The NoPayPOKER.com Free Texas Hold Em Guide to the Sanity of Moving All-in Preflop - Is it Ever NOT Insane?

June 4th, 2010

It’s a common sight on free poker site and, oddly even in some higher stake poker tournaments to see players go all-in preflop when they could (should) call and hope to see the flop. Why do they do it?

Of course to steal in cash games. In free poker sadly it’s more just for the hell of it! However, if called, what advantages does going all-in give? I will look at 2 hands to analyse 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 for the reason that by three-betting, he is able to 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, and so it will be a three-way pot.? On a FLOP of Jc-Jd-6c, C would have position over A, whose Queens are weakened since 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)

They could both have played safe.. But A decided to gamble with 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 does not really matter what you have, because you’re both even-money. With Pairs vs. Pairs, you run the risk of being the big underdog, but you can also be a big favorite if you are 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% chance.

So how did it 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 less chips than he would (similar to HAND #1). But this example gives us another 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 may end up 10-K-K-Q-5 and with overcards, a Straight possibility and on a paired Board the one with 7-7 can push the one who had 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.

To read more articles like this and learn to play poker online check out the NoPayPOKER.com blog which is full of free online poker tips and lessons as well as offering a free no risk poker site where you can put theory into practice.

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Is Luck or Skill King in Free Texas Hold Em

May 26th, 2010

One of the most persistent discussions in poker is about the role of luck in success, there are those who believe poker is mostly luck and those who think skill is the main factor, today lets lay this one to rest!

I have personally been a money and NoPayPOKER.com free texas holdem poker player for some 7 years, I have made some nice cash at times but I have also busted several bankrolls.As such think I can say I’ve got a pretty good understanding of the situation!

For starters lets define what skill is in the poker context. In my opinion a skilled player is one who can recognize betting patterns, understand flop odds, and percentages, and have a solid concept of strategy and theory. I have noticed however, not matter how well skilled one may be, you must account for variance, and sometimes aggressive, even poor play from others.

I believe in conclusion it is best to assume that poker is a combination of both skill and luck where the skill level of the player involved has a definite effect on the “luck” component of the equation in the medium and long term.

The assumption would be based on this conclusion that you have to be both pre flop aggressive, as well as post flop smart. Many times a player might find themselves in a position where they made the proper call, yet they find themselves behind due in part to an opponents luck hitting a one or two outer.

It is very difficult to try and overcome such a situation. This can, in part, be blamed on the speed of online poker hand as opposed to the live game. The action of online poker is much faster, and decisions must come much quicker.

Many players believe there are more bad beats in online poker than in the live game. Mathematically this can be attributed to the number of hands both seen, and played. There is also, I feel, a tiredness factor in action, players feel pushed or maybe suffer a succession of bad beats.

As a result decision making may become irrational, and typical hands that would be thrown away are now played, and even pushed pre flop out of anger in looking to win back lost funds.

Others, who are skilled can pick up on such trends and play them to their advantage, which often leads to greater loss, and in the eyes of the losing player, more bad beats which he feels was based on luck.

The successful (skilful) poker player knows how to manage each aspect of the game. In effect you become able to manage probability (luck) by application of skill and so apply the old phrase beloved of annoying sales managers/gurus everywhere, “make your own luck”. Basically meaning that your skill flattens out the “bad luck” to the extent that you are up consistently in the medium and long run.

And how to do this? My advice is to start safe and low risk. Go to one of the better free texas hold em sites like NoPayPOKER.com and practice lots and lots. You will find your confidence (and bankroll) growing and can then take a step up to some low stakes games, and from there…who knows!

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Free Poker Guide to How to Get Out of the Losing Trap

May 21st, 2010

I’ve been a poker player since I was a teenager, I’ve played for money in casinos and lots of fun money free poker at home. For the last few years though I’ve focused most on free texas holdem poker. Initially this was easy and fun but as time has passed I found it getting harder and harder to win, after thinking long and hard I realised that I’d become stuck in a rut I now call the “Easy Play” trap.

The poker “Easy Play Trap” is when you think you have to play every hand to win. You post and play every hand praying the flop with give you a hand. The problem with it is that you lose more and even worse anyone with any skill learns how you play really easily which makes things even worse. This is especially a problem on free poker sites where it is all to easy to not care. No problem is it’s just for fun but a very bad habit if you have aspirations to play live or online poker for money later.

