I get a lot of the ideas for my submissions to Muppet Poker from Yahoo Answers, because I see the same questions pop up time and time again. I’ll generally only pick a topic to write about if I’ve seen very little information about it elsewhere… Hence this article. Cold decking is a method of cheating in poker (and, for that matter, in any card game). Basically, the name refers to switching the deck during the game, and is derived from the fact that the new deck is colder (temperature-wise) than the old deck that was in play. You can switch decks all you want on sites like PokerStars.net and FullTiltPoker.net.
What this really mean is that someone’s introducing a stacked deck into play. This can advantage both players and casinos. Casinos? Yes, Casinos.
Player Advantage
In home games, usually the dealer button is rotated around the table along with the cards and everybody takes turns at dealing. Your sly friend has another deck sitting under the table that has been stacked to his advantage and he gives this the old switch-a-roo to get it up on the table. He then gives the deck a quick false shuffle, a few false cuts and deals the cards. Low n Behold, he’s got pocket Aces, and takes down the pot.
Casino Advantage
When I say “casino” here, I mean the term in the loosest sense possible. Any poker games that are collecting rake are casinos here, including your beloved poker rooms, Bodog.com and PokerStars.com.
I am not saying that all casinos do it (though, I am quite sure there are a few that do), but it is quite feasible, especially in online poker rooms. Basically, cold-decking in this sense would not be favorable to any one player in particular. Rather, it would give a couple of players significantly strong hands, in order to promote aggressive betting (in fact, in online poker, it’d be feasible for the cards to be dealt to the most statistically-proven aggressive players) in order to build a larger pot. As you all know, a larger pot = a larger rake. (For those that are still not following, a larger rake = more money for the casinos!)
I could go on and on at how people can rip you off at pocker… But then this site wouldn’t be about poker, it’d be about card manipulation!
A key aspect of poker at PokerStars (that is remarkably under-credited) is changing up your game. You never bluff? Bullshit. If you’re serious: you both suck at poker and at reading other people at the poker table. Please refer to earlier articles on Muppet Poker!! It’s time to learn to bluff…
By now, you should be able to discern between whether or not your opponent has a strong hand, or a weak hand. You may not (yet) know how to use this to your advantage besides when not to call, but it’s time to learn about when to bet. A perfect metaphor for bluffing is as follows (I think it was Daniel Negreanu who said it):
Bluffing is like a story. You’re trying to convince the other player that you’ve got X,Y cards when you’ve really got A,B cards. You do this by betting - through a beginning, middle and an end.
Here’s what I call blatant stupidity:
You’re at www.PokerStars.de playing the board & the flop, turn and river have all come down - every round has been checked - and now the river is knocked onto you, sitting on the button. What do you do? Throw in a bet, about the pot-size, in the hopes of stealing the pot. Stupid. More than likely someone will call you on your bluff with a mediocre pair, or even ace high. You told an unconvincing story.
Here’s how to bluff properly in poker:
Ideally, you should start your bluff pre-flop. (Starting after the flop is fine too, if there are few players left in the pot already) Tell your story - you raise 3x the big blind, everyone folds with the exception of one other player.
It’s now heads up poker on Poker Stars.de; you’re holding 3,8o and your opponent is holding A10d. Flops falls Q, 10, 3. You caught a pair, but so did your opponent. You throw 5,500 into a pot that’s now 9,000. Your opponent calls. Turn: Q. Now, you can throw in another bet (remember, you can probably guess that your opponent doesn’t have top pair or better, otherwise he’d have re-raised with his nice kicker that he would *have* to be holding) or you can check and see what he does. Checking is the wrong move - you’ll show him weakness and he’ll probably bet to see where his two pair is at anyway (and then you’ll either have to fold or re-raise him to save/win your money) Throw out your bluff (which will always be the final bet in this situation), and you’ll chase your opponent out of the pot.
Yes, bluffing does require a lucky flop sometimes. But hey, you still had the worse hand and told your story to your opponent who now thinks he “read” you like a picture book. Don’t show your hand, you’ll only show that you’re being an ass 
How much money should you spend playing poker??
If you’re only looking for fun (or are a novice), then you shouldn’t invest more than what is “fun” to lose. You can also play for free at Full Tilt Poker and PokerStar.net.We understand that it’s never fun to lose, but I guess this amount is just something that you’re not going to worry about if you do lose it.
