True Blue Poker

free internet poker games

2009-02-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

free internet poker games

I love playing free internet poker games

Free poker games are a hell of a lot of fun and come in pretty handy when you are first learning to play poker. If you can't win at free poker games, you probably can't win real money games either.

Playing free poker when you are getting started is a great idea. Even though there is no money involved in free poker games, you're earning your skills and knowledge.

The best free poker games?

You might not know it, but some free poker games you find online offer the chance for you to win real prizes like cash, merchandise and entries into real money poker tournaments. Many of these are basically obligation free so all you have to do is play well enough to beat hundreds or sometimes thousands of other players and you are on your way to a real poker bankroll.

Whether you are like me and you enjoy the competition of free poker as much as some players like the money, or whether you are starting out at poker and just want the free poker games practice that comes without the financial risks, free internet poker games can be hours of fun with plenty of benefits.

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Basic Rules Of Poker

2009-01-05T03:54:00.000-08:00

The chopped down Basic Rules Of Poker - Texas Holdem - for new players

These are the Basic Rules Of Poker - Texas Holdem in particular. It basically explains how the game is dealt...

A dealer button is used to indicate the implied dealer position. To start a game one card is dealt to each player and the high card by suit gets the button.

Blinds will be put up by the next one or more players to the left of the button.

One or more blind bets are used to stimulate action and to initiate play. Blinds are posted before the players look at their cards.

Blinds are live and part of the players bet. Live means that the blinds may raise when the action gets to them.

These blinds are mandatory and part of the game.

The dealer button moves one place to the left after each hand is complete.

To begin dealing, two down cards will be dealt to 2 to 12 players. Starting with the first player (small blind) to the left of the button and clockwise around the table.
Note: with 2 players the small blind goes on the button.

The Basic Rules Of Poker are that in structured Holdem, betting and raising sizes are predetermined. In No-Limit Holdem bet sizes are only limited by the size of the betting players chip stack

After a betting round 3 cards will be flopped in the center of the table.

These community cards will be used to make up a players hand.

The first player to the left of the button always starts the betting. After a betting round a 4th card (turn
card) is placed next to the flop, and a betting round.

The 5th card (river card) is placed next to the turn card and the last round of betting.

In the showdown each player will turn over his 2 down cards, holding on to them, and the dealer will help determine the winner.

A player may use any of the community cards and any or none of his hand to make up the best 5 card hand.

The dealer will push up the cards to be used, from the board, with the players down cards for each player until the best hand is found. Kill all losing hands and push the pot to the winner.

There are many variations to the Basic Rules Of Poker and there are many unwritten rules of poker also, but these are enough to get most new players up and running at the table.

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Winning Hands In Texas Holdem

2009-01-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

The Winning Hands In Texas Holdem made easy

Here is a short explainiation of the Winning Hands In Texas Holdem and more importantly, the warning signs that one of these hands is coming. When I refer to "the board" I am talking about the cards in the middle, the community cards.

The winning hands by rank i.e. "what beats what"

1st (lowest rank)- High card.
If no one has a pair or better, the player with the highest rank card wins e.g. an ace or king.
If you both have the same high card, then the rank or your other card decides.
If that is also the same, you split the pot.

--What to look for?
On the rare occasions where the high card is one of the Winning Hands In Texas Holdem, it is likely that there are only two players in the hand and the board shows mostly lower, mixed suit and not connecting hands.

2nd- One pair
Two cards of matching rank e.g. King Hearts, King DIamond.

--What to look for?
Difficult to tell, but not as big a problem because one pair is a weak hand. Generally if the pot was raised before the flop and a high card comes out and a player bets, it is a higher likelyhood that they have at least a pair

3rd- Two Pair
As it says e.g. Ten of Hearts, Ten of Spades, EIght of Hearts, Eight of Clubs
There is a few ways a player can get two pair. Firstly, they have two differnt cards e.g. Ace Ten and the board has an Ace and a Ten. Secondly they ave two different cards and the board has a pair plus one of thier cards. Thirdly, they have a pair and the board has a differnt pair.

