It is a sad fact, it is not possible to be great at everything. In the world of poker from the entry levels of penny play free poker or big stakes players become experts or specialists in their particular games.
It is the same as in any profession, field of study or in the workplace where people find their unique niche for the company that they work for and devote their efforts to becoming as good as they can in order to be promoted and earn more.
So how does this relate specifically to the world of poker games?
Like this, some poker players are brilliant cash game players, while others are expert tournament players. Of course, there are players that are great at both cash games and tournaments though they are few and far between.
The majority focus on one or the other because they find they are more successful in that sort of poker.
So how can you figure what type of poker you are best at? Well, it's not always clear. You obviously need to try your hand at both, but here are a few suggestions that may help you to figure it out.
Should You Focus On Cash Games?
If you're a patient player who looks to play only in clear +EV situations, then you may prefer cash games. Full-ring games are all about waiting for premium starting hands and extracting the most value from them in the most favourable situation possible. Thus, cash games are good for players who don't deal with variance very well.
The biggest mistake a beginning cash game player can make is playing too many hands. You don't want to commit too many chips in marginal situations.
The opposite can seem to be true in the late to middle stages of a tournament.
Should You Focus On Poker Tournaments
It is correct to play tight in the early stages of a tournament, but once the blinds start to escalate you'll need to loosen up your starting requirements. Once you're low on chips, you'll need to look to move all-in to survive. You may also need to put yourself in situations that may –EV in certain occasions. If you're one of the big stacks, it's also correct to start playing looser to bully the other players. It's all about accumulating chips to either survive or thrive in tournaments. It's not for the faint of heart or those who can't deal with variance.
The biggest mistake a beginning tournament player can make is not pushing all-in enough when they get low on chips. Because the price of blinds increase as the tournament goes on, your chip stack can easily get whittled away.
Tight players can't win tournaments.
Poker Game Specialization Conclusion
If tight is right for you, you would be best served to focus on playing cash games. But if you like action then tournaments are going to be your thing. That being said, a tight style can work for tournaments with a few adjustments and a loose style in cash games can be profitable under certain circumstances.
Ideally do your testing in free online poker that way you can learn to play poker for free and find your style while not losing lots of money in the process!
This article is by NoPayPOKER, the perfect learn to play hold em site for beginners to play free poker without risking any cash. For more experienced poker players the draw is in the ability to fine tune game play and techniques in a totally no risk zone while collecting free online poker cash at the same time.
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Play Free Poker Guide to Winning All in or Fold Poker Tournaments
I found out that there is a tournament variant called All-in or Fold. The rules are: There's just 1 blind (called big blind). Each player starts with just one chip; it doesn't matter how many, anyway, for these reasons: Your only options are: All-in, and Fold. All in or Fold poker tournaments are increasingly popular in both cash and free poker online why not have a play if you come across one, they can be good fun. But be sure to read this first!
If you're on the big blind you're automatically all in. You receive change, though, if, for example, you have 5 chips and another player goes all in with 2 chips and you call them (which is also an all in). He will not win five chips from you; you will get a change of three chips.
If you're on big blind you can simply ignore everything else that follows. (This only happens about 10% of the time though on a 10-player table. If you want to become hooked for some reason.) So it's very much a math poker game as well as a position game.
Why math game?
Because you are relying totally on preflop all-ins you must commit to memory the probability of your winning, or at least have a good feel for them. Here are some examples, you can generalize; the probabilities are very similar in similar situations; for instance the first example will be: Two Overcards vs. a Small Pair, or say, A-10 over 5-5 and approximate the probabilities:
A-K vs 8-8
55%-45% in favor of 8-8
A-K vs A-Q
75%-25% in favor of A-K
A-10 vs K-K
75%-25% in favor of K-K
A-K vs 7-6
65%-35% in favor of 7-6
A-10 vs K-Q; A-Q vs K-J
63%-37% in favor of A-10 and A-Q
A-A vs 8-8
80%-20% in favor of A-A
A-A vs A-K
93%-7% in favor of A-A
A-A vs K-Q
85%-15% in favor of A-A
But these do not imply that you should wait for A-A or K-K or A-K before you move all-in, of course. Do it with two face cards, a pair, or A-x. Just make sure the big blind doesn't reach you, for if that happens your decision's beyond your will.
