Free Poker Lessons Online Guide To Table Position, Playable Pockets And Limping

How and what hole cards to play and from what tables positions is what you'll learn about in this poker free online training article. At the end you'll also learn about the not well understood area of limping.

A key concept first, the range of hands your opponents may have is something you must first nail down, the term for this is "hand range".

As a poker skill hand ranges count as one of the most critical.

Lets say an opposing player is super tight and make a big reraise preflop. An example range for them to have is (QQ,KK,AA). You know they must have one of these hands, though not which one exactly.

When writing a range, though, don't write out every possible hand in the range. QQ, KK, AA we shorten to QQ+, i.e., pocket pairs QQ and higher.

Writing (KTo+) would mean any offsuit king KT or above (so KT, KJ, KQ - note not AK because the highest card is always written first). An "o" designation means offsuit, while an "s" designation means suited, so K7s+ means any suited king K7 and above.
What are the Playable Hole Cards
First there are 3 variables to consider
1) What has happened before your turn
2) Our table position
3) The opponents' tendencies
The first is self explanatory. For example, you fold your pocket 9s if there has been a raise, 3 bet or 4 bet before your go. Basically just understand that when your opponents open you need to be tighter.
Table Position -
The closer to the butotn you are the wider your options for opening..
1) There is a lower chance of other players getting a playable hand and better chance of folds as there are fewer players left to act after you.
2) Your postflop position is superior. For example, you're on the button, your opponents have to act before you meaning you get to act with more information than them at every point in the hand. They do not know what you have but you know they elected to play preflop AND their reaction to the flop.
Opponents' behaviours examples -
> If the big blind is going allin every hand, don't open wide from the button as you'll have to fold to his shove with weaker holdings.

Loosen up if the players still to act are tight, it gives you a better chance of stealing the blinds.

Make these 2 tweaks if the players behind are loose aggressive:.
Tighten up.
Play more high card hands and less suited connector hands.

Against loose aggressive opponents you can play hands like KJo, flop top pair, and move All in OK. But with say 87s if we miss and cbet the flop you're unlikely to get many folds and the hand has less equity. So high-card hands go up in value while middle connectors go down.

Some hands you nearly always play, for example, JJ+, AQ+. Others like 52o nearly never, but "it depends on the situation" applies to many more.

Commonly:
- Play tight early position, looser late position
- Play tighter against loose players, looser against tight players (preflop)
- Preflop play looser against passive players and tighter against aggressive.
- Play tighter if there has been action before you
- Almost always play premiums, almost never play trash

Here are some examples to Demonstrate.
- UTG (1st position) ten handed example range: (TT+, AQo+, AJs+)
- Button range vs tight blinds: (22+, A2o+, A2s+, K6o+, K5s+, Q9o+, Q8s+, JTo, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s)
- Button range vs loose blinds: (22+, A7o+, A2s+, K8o+, K8s+, QTo+, Q9s+, JTs)
- Button range readless: (22+, A7o+, A2s+, K8o+, K7s+, Q9o+, Q9s+, JTs, T9s, 98s)

Now a relatively uncovered topic - limping.

When should we limp preflop? The answer is almost never, apart from:

Playing a marginal hand against a loose passive player..

A "Limpede" which is more commonplace, in free online poker games especially. A limpede is a limp+stampede = limpede...where several players limp preflop.

Join "limpedes" when you have suited connectors or low pocket pairs, as you have the chance to flop a strong hand, flush, straight, combo draw or set very cheap. If it becomes clear that you won't then check/fold the flop as the sole objective is to flop good.

This is not a simple subject but it is fundamental to poker success so to get comfortable with all this practice hard on free poker sites such as NoPayPOKER until you are happy, play with ranges and the way of thinking and different scenarios and so on. with absolutely no monetary loss.

So experiment away! It is a deep subject and in this article I have only touched on many areas. there is another longer version of this lesson, see it at the NoPayPOKER.com free poker training blog (where you can also play free poker games online for fun and practice)

Free Online Poker Training To The Truth Behind The Most Important Poker Skill And A Simple Skill Improvement Exercise

In this NoPayPOKER.com free online poker instruction lesson we are revisiting a core poker skill originally covered in the Building a Bankroll course a while ago. This poker skill is one that no poker play can be without and still succeed, it is of course, Patience.

