Rec.Gambling.Poker Newsgroup - RecPoker.com: The Player�s Voice!

Rec.Gambling.Poker Newsgroup - RecPoker.com: The Player�s Voice!: "BigSlick Software, Inc. is proud to announce that Pocket Rockets Pro, a Texas Hold'em poker game for the Pocket PC, was selected as one of three finalist today for Pocket PC Magazines Software of the Year - Casino Game. Read more at http://www.pocketpcmag.com/awards/category_2004.asp?catid=38#Casino If you have a Pocket PC and have yet to try Pocket Rockets Pro head over to www.bigslicksoftware.com BigSlick Software, Inc."

Online Poker to Get the eCOGRA Seal of Approval

Player Protection for Top Poker Sites LONDON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- On the back of a boom in online poker, top quality poker rooms and networks will now be able to demonstrate their adherence to best practices by undergoing a rigorous independent assessment designed to give more protection to the player and improved efficiencies to operators. eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) is introducing a set of generally accepted practices for online poker rooms on the same basis that have been successfully implemented at 44 top Internet casinos over the past two years, developing practical inspection and monitoring regimes through independent and outsourced professional services in the process. "The online poker sector is growing at an unprecedented rate, and there is a clear need for sensible and properly implemented regulation that will improve poker room performance and service to the playing community," says eCOGRA CEO Andrew Beveridge. "Improved service means more customer satisfaction and better business. "This is the first self-regulation of online poker, and we have been active for the past year in consulting with a wide range of experts to frame a range of Generally Accepted Practices (eGAP) that are relevant and effective. These embrace operational imperatives like fast and efficient payouts, player dispute procedures, fair gaming tenets, efficiency in customer support and relationships, marketing and operator probity. "The next step will be for software providers and operators prepared to commit to the Poker eGAP to submit to eCOGRA's compliance inspections that are independently carried out by an audit panel including globally respected firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers. If they are successful in passing this, the eCOGRA Seal will be awarded but ongoing monitoring and reviews will be regular occurrences. "We expect that, as is the case with casinos, players will recognise the benefits of playing at regulated poker rooms where they have independent dispute facilities in the unlikely event of any difficulties." Already various prominent poker software companies and operational poker rooms have expressed a strong interest to submit their systems and procedures for assessment. eCOGRA is a non-profit, non-partisan body with a full time staff in London, England. Founded by major online software and casino operator groups in early 2002, the organisation spent considerable time researching the concept of player protection with experts throughout the world before constructing a working set of requirements essential to fair and efficient gambling operations, together with an independent inspection and monitoring system for enforcement. The first online casinos were accredited early in 2004, and since then a steady stream of online casinos has committed to the eCOGRA ideals and achieved Seal status. The eGAP requirements, inspection and monitoring and the award of Seals are the responsibility of independent directors on the eCOGRA Board, all of whom are well known and highly respected gambling industry personalities. For full details please visit http://www.ecogra.org

Being first woman to win poker title a big deal to Duke

LAS VEGAS - Annie Duke, a mother of four, outlasted nine poker legends - including her brother - to win the first-ever World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions and its $2 million prize. Duke, who holds a double-major from Columbia University and did graduate studies in cognitive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, is the first woman to win a multimillion-dollar payday in poker. "This was an unbelievable opportunity, and the biggest win of my career," Duke said. "I hope that a lot of women will now enter this game and realize it's not just your husband's, boyfriend's or brother's Wednesday night poker game - that this is something that you can do on an equal footing with men." Duke, the only woman to play in the tournament, beat the biggest names in poker, including her brother, Howard Lederer, who finished third. Duke took the title after knocking out 1989 World Series of Poker champion Phil Hellmuth. Two-time World Series of Poker champions Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson ('76, '77) and Johnny Chan ('87, '88), 2004 champion Greg Raym, and T.J. Cloutier, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Chip Reese rounded out the competition. The Daily News profiled Annie Duke in May. To read Mark Kram's story, go to our Web site at http://go.philly.com/poker

Some sure ways to lose in texas hold'em

Some sure ways to lose in texas hold'em The following is some pitfalls that most players fall into when playing texas holdem. By reading these tips hopefully you can save some money by not doing the same. Poor hand selection: Playing too many cards, often at the wrong time, is the biggest flaw in the losing hold'em players game. The opposite of this is being able to play good cards and weaker hands when the game, position, and pot dictates. You may not think that playing looser changes that much but it gets you into a whole host of problems that you could avoid if you played a little tighter. This especially applies against a raise that you think means the person has a quality hand. If you bring KJ and KQ against AK and KK all the time you're in for a lot of losing. Imagine if you play 89 off suit everytime you get it how quick you'll be calling for the chip runner to bring you another rack. It is hilarous because everytime you'll play there will be people who even play hands like J2 off suit! Don't be one of them, unless you want one of the other readers here to take your money home. Gutshots: A gutshot is a straight draw where only one card makes your hand. For example if you have JT and the flop is AK. If a Q hits then you will have the nut straight. People routinely draw to the river for this. You are only 1/11 to hit it on the turn and 1:5.8 to hit it by the river. To make it a profitiable play to draw to, you need to make sure that whatever you have to bet to get to the river will be better then 1:6. Sometimes that is the case, but most of the time it isn't. In low limit games you can sometimes draw for one card to the gutshot if the pot is very large and it will be the nuts but doing it consistently is another sure fire way to lose more then you have to. To keep you away from rigid rules, I'll throw in another exception. Let's say you have AK and the flop is QT4. Now you have a gutshot and two over cards. That means you have 10 outs instead of 4. If an A, K, or J comes you have a pretty strong hand. Extra outs change your hand. Backdoor Flushes: Even worse then the gutshot is the backdoor flush. This is when you need two perfect cards of the same suit to complete your hand. An example would be if you have JdTd and the flop is Qd6h5h. Notice that you'll need to diamonds in a row to win and this is worse then 1/20 to hit. To draw to that you'll have to have extra outs. Small Pairs: Having a hand like 55 in a loose game is great because if you hit on the flop you'll have a very strong hand. What if you don't hit? Is it worth trying to catch that other 5? On the flop it is about 1/8 to hit the 5 but after the flop to draw to it the odds are 1/23 on the turn and if you want to go all the way to the river it is worse then 1/10. So unless it is a pair that could hold up without improvement, drawing to it isn't a great idea. General Chasing: Most players you will run into will go to the river trying to catch their Ace and most of the time not hit it. They will also call with the lowest pair hoping to catch another one or two pair. All of these plays can be correct if the odds justify it but usually they don't. What you'll find most of the time is a calling station type player that draws to just about anything (gutshots, an A, small pairs hitting sets, backdoor flushes, etc). Avoid this like the plauge. Reraising Weak Hands: At low limit hold'em, unless you against a maniac, a raise usually means something. When you reraise your hand has to be even stronger then the initial raise because what you are saying is that you know he has a good hand, but yours is even better. To put in that third bet you should definitely have a very good hand (nuts or close to it). It's rare in low limit that a player will reraise you without a great hand either. For example you wouldn't want to cap it with someone if you have a flush and it isn't the nuts. If you raise and they reraise, just call. Or if you raise with a non nut hand and they three bet you should take a harder look at your hand add see if it is worth calling and paying off.