All-In or Fold is also a game of position. Oftentimes players in these tournaments play hands similar to the above, and throw away the rest.
Consider these two examples:
(1) You are in late position with 4-4 and there are two all-ins in front of you. You might be facing three or four overcards, or an overpair. Fold.
After all, if you are in late position, there will be many hands before you reach the big blind.
(2) You have A-8 in early position. You are two hands away from being the big blind, so you move all-in, and players after you will interpret an early-position all-in as a sign of strength.
What you consider, then, is the strength of your hand and the surrounding action.
With one-on-one, which happens mostly, the above probabilities still apply. But with three or more, hand strength matters more. Big pairs are still big; medium pairs shrink in power (because you can't see the Flop yet; usually we see the Flop with a medium pair to hit a Set). A-x becomes weaker; A-K and A-Q weaken down a little bit. However, make sure you play a hand while you're still in control of your decision. When you get yourself blinded out, it's for your tournament life, mostly.
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If you're on the big blind you're automatically all in. You receive change, though, if, for example, you have 5 chips and another player goes all in with 2 chips and you call them (which is also an all in). He will not win five chips from you; you will get a change of three chips.
If you're on big blind you can simply ignore everything else that follows. (This only happens about 10% of the time though on a 10-player table. If you want to become hooked for some reason.) So it's very much a math poker game as well as a position game.
Why math game?
Because you are relying totally on preflop all-ins you must commit to memory the probability of your winning, or at least have a good feel for them. Here are some examples, you can generalize; the probabilities are very similar in similar situations; for instance the first example will be: Two Overcards vs. a Small Pair, or say, A-10 over 5-5 and approximate the probabilities:
A-K vs 8-8
55%-45% in favor of 8-8
A-K vs A-Q
75%-25% in favor of A-K
A-10 vs K-K
75%-25% in favor of K-K
A-K vs 7-6
65%-35% in favor of 7-6
A-10 vs K-Q; A-Q vs K-J
63%-37% in favor of A-10 and A-Q
A-A vs 8-8
80%-20% in favor of A-A
A-A vs A-K
93%-7% in favor of A-A
A-A vs K-Q
85%-15% in favor of A-A
But these do not imply that you should wait for A-A or K-K or A-K before you move all-in, of course. Do it with two face cards, a pair, or A-x. Just make sure the big blind doesn't reach you, for if that happens your decision's beyond your will.
All-In or Fold is also a game of position. Oftentimes players in these tournaments play hands similar to the above, and throw away the rest.
Consider these two examples:
(1) You are in late position with 4-4 and there are two all-ins in front of you. You might be facing three or four overcards, or an overpair. Fold.
After all, if you are in late position, there will be many hands before you reach the big blind.
(2) You have A-8 in early position. You are two hands away from being the big blind, so you move all-in, and players after you will interpret an early-position all-in as a sign of strength.
What you consider, then, is the strength of your hand and the surrounding action.
With one-on-one, which happens mostly, the above probabilities still apply. But with three or more, hand strength matters more. Big pairs are still big; medium pairs shrink in power (because you can't see the Flop yet; usually we see the Flop with a medium pair to hit a Set). A-x becomes weaker; A-K and A-Q weaken down a little bit. However, make sure you play a hand while you're still in control of your decision. When you get yourself blinded out, it's for your tournament life, mostly.
This article brought to you by NoPayPOKER. The world's only play free poker games where you win real cash on every game. NoPayPOKER is the perfect place for Beginners to learn to play poker for beginners without risking money. Experienced poker players can fine tune their game, test out new techniques or just grind away to accumulate all the free poker cash!
Friday, 4 June 2010
Free Texas Hold Em Guide to When to Move All-in Preflop
Why is it that so many players go all in in poker tournaments preflop when they could just as easily call and hope to hit the flop? It's very common on free texas holdem online poker site but also, surprisingly, in money games.