With the rise of online poker many people who would have otherwise never played poker have got involved on the basis of the get rich quick teases made in the mass media.

Most of these players have only basic poker skills and after a short while conclude that poker is just a game of luck. That is a pity as what most of them don't know is that if they took a bit of time to learn some basic skills and added in a dose of common sense then they could win, at the least, lower stakes online poker cash games consistently.

This is in fact good news for the skilled online poker player as it means you can win a lot of money from the 90% majority of bad ones! After all, to say that poker is mainly luck is clearly ridiculous, if it were so then how is it that we have so many well know and consistent poker professionals, many of whom make a good living from poker players with some of the best being multi-millionaires by virtue of poker game winnings?

Precisely, if it were game of luck then that would be impossible, (we don't get big names in the coin flipping game business do we now!) the conclusion clearly then is that poker is game that requires skills.

There are dozens of poker skills that can be isolated but the one that stands heads and shoulders above all the other is Patience. If you can't be patient when you play poker then it doesn't matter that you are a psychology and math PHD who can calculate all the odds in an instant and read people like a book because if you can't wait for the right cards at the right time, you're doomed.

So why don't we start some poker training by example of the use and implementing patience.

Use of patience in poker tournament play.
In tournaments, especially at the start you need to defend against reckless players who throw their chips with no care at all, in the hope of landing a lucky break. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking they know what they're doing. They do not!

Instead you must hold out for some premium cards. Fold some, lose a few chips in order that you win a whole pile of chips from them later when you hand comes in and at the same time knock them out.

All you have to do is sit and wait for the dealer to push a couple of good cards to you. Just relax until then. Winning money is a lot more fun that losing it and poker is 100% about winning money, not gambling, not having fun but winning money which is actually fun anyway, ergo!

Patience Developing Exercise (PDE)Here is a simple exercise, and it produces the desired results though it is boring and time consuming (though less so that losing!)

Go and join a free online poker freeroll. Make it one with a lot of players.

1) For the entirety of the game you're only allowed to participate in a hand if you were dealt pocket aces or pocket kings.

2) Strictly no other pockets can be played.

3) And, you cannot initiate a bet, or put forth a raise.

4) If you do have AA or KK in the pocket, you can call a bet and partake in the hand.

5) Again, though, you cannot raise or initiate any betting.

6) Also, if you're the Big Blind, and you do not hold aces or kings, you must fold; even when there may not have been a raise made against your big blind.

The PDE has helped thousands of players bring patience to the forefront of their skill sets.

When you play in a PDE game you're only going to participate in about 1% of the hands. You'll get AA and KK once in every 212 pockets. Yes that is boring I know! .

Indeed this article is a bit boring too but if you can take the point of it that is represents 50%+ of the skill you need to win poker then I do not think the consequences will be boring at all!

So if you are not already a patient player get over to a free online poker games freeroll and play the PDE game.

Online Free Poker Review Discovers Where To Find The Best Free Online Poker Training Video

This online free poker best books on poker review differs from the previous ones we have done in that is is about a an online poker coaching video series rather than a physical paper book.

The top poker books are, well, top, but we know that some or even many have said that being able to see and hear as well as having written back up to fall back to later is the ideal poker learning situation short of an actual 1 to 1 with a top poker pro.

So here we go with what we think is one of the very best poker training courses out there right now that all standards of player from poker beginner upwards can benefit from the most.

Title - Learn the Secrets to Texas Hold'em From Leading Poker Pro Jonathan Little!
> Writer/presenter - Jonathan Little
> This version produced - 2010
> Structure - 41 minute free online poker coaching video taster video. If bought, ($77) six hours of poker tournament coaching video, reference sheets and instructions.

Get the free 41 minute over at NoPayPOKER, see the free online poker instruction video there

In our search for the best poker books to read (or lessons to watch) we think the series from Jonathan Little is among the best. In regard to his ability the figures speak, Jonathan has won $4 million+ in poker tournaments in just a few years which is a pretty fine skill indicator, though that doesn't mean he can coach you, or does it?

