Using Suited Connectors To Your Advantage

Suited connectors are more than often placed under assessment only because some of the poker player do not realize their worth and how to attempt playing them the right way. They can be attempted from practically any position and yet bring in the best results at any time in the game. Many players, after losing the hand, are heard grumbling about how one could possibly have decided to proceed and even win with these cards. But if you are aware of how to utilize suited connectors, you very well know how to manipulate the poker.

The main reason for their success is that the cards are flexible and can help you make a straight or a flush right away. If you happen to make a straight using both the cards, most of the times it is the nuts, which means a lot of money is waiting for you to take away.

It doesn't matter if you play on poker sites or in brick and mortar casinos the importance of suited connectors can't be underestmiated anywhere.

The only place where you will need to fold suited connectors is if there is a monster raise facing you. As you may not know who will call after you, the odds show that you must not call here. But if you are in the late position and a huge raise comes along bringing in more than two callers with it, put your chips in because there are reasons to do so.

If a player raises in the early position, it is due to two reasons. Firstly it could be because he has a pocket pair and is trying to cut his way through and secondly he might have large cards such as the A-K or A-Q and is trying to get rid of the chasers. If there are several callers, it is possible that they might have comparable cards. You stand a better opportunity of hitting with more callers since the majority of the large cards are with your opponent. You have a great chance with your live cards especially if it is a 67-68-69 that you have in your hand.

Also when you have limpers waiting ahead, suited connectors are good cards to have. Here you can raise aggressively with the hope to take the pot straightaway or after a continuation bet following the flop. You are committed to bet again but for the board that shows that you definitely have no scope for improvement. Apart from this, you will know your position when another player calls you.

The best part of having suited connectors is that you can get away if you do not hit after the flop, especially if you have been called only while going in, you can get out of them without any hassles. You are able to come out easily and hang around for the following hand. But if you hit the over pair or an A-K/ A-Q, it will be a little difficult for the other player to let go of the hand easily. Ace-Ace and King-King cannot even comprehend that the board has a low straight. They believe it impossible for you to call their four times raise with your 67. But unfortunately they have misjudged the situation, as you have the scoop all to yourself.

So next time you play, consider looking at suited connectors more seriously. You are sure to find that they bring you better fortunes than the other cards that you may wish to play.

Attempting Small Pocket Pairs In The Early Position

Small pocket pairs refer to pairs that are 99 and below and have most frequently been the reason for players to overestimate their hand and in turn loose a great deal of money just because they could not overlook a matching pair in the hole. We shall discuss how you can attempt playing these pocket pairs so that you are able to capitalize on them and at the same time reduce your losses.

Playing in the Early Position:

Playing with pocket pairs in the early position is one of the toughest moves, but if you play it the right way, you can earn yourself a great deal of money. The best way to attempt playing these cards in an early position is to limp in and wait to see the developments. There may be an opportunity for you to disguise your hand with the correct board and very little players or you may also stand a chance of devastating a big hand if you manage to hit a set.

Suppose you have 77 and are under the gun, you decide to limp in and the next player raises four times the blind, you will require all the possible odds that you can get to call at this point. You are lucky if you can get callers at this stage because this gives you a 5:1 odds that you require to put your money in. Another great fact is that with more players there is a greater chance of the bigger cards having been distributed to the players. In case there are not more than three callers or if another of the players is at the top again, it would be better to simply let go.

If you find the callers and manage to have a go at the monster pot, you may be in a tense situation as you cannot decide whether to continue or not with the hand. In such a situation when you are playing with small pocket pairs, it would be only right to back out if the board staring at you has cards below your 77.

For example, if you are gazing at a board 2-4-6, it is worth making a bet no less than the pot. If another player gets over the top, you will soon know your position at that point because the player may either have bigger pocket pairs or may just be playing up. You will have to recall their strategy at an earlier game and then go by your instincts apart from which you must consider the amount of cash you have with you. At this stage the odds may be too big for your left over cash and therefore the only feasible move would be to call in.

However, you can be in a very powerful position if you manage to hit your set because this can get you some handsome profits. With several players at this point, the raiser will definitely make an extension bet. Here is a great chance for you to check raise and gain some profits. This structure can be set up if there is a prospect of a flush or a straight on the board. If this is the situation, then what you need to do is evaluate the odds and try to get these hands out of play by placing a big bet on the flop as you would not want any one to draw to your set.

If the board is not very risky, you can make a check raise by checking your stake to the first raiser allowing him to lead out. If your luck holds, there may be a player who has cards valuable enough to go ahead with the hand. Considering the amount of cash you have left, you could choose to either make a large bet or put in all that you have. You would probably be able to take down a big pot here. You may decide to bet out if you have hit your set but the amount of chip stack you have left is below half the pot size. Here you can push completely off the bat.

It is advisable that you change your playing strategy off and on because if you continue to play in the same pattern, you stand a risk of your opponents getting to know all your moves and nipping you at the bud during a game. You could try something different by placing a smaller bet on the flop with the hope that the original raiser will come out on top again. Try using the technique that you would implement on a medium hand and pretend to display a few weaknesses. If you manage to fool them, they will begin miscalculating your hands allowing you to utilize your flop a set technique to make some healthy gains as you play along.

