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In the case of most poker players, the closer it gets to the prize money, the less they know about strategy. This is particularly true about heads-up play where many people are stumped when it comes to making the right plays. And while you won’t learn every little detail you need to know about playing heads-up here, we do have three great tips that will help out immensely.

Any Pocket Pair is a Premium Hand

In most cases, pocket 2’s aren’t going to stand up on a full table of 9 or 10 players. However, pocket 2’s are a favorite over any drawing hand in heads-up play; the same goes for any pocket pair you pick up. Of course, there is always the chance that your opponent will have a better pocket pair, but the chances of them having any pocket pair is only 1 in 17. That being said, you are almost always a favorite pre-flop with pocket pairs.

Consider Raising with any Ace, King, or Queen

When you’re heads-up, the blinds become a huge factor. This being said, you aren’t going to stay alive long by folding and/or limping into every hand. So you’ve got to get creative with what you are willing to raise with, and ace, king, or queen give you good reason to be creative. You should raise with A-Q regardless of what the kicker is because top pair will usually win the pot.

Suited Connectors Lose Considerable Value

You can play suited connectors in a lot of cases when you’re in multi-way pots. After all, there will be enough money in the pot to where you can get good pot and/or implied odds. However, playing a hand just because it’s suited connectors is a bad idea in heads-up play. You don’t have a great chance of hitting a straight or flush, and you’ll be giving up too much money to see cards. The only time suited connectors gain value is if they’re higher cards like 10-J or better.

For the latest poker news, tips, strategy, products, site recommendations, poker help products and more, visit http://onestoppoker.com

What is The Bubble?

In a Sit N Go Tournament, only a certain number of entrants will ‘cash’ (make money) in the tournament. If the tournament is Multi Tabled (MTT), the payouts usually are set for the remaining 10% of the field, at most. Many times it is less than this number. For Single Table Tournaments (STT) which consist of 9 or 10 players, the payout is usually for the remaining three players. For the (STT) you don’t want to finish fourth! THAT’S THE BUBBLE position. Spent the time and got nothing.

For Single Table Tournaments To include Sit N Go’s

LOOSEN UP

When you have reached the BUBBLE position , you will notice that the players left, usually starts to tighten their play. You are all very close to the money. The blinds are large enough that players will call or raise preflop less often with marginal hands. NOW is the time to loosen up your play. This is the time to start playing those pocket pairs of (8,8), (9,9) or higher. A hand of (Ace, Ten) or better or two face cards are betting hands at this time.

REMEMBER

You still have to use the skills you have learned. Patience, position and information are the most critical!

SHORT STACKED?

If you are short stacked at this point (10 big blinds or less), then you should think about using the ‘push or fold philosophy. Think about pushing (going all-in) with pocket pairs of 9 or better. Taking the blinds at this point is critical to getting into the money positions.

The other players (in most cases) will be cautious and concerned about keeping their stack past this bubble point and will not call unless they have a great hand.

Stealing blinds to increase your stack can keep you going into the money positions. Aggressive bubble play will usually give better results in the long run, with more cashing places.

For the latest tips, strategy, news, products, training and more, visit onestoppoker.com

Avoiding bad beats is one of the most important skills to learn in poker.

Poker players at any level just hate it when they get a bad beat, they are are the most annoying and frustrating hands in the game!

So what are they, and more importantly, how can you go about avoiding bad beats?

Well a bad beat is when you are overwhelming favorite to win a hand – but still lose. It really is a sickener as often you can lose all your chips and go out of the game on a bad beat, just because you were convinced you had the hand won.

There are two types of bad beat in the game of Texas Holdem poker – the type that you can’t really do anything about and the type that can be avoided.

Here’s a scenario for the first type:

You’ve got a pair of aces, the best possible starting hand while your only opponent left in the betting is holding a pair of fours. The flop comes A Q 4 and your opponent goes all-in. You call, you’ve got the best possible hand at that point. The turn is a 4 and you don’t catch your ace on the river, you’ve just lost to four of a kind.

In this case you could not have done anything about it. There is no way you could fold your triple aces, you had the best possible hand. If you fold that you might as well take up knitting!

Here’s how the second (avoidable) type of bad beat plays out:

You’ve got A Q and again only you and MrX are involved in the betting. This time he’s low on chips and is going all in with J 9 out of desperation. You decide to call as you’ve got a good chance of boosting your chips and you feel he doesn’t have a hand. Flop is 10 7 2 and he hits his 8 on the turn for a straight.

So how can you go about avoiding bad beats like these? Firstly you need to realize that in online poker tournaments the instances of bad beats are much higher than in real life poker in a casino or home poker game.

