#1 – Cardplayer.com’s archived articles. There is a world of poker information available to anyone with an internet connection at cardplayer.com. Cardplayer gives you the ability to browse any of their articles in an easily sortable database.

#2 – Take advantage of internet poker forums. There are numerous forums online where poker players of all skill levels converge to discuss the game. These discussions can be quite specific, as opposed to the generalities in books and articles, often times having pages of responses on 1 specific hand. Check out the pokereagles forum.

#3 – Talk to your friends. The more viewpoints you have the better. Just because you feel you are demonstratively better than your friends at poker doesn’t mean their ideas and views are worthless. Even if their theories are wrong you will gain insight into how a bad player views certain situations. This will allow you to make better decisions against these types of players. And imagine if your friends are equally skilled or better! You can gain a lot of poker insight and knowledge from a carride discussion with other players.

Here is the rest of the pre-flop quiz. Enjoy!

Question #6 – Same situation as question 5 -The UTG player raises (he’s a semi-solid player and would need AJ or better, or a pair of 9s and up to raise) everyone folds to you on the button you have KQs, the BB is a calling station- but you have 2 loose callers as well. what do you do?

A) Fold. The circumstances haven’t changed much, the UTG player still has a better hand than me.
B) Call. With the extra players I am getting better odds to hit a big hand.
C) Raise. A raise should eliminate the BB, and see how strong the UTG player is. If he re-raises it may fold the other 2 players, leaving me heads up with a lot of dead money in the pot. If he just calls I will be receiving great odds to hit a big hand, and I may get a free card, since I was the last player to show aggression pre-flop.

Question #7 – You have JTs in early position with a very loose aggressive player on your left who looks like he really likes his hand (almost a maniac, but his hand has to have some value for him to raise think 89/A6/57s type hands at the least). The game usually has 3-6 players seeing the flop for 1-3 bets, but not too many people will call 2 or more bets cold without a hand. What do you do?

A) Fold. JTs isn’t playable from early position, especially when the pot is likely to be raised.
B) Call. A lot of people are seeing the flop in this game and I have a very good multi-way hand. Even though the maniac may raise the other players know he is a maniac and will probably call with marginal hands giving me good odds to hit a big draw.
C) Raise. Not many people are playing for raises in this game and if the maniac re-raises I will probably be heads up against him.

Question #8 – Same situation only you have 88.

A) Fold. 88 isn’t playable from early position, especially when the pot is likely to be raised.
B) Call. A lot of people are seeing the flop in this game and I have a very good multi-way hand. Even though the maniac may raise the other players know he is a maniac and will probably call with marginal hands giving me proper odds to hit my set.
C) Raise. Not many people are playing for raises in this game and if the maniac re-raises I will probably be heads up against him.

Question #9 – You have KT offsuit in the SB, 4 average or lower skilled players have limped in, what do you do?

A) Fold. KT is not a very good hand and may get you trapped in a pot where you have a worse kicker.
B) Call. You are getting great odds here but your hand is not strong enough to raise with, especially out of position.
C) Raise. KT is a decent hand in an unraised pot, none of your opponents have shown any strength so it is unlikely if you hit a pair you will be outkicked.

Question #10 – Same situation only you have KTs.
A) Fold. KT is not a very good hand and may get you trapped in a pot where you have a worse kicker.
B) Call. You are getting great odds here but your hand is not strong enough to raise with, especially out of position.
C) Raise. KTs is a decent hand in an unraised pot, none of your opponents have shown any strength so it is unlikely if you hit a pair you will be outkicked. And with a big flush or straight possible you can increase the size of the pot so your opponents will not want to fold if they have a marginal hand after the flop.

Test your knowledge of Limit Texas Hold’ Em pre-flop play with these questions. Keep in mind that more than one answer may be correct, BUT there is a best answer to each question. Happy hunting!

Question #1 – The UTG player raises (a loose player but would need AT or better or a pair of 7s to raise), a MP player calls (Loose Passive player, who could hold a variety of hands here, suited connectors, a pair of jacks or lower, AX, and such), and everyone folds to you on the button. You look down at AQ, What do you do?

A) Fold. I am most likely behind at least 1 of the players, and can find a better situation to get my money in the pot.
B) Call. I have a good hand but could be behind, and would like to see the flop before I commit more chips to this pot.
C) Raise. My hand rates to be better than both players, I have position on everyone, a raise should eliminate both blinds, and raising will give me more information about the UTG player’s hand by how he reacts.

Question #2 – The same situation only the MP player is a tight passive player.

A) Fold. I am most likely behind at least 1 of the players, and can find a better situation to get my money in the pot.
B) Call. I have a good hand but could be behind, and would like to see the flop before I commit more chips to this pot.
C) Raise. My hand rates to be better than both players, I have position on everyone, a raise should eliminate both blinds, and raising will give me more information about the UTG player’s hand by how he reacts.

