RAZZ

I was watching episodes of the 2004 World Series Of Poker, I saw my first game of Razz poker, and was intrigued. As I had never played Razz poker, I decided to at least learn how, and figure out why some of the players were calling it things like the “hated game” and repeatedly saying, “I hate this game”. Here are a few of the things I learned. As far as learning how to play, if you have ever played 7 Card Stud you will quickly be able to play Razz poker competently. Razz poker is played like 7 Card Stud, but it is played for low instead of high. The best possible hand is a “Wheel”, A 2 3 4 5 and straights or flushes have no bearing on the winning hand. After the first three cards are dealt, the high card, unlike 7 Card Stud, is forced to place a “bring in” bet to start the action. From this point, everything is the same as 7 Card Stud. Learning how to play is easy; learning how to play well is difficult, to say the least. In my opinion, Razz poker requires the highest level of reading your opponents and recognizing betting patterns of all of the variations of poker. As an extension, Razz poker is the game where it is most important to not give away any information about the strength of your hand. Bluffing is a large part of the game, as many times the best low hand will be a Nine or Ten high, and it seems like there are a lot of times when you end up with three pair to destroy much hopes of winning, but if you have good low cards showing you may be able to bluff and win. This is why it is so aggravating. An example is when you start with 2 3 5, followed by 3 7 5. Any A 4 6 or 8 will almost surely give you the win and a 9, T or J may give you the best hand. But when you hit another 2 3 5 or 7, you have no chance to win unless all of your opponents have multiple pairs also or you are able to make a successful bluff. You will often play this hand to the end, just to have any chance to win destroyed by pairing your seventh card. Overall, Razz poker is a fun variation of poker to play on occasion, but due to the lack of available games, and the few that do run are usually dominated by veteran players, I recommend it for a change of pace, not a full time profession. It can be a fun night of entertainment if you host a home game.

Quick explanation of Omaha!

What you do is get four cards. Doesn’t matter much what they are because nobody really looks at them anyway. Next, they put three cards on the board. It doesn’t matter what they are because nobody really pays any attention to the flop either. Then one more card for the turn and another one for the river. Same betting scenario as before. Doesn’t really matter much what they are, except, for a few of the players that may have “cheated” and looked at their hole cards. These players may now fold if they have absolutely no outs. (Mostly bad sports.) Now, at the showdown, everybody turns over their cards and helps the dealer figure out who has the best hand. You MUST play two cards out of your hand so this usually takes a while and and the winning hand is usually found out after a little bit of searching by all of the players and a partially confused dealer. The dealer now pushes the pot to the wrong player and everybody yells at him and he smiles glibly and says, “Oh yeah,,,sorry” and then sends it in the right direction. Then, after all of that excitement dies down, everybody lets out a collective sigh of relief and gets ready to wind up and do it all over again. Fun game. Everyone here is a bonus Joke for today’s Blog! A man came home from a poker game late one night and found his hideous wife waiting for him with a rolling pin. “Where the hell have you been?” she asked. The man reply’s“You’ll have to pack all your things, dear “I’ve just lost you in a card game.” “How did you manage to do that?” asks the wife. “It wasn’t easy, honest. I had to fold with a royal flush.”

The Check Raise

The check raise can be an effective tool to control your opponents and force others to make mistakes. It can help neutralize your opponent’s advantage due to position. You can trap opponents with your strong hands. As well, you can protect your good but vulnerable hands in family pots. It is very important that you do not attempt to check raise passive opponents because your plan will backfire if you give them a free card if they do not bet. When we play hands out of position, our opponents have a very large advantage since they see what we do before they act. If we always check when we have a weak hand, observant opponents will pick up on this pattern and bluff us out of pots. By check raising, we keep our opponents on their toes, and they will value bet and bluff less frequently. In hands that involve multiple players, we can isolate players with a check raise and force those who act after us to pay multiple bets to continue in the hand. Look at the situation where there are three limpers and the button raises. We call the raise in the big blind with AJ offsuit, as do all the limpers. The flop comes J25 with two hearts and everyone checks to the pre-flop raiser. The pre-flop raiser bets as expected and we can now raise, thereby forcing the three players who act after us to pay two bets if they want to continue in the hand. If we had just bet out and any of the limpers called, they would be likely to call the extra bet if the button raises. Check raising is an effective tool in hands with only one opponent. By check raising, which is a sign of strength, we get extra bets into the pot with our very strong hands. Opponents who tend to bluff players that show weakness will begin to become more passive in pots that you are involved in, because they fear the check raise. While the check raise is an effective tool, it should be used relatively sparingly. If you constantly attempt to check raise your opponents, they will begin to take free cards after you check. This gives them the opportunity to outdraw you with weaker hands for free, which would be a huge mistake on your behalf. The real key is to only attempt the check raise when you feel an opponent will bet.