Then last year I started playing what I call “SMART”. “SMART” players think of the odds of playing each hand based on your starting hand. The two cards in your hand give you an idea of what your chances of winning before the flop.

“SMART” poker means as follows:

Singles – A - K - Q – J

Married – AK – AQ – AJ – A10

Average – 10 10 – 9 9 – 8 8 – 7 7 – 6 6

Rare – AA – KK – QQ - JJ

Terrible – 2 7 – 2 8 – 2 9 – 2 10 – 3 8 – 3 9 – 3 10 -4 9 – 4 10 -5 10

Singles should be played with cards in the same suite.

Playing singles with low off suites can be high risk because some times it is the kicker which means a win. Watch the flops and determine how the cards are falling as if there are more small off suites hitting with a single you may want to try.

Married and Rare hands are your better possible starting hands before the flop and requires that you think first. Going all in with a Married or Rare hand ahead of the flop is good but may also be a killer. Watch the other players for a time to get an idea of what they play before going up against them.

Average poker hands are good to start with but the flop truly provides a picture of how you will play your hand. On an average a third will fall with the flop when holding a small pair. If not, and there is a small bet, try the turn but never the river as odds are against you.

Terrible are poker hands I try not to play because they normal are losing hands. True you might get lucky but if you do not have any money in the pot why waste the time and money on a chance. High blind and there is no raise, yes play, however low blind, forget it and wait for a better hand.

During a recent live game I was down to 80 in chips with the blinds at 10 – 20. I was not getting a hand and we were down to three players. Being “SMART” I came back and won the money.

And how do you learn to play “SMART”…The sensible way is to learn your skill on free texas hold em sites. Don’t get put off or sidetracked by all the Easy Play “farm animals” you’ll find trapped on such sites, that is part of the territory in the land of free poker. Then, once you have demonstrated consistent winning ways move up to low stakes games and stay there until you repeat the success and then move up again…WSOP one day, who knows!

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Free Poker Games Guide to Playing Low Pocket Pairs

April 10th, 2010
Low pocket pairs are better then many people think they are. They are also a lot worse then some people think they are. If you’re playing a free poker game it may not seem such a big thing but when its high stakes this stuff matters! Actually, even if you are playing “just” free poker games for any reason other than fun then you should treat it serious. So read on!

Ok to start with if the pot odds are about four to one it’s relatively secure to call, although a drawback, you won’t be pocketless after. Four to one may make you think that you should be calling every pocket pair but at the early stages it’s very difficult.

The difference in folding a few more times could be saving you thousands of dollars in the right environment. If the blinds are still relatively low in comparison to the chip stack and if you have enormous implied odds are also safe times to see these low odds hands.

When the blinds are few and far between then there’s not too much to fear monetary wise. As if you call every pocket pair you will see fewer blinds over a 3/4 of an hour spell.

Although predominately pocket pairs are used as cards to see from the flop, in some scenarios you may even consider going all in with them. To give this some context I wouldn’t suggest going all in with any cards less than 66 as A2 - A5 are favourable cards in today’s game. I cast my mind back to my early playing games where I would miss the flop with AK; you would still end up with an above thirty percent chance to hit the river- so I would go all in without thought.

I use to believe that a thirty percent chance was a favourable amount when talking odds, but as you become more experienced you understand that the only time these odds pay out is the rare occasion your put in a scenario and have to call. Learn your trade playing free poker games before moving on to the money tables so you can understand these rules and odds first hand.

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Free Poker Stuff You Might Not Have heard About

April 8th, 2010
I’m going to share some essential information for free poker players. You will probably know some of these facts but who knows I may surprise you.

A golden discipline was born following J Gold’s victory in the WSOP- the discipline is to never talk about any cards you or any opponents have. It may be hilarious if you manage to hit full house with a poor hand, but you won’t make any friends by doing this. On the contrary you will become very unpopular very quickly.

Also talking about things like what you think another player may have or may be doing is also very bad, you saying “oh that guy’s bluffing” could be an advantage to another player who doesn’t have this info or a large disadvantage if your read is wrong and the player makes the call based on your information.

A recent rule that may surprise you is the splash the pot rule and the two card limit rule. By splashing the pot means that you shouldn’t throw chips into the centre of the table. The two card limit rule means that you can not show just one card from your hand- you have to show both.

When betting always stack your chips neatly in front of you just past the line that should be marked around the table so that everyone can see and count exactly what you bet/called.