--What to look for?
Well it can also be a difficult hand to pick, but generally people bet harder with two pair because this is one of the Winning Hands In Texas Holdem that is vulnerable to losing to higher hands as more cards are dealt on the board.

4th- Three of a kind
This is three cards of the same rank e.g. Two of Diamond, Two of Clubs, Two of Spades

--What to look for?
This is one of the best Winning Hands In Texas Holdem because of how well concealed it can be for such a strong hand, particularly if it is a "set" (you have a pair in your hand and a third card of that rank hit the board) as opposed to "trips" the board has two cards of the same rank and you have a third of the same cards in your hand.
I look for players checking the flop really quickly then raising you after you bet (check raising)

5th- Straight
Five cards of seperate rank that are connected e.g. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10

--What to look for?
These hands are easier to pick. The board will have to have three of the five cards so look for running cards or one gapped cards e.g. 7, T, J or T, Q, A.

6th- Flush
Five cards of the same suit. If more than one player holds a flush the player with the highest ranked card of that suit wins unless the five highest cards of that suit are on the board.
Does a staright beat a flush? NO, does a flush beat a straight? YES

--What to look for?
Easy- Three or more cards of the same suit are on the board.

7th- Full House
Three of a Kind and a Pair. e.g. Two of Diamond, Two of Clubs, Two of Spades with King Hearts, King DIamond
If two or more players have a full house, the player with the highest rank three of a kind wins. If two or more players have the same three of a kind, the player with the highest ranked pair wins.

--What to look for?
This is also one of the fairly deadly Winning Hands In Texas Holdem because like the "set" it can be well disguised.
If the board is paired there will always be the danger of a full house. They come along less often then flushes or straights, but they can burn you when they do.
I am always worried about a paired board if I have a flush, especially if someone is check/calling me all the way, they normally don't want to scare you away if they have a full house so they will rarely bet at you.

8th- Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank

--What to look for?
Apart from a paired board or a board with three of a kind on it, I generally look for acts of god or other very rare occurances- that is what four of a kind is like.

9th- Straight flush
A straight where all your cards are of the same suit

--What to look for?
Did I mention acts of god? well I guess you need to be wary of staightening and flushing boards with a patern that makes a straight flush possible e.g. 8 heart, 9 heart, 10 heart, J heart on the board would be concerning because of the likelyhood of someone actually playing with a Q heart. I would be less concerned about the 7 heart in this case.

10th- Royal flush
Also known as Staight flush, Ace high.
Quite simply it is an Ace high Straight Flush

--What to look for?
The ultimate of all Winning Hands In Texas Holdem .
I have had a few of these, only once did I use both of my pocket cards. On each occassion the board with looking dabgerous for anyone without a good hand because it was full of picture cards and same suits. The beauty of this is that it is even more dangerous for players with good hands, like full houses, beacause you can never believe someone has a Royal flush.
In fact if you are going to fold a big full house because you are afraid of a Royal flush, you should quit poker now, the odds are too small and you are supposed to loose the hand in that situation, just accept it.

When you have finished reading Winning Hands In Texas Holdem click here

Poker Equipment

2009-01-02T04:31:00.000-08:00

Some great home game Poker Equipment

Well a big thanks to my wife for her contribution to this entry i.e. buying me this Poker Equipment as a Christmas present.

I found this under the tree last year and I reckon it is pretty special. In particular this WSOP Ultimate Dealer Button with built in timer and blind scheduler.

It is not just a button, actually it is not even just a button with timer built in; it is a button with timer and blind scheduler built in.

You can set ten levels (more than enough for any home game) and each level can be set to any time, small blind, big blind and ante. I programed mine for all ten levels and it took me ten minutes.

