Las Vegas State University's College of Poker
REQUIRED READING
The following books we require in order to graduate with a degree from our College of Poker:
SUGGESTED READING
The following books are suggested reading to increase your knowledge in the area of baccarat and other related fields:
February 18, 2006 in College of Poker | Permalink | Comments (0)
Haven't we all been there? We are sitting behind a player that keeps raking in the pots left and right. After the first couple times you think to yourself, "WOW, this person must be pretty good!" After a few more pots won you're thinking, "Man, this person must be catching some killer cards tonight." After this continues for a while you're thinking, "Okay, this is getting ridiculous!! This person is raising my blinds every time. Something has got to be up. Am I getting bluffed here?" Well, you're probably right! Here are five tips to sniff out a bluff at your next poker night.
Tip#1 - Body Language
Concentrate on your opponent's body language. What do they do after they bet or raise. We have all heard the saying, "People that act weak and really strong and people that act strong are really weak." Try to notice the subtle things that the person does. Do they bet and then stare you down. Weak. Do they bet and then sit back in their chairs. Strong.
Tip #2 - Betting history
Remember as much about an opponent's betting history as possible. This information can be a key element in catching a bluffer. Does the opponent always raise when a certain person is big blind, in essence trying to bully this person? Does your opponent raise every time they have an ace, no matter what the second card is? How is this person betting their pocket pairs? Do they try to force people to fold when they are on a draw?
Tip #3 - Probe for Information
This tip takes some time to perfect. You have probably seen this on TV plenty of times. One player raises another and then the interrogation starts. "So what do you have over there buddy? You got kings? You didn't raise pre flop so I doubt that. What do you got queen king, something like that?" A veteran knows not to say a word because even in trying to throw off the opponent, inadvertently something may tip the opponent off that there may be some bluffing going on. So ask as many questions as possible. Try to get information about your opponent's play through body language or even the pitch in their voice. You may be surprised that your opponent may give away vital information even if they don't say a word.
Tip #4 - Pay to See a Hand
In the world of poker information is key. Every once in a while if you feel like you are being bluffed out of your money, pay to see the bluffers hand. This may be hard to do if you really feel like your going to be beat but in the end it is definitely worth it. Once the cards are turns over you must remember how the whole hand was played. "Okay, I was re-raised pre flop, re-raised again on the river, the turn was checked and the river was checked. But you had Q9 offsuit!" This information might help you out in the later stages of the game.
Tip #5 - Catch'em on Tilt
A player "on tilt" means that they caught a really bad beat on the previous hand and they are visible shaken and extremely angry. Normally this player will play just about whatever the next hand that is dealt, within reason of course, and usually play this hand out of control. If you catch a player while they are on tilt usually you can catch them bluffing.
If you follow these five simple tips and you will be well on your way to spotting a bluffer at your next home game.
July 05, 2006 in College of Poker | Permalink | Comments (0)
Developing a strategy in poker can be challenging, especially if you are playing with many different people. A group of seven buddies that get together to play cards one Saturday a month, usually know each other so well that developing a strategy can become a piece of cake. However, when thinking about tournament play or at least changing your venue sometimes, it becomes increasingly difficult to adopt a poker betting strategy for Texas hold-em. As you want to make sure you are not predictable as this is a major weakness many new players encounter.
Texas hold-em is a very particular type of poker game, that is probably one of the most popular, if not the absolute most popular poker game around today. In fact, it is considered to be the game of all games in poker, as said by Johnny Moss, "(Texas) hold-em is to poker what chess is to checkers". The basics of the game are that each player is dealt only two cards, facedown, and then they are to make the best hand possible out of a five card flop, meaning community cards in the center of the table. The excitement of Texas hold-em is found greatly in the unique closed game style and fixed betting structure. Each player must pay blinds and continue to bet as the game progresses. Only three cards of the flop are revealed immediately as they are dealt face-up, the other two cards, actually the first ones to be dealt after the players' cards, remain facedown until the final rounds of betting and the ultimate "showdown" occur.