PokerFaces.Net community launches unique web communications services for online poker players.

A new online poker player search service has recently been launched at PokerFaces.net . It is a cross poker room player community which will allow players to find other people to play against around the world. (PRWEB) September 22, 2004 -- A new type of website is being launched at PokerFaces.net this month. It is the first of a kind of new sites whose aim is to bring the faceless monster of online poker, into the real world. PokerFaces.net is achieving this by providing a complete tool set which enables poker players to communicate with each other via email and messenger service. Furthermore the ability to post photographs, video clips and audio clips will enable players to promote themselves and build their own poker profile. Essentially it is a poker player community site which spans across all online poker rooms. The power of the site comes in being able to find other players around the world using specific poker criteria. For example, you can find players within 15 miles of your zip code in the US, who play at $2-$4 limits and plays Omaha style. Spokesman for the project indicated many future upgrade plans as the site grows, with big plans to provide live link up facilities for players. Scheduling services to promote real games will also be introduced, as well as potential PokerFaces tournaments, and even webcam service to allow players to see each other. Initial response from the industry has supported the idea behind the site and hopes to enjoy in it's success. Online poker has welcomed this fresh take on creating an online poker player community. As online poker grows, services like PokerFaces.net will be required to help bring the faceless world of online poker into the real world, by promoting real communications between players globally. If the site is successful, there is no limit to where this concept can be taken. Visionary plans even include sending top player profiles to real life tournaments and holding their own PokerFaces world tour. Visit www.pokerfaces.net to learn more about this site.

Harrah's Entertainment creates World Series of Poker Circuit

ADAM GOLDMAN Associated Press LAS VEGAS - Harrah's Entertainment and ESPN says they'll capitalize on poker's best-known event by beginning a series of high-profile tournaments across the country next year. The Las Vegas-based gambling company hopes name recognition shuffles rival tournaments to the back of the pack, while enriching shareholders and players as it tries to carve out a huge swath of the lucrative and fast-growing poker market. The World Series of Poker Circuit will include a point system and seven televised tournaments at its casinos in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Atlantic City, N.J., New Orleans and San Diego, Harrah's Entertainment executives said. The circuit concludes with the Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas with top point earners gaining entry. While Harrah's wouldn't forecast anticipated revenues, the company is betting the individual events will attract hundreds, with each participant spending $10,000 for a seat at one of the tournament tables. Dan Goldman, vice president of marketing for PokerStars.com., said anecdotal research shows that from 50 million to 60 million people play poker at least once a month. Harrah's thinks the World Series of Poker brand will help it tap that market. "It's so far head of everybody else you can't match up," said Howard Greenbaum, Harrah's vice president of specialty gambling and golf operations. "Everybody wants to play in the World Series of Poker. It's dying and going to heaven for the poker player." John Mulkey, a Bear Stearns gambling analyst in New York, said Harrah's should generate a solid return on their investment. "It was a natural for a company like Harrah's with its distribution points across the country to own such a popular event," he said. Harrah's signed an agreement in July to buy Caesars Entertainment Inc. in a deal that if approved by regulators would make it the largest gambling company in the world with more than $8 billion in revenues. Other pokers already capitalizing on the poker craze include Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and the "World Poker Tour" on the Travel Channel. Steve Lipscomb, chief executive of the three-year-old World Poker Tour, began airing tournaments to impressive ratings about 18 months ago. Lipscomb's company, which has since gone public, puts on a series of 15 poker tournaments with about $70 million in prize money. The finals are played at the luxurious Bellagio hotel-casino in Las Vegas. "When you play in the World Poker Tour championship at the Bellagio, there is no better poker event in the world, including the World Series of Poker," he said. "We've established the sport. The WPT is the NBA." "If they try to go up against our event, they are going to have to try to take on an established event," he said. While the Harrah's tournaments will carry the World Series of Poker name, the crown jewel will remain the legendary poker game that has been held at the smoky Binion's Horseshoe hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas since 1971. When it begins next summer at the Rio hotel-casino off the Las Vegas Strip and Binion's, Harrah's believes more than 5,000 people could enter the 36th annual World Series of Poker seeking what ESPN calls "poker immortality." The 2004 world series attracted a field of 2,576 players, far surpassing the 839 in 2003. Next year, the total prize pool in the No-Limit Texas Hold'Em main event could exceed $50 million, with the $5 million first place being increased by several million. "We had expected to see a substantial increase in the number of players, but didn't anticipate anything of the magnitude of what actually occurred," said Ginny Shanks, Harrah's senior vice president for acquisition marketing. Harrah's bought the World Series of Poker and the Horseshoe name in Nevada for $44.3 million earlier this year. "We knew it (was) the oldest, richest, most prestigious and most media-hyped gaming competition in the world, so we certainly knew it had the potential to generate strong revenues from the event itself, broadcast contracts and licensing and sponsorship deals," Shanks said. Harrah's also has a licensing agreement with a company to sell World Series of Poker chips and playing cards among other items. ESPN purchased the rights to televise the World Series of Poker from the former owners of Binion's for $55,000 a year, Shanks said. But those low-budget days are over. ESPN's is filming the circuit in 2005 and its contract expires next year. "We need to see what the ... market will bear," Shanks said. Terms between Harrah's and ESPN weren't disclosed for the 2005 broadcasts. Last week's broadcast of the final table of the 2004 World Series of Poker taped in May gave the sports network its highest-rated and most-watched poker telecast ever, ESPN said. "The World Series of Poker is it," said Bob Chesterman, coordinating producer for ESPN original entertainment. "It's the pinnacle of poker. The players knows that and the viewers know it." ESPN said the last hour of the finals posted a hefty 2.8 rating representing more than 2.5 million households. ESPN hopes to draw similar numbers when it airs its first Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. Tuesday's three-hour poker slugfest was played earlier this month and included 10 of the best players in the world, including patent attorney Greg Raymer who won the world series at Binion's in June. The winner takes home $2 million. ON THE NET Harrah's Entertainment: http://www.harrahs.com