Well in cash games they do it to steal of course. In free holdem poker sadly it's more just for the hell of it! However, if called, what positive factors does moving all-in grant? Let us examine two hands to analyze why:
HAND #1
Blinds: 6k/12k
A has Q-Q raises to 36k
B has 10-10 calls 36k
C has K-K reraises to 140k
A reraises all-in (Pot 989k)
B folds
C calls 643k (Pot 1.632m)
Board ended Jc-Jd-6c-Qd-3d
A went all-in as by three-betting, he can push one of B and C from the pot, and if C (the likely caller) calls, A hoped that it will be A-K or A-x, where he has still an edge. But it turns out, C had K-K, so A was the underdog. Yet A won the hand with a Full House (Queens over Jacks).
However, if A just called, what would happen then is that B would also call, so next it will be a three-way pot.? On a FLOP of Jc-Jd-6c, C would have position over A, whose Queens are weakened because the Board is paired, so if one of B or C bluffs, A will have difficulty playing.
Plus if A decides to play on strong he may make B and C believe he is on a J and they may both fold. Or later on the hand, if A, who hit his Full House on the turn, suddenly played strongly, the remaining player/s may fold because their hands are not so strong enough. So A will win less than what he won when he moved all-in and won the hand.
So one reason for moving all-in preflop is: Your chip stack is so low that any decent hand you have will be sufficient for an all-in (on the above, Q-Q should be played cautiously with two more players and a reraise on the Flop), and it pays to win more chips than less if you are to get back in the tournament.
HAND #2 - Following on from hand action
A has 8s-8h moves all-in 387k
B has 7d-7c, calls 307k (Pot 819k)
Both could have played safely. However A decides to take a gamble with what we term a common all in hand. Common all-in hands include Pairs, A-x and any two face cards (preferably suited). So another reason is: If you don’t have A-A or K-K but a common all-in hand, you will be called also with a common all-in hand.
With Pairs vs. two overcards, it doesn't much matter what you have, because you’re both even-money. With Pairs vs. Pairs, you may be the underdog but you can also become the favourite if you get lucky.. With any other cards, you either have two live cards or at worst, say A-K vs A-Q, if you have the A-Q, you still have a 25% possibility.
How did the hand turn out?
It ended with 5s-9s-6h-2c-8d. So A hit a Set, B hit a Straight. B knocked out A. It doesn’t matter; we can also imagine a situation that B was the one who moved all-in and A called. B hit his Straight still. But if B just decided to see a Flop, what could happen? A can push B out by representing a Nine on the Flop and the Turn so that B will fold (unless B has the courage to move all-in).
Also, if B hit the river Straight, A will be reluctant to play the Set he has. B will win a lesser amount of chips than he would (similar to HAND #1). But this example gives us another good reason.
You move all-in so that no one can push you away later if your marginal hand beats a more marginal hand later, and so your marginal hand will evolve into a strong hand uncontested, unpushed. Here is a clearer case: Suppose it’s A-10 vs 7-7.
The board might finish 10-K-K-Q-5, with overcards there's a Straight chance, and on a paired board the 7-7 can pressure the A-10 at some point. Or it may be 10-K-Q-4-J and the one with the A-10 will be out of the pot before the river if the one with 7-7 plays aggressively.
This article is by NoPayPOKER, the perfect online poker site for beginners to learn to play poker online without risking money. For experienced poker players the attraction is practice, the ability to fine tune their game and test out new techniques in a totally no risk zone while grinding away to accumulate free texas holdem online poker cash.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Free Texas Hold Em Guide to Bluffing and Semi Bluffing
"To bluff" means to bet or raise when you haven't the best hand, to bring your opponents to fold, even if they have a better hand. An essential skill that you should start to practice whether you play free texas hold em or live room games.
Why you need to bluff?
Well, the first reason is that you can win the pot with cards worse than the others.
But there is a second reason, more refined : you need to bluff to have the possibility to win big pots when you really have the best hand.
So even bad failed bluffs can have a positive effect in that they may make other players call you when you actually have a strong hand.
But you must be careful here. Bluff too much and you set a pattern up and you will always get called and will lose much more often. if you never bluff, when you have good cards and raise the pot, your opponents fold and you win a small pot.
