Course Description: This course is designed for the people that have little or no successful experience at casino poker. It is introductory and gives the student and overall view of the game. It will not make a winning player out of you but it will help the student understand that there is a correct way to play poker and give them the tools to understand a more advanced discussion of the games.
Beginners and Losers
A beginner has not played casino poker or on the internet. It doesn’t matter how much “kitchen” poker you have played. The games are different. I had won at kitchen tables and on Army cots all over the world, but when I sat down at the green felt in Las Vegas twenty years ago, I was a beginner. It took me a year to understand that.
Loser is not meant to be a derogatory term. It simply means that you lose more money than you win playing poker. Evaluate yourself. If you budget $100 a month to play poker and never exceed that, you are loser. If at the end of the year, you don’t owe tax money on your poker winnings, you are loser. (Even if you don’t pay it, you still owe it.)
He’s older than dirt and remembers that Andrew Jackson used to be a sucker for a flush draw.
Membership into a beginner friendly online poker site like: Absolute Poker, or Paradise Poker, for play money only.
Subjects to be covered:
| There is a right way |
| Rules of the games, (Texas Hold’em and Seven Card Stud) |
| Basic strategy and tactics |
| Introduction to online play |
| Introduction to tournament play |
| Concepts of real money play |
| Introduction to live casino play |
| Evaluations: | |
| Quiz 1 | Reading the hands |
| Quiz 2 | Starting hands | Quiz 3 | Betting Tactics |
Homework will be assigned when it can reinforce understanding.
Class Discussions will temporarily be held on the www.SororityPoker.net forums, Poker School-Poker 101. Individual tutoring at “Fun” money tables, using IM or Yahoo, might be arranged time permitting
Poker 101
Rankings of the hands
| The Straight Flush is the highest possible hand, in poker, and consists of 5 cards in sequence of the same suit. If there are multiple straight flushes in the hand, the straight flush with the highest card, wins. If two Straight flushes tie the pot is split. The highest possible Straight flush is the Ace high straight flush, or Royal Flush consisting of AKQJT of one suit. | |
| Four of a kind or Quads is the second best hand and consists of 4 cards of one rank and any 5th card. If there are multiple quads in the hand the highest rank wins. If the rank of the quads is the same, the highest 5th card or kicker determines which hand wins. If the cards are all equal in rank, it is a tie and the pot is split. | |
| The Fullhouse or Boat is the next best hand. It consists of 3 cards of one rank, trips, and 2 cards of a second rank, a pair. When multiple Full Houses occur the best Full house is the one with highest trips. If the trips are the same, the highest pair. If they are exactly the same, it is a tie and the pot is split. | |
| A Flush, is the next hand and it consists of 5 cards of one suit. When there are multiple flushes occur, they are ranked by the highest card down to the lowest to break ties. If they are exactly the same, the pot is split. | |
| A Straight is next and consists of 5 cards in sequence not of the same suit. Ties are broken in the same manner as with the Straight Flush. There is no such thing as a “wrap around” straight which includes both a King and a Deuce. | |
| Trips consists of 3 cards of the same rank and any other two none paired cards. Ties are broken by the rank of the trips then the other two cards, or kickers if the trips are same. | |
| Two Pair is a hand consisting of 2 cards of one rank, 1st pair, 2 cards of a second rank, 2nd pair and a 5th card. Ties are broken by, the highest pair, the lowest pair, and finally if both are the same, the 5th card, or kicker. | |
| A Pair consists of 2 cards of the same rank and any other 3 cards. Ties are broken by the rank of the pair, or when the Pairs are the same, by the 3 other cards or kickers. | |
| High Card, the hand with the highest cards in order wins the hand. Since Hold’em has 5 community cards used by all players, Ties occur quite often. | |
Of the seven cards available to each player, his pocket cards plus the five community cards, the best five-card poker hand plays. Here are a few examples that illustrate some of the most confusing situations.
All of this is predicated on NO wild cards. I guess it is possible to have wild cards but I have never seen them used at an online poker site or at a Brick & Mortar casino either, for that matter.
There is a Right Way
I had played cards with the adults since I was twelve, Rook, Pinochle, and Canasta. I had been a winning poker player since my freshman year in college, winning money in the weekly kitchen game or payday barracks game. When I started playing Casino poker it was as a break from Black Jack. I would play Black Jack for several hours then play poker for an hour or so to rest. I would lose my buy-in of $20 or $40 and then go back to Black Jack. I did this for over a year, before I happened to buy a computer program that allowed me to run simulations. I was stuck in the middle of the desert and lots of time. I ran millions of hands on the 29 computers I had I the office. I checked different situations, tested different strategies, etc. I became a “real” poker player. I also became a Rock too, but I was a consistent winner. I was a grinder, not a rounder.