Question #3 – You are in a loose passive game where 5 or 6 players will see the flop for 1 bet. You have JJ in early position and have the reputation of raising with only strong hands, what should you do?

A) Fold, JJ is not a good hand in a multi-way pot.
B) Call, I would like a lot of opponents in the hand in case I hit my set and a raise will probably eliminate all but premium hands due to my reputation.
C) Raise, JJ is a strong hand and in a loose passive game I should still get callers while at the same time increasing my chances of winning unimproved.

Question #4 – The same situation only now the game is tight aggressive, and a loose player has limped in before you.

A) Fold, the pot will most likely be raised and I am out of position.
B) Call, by limping in I will invite more players into this pot, and JJ plays well in multi-way pots.
C) Raise, I can isolate the loose player and limit the field, and at the same time I am not unhappy when more players enter the pot for 2 bets or even raise since I have a very strong hand.

Question #5 – The UTG player raises (he’s a semi-solid player and would need AJ or better, or a pair of 9s and up to raise), everyone folds to you on the button, you have KQs, the BB is a calling station, what do you do?

A) Fold, the UTG definitely has a better hand than you and even with your position and the BB in the game you are not getting very good odds.
B) Call, I know I am behind but I will be getting over 2 to 1 on my call if the BB calls.
C) Raise, To see just how strong the UTG players hand is and to eliminate the BB from the hand. I can then use my position to outplay him after the flop.

Answers to follow in future blog.

Tells by experienced players:

In contrast to the recreational player, an experienced player will have very few tells. They will however have picked up some telegraphs. A telegraph is a repetitive act caused by constantly doing something. Think of a basketball player’s free throw ritual, after enough times they will go through the motions without even realizing it.

Experienced players have telegraphs: such as holding their cards a certain way when they plan on folding. It is not a natural reaction or tell, just a mechanical act (a bad habit if you will) that has been picked up through repetition. Most players don’t feel their telegraphs give anything away since they do the same thing all the time. However, if you carefully watch for these signals you will pick up some valuable information.

For instance, suppose you are playing $10/$20 Hold Em and are dealt 83 on the button and it is folded to you. Most players would simply fold here. But, what if you noticed the Big Blind holding his cards the way he always does when he is going to fold? Now you can raise, win the blinds, and collect $15 you wouldn’t have if you didn’t notice this telegraph.

Some telegraphs to look for are;

•    Does someone play with their chips in different situations?

•    Does someone check with his hand in one situation and say, “check” aloud in another?

•    Does someone hold their cards a certain way?

Watching for, and understanding, tells and telegraphs will give you a leg up on both your inexperienced and experienced competition.

Tells are subconscious actions that you are unaware of. Recreational players will have more tells simply because of their inexperience, these players will have numerous tells where more experienced players will not.

Envision a boxer or Martial Artist who no longer flinches when people throw punches at him, they have reconditioned their minds to act in an unnatural way. A new practitioner of martial arts, much like someone in their first fight, will have a hard time controlling their natural reactions and instincts. A poker player is no different, experienced players will have reconditioned themselves to not let a faint smile come through when they have a big hand, or not cover their mouth when bluffing. Whereas, recreational player’s true feelings will be noticeable.

Poker is a game of deception therefor most players will act opposite what they really feel. Their subconscious reaction is to deceive the other players. Mike Caro has written the best book to date on poker tells, Caro’s Book Of Poker Tells. This book pounds home the strong means weak, weak means strong, tells of recreational players such as;

•    Staring down a player when bluffing

•    Timidly putting chips in the pot with a big hand

•    The tsssk sound of disappointment when they have a huge hand

Caro’s book also discusses more general tells that have their basis in human nature such as;

•    Protecting a strong holding with you hands

•    Quick glances at chips when they hit a monster

I highly suggest picking up Caro’s book to familiarize yourself with these tells. On a cautionary note, do not place your decisions solely on these tells. Experienced players can fake them (a rare occurrence for a recreational player but possible) or there could be another reason for them such as a truly itchy nose.
In part 2 of this series I will discuss how to deal with experienced players, and the tells they exhibit.

Imagine the following scenario: You walk into a cardroom and there are only two $10/$20 poker tables, no other games are going. At the first table are nine world class players, while the second table sports a lineup of the worst players you have ever seen. Which table would you choose to play at?
Anyone who answered table one, please turn off your computer, and find the nearest electro-shock center. Since no poker player in their right mind would choose table one. There is an old poker saying; To be successful in business surround yourself with geniuses, to be successful in poker surround yourself with idiots.

Game selection is one of the most overlooked aspects to becoming a winning poker player, or becoming an even bigger winner. Good game selection is quite simple: you simply choose the most profitable game available.

A profitable game has a certain look and feel to it. Profitable games are usually happy with a lot of chatter, have people liberally throwing their chips in the pot, and have a lot of money on the table. These games are not hard to find. Take a walk around the casino and you’ll see numerous games with these characteristics.