Are poker ‘bots’ raking online pots?

Some suspect computer programs have infiltrated Internet games. By Mike Brunker Reporter MSNBC Updated: 4:24 p.m. ET Sept. 20, 2004 Pull up a chair at a friendly poker game in a buddy’s den and you probably know the other players and have some idea of their card-playing weaknesses – like Big Al's habit of fingering his chips when he's itching to raise. But take a seat at a table in one of the rapidly multiplying online card rooms and there's no telling who’s sitting to your right – or if the player is even human. Concern is growing in online chat rooms and news groups devoted to poker that sophisticated card-playing robots – known as “bots” in the nomenclature of the Web – are being used on commercial gambling sites to fleece newcomers, the strategy-impaired and maybe even above-average players. “It is pretty much a certainty that bots are playing online,” said Gautam Rao, a 43-year-old Canadian poker pro who regularly plays three high-stakes Internet games simultaneously. “… What we don’t know is how strong they are.” Widespread use of bots capable of beating your average player would pose a significant problem for the red-hot online poker sector, which has grown exponentially in recent years and is expected to top the $1 billion revenue mark this year. Without some way of verifying the identity – and humanity – of players, the business could be significantly undercut. Many don't see a threat But skeptics – and there are many – argue the complexities of the game and the changing strategies ensure that creation of a program that can “read” opponents’ cards using screen scanning techniques and respond in real time is years away at best. They point to the handful of commercial products that purport to give online players significant advantage, which they roundly deride as woefully inadequate, as proof today's bots are no match for humans. Rao and his fellow believers have a ready answer: A bot capable of playing against the best humans already exists. The University of Alberta’s Computer Poker Research Group has developed an artificially intelligent automaton known as “Vex Bot,” capable of playing poker at the master level, though as yet it can only apply its gambling genius to two-player games. Vex Bot has been used by researchers to test the frontiers of artificial intelligence – and as the basis for a commercial poker tutorial program, Poki’s Poker Academy -- but some fear it may become a blueprint for programmers with more sinister motives.

Online Tells in Poker

The in-turn buttons lead to the most obvious tell unique to online poker. If the blinking light representing a player acts immediately, it’s likely this person has clicked the box of an in-turn action. It is usually easy to determine when a player has a no-brainer hand. The immediate "check" is often incredibly revealing. If you are first to act, and for some reason take a moment before checking, and your three opponents immediately check behind you like rifle fire, this is a tell as big as Texas. They ain’t got nuthin’. Another common situation... the first player takes a moment, then finally checks. You have the "bet/raise in turn" button checked, so your bet appears, but instantly the player next to you raises. Uh-oh, he had the bet/raise button checked too, and didn’t care what you or the first player did. That tells a lot more than a just normal raise would -- an awful lot more. Besides the speed of action resulting from using the buttons, other online tells can be discerned from how slow a player commonly acts on their hand. Players who are consistently super-slow (rude human speedbumps) are likely not paying attention to the game, either because they are playing two games and are not competent at it, or because they are doing other work at home. Either way, if all of a sudden this person plays a hand crisply and promptly and aggressively... well, they got somethin’. "The Stall" is a common tell among average or slightly below average players. When the last card in Holdem or Omaha makes a coordinated board (making a nut hand like a flush), the mediocre player pauses as if thinking, and then finally bets. This pause almost always means "powerhouse" or at least that the bettor thinks he has a powerhouse. It's a comically inept tell in its obviousness.