The movie “Rounders” helped change the attitude that poker was a game of luck. It is also responsible for a lot of easy money at the poker tables. If you play poker properly, there is no reason why you should not win money over the long run. “Luck” may play some part in why you win today and lose tomorrow, and often it can be quite surprising how long today and tomorrow can be, but in long run it will even out. The better player will win. The goal of Poker 101 is to introduce you to the game of poker and some of the skills and concepts necessary to be a winning poker player. For more advanced play, you have to look at the more advanced classes.
Years ago when I learned to play in Las Vegas there were “low” limit professionals who eked out a small living in low limit poker. Most of these guys were actually poor poker players, but they followed a strict set of guidelines that gave them a positive EV in these games. They didn’t maximize their winnings but they decreased their chances of losing to almost nothing. We still call them Rocks and they exist all over the world now. When confronted with their poor play, many would simply respond. “I’m a winning player. Why should I change my playing style?” They’re correct why should they change?
The rocks of the world win because their style of play is based on the number one tenet of Poker, “PATIENCE.” Patience is the foundation of winning poker. Think of it this way; if you are sitting at a Hold’em table with ten players, you will have the best hand only one out of ten times. You should fold often. Most winning players today fold seventy percent of the time or more to the first bet. So when you sit down at the poker table, you should intend to fold most hands. This is almost counter intuitive, because to win, you must play. Well the truth is: When you get the cards you, will win. The trick is to not lose it back with marginal cards. Some of you might be surprised to find that the guy, who wins the most hands, loses the most money.
Since the whole foundation of a winning poker style is “not playing,” we need to examine why we play. Those Las Vegas rocks play to win money. Most people do not. There are a myriad of reason why people play, but winning money is not the most common. People play for the challenge. They play for the game. They play to have fun. They play for the excitement of winning, or of losing. They even play for the attention, but very few actually play to win money. For you to be a good player you need to know why you play. Knowing why our opponents play helps us manipulate them into situations where they can give us our money.
A winning attitude does wonders for our win rate, but we need to insure that we are playing for the right reason. If your goal isn’t for the challenge or to win money it doesn’t matter how well you learn the game, you will always be a fish. Winning isn’t winning a hand, or pot. It is leaving with a bigger stack of chips than you started with. Keep this in mind while you play. You don’t have to win this pot. You can always win the next one. Wait for the situation when you the odds are in your favor don’t chase a rainbow.
Besides poker there are many other games of chance available either online or at your local casino: Slots, Craps, Black Jack, and Roulette to name a few. All of these games are played against the house and have a negative EV. Over the long run you will always lose. These games are in fact based on luck. The odds are always against you. Take Craps for example. It is probably the least unfavorable game available, at a -1.5%. That means for every dollar you bet playing craps, the house pays you back 98.5 cents. Over the long run you will lose. A slot machine that has a payback of 95% returns 95 cents of every dollar you play, again a negative expectation.
There is one other “game” besides poker where you might be able to get an edge, Sports Betting. Like poker you are betting against the other players and the house simply takes a cut, the rake, the juice, or the vig. If you can pick the winners more that 60% of the time you can have a positive expectation at sports betting. Surprisingly in Sports Betting like poker the winners’ most frequent tactic is to not play the game. Pick your spots, where you have the best of it.
Betting Limit Structures
Fixed Limit is simply that bets a specific value for each betting round. In most games, the first two rounds are called a small bet, after that the limit is doubled and often called a big bet. If your table bankroll drops below betting levels, you can still bet or call a raise and be considered all in regardless of the minimum. This particular structure tends to favor drawing hands. They see the early rounds cheaply for a small bet and then can bet or raise the big bet when they make their hands in the later rounds. This structure is usually depicted by a slash. $1/2 or $5/10.
Spread Limit also has a limit but it has a minimum and a maximum can be either the minimum, the maximum, or any amount in between. If there has been a previous bet or raise during the betting round the minimum becomes the size of that bet or raise. A player may of course go all-in regardless of the minimum. The maximum is usually five times the minimum. This structure favors the made hands like High pairs and two pairs. It allows the “Best” hand to punish the draw hands during the early rounds and they are unable to make up the difference with double bets in the later rounds. This structure is usually depicted by a dash between the minimum and maximum bet size. $1-5 or $2-10. You seldom find this structure online, and it is disappearing in B&M card rooms also but once you have mastered it you’ll never want to go back to a fixed limit game.
Pot limit is a sort of a hybrid of Limit and No Limit. In fact Pot Limit is to No Limit as Fixed Limit is to Spread Limit. In the early rounds the size of the bet is restricted to the size of the initially small pot, then in the later rounds as the pot gets larger, the drawing hands can make up for the chase with significantly larger bets on their made flushes and straights. In pot limit the player can bet any amount up to the size of the pot, at any time. During the initial round, the player is often allowed to include in the pot size any call he might have to make when calculating the size of the pot. If there has been a previous bet or raise that round the minimum bet is the amount of the last bet or raise. A player may of course go all-in regardless of the minimum.