It would appear that not only can he play, but he is able to also train because this video series is the top bought poker education product we know of.

Lessons include:

Just the thing for learners -
* How come low stakes poker is really so lucrative.
* The basic principles of no limit Texas holdem poker to help you get over the initial bewilderment about how poker works.
* Basic mistakes many rookies make that you'll be in a position to steer clear of.
* The way Jonathan got started in his poker career.
* The one adjustment that flipped things all round for him and took him out of the lose most of the time crowd..
* The games you ought to play to get started on building up your bankroll

Moving on to more advanced and above
* Ways to adapt your game in accordance with your stack size and your oppositions stack sizes.
* Methods to figure out how much equity you will have in any given pot
* Ways to play suited connectors.
* The correct way to build your bankroll online.
* What hands you ought to play and which hands you ought to steer clear of.
* The correct quantity you ought to reraise.
* Knowing when you ought to push all in and why.
* What you should never do at the poker table.

Tournament specific
* The mindset you should utilize when playing small stakes tourneys.
* Ways to play the start, the middle of, and final phases of a tourney.
* The strategy you need to use when playing sit-n-gos and MTTs.
* Getting the maximum value out of rebuy tournaments

Lessons include a mix of games, such as 180-person turbo SnGs and heads-up events.

If you work to apply what you learn these videos will help you to learn how to think and play like a expert poker player.

Pros -
* Free of charge taster video that does really have a great number of free online poker coaching tips inside it. Grab it here
* Handles all key subjects for newbies and more advanced players.
* Ideal for free poker games players planning to make the move to small stakes cash online poker.
* Online video format - illustrates and informs, faster and easier than looking at a book.
* The trainer is a proven success and decent trainer
* Appears to really know what issues most of us have and directs the lessons in the direction of those particular areas.
* If you do not truly feel it was worth the cost they'll refund you within 60 days. No hassle.

Downsides - It's a large amount of content and that means you must be in a position to invest time and effort into watching it, taking notes, utilizing etc. It's not a magic wand that can completely transform you over night, hardwork is expected!

So go and look at this free online poker video but if it's not for you at this point see the free online poker lessons at the NoPayPOKER.com blog at http://www.nopaypoker.com/articles

Free Online Poker Training Lesson On Winning With Connector Hands Like 8,5

In Texas Holdem real money and free online poker games you play intermediate connectors like 8-7 or 7-5 because they are the best hands with which you can hit a Straight with. With 8-7, you can form four Straights (three of them nuts), and with 7-5 you can form three Straights (two of them nuts). The difficulty is, as ever, how to play them to the best effect so in this free online poker training tips article that is what we will give you some pointers on.

Intermediate connectors aren't played as strongly when they Pair. For example, when you have 8-7 and the Flop comes K-7-2, you can be justifiably worried about the King and you may fold.

It is also likely that you can flop Two-Pair. With 8-7 and a Flop of 8-7-A, you can get a player with A-K in trouble.

If both of you continue until the end, and your opponent's hand doesn't improve, he will slow it down trying to show it down. If the hand does improve it will be obvious as when he bets and you can just pay him off. He can pair his kicker or not, but either way you've still got a decent showdown hand.

The best play (in your interest) is for your opponent to call all-in or move all-in on the Flop (during tournaments). However, this is only so if the difference in chips between you and your all-in opponent is great. If you've got close to the same number of chips, your 8,7 may not be strong enough as your opponent may be willing to only call you with something like A,8 or, worse, 7,7.

Or he may call you with A-K and suckout when he pairs his Ace, his kicker, or when, say, a 10 hits the Turn, and another Ten hits the river then his Two-Pair is best. If one stack is small and the other large, and you have the little stack then you've a good hand someone holding an A-K could be prepared to call. If you have the large stack, your all-in opponent may be desperate for a call with his A-x (without Two-Pair) until they know you've got him steamrollered.