There are several reasons for this, but the botom line is that it comes down to the online poker player being a different breed. The average online player is far more likely to play a hand and is far more likely to be distracted by other games he’s playing at the same time, or the TV, or the kids or whatever.

You need to counter this by playing a very tight poker game. Only play VERY big hands and don’t get involved in any hand with more than three callers. Even pocket aces have only a slightly better than 50% chance of winning against three opponents.

So stay tight, and when you do hit a hand, bet big. You want to limit your opponents as much as possible so make a big raise and get them to fold. Avoiding bad beats is a skill that it definitely pays to learn.

For the latest poker tips, strategy, news, products, training and more, visit onestoppoker.com

Big Slick What is it?

The name ‘Big Slick’ is a nickname for your pocket cards of Ace King. Ace king is the 9th best starting hand in Texas Hold’em and the 7th best starting hand if it is suited.

Pre-Flop Play

The most important thing to remember when you look at your pocket cards and see big slick is that it IS a drawing hand. And as a drawing hand, it is not as powerful as the good pocket pair. Big Slick is worth a raise pre-flop. Your position will dictate the size of the raise. If you are under the gun (first to act), then you should start out with the nominal raise or three times the big blind. If you are in position (last or next to last to act), then a more powerful raise of up to 5 times the big blind is in order if everyone else has limped in or just made or called a limited raise. You want to show strength with these cards, but do not set yourself up for the fall after the flop.

After The Flop

With your raise pre-flop raise, the table should be down to the players with big cards or pocket pairs. The flop will tell you what’s next. If you hit nothing, pull back on your betting unless everyone else has just limped in or checked. If you are in position and everyone else has checked or limped, then go for the big raise. You have the two highest cards and are probably up against inferior cards or a small pair. You must remember that you still only have a drawing hand. This is the time to evaluate your possibilities and react accordingly. A low flop gives you nothing but high card. If you have a straight possibility after the flop, REMEMBER that your straight should be considered a gut shot or inside straight. Only the ten (10) will help you which means that you have, at most, four (4) outs! If you have a flush possibility after the flop and only need one card, then you have, at most, nine (9) outs.

Pros

* You have one of the best starting hands.

* if suited, you have a good possibility of hitting the nut flush.

* If the flop is good, you have the possibility of the nut straight.

Cons

* You have only a drawing hand.

* If the flop is poor, you are left with high card.

* If you are looking for the straight after the flop, it is a gut shot straight.

Be aware that if you did not hit anything on the flop, that any pair (deuces included) will beat you unless you hit the turn or the river.

Play smart! Do not fall in love with big slick. Figure your odds and adjust accordingly.

For the latest poker tips, startegy, news, information, products, training and more, visit onestoppoker.com

Cbet. What it is?

A poker continuation bet (or cbet) is a bet made by a player who bet or raised in the previous round of betting. Continuation betting is used to infer and reinforce a strong pre-flop hand. Should continuation betting form a part of a poker players betting strategy?

In today’s poker world, continuation betting is common (more so in tournaments) that it no longer gets the respect of players. When used at the wrong times, continuation betting can turn you into a consistent loser. Today, in our more aggressive poker industry, you can expect to be called or raised back at the first sign of weakness.

When to use cbet

There are a number of factors to think about before following up a pre-flop raise with a cbet. For example, always carefully consider the flop (are there draws), the number of players in the pot and the information you have gathered about their betting habits as well as your position.

It pays to use continuation bets not only when you have a good starting hand, but when you missed the flop, to get others to fold. When you do have good cards look to increase the pot. Often a good player will call your continuation bet on the flop to see if you were serious.

cbet or check?

There is a reason to occasionally check even with a decent hand, in that it disguises your hand . Let’s say we hold KQ on a K 9 4 rainbow board. Checking makes it far more likely the opponent will call your bet on the turn, and if a scare card such as the ace hits the turn or river, you can check again.

letting the other players know you are capable of continuation betting or checking with both good and bad hands means you can take either action without showing weakness. This approach allows you to take full advantage of the poker continuation bet even though it has lost much of its power.

So when do I use It?

If your in the game to cash, go sparingly on cbetting until the table sees you as a tight player. Wait for that decent pocket to show up. Be patient!

For tips, strategy,news, products, training and more, visit onestoppoker.com

What is Ace Rag?

Pocket Cards

Ace Rag, also known as a weak ace, is an ace with any card below a ten. For example an (ace 7) or an (ace 9) would fall into the category of ace rag.

From The Pros

For Players that make money and the pros, they will tell you ‘just don’t play them’. The horror stories of beats after holding ace rag too long are voluminous.

