Winning Poker From Home
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by: HairyGingo
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Word Count: 710
To some it might seem frivolous to want to make playing poker a profession. There is no other profession desired by others. To the rest of the people, playing poker is a fun pastime that not only can be financially rewarding but also a powerful confidence boost.
For those of us who wish to make money from playing poker, professionally or otherwise, it is necessary to know a few simple rules of the game. The most important rule, when playing a game like poker, is to know your opponents. Knowing the other players and the signs the players provide telling you whether they have a good hand or a poor one, will help you become the best poker player you can be.
These signs that players have are called tells. It is almost like holding your hand so everyone can see what cards you have when you have a tell. Facial expressions that come when you have a winning or losing hand to how you bet are different tells.
Facial expressions like surprise or anguish are beginner tells that most players who have been playing for a while will no longer convey. Knowing your own facial expressions and controlling them is a rudimentary law of poker. This tell is, if you are playing with seasoned players, one that you cannot always trust.
Most People cannot control consciously the basic of tells which is the betting. Forcing other players to bet more on a hand that the player knows will not succeed is being an aggressive player. In most cases this is a good move.
In the cases where it is a good choice to play aggressively, the bettor usually has a very low hand that might win, like an ace in the hole. Another time this is a good play is when the other players do not have as many chips as you have. If the other players, or at least one of them, has a better amount of chips, that player can equally force you to bet all in when you do not have a winning hand.
Always pay attention to the tells of other players but pay equal attention to every other characteristic of the game. The other important characteristics are what cards are in the window, the community cards, and how the other players are betting. If the window and the betting seem to show that someone has a sure-fire winner of a hand, it is a good idea to fold your hand.
You have a good hand if you were dealt a pair in your hole, the two face-down cards you were dealt in the beginning. You can play aggressively even if it is just a pair of twos. Bluffing with a pair, to either make the other players think you have an amazing hand or to make them think you have a rotten hand, usually wins because the chance of getting a pair is much higher than the chances of getting two pairs.
The chances are that the other players do not have a pair if they don't seem to want to bet more than the minimum. If you have an ace in the hole, you can bet, but not aggressively, unless you enjoy risks and have enough chips to back up your adventurous nature. It is always possible, though, that the window will reveal a pair for another player.
You might get a flush if your two hole cards are of a matching suit and at least two more of the flop cards are of the same suit because the turn or the river, the last two cards dealt, might give you the fifth of that suit. However, remember that it is just as hard to pull a flush as it is an inside straight. Have a backup plan for that hand if you are going to bet because there is a less than .5% chance of getting either a flush or a straight.
If you feel comfortable with the play, it is a good play. After you have been playing with players who have a little knowledge of the game for a while, you will be able to tell what to do right when you are dealt the first two cards. Always remember, the most important rule; watch for your tells and others.
About the Author
Is there a better poker player than phil ivey? I can't imagine a better player. He seems to know the right play to make in every hand. Phil can play all the games at a very high level. Poker stars
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