Some Basic Online Poker Playing Tips for New Players

Brad's Online Poker Tips: " 1. Keep track of other players playing styles. Keep brief player notes of your opponents. Write down if they are aggressive (someone who raises a lot), loose (someone who plays too many hands, tight (someone who only plays premium hands), calling station (someone that will call you with almost anything). Taking the time to complete this task will also allow you to have handy, exact notes of a person's previous play. This will be an easy reminder of their play when you next sit with them at a table. (Though you will always reevaluate the play of your opponents, and update information when appropriate.) 2. Play two games instead of one. Or, three when you are comfortable! Here is the reason this is a good idea for a new player. You will have certain starting hand requirements that will not allow you to play many hands. A new player may get bored sitting and waiting for just the right opportunity. You want your online poker experience to be a pleasurable and fun time. Play two tables and stay involved! 3. Keep daily records of your wins and losses. Your on-line poker experience will probably be a hobby, a part-time job, or a full-time profession. Under any scenario, you must be "

Learning to play poker online

Seasoned Poker Professionals Bring Coaching to the Sport of Poker NORTH HAVEN, Connecticut -- PokerCoaching.com today announces the availability of the first-ever professional coaching service, for aspiring poker champions worldwide. "Serious players who want to win tournament poker now have a powerful new weapon in their arsenal," explained Dan Mezick, Executive Director of PokerCoaching LLC. "What we do is simple to describe: through poker coaching, we enable tournament champions." PokerCoaching's coaching service to players is personal and tailored to the player's unique experience, talent, and understanding of the game. "A minute to learn and a lifetime to master, that's how Mike Sexton explains it on the World Poker Tour," says Mezick. 'We agree one hundred percent. Our long-term goal is to produce poker champions. We will do that by coaching our students in the techniques, tools and training needed to beat the best tournament players in the world.' PokerCoaching.com has retained the services of several world class poker professionals. Coaches Jim Bucci, and Bill Seymour, each a well known professional in the poker community, have over 24 years of combined tournament experience. Each has won numerous tournament events. Each brings deep knowledge of tournament poker to the process of coaching aspiring tournament champions. Poker professionals coaching for PokerCoaching.com must have an impressive tournament record and a clearly demonstrated ability to effectively teach players. Seasoned tournament professionals interested in coaching opportunities may visit http://www.PokerCoaching.com to learn more. For players, PokerCoaching's methodology involves playing poker online while simultaneously discussing hands with the coach-as he watches, on the telephone. 'This method allows our students to discuss specific hands with their coaches, while the coaches themselves gain an understanding of the student's skill level and style of play,' Mezick explained. Students also get further coaching at World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker events in which the coaches participate. Players eager to rapidly advance their poker skills can visit http://www.PokerCoaching.com to learn about the service, select a coach, and begin the coaching process.

It's a full house at poker tournaments

September 12, 2004 BY BILL ORDINEKNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS If you want to play in a Texas Hold 'em poker tournament in Atlantic City, get in line. Literally. Get in line. The gambling public's appetite for the game is so ravenous that the major Atlantic City casino poker rooms are holding daily tournaments and, in some cases, turning away would-be Chris Moneymakers by the score. Moneymaker was the 27-year-old Tennessee accountant who went from poker unknown to a $2.5 million winner in the 2003 World Series of Poker. It was his improbable feat, televised dozens of times on ESPN, that helped make Texas Hold 'em the hottest thing going in a casino. "We're scrambling to hire as many (poker dealers) as we can," said Tom Gitto, manager of the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel Casino's poker room. "It started in February with 50 people (wanting to play in tournaments), then 60 and 100, now the lines are outside the door. . . . Some people don't even know the name of the game. They say, 'I want to play that game I see on ESPN.' " The Taj Mahal has Atlantic City's largest poker room, and plans to add 12 more to its 68 tables. The Taj holds No-Limit Texas Hold 'em tournaments all week, ranging from a $50 buy-in plus a $15 fee to a $200 buy-in and $25 fee. As a rule, the higher the buy-in, the bigger the payoff. In tournaments, the buy-in money is returned to the highest-finishing players as prizes, and the fees are kept by the casino. Atlantic City's newest hotel casino, the Borgata in the Marina District, holds No-Limit Texas Hold 'em tournaments most days, with buy-ins that range from $40 to $200, plus entry fees. The poker explosion has prompted the Borgata to draft plans to triple the number of poker tables (there are 34 now) as part of an expansion that is to break ground at the end of this year. The $200 million addition will also include more restaurants, table games and slots. Bob Boughner, the Borgata's chief executive officer, said that his casino's poker business had doubled from a year ago, and that he expected the trend to continue. The Borgata hopes to capture a younger clientele, and Texas Hold 'em, a game that appeals to the under-30 crowd, apparently fits the marketing strategy. "What we've brought is a level of energy the (Atlantic City) market hasn't seen in 20 years, and poker was a critical part of that," Boughner said.

Basic Texas Hold'em Strategy

There is a strategy that can beat any holdem poker game. Not all strategies will work interchangeably. Because you are just learning, the assumption is that you will be starting out at low limit texas hold'em poker games. This article is to help you form a strategy that will beat that game. As you move up in limits and find tougher opposition, your hold'em strategy will also have to evolve.

Beating low limit texas holdem isn't easy. In many ways forming a strategy that consistently wins at middle limit is easier. To begin with, there are many books about texas holdem but most are aimed at the upper limits. Using the same strategy at lower limits often will result in a loss, not a win. Next when you are learning holdem at the low limits, there are rarely any good players to learn from so you get a warped view of how the game should be played correctly. If a player was really good and capable of winning, they would have progressed up the limit ladder to bigger games. You may run into a good player now and then but it is rare compared to the vast amount of poor uninformed players feeding the poker community. Lastly, when you are first starting out, you have no knowledge or bankroll to build upon. Your foundation is little or nothing since there isn't much out there to read or learn. Now with that all said, it is possible to beat low limit holdem and by no means should you think that you need to start higher. The learning curve may be sharp but once you get over the hump you'll find that moving up the ranks is easier then first starting out. You should find comfort in the fact that all the other players are facing the same challenges you are. Taking the step to learn strategy as opposed to just haphazardly playing gives you a major advantage. A study was performed on college students and their post graduate goals. Of those that actually set goals, more then 90% achieved them. Right now because you are reading this you are on your way to becoming a winning player. And as soon as you do win a few times and leave with other peoples money, I'm sure you'll be hooked!

