 |
Newsletters |
 |
|
|
|
|
MENU |
|
|
|
|
|
Online Poker Reviews |
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred Sites |
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Us |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
Online Poker Strategy |
|
|
Online Poker Strategy
The strategy behind playing poker is quite simple: Leave the table with more money than you sat down with!
But seriously folks, there are so many different poker strategies for playing with success that it would take days if not months to explain them all.
The first thing to look at with a poker strategy is what type of game you are in. Is it a tournament or a cash game?
Tournament poker strategy is, in my opinion and many others, much different from cash game strategy. In tournament play, everyone starts off with a set amount of chips, the variances of tournament play are the amount of skill, and luck your opponents have. The object here, much like the TV show Survivor, is to outwit, outplay and outlast your opponents.
During the first hour of a poker tournament, my strategy is to play tight, generally only play top hands, unless I am in the blinds or on the button, then it depends on if the blinds were raised and how many players are still in the hand. If the tournament allows for all-in moves, I am unlikely to do so during the first hour unless I am certain that my hand is the better hand. Once that first hour is up and all of the ‘all-in’ every hand fools are gone the game is played a bit different. At this point I have been able to get a decent read on many of my table mates, whether they bluff a lot, play tight or play anything. My objective for the second hour of tournament play is to end the hour with at least double of my original chip stack. As the tournament winds into its third hour and so on, my objective is to play not just my hand, but play my opponent. Change up the way I have been playing, bluffing occasionally and playing hard. Once the tournament gets to the ‘money’, my play again changes somewhat. I play looser than before and try to capitalize on the weakness of other players. One thing I really like to do is check-raise post flop. If I am in a good position with chips and have, what looks to me as a winning hand, I will likely try to trap my opponent into putting as much money into the pot as possible.
If I am lucky enough to make it to the final table, my play becomes a bit more mysterious. Play tight against the lower stack folks as they are just trying to stay in the game, and play loose among the big stacks at the table. If I am the big stack, I don’t generally throw my weight around because its pretty easy to go from the big stack to loosing in 3 hands or less is you are playing crappy cards.
Now for the cash game poker strategy. This is where I lack a bit of skill, but I’m working on it. My forte is certainly not in cash games, where as my husband can sit at a cash table and leave with four or five times the amount he sat down with.
In a cash game, the strategy comes down to how many players are in the hand preflop, how big their stacks are and what cards you are holding. Cash games generally tend to be a bit looser than tournament for the simple fact that more money can be brought to the table by any player that busts their stack, if they have the money of course. Strategy here involves getting a good read on the other players and the action at the table. If you can, stand around a table before you sit for a cash game and watch how the seated players are playing. Look for their tells while you’re at it.
The best poker strategy I have for cash games is to start at low limit tables until you get comfortable playing, including when to raise, reraise or fold, then move onto higher limits until you find your best spot.
As I stated earlier, there are dozens if not hundreds of different poker strategies to pick from. More books come out every year about new strategies, but the best I’ve read so far is considered the bible of poker strategy, Super System I & II by Doyle Brunson. If you see a player whose style and strategy you like, check to see if they have written anything on their strategy.
Carbon poker continues to be one of our favorite online poker rooms due to the enhanced features and easy players :
Check out carbon poker today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
