Beginner Poker Strategy
"Speak softly and carry a big stick."
- Theodore Roosevelt
Poker Hand Value Chart :: Practicing the Game
The Poker Frame of Mind
Beginner Poker: Reading List :: Strategy: Phil's Starting Hands
Strategy: Dont Play Any Ace
Poker Hand Value Chart Courtesy of Pacific Poker
The Poker hands below are ranked in order of value, from the highest to the lowest. In the event that 2 or more active Members participating in the Poker game’s Showdown hold equal ranking hands the winner is determined by the high card (i.e. a pair of Aces beats a pair of Kings). Should the Poker hands remain tied (i.e. a pair of Kings vs. a pair of Kings), the highest valued card not held in common (the “Kicker”) determines the game’s winner. In the event of exact ties in Poker hand values between 2 or more active Members, the Table’s Pot will be split evenly between those Members. In the event of extra odd Chip(s) the first winning Member to the left of the Dealer, in a clockwise fashion, will receive the odd Chip(s).
| ROYAL FLUSH |
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STRAIGHT FLUSH |
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4 OF A KIND |
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FULL HOUSE |
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FLUSH |
 |
STRAIGHT |
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3 OF A KIND |
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TWO PAIR |
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ONE PAIR |
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HIGH CARD |
 |
Practicing the Game by JoblessJoe
The next three steps in becoming a great poker player is…PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! There is no better substitute when it comes to learning poker than just playing. Play for free, you need to accummulated quite a few hours in of free play before you can even think about playing for actual money. I recommend playing in a variety of game types like:
Home Games:
Playing at home with friends or family is a great way to learn the game for little or no money. Try to find a game with good poker players, they may take all your pocket change, but the lessons you receive from them will pay off in the long run. Playing with people who enjoy the game will help in gaining an appreciation for it. Don’t have any friends that play poker? Not a problem. Nowadays there is a great game going in any area and everyone’s usually delighted to hear of a new member wanting to join. Ask around, check local ads, or Internet forums specifically set up to connect people to local home games.
Play Money Internet Games:
Another good choice is playing free poker games or “play money” games on Internet poker sites. All major poker sites like: Party Poker, Inter Poker, Empire Poker, Pacific Poker, and etc. have completely free tables at their site and a lot of them. One major caution however, actual poker playing cannot be compared to the crazy, wild, maniac like action at these tables. If you are going to play for “play money” I would recommend playing one of the structured limits at least. The No Limit tables are more like a NO FOLD’EM HOLD’EM, ALL IN FEST rather than a. poker game. Another good alternative is the nickel tables found at some of the online sites like Royal Vegas Poker. It adds a little more excitement to learning the game, and you can play all day on a couple of bucks.
Video Games:
Hoyle Casino. That’s all IM saying, Check it out.
The Poker Frame of Mind by JoblessJoe
Playing poker is commonly referred to as a “skill game”, but what many poker players often overlook is acquiring the “skill” to recognize ones own limitations and identify weaknesses. When striving to understand important poker concepts like position, pot odds, the mathematics of poker, etc., players often forget a key aspect of a good player is the ability to look inside themselves and acknowledge whether or not they are in the ideal position to make the best possible decisions. There are many attributes that can effect a poker player’s decision making ability, knowing how to avoid them can sometimes be just as important as a proper strategy.
When playing poker, one huge mistake players often make is setting a monitorial “mark”, limit, or goal to meet in a single session. Phrases like “I’ll leave when IM up two hundred” or “as soon as I break even IM gone” are extremely detrimental to a good poker player’s game. Setting single session goals causes a player, sometimes unknowingly, to play out of character, meaning it causes them to make decisions they would not normally make, or at the very least places influences on their decisions that should not be there. The only single session “goal” a poker player should have is to avoid high-risk high reward situations, and instead opt for the low-risk marginal reward. The amount of money you have should have little or no effect on your poker strategy (except of course in tournament and no-limit play). In fact, many online players I know often play with a piece of paper taped over the part of the screen that shows your how much money you have at the table, when they find themselves starting to be influenced. Remember, you can always “get even” tomorrow.
AA player’s mental and physical state can also greatly affect their ability to play poker. A good rule of thumb is play poker only when you’re in the “mood” to play. Never play tired, it is not possible to make your best decisions when you are mentally or physically fatigued. Never play under the influence of intoxicants, they have been proven to affect a person’s decision-making ability. If for some reason you enjoy playing poker drunk, choose a low stakes tournament with a set buy-in. That way you know ahead of time how much you can loose, and fearlessness can sometimes be an advantage when making your way through the ranks of literally hundreds of players, trying to make the final table. It would be a shame to nullify, all the hours of hard work you spent building your bankroll on one night of irresponsibility. Never play emotional, it is important to keep your focus on the game, not on the worries of everyday life. Maintaining a good mental and physical state is a vital part in making your best possible decisions at the poker table. Phil Ivey one of poker’s newest superstars has been asked many times about when to stop playing and his answer is always the same. “If you’re running good don’t stop, keep playing, but when you go cold its time to leave.” When the moneys gone, its time to move on.