Now when it comes to a betting strategy for Texas hold-em, one must consider a few things. First of all, you must consider how much money you can truly afford to play with, as is always the case when gambling in any situation. Often times in tournaments there is simply a buy-in amount, a set amount of money to enter in order to play. That option makes it easier as there is no decision about how much you are willing to loose, if you are in for a hundred dollars then you may loose a hundred dollars, but that will be all. Texas hold-em is revered as much as it is, in part due to the potential for a great deal of betting and large sums of money exchanging hands. The World Series of Poker utilizes no limit Texas hold-em as its game of choice, the game of champions. Because there is so much betting involved, a conservative strategy is often good, at least in the beginning. However, due to the fixed nature of the betting structure some of the playing is just following along and playing according to the rules the table plays by. There is often an ante, in addition to the big and small blind, which is the fixed part of the game. The table determines before playing a game what the big and small blinds, and ante if using one, will be. Once that is established, the player to the left of the dealer will make the first bet after each stage of the game. There are the obvious concepts of over-betting to buy the pot, or under-betting to keep everyone in the game longer. These are strategies involved with any type of poker playing, however, in Texas hold-em there is a far greater investment made by each player who stays in long enough to see the last two cards of the flop. Another difference in Texas hold-em is that a player can go all-in at any time, which is unlike most other poker games where there is usually a maximum bet established.
Whatever strategy is used at the poker table, when playing Texas hold-em anything can happen. The most important strategy is to remain calm and have fun.
July 06, 2006 in College of Poker | Permalink | Comments (0)
The great thing about playing poker online is that you can pretty much play whenever you have some free time. Got 30 minutes to spare? Then just sign on, find a game you like and start playing. It's really that simple.
The only problem as I see it, there are so many different places to play online, how do you choose? By whoever offers the biggest bonus? The fanciest looking site?
When looking for a place to play online, consider how long the card room has been in business for - 4-5 years is a long time in the online gaming world. Sites associated with professional poker players also are more likely to be reputable - the theory being that they don't want to be associated with a shady outfit. The pro players do not want to put their reputations on the line.
You can belong to more than one online casino or poker room as I do. Some poker rooms offer a better sign up bonus, some have better or more frequent freeroll tournaments. Another may have easier ring games. There is no limit to the number of poker rooms that you can join.
Do some research at a site that you trust which reviews online casino and poker rooms. Start out by making a small deposit. Try out the software and see if the site fits your needs. Does the site offer games at the limits that you want? Is it easy to withdraw cash? Are there enough players online when you are likely to play so that you'll always have a good game available?
By checking out the lobby of an online site you will get to see who the players are in a particular game, the percentage of flops that they are seeing - which helps you find a tight or loose game, the number of hands being played per hour.
The most profitable games will be the ones that have larger than average pots and a high percentage of players that are seeing the flop.
Because of the relative ease that players have in switching tables, playing during lunch or before dinner means that at times you will be playing in shorthanded games.
When you are playing in a shorthanded game you should expect to play in a greater number of games. You should expect to play more hands as the value of low pairs now increases. The value of drawing hands will also decrease because there typically not enough players in the hand to make the pot large enough to chase.
Just about all online casinos have games that start out at limits as low as .05/.10 which are great for a beginner and increase in increments small enough so that you can slowly get acclimated to playing for larger pots. Of course if you prefer to go to the higher limit or no limit games, there is no shortage of these either.
One important note, if you are going to play on line, open an account with NetTeller (www.netteller.com) because most credit card companies will not allow you to deposit directly into an online casino account. Netteller will accept the credit card payments into an account and you can transfer in and out of it from there. Just about every online casino deals with them.
July 06, 2006 in College of Online Gaming, College of Poker | Permalink | Comments (0)
Don't do it. Not at the Texas Holdem table. Not anywhere else. 'Nuff said. Right?
Oh, you already don't cheat? Well congratulations and good for you (and for the rest of us too). But as honest as you may be, cheaters do abound, as much in Texas Holdem as in any other game, and you'll need to know their tricks in order to spot them before they turn them loose on you.
Fortunately, many forms of cheating at Texas Holdem are subverted in online play by the nature of the internet. Online players, for example, can't miscall their hand, manipulate the deck, short pots, or practice any other form of devious sleight of hand.
Online Texas Holdem players can however collude, and collusion is cheating just the same. Collusion is when two or more players partner up to mislead the other players at the table and unfairly take their money . There are a number of ways that online Texas Holdem players can do this, including:
Codes
Using the chat window, the colluders communicate in a pre-established code, right in front of the other players' eyes, whereby they compare their two hands and then fold the weaker of the two, only playing the stronger
Sandwiching
The colluders take turns betting and raising heavily into a third player, forcing him or her to either keep calling ridiculous bets or keep folding out of every hand.