The following is not a general rule, but you may be surprised that WSOP is not thought upon as a professional poker event. Ok I’m sure most readers are thinking- well surely P Helmuth is the champion right? Well not technically, as he will need to win another professional event which is non WSOP and he has already nearly achieved this; coming a margin behind the eventual winner this year.

Hopefully you found this article interesting and for us free poker players these rules should cause no issues!

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A Simple Free Online Poker Sit N Go Strategy

March 25th, 2010
Sole table competitions or sit and go as they’re also known can earn some decent cash with no thought before play. I personally love playing the free online poker sites and also the low stake (up to ten dollars) sit and go websites. I have my methods on how I play these different games which I will share.

Solid and Tight early on.
By playing this way you must play a decent hand near the start of the tournament. Your place at the table is critical- Paris from twenty two through ninety nine, I call and then up to three times the big blind. A bigger raise and I fold them.

Big pairs such as 10/10, Jack/Jack, Queen/Queen, King/King & Ace/Ace I will always call for a raise on a short table.

Get ready to call an all in whichever of those cards are shown- cards such as Queen/Jack, Queen/King, King/Jack & & Ace/10I play similar with tiny pairs & fold to raises higher than three times the big hand.

Now the hands that can get you into trouble.
AJ, AQ, and AK….you got to know when to fold them!! They are great hands when down to 3 or maybe 4 players left, but early on they are dead to any pair.

Learn to lay them down in the early part of a free poker tourney. One of the things I also do until the last 3 and in the money is show my winners. The table see’s Those KK and trip 7’s and so on. And I haven’t bluffed on a single hand…Yet. That comes when only 3 left. No more show and tell.

This sets up some great steals. All they have seen is winners from you…they have no reason to believe you don’t have them now.

As you just played the best cards at the start you have opened the door for the ‘bingo’ players to put themselves out. The odds are by being strong and rigid the chance will fall for you to knock a few opponents out yourself.

The whole idea in any tournament is to win, however making the money in SNG’s much easier. In most cases top 3 pay with 3rd usually paying back at least your buy-in. So making the money is critical to successful SNG play.

Another factor in play is a pet peeve of mine. I cannot count the times I have seen a table fold to a dead seat. There is nothing like seeing a deadhead getting free chips. The key factor here is PAY ATTENTION. You have to be in the game and not on vacation.

These are just a few common sense factors that I employ when playing for cash. I am well over 50 and have played poker in many forms and fashions for a lot of years, but I do have to agree with Doyle Brunson..”No Limit Holdem can be learned in an hour but takes a lifetime to master.” You go Doyle. Hope some of this helps someone improve their game.

Remember, all players new to the game or more experienced who have lost there way; go practice on the small stake or free online poker tables. There are some very good set ups and by gaining experience or finding that winning way again, your doing it with peace of mind that you haven’t lost a wallet full of cash.

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Free Poker Online Guide to Bad Beats vs Good Playing

March 23rd, 2010

Like anything in life; you have some decent days and some terrible days. Poker is just the same regardless of the way you play; be it at a casino or playing free poker online. Regrettably it’s more often than not the decent cards you end up folding with, while the awful losses end up getting you especially because you were in fact trying to play the hand.

From my experiences; I have decided that its how you play the decent pocket pairs but they hardly ever hit v playing the awful hands such as a 6 2 or a 4 9. That pocket aces your bad loss while those hands you fold are poor till the flop appears.

You may ask yourself and wonder why lady luck always seems to be on the shoulder of your opponents, and the experienced players benefiting from this while the novices always get hit with the pockets while you lose. This is called bad beats v donks at this stage- as those keep playing very poorly and you wonder what is going on!

What I’ve learned is when you play online verses in person you will encounter more bad beats online and lost to those donks that love to all in verses in person everyone plays tighter than those pair of jeans that you wear that are 2 sizes too small but you insist they fit… just like you insist a pair of pocket aces will fit.

Point of this is simple… Poker is like life… It is fun yet it’s challenging yet it’s totally surprising yet unreliable.

Poker and free poker online are interesting as you are oblivious to the cards that are about to be dealt. Just like everyday life it’s the small variable decisions that can either work for you or work against you and turn your day into one horrible bad beat.

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Free Poker Online Success Tips on How to Tell What Hand Your Opponents Have

March 14th, 2010
It’s very important for your success that you learn how to use psychology in poker, even in free poker online games you should try to think your way to the win…that way those free poker games may become very profitable buy in games and tournaments later on.