But if you can get it right and bluff with the right frequency, you will make your opponents unsure, and force bad decisions..
Ways to Improve Your Poker Bluffing Skills:
1) Take care when bluffing in limit games. On Limit tables you can't raise so much and your opponents can call your bet more easily that in a no limit Texas Holdem game.
2) Study the other players. If you are at a table with very good players, your chances to win are higher than a table with few.
This is true because strong players respect the bets of their opponents, and have the right discipline to fold their cards even with a medium hand.
Weaker players though don't get it, they don't consider that you may be bluffing or may call you just out of curiosity.
3) Try to build your reputation at the table. Make your opponents unsure of your moves at all times.
For example, you can start the tournament with a lot of bluffing, so your opponents will call you a lot and you can win big pots when you have the right cards.
Or you can start the tournament calling only with good cards (AK, AQ, high pairs). Later in advanced phases of the tournaments you can place some bluffs and have a good chance of winning the pot because your opponents cannot believe that you haven't got good cards.
4) Your position is decisive and in general it is good to call when you are in the last positions, near the dealer, because you have more information about your opponents.
5) Practice! Start of on free texas holdem poker sites to get the improve your skills in an environment that won't punish you financially.
6) Sometimes you can make the "semi-bluff". You bet, hoping that your opponents fold, but you still have a chance to win the pot at the showdown if there is a good turn and river. This happens, for example, when you have 4/5 flush, or 4/5 straight, or in rare cases when you have Ace-high.
Look at a semi bluff example:
You have 9 and 10 of hearts and the flop is Q-hearts , 4-clubs and 7-hearts.
In this example you don't have the strongest hand. Your opponent has 4 and 3 (very bad card preflop), he has more chances to win.
So you can try to make a semi-bluff , because you have the 4 hearts cards.You bet, and your opponent starts to think about what to do.
He has only a pair, and a very low one. He thinks: "I have few chances to win.. only a pair of 4s. He is betting, probably he has the Q.. or 7.. Uhm, let's try with another hand", and the fold comes.
And also if your opponent calls, the turn or the river can be a hearts, so you maintain good chances to win.
The Semi-bluff is also useful to contain losses.
For example, the situation is the same above ( You: 9h-10h , Flop Qh-4c-7h ), and you decide to bet.
If your opponent is weak, he’ll probably fold. But if your opponent has the Q, if you don't bet a little, he will probably bet a higher amount of chips, to let you fold, and you become unsure of what to do.
Call with 4/5 flush, or fold? However, to see the next card, you have to put in the pot more chips than if you bet for first.
If you bet a small amount of chips, your opponent probably just call, and you "buy" another card with few chips.
How to defend against a possible bluff?
There aren't many choices. You can accept the challenge, or you can fold.v For this reason the bluff and semi-bluff are a very powerful weapon.
My last suggestion: if you decide to accept the challenge, restrict yourself to call is rarely the good decision. You should raise, to let your opponent think: "Uhm, it's better to stay relaxed, my opponent has good card".
Bluffing is a poker skill that needs practice. If you're not experienced start off on free texas holdem poker sites and work your way up from there as your confidence and bankroll grows.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Free Texas Hold Em Guide to Chip Stack Size Strategy
Many poker beginners on free texas holdem sites like NoPayPOKER or the lower stake cash online poker sites simply play their cards without proper regard for situational nuances. This can lead to errors that can cost them a lot of money despite the fact that they’re playing with strong holdings.
One mistake I see many free poker and low stakes players make is not to account for how the size of their chip stack can dictate how they should best play their hand. When I started playing free online poker many years ago, I made the same error a lot.
The optimum play with a particular hand depends on many factors including your chip stack. A good move for someone with a large chip stack could be a dangerous move for someone with a tiny chip stack.
To put it plainly: size matters. That is not to say that bigger is indeed better. Being "deep-stacked" has its advantages, but small stacks can be equally effective at the cash and free poker table.
A Deep Stack Expands Options
For the sake of this article, I will define deep stacks as stacks that are roughly 125 big blinds or more. Others may define a deep stack as a bit less or more than that number of big blinds, but almost no one would consider a stack of 35 big blinds or less to be a deep stack.
