I’ve been invited to play a medium stake poker game. The guys that I’ll be playing are quite experienced in Texas Hold’em. At first, I said no because I was afraid that I’d get cleaned out. But my friend says that Texas Hold’em is more luck than skill. I found that hard to believe since that’s what they play in the World Series of Poker.
Anyway, I’ve decided to play. Care to share any advice? Thanks in advance.
Is this a regular thing or a one-time invite? If you’re only playing once, learn the rules, only take as much money as you’re willing to lose and focus on having fun in the company of your fellow players.
If this is to be a regular event, read a book or two on the game before playing. I’m sure others will be along to suggest some titles; the one I’ve read is good IMHO but I can’t recall the title or author. Go to some online poker sites and play in free games to get a feel for the rhythms of the game.
Play tight (conservative). Start off only playing “blackjack” hands (where your hole cards add up to 20 or 21, A-9 or better or two face cards), pairs above 7, suited connectors 8-7 or higher, or non-connected suited cards where one is a face card and the other is within 5 spots of it (i.e. K-9, Q-8). But don’t be afraid to mix it up a little if you get a good feeling about a hand that isn’t quite as strong and you sense weakness from the other players. Bluffing in a low-to mid-stakes game is not going to be as much of a factor as it would be in a no-limit game (not too many people are going to fold in the face of a two-dollar raise if they have anything) but there’s still a lot of skill involved, at least as much skill as luck.
Be careful about playing flush draws and don’t draw heavily to inside straights. Be careful of overcards (cards higher than your hole cards) on the flop. And don’t go in with more money than you’re prepared to lose.
These are just my own feelings as a fairly novice player. As you (and I) gain more experience playing those guidelines will change. I’m sure the more seasoned players are already typing up their own advice which totally contradicts mine.
Good luck, and don’t splash the pot!
Hmmm… Texas Hold 'em is the name of the way we were taught to ride a horse without getting racked. I guess we’re talking about two different things.
The World Series of Poker, if I remember right, is no-limit, where the ability to identify one or two hands can make a difference. While Texas Hold’em does rely on skill, the idea of a cap does make it (slightly) more luck based.
Just finished Positively Fifth Street - if you can pick up a copy, there’s a good bibliography outlining books from the masters. Plus a glossary that defines the lingo.
I’d rely on Otto’s advice; play conservatively, and don’t be afraid to fold if the cards are weak (if there’s an overcard on the flop, for example).
Unless you’re playing with idiots, then Poker is a game of skill with an element of chance, not the other way around. Your friend is either ignorant or lying to you. But if you can afford the game, will enjoy it, and want to learn, then go ahead and play.
Also, FWIW, I talked yesterday to a friend who is an avid poker player. He mentioned that his brother in law was recently playing in a nearby tournament and that there were several shills playing. So that’s something else to watch for in an unregulated game where you don’t know the people running the game very well.
Anyway, I’ve decided to play.
Medium stakes? What is that? To me it suggests $10 to $20 as the small bet.
Is it a limit game? That is, are the amount of the bets on each round limited to a set dollar amount? (Common low limit games are $2/$4, $3,$6, up to about $5/$10, anything higher could be considered medium limits, depending on your bankroll).
Or is it a pot limit or no limit game? These could be considered medium stakes if the buy in was a reasonable amount, say up to $500. In these games, the amount of the bets can vary from the amount of the blind to, well, quite a bit of money.
How much experience do you have? Otto gives some good advice (except I’d scratch that part about “non-connected suited cards where one is a face card and the other is within 5 spots of it (i.e. K-9, Q-8)”, they will cost you quite a bit of money. In fact, I’d forget about the suited connectors lower than KQ, unless you know how to read the board cards and know when to let these hands go.
“Winning Low Limit Hold 'em” by Lee Jones is the book I’d recommend if you have time to find it and read it. I’d also suggest that you play the play money games at a place like Party Poker, not to find a realistic experience (it’s not) but to learn to read the board cards. You need to be able to look at these cards and determine what your best hand is, and more importantly, what hands that the board can make that can beat you.
Experienced players will beat you, but if you know a little about the game you won’t be a total fish, and you’ll learn a lot.
Have fun, and report back.
At first, I thought Tx Hold’em was tha game where cowboys sit in a spotlight in a dark arena, playing poker while they wait for a bull to smash into one of them. Last one at the table wins! Can’t remember the real name.
In that case, I was gonna say wear a cup.
But I don’t know anything about real poker. Sorry. hehe.
It is not primarily a game of luck, although believe me luck enters into it. It is a game of skill.
Play tight agressive (which means wait for a good hand, then bet aggressively). Don’t be afraid to fold a low pair early. Hell, don’t be afraid to fold a high pair. But the thing you need to learn, and it is hard, is that the betting shifts depending on where the deal is. If you are early (if you have to bet before seeing everyone else bet), you need to play much more conservatively than when you are late in the hand, because you have much less information. If you are in small or (particularly) large blind spot, you can play hands you would not touch otherwise.
But if this is your first game, the best advice in the world is to not take more than you can afford to lose. Because you are going to lose. You are dead money, my friend. Go to have fun and learn.