Imagine that, no more oven timer and piece of paper. Or for those a little more sophisticated, no more lap top either! This is real Poker Equipment What is really cool is that thing barely cost $30 delivered.

Below I have added an explaination of how i programed the levels.

--20 min each level (can change level time in less than 20 secs if needed or start with more or fewer chips)
--lvl 1: 25/50,
--lvl 2: 50/100,
--lvl 3: 75/150,
--race off $25 chips
--lvl 4: 100/200,
--lvl 5: 200/400,
--lvl 6: 300/600,
--race off $100 chips
--lvl 7: 500/1k,
--lvl 8: 1k/2k,
--lvl 9: 2k/3k
--lvl 10: 2k/4k 1k ante (if it's not heads up yet it soon will be)

You dont need to play all the levels, the tourney will end at about time the big blind matches the starting stack.

I spoke to Grant who owns the company and he said "please tell your guests to use coupon code "poker" when they are checking out for 20% off."

So what are you waiting for? visit his store here

When you are finished reading Poker Equipment click here

Crazy Game Of Poker

2008-12-05T00:38:00.000-08:00

This is a Crazy Game Of Poker

In this Crazy Game Of Poker , catching long runs of cold cards and facing massive dry spells between good wins is a very common thing.

This can happen in cash games and in tournaments, but it is much more likely in tournaments where you can catch a run of bad beats and your game is over- no re-buy to give you the chance to win as a 4:1 favorite to make up for losing when you were 10:1 ahead.

WSOP main event runner-up and well establish tournament pro Eric Seidel says "No matter how good you are, you're bound to encounter long periods where things don't go well. On the tournament circuit, even the best players can go several months - or even a couple of years - between significant cashes."

The only way to survive these dry spells is to have the mental toughness and discipline that these professionals possess. This is one of the characteristics that set them apart from the rest in this Crazy Game Of Poker.

If you are new and have had a very successful start to poker, this will be much harder to achieve, particularly if you are younger and haven't had as much life experience for the broad perspective needed.

But the facts are in your favor long term. If you can become a player that mostly makes correct decisions, you will win money at tournament poker. In fact, if you can become someone who almost always makes correct decisions you can win a lot.

Reasonable expectations and a Zen like understanding of the reality of playing a game which is based on drawing random cards from a deck will serve you well.

I can think back to the last dozen tournaments I have played in and I only remember one important statistic about my play. What is the number of times I have been busted out when I made the wrong decision? This is much more important in the long term than how much I have won or lost lately.

After all, this is the Crazy Game Of Poker and you have to be a little nuts to succeed.

read enough about this Crazy Game Of Poker?

read how i get my online poker advantage and where I play home poker games

Online Poker Aide

2008-12-03T05:04:00.000-08:00

Do I use an Online Poker Aide ?

I am often asked if I use an Online Poker Aide and the answer is always "which one?"

An Online Poker Aide can come in many forms and serve many purposes.

I want to tell you about four different but equally useful programs that are on the market today- each could pay it self off in a matter of hours at the table.

Firstly we have the world famous real time odds calculator "Texas Calulatem"

Texas Calculatem remains the hottest selling poker odds calculator on the web and for good reason.

It uses sophisticated Auto-Read technology to give you hand odds and betting advice in real-time helping you maximize your winnings.

With over 25,000 copies in active use, Texas Calculatem is the most popular odds calculator in the world.

The only sure bet in poker is that one of your opponents is using Texas Calculatem. Are YOU!?

Next is the sit and go specialist software "Sit'n'go Shark"

After months of work, poker pro Roy Rounder was able to compile thousands of his sage-like Texas Holdem tips into an online poker odds calculator designed to help players finish in the money in Sit & Go tournaments.

Sit & Go Shark considers 7 different variables or "critical success factors" on every hand to offer the player real-time betting advice based on Roy Rounder's personal poker playbook.