Usually you stay in the hand Two-Pair until you hit a Full House. With this hand, play it as you would play a made five-card hand - value betting, pretending to bluff, slow-playing (pick your choice). However, if the Board comes 8-7-5, you might be willing to play it more slowly because if the Board comes Four, Six or 9, your Two-Pair may be almost unplayable.

During the Flop, bet substantially to push a Straight draw out. If your opponent calls, it may signify a Straight draw. In case your opponent moves all-in or pushes you all-in, then call - or not call.

You are still the favorite over a Straight draw. You might also be able to hit a Full House later on. But also you can choose not to call because your opponent may have a made Straight. In an 8,7,5 board, the probability of a Flopped Straight is fairly small as players don't play 9,6 or 6,4 very much.

However, you should be careful in a Board of 8-7-J or 8-7-4, as their connectors are consecutive numbers, i.e. 10-9 and 6-5, and players, especially experienced ones, play these more often.

However, even if the Board comes something like 8-7-4-5-Q, as long as you are sure, or even half-sure, that your opponent doesn't have the 6, bet a small bet on the river. If your opponent has 9-8 or Q-x, you might be paid off.

If your opponent had the 6, you may be pushed, but you can fold without losing much. The thing is that, you should maintain your aggression most of the time as part of your image, and you can do this by value-betting. If your opponent didn't possess the Six, he may believe that you had the Six, and he may fold, too.

And finally, here is an addendum to our earlier example. Should you have 8-7 and the Flop comes K-7-2, you can fold. However, you can also call a bet - you hope that your opponent had A-K - and if an Eight comes and you bet big, how will your opponent know you had another Eight in the hole? So long as you feel your opponent doesn't have K-8 or K-7 (not likely) the two of you can get it all-in on the Turn - and you'll emerge almost a victor.

This is a fairly complicated subject and if you're not quite getting it then go play free poker to learn it the only real way you can which is to do it for real but learn to play poker free so that any mistakes you make don't set you back anything apart from time.

Free How To Play Poker For Beginners Lesson On Split Pot Tactics

In this free poker online article we'll examine split pots.

A split pot is a pot where two (or more) players have identical five-card hands at the showdown. For example, in a board with 8-9-10-Q-2 both players have a Jack meaning both have a Queen-high straight, therefore, they split.

Or if both players use the board cards as their 5 card hands, for example, if the board is A,K,Q,J,10 where one player has 9,9 and the other Q,J.

Who wins? Both. Both players have a Broadway Straight and use the board cards as their hand and so the pot is split.

Most players think that they should use at least one card from their hand to complete their hand. In the above example, the player with 9-9 might think that his straight is King-high, when actually it is Ace-high.

The other player, assuming no flush possibilities, might go all in. This action could scare player 1 into folding. Don't. Both players have nutz hands.

Some Straights on the Board are a little bit more suspicious. Like 4-5-6-7-8. Someone bets substantially and now it's up to you whether you call or not, or even raise. Just keep in mind that a Nine can finish you or your opponent.

In this case, you want to represent the Nine. When? If the Board is 6-7-5-4-8, in the order in which they fell? What if it is 4-5-7-6-8? 8-7-5-6-4 or 4-5-8-7-6? On which Board do you think your opponent will be most inclined to represent the Nine so you can fold without remorse? It's important to be as analytic as possible here.

But what about a Board of 9-9-8-8-8? It's a Full House. Both players already have the Full House. You have Q-10 for example, and you follow until the river. Then suddenly your opponent bets big and puts you all-in. Do you call?

It's possible that he's bluffing you with, say, J-10; you both still have the same hand. He may just have the last 8, but if so then he really should have folded since you bet the Flop and the Turn.

Then, with unmistakable confidence, (easy in free poker online maybe) you overtly declare, "I play the Board, I call." If you did, then you?re the 1997 World Series of Poker runner-up, Kevin McBride, who lost to J-9. The winner? Scotty Nguyen (baby, baby, baby). You have Eights full, baby. Scotty had Nines full (9-9-9-8-8).

With the Broadway Straight (with no flush) it is appropriate to call the all-in, and it is a sign of a smart player to do so. (Don?t call yourself smart if you held the 9-9 and you folded.)