If You are going to play them…

Position is key. If you are in early position with ace rag, the suggestion is to fold unless you are short stacked and expect your hand to be the best you will get before you are blinded out. In the case of being short stacked, use the push or fold philosophy. Either push all in or fold.

If you are in middle or late position and no one has challenged the pot with a raise, then the suggestion would be to see the flop. Be prepared to fold if raised.

The hard thing for most beginners is to let go of the hand with an ace. Yes, the ace is the highest card in the deck, but with a weak kicker, you are looking at a good chance of losing a lot of chips.

What Beats You?

Even if you hit your ace, you still have only a pair and can be beat by a miriad of hands. The chances of some other player in a 9 or 10 handed game also having an ace is good and, most likely, you will be out-kicked. The best you are looking for is two pair with a weak kicker. If you are looking to flop the two pair, your odds are about 2%. Most of the time you will flop nothing.

Ace king or ace queen are better. You have approximately a 35% chance of flopping an king or queen which would give you top pair and top kicker. With ace rag, if you pair your weak card, you are looking at a three outer to have a decent chance of winning. Odds on a three outer are no better than 12%.

OK, Play Ace Rag

If you are not a beginner and you have used the strategies of position, information and patience, and you still feel that it is worth the gamble, then go ahead. There is no set way to play ace rag that fits any formula so experience is the teacher. Playing ace rag successfully requires a good grasp of all of the above.

1. Position

2. Information

3. Patience

4. Experience

The Best Advice on Playing ace rag

In a word. Don’t!

For Tips, strategy, news, information, products, training and more, visit onestoppoker.com

Sit N Go Texas Hold’em 101
October 21st, 2009 | By stu | No Comments »

For those who have not played Texas Hold’em Poker and wish to understand how it is played.

1. THE BLINDS

For the first two players left of the dealer, they will put into the pot the small blind (first player left of the dealer) and the big blind(second player left of the dealer). These blinds will start low say 20 chips for the small blind and 40 chips for the big blind (usually shown as 20/40). The blinds will continue to move higher, usually in 10 minute intervals. This keeps the game moving. The blinds are so named because the two players putting them into the pot are betting before seeing their cards. After each game the dealer position moves one place to the left thus insuring that each player will put in blinds.

2. The Play

Each player is dealt two cards face down before the first round of betting (unless you are one of the blinds).

Next, three cards called ‘the flop’ are put face up into the center of the table. Now comes the next round of betting.

Then a fourth card is dealt face up to the center of the table. This card is called the ‘turn’, followed by another round of betting.

Finally, the fifth card is dealt face up to the center of the table. This card is called the ‘river’, followed by the last round of betting.

After all the betting is completed, the player with the best five card poker hand made from the 7 cards (the two face down cards dealt at the beginning, usually referred to as ‘hole cards’ or ‘pocket cards’, plus the five cards in the center of the table, wins the hand. If the best hand is the five cards in the center then the pot is split among all the players left playing that hand.

There are many strategies on how to play and win at Texas Hold’em and a variety of books available on the subject. I will review and recommend some in later blogs. Also, I will give you certain tips you must know to be a winner at Texas Hold’em tournaments such as Sit N Go Tournaments.

For the latest poker tips, strategy, news, products, information, training and more, visit onestoppoker.com.

TIPS AND STRATEGIES INCLUDED!

It’s been a couple of weeks since my initial post on starting with nothing. (If you haven’t yet read it, it can be found here.) Assuming you have read the previous installment, I’ll pick up from there…

An Arduous Siege

It’s amazing how one good night can really set you up for a fall. Riding high off my initial success, I continued to play in my comfort zone ($0.25-$0.50 sit n gos, $0.01/$0.02 cash, both Texas Hold ‘Em) with the errant assumption that that success was just the beginning. Uh, well, not so much. Fortunately, I didn’t get so frustrated and impatient (on tilt) that I went and blew it all on a tournament or a ring (cash) game that I couldn’t afford. I kept my cool, took some breaks here and there, and let the cards come to me.

Well, What Happened?

To put it mildly, I happened. I got into a place where I felt that all the moves I was making were right. I got impatient and pushed too hard with hands that were suspect. Not ones that I knew were the best. I was playing while tired, had other things on my mind or was more interested in what was on the TV than my game. A perfect storm of reasons not to play, yet I did anyway. As I said before, keeping in my buy-in comfort zone kept me from blowing it all. As well, having an absolute limit as to how much I was willing to give back before I stopped the session was invaluable. For me, that limit was around $8.00. If I dipped below that, the session was over.