Distractions when you're playing

Why should you avoid distractions when you’re playing online poker? You can multi-task can’t you?The first paragraph of this article asks you a simple question, why should you avoid distractions when you’re in the midst of a game online? For the same reason you would avoid them if you were playing in a land based poker tournament, staying focused during play is essential if you are to avoid making mistakes. What exactly are distractions? These are going to differ from person to person, many players require absolute silence when they are playing, others have a web browser open or the TV on in the background. A few will have four or five attention grabbing things going on at once, the wife talking about her day, answering email, chatting on the internet and even finishing up some work. Any one of these distractions could potentially cost you your tournament, which means a wasted buy-in or a cash amount in a ring game. How can we avoid these things? It isn’t too difficult, try playing when the wife is out or watching her favorite TV show. Maybe leave the computer alone until your young child is safely tucked up in bed. Turn the TV down or off completely, you cannot watch two screens at once very easily! Finish your work first, then play. It seems a very straight forward thing to do, but you’d be surprised at how many non-focused players there are on the internet. If you are 100% focused on the game, you have an edge over these players. Recognising and taking advantage of non-focused players.So, how can we spot a non-focused player? Keep and eye on the chat, is someone talking about the football game? The next horse race? Or perhaps the bad beat they just took on another table? These could be players who are not focused on the task in hand.

Terms that describe playing styles

These are all terms that describe playing styles. Loose and tight generally refer to a player’s attitude toward his stack of chips. The loose player bets more often prior to the flop and will gamble more to try and make a hand. They tend to bluff a lot. A player that is ‘tight’ plays few hands that are carefully selected; they’ll fold easily. They tend to only play strong hands. Passive and aggressive refer to a player’s attitude toward other players. A ‘passive’ player tends to follow other player’s leads and not try to command the table while an ‘aggressive’ player tries to command the table and force others to chase him or fold. These attitudes combine to create four generalized playing styles: Loose-passive: These players don’t guard every penny, but they do tend to follow other players leads. These players will play most hands, but rarely initiate bets or raises. Loose-passive play is typified by casual ‘poker night’ games amongst friends. Loose-aggressive: These players are also free with their money, but they are in the game for the action and want to command the game. These players will raise often, even with weak cards. Loose-aggressive play is typified by the ‘play money’ internet poker rooms where no real money is at stake. Tight-passive: These players are careful with their money and follow other player’s leads. These players let others initiate betting, call when they have good cards and seldom raise. Tight-passive play is typified by regulars at public card rooms. Tight-aggressive: These players guard their money, but also love the competition and want to command the game. They may let other’s initiate betting, but when they raise it is very probable that they hold good cards. Tight-aggressive play is typified by professional poker players and those in tournaments. It is important to note that none of these play styles is absolute – anyone may ‘push his luck’ or bluff if they feel the time is right.

Personal Improvment !!

Yesterday we talked about Team Poker and I personally wasn’t a big fan of that type of format. But it made me take a look at my personal game and I think no matter what skill level you are at you always need to look at your own game and look for areas to improve.I always put a list of things together and at my next live event I will pay attention to each of these things and try to improve or correct. Now to be clear the list is always there once I fix something there something that replaces it on the list. There is that old saying “Texas Holdem takes a minute to learn but a life time to master” Below is my current list of things I need to work on at my next live event. Tells I need to eliminate. 9. Yelling “Yeehaw!” everytime I have a pocket pair 8. Everytime I bluff I say,”Call this if you don’t like money.” 7. Shaking the entire table when I have the nuts. 6. Sweating profusely when I know I’m beat. 5. Begging the other players not to call or raise. 4. Wearing mirror glasses that shows the table my hole cards. 3. Discussing my cards with the cocktail girl during the hand. 2. Having to constantly ask other players what hands are best. 1. Hyperventilating when I look at my hole cards and see Pocket Rockets!

Team Poker? Is it a way to practice cheating!

