Play Party Poker » Poker Tips

Poker Mistakes: Worst Starting Hands

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:29:44 +0000

New poker players tend to make mistakes whenever they are making decisions. This is pretty common – even today’s best poker players made mistakes when they were younger – and the best thing to do about it is to learn more about poker and learn from the mistakes. In this part, we are going to discuss about a common mistake most poker beginners make: playing with the wrong starting hand.

2-7 and 2-8, even when they are same-suited, are considered the two lowest possible starting hands in poker. Unless you want to play the hand just for fun, you should always fold these two hands. There is no way you can construct a straight with this kind of starting hand. A Flush is possible when same suited, but it will be a low Flush and can still be easily beaten.

2-10, known as the “Doyle Branson”, is a mediocre starting hand. However, it is definitely not for beginners. The same goes for 3-7, 3-8, 2-6, 2-9, 3-9, 4-9, and the “Dolly Parton” 5-9. They are still playable, but statistically they are not the best gambles in the long run. Remember that poker is all about staying profitable in the long run, and these starting hands will not help you whatsoever in achieving that goal.

Playing an unsuited Ace + low card is also not advised. When suited, the hand can be quite powerful. Unsuited, it is just not good enough. Unless the stake is low and you can live with losing the money just to see the Flop, or Turn, then you should fold instead.

Back to Basic: Poker Hand Rankings

admin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:29:17 +0000

We’ve discussed several poker tips before – some of them are more advanced than the rest – but this time we are going to take a simpler approach and discuss about the most basic thing in poker: hand rankings. Yes, different hands have different relative strength compared to others; understanding them, knowing how to spot them quickly in plays, and of course understanding the relative strength of each hand are essentially important if you want to be a successful poker player.

At the bottom of the food chain – I mean, the poker hand rankings – we have High Card. If you have nothing constructed with your hand, it is categorized as High Card based on the highest card you have. Next, we have Pair; of course, it is constructed by a pair of certain cards. Two Pair is even stronger than Pair because now you have two pairs in your hand.

If you are holding Two Pairs, don’t get overconfident just yet because your hand can easy be topped with a Three of a Kind, followed by a Straight; Straight is achieved when you have different suited cards in order, such as 5-6-7-8-9. To beat a Straight, you will need at least a Flush – same-suited 5-card combination – or a Four of a Kind.

The second strongest hands in poker are of course Straight Flush – same-suited cards in order – and the best of them all is a Royal Flush – same-suited 10-J-Q-K-A. If you have a Royal Flush, lure your opponents into betting more of their money and take down the pot with your unbeatable hand.

Poker Tips: Predicting Hands

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:28:45 +0000

There are so many factors to consider in a round of poker. In order to make the right decision, you need to consider your hand’s relative strength compared to those of your opponents’, your opponents’ betting pattern, possible stronger hands, etc. and you need to consider them fast. The only way you can master the art of predicting hands is by practicing. In this part, we are going to talk about some basics that you can use to improve your skills right away.

A good approach is to understand each player’s playing style before you start predicting hands. You can easily observe how other players are reacting based on the hand they are holding, and quickly create a summary of their behavior. Then, you can use the understanding to guide your plays easily.

Another good approach is to evaluate the strongest possible hand that can be constructed with table cards and consider any hand stronger than you. Simply think about how would you bet if you are holding stronger hand and assess your opponents based on it. You will be able to make probe bets – if you are playing online – or read tells if you are thorough enough in observing your opponents.

By knowing how to predict hands and how to assess the relative strength of your hand quickly, you can make better, more calculated, decisions that will certainly make you even more profitable when playing poker. Practice make perfect, so be sure to use the skill frequently in order to master it.