Shark works exclusively in sit and go tournaments and makes it easy for players to finish in the money. If you're not the shark, you're shark bait - BE THE SHARK!

Then we have some player tracking software that is much better than it's competitor because it show the stats right at the table.

Poker Crusher is a player tracking data base (as many others are). They track how often players at your table play, how they play, the cards they show down etc.

What Poker Crusher does which makes it the best is that it displays the stats it collects right on the table in real time!

Finally there is Poker Usher which is a player tracking data base that scans the lobbies of online poker rooms and finds you a seat at the most profitable tables.

Poker Usher is actually the Online Poker Aide I believe to have profited me the most of all.

Check these Online Poker Aides out and see the difference they can make with your bankroll.

Have you finished reading my Online Poker Aide article?

Tilt Odds

2008-11-22T00:06:00.000-08:00

Using implied tilt odds in poker

Let me tell you about a Phil Gordon strategy called implied tilt odds.

I just love it when i hear about a poker concept that is a little out of left field. I also consider this one a great on the spot excuse for playing a hand badly and getting lucky.

One of the best ‘unique poker plays’ I have come across is this Phil Gordon strategy (although I am not convinced he uses it often) that is designed to wrangle chips away from a tight rock of a player based on what he calls "Implied Tilt Odds"

Imagine a situation where you are playing against a really tight table, or a really tight player and you really want to loosen up the game and get their very well defended chips flowing.

Tight Tony enters the pot with a raise which lets you (and every other player at the table) know that he has Aces, Kings, Queens or Ace King at worst. You look down and see 69 of spades and make a loose call and the flop comes down 5 hearts, J spades, 2 diamonds.

You totally don't have good odds to play this hand. In fact you would need running spades, running 78, running 34, running 66, running 99 or running 69 to take the hand down. I wont even tell you how far away you are from being able to call any bet against a player with monster pocket pairs in this situation, because it is not worth considering- or is it?

With Implied Tilt Odds it is not the money you will win in this hand that make it worth calling, it is the result your beat will have on the playing style of Tight Tony throughout the rest of the session that will make it all worth it.

Tight Tony would have his faith in the logical order of the universe shattered by you hitting your winning hand on the turn and river here.

He would see red and probably have a hard time breathing for a while.

This will be followed by rage and a thirst for revenge that could not be satisfied by waiting around for the next monster hand. He will try to win with the sort of hands you just beat him with and BINGO, the game and his money are all yours for the taking.

A simple word of caution though.

Using implied tilt odds is designed for playing against tight or at least very solid players who don't part with their chips easily. It also helps if they have heaps of money at the table and plenty of time to hang around.

Finished reading implied tilt odds ?

read how i get my online poker advantage and where I play home poker games

talking at the poker table

2008-11-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

I am one of those players who likes talking at the poker table. I have tried to keep my mouth shut but the best I can do is to swear quietly under my breath for the first three hands after a bad beat, then it’s back to conversation and commentary.

Eventually, after weighing up the pros and cons, I decided to stop trying to be quiet and to put my weakness to the best use I could.

If my chat makes it easier for other players to read me, so then does other peoples reactions or responses to my talking.

You can get some great information from other players that will give you an idea about how to play against them. You can determine their level of experience, their moods, their financial status, if they are driven by winning or are just amusing themselves, the list goes on and on.

Here is an example of where talking at the poker table can be useful.

I am playing a tournament with a $300 buy in. I talk to all the players and learn that the guy sitting on my right is a student who got talked into playing this tournament by his ‘poker fanatic’ mate, even though he could barely afford it.

I might reasonably assume he doesn’t have a lot of money (student) or skills (he says his mate is the fanatic). He will probably call more than he should, but fold to bigger than normal bets because of the financial pressure to finish with some winnings.

I also like to put my talking at the poker table to good use with false tells. A simple way to do this is to remember the way you talked during a hand that you won (particularly on the river) and repeat that when you are making a bluff.