Yeah, that is definitely on the edgier side of play and it’s not something that the book I read recommends, but I’ve won my fair share of pots with this kind of starting hand. If the flop doesn’t give me some serious help then I fold it but if the pot odds are right before the flop then I’m all about taking a shot with that sort of hand. Maybe amend it to “within four spots.”
Maybe amend it to "within four spots."
I think you have to ask yourself why you are playing these hands (suited two gappers with any face card). First, let me say that I agree that playing either an Ace or King suited with any other card (say Ah4h, or Kc8c) is perfectly OK because you are looking for the flop to hit two more of your suit. The Ace high or King high flush is a good hand, more than likely the nuts on an unpaired board.
But playing a Queen high or Jack high flush is risky. You’ll be shown the A or K too many times. So the other reason you may be playing these suited two gapper hands are for straight and straight flush draws. These just won’t hit very often.
The last reason you may play suited two gappers with any face card is in case you pair the face card you have a so-so kicker instead of a terrible kicker. A pair of jacks with an eight kicker may very well be the best hand, but you can’t bet with it because you worry about the AJ being out there.
I mention that last part only to warn the original poster about the weakness of dominated hands (such as A7, or K4). Don’t play these hands. If you pair the ace, you have a weak kicker and will lose to the AK, AQ, AJ, AT all of which are possibly out there.
Otto, if playing these hands win for you, good for you. You know your game better than I do. But it really can’t be described as tight play and I wouldn’t recommend it for a beginning player.
Since this seems at least a somewhat appropriate thread for it, I’ve got a play question for y’all I’m curious about.
I’m in a Hold’em “tournament” with eight people at the table. I’m dealt two nines, and remain in up to the fourth card out. By then, I’m one of two people who’ve remained in. The four cards up on the table are all different; one is another nine (from the flop) and three are clubs (two in the flop).
The other player’s got a shorter stack than me by a relatively small, but not insignificant, amount. He bets on that fourth card (the third club) as if he’s got two in his hand. I’m relatively new to this group, and although I know the man relatively well, I don’t know much about his playing style.
Should I fold at this point? Why or why not?
Depends on how the betting went previously and what cards are out there.
I’m afraid that I can’t really remember the up cards… There was the nine, of course, and a two of clubs as one of the three clubs… There may have been a jack of diamonds, I think, but I can’t recall exactly.
And I’m afraid I’ve told you all I can remember on the betting.
If you want some real good advice on Hold 'Em, you should try to get some input from Doper Sam Stone. He is/was (?) a pro player, and has written articles for poker magazines. He’s also very generous with his advice.
And, as you already know by now, there’s some luck in Limit Hold 'Em, but knowledge and skill are still the main ingredients.
Good luck!
Leaper,
You raise in that situation.
If your opponent re-raises, fold.
You raise for several reasons:
1- One, he may think you have the nuts(ace-high flush) and fold his hand.
2- He maybe trying to bluff and then fold
3- You are going to pay two bets to see his hand anyway
You are hoping that that he folds(you win), re-raises(you fold), or calls and the board pairs (giving you the win over a flush).
If he calls and the board does not pair, you will likely both check on the river. If he still bets into the raiser (you), it is safe to say he has the flush (but not always; this is when poker gets fun!).
If you want to get real technical I can tell you about pot odds…
Jugg,
Follow the advice given by the Ottos. If you do play tight aggresive, bluff every now and again. Not too much, or you will lose your money, but occasionally (maybe once or twice an hour).
You want to do this so that when you catch a good hand, they won’t know if you have it or are just bluffing again.
Remember, the idea of poker is not to win every pot, but to maximize what you win (and minimize what you lose).
Two pieces of advice:
Anyway, if they play hold 'em, they’re probably not your typical 5 card draw, 3 wild card home game types. They’re probably going to take your money. If you’re uncomfortable with that, don’t go - and if you do go, only bring as much as you’re comfortable losing as entertainment cost.
What is it that you hope to accomplish with these hands? If you hit your high card, there’s a good chance you’re going to be dominated and lose a lot of money. Even when you’re not dominated, you can’t have the confidence to bet out and win much with these hands.
K9, for example, only makes one straight, and it’s not the nuts. If you’re playing for the possibility of that… that’s very unwise. You’ll pick up some pots with hands like Q8 or K9, but you’re going to lose far more with them.
You’d have to fill us in on what cards came to the board and in what order, what the blinds are at this point in the tournament, how far away you are from the money, the actions taken by you and your opponent throughout the hand, and what you’ve seen him do with flush draws before.
I actually opened this thread assuming he would have contributed. I never play cards but love reading his reasoning for various plays. I don’t do nuclear physics either but I read Feynman.
Actually I recently started a thread about “what if a Doper became president”. I was going to pick amythical Doper president and the first name I thought of was Sam Stone. Weird, eh?
Why, I hope to accomplish a win of course. As I said, I win more pots than I lose with this type of starting hand, so for me it works. However, if it makes everyone happy, I formally retract that section of my advice.