to win a larger pot.

B) They fall in love with their cards. (See Falling in love with your cards)

If you are lucky enough to be dealt pocket Aces it is mandatory that you raise no matter your position. If someone re-raises you, re-raise them right back with no fear because at this point at time there is no other hand that can possibly beat yours.

If you fail in an attempt to slow play (which is also a very successful strategy), don’t be too disappointed if someone outruns you on the flop, turn, or river. Also as explained in Falling in love with your cards on Full Tillt Poker, you must always keep an opened mind to what other players might be holding, and if it is obvious that you are probably beat fold your hand; this will not be the last time you get dealt pocket aces and you must realize that although they are the strongest starting hand, they are not always the hand that will eventually win the pot.

Kings

Pocket kings are the next strongest hand you can be dealt in Texas hold-em poker. As with aces you should raise from any position at the table, and re-raise if someone else raises. The chances that one of your opponents holding pocket aces is very slim so don’t be afraid to re-raise someone if they raise the bet first.

The main thing to be wary of when playing pocket kings is the community cards. If the community cards hold an ace this could be a large danger for your kings; many players, particularly armatures, will call raises with any ace no matter how small their kicker may be. For this reason an ace on the board is always a large threat, particularly when multiple players have entered the pot.

Queens Jacks and Tens

When holding these cards you most likely have one of the strongest if not the strongest starting hand at the table. The main thing to worry about when holding these cards is once again the community cards, but this time its much more of a danger as there are more over cards that opponents could be holding. You MUST raise large enough to push players holding aces and kings with weak kickers out of the pot, this will increase the chances or your pair holding up. You must also be prepared to lay down these pocket pairs if the flop contains over cards and you believe that an opponent could be holding one of them!

Middle and low pairs (9-2)

These middle and low pairs are best played in a late position; or only play in an early position if it is cheap enough to see the flop.

With middle pairs like 9 8 7 on a site like Ful Tilt Poker you may play these in any position (obviously the later the position the better as having other players act first will give you valuable information in aiding you to make the correct decisions). With these pairs you may be lucky enough to flop a set (three of a kind) and hopefully one or more of your opponents is holding over pairs, as this tends to be a very profitable play in Texas hold-em. Alternatively all the cards may be lower than your pocket pair leaving you with top pair (ruling out another play holding higher pockets), the main risk of this low flop means that the cards will be very close together which could potentially give an opponent a straight.

With the lower pockets you are almost certainly aiming to make a set and trap an opponent with a high pair or two pair. When this comes off it is very effective, but keep in mind the odds of flopping a set are only about 1 in 10 times. I would advise you to call in a late position, and if an early position (such as the blinds) call if it is cheap enough to do so.

Remember: you can always fold your hand once you have seen the flop, so seeing a cheap flop with low pockets can be quite profitable.

This is probably the most basic but most efficient way to start improving your poker immediately!

Considering that poker is a game where winners are decided by the decisions that they make, by simply refining the hands that you enter a pot with will decrease the amount of pots you lose, and also increase the amount you win. Choosing which hands to play at TitanPoker.com is the first decision every poker player will have to make every single hand, so it is a much more important decision than you may think.

Obviously your position on the table will greatly determine the range of starting hands that you will be willing to play. Also the size of the blinds (typically if in a tournament where blinds are continually increasing) will help determine the cards that you should consider entering a pot with.

In general you will be able to play a much broader range of cards at Titan Poker.com when in a late position (such as on the button) because the chances of there being a raise from this point is much slimmer. In an early position the range of cards you should play will be substantially smaller than a mid to late position (especially if in a poker game where players are raising quite frequently)

There are 169 different combinations of hole-cards that you can be dealt in Texas hold-em;

These hands can be grouped as

Pairs

Suited cards (connected and gapped/ spaced)

Unsuited cards (connected or gapped/spaced)

For strategies and tips on how to play each of the above types of combinations simply click on them.

Most people pay little attention to how another person stacks their poker chips, as they think it bares little to no significance on how they play. Wrong. Here’s why…

Chip Stacking

Neat, tidy chip-stack

These players are generally tight players. (Refer to my beginner’s guide to poker strategy for elaboration) They’re at FullTiltPoker to gamble, but not to lose their money. A player like this will usually fold if the odds are against them. This tell tells us two things:

1. We should scarcely enter a pot against this player with a mediocre or marginal poker hand.
2. This one is more important to us. A lot of players will actually stack their winnings separately for them to keep track of. Why does this help us? Well, when betting, we can bet more than this persons winnings and – given their nature – they’ll probably fold unless they’ve got a rock-solid hand. (Something you should probably deduce before trying to bet them out!)

Messy, scattered chip-stack.

This lets us know that the player is loose. They’re at FullTiltPoker.com to gamble, ready to splash some chips around and you can use this to your advantage. If a player is really this uncaring (sometimes you’ll find players in between) and their stack is all over the place, they’re literally a calling station. Just watch out for suckouts!

I just won a big pot.