Many people believe that if you are not profitable in the fist hour or two of play you are not going to be that day. If your not playing well the majority of the time its not the cards you are getting but another factor like, your mind frame, fatigue, your emotional state, or the table your playing at i.e. the other players “play” is not compatible with yours. Although I would not necessarily recommend that view point it does help players to avoid bad situations without necessarily realizing it. As a player I don’t really believe it you are able to predict whether not you will be profitable for a particular day, and I don’t care. I know that if I play right, the longer I play the more money I will make, in the long run. While I will admit good cards, and at the right moments, appear to run in streaks of “hot” and “cold” I don’t necessarily believe in luck. In all my life I have never seen any conclusive evidence that “luck” exists, and until I do IM afraid I cannot testify to its existents.
Whenever I find myself in a bad situation at the tables, I simply get up and find another table. That’s the great thing about online poker, no waiting, no name boards, no worrying about the other players, don’t have to tip the dealer, no signaling to the poker brush for a table change and then waiting hours for a new seat to open up, just get up and go. One of the single most important concepts for a poker player to understand is the only thing keeping them at that table is their own free will, that’s it. It your choice, play or not to play. A good poker player will never play where he/she is not comfortable, and always take care when selecting your table. For more information on this, see our article on “Selecting Your Table.”
One hundred percent of all poker profit comes from one source, other poker player’s mistakes, or incorrect decisions. If every player played “perfect poker” nobody would make any money, eventually the rake would take everybody. Try not to get upset when miracles happen, and a player who has no logical reason for still being in the hand hits with virtually no outs, more often than not they won’t make their hand, and that’s how you make your money. Avoid going “on tilt”, which is a poker term you will hear often, better to get up and walk away, even if you have just posted a blind, then to play out of character. The bottom line is a players play better when they are comfortable. If you can’t help thinking you shouldn’t be playing, you probably shouldn’t. Setup a system of checks and balances to keep you in the proper mind frame and stick to the program. If you cant get into the proper mind frame, its probably better that you don’t play. In the end Poker is a game, and games are meant to be fun. If you can make a decent profit from it, that’s the most fun of all.
Beginner Poker: Reading List by Bluffer9
Reading about poker is the second best way, other than playing, to becoming a good poker player. It is a step that must be taken if you want to become an excellent poker player. Below is a list of “must reads” for the beginner poker player. How do you know if you’re a beginner poker player…If you haven’t read all of these books yet.
Play Poker Like The Pros by Phil Hellmuth Jr.
This is a great starter book that will introduce Texas Hold’em, and many other games, to the novice player. It will teach you a complete basic strategy, very tight and very aggressive, that will allow you to learn the game with little or no risk and maybe even make a small profit while you do so. It also teaches a great system of “labeling” your opponents based on how they play, and shows you how to adapt your on style to maximize your profit from them.
Small Stakes Hold’em by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth
Excellent starting book. Introduces player to essential poker concepts like mathematics of poker, position, and pot odds. This book is so chalked full of information it may take a few reads to absorb the entirety of the content.
Movie: Rounders by Miramax Films.
Won’t help your poker game much, but it sure does get me psyched to play poker every time I watch it.
Strategy: Phil Hellmuth's "Top Ten" by PhillyBoy
This is a very basic strategy great for beginners to online poker, or even casino play. However, it requires an extreme amount of patience because hands come few and far between, and players must have the ability to not get discouarged when the flop doesnt turn out the way you wanted it to.
This strategy is considered very "tight" and "agressive". It consists of only TEN playable hands and they are played in almost any position and in almost the same manner. The "RAM & JAM" The hands are:
1. AA
2. KK
3. QQ
4. JJ
5. TT
6. 99
7. 88
8. 77
9. AK
10.AQ
This strategy in a nutshell says to raise or reraise any of these hands as many times as possible before the flop to "build a pot".
Play on the flop is very agressive, requiring plays to raise or even reraise to find out information, or see the rest of the flop with overcards. Players must be willing to three bet on the flop, and release "fold" there hand if they are four betted by a head up player.
I would reccomend this strategy for the begining player who is just starting poker. If done correctly it is a great way to make a small profit while learning more advaced poker skills. Remember, patience is the key.
For more information consult: "Play Poker Like the Pros" by Phil Hellmuth
Strategy: Dont Play Any Ace by PokerJackal
As you play poker you will inevitably come across a player who plays this strategy. The concept behind this strategy is that players will play almost any ace hoping to hit the ace, two pair, or a miracle straight on the flop. From there players are able to tell by the amount of action on the flop whether or not his pair is good. Ace players tend to be extremly agressive and/or sneaky.
The pitfalls to this strategy is that hands are often beaten by a more conservative player calling down with a better hand. Often it is the kicker the player loses to. I myself to not use this strategy, except in certain tournament situations, or stealing blinds. But many players use this strategy often and find it profitable.
This strategy is a common practice at some of the looser games at larger sites like Party Poker, Empire Poker, PokerNow, etc. Dont get discouraged when you lose a pot to some maniac that finally hit his ace on the river, in fact applaud him and incourage him to draw. These people are your "bread and butter" more often than not they will not hit, and when they do there is a good chance their card only improved your hand, which means they are drawing dead.
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