Many people enjoy playing poker, both for economic and entertainment reasons. But seldom do the individuals involved have a reason to discuss their game – other than among those who are intimately familiar with each other’s playing styles, or followingnecklines for the game of their favorite sport or perhaps their aside of interests.
The 21st century has ushered in a new era for poker. If played under the 21st century playing rules, Texas Hold ‘Em would qualify as a sport, rather than a game. The introduction of betting exchanges to the poker game allowed for people to play for wagers in any casino. Online poker has become a multi-million dollar industry since the birth of the industry in the early 1990s. The introduction of satellite tournaments and online e-sports have also added to the popularity of the game.
Top Poker: No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em
The limit structure ensures that each player has a decade-long investment in the game, as opposed to tournament options which last forever. If you’re not familiar with the rules, you should definitely read some information on them before attempting to play. This can reduce the risk of losing a lot of money, but it should also increase the amount of time you spend at the table.
Your stack is constantly being updated, as are the blinds. The game never stops. There is action on both sides of the table, usually at least one and often nearly two players involved at every table. It is possible to play for hours without seeing a hand. At least in the early versions of the game. These were the days before internet poker, when a hard drive full of updates on your opponents was a luxury afforded only to the rich and the wise.
Nowadays, hard drives powerful enough to hold the latest version of Hold ‘Em can be purchased for as little as $20.00. That $20.00 is the cost of the software, the access to the cards, the tracking of the play, the input of the information, all of it very efficiently utilized to increase your chances of winning the pot.
Of course, if you are going to play aggressively and not just wait for AA your set will have to be bigger than those of your opponents. You’ll have to open with a larger bet, an amount that you are more likely than not, to match the previous betting action. If you win the pot you will get the good portion of the pot, otherwise players will keep the pot size relatively small and go for the win. When you play this way the pot size should be more of a push than a push to an opponent.
The style of the game and the betting action in it, together with knowledge of the cards and numbers of the deck and how they are related to the hand should enable a person to make a sound decision of what to do. If the opponent(s) is more willing to fold the hand then the pot size should be larger in comparison to the amount of the bet when you are leading the betting. When you are an aggressive player this should be taken advantage of. If you want to be known as an honest player who goes their own way then by all means loosen up the betting, but in moderation this is probably the best way to go about things.
When you’re taking part in tournament play for example, you want to be on the aggressive winning side at the higher buy in levels. If you’re playing in a low buy in tournament where the field is relatively small, you can’t afford to be playing the same method as everyone else in the field. Tournaments are more of a speed tournament played for a small number of players. So you may not need to adjust as your opponents do.
So the plan is to play tight and aggressive poker looking to unload as much as possible from the field when you get a hand.
So the plan is to play tight and aggressive poker looking to unload as much as possible from the field when you get a hand. If you hit a monster that wins the pot then that’s great, if not, you want to unload as much as you can and try to get others to do the same so you can win as much as possible.
When you play this way you will win more often than not and in the future you’ll know that you’re a better player than most others. You’ll also get more respect from others in the field. So now, hat’s all good, you’ve got your strategy, now what do’s your opponent see in you? Will they see the smile? Will they see the effort?
Well, at some tournaments that’s not the case. I’ve seen people play really nice tournament poker. They played conservatively maybe at the start and got lucky hitting some cards. They only played premium hands and raised very little and played only premium starting hands.
They looked awesome for a while as they wiped everyone out, but I could never get behind a boring strategy, so I knew I’d be out sooner than they did.