TIP: You Talked About Knowing You Had The Best Hand, How?

You don’t always know that your hand is the best. But experience gives you instinct. Those instincts will usually be right more often than not. I consider that to be more applied knowledge than “going with your gut”. But call it what you want. You’ll never really know until you see all the cards, but if you’ve studied your opponents, you will feel it. And that’s the instinctive “knowing”.

You’ll learn to pick up on how your opponents play quickly and use their tendencies against them. What tendencies? For one, does an opponent raise just about every hand? Well, you know from your hands that it’s unlikely he’s got a good one every time. Try re-raising him pre-flop, see what happens. I usually like to make a 1/2-pot to pot-sized bet in this instance, depending upon the pot-stack ratio (how big the pot is compared to all my chips). Significant, but not so much that I can’t fold if I have to. A good rule of thumb here would be no more than 1/3 of your stack. Or, just call with your great cards and let him keep shoving his chips in the pot for you to take, assuming your hand holds up or improves.

Fold A LOT against this type of player; unless you’re getting a consistent string of playable hands. You’re not going to know when he’s bluffing and when he’s got the nuts (the best possible hand). My suggestion is to have at least two-pair or better when going up against this type of player, especially if they have more chips than you. And pay attention to the board! Does your hand hold up against what’s out there? Is there a possible flush, straight or full house that you can’t beat?

You’re not always going to be right, so do your best to keep all of your chips out of the middle. Remember: If you push too many chips at a pot that doesn’t warrant that kind of action, the only player that will call you is the one that has you beat.

Getting to $15.00

I was going to write this blog at $10.00, a significant way up from $0.00, but I decided that that might be too low a figure to have much impact. There’s still a chance that if things don’t go the right way or I simply play poorly that it all might be gone very quickly. But now that I have 1/3 more ($15.43 as of now), I feel that I can play relatively freely and still have $10.00 or more in my account if I have a bad run.

How did I get there? Patience. And a lot of it. Recognizing that I wasn’t playing my best poker and taking breaks. Waiting for cards to come to me. Bluffing is part of the game. But I use it when my opponents tell me that they don’t want the pot. Not to try and bleed the table dry. It may work in the short term, but having the better hand works on a more consistent basis; it’s less stressful. And frankly, I enjoy it more when the cards are turned over and I’ve got the better hand.

I stuck with mostly $0.25 sit n gos, sprinkled in a few $0.80 trips to the $0.01/$0.02 cash tables and quit when I got frustrated or just lost too much. [I prefer the six-seat tables as opposed to the nine player games, I can read the action better. But everyone has their preference.] Eventually, things turned around. I got my head back in the game and stopped trying to force wins out of hands that I kind of knew weren’t the best. And I remembered that folding the best hand is never as bad a calling all your chips with the worst.

For the latest tips, strategy, news, products, training and more, visit onestoppoker.com

GATHERING INFORMATION

I was at a new poker site yesterday (I try new sites out frequently) and used my normal habit of just watching a couple of Texas Hold ‘Em single table tournaments (STTs) to see the layout and watch the players. It’s amazing how much information the players will give you if you just pay attention.

WATCH, DON’T PLAY

I was watching a particular table from the beginning where all players but one started off very tight; either folding or limping in.

The ‘but one’ decided to bet big on the first 8 hands. Yes, he could have been lucky, but in most cases he was playing anything, knowing the others would fold. That only works until another player or two gets a good hand and the game is up. After being clipped pretty good on the next two hands, he settled down with less chips than most of the others at the table. He continued to be in almost every hand (guess where he finished).

One of the players, once he limped in or bet on a hand, felt he had to continue until he was sure he couldn’t make his hand (guess where he finished).

Another player was playing Ace anything as if it were a flush. Yet another player (playing tight), when he did bet, made it the first big bet and dropped out every time, as if he was afraid to lose any more of his chips.

Getting information like this is invaluable in the middle and late stages of the tournament. Players will usually revert back to their beginning style once it appears they have a chance to finish in the money.

If you see yourself as one of the above mentioned players, you need to read about the ~MISTAKES~ that are made by most beginning players. They are usually too busy preparing for ‘not losing’ than gaining information on the other players. Many times the hand that wins is not the best hand, but the player who bet correctly with the information he gathered.

SUMMARY

* Log onto the site where you want to play
* Rail (watch) one of the tables just starting
* pick out a player and follow what he/she does through one rotation
* pick another player
* do the same thing
* make little notes on each one

You will amaze yourself by what information you can learn from players online without ever seeing them!

for the latest tips, strategy, news, products, training and more, visit onestoppoker.com