But with the above Full House on the board just determine all possible hands that can beat you: a lone Nine or the last Eight. Surely if you have many more chips, just stack them and wait for some more hands.

But read the board well, don't be psyched out by the chatter of the other player. During the interview after the heads-up match, McBride admitted that he called because of what Scotty said to him after Scotty pushed him all-in: "If you call it'll be over baby".

In some boards, such as A-K-2-2-7, if you have an Ace and your opponent bets substantially on the river, you can well put him on the Ace (but not A-K or A-2) and call him, even though you know you can't win. You just split the pot.

If he bets heavily, forcing you to make the hard decision, you might as well fold. Why hope for a tie when you can win later?

No doubt about it this is a tricky area of poker! If it seems hard then my best suggestion to you is to go and practice lots and play poker online free then when you play for money all that free poker games experience will allow you to play with a greater degree of confidence.

How To Play Poker For Beginners Lesson On Using Poker Table Position To Maximum Effect

Position is your seat at the poker table, real life or poker online "virtual" relative to your opponents. Be it free poker games or a money event, it shows when you will make your move in the current poker hand. In a full ring game (9-12 players), in any given round of betting:

(1) Early position involves the initial three or four players to act.

(2) Middle position features the following player after early position to the player before late position.

(3) Late position is the last three or four players to move. Preflop, the dealer, the small blind, and the big blind are last to act, in that order.

Postflop, the small blind and the big blind are first to act, and the dealer is last to act.

Why does position matter?

Depending on your position there are certain advantages and disadvantages. The majority of players prefer playing late position. Briefly, it is because you are given more information to work with in late position.

If you are in late position, the actions of the players in early position are added information to you. But the player in early position do not have the benefit of information derived from your actions.

This is why most players (especially good players) don't like giving up their button (dealer button) unless they've got absolute trash. They call a small raise with any decent hand like 9-7 or A-5 (but not extraordinarily big raises, of course).

In early position, in a nine-handed game, suppose you have got Q-J, a marginal hand, under the gun (the first person to act preflop).

Do you raise? There are still eight players once you to act, and there will be a higher chance that they'll have better hands than you. (A-x will have you beat). So fold.

In middle position, you can call one raise, or you can raise; you are indifferent.

From the button, you raise if nobody has acted prior to you (you can steal the blinds this way). Or call if someone raised small (since you have position).

From the blinds, you call (since it is discounted) but you have to be careful with postflop play since you are out of position postflop. Or you may also reraise a raise if you believe the raiser was weak (raising with junk is prevalent in good players in late position who would like to steal the blinds habitually).

Position also matters a lot when playing with players who have a fixed style.

- It is a good idea to act before a rock in order to bluff him easier.

- It is better to act after a loose-aggressive chip flinger so you can raise him if you hit the Flop hard or if you have A-A, then expect a rereaise and then you can move all-in.

- Against a calling station, it doesn't matter where you sit - just bet when you have a hand and then expect a call.

As for the really good players, your ideal position should be outside the poker table. Don't get involved in games with them. If you can't avoid it, then play in an unpredictable fashion, and take advantage of the times you are acting after him.

This point moves us away from table position in to a more strategic level so I won't expand on it here except to say, choose your games wisely. Suffice it to say, be honest with yourself and do not play over your skill level when playing in games you'd really like to win! Yes, get into hard challenges with better players but only as part of a deliberate training plan with money you can afford to lose (invest) or play such sharks on free poker online tables such as at NoPayPOKER where you will find some very good players who are there for fun.

Have a look at the free poker games tools series from D M Vadnais for far more depth on the areas such as choosing your battles and climbing skill levels. If you are a beginner get started with the how to play poker for beginners 101 course and if ready to move on check out Building a Bankroll which aims to propel to to advanced intermediate level (where you will start to win a lot of cash should you wish)

Learn To Play Poker Free Explains And Deciphers Poker Card, Pocket Pair And Hand Name Nicknames

In the poker online free learn to play poker free guide you will learn to unravel some of the code names used in poker to name the various cards hand permutations. At the end you will no longer be totally baffled when trying to play poker and words such as Fishhooks, Jackass and Snowman (to mention just a few) get thrown about!