No limit means simply that a player may bet any amount up to his total stack on the table. (Table Stakes) There is a minimum based on the big blind that doubles in the later rounds, and as above if there has been a previous bet or raise the minimum becomes the size of the last bet or raise. A player may of course go all-in regardless of the minimum.
Rules of the game
A discussion of the rules and mechanics of all the poker variations available is beyond the scope of this course but we will look at the two most popular variations. Even within these variations the style and flavor of the game may change due to other considerations like the betting structures. Additional rules and considerations:
1. Someone is always the “house.” Their decisions should be considered final on the adjudication of the rules. In a casino game and online game this is done by the management, but in the home game it can become a bit of a problem, if the “authority” is involved in the hand. If a secondary “authority” cannot be agreed upon, the designated authority should muck his hand, and then make the decision.
2. If at any time only one active player remains, all other players have folded, that player wins the pot and we start the next hand.
3. All games are for Table Stakes. Only the money on the table at the beginning of the hand is in play. A player cannot put more money on the table during the hand. He also cannot be bet out of a hand. If a player does not have enough chips to call, he may put all of his chips in and be declared all-in. At this time any additional money is separated into a “side pot” which he cannot win. The betting continues normally for the active players and the additional bets are put in the side pot. There may be several side pots if more players go all-in. At the showdown, the side pot or pots are decided first then the main pot.
4. Hands should not be discussed during the hand.
5. Players should act in turn.
6. If you show one player your pocket cards, you should show all, (after the hand.)
7. No string bets. A string bet is an attempt to gain information by pacing the movements to call and raise. This is not a problem online of course but is in a live game. A player may not go back to his stack for the raise. My suggestion is to always declare your bet before you put in chips. Then there is never a string bet.
8. The cards make the call. The cards not the player call the hand.
Texas Hold’em is by far the most popular poker variation of poker today. The televised WSOP and WPT have caused an explosion of Hold’em games all over the United States and the rest of the world. Twenty years ago many card rooms spread mostly 7 Card Stud and only the occasional Hold’em game. Now the ratio has reversed. It can be hard to find a good 7 Card Stud game. The No Limit betting structure has also became more popular.
Texas Hold’em is a community card game. Each player has his personal hand of two cards and then there are five cards, the board, turned up in the middle of the table. These are shared by all of the players. The players use these seven cards to make the best possible five card poker hand.
In community card games the person to left of the dealer button always acts first and the dealer always acts lasts. This puts the dealer in a very advantageous position. To make the game fair, a dealer’s button is passed from player to player so that the positional advantage is shared by everyone during the game. The usual mechanics of a fixed limit Hold’em hand go something like this:
1. Move the dealer’s button to the next player.
2. The first player to the dealer’s left posts a small blind, usually equal to half a small bet.
3. The next player then posts a big blind that is equal to a full small bet. These are “live” blinds and the players will have an option to raise when the 1st round action returns to them, even if there have been no other raises. These two “forced” bets start the pot.
4. Sometimes before the start of a hand, new players, and players that have missed their blinds may be required to post blinds also. The blinds are “live” and the player will still have the option to raise when it becomes their turn to act.
5. Starting with the small blind, the cards are dealt clockwise around to the dealer until each player has his two card hand, or pocket cards.
6. Once the cards are dealt, for the first round of betting only, the action begins with the player to the left of the big blind. He has the options to: Fold, (Discard his cards and no longer compete for the pot.) Call the big blind, (Put in a bet equal to the big blind and remain in the hand.) or He may raise, (Call the big blind, then put in an additional bet of equal size which increases the amount of money required to remain in the hand.)
7. The action continues around the table, clockwise, with each player having the same options; to fold, to call all the pending bets and raises, or to raise. Until the action reaches the small blind.
8. The player in the small blind has the same options as the preceding players but he already has a Half bet in the pot. He need only bring this bet up to a full bet or to the value of any additional raises that may have occurred.
9. Now the big blind has the action. He already has one bet in the pot. If there have been no raises he may simply check and remain in the hand, or he may raise by putting in another bet. If there have been raises he must put in the additional bets as required to call the raises.
10. The action continues around the table until all players, have folded, or called all bets and raises to remain eligible to compete for the pot. (See Table Stakes later.) Most Poker rooms allow only one bet and three raises. This does vary so you should always check the house rules or ask.
11. After the first round of betting is complete. The dealer will deal three cards up in the middle of the table, called the flop. Now with two cards in their hand, the players have over 70% of their final hand.
12. Based on these new cards, a second round of betting occurs starting with the small blind if he is still in the hand. Otherwise the beginning action moves around clockwise until the first active player. He then has the options to Check, (Make a bet for $0.) Bet, Raise, or Fold. Once a bet is made the option to Call is added of course. The action continues around the table until all the bets and raises have been called by every player. If at any time only one active player remains in the pot, that player wins the pot.
13. After the completion of the 2nd round of betting, the dealer will deal one additional card up to the board, the turn. There are now four community cards up in the center of the table and the players’ personal two card hands.
