UnabomberPoker

OK, so you want to be a poker player. Great! Now, before you rush off to the casino there are some basic principles that you should have tucked neatly under your belt because one of the things that makes poker great is that it’s a skill game. Only a fool wouldn’t be armed with all the info possible when they step up to the felt.

That’s why we’ve compiled the basics here for you so that when you do play, you’re at least playing with some confidence

Bankroll

A game of poker doesn’t start at the poker table, it starts in your mind and in your wallet. Before you even step foot in a poker room you should know exactly how much money you have set aside to play with. This is your bankroll and it’s essentially what you can lose without it having a real impact on your life. If you don’t set that limit you’re on your way to Brokesville, population: You.

A player who is playing with money they can afford to lose has a huge advantage over somebody who is playing with their rent for the month. If you can’t afford to lose the money you’re playing with you’ll play scared and playing scared isn’t playing smart.

How much do you need? Glad you asked. Let’s assume you play the most common table for a beginner - $1/$2 No-Limit Holdem. The general rule of thumb is to have a bankroll that is at least 20 times the minimum buy-in. If your casino’s minimum buy-in for that table is $40 then you’d want a bankroll of at least $800.

Does that mean that you should be buying in for $40 each time you play? Glad you asked that too because the answer is no. For a table like that you’ll want to be playing with at least $100 at a time but will be more effective with $200 or more if the table allows it. Having more money at the table allows you to take advantage of the times when you either know you’re going to take the hand down and want to maximize what you get paid, or if you want to put pressure on a player to fold you’ll have the extra ammo to do so.

Additionally, by having more money available at your table you’ll have more time to assess the players and pay for blinds and small pots without feeling like you don’t have enough to work with afterwards.

Win Or Lose? The Choice Is Yours

One of the great things about poker is its variety of games, players and tables. What’s particularly nice is that you get to choose what, who and where to play.

Unless you’re experimenting and have a separate bankroll set aside for it, you should stick to poker games you know. Although games like Texas Holdem and Omaha might seem so similar that it would be easy to just leap from one to the other, the subtle differences are significant enough that they could mean the difference between getting paid and getting felted.

Play a limit that makes sense for your bankroll and play against people who aren’t far superior. If you find yourself outclassed at a table you need to be able to be honest enough with yourself to be able to walk away and find a new table.

Types of Games

Cash Games

Cash games, or “ring games” as they are sometimes called, are your standard type of poker game in which players can join or leave at any time and the chips have specific cash-equivalent value. The blinds are fixed and never increase.

Tournaments

Tournaments have a specific start time and once you join there’s no leaving until you either get eliminated (lose all your chips) or win. Tournaments have a buy-in cost that is pooled to make up the prize pool, which is divided up amongst the top finishers (usually the top 10%). Unlike in cash games, blinds and antes in tournaments increase over time.

Sit and Go Tournaments

Sit and Gos are a specific type of tournament which usually have less people than scheduled tournaments (often 10 players or less) and instead of starting at a set time, begin when all the spots are filled by players.

Basics of Playing Poker

Folding

The art of folding cards is one of the most difficult poker skills for novice poker players to adopt. Over a long period of time you will be dealt hands that will win and hands that will lose. The players who make money at the poker table are the ones who know how to maximize profits when they have the better hand, and just as importantly, get out of hands that they won’t win and can’t bluff.

Checking and Calling

It is generally considered to be poor playing if you are checking or calling too often. They are both often an indication to your opponent(s) that you have a weak hand. This tends to be seen as an invitation for them to bet to get you out of the pot. In general, it is more advisable to bet or fold than to check.

Checking and calling do, however, have the added benefits of being useful for laying a trap. Acting weak by checking when in fact you’re holding a monster hand can lead to your opponent being too aggressive and getting you paid off quite nicely. Also, a smart and cautious player who has a good hand, but not the best hand, might make good use of a check to try and keep the pot small just in case their opponent has them beat.

Betting, Raising and Check-Raising

The basic theory behind betting, raising and check-raising strategy is that they are done when you have the best hand.

Most poker pros agree that aggression is a key element to success at the poker table. By betting and raising you immediately give yourself what is called “fold equity”. Fold equity means that you add the percentage chance that your opponent is likely to fold to a bet or raise to the percentage chance that you will win the pot if you see it down to the river. The end result is your total percentage chance to win the pot.

In other words, aggressive betting and raising can see you win the pot right there without anyone showing their cards.

Bluffing

Bluffing is a crucial part of any poker player’s game and must be employed at least occasionally in order to win in the long run.

Bluffing adds an element of uncertainty to the minds of your opponents leading them to make the wrong call against you. Although bluffing is extremely useful, novice players have a tendency to overuse it.

Here are a few common bluffing mistakes that should be avoided to become a successful poker player.

Small Bluffs

It’s easy to become nervous about a bluff and to make a weak raise or bet. But opponents who already have a decent amount of money invested in a pot probably won’t lay their cards down for a tiny raise no matter what they have. If you’re going to risk your chips with a bluff you had better make sure you are representing a good hand or you can expect to get served.

Bluffing Bad Players

Some poker players are so terrible, or just plain emotional from being on tilt, that they’ll make horrible calls. It’s your responsibility to identify this type of player and let them bet into you while you’re holding a good hand. There are two major types of bluffs, the stone cold bluff and the semi-bluff, and knowing which one of them to employ and when will be critical to your success as a poker player.

Bluffing the Short Stack

This is by no means are hard rule but more of a place to be cautious. A player with very few chips is likely to act more desperately and be willing to re-raise you or even call you for what they think is a coin flip. If you do bluff a short stack it’s often a good idea to make sure that your bet is big enough that they can’t effectively re-raise you. This essentially reduces any leverage they might have from pushing all in against you.

Table Position

Where a realtor will tell you the key to real estate investment is, “location, location, location,” a poker pro might say the key to success at the felt is “position, position, position.”

Your position at the table, relative to the dealer button, indicates when you act in relation to the other players. Generally speaking, the closer you are to the button, the better your position.

It has been said many times before, but it bears repeating again, that poker is a game of information. The more information you have about your opponent’s mind set and what kind of cards they might be holding, the better informed a decision you will make. By acting later, you are getting more information because you get to see what the players before you choose to do.

Position can be broken into three basic stages: Early, Middle and Late. The kinds of hands you play should be roughly dictated by what position you are in. For beginners, it’s a good suggestion to play nothing worse than ace-queen off-suit when in early position. As you get closer to the button you can start expanding the range of hands that you are willing to play with.