I recently hit a flush on the river and said to the guy I was up against (who just bet at me) “you just hit your straight didn’t you?” and then I said “nah, I don’t believe you hit it” and I raised, he called, I took the chips.

An hour later I had a hand that was clearly not the best hand when a third club hit the board on the river, which was no help to me. The same player bet, I repeated the sequence and my raise was met with a “yeah I seen that before, you just hit your flush” he folded.

These are just a couple of ways chatty players like me can turn this weakness into a strength, or perhaps just less of a weakness. Of course blogging every poker thought you have ever had is taking talking at the poker table to the extreme if your mates read your blog.

Finished with talking at the poker table ?

read how i get my online poker advantage and where I play home poker games

Rules for poker games

2008-11-06T04:59:00.000-08:00

Unwritten rules for poker games

There are some rules for poker games you have to know before you start playing live poker and you probably wont find them in a rule book. These are the unwritten rules of poker etiquette.

Obviously the home poker game is not played at a flashy Las Vegas casino and the stakes are not in the thousands of dollars but there are number of good poker manners that should be considered to ensure a good fair game is enjoyed by all.

Here are some unwritten rules for poker games to consider:

1. No Cheating or collusion

Most people would think this goes with out mention, but I have witnessed this occurring on many occasions in so called “friendly” games.

This goes to the heart of the unwritten rules for poker games.

Why would you want to cheat your mates? Why turn a friendly game unfriendly?

2. Playing extra slowly

This isn’t usually a problem in home poker games, but I have seen a player’s unusually long decision making result in a near fight (at a poker league match).

If you need some time for a decision then simply announce “time” and the other players will be more understanding.

3. No string-betting

This is when you bet a couple of poker chips at a time.

A common mistake by poker players and usually forgivable, but it has been used intentionally by the odd tricky player to unfairly gain information.

If you are going to raise, then announce “raise” and either state the amount or place the chips out in one hand movement.

4. Deliberately acting out of turn

A sin we are all accidentally guilty of from time to time.

If you do act out of turn apologize and accept the penalty without question. Doing this deliberately to show another player your intentions is a form of cheating….see rule number 1.

5. Inducing an “act out of turn”

This is attempting to make a player act out of turn by hiding your cards or faking betting movements.
I have witnessed a player reach out their arm to bet then pull their hand away just before the chip are to touch the felt resulting in then next player betting out of turn….. Not good form.

6. Making comments during a hand you are not in

These are often known rules for poker games in casinos, but not usually enforced at home games due to the friendly atmosphere

As a general rule, do not talk about a person’s potential holdings if you are not in the hand.

If you think someone is bluffing keep it to yourself. Wait until then hand is over before discussing a player’s cards out loud.

7. Showing your cards to another player that is not in the hand and getting advice

This is a common occurrence in home games but is not fair on the other players in the hand.

You should make your own decisions in a poker game. I have been on the receiving end of cheating between two players when showing each other their hands for “advice”. If I wanted to play two vs one I would play piggy in the middle and not poker.

8. The dealer must not look at “mucked cards”

If you are dealing, never look at any cards mucked face down, it is none of your business. Having a look is giving you information about players that the others aren’t getting.

You are simply dealing the cards, no exceptions!

I see this happening too much at home games. Even if the dealer is not playing in the game they should still respect the mucked cards.

9. Splashing the pot

I am probably guilty of this a little too often. But don’t follow my bad example, place your chips neatly.

10. Agreeing to check a hand out when a third player is all-in.

It is sometimes considered bad etiquette to bet in this situation, but you can’t discuss this kind of thing in the middle of a hand- See rule number 1. No collusion!

11. Hiding your big chips

Another of the rules for poker games that might be written in some casinos. Make sure you bigger denomination chips are in clear view of all players as not to conceal the size of your stack.

You are allowed to ask for a rough chip count of any player if you feel you can’t see their chips.

