Inside Poker Tips

Some players will not let you check your big blind if all other players have folded around to the dealer button or small blind. Some players often raise every time to try to steal the blinds and remain the aggressor. This strategy is especially used in short - handed games where there are only 3-5 people and the blinds come fast. The question is do you just flat call and treat it like a normal case scenario or do you 3 bet it and re-raise him and become and remain the aggressor.

Deciding which hands to play

Position is a key concept when playing poker and is particularly important when playing Pot-Limit or No-Limit. The importance increases when playing flop games like Hold’em or Omaha because your position remains the same throughout all betting rounds. When you are sitting in early position you will be acting early in the hand and, as such, will not have as much information as the players acting in later position. Occasionally, you will call with a hand when acting early only to see the pot raised and re-raised behind you. Consequently, you might be forced to fold a hand you already invested money with. If you are acting late, you know what pot-odds you are getting on the hand and also have the advantage of acting late in upcoming betting rounds. This means that you can play more hands when sitting in late position than in early position. When deciding what hands to play, position is always a factor that you have to consider. For example, when playing Hold’em you should play extremely tight under the gun (first to act pre-flop) and add hands as your position improves.

When I refer to the perfect poker hand, I am not describing a perfectly played hand. Nor am I describing a perfect outcome. I am using the word ‘perfect’ in much the same way it was used to describe the unique circumstances that blended to make the ‘Perfect Storm,’ which resulted in tragedy for a New England fishing vessel. With regard to no limit poker, I am describing a perfect set of circumstances in which two or more players feel that they have a sufficiently good hand to push all of their chips into the pot, resulting in disaster for one or more players and profit for another.