Why do some players win and others lose when everyone gets the same amount of cards? Luck plays a very small role when you start thinking about how many hands a player plays in the course of a year. And remember that each player has the same chance of getting lucky too, so even that isn't biased. Poker is almost exactly like investing in business. The best investor is a person who takes calculated risks and puts their money into ventures that they think have a good chance of succeeding. Have you ever seen a successful investor that put his money into every stock and continued to do so despite the fact that it has lost all chance of improving? That seems crazy right? But if you play cards you'll see people doing that every day in every hand. They will start out with a hand that would take a miracle to win. Then after seeing the flop with little or no help, they invest more into it either ignoring or oblivious to the fact that another player has a better hand. This continues until the showdown where the majority of the time a smarter player/investor gladly takes their money. Notice that I used the word "majority". What's great about poker is that occasionally their miracle happens and they win a pot in spite of their bad investing, in spite of the odds, and in spite of their lack of skill. The reason this is so great is because once they win a little here and there playing badly, they won't stop. In psychology the strongest type of conditioning is random reinforcement. The bad player getting lucky sometimes makes him a liner of the skilled players wallets for life. So as you have guessed, you can't be a winning player if you play every hand. A much more selective strategy is necessary. You need to "tighten" up, meaning playing fewer but better hands then your opponents. You need to take calculated risks and put your money behind them. Another analogy is a sniper. You wait for your cards, your mark, and when it makes itself visible you fire, kill, and take the pot. A bad players approach is like a soldier using a machine gun firing away into the distance. Sure something may hit but this isn't the movies, eventually you'll run out of ammo (chips) so you better take your shots more wisely.

So what hands should you play? Is it just a matter of playing the right hands and avoiding others and a win is guaranteed? If it was only that easy! *smile* Poker strategy is purely situational. Always and never do not exist. The best player is the one that can adapt to different games, different players and even different hands. Because of this it is hard, if not impossible, to give exact rules that can be followed to win. That's the downside. The upside is that because it is so dynamic, the majority of people you will be playing against in your starting phases won't know what to do and will be playing completely wrong.

This article is going to approach winning at low limit hold'em with a number of angles. The first of which is to break poker hands down into a few main categories so you can get a conceptual perspective. The second angle will be to give some specific scenarios to solidify what the categories. The third will be a list of hands. The next angle will be to talk about different games and how tight or loose to play in them so you know how to adapt your style to each game. We will finish up by talking about different types of players, how they play, how you should play against them and how you can learn from them.

The low limit hold'em hand categories are: Big Pairs, Draws, and Milking Hands. Every hand you play can fall into one of these categories and this will decide how you'll play it after that flop.

Big Pairs: A big pair is how you guessed it, top pair or an over pair. For example a big pair would be when you have AK, and the flop is AQ6. Notice that you have top pair. Another example would be having QQ and the flop is T63. When other people with lessor hands are trying to beat you, you are in a way defending your position. You want to make it as costly as possible to try to draw out on you. If you have the best hand now, everyone is drawing against you. Some people may have legitimate draws, others may be long shots but either way, you have the winner now and want to keep it that way. "Big Pair" hands work best when there are few people against you. The more people in against you, the weaker they become because you have more people drawing and there will be less safe cards that won't help them improve. So when you have this type of hand, you want to play in such a way that will reduce the competition. For example if you have AA or KK preflop, the reason that you raise in a low limit game is to lower the amount of people in. Key Point: Big Pair hands don't like lots of opponents. They win most when there are few players against them.

Draws: A drawing hand is a that still needs cards to improve to the winner. Some legitimate draws you will run into are: open ended straights, flush draws, small pairs, etc. An open ended straight is a hand where either end can hit and you will complete your straight. An example of this would be having KJ and the flop is QT4. Notice that if you hit either a 9 or an A, you will have the straight. An example of a flush draw would be having 9Tclubs and the flop is AcQc4d. Notice that it only takes one more club to make the flush for you. The last draw mentioned was a small pair. These are really draw hands because they need to hit to win usually. For example having 55 and the flop being A53. You would have hit your draw. You'll want to read the section on things to stay away from if you are tempted to go for gutshot straights, backdoor flushes, and catching your pocket pair after the flop. Key Point: Draws favor lots of opponents since they hit infrequently. Because of this, to make them profitable, lots of players need to be in the hand (or lots of money).

Milking Hands: You would like to see these hands as often as possible but they are rarer then having top pair. A milking hand is any hand that you have the nuts, two pair or better. The "nuts" is the best possible hand. For example, let's say that you have Ad5d and the flop is Qd9d2d. You now have the best possible hand and for someone to beat you, they would have to pair the board or get very lucky. Your goal now is to extract the most money from them you can. Often this will be best accomplished by not giving away your hand too early and reducing the number of opponents. Instead you can "slow play", meaning not raising until later betting rounds where the bet size doubles. Another example would be if you have 88 and the flop is A84. Notice that there is no immediate danger in letting people draw cheaply against you so you can just call. Then on later rounds a raise or check raise is used to get as much from them as you can. You'll find that hitting sets like the 8s above makes a lot of money since the hand is so well disguised. The flush, straights, fullhouses, etc will still win but the set is the hardest to read if you are on the other end. Key Point: You want to make the most money on these hands that you can. The specific hand will dictate how you will want to play it.