12. If you folded and your cards would have made a great hand on the flop, don't react

This is not fair to the remaining players in the hand. I have even seen the pros do this on occasion (Shaun Shakan at the 2005 WSOP while Mike Mattasow was in a hand).

Tell the story afterwards.

13. Show one show all

If you feel the need to show a player your cards after the hand, then show the rest of the table too.

14. Don’t remove chips from the table: “going south”

This is a form of cheating, see rule number 1. Every player must have the chance to win back money he or she has lost.

If you want to protect your winnings, then technically you have to leave the game.

See rule 15 for more rules for poker games on this subject.

15. Leaving early when you are up

Particularly in home poker games, don’t go home early on purpose because you are winning, it is polite to stay until the end of the game if you are a big winner.

I recommend you let people know when you are likely to leave early on in the night e.g. telling your buddies at eight PM that you will be leaving around midnight.

If you are going to cut that short for some reason, give fair warning, like “I’m heading off in 45 minutes guys”

16. Paying attention

Do not fall into the trap of being that annoying player than needs to be told it is their turn to act every hand. If you have better things to do than play poker, then go do them.

17. Don’t be excessively rude or mean to other players.

If you do slip up and say something nasty to another player because of a bad beat or similar, make sure you apologize when you have cooled down.

18. Excessive bad language

In some official poker tournaments they have rules for poker games that get you “time on the bench” for this.

Avoid it in home games, especially when you are in someone else’s home and women and children are present.

19. “Shutting-up-shop”

This is when a player is a big winner and then decides to not play another hand so he can keep his winnings.

Definitely in the category of unwritten rules for poker games, some may even disagree with me on this one, but a player that has reloaded in a cash game does it on the idea that he can win some of his money back.

If you are going to do this then leave the game….. see rule number 15.

20. Be a good loser

We can’t win every session. Congratulate the winners and don’t complain…. There is all ways next time.

Knowing these rules for poker games is not about being a winning player, it is about being the kind of player that others don’t mind losing to.

the original version of this post was writen by "the Doc" who, unfortunately, is AWOL from the poker world at present.

Are you up to speed on rules for poker games now?

read how i get my online poker advantage and where I play home poker games

Perth Poker Games

2008-11-05T04:08:00.000-08:00

In my Cityof Perth Western Australia, apart from the poker leagues and casino, Perth poker games can be found fairly regularly in homes and garages around the city.

The easiest way to find a game, or players, for your own game, is to visit the perth poker games website I frequent. It's called Perth Poker Meet Up.

In the hope that explaining his own views about home games might encourage a few more people to actually go to one, fellow Perth poker blogger Steve, discusses below his reasons for playing 'in home' perth poker games regularly...

I think early on in a poker playing 'career', every game is played with these views:

a) increase the bank roll
b) prove your proficiency to everyone
c) be a winner on the night
d) never, ever be bluffed