14. The third round of betting begins like the 2nd with the first active player to the dealer’s left. Usually at this time the betting limit doubles. The active players have the same options as before, check, call, bet, raise, or fold. This round continues until all bets and raises have been called by the active players or their hands have been folded.
15. After the 3rd round of betting a fifth and final card, the river, is dealt to the board. Each player now has their final hand. They will get no more cards.
16. A final betting round begins with the first active player to the dealer’s left. The players have the same options. Check, Call, Bet, Raise, or Fold.
17. Once the active players have called all of the bets and raises, or folded, the showdown occurs.
18. During the showdown, it is customary for the player, who put in the last bet or raise, to show their cards first. Then in turn moving to his left, each player still in the hand will expose their cards if they wish to compete for the hand. They may simply muck, discard, their cards if they cannot beat the hand already exposed.
19. The hand with the best five card poker hand is the winner and gets the pot. In the case of a tie, the pot is split appropriately.
Seven Card Stud has been overtaken by Hold’em as the most popular game, and it can sometimes be difficult to find a good game online, but it still can be found in live card rooms all over the world. Stud is not a community card game. Each player gets their own seven card hand. The lack of the community cards makes this game more amicable to the “draw” hands, like flushes and straights. Instead of blind bets to start the pot, Stud often uses antes. Additionally on the second and subsequent betting rounds the high card starts the action, so the dealer is not as important. (Often in games with a house dealer, there is no dealer’s button and the first card is always dealt to the player in the 1 seat.) On the first round, the low card usually begins the betting with a forced bet.
1. Posting the antes and Dealing the cards: In the most common variation played on the Internet, there will be a small ante, usually 10% or 20% of the small bet. These small bets start the pot much as the blinds do in Hold 'em. After all players have anted two cards are dealt down to each player and then a third card is dealt up to each player. This often referred to as Third Street.
2. The first betting round: Usually, but not always (check the house rules,) the low card starts the action with a bring in bet of half the limit. Betting then continues around to the left. Again it varies from room to room, but usually the first raise can only complete the bet. Some rooms do allow a full raise so don't be surprised. The betting round is complete when everyone still in has called all bets and raises.
3. Fourth Street: The fourth card is dealt up. Each player now has two cards up and two cards down.
4. The second betting round: Now the action switches from the lowest hand to the highest hand. Again this is a place were many variations occur. If a player has a pair up, some rooms allow the option of increasing the limit immediately, either by the player with the pair or sometimes by any player. Other rooms do not allow the increased limit. Check the house rules. The round ends when all players have called all bets and raises.
5. Fifth Street: The fifth card is dealt up to each player.
6. The third betting round: The betting limit doubles at this time. Action starts with the high hand. Betting continues till all bets and raises are called.
7. Sixth Street: The sixth card is dealt up to each player. Players now have two cards down and four cards up.
8. The fourth betting round: The remains doubled for the rest of the hand. Action starts with the high hand. Betting continues till all bets and raises are called.
9. Seventh Street or the River: The seventh and last card is dealt down to each player.
10. The last betting round: Action starts with the high hand. Betting continues till all bets and raises are called.
11. The showdown: Each player uses their seven cards to make the best five card poker hand.
The rules for Seven Card Stud vary more than any other card game in B&M casinos. Always check the house rules for variations.
Omaha or Omaha Hi/Lo is probably the third most popular game; it is another community card game very similar to Hold’em. The major differences are:
1. A four card hand instead of two.
2. The player must use two and only two cards from their hand.
It is best that we postpone in more discussions of Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo until more advanced classes.
Basic strategy & tactics
If the ten equally skilled poker players sat a table for a long enough period of time, they all would be losers. The rake taken by the house would eventually eat into the stacks of all of them as the cards even out. Money is won over the long run by playing against players who do not play as well.
Even a mediocre player can be a winner if he always plays against players that play even worse. The Las Vegas Rocks for example, although they were not good players, their opponents were even worse. Game selection is one of the most important elements of a winning poker strategy. Although we will cover this subject in depth in later classes, here is a good rule of thumb.
A high percentage of players involved in the pot, but the pots remain relatively small. This indicates loose-passive players. They are the most profitable to play against. We’ll discuss them in later classes. In a live casino, go to the loud laughing table. Odds are they are having fun and not as attentive to their poker play as they should be. Generally you want to pick a site are card room with a high density of bad players. Look for a professionally run poker site or poker room with good customer support and pretty good rewards program for frequent players. To the winning poker player deposit and re-deposit bonuses aren’t that important. Winners make withdrawals not re-deposits. Be aware that though many bad players flock to sites with liberal deposit bonuses and they are our primary quarry.
Right now I think Pokerroom.com has the best poker software online, but the better games are often found at ParyPoker.com whose software is ugly. Remember why we are playing. Seat selection is a consideration, but often we have few choices. Once you have played for a while you will develop a keen sense for what seat is the best. It will also become apparent that the money moves to the left. You win most of your money from the players to your right, so try to put the money there when you sit down. Additionally there will be some players that you would prefer to act after, like a very aggressive player that raises frequently. You might want to put these guys on your right also. Then you can see what they are going to do before you commit to the play the hand.