Now let's go over some specific hands and how you would play them this way and why:

You pick up American Airlines/Pocket Rockets/Pocket Aces: AdAc You are in middle position with a couple callers in front of you. You raise. The reason you raise is because this falls into the Big Pair category and it doesn't do well against lots of opponents. If someone raised before you preflop, reraise them. There is nothing to fear yet.

One more person calls in back of you and the other players call making it four of you. The flop comes back: QdJd4h

The first person bets, on person calls and it is now your turn. The best move here is to raise and try to continue to limit the compeition. They could have anything at this point and reading hands is very hard at low limit. Most likely they either have a Q or a draw (straight or flush). If they do have a draw you want to make them pay as much as possible for it. You raise, the person in back of you folds and the other two people just call.

The turn is: 5h making it QdJd4h5h

They check to you, you bet again and they call.

The river is a 6h making it QdJd4h5h6h

They check to you, you bet and they both call, you win.

Using this example, there are other legitimate hands that could have been in there with you. For example if someone had KT they would have an open ended straight draw. If a 9 or an A came, you could be in trouble. Another good hand here would be having two diamonds like Kd9d. Notice that if another diamond came you would also be in trouble. If you had either of those hands, you would be drawing and trying to improve. You wouldn't want to pay too much money to see the next cards and you would hope everyone would stay in the hand.

We can interchange a number of hands for the AA and you would play it the same way. Some of these would be KK, AQ, KQ, QJ, etc. You would be playing the hand like what we mentioned above as a Big Pair.

What if we had 44 in the above example, that would now give us a set. The poor guy with the AA wouldn't know what hit him, same thing if we had our QJ, or JJ. These would be considered Milking Hands and you would do your best to extract the most best as possible. We already mentioned the drawing hands.

Now let's go over a list of hands. These hands are not from any book and they aren't supposed to be exact rankings of what is best. These are geared to low limit loose games and the point is to help you understand how you would play each and what you are hoping for, and what can beat you. * AKs means AK of the same suite.

AA, KK, QQ, AKs, AK, JJ - These are premium hands and no matter what game you'll play you'll be happy to look down and see them. These fall into the category of Big Pairs and you'll raise and reraise with them preflop. AA doesn't have to worry about over cards hitting but when you have KK, QQ, and JJ you will often find yourself with an A on the board and you'll have to decide whether to continue. If lots of people are in, usually someone has the A. When you have AKs or AK, you'll raise and try to catch an A or K, or other draw on the board.

AQs, AQ, AJs, KQs, KJs, JTs - These are also quality hands. And even if someone raises before you'll, you will most likely play. A late position raise with these hands isn't a bad move. Whenever you are suited, you have a much better chance of winning, especially in low limit games where big hands win since so many people are in. Raising a hand like KQs if you are on the button and everyone is in is a great move since you have a good drawing hand (straights, flushes, big cards like a Q or K, etc). These hands pretty much play themselves but be careful for the occasional person who is tight and is only raising with AA or KK. You wouldn't want to bring AQ against one of those hands. This kind of read will be hard though so don't beat yourself up if occasionally you lose AQ to AK. One thing to note here before we go on to the lessor hands is that just because you have a good preflop hand doesn't mean that it is going to win. You're going to still fold a lot of hands after the flop since you won't improve much. With these hands though, when you do catch something it will be strong.

AJ, KQ, KJ, KTs, QTs, J9s, TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22 - These hands are middle hands that you won't want to call with heads up against another raiser. You want more people in to justify them since you'll need good flops. If you have a small pair, you'll be looking to catch one on the flop. Don't chase it after though since the odds of you catching it are worse then 1/20. To catch another one of your pocket pair on the flop is about 1/8. When you have a hand like AJ, KQ, etc you'll be hoping to catch one of those cards and it be the highest on the board. If you have a hand like QTs, J9s, KTs, etc you'll be in there for a variety of hands such as straights, flushes, two pair, etc. Becareful though playing hands like J9s and catching merely a J or 9. Often times your kick won't be good and you'll lose to a hand like AJ.

89s, 78s, 67s, 56s, 45s, 34s - These hands are called suited connectors and they are similar to the hands above like J9s, QTs, etc. When you play these hands they are Draws. And if you remember from above that means that they favor lots of people in the pot and you like to play them "in the back" (late position). A great example would be to have 89s on the dealer button, the last position, and 5 people were already in before you (raise or not). You are getting great odds on this hand to play it. You are hoping to catch an openended straight draw, a flush draw, or even two pair. You can also run into hands like 889 on the flop when you have 78s, or you could even flop the nuts like this: 89s and the board is JT7. What you don't want to do is get caught up chasing down draws with these when the odds don't justify it. Also you don't want to play these against few opponents for more then a bet. For example a really bad way to play would be this: you have 89s and no one calls except one really tight old lady in front of you who raises. You call (bad move) and you end up heads up with her. The flop comes back Qs4d3d. You have nothing but a backdoor flush draw (meaning both cards have to hit, which is over 1/20 to do so). She bets, you call and go for it. The turn brings Qs4d3dAs. Now you think you may be lucky so you call again hoping to catch another spade (which is still worse then 1/4). You miss it and she wins since you have nothing. You played really poorly, going against the odds. Your 89s plays well against a lot of people so that the draw is worth while.

A5-ATs, A5-A2s, K9s-K5s, Q9s-Q5s, J8s, T8s, 97s, 86s, 75s, 64s, 53s, 42s - these are marginal at best hands. The only exception would be the ATs. It would probably be best if you avoided them at first until you become more comfortable in the game playing good hands. If the game is very loose though, with lots of people chasing the whole way to the river, these hands can be profitable. We play A5s and below and ATs and above because they both have ways to hit straights as well as the flushes. Notice that A6s can't make a straight using both cards. When you play this type of hand you really aren't looking for the A since your kicker will rarely be good. Instead you are looking for the straight, flush or two pair. Because they are such long shots you'll want lots and lots of bad players in the hand to justify the call preflop. The same goes for hands like K9s, T8s, etc. You'll play these hands in late position, when you see lots of people are in and it costs you very little. Don't get trapped though. If you play a hand like T8s and the flop comes back T high with no other draws for you it would be all right to just get out. There are to many cards that can come and beat you. You would much prefer to see a flush or straight draw.