That was certainly how I felt for the first few years since I started playing, and probably do now sometimes too.
Certainly a) and c) should always be present in any game. I think it is a discourtesy to the other players if you don't at least try to bring your 'A' game to the table.
b) and d) are somewhat more dubious values. A novice may be out to prove something, but I am quite happy to acknowledge there are often better players at the table than me. It's an important thing to recognize for two reasons. First, you don't want to tangle in lots of pots with people that can out play you, and acknowledging that has saved me money over the years. Second, I watch what those players do and how they play, and try and learn how to adapt the things I think they do better than me to my game.
As far as never being bluffed goes - well, I am sure we have all seen calling stations that would rather donk off all their chips than admit even the remote possibility they are being bluffed. If someone has the guts to pull the trigger three times and take the pot from me on a good bluff - assuming they show it - good on them. That too will improve my own play over time, through careful observation to spot any tells they may let out.
Anyway, I am slowly getting to my point about home games.
For me at least, a regular home game is not about beating my mates out of huge pots (nice as it is :)). Rather, it is to be able to get practice, feed back, try new plays, and above all practice, for bigger professionally run cash games or tournaments.
For sure, I could go the the casino and blow three or four buy ins trying out a new strategy. Good luck to me getting feedback from the table its effectiveness or on any tells I might be dropping.
Much better to have a regular, friendly, yet competitive home game, with stakes that make the game interesting, but aren't going to deplete anyones bankroll. I also find discussing pro's and con's of a play, as well as helping out novice players, helps improve the game of everyone involved.
So in a home game, I am quite happy to let a) and c) slide a little, for the greater benefit of the knowledge I can gain, at a lower cost/risk. That's not to say I wouldn't be trying to win any pot I am in, but the experimentation factor would be much higher.
If you look at every single poker pro and majorly successful amateur, the one thing they all have in common is they all mention the value their 'regular game' had on their success. Howard Lederer and Dan Harrington had the Mayfair club, Doyle Brunson had his rounder mates from his days on the road in Texas, Jennifer Harman had Johnny Chan and other big game players that let her watch and talked to about the game and Phil Gordon had his 'tilt boys'. Even Phil Helmuth will admit that his discussions with Joe Navarro has helped his game.

So that is what Steve is looking for in a regular home game and that is what you can find for yourself at the Perth poker games website.

read how i get my online poker advantage

My pain as a poker blogger

2008-11-04T04:39:00.000-08:00

Turns out this isn't going to be as easy as i thought it would be.

I have all the old articles from Texas Holdem Australia (almost 200 of them). I thought I would just go on a 'cut and paste' rampage, add an article a day then, 'hey presto' a new blog!

I've run into two problems with my plan for world domination

"Did I write that?" syndrome, and

Keyword Usage 101

The first problem, "did I write that?" syndrome, is what happens when I re-read my old poker articles that I wrote at the start of my time as a player.

Not only is there poor grammar and spelling (no promises I can fix all that), there is some fairly poor advice here and there.

The result is that I am spending about as much time on polishing old material as it took to write in the first place.

The second problem is keyword Usage 101. Having been around the web a fair bit over the last couple of years, I now know much more about the use of keywords to help people find my blog.

For example, my article on "texas holdem blinds" used to be called "beer and blinds". That wasn't a problem for people who were already reading my blog, but when some guy in South Africa wants simple advice on setting up a blind structure for a home poker tourney, he wouldn't likely be putting "beer and blinds" into google would he?

So the article itself remains mostly unchanged from the original, but the title is changed and the likely search term has been added in the correct quantities to help google, myself and the web-surfers all get what we want- a good article on poker blinds.

With both of these challenges ahead of me, this blog project is going to take a little longer to build up than i expected.

read how i get my online poker advantage and where I play home poker games

Texas Holdem Blinds

2008-11-03T04:42:00.001-08:00

Texas Holdem Blinds for a home tournament

I get a lot of queries about Texas Holdem blinds and how to set them up. I can understand why because most people find out that it is not as easy as it looks.

The BBQ is fired up and the esky (chilli bin, cooler) is full of beer and ice. Your mates are all here and the cards are all shuffled. Out comes the chip set and a blank expression comes over everyones face- "how many chips do we get and what are the blinds going to be?"

Running a tournament is not as simple as just giving each player a pile of red green and blue chips and getting started- but I have tried to make it as simple for you here as it can be.

CHIP STACKS

There are many combinations and denominations possible but my tip is that you hold a $5000 chip tournament with a nice sized stack of chips in front of each player.

Everyone likes having a big stack of chips to start with, you can use them to intimidate players with, play with them between hands and arrange into stacks and piles just the way you want them.

I recommend the simplest way to start this is to give each player 8 chips of three different colors and determine one color to be $25 chips, the second color to be $100 chips and the third color to be $500 chips.

This adds up to $5000 in chips.