First lets look at individual card names. Next come pocket cards, these are the 2 cards you get at the start of the game that only you can see, I've put these in ranked order of strength.

Pocket card hands are divided into paired (cards that are the same such as Ace-Ace) and unpaired but still playable such as Ace-King. Finally you’ll learn some of more popular and famous hands.

The 13 cards used in poker are often nicknamed. They are also commonly referred to by a letter or their number.

- Ace - Bullet, Rocket (A)
- King - Cowboy, Monarch (K)
- Queen - Lady, Dame, Dyke (Q)
- Jack - Knave, Hook, Fishhook, (J)
- 10 - Dime (T)
- 9 - Niner (9)
- 8 - Snowman, Fat Lady, Ocho (8)
- 7 - Hockey Stick (7)
- 6 - Boot (6)
- 5 - Spot (5)|Jesse James
- 4 - Sailboat, Sharp Top, Four spot (4)
- 3 - Trey, Crab (3)
- 2 - Deuce, Duck (2)

Now when you begin a poker game you get two cards called your pockets or pocket cards.

About once every 16 times you will get a pair of the same, known as a pocket pair.

In order of relative strength or potential they are:

- AA - Pocket Rockets, Rockets, Bullets, or American Airlines
- KK - Cowboys, King Kong, Gorillas, Kangaroos, Monarchs, or Krispy Kreme
- QQ - Ladies, Hookers, or Siegfried & Roy
- JJ - Fishhooks, Hooks, Jokers, or Jay Birds
- TT - Dimes or Tension
- 99 - Gretzky, Popeye's, or Phil Hellmuth
- 88 - Snowmen, Fat Ladies, Dog Balls, or Race Tracks
- 77 - HockeySticks, SunsetStrip, or Mullets
- 66 - Route 66, Kicks, or Cherries
- 55 - Presto, Speed Limit, or Nickels
- 44 - Magnum, Sail Boats, or Middle Age
- 33 - Crabs or Treys
- 22 - Ducks, Pocket Swans, or Deuces.

Pocket pairs desirable as they are don't come around often enough to wait on as your only playable option.

The following unpaired pockets though, are ones you may play depending on the risk and cost in the game and what you're reading from other players, in order of potential, they are:

- AK - Big Slick or Walking back to Houston
- AQ - Little Slick, Big Chick, or Doyle Brunson
- AJ - Blackjack, Ajax, or Jackass
- AT - Bookend or Johnny Moss
- A5 - High Five
- A4 - Topped Four
- A3 - Ashtray or Baskin and Robbins
- A2 - Hunting Season or Acey-Deucy
- KQ - Marriage (if suited) or Mixed Marriage (if not suited)
- KJ - Kojak, King John, or Tucson Monster
- KT - Kate or Katie
- QJ - Maverick or Oedipus
- QT - Quentin Tarantino
- JT - Days of Old
- T9 - Paint Plus Connector
- 98 - Oldsmobile
- 87 - RPM
- 76 - Union Oil
- 65 - Medicare
- 54 - Jesse James or Colt.

There are loads of names for larger hand combinations and finishing hands, here are a few of the better known ones.

- KKK - Alabama Night Riders or Three Wise Men
- TTT - Thirty Miles of Bad Road
- 222 - Huey, Dewey and Louie.
- AA88Q - Dead Man's Hand
- AKQJT - Broadway
- A5432 - Wheel
- 3 of a Kind - Set (if you hold a pocket pair matched by a 'community card')
- 3 of a kind - Trips (if one is in your pocket and two are 'board cards')
- Full House - Boat or All The In-Laws
- 4 of a Kind - Quads or Quad Set.

I hope this was a fun and useful article, if you are at the stage of learning the card names then I suggest when you play you play free online poker where you can learn without fear of loss.

For even more how to play poker for beginners free online poker guides and to actually play poker online free go check out the http://www.NoPayPOKER.com free online poker blog and site. At NoPay you'll find free online poker lessons covering beginner to expert levels, and you can play online free poker totally risk free for real cash prizes.