Before continuing, how do the hands above fit into our three categories? Big Pair hands include things such as AA, KK, AK, QK, etc. Any situation where you have the top pair or over pair would be this. Drawing hands would include lots of hands above like suited connectors, small pairs, etc. Milking Hands really can be anything where you get hit hard on the flop and these would be two pair or better (three of a kind, sets, full houses, straights, etc).

Position: - Position plays a big role in poker, even in low limit. The reason last place, on the button, is so great is because you get to see what everyone else does before you. The best players play tight in the front and loose in the back. You wouldn't want to play some of the hands above in first position, "under the gun", but you would play them in the back. A good example of a hand like this would be T8s. In a really loose game with everyone in in front of you, you would play it. Also position changes how you play individual hands. You would play JTs anywhere in a really loose game but you might raise it in the back preflop just because it is the type of hand that does well against lots of players. So when you think of your starting hand selection, you want to play tighter in the front, and looser in the back. How tight and how loose will be up to you since you'll have to see the game before setting those guidelines.

Blinds: - Playing out of the blinds is different since you are already in the hand some. You'll play looser here but not too loose and how loose or tight depends solely on how many people are in the hand. If you have a hand even as weak as 79 off suit in the big blind and everyone is in (a "family pot") with a raise then you would call. The reasoning behind this is that you are getting great odds for your money. This same approach is true across the game. The less money out there, the better hand you have to have since you aren't getting good odds. The more money in the pot the weaker your hand has to be to play since if you do win even a small percentage of the time you'll profit.

So know that we know a little about starting hands, how do we know how loose or tight to play in a game? That's a very hard question and the better you get the more you'll be in tune with the answer. There is no absolutes though and you will lose hands. What I'll try to explain here is how to size up a game as being a loose one that you'll get away with some lessor cards or a tight one where if you played those same hands too much you would get slaughtered. If you sit down at a game and see lots of people in preflop, even with a raise, then it is a pretty loose game. For example if you consistently see 4/5 or more people in before the flop then it is pretty average. If you see almost everyone in every hand and going all the way to the river then you have a really loose game. In contrast if you see a game where about 3 people are in preflop with a lot of raising then it is a pretty tight game and you probably will want to play something else. In very tight games you'll see one person raise and another person battle it out with them. In those games having four people in is a "family pot" while in a regular low limit game a family pot is only when everyone is in (all 9/10 players). That isn't as rare as you might imagine. When you are first starting out and you see that the game is very loose, it wouldn't be a bad idea to still stay away from hands like 57s, etc. You would still want to play KJs, QTs, JTs. If you can discipline yourself to only play those loose hands in the back (late position), then you would be playing ideally. Even a hand like A5s in the back is a great hand if everyone is in. So here are some general guidelines for how loose to play: Average Game (4/5 people in the flop): play your premium pairs, small pairs, big cards and suited connectors. Very Loose Game (7+ people in the flop): play just about anything we mentioned above in the correct position. Wait for the flop to give you a really good hand or draw and then make them pay.

The key point here is to remember how loose your cards before the flop are depends on two things: your position and the amount of people in the hand before you. The more people in, the weaker your hand can be.

Since we are taking our starting hands against other players and their hands, what can we expect to see in the cardroom? Let's discuss some of the various types of players you will see and how they usually play. This will help you form one of your most valuable tools as a poker player, and that is to put someone into a player category. It helps you narrow down the possible hands they could have and gives you an idea of how good your good your current hand is in comparison with theirs. When you are playing, do your best to categorize each player into the following (better types of players are listed last):

Calling Station: - this is the worst type of player and the most prevalent (sometimes called a "fish"). The calling station does what his name implies, he just calls. He has poor hand selection. On the flop he will call with just about anything, and will continue to do that all the way to the river. This person has very little skill or discipline. They will be in every hand no matter if there is a raise before them. In the face of a better hand (like when a straight or a flush is on the board and they don't have it), they will just call it down. Most of the money you'll make will be from this type of player. The reason this play is so bad is that it is the exact opposite of what you should be doing. Instead of being selective and waiting for good opportunities to put your money behind you spread it out over every hand, good or bad, and in the end that can't work. Remember our bad investor analogy above. With these kinds of people in the pots, you'll just play your cards and see what happens. What that means is that you can't really put them on any kind of a hand since they could easily have AK as they could have 92. If you have a hand (like top pair with a good kicker) then just bet it and see what happens. You will want to watch out for them if they raise you though. Usually a calling station is a fairly passive player and when they raise it means something. If you can make some good folds now and then, you'll be a better player. If you can't fold a losing hand then you'll be a calling station and a losing player. When a person raises and what they raise with is another important item that you will want to watch for. It helps you not only categorize them but helps you select the hands that you play against them. When a calling station raises before the flop it could mean anything but usually they have a good hand (AA, KK, QQ, JJ, etc). Because of that, be careful about playing against them if you have a hand that could be easily dominated like KQ, KJ, KT, etc. If you notice that they are raising all the time with just about any hand they play then you may have found the next category.