If you’re looking to play a little more seriously, and actually use it to earn a consistent income, then you’d better be prepared to manage your finances properly! Be prepared to bank 300 big bets (big blinds) at the specific limit that you’re playing. If you’re playing 2/4$, you should have a bankroll of $1200 (simple math: 4*300). This will prevent you from losing your entire bankroll because you were stiffed.
It’s a great idea to take note of your session records. The way I did this was to create an Excel spreadsheet, with a column for Date, Buy-In, Cash-Out. Down the bottom is an aggregate “score”, if you will, of how much you’ve lost/won in total. It’s also handy for tax purposes!
Here’s a brief summary of how poker works. It’s actually quite a difficult game to get started just by reading articles, so you’ll need some hands on experience! Go download PokerStars or another online poker room, like FullTiltPoker or PartyPoker.net and start playing for free.
In texas hold em (a poker variant), players receive 2 down-cards as their personal hand (also known as hole cards), after which there is a betting round. 3 community cards are turned simultaneously (called the flop) and another then betting round occurs. The next 2 community cards are turned 1 at a time, with a betting round after each. A player may use any five-card combination from among the community cards and their hole cards. A player can even use all community cards and no hole cards to form their hand (known as “playing the board”). There’s a dealer button to indicate where the deal starts. Usual rules includes the use of 2 blinds (’small’ and ‘big’), but it is possible to play poker with 1 blind, multiple blinds, an ante, or combination of blinds plus an ante.
The object of the game is to form the best possible five card poker hand. This can be achieved through using a combination of your own hole cards and the community cards. Whoever has the strongest hand takes down the pot.
Betting Rounds
1.The dealer deals each player their own 2 hole cards face down.
2.1st betting round (known as the pre-flop betting round)
3.The dealer burns a card then turns over 3 community cards. (known as the flop)
4.2nd betting round
5.The dealer burns 1 card, then flips over 1 as a community card (the turn)
6.3rd betting round
7.The dealer burns 1 card, then flips over 1 community card (the river)
8.Last betting round
9.Showdown (Remaining players show their hand. The aggressor/bettor must show his hand first)
Whilst Matty and I have discussed calculating poker pot odds in the past, we haven’t yet discussed another important piece of information to know: Implied Poker Odds. This basically refers to calculating your odds based on the current pot value and the potential pot value.
Hypothetically, you’re in a game at www.PokerStars.net with 5 other players at the poker table. The hole cards have been dealt and you take a look: Jh3h. The pot is $15 after the blinds. The 3rd and 4th position fold while the last player calls, you follow, making 35$ total.
The flop is: 9hQdQh. You’ve got a relatively decent chance of making a flash draw (~35%) and it will be Jack high (technically, Queen high. But because everyone plays that card… you get the idea.)
You watch the action: the SB bets folds, BB bets 40, the last player folds, and the ball is in your court. Do you call or fold?
Gut reaction is call; your chances of completing a flush are decent, and there’s an outside (real outside) chance of completing either a straight or a straight-flush. Whilst it’s true that other players could be holding either a full book, or a higher flush, there’s very little chance of this.
Pot odds would advise you to fold. Your instinct is right, though, this is not a hand you should back away from. The potential winnings you will get from completing you flush, make up for the difference in the call.
The dealer flips the turn – 4h. You’ve got your flush but keep your face blank. Big blind calls, the other player calls – you raise to $15. As expected, the blind checks but your opponent meets your bet. After the river, the blind folds while your loose opponent checks. You call; your opponent calls and you show your flush – his cards turn out to be Queen-high trips. In the end, you win a hell of a lot more than the original $55 that you would have folded on.
The succeeding table gives you an insight to the odds of you completing certain hands in a regular game of texas hold’em at StarPoker. You will not need to know *all* of these, but it is important to have a general understanding of the chances of certain situations coming to fruition.
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The continuation bet is pretty much an automatic bet that you make when you’ve raised pre-flop. This shows aggression. The purpose: steal as many pots as possible and mask the true strength of your hand.
Lets start with an example:
You have AJs in late position, a full 2/4 NL game. There are 3 limpers, you raise to 15, and only one player calls. The flop comes out 2, 7, 10. Rags. Your opponent has checked, and now you’ve got two options:
- Check in turn, and show weakness.
- Throw out a continuation bet. Most of the time you’ll take the pot down.
You need to understand that this continuation bet does not mean you should start a betting war every, single time that you raise at Poker Stars. It’s sole purpose is to steal as many pots as possible, whilst masking hand-strength. If someone re-raises, and you haven’t hit, run!