I generally subscribe to the notion that deep-stack play is better than small-stack play. Most professional pokers would agree.
This is because deep stacks give you more room to take advantage of implied odds. In other words, you’re allowed more freedom with regard to starting hand requirements. You can play small pocket pairs hoping to flop your set or small suited connectors hoping to flop a flush or straight. If you miss the flop, you can fold and wait for a better situation. You can be more patient because the blinds aren't much of a concern; they won't eat up your chip stack that much.
Another benefit of being deep-stacked is maximizing your profits. If you have the biggest stack at the table, you can extract the most possible chips from your opponents. This is not true for short stacks.
Let's look at an example: If you're the largest stack with $800 chips and a player calls your all in bet with his $500 in chips, and you win, then you take all the cash.
Now another example: If you are the smaller stack with $600 and the larger stack with $900 calls your all-in bet and you win, you can't take all the money. He’ll be left with $300 because you don't have enough money to play for all the chips.
That's one of the pitfalls of the short stack, but there are some benefits.
A Shorts Stack Encourages Tight, Hyper-Aggressive Play
If you don't have many chips behind you, you're forced to basically play for all your chips in every hand you play. This forces you to play premium hands like big pocket pairs and big face cards. You often won't be getting the right price to play small pocket pairs and suited connectors. Those hands need to see the flop cheaply, and every hand played is expensive for a short stack. free poker sites are good places to practice and play about with short stack techniques.
The best move is to get all your chips in the middle with big pairs before the flop or to shove when you hit top pair on the flop. You don't have the opportunity to wait because the blinds will eat you alive.
One obvious advantage of this essentially all-in or fold strategy is that it forces you to play tighter. Another advantage of this style of play is that it's harder to get outplayed by more skilled post-flop players. Your decisions are simple: push or fold. You don't need to worry about the subtleties of the game like betting the right amount or knowing when to fold the second best hand.
There is also a psychological advantage. For some reason a lot of deep stack players give short stack players very little respect. They assume you are buying in small because you have a small bankroll, are not very skilled or are scared. As a result it's not uncommon for a big stack player to pay off a short stack player by calling with weaker than usual hands.
I do believe however that overall deep stack play is better, but you will come across some tough nut short stack players so don't underestimate their abilities! If you are new to poker, practice and observe these concepts first. Start off on low stakes and free online texas holdem poker sites such as http://www.nopaypoker.com before progressing as your skill and bankroll grows.
One mistake I see many free poker and low stakes players make is not to account for how the size of their chip stack can dictate how they should best play their hand. When I started playing free online poker many years ago, I made the same error a lot.
The optimum play with a particular hand depends on many factors including your chip stack. A good move for someone with a large chip stack could be a dangerous move for someone with a tiny chip stack.
To put it plainly: size matters. That is not to say that bigger is indeed better. Being "deep-stacked" has its advantages, but small stacks can be equally effective at the cash and free poker table.
A Deep Stack Expands Options
For the sake of this article, I will define deep stacks as stacks that are roughly 125 big blinds or more. Others may define a deep stack as a bit less or more than that number of big blinds, but almost no one would consider a stack of 35 big blinds or less to be a deep stack.
I generally subscribe to the notion that deep-stack play is better than small-stack play. Most professional pokers would agree.
This is because deep stacks give you more room to take advantage of implied odds. In other words, you’re allowed more freedom with regard to starting hand requirements. You can play small pocket pairs hoping to flop your set or small suited connectors hoping to flop a flush or straight. If you miss the flop, you can fold and wait for a better situation. You can be more patient because the blinds aren't much of a concern; they won't eat up your chip stack that much.
Another benefit of being deep-stacked is maximizing your profits. If you have the biggest stack at the table, you can extract the most possible chips from your opponents. This is not true for short stacks.
Let's look at an example: If you're the largest stack with $800 chips and a player calls your all in bet with his $500 in chips, and you win, then you take all the cash.
Now another example: If you are the smaller stack with $600 and the larger stack with $900 calls your all-in bet and you win, you can't take all the money. He’ll be left with $300 because you don't have enough money to play for all the chips.