TEXAS HOLDEM BLIND STRUCTURE

The Big Blind starts at $50 and the small blind should always be half of the big blind. Every half an hour you should increase the big blind to the following amounts- $100, $150, $200, $300, $400, $500, $600, $800, $1000, $1500, $2000, $3000, $4000, $5000.

Try to take a 15 min break every hour or two so you can stretch your legs, top up the snacks and tell your tales about the great hands you played in the last level.

The tournament should last about as long as it takes for the big blind to reach the original buy in of $5000 (give or take an hour), so you can add or remove blind levels to suit your needs.

COLOURING UP

This is the term used to describe the process of changing the smaller denomination chips for the larger denomination chips.

This happens when there are too many chips on the table due to players being knocked out, or if the Texas holdem blinds set up you have no longer requires a certain color..

Make sure that for each player you have 2 of the $100 chips and 2 of the $500 chips remaining in the case for when you need to "color up" or change the $25 or $100 chips to larger denominations later in the game.

If you want to play longer you can always add 5 chips of a fourth color, make them $1000 chips and adjust your texas holdem blinds structure to allow another level or two.

This would be a “deep stack” $10,000 chip tournament.

figured out what texas holdem blinds you'll use ?

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Winning Poker Hands

2008-11-02T02:04:00.000-08:00

Sticking to the winning poker hands

You have to know the winning poker hands if you are just starting out in no-limit hold'em poker, or if you have been playing a little while but just can't seem to get your bankroll moving.

You are in the same boat that every poker player in the world has been in before. The big question is whether or not you can get out of that boat and onto the ship of success.

The easiest first step you can take is to limit your starting hands to a shorter more specific list and have a clear strategy for how to play them. There is a range of winning poker hands, but for now you would do better to concentrate on playing just a few.

I am always dumbfounded to see new players trying to win hands with any two cards. It takes learned players thousands of hands before they can play a wide range of hands from all table positions and they still often opt to fold.

Premium Pairs- AA KK QQ

Always play these hands, they are all big favorites to win pre-flop. I am assuming you already knew that, so I will move on to how I suggest you play them if just starting out.

RAISE or RE-RAISE and make sure when you do so that you make your bet the size of the pot i.e. you add up all the chips already on the table and make that your bet (throw in a couple of extra big blinds if there's no one in the hand yet). You should not ever “slow play” these hands if you are a new or developing player.

Small/Medium Pocket Pairs- 22 through to JJ

Play these hands also, they are already a “made hand” and will have about a 50% chance of beating two over-cards like KQ or AK. (by the way, I offer different advice for limit hold em)

The important thing to remember about these hands is that unless you flop a third card to match your pocket cards the hand may become pretty useless quite quickly.

Raise about 3 big blinds or call a raise up to 5 big blinds. You will be paid out very nicely if you flop a set and if you just call (limp) with your small pairs and raise with your premium pairs, you become very predictable.

You might also flop three under-cards like 379 if you hold a hand like JJ or TT so you could still be in front there, even if you don't catch a set (three of a kind). Otherwise, be ready to throw your hand away to any strong betting.

Big Cards- AK AQ KQ

Play these hands but play them cautiously. Many players are prepared to go broke with these hands, but like I mentioned above, you are at best 50% against a hand as small as 22.

You'll notice I haven't included AJ, KJ and AT, these hands are trickier to play then they look and you can introduce them once your winning poker hands start paying off.

Raise if first to bet, or flat call if there is action before you. These are not made hands yet, you need to catch cards on the flop for a draw or a pair. The good news is that if you do flop a pair it's likely to be a strong pair, and if you do flop a draw it's possibly the best draw.

Believe it or not that’s it!

I know this sounds simple and there are plenty of other ways to play these winning poker hands and other hands too, but if you are just starting out and struggling a bit, you will find adopting this approach will improve your win percentage and give you a solid base for varying and developing your skills further.

You gotta walk before you can run.

all done with winning poker hands ?

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