The Las Vegas Rocks we discussed earlier based their play on very stringent starting hand requirements. They only played the best hands and quickly mucked marginal hands.
In Hold’em there are many different systems available to evaluate starting hands, and every successful player usually has their favorite, and can discuss why they use one system over another. Most are loosely based on the hand groupings of David Sklansky. In these systems, the possible starting hands are grouped into those hands we want to play, those hands we would like to play. These hands can vary quite drastically based on our position and the number of players already in the pot. We will discuss the different systems in more advanced classes but for discussion here Phil Hellmuth has a simple and pretty effective grouping of hands. He groups hand into three groups:
Group 1 (10 hands): AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, AK and AQ. (From Any position)
Group 2 (7 Hands): 66, 55, 44, 33, 22, KQ suited, and Ax suited. (Only form late position with at least 2 callers in front.)
Group 3 (All other hands): Garbage, fold.
As you can see this is quite restrictive, but for online play, and No Limit tournament play, it might be a bit too loose. If you restrict your starting hands to these standards you are well on the way to becoming a winning player. Let’s become a Rock first, and then with more experience we can attempt more marginal plays to maximize our EV.
After the flop, play is actually quite simple: When you have the best hand, Bet or Raise. Otherwise fold.
On the turn and river simply reapply the same criteria above.
For a detailed discussion on how to play Hold 'em see Hold 'em 101.
Since 7 Stud has significantly more structure variations it is much harder to use a standard starting hand system. Additionally since cards are exposed in other hands and unavailable to a player. You might fold a hand in one situation but play it in another. Here are some general rules of thumb with some caveats.
Trips are the best possible hand
High Pairs, AA, KK, QQ.
Lower pairs with a good kicker. (Lower pair loses value if one of the pair or kicker is already out)
Lower pairs with no kicker. (Lower pair loses value if one of the pair or kicker is already out)
Three cards to a flush. Three face cards.
Three cards to an open ended straight. (Play of these is limited to high ante games.)
Three cards to a one gap straight. (Play of these is limited to high ante games.)
If you stick to these starting hands, and play somewhat competently after the “flop” or 4th Street you should do quite well in most low limit games. In later classes we’ll discuss some of the techniques needed to maximize your expectation, and how to play in some of the special situations that may occur. In stud if the second up card does not help you, a fold is in order.
After the 3rd street, play is actually quite simple: When you have the best hand, Bet or Raise. Otherwise fold. For each subsequent card apply criteria similar to that used in Hold 'em Always be aware how many of your cards are in someone else's hand and no longer available to you.
If you have the best hand, BET or RAISE. (I don't mean the high hand. I mean the best hand.)
Now some admonitions.
For a better discussion on how to play Seven Card Stud, see 7 Stud 101.
Tactics
Tactics aren’t really the purpose of this particular discussion because many are so game specific, but there are a few tactics that should be discussed because they are so common. Style, since you are reading this, I’ll assume that you are a Novice and there is one consideration you need to burn into your psyche. In most of the games you play the players will be quite unsophisticated. In many cases they will not understand or appreciate any fancy play or tactic that you might use. Keep it simple. In most cases the best play is the straight forward play. When you have the best hand, bet it. When you don’t have the best hand, muck it, (fold.)
The Slow Play is simply sand bagging a very strong hands in hope that more players will participate in the pot. In more advanced games it may be the only tactic that builds large pots, but at the lower limits it is usually to bet it out. Most novice players aren’t paying attention to your hand anyway. Bet it out. They will call anyway.
The Check Raise is simply a play where you check a great hand in the hopes that another player will bet so that you can raise him for additional bets. Again in low limit games this is rather foolish, bet out and any player that might have bet will usually raise anyway, but in more advanced games this is a viable tactic. In the low limit games you might be more alert for other players check raising you. Personally, I don’t Check Raise unless it is possible to trap several players with the re raise.
The Smooth Call is another method of slow playing, but it is one that does work well in low limit game. If you have a monster and a player in front of you bets, and there are two or more yet to act after you, it is probably best to simply call and allow them to call. Often if you raise, the players to act after you fold and loose additional bets. Always ask yourself: “What will put more money in the pot?”
Betting or raising on the flop or 4th street to get a free card is another tactic that works real well at all levels. If you are in late position and you hold a hand that isn’t the best hand, but could easily improve to the best hand, you might bet or raise. You do it at the lower limit with the hope that after the next card the players in front of you will check, and you can then check, and get a “free” card. A good example occurs when you are playing Hold’em and have the button then flop the flush draw. If a player bets the flop and you raise, he will often check it to you on the turn when the bets double. If you do not hit your flush draw you can simply check and see the river card for free. If you hit your flush you can simply continue to bet it out.