Signaling
In offline Texas Holdem, this can occur as hand gestures, bodily cues, or careful arrangement of one's chip stack, but in internet play this occurs by communicating through some alternate method -- telephone, private email, or an instant message.
Cheaters don't always travel in pairs, however. In fact, one of the most common forms of cheating in online Texas Holdem is when a single player sits down in multiple seats at a single table. How? Simple. Multiple computers. Now this one player is able to perform the same dirty tricks as a couple of colluders, except more efficiently since they have no one else to try to subversively communicate and strategize with. And the lone cheater is doubly motivated by the fact that he doesn't have to split his "winnings" either.
Now, there are those who protest that the very nature of Texas Holdem is the art of deception and as such they are free to use whatever means necessary to be the best deceivers they can be. This is a fallacy, a clever rationalization designed to deceive (go figure) -- nothing more. Don't be fooled.
Cheating is an offense to the game of poker. And it has no place at the Texas Holdem table. One of the great appeals of Texas Holdem is that anybody -- expert of beginner -- can win. And that is as it should be. By sitting down at the Texas Holdem table you are implicitly consenting to play by the same rules as everyone else there. That too is as it should be.
Cheating is the bad apple that spoils the whole bunch. It gives Texas Holdem a bad name. Cheating is stealing -- plain and simple. That's why it's incumbent upon honest players like yourself to call out cheating whenever you spot it. Report it with a vengeance. And get yourself to a different Texas Holdem table as fast as you can.
With the help of honest players like yourself, a cheater can only "win" at Texas Holdem for so long before eventually getting found out. And you can take that to the bank.
About the Author: Poker-Ranking.com is the premier resource for online poker reviews. Before your next game of texas holdem, visit http://www.poker-ranking.com for informative articles, poker rules, game strategy, and comprehensive reviews of over 60 online poker rooms.
July 11, 2006 in College of Poker | Permalink | Comments (0)
Hold'em Poker has, in a few short years, exploded into the most popular poker variation of the game and Texas Hold'em is a game that started some time in the early twentieth century. However, it is only in the last five or six years that Texas Hold'em has mesmerized poker players and taken over poker rooms just about everywhere poker is played.
No-Limit Texas Hold'em is the mainstay of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) which is the highest profile event in the history of the game and is televised around the world. Texas Hold'em is the main game played in the World Poker Tour (WPT) that promotes worldwide poker tournaments. Celebrity tournaments particularly as held in Las Vegas, feature Texas Hold'em and are extremely popular with spectators. In fact, Texas Hold'em tournaments have become highly popular spectator sports and are televised to enthusiastic audiences.
Assuming you are acquainted with traditional poker, here is the basic Texas Hold'em play:
You are dealt two personal cards face down and five cards are placed face up in the center of the table for use by all the players. These are the community cards.
You make the best five card hand using your two personal cards and any combination of the five community cards.
There are four betting rounds. Unless you are in a no-limit game, the first two bets will have a set limit - for example, two dollars. The next two bets have a limit of four dollars. Betting or raising for each round cannot exceed the pre-set limits.
The first two bets are called "blind" or "posted" bets. The first player to the left of the dealer places a "small blind" or minimum bet which is half the maximum - or $2. The next player to the left of the minimum blind poster places the "big blind". The maximum allowed in this case is four dollars. No other bets are made. Once play begins, the deal rotates around the table and each player, in turn, will act as the small blind, big blind and eventually as dealer.
The game starts with the first small blind player receiving the first card face down and the deal revolving around the table with the last card taken by the dealer. The deal revolves around the table again with each player receiving the second card face down.
The first round of betting begins with the player to the left of the big blind either calling or raising within the pre-set game limits. Betting, calling or folding goes around the table until the small blind poster is reached. The small blind poster can call the bet since a blind was already posted. The big blind then has the option to raise or to "check".
Three community cards are then dealt face up in the center of the table. In Texas Hold'em terminology, this is known as "the flop". Bets are placed.
Next comes "the turn" or "fourth street", which means the dealer places the fourth community card among the first three cards. Again, bets are placed.
The fifth and final community card dealt is called "the river" or "fifth street".
To play Texas Hold'em well, basic strategies should be learned and practiced and for the serious player, extensive study of advanced game strategies is a must.