So I played in my first team event last night online and it got me thinking. Is team Poker just a way to practice what has always been illegal in poker and that’s “Collusion” or is Team poker another way to drive excitement into the game? With all the Large fields at the WSOP do we really need something to create any more excitement? And team Poker is just not on-line for forums to challenge each other. There is an event that is being put together for the Pro’s and will be televised. I actually was hoping to play on the Dallas Team but the buy in of $10,000 was a little to much for my bankroll. Cheating at Poker when not playing team event(What to watch out for) There are three or four major forms of poker cheating that you must remain on guard against; marked cards, imported chips, mechanics, and collusion. Imported chips are unauthorized poker chips brought into the tournament. Mechanics is the physical manipulation of playing cards to someone’s advantage, for example, dealing from the bottom of the deck. Collusion is playing differently against one or more players at the table than you do against others. Cheating at low stakes home poker games is not usually a problem. Tournament play discourages cheating due to the relatively low buyin dollar amount. Many home tourney players are attending for the enjoyment and camaraderie rather than the need to win the money. So don’t worry too much about cheaters at your game. Surprisingly, the biggest form of “cheating” is peeking at other players cards. Glimpsing your neighbor’s cards is sometimes unavoidable due to the cramped quarters of a home poker room. Remind your guests to protect their cards at all times. Remember that is not improper for one player to complain about another player who constantly has the opportunity to view a third player’s cards. Marked CardsMarked cards can be purchased on Ebay and at other locations. Brand new decks of marked KEM cards (in sealed plastic!) use a dye that is only visible to players wearing special glasses. This cheating method can be easily avoided by never using anyone else’s cards at your home tourney. Some players may also try to mark cards by tearing or nicking them with a fingernail. This is usually a little too obvious a tactic but of greater concern is a ‘punched’ card. A punched card has a little indentation punched into the card in a specific location. You can view a punched card here. A dealer can feel the punch as he deals the card and an observant player can view the punches on everyone’s down-cards. Imported ChipsYou must be on guard against players who might try to bring their own poker chips into your tournament. This is particularly true if you use one of the more common types of chip that is readily available. If you use a customized chip with your name printed on it, you don’t have to worry about a player having an identical chip, but if you are using the plastic Bike chips - what’s to stop a player from bringing extra chips into your tourney? If you must use common poker chips, try to modify them in some unique way. One easy method is to place little stickers (labels) of a certain color or shape on each chip. Just make sure they don’t come off … you don’t want to make false accusations against an innocent player. You might also use an unusually colored felt marker to permanently mark your chips. Always pay attention to the chips in play. If you’ve owned your set of chips for ten years but all of a sudden one or two shiny, new Purple (500) chips appears .. you’ve got a problem. Make sure you account for your entire chipset at the end of the night. Chips do occasionally get lost under carpets or down ventilation grates. Ensure that you know the exact number of chips you have in your set. MechanicsYou should always pay particular attention to the dealer as this is where the majority of cheating can occur. Your worries will be greatly lessened if you have a dedicated dealer you can trust. You can learn more about card mechanics at PokerCheat.com. CollusionCollusion is extremely difficult to prove and caution must be used when dealing with the issue. In a public cardroom, or someone else’s house, it is best to simply walk away from the game when you suspect collusion. Unfortunately, walking away is not an option when you are in your own house hosting 20 guys for a night of poker! Some common forms of collusion are: Dumping chips: Deliberately losing to a partner (perhaps someone you are backing financially or with whom you have traded a percentage stake). Hand-mucking: Switching or altering hands. Two people sitting next to each other might try to switch hands or alter them in some way. Hot-seat: A new player is invited to a game, only to play against a team of players all secretly working together. Signaling: Trading information between partners. Signals can take many forms, from the placement of the chips on the cards, to coughing, to Morse code tappings on the table. The key ingredient in all signaling systems is the ability to be repeated without being noticed. In a game where people (hopefully) are always watching each other, this can prove problematic. When a cheater is signaling the value of his hand to his partner(s), he is also signaling the value of his hand to everybody else at the table. Soft play: Failing to bet or raise in a situation that would normally merit it because of your opponent. In home poker games it is common to be playing against someone you know well but the best advice is to leave friendship outside the door, especially in tournament poker. Soft playing a friend is cheating all of the other players at the game who would prefer to see you bust out your friend, getting them closer to the prize money. Whipsawing: Partners raise and reraise each other to trap players in between. Implicit CollusionLet’s say there are three players left in the pot and one of those players goes all-in. There is now a good chance that the remaining two players will “check it down", meaning that they will both check, rather than bet or raise, until the showdown. This is known as “implicit collusion” because the two players are now, in effect, teaming up against the all-in player. There are several legitimate reasons why implicit collusion is somewhat tolerated: The chance of a successful bluff is much lower since there is a guaranteed card showdown with the all-in player. Eliminating players is an important objective in a tournament and both players have a vested interest in seeing the all-in player eliminated. Two hands have a better chance of beating the all-in player than one. Players not in the pot also have a vested interest in seeing the all-in player eliminated. For these reasons, don’t be surprised to see many checked-down hands in these situations. It is not considered to be cheating unless done by verbal agreement.