Poker: Some Insider Info

In the twenty first century really there is only one form of poker that counts. No Limit Texas Hold’em is the game that has swept through people’s living rooms, computers and the game of choice in the casinos. The casinos love the amount of hype that the Texas Hold’em craze has brought them since there is zero risk to the casino in facilitating a cash game or a tournament. They can either take a rake of every hand played on one of their tables, or, charge a registration fee for any tournament that they organise

The massive poker tournaments hosted by casinos the world over, from Barcelona to Las Vegas and back again to Montecarlo bring in huge revenues as well as publicity. Not only do visitors flock to the casinos to see the sharks play high stakes poker but they will, inevitably be encouraged to sit down and play.

The most important tip that a pro ever gave me was an incredibly simple one, if you are a budding player sitting down at a big table the rule is simple; don’t bluff! This was not said in jest, a pro sitting on that table in the casino will have the advantage of knowing all the odds, you will not and in a cash game where the blinds never go up you can afford to wait until that good hand comes along. When it does the pro will inevitably think to him or herself that they can bully or bet you out of the hand at which point you can happily take them for all they’ve got!

Position with regards to the dealer is also important, playing it safe is all very well in terms of advice but the real fun of poker lies in bluffing someone off of a huge hand. If you are the big blind and there is a pro player to your left or even a couple of places over to your left it is likely that they will throw in a raise to push you into folding your weak hand, enabling them to take the blinds for low risk. Don’t make the mistake of raising them right there but flat call. Any good player will interpret this call as a sign of weakness and bet into you a second time, regardless of what comes up on the flop. Flat call this raise also and the pro will start to actually look at the cards on the table wondering what you have, now is the time to raise into him/her and make a huge push. Only make this move rarely and only make it when there is only one other player in the hand. Do it right and you will find that 9/10 times the pot is yours 😉