Texas Hold ‘Em games abound on the Internet, and if you’re a skilled player, you have a good chance of earning first-rate cash prizes. This game is played against other players, unlike Caribbean Stud Poker, which is played against the house. Skills are an absolute must in poker.
One of the best tips in online poker is to simply learn the rules of the game thoroughly. This will automatically qualify you to start off building a reputation as a skilled player. The rest is down to experience. If you want to make money you should make sure you get better information and understanding of the psychology of each player you’re betting against.
So how do we define skill in poker? According to Diane Olandar, who writes frequently on poker strategy, skill takes on several dimensions: players adjust their play to their position according to whether they are first or last to bet; they “gauge the odds of making a particular hand compared to the size of the pot (the “pot odds”); they try and figure out their opponents hands by “tells” and betting patterns, and usually tend to play tight and aggressive, but must occasionally vary their play by bluffing (loose) or checking (passive) in order to avoid giving away their strength.”
The writer adds that “this illustrates an important rule in poker: skilled poker players are more selective, and therefore, enter fewer pots. They win less often, but are more likely to win the pots that they do enter. Average-skilled players tend to pursue more hands, and therefore, lose more when they do lose.”
Emotional control is an absolute must, and emphasized by several experts in poker. If you get a bad beat, take it in stride…back off if you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed with frustration. Remembering that poker is just a game is key.
Being honest with yourself is another key asset. You should know your level of skill, and match it against the rest of the players in the game you are playing at the time. This means constantly evaluating the game and the players, so that you don’t become complacent and assume that since you won yesterday, you’ll win today. As the old saying goes, you never step in the same river twice.
Pot Odds
When playing poker there are multiple factors that can come into play when making a decision within a poker hand. One of those factors is known as ‘pot odds’. Pot odds definition can be defined as: The ratio of the present size of the pot to the cost of a potential call. Some players base their decisions off the feel of the game and strictly play instinct. While there is nothing wrong with going with your gut, adding the ability to calculate pot odds gives the player more ways to process the hand. Pot odds are a great source to have when trying to decide whether or not to chase flush or straight draws as well. Whether we are playing cash or tournament poker, pot odds are a great tool for poker players to use when faced with tough decisions. Let’s dig a little deeper into the world of ’pot odds’.
Like I said earlier pot odds are a great way to judge if a call is worth making to hit straight or flush draws. Pot odds aren’t strictly for flush or straight draws, but sometimes players can give you the pot odds to hit any particular card you need to win the hand. Let me give you an example of a hand to show you what pot odds can do. Let’s say you are holding a suited AK of spades. The flop comes Q 8 2 with two spades on board and there is currently $20 in the pot. This is the time we have to calculate the cards that can come that will ultimately guarantee victory for our hand. With 4 spades showing (2 in our hand and 2 on the flop) we know that there are 9 spades left in the deck and 38 non-spades left in the deck. Thus the chances for a spade to come on the turn is 38/9 which will simplify down to 4.2:1 (4:1).
This means if we were faced with this decision four different times then a spade should come at least one time. Now going back to the decision of making the call. Though an option is to raise and most poker players would probably do so, I want to simplify this hand as best I can. The pot was $20 and let’s say our opponent bet $5 making the total pot $25. We have to call $5 to win said pot of $25. The ratio for our call is 5:1. That being said let’s do a quick recap of everything. The ratio for our call is 5:1 and the odds of hitting a spade on the turn is set at 4:1. Thus it justifies our call to ‘chase’ the draw, because our pot odds out weigh the odds of a spade coming on the turn. If our opponent would have bet $10 on the flop our pot odds would only be 3:1. If this were the situation then a call would NOT be justified, because the ratio of hitting a spade is still set at 4:1. Knowing the pot odds can help ease the pain of tough decisions at the poker table and I hope this helps. I hope I didn’t confuse anyone either.
Now I realize that since were holding AK on Q 8 2 board, then we may have more than 9 spades to win the hand. If an A or K hit we could possibly win the hand as well. For the purpose of the article I wanted to shy away from the situation, but remember to factor in other possible outs. Take into account pot odds the next time you sit down to play and see what kind of difference they can make for your poker game. Good luck at the table everybody.
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