That's one of the pitfalls of the short stack, but there are some benefits.
A Shorts Stack Encourages Tight, Hyper-Aggressive Play
If you don't have many chips behind you, you're forced to basically play for all your chips in every hand you play. This forces you to play premium hands like big pocket pairs and big face cards. You often won't be getting the right price to play small pocket pairs and suited connectors. Those hands need to see the flop cheaply, and every hand played is expensive for a short stack. free poker sites are good places to practice and play about with short stack techniques.
The best move is to get all your chips in the middle with big pairs before the flop or to shove when you hit top pair on the flop. You don't have the opportunity to wait because the blinds will eat you alive.
One obvious advantage of this essentially all-in or fold strategy is that it forces you to play tighter. Another advantage of this style of play is that it's harder to get outplayed by more skilled post-flop players. Your decisions are simple: push or fold. You don't need to worry about the subtleties of the game like betting the right amount or knowing when to fold the second best hand.
There is also a psychological advantage. For some reason a lot of deep stack players give short stack players very little respect. They assume you are buying in small because you have a small bankroll, are not very skilled or are scared. As a result it's not uncommon for a big stack player to pay off a short stack player by calling with weaker than usual hands.
I do believe however that overall deep stack play is better, but you will come across some tough nut short stack players so don't underestimate their abilities! If you are new to poker, practice and observe these concepts first. Start off on low stakes and free online texas holdem poker sites such as http://www.nopaypoker.com before progressing as your skill and bankroll grows.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Free Texas Holdem Tips and Mental Techniques for Analyzing Players
It is important to have the ability sit down at any money or free poker table, online or live and analyze the other players. There's no doubt that patience is the key ingredient when it comes to analyzing players and the most important stage is when the game starts.
Why you might ask?
This provides you with you an opportunity to settle-back and take mental notes on the player's actions. This is helpful during the first half hour of a free poker game in particular as quite a lot of players like to go all in and hope they win the pot. I myself will only call these players with a high pair, or suited low connectors because I've played them before, and they will go all in with any two hand cards given.
What Must You Try to Read?
The notes I suggest you take during the first half-hour or if moved to a new table in any money or free online poker game are quite simple.
Determine which players are playing carefully and which ones are playing loose.
Those who are playing loose are going to bet on almost every hand and call just about anything.This is very common in free texas hold em games where low risk reduces good sense at times!
Those who are playing conservative will keep folding until they get the cards in hand they want or any pairs of AA's, KK's, QQ's, JJ's.
How do you spot a Bluffer?
This can be difficult if you have not been watching the game as can happen a lot with free poker or if you are playing multiple games online.
If you have been watching the game you should have more of a feeling as to who might be bluffing..
For example:
Say you have an ace and king of spades you'll be feeling good about your whole situation. Now you wait for the other player to check or bet, to your surprise the player bets 400 chips when the pot is at 120 chips.
So you call the player and on the flop lands Queen of spades, Jack of Spades, and ten of hearts. The other player goes all-in in order to make you think he/she has the winning hand. You know you've won it so you call the player's bluff and go on to win.
That is very obvious but if you are up against a more conservative player then they could try to buy you in by betting low not over the pot before the flop and after. These Players really know what they are doing and most likely will have a full house against your ace high straight. Here is where your experience comes into play...have you marked who is loose and who is conservative?
Practical Reading and Analysis Suggestions
1) Players who take a very long time and procrastinate are trying to mislead you into believing they've got nothing and wait for you to make a bet worth calling. (Note: in free texas hold em the player could be taking too long because he/she is playing multiple games.) Filter these players out as this might be a habit for them.
2) Look out for players who anticipate until the last second and raise you all-in. They are trying to buy the pot with a decent pair hoping you do not have any aces in your hand!
3) Everyone knows a chip bully. Every table has one. The only way to knock a chip bully off his expensive chair is not to be distressed by his/her large chip stacks. Should you have it, go for it. Most probably, he/she is bluffing because, they want to pilfer the pot or blinds.
Every Player Develops Habits.
And from habits develop betting patterns - But What patterns might they form?