Introduction to Online Play
Online play is quite different from live play, and many of these differences make it preferable. Your card room is smoking or non-smoking as you like it. There is no dress code. You can play in your ‘jammies if you wish. There is always a game, if you have a number of poker sites on your computer. There are many reasons to play online. These advantages can also work to your disadvantage. You might play when you’re tired or feel bad. Just jump into game without being mentally prepared. John Vorhaus in his book, “Killer Online Poker,” does a very good job of laying out some of the pitfalls of online poker. Number one on his list is never risk more than you are prepared to lose due to an Internet screw up. It might seem that the numbers would be quite small; I personally know that it is possible to lose $1500 due to a computer screw up. So be warned crashes do occur and they can be quite costly.
You should view your site selection the same way you view game selection. We talked about it earlier. I don’t let deposit bonuses make my selection for me. I look for a game that is suitable to my style of play and where I can sit at a table with poor players. For the beginners there are some sites that are much better than others. Absolute Poker could very well be the best. It has micro limits down to .02/.04 and has hourly freerolls where you can get lots of tournament practice for free. In later classes there will be exercises that will require participation in freerolls and competition at the “Play” money tables to get the most out of the classes. No exercise will ever require the “student” to play for real money. An additional site that is very friendly to beginners is Poker Room. They don’t have micro limits but their supporting forum can be a great source for good information on poker. You don’t have to be a player to visit the forums.
Usually the lobbies of online poker rooms are quite simple to read, but there is no standard so each room has its own abbreviations and available information. In the examples I’ve included some lobbies.
Here is the lobby of AbsolutePoker.com with the Hold 'em tab. These are pretty straight forward. Note the information on the individual tables: Players, (Number of players/Maximum Number,) waiting list, Average pot size, and the percentage of players that see the flop. Hands/hour are usually a bit skewed but it can help you avoid real slow games.
Here is the lobby with the Multi-table tournament tab selected. Note the 1st tournament is a freerolls with a $50 prize pool. It starts at 3:45 in 9 minutes. The game is No Limit and has 2000 entries. Please note that the third tournament is a Limit tournament these can be quite long. At some point you will join a limit tournament instead of a No Limit by mistake. I think everyone does it.
Here is the Lobby for PartyPoker, it is the most popular Internet poker room. It is open to the regular tournaments tab. The highlighted tournament is $10+1, starts at 4:45 and has 89 entries right now.
Finally William Hill. This is a multi Currency site that allows games in USD, British Pounds and Euros. Note the currency is indicated in the stakes column for the table.
These examples are pretty representative of all online poker rooms. Sometimes a new layout can be quite confusing but after working with for a while it should become second nature. Of course, like I said sooner or later you will sign up for a Limit instead of a No limit.
The first consideration in selecting a game is the size of your poker bankroll. You do not want to get in at a limit where your bankroll is too small. I recommend a bankroll of 200-400 big bets. To play in a $1/2 game that requires a minimum of $400 in the bankroll. If you intend to replenish you bank roll you can be a little more aggressive. Next, look at the percentage of players seeing the “flop.” Select the game with the highest percentage. Do not play in a game with less than 40% or over 80%. (The 80% game is a special situation and you should be more experienced before you attempt to play in these meat grinders.) Next you want small pots relative to the other games. This indicates that the players aren’t supper aggressive. Again a beginner should avoid games with super aggressive players. They can destroy a bankroll in just a few hands. Other than those considerations, sit in at the table, if you feel uncomfortable, leave. You can always find another game online. If you don’t find a game at your selected level, move down until you find one where you are comfortable.
Introduction to Tournament Play
Although there are limit tournaments online, most are No Limit tournaments. So you will need to learn No limit play. In a tournament, everyone buys in for the entry fee and is given the same stack of chips. The game begins and the blinds and limits increase after a set period of time. Everyone plays until only one person has all of the chips. The prize pool is then divided according to some preset structure. Tournaments can be quite lucrative. One last comment on entry fees, some sites offer $5+1 tournaments. Do not play in these tournaments. The $1 is the fee charged by the poker site. It should only be $.50. Either skip directly to the $10+1 tournaments, (The competition is the same.) or find a site that offers $5+.50. I’ve seen sites that offered $1+.10 so they do exist. Contact me in the forums and I’ll direct you to one. In tournaments your goal is to win the last hand, not win chips. To win the last hand you have to make it to the last table. To make it to the last table, you must survive. You survive by only playing the best hands. Tighten up your starting standards. Be less reluctant to throw away good cards when you feel might be beaten. To quote a friend, “Be chair committed, not pot committed.” If several players are already in the pot, you might consider sitting this hand out. This discussion doesn’t isn’t the place for tournament strategies and tactics but the beginner should be aware that the game is significantly different, and gives you great opportunities to turn small amounts of money into large amounts. Chris Moneymaker, turned $40+4 entry fee into millions dollars at the WSOP.