Loose Aggressive: - A loose aggressive player is one who plays as many cards as the calling station does but they are inclined to raise, reraise and cap hands that they shouldn't (like A5 offsuit, Q9s, etc). You'll know very quickly if a person is a loose aggressive player. A person can't get great cards all day and if they are raising three hands in a row then chances are all those hands aren't premium. When you have two or more of these types of players in a game the pots can be very large, but it can also cost you a lot of money if you lose. Two points when playing against them: remember that when they raise they don't always have AA so you can play against them with hands that you would normally just call with. A reraise when you have a decent hand to try to isolate them isn't a bad move. The second thing to remember is that even if they are raising every hand it doesn't mean that they aren't going to get a good one now and then. So with that said don't cap it with a maniac player if you just have top pair. That could be costly. Sometimes you'll find these loose aggressive players, maniacs, only do that before the flop but afterwards they tighten up some. Try to pick up on things like this. Lastly, don't be afraid of them just because they like to raise. If you have a good hand, make them pay. Some typical loose aggressive players are young asian males and guys with a short man complex (no offense).

Rock: - a rock is a super tight player who only plays premium cards. When they raise you know exactly what they have (AA, KK, AK, etc). They will not be in on many hands and when they are, it will most likely be with a raise. Now a rock is better then a calling station and a maniac but they aren't playing correctly for low limit hold'em (or even other limits). The problem with low limit hold'em they run into is that when 6 other people are in a pot against their AA, it isn't going to hold up much. In the upper limits they won't get any value for their hands since the other players can read them so well. What you can learn from a rock though is that they pick good cards and try to put their money behind them. That is correct. They just aren't playing enough cards. It is the opposite of a calling station. You want to stay out of a Rock's way if you can. For example you wouldn't want to bring KJoffsuit up against a rocks raise preflop. But if you are in a multi-way pot with lots of people in and the rock raises then you would want to play your drawing hands. One good thing about playing them is that they are very predictable. When they raise you, the almost always have it so don't pay them off. Anyone who is watching the game at all can see what types of hands they are playing. You will run into some rocks playing low limit. The main reason for that is that if you are a rock it isn't easy to progress up levels, you're gonna get stuck at the low stuff because anyone who can play the game at the upper limits will cut them to pieces as fast as a calling station. The stereotypical rock is an old lady.

Weak Tight: - a weak tight player is fairly rare at low limit. This type of player has most of the skills that a wining player possesses with one exception, they are a little scared. Moving up in levels sometimes creates weak tight players. You fear the other players and they can read into that so you can sometimes get bullied around by raises. The creation of a weak tight player can also be the result of too rigid rules. Remember poker is situational. You shouldn't be tied to any one book, saying, or system. Let your experience mold you into a good player. When you are playing a weak tight player you should watch out for them most of the time since they aren't going to be putting too many "moves" on you: they won't try to bluff you at all. It's interesting to put a loose aggressive player against a weak tight one. The weak tight player gets bullied around waiting for good cards instead of basing his hand selection on the other players. If you do find yourself in a position where something scary hits in a hand and the weak tight player is your opposition, you may have found a good time to bluff. Weak tight players are big believers, especially if the raise is on a later round with the bet size is larger. Bluffing isn't a big part of the game, but even in low limit it applies to this people since they are good enough to see what you may have and "smart" enough not to call. It is much easier to bluff a good player then a bad one since the bad player doesn't pay any attention to what you may have.

Tight Aggressive: - This is the top of the pyramid. The tight aggressive player is the good investor, the laser, the sniper, the smart bomb in the poker world. This is your goal. The tight aggressive players ability to adapt to different games and players, as well as the confidence to back their moves with their bankroll makes them fierce opponents. To recognize a tight aggressive player is to see a person who doesn't play that many cards but when they do they take control. They slow play great hands. They use their position to play weaker cards when the odds justify it. They are able to fold hands that other players would be trapped in. A better hand will be any player but you'll find it difficult to make any money against a tight aggressive player. The best advice is to just play very good hands against them and hope to break even. You won't run into many of these at low limit so don't worry.

Texas Hold'em Hand Groupings

Below you will find two different Texas Hold'em Hand Groupings. The hands are listed in groups from strongest to weakest. Also within each grouping, the stronger hands are listed first so in Sklansky Group3, 99 is supposedly stronger then AQ. The first table here is taken from a book called, "Hold'em Poker For Advanced Players" by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth two of the foremost writers on poker theory. These groupings are widely held to be true. Sklansky Hold'em Hand Groupings: Group 1: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs Group2: TT, AQs, AJs, KQs, AK Group3: 99, JTs, QJs, KJs, ATs, AQ Group4: T9s, KQ, 88, QTs, 98s, J9s, AJ, KTs Group5: 77, 87s, Q9s, T8s, KJ, QJ, JT, 76s, 97s, Axs, 65s Group6: 66, AT, 55, 86s, KT, QT, 54s, K9s, J8s, 75s Group7: 44, J9, 64s, T9, 53s, 33, 98, 43s, 22, Kxs, T7s, Q8s Group8: 87, A9, Q9, 76, 42s, 32s, 96s, 85s, J8, J7s, 65, 54, 74s, K9, T8, 43 The second table here has been floating around and it was part of someones research project their senior year. They did a number of tests that proved that the Sklansky table was good, but needed improvement. Modified Hold'em Hand Groupings: Group 1: AA KKQQ JJ AKs Group 2: TT AQs AJs KQs AK Group 3: 99 KTs QJs KJs ATs AQ Group 4: A8s KQ 88 QTs A9s AT AJ JTs Group 5: 77 Q9s KJ QJ JT A7s A6s A5s A4s A3s A2s J9s T9s K9s KT QT Group 6: 66 J8s 98s T8s 55 J9 43s 75s T9 33 98 64s 22 K8s K7s K6s K5s K4s K3s K2s Q8s 44 87s 97s Group 7: 87 53s A9 Q9 76s 42s 32s 96s 85s J8 J7s 65 54 74s K9 T8 76 65s 54s 86s