July 11, 2006 in College of Poker | Permalink | Comments (0)
Most experienced poker players use percentage realities to know if they have the odds to "chase" a flush or straight draw. That is the correct strategy for limit games, however if you are using such a guide when playing tournaments, you are playing an unnecessary, risky style of poker tournament game, and most likely costing yourself money. I recommend playing draws in a tournament only under the following specific conditions.
You are the short stacked and in the blinds, and the flop gives you an open ended straight or flush draw. In this case you should go all in after the flop, and hope to take the pot right there giving you an extra opportunity to win the hand, and see another full round of cards. You are going to hit one out three times approximately and in this case, that is a good scenario. I once saw a "Magical WPT Pro" do this early in a tournament with his whole stack, only to be called by the cutoff with an overpair. He was out in the first hour saying "in these tournaments you have to double up early and take the chance". That is complete nonsense and rings of a cop out, not a strategy.
You can also play draws from the blind when it is an economical poker strategy to do so. As per the above example, if you can hit a draw 1 of 3 times, the pot size should be 3 times the size to make it a profitable play - that is, in ring games. Do not follow this guide in early stage tournament play because missing 1 or 2 profitable-play draws may mean that your whole tournament strategy will have to change for the duration, just playing catch up. On a flush or open ended straight draw, do not chase unless you are getting at least 6 to 1 pot odds, and I look for 10 to 1 as an even better guideline. At the early stages of tournaments, you want to have the made hand, and let others try to hit their draw against you. Can you see how this works? If all the early confrontations you have in the tournament force your opponents into expensive draws you will be chipping up the majority of the time, and setting yourself up for big stack play in the middle stages. And during an online tournament, you will have lots of customers chasing.
This brings us to the most acceptable time to play draws - as a big stack! Here you can use the normal percentage and odds realities, because you can now afford to miss 2 of 3 draws and not be hurt, especially against a small stack. Your tactic here should be to use your draw to take smaller stacks of their better hands by betting aggressively with the looming threat of taking them out. Choose your spots when doing this, against tight middle stacks, or real short stacks. Stay away from drawing against a big stack, until final table play, where aggression takes down the majority of pots.
July 11, 2006 in College of Poker | Permalink | Comments (0)
Texas Holdem Poker
Money Management Gambling Tips
Before you start playing texas holdem poker you have to have a game
plan that is a happy medium between walking away after losing your
bankroll or walking away with your account over flowing with your
winnings. See how the pros create an online poker strategy.
Understand the rules
In any form of online gambling, to be a winner you have to take money
management seriously. Every player knows the rules, but few follow
them. If you want to win at texas holdem poker and beat the casinos,
follow the money management rules.
Check your frame of mind
Many players go in saying they're only going to use a certain amount of
money, because that is all they're prepared to lose. First of all, no
one is prepared to lose. This thinking puts you in the wrong frame of
mind for winning. It's better to know that you can cope with the loss,
if it happens. But, go in believing you will win.
Check your attitude
Players who consistently lose do so because they don't approach the
game with a winning attitude. A Winning attitude isn't going to change
the odds for texas holdem poker. But it will definitely affect your
chances of winning, no two ways about it.
Budget your bankroll
The most important rule in all gambling is to never play at a level
that exceeds what you can afford to lose. This goes for financially as
well as emotionally. Playing with money that you "need" is just plain
foolish.
Knowing when to quit
Start with a fixed amount of money and set a target for yourself. How
much money do you want to win? Once you've hit it, be satisfied with
it. If you decide to continue to play with your winnings - that's
great. But, if you start losing and you lose your winnings...STOP! It's
not the casino's money. It's your money, you won it. So don't get
suckered into that type of thinking.
Chasing losses
If you go over your limit, it's time to take a break. Don't chase your
losses and never pull out your credit card! Instead, go and take a
break to get your head clear and your attitude straight.
Avoid alcohol
This shouldn't have to mentioned here, but always play texas holdem
poker sober. If you and your buddies had a few....stay away from the
games.
Get rest
Never play when you're tired. It's difficult to think clearly when you're exhausted. Wait until you are rested, then play.
Have fun
Remember, online gambling is a form of entertainment, so have fun. You
can never go wrong if you keep in mind you're gambling to get
satisfaction out of the game and not to just win money.
July 14, 2006 in College of Poker | Permalink | Comments (0)