For the competent player most freerolls are a waste of time as money making propositions. They can make much more money by playing in real tournaments or ring games. Freerolls are advertising ploys that seduce players into the poker sites, hopefully to become real money players later. Although the prizes aren’t worth the time, the experience and practice can be valuable even for the advanced player. For the beginner they provide an excellent opportunity to practice and gain the experience need to venture into the world of real money. Additionally they might pick up a dollar or two to fund the micro-limits.
Single table tournaments are another questionable endeavor. Most good players would be better of in ring games. By playing in single table tournaments they actually limit their expectation. On the other hand, marginal players might fair better in the single table format. Each player has to evaluate his own effectiveness and play where his earning potential is best. It could be mental considerations that dictate single table tournaments instead of ring games. Also if you have problems in the final stages of multi-table tournaments, the singles are a good place to practice for the multis.
Okay here is assignment number 1. If you haven’t downloaded a poker site, select and download one now. These exercises involve freerolls tournaments so you should select one that has them often. For this exercise we want to look at a couple of things. One, patience and two how often you really make a hand. Register for the tournament. Then about ten minutes prior, go get your drink, a snack if you want it and do all the things so you don’t have to move for an hour. Before the tournament starts, set up your desk top as depicted below, with your favorite spreadsheet. I prefer a spreadsheet because it is easier to manipulate the data we collect a word document with tables will also work. Here are the columns
Hand |
Flop |
Turn |
River |
Win/Loss/? |
T 9 |
J 3 2 |
A |
7 |
L |
| KQ |
A87 |
? |
Now for the first hour I want you to fill in the information under each of the columns for every hand. In the W/L column you often won’t know. In that case put “?”
Do not play any hands. Even if you get AA, do not play. If you are in the blinds, don’t call a bet. Any hand you actually win should be by accident. This exercise has two purposes, test your patience, can you sit and watch with out playing. Second, we want to look at different starting hands and see how well they do. Once the after is over we can evaluate how suited pairs and connectors do in a tournament situation. After the first hour, you should still be in the tournament although definitely in a short stack situation. Now play it out as best you can use the starting standards we discussed early in the class. While you finish out the tournament, take the time to look at the hands, we’ve recorded. How many times did you have two flush cards, how often in those hands did you flop the flush draw or the flush? How often would you have won if you had played? Then look at connectors, 89, TJ, JQ etc. How often did you flop the open ended straight draw? How often would you have won? Now look at the pocket pairs how well did they do. The conclusions you should be able to make is that many hands that might look good at the beginning can be losers at the end. You should also see that you would have had the winning hand around ten times during that hour. Your numbers could vary quite significantly over a single trial, so don’t be surprised if your numbers are significantly different. One of the things we are doing with this exercise is to show you a way that you can evaluate your play and find your problems. (Recording your starting hands as you play is always a valuable exercise. Over many sessions, you will gain a good appreciation for why Marginal Cards are money sink holes, and your bankroll is better off if you muck them before the flop.)
Real money play online
Before and if you switch to real money, there are several considerations. One is can you afford it. Two are you beating the “play” money games. Most of the winning players I know will beat the play money games for millions before they translate that to real money. So don’t get anxious to make the switch. Real money is different. Not only do you play differently but your opponents play differently. This is apparent even at the micro limits like $.02/.04. When money, even small amounts, is at risk, your opponents will modify their play significantly and this affects your win rate.
It is in the interest of the poker sites to provide you a safe, and secure poker room with no cheating. They make more money with your return business than they would ever make by cheating you. Their money transfer solutions, random number generators and anti cheating countermeasures are the best available. You are much more apt to lose your money to a poker site going bankrupt than to cheating. The two most prevalent cheating accusations are: They manipulate the cards to provide the maximum rake, by allowing low percentage hands to draw out on the better hands. This ridiculous because the rake is actually better if the pots are small and never reach the maximum rake. The second is collusion by players at the same table over instant messengers like MSN or Yahoo. I’m sure that this occurs, but it is not as big of a problem as you might think. The advantage gained is actually not that much. It doesn’t make it right, and it is still cheating. The more dangerous type of collusion is when the players use betting tactics to increase the pot size when they have good hands. These betting patterns are easy to spot and poker sites spend quite a bit of money to detect and ban those caught colluding. This is also a problem in B&M casinos and you are probably more apt to be a victim of collusion or team play there than online. Actually you are most apt to be cheated in a friendly home game than either B&M or online play. More than 90% of all marked cards end up in a “friendly” home game. In Cheating 202 we will cover some of the methods of recognizing and foiling cheaters.
There are many ways of funding your online real money play. One of the available Online money services like Neteller and Fire Pay are probably the best, and have significant advantages over use of a credit card. Also for American players there is the prepaid ATM deposit available at Wal Marts.