Using psychology in poker gives you an edge that can make the difference between winning and losing. In fact, I play the players more than I play the cards.

If you’re going to win the money, psychology is as important as position at the table, the odds and percentages involved in making a hand, knowing how to price the pot, or running a trap.

Good poker psychology is based on two things: intelligent observation, and common sense. Psychology also calls for old-fashioned ham-acting and some high pressure salesmanship. If you put it all together right, you’ll win at poker, whether it is the weekend family game or high-stake poker.

However, it goes almost without saying that you must know the people you are playing poker with; if you don’t know them, you’d better start studying them, because if you really know and understand your fellow card players, you can decide how to play your hand even before the second turn of the cards. Knowing how the other players play is a fundamental sharp poker strategy.

Remember a persons eyes are the path to their soul, and although appearances deceive the eye it’s knowing how to notice any giveaways which counts for all.

So do other physical giveaways, known among professional gamblers as “tells”: One player may talk a lot if he’s got a hand, giving of being anxious to get in; while another player may become very quiet if he’s holding something.

In my case you can’t tell when I’m holding a hand because I talk all the time anyway: I clown when I am playing. Because of the tells that most amateurs or part-time poker players have, I wouldn’t give you a plugged nickel to stand behind these players and call out their hands. They are already telling me through their actions what they’re holding.

Many of the psychological tips you have learnt in this article will only have an impact in face to face games as you will physically need to read their actions i.e. not being able to maintain eye contact. Others however can be applied to the free online poker world too, such as a change in characteristics of an opponent such as a chatter box falling silent through instant chat. Other similar philosophy applies to both the real and online world- another example could be the speed of their play drastically changing. Hopefully from this you will start thinking more during your games and live by the saying- think your way to victory!

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Free Poker Online Guide to Squeezing the Most out of your Hands

March 12th, 2010

Not giving away your hands is the key to getting the most out of your money or chips in free online poker.

Going all in on a river or pre flop is only a good move when it’s your choice; e.g. short stacked. The best way to think while playing poker is to become into the mindset of your opponents- what would you do in their scenario, when would you go all in on a pre flop or river?

I’m expecting that you would say when you believe you had better cards. If you’re going to get called on an all in on a pre flop or river then your cards should at least be an Ace / Queen pre flop and a good pair with a high kicker on the river.

Think before you act:
Why gamble your normal wager if you place a player on a flush draw and they haven’t hit on the river? Gamble on something he could potentially call on even after missing.

If you insist on needing to bet large amounts of money with your made hands I would suggest just over betting the pot instead of all in and doing it more often then with just the best of the best.

The more you blag the higher chances you will get called- the majority of opponents will blag with over bets rather than all ins.

Showing a few of your not so great hand can help as well. If you got everyone to lay down with a middle pair of 6’s even if it was the best hand in the group showing it will tell people you can bet with less than perfection.

Hopefully my tips will help you get the best out of your hands when you are playing free online poker…. good luck and I really hope to see you at the poker tables very soon!!

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Free Poker Guides - A Basic Guide to Texas Hold Em Poker Games

March 8th, 2010
It doesn’t matter what type of poker you are playing, pay or free poker. Hold’em is played in this way: Each player gets two cards, face down. Like any other game, you ante at the start and the first betting interval comes after the first two down cards are dealt. The play rotates to the left of the dealer. On this opening round, a player must stay or get out (fold).

Next, three cards are dealt face up in the center. This is called the flop, and these are community cards to be used by all players in making their “hands”, along with the two they have already got in their hand. You make a second wager after the flop. This time, a player can pass, because a pot has already been started.

As with before 2 additional cards (”the turn” and “the river”) are then dealt out to the middle of the table with the suit facing upwards for all to see. After each card there is a further chance to have a flutter, check or walk away and fold.

When I play I make it good practice to ‘throw away’ the top cards at every turn: throw one away then turn another. The min theory behind this method is to stop swindling. I will explain; in nearly all cases of marked card deception the top cards are used as marking points, but by throwing away the top card(s) breaks this cycle.

Not that for one moment I’m suggesting that this element exists in all games; it does on the other hand remain a custom (throwing away the top card) in which most expert and novices become a custom too.

Most of the games I play in have no limit, but hold’em is an interesting game to play with a limit, because after the turn there are plenty of times that you’ll have something good to draw at.

If you are new to Hold’em then have a go at playing free poker online where its totally free and you wont lose any of your own cash.

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