No Replacement For Displacement

John Bono's Poker Primer

I gave my brother and my father the entry fee for a poker tournament for Christmas. I was shocked that even though they were going to play poker for free, and they've both played poker in home games, they both were very intimidated by the prospect of playing poker in a casino, and wouldn't play unless I taught them how to play. So I am going to spend New Year's eve night giving them a poker lesson(no, not that kind of poker lesson). I'm not a great player, nor am I a real rube. For a regular player, I am about average. However, that does make me a better player than those who play for the first time. So take my advice for what it is worth.

Don't be intimidated by the game. If you take care to learn the basics of the game, you have a decent chance of winning at low limits. Unlike all the other games in the casino, there is no built in edge for the house, because there is no house, you play against other players. Playing a $1-$3 no ante 7 card stud(7CS) game or a $2 & $4 Texas hold-em game is not going to empty your bankroll unless you are wildly careless or drunk. So relax. If you don't want to play in a cash game, play in a tournament instead. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have tournaments every weekend that have low entry fees, and it is quite possible to play for an afternoon on only $35. That's less than the price of a round of golf.

Don't play fancy games. Don't play games like 7card stud hi-lo, Omaha hi-lo, and other oddball games. If you are comfortable playing 7 card stud, play it, otherwise, you are better off playing Texas Hold'Em. Unlike 7CS, There is less need to track each player's hand in hold'em, to make certain that your draws are valid or not. On the East Coast, 7CS is more popular. YMMV.

Play less hands. You heard that right. Play less hands. Just because you see everyone else jumping into every hand that is dealt doesn't mean you should. The number one mistake people make in poker is playing too many hands, then becoming attached to those hands, and losing money hand over fist playing junk. There is a scene in the movie Rounders(the best poker movie ever, IMO), where you learn how good the main character is because he folds a hand. Learn from that scene. Stick with face cards, medium to high pairs(7s or better), High connectors(KQ, QJ) or Suited connectors(JQhearts or KQspades). Basically, if you are in doubt whether your hand is good, throw it away. Good players are in less hands, but they win with what they play with.

Pay attention to your position relative to the dealer. If you immediately to the right of the dealer, you should be prepared that if you bet, there is a real possibility of being raised by someone else. As a result, you should be much more discriminating about what hands you play when you are first to act as opposed to when you are last to act.

Pay attention to the odds. When drawing on hand(waiting for cards to improve your hand), pay attention to the odds of you actually getting the hand. For example, if after the flop in a Texas Hold'em game, you have a four heart flush, the odds are about 4-1 against you making your flush on the next card. If your bet will pay off at better than 4-1 call(or even raise if you think you'll get enough callers and your draw will be strong enough). If it is less than 4-1, fold. Similarly, to convert trips to a full house or better, the odds are 5-1 on the sixth card, and slightly less than 4-1 on the 7th card.

Don't draw dead. "Drawing dead" is when you are drawing on a hand, like a straight or a flush, and the cards on the table suggest that a full house is a possibility, such as KKQQ on the board in holdem, any player holding three of a kind(trips) on the fifth card(5th street) of a 7CS game. Under those circumstances, a straight or flush is going to be worthless, and you will have paid a lot of money to get a worthless hand. Pay special attention if you have a flush in Hold'em. It is routine for two players to have a flush.

Check Raising. The act of check-raising(not betting on the first round of betting, then raising after a subsequent player bets) is an very aggressive play. If you are drawing for a straight or flush, and want to get away without having to bet on the 6th card, a check raise is a good way to scare off a later, more expensive bet. Be warned, though, that a good player may come "over the top" and raise you back. Then you have to make the decision as to whether or not it is worth it to call the raise when you may be up against someone who may raise Also, check-raising when you have a very strong hand is also a way to trap some money in the pot. However, I would not recommend doing that unless there are some aggressive players in the game to begin with. Often, if other players read you on a flush or full house, they won't bet, and you'll lose money in the process.

For more good tips, go to this page. It is a good page of tips by a noted poker player/author. He has a good section on psychology. One great tip: If a player is nervous and trembling when he bets, he has a monster hand.