One last thing for real money play is something called Bankroll management. You should never play in games beyond your bankroll. As I discussed earlier you should have 200-400 big bets available in your bankroll before you move up in limits. It takes a bankroll this large to cover any possible losing streak that might occur at a particular limit. It is always better to over fund your bankroll than to under fund it. Since you are a beginner, set your goal at 400 hundred big bets. When you start your bankroll may be smaller, but once it grows beyond 400 bets, that should be your standard. As long as you intend to stay at the current level do not withdraw funds until you get to 600 big bets or more. When you withdraw never withdraw below 400 big bets. If due to play you lose down to 200 big bets drop down to an appropriate level to rebuild your bankroll. Never go up to the next level with at least 200 big bets, but then your in a bankroll building situation again and should not be withdrawing funds. If at the higher level you lose down to 100 big bets, drop back down to your normal limits. Here is a chart that might help illustrate the 200-400 bet recommendation.
Big Bet |
Drop Down |
Minimum |
Maximum |
Move Up |
Cash Out |
Max Amount |
$0.04 |
$4 |
$8 |
$16 |
$20 |
$24 |
$8 |
$0.10 |
$10 |
$20 |
$40 |
$100 |
$60 |
$20 |
$0.50 |
$50 |
$100 |
$200 |
$200 |
$300 |
$100 |
$1 |
$100 |
$200 |
$400 |
$400 |
$600 |
$200 |
$2 |
$200 |
$400 |
$800 |
$800 |
$1,200 |
$400 |
$4 |
$400 |
$800 |
$1,600 |
$1,200 |
$2,400 |
$800 |
$6 |
$600 |
$1,200 |
$2,400 |
$2,000 |
$3,600 |
$1,200 |
$10 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
$4,000 |
$6,000 |
$2,000 |
$20 |
$2,000 |
$4,000 |
$8,000 |
$6,000 |
$12,000 |
$4,000 |
$30 |
$3,000 |
$6,000 |
$12,000 |
$10,000 |
$18,000 |
$6,000 |
As you can see the bankroll amounts can be quite significant, when using the 400 maximum. You should remember that this gives you a bankroll that should be self sustaining, once you can maintain a 400 big bet margin, you should never have to deposit money again. A Move Up and a Cash out should not occur at the same time. My advice to you is to determine what level of risk you’re willing to take then apply the numbers so you know were your move up points and your cash out points are. It is often said that every gambler goes broke sooner or later. By over funding your bankroll you can delay that as much as possible. Well until April 15th anyway.
Live Casino Play
Well the games are much slower, so your win rate won’t be as high. You should tip the dealer and the waitress that brings you that free drink. So your win rate won’t be as high. The game availability want be as good so you win rate won’t be as high. People behave a little better in person, without the anonymity of the Internet. They won’t let you play in your ‘jammies. It is a lot more fun, and a great social adventure, but it probably isn’t as profitable. Did I say that your win rate won’t be as high?
The biggest difference is your knowledge of people becomes much more important. A whole new dimension is added to the game, when you can look a person in the eye and see him sweat. If you haven’t read Caro’s “Book of Tells” it might be time for you take a quick look at it. Of course, your opponents are watching you too, and you can’t do a jig or go “Woo Woo!” when your card comes on the turn. Because cards are actually dealt and people have to count out chips slows the game tremendously. The whole rhythm, of the game, changes. Other than that, the game is pretty much the same. People make the same bad calls, and play the same cards. You might find some increased intimidation factor with your raises, but I wouldn’t expect it at the lower limits.
I’ll give you a few suggestions before you make your first soiree into a B&M card room. Read the “Book of Tells” it will easily pay for itself during your first session. Join one of the online poker sites that feature a 3D 1st person view, like Noble Poker. Play at this site will get you used to the slower rhythm of the live game. Before you take a seat, watch the game for about 30 minutes to become more comfortable with what might be expected of you. When you take your seat, tell the dealer, that this is your first time playing in a card room and they will usually be gentle with you. You might comment that you do play online. Tip the dealer. Announce your bet or raise, before you put the chips in. Some players will probably scoff, but this prevents a string bet. Screw ‘em. Protect your hand until you are ready to discard it or the dealer is pushing you the pot. Dealers are very busy people if let one pick up your hand by mistake it is your fault not theirs. Tip the dealer. It doesn’t have to be much but always give him something. He works for minimum wage plus tips. Well okay maybe more than a few suggestions. We’ll probably have to write a B&M class.
In closing, I hope this started each of you on the winning track. This was meant to be an only an introduction and as you can see, there is still quite a bit of information you should know. I will look forward to you in some of the other classes and seeing your posts in the forums. I or one of the other pros available will always do our best to answer any questions. If you would like to have some one ride shot gun over for a while on the play money tables we will do our best to accommodate. If the requests are overwhelming we might have to withdraw that offer.
One last word, or not a last word. During this twenty one page discussion there is one word often used in conjunction with poker that I did not use a single time. The reason I didn’t use that word is because for the novice it should not be in your vocabulary. I’m not going to use it now, In fact I’m not going to use it all until I reach the more advanced discussions. So when it dawns on you that it was never mentioned, you can say “ah ah!” He left that out on purpose.
Good luck.