A bad habit (for them) you will witness only too often is that some players lose 80% of their chip stack. They get ticked-off because they've taken a serious loss but rather than cut their losses choose to carry on, often all-in until they lose the lot or earn back some chips (rare!). These players have given up and gone on "tilt". The best thing to do is to call them once the time is right. So have patience and you'll nail them 100%.
Some players are extremely difficult to read because they Know they are being read and are always switching their technique. They will repeat themselves at some point but these patterns are very hard to spot. These players will take up a lot of your time! When you can read players like these..well you are probably playing WSOP!
I hope this article will help you fine tune your skills and has given you some ideas you can use at the tables. No player is impossible to read but if you can't read players you will make the game impossible for yourself!
My advice if you have difficulty with analyzing other players or if this is all new to you is to get in lots of practice in low risk games. Try low or micro stakes games or some free online poker games to get a feel for it all before betting any meaningful money.
Why you might ask?
This provides you with you an opportunity to settle-back and take mental notes on the player's actions. This is helpful during the first half hour of a free poker game in particular as quite a lot of players like to go all in and hope they win the pot. I myself will only call these players with a high pair, or suited low connectors because I've played them before, and they will go all in with any two hand cards given.
What Must You Try to Read?
The notes I suggest you take during the first half-hour or if moved to a new table in any money or free online poker game are quite simple.
Determine which players are playing carefully and which ones are playing loose.
Those who are playing loose are going to bet on almost every hand and call just about anything.This is very common in free texas hold em games where low risk reduces good sense at times!
Those who are playing conservative will keep folding until they get the cards in hand they want or any pairs of AA's, KK's, QQ's, JJ's.
How do you spot a Bluffer?
This can be difficult if you have not been watching the game as can happen a lot with free poker or if you are playing multiple games online.
If you have been watching the game you should have more of a feeling as to who might be bluffing..
For example:
Say you have an ace and king of spades you'll be feeling good about your whole situation. Now you wait for the other player to check or bet, to your surprise the player bets 400 chips when the pot is at 120 chips.
So you call the player and on the flop lands Queen of spades, Jack of Spades, and ten of hearts. The other player goes all-in in order to make you think he/she has the winning hand. You know you've won it so you call the player's bluff and go on to win.
That is very obvious but if you are up against a more conservative player then they could try to buy you in by betting low not over the pot before the flop and after. These Players really know what they are doing and most likely will have a full house against your ace high straight. Here is where your experience comes into play...have you marked who is loose and who is conservative?
Practical Reading and Analysis Suggestions
1) Players who take a very long time and procrastinate are trying to mislead you into believing they've got nothing and wait for you to make a bet worth calling. (Note: in free texas hold em the player could be taking too long because he/she is playing multiple games.) Filter these players out as this might be a habit for them.
2) Look out for players who anticipate until the last second and raise you all-in. They are trying to buy the pot with a decent pair hoping you do not have any aces in your hand!
3) Everyone knows a chip bully. Every table has one. The only way to knock a chip bully off his expensive chair is not to be distressed by his/her large chip stacks. Should you have it, go for it. Most probably, he/she is bluffing because, they want to pilfer the pot or blinds.
Every Player Develops Habits.
And from habits develop betting patterns - But What patterns might they form?
A bad habit (for them) you will witness only too often is that some players lose 80% of their chip stack. They get ticked-off because they've taken a serious loss but rather than cut their losses choose to carry on, often all-in until they lose the lot or earn back some chips (rare!). These players have given up and gone on "tilt". The best thing to do is to call them once the time is right. So have patience and you'll nail them 100%.
Some players are extremely difficult to read because they Know they are being read and are always switching their technique. They will repeat themselves at some point but these patterns are very hard to spot. These players will take up a lot of your time! When you can read players like these..well you are probably playing WSOP!
I hope this article will help you fine tune your skills and has given you some ideas you can use at the tables. No player is impossible to read but if you can't read players you will make the game impossible for yourself!
My advice if you have difficulty with analyzing other players or if this is all new to you is to get in lots of practice in low risk games. Try low or micro stakes games or some free online poker games to get a feel for it all before betting any meaningful money.
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