I couldn’t really think of a fitting heading for this one… But anyway, this refers to when players have just won a big pot and still haven’t had time to stack their poker chips yet. More often than not, they’ll see their hole cards before stacking them and then splash some chips into the pot with a marginal hand – something you should be wary of. More so than that, if a player starts betting into a pot after they’ve just won one, then you should also know that in most cases they’re not bluffing. To the contrary, they’ll probably have quick a solid hand.

As we all know, falling in love in real life always has a chance of ending in heart break; although it might be amazing at the start, things could turn sour faster than you think.

The same principles can apply in poker. I’ve seen far too many player fall in love with their hole cards, then be completely oblivious to what their opponents could be holding. Metaphorically speaking, this is the same as being oblivious to a partner that could be cheating on you.

You just don’t do it.

Recently, I was playing poker at Full Tilt Poker against an opponent who did exactly the thing that I am trying to warn you against. Now this opponent was no amateur, they were quite an experienced poker player and perhaps shouldn’t have made the mistake that they did, but this just goes to show that anyone can fall in love with their cards.

This opponent was lucky enough to be dealt what we all hope for: Aces in the hole. He was on big blind, and when most players limped in, he raised. I was on the button with 10 jack of hearts, called his raise, as did one other player before me. Up until this point, my opponent has played his hand flawlessly, he raised to narrow the field of players that could beat him as well as stopping players with weaker cards seeing the flop cheaply.

So now there are three players in the pot and we see the flop, eight of clubs, nine of hearts and ace of hearts. BANG just like seeing the woman of his dreams my opponent was in love, he had flopped his set of aces. But – as you can see – I had flopped a flush draw and also an open ended strait draw.

Straight away, he bet into the pot and the other player folded. With so many outs, it made the odds a no-brainer to call. The turn was a lousy 3 of spades, no help to me. Not to worry though, as I still had 15 outs left in the deck. Immediately he bet again, not enough to make the odds too long for me to call though, it seems as though he was trying to keep me in the pot to extract as much money from me as possible. I call, and on the river falls the five of hearts.

Completely oblivious to the third heart that had just fallen, he bet into me with no fear and I immediately raised him to not give him anytime to think. Without too much thought process, he pushes all in. I call, knowing I have him dominated. With much authority and pride, he shows me his pretty set of aces. I calmly show him my flush and the look on his face – I will never forget, it was as if he had just caught his partner in the act of cheating. He got up from his seat and walked off without saying a word.

In hindsight, he will know he made a mistake, but in the heat of the moment and the love for the “monster” he had just been dealt, his eyes were wide shut and didn’t even consider what I could be holding. He isn’t the first player to make this mistake on Full Tilt, and certainly won’t be the last. We have all made this mistake and when we look back on it we say “DAMN, how did I not know that he had made a straight”. A quick re-assessment of our hand and what our opponents could be calling with can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Just like a relationship that’s gone sour, its best to release your hand when its obvious that you have been outrun, no matter how much love you had for the cards when they were first dealt!

We can break poker players into a few different types:

*Loose Aggressive
*Loose Passive/Non-Aggressive
*Tight Aggressive
*Tight Passive/Non-Aggressive

I’ll elaborate:

Loose Aggressive

Bullies. Poker Bullies. These players are unpredictable, erratic, and probably your worst nightmare when you’re playing poker based solely on odds. These poker players will raise ridiculously, over-bet and bluff way too often. They ride their luck; when that runs out, so does their chip-stack.
You’re free to call these players with more marginal drawing hands.

Loose Passive

Too much money, not enough brains. They’re your free bank roll, or your massive suck-out for the night. Most of the time, these players aren’t too much of a hassle – just don’t get too antsy when they bad-beat you a few times.
Make the most of your moderate to solid poker hands to take them out.

Tight Aggressive

Most seasoned players would probably fall somewhere between this category and the loose aggressive category. Now, there’s no way to always win money when playing poker, but being tight aggressive would have to be the most logical. These players’ decisions are not based on a ‘gut-feeling’ but rather odds; if the odds aren’t favoring them, they’ll fold.
Enter a pot with such a poker player cautiously. You will, more than likely, need more than just a marginal hand.

Tight Passive

Tight asses. Yes, that is exactly what a tight passive poker player is. They gamble, yet cling to every penny like it’s their last. They’ll typically under-bet or possibly not even bet at all – instead they’ll just call.
A player like this rarely bluffs. If they’re calling you (or worse, raising you), call with nothing shy of a winning hand.

It is important for poker players on any site, including BodogLife.com to realize that they shouldn’t try to just ‘fit’ one of these types. Mixing up your game is an important part of poker strategy. Just don’t over-do it.

Why are ‘tells’ important?

Poker’s about choosing your battles. It’s not always about outplaying your opponent; rather, choosing your points to outplay them. By knowing an opponents tells – that is, when an opponent may be bluffing or when they have a solid hand – is a great way to outplay your opponent. Not only will it aid you in betting opponents out of pots, but it’ll also help by giving you an insight as to when you should fold your hand.
Always keep this in mind when playing poker on PokerStar.net and trying to read another player: strong means weak, weak means strong Read More