TEXAS HOLDEM TECHNIQUES FOR AMATEURS

You may be aware of the fact that you must have the talent to read your adversary in order to become an excellent Texas Hold’em Player. However, there are some basic techniques and rules that must be adhered to so as to perfect the game. Here we shall learn some of these basics that we generally tend to overlook while playing Texas Hold’em.

Some Essentials:

The first and foremost thing to remember is that the two cards that you have in your hand, are the cards that not only make you unique amongst the players but also help you win. The cards facing up are community cards and can be used by all the contenders. While you might be happy with these cards, it is advisable that you keep an eye open for probabilities of a flush or a straight on your opponent’s part.

Pre-Flop:

As a Holdem player, you are certainly aware of when to begin counting your best starting hand and the most terrible starting hand. You probably also know that by putting up a blank expression and fiddling with your chips in an act of trying to make a bet, you are playing up on your opponents nerves.

But, it would be advisable that unless you have a fantastic starting hand, you must fold. You may wish to hang on with say a 6 and 7 of the same suit, if aggressive play is what is in your mind. Sometimes it may be worthwhile to linger on if the blind is low even though you have a weak hand. However this could also put you into danger as you may land up with a range of inferior hands.

If you manage to hold on to your chips instead of wasting them on fruitless hands, there is a possibility that you will land some good hands and be able to benefit from it too.

Flop:

Once you have seen the flop, fold if you cannot find the cards you require. Many amateurs decide to proceed with the hand as they are already in, but this is a very unwise decision and should be avoided.

If there are more than seven players at the table, the winning hands are possibly two pairs or greater. So,if you do not have a great pair or aren’t in place for a flush or a straight, it would be wise to just fold.

However you do stand a chance of having a high pair when the number of contestants at the table decreases. With only two players left at the table you can play a more aggressive game.

Betting After The Flop:

Do not be scared to check if you are the first one to bet following the flop. This certainly is not a drawback; instead it is good for you because if you have a weak hand, you have a chance of seeing just one more card before investing more money on the pot. But if you have a powerful hand, you can manipulate the situation and allow your opponents to believe that it is actually a weak hand.

Turn and River:

The 4th and the 5th community cards allow you to fold so that you do not lose further money or help multiply your winnings.

Generally at this juncture there are not more than two players fighting for the winnings. Be very alert at this stage, is what is most advisable.

Once the turn comes do not linger on in the hope of a straight or a flush except if you can do it on a check. Don’t blame yourself if you have folded and you find that the following card would have got you a flush or a straight because there are several occasions that you might have just lost.

An essential thing to remember is that you should not proceed very far if you have a weak hand. But if you have already made this move, it is best to evaluate the average chips you have in the pot. If you believe that you have invested 40 percent of your chips on the pot and another 5% will not do you any harm, think again! You are sailing through troubled waters, be careful and act sensibly!

Some of the important tells in online poker

Many of the common tells in poker can be found in real “live” versions of the game, since being able to actually see your opponent means that there are more chances to pick up on these tells. Tells are simply defined as physical or audible cues given out by a player, which can clue you in to what they are thinking, what cards they are holding, and even what actions they intend to do next. The tells that we have listed here however–while useful to know for real world poker playing situations–can be applied to online versions of the game as well.

How Fast They Play
Almost every online poker game that you come across will impose a certain time limit on how long a player has before he or she is considered to have folded or declared an “all-in”. Of course since online poker games are dependent on the speed of the Internet connection, it cannot be helped that players’ actions will sometimes appear slow or sluggish. This makes it a little bit harder to pick up on tells that involves how fast a player responds to a given situation. Nevertheless, familiarity with how fast a particular online poker site works will give you an idea of how quickly players respond to any scenario.

Generally speaking, players that bet quickly have a weak hand and players that take along time to make a move probably have a strong hand and are considering how best to play it, although there are of course exceptions to this rule. More experienced players for example may attempt to throw you off by acting in a way that you would not expect. In any case, try to keep track of the cards that other players reveal at showdown and compare it with their previous actions. While this is no guarantee that they will act the same way all the time, it will at least give you a little bit more information to go on in subsequent hands or in other games when you run into the same players again.

You should also consider your own actions and how they give your secrets away. Try to strive for an air of inscrutability, so that other players will not be able to pick up anything from your actions.

How They Use The Features Of The Poker Room
Many online poker rooms have features that allow a player to automatically perform any number of actions such as folds, raises, or calls. You can typically pick out players that use this option since their decision will come almost immediately. You can use this information to your advantage in figuring out what kind of hand the player has. If they use the raise option, they probably have a very strong hand on them. Conversely, players that go for the check option automatically probably has a weak hand. Since these options make your actions easily known, it would be best to avoid using them yourself. As always however, you should realize that there are exceptions to every rule. Knowing how to pinpoint which of these players are actually behaving in a manner that actually reflects the cards that they have–and which players are trying to mislead you–is an important part of the psychology of the game of poker. You would do well to learn how to pick pout these players quickly as soon as you sit down to play with them in order to gauge their actions more accurately.