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Poker
Tips
When you are at a new table, it
is obviously VERY important that you
pay close attention to the GAME and
to the PLAYERS right away.
Most players... when they sit
down... get so caught up in
themselves and their own heads that
they don't even make it to this
first step...
To put it bluntly:
"SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, and WATCH."
Don't start running your mouth...
don't try to act cool...
and don't daydream. The first few
minutes you're at the table is
perhaps the most IMPORTANT time
there.
Once you've done this, be sure not
to rush into any hands. In fact, I
recommend NOT getting involved in
any hands at the very beginning...
and here's why:
If you're an experienced tournament
player, you know that most players
are eliminated from tournaments when
they are in "shuffle times" (when
they are moving from table to
table).
It is at these times when the
BIGGEST MISTAKES are usually made.
Let's say that you sit down a new
table. You may have been playing at
a tight table where you could buy a
lot of pots...
You sit at this new table... and
fall right back into your
betting pattern. You make a bold
move, try to buy a pot, and get
burnt because THIS TABLE is much
LOOSER than the last one.
This puts you at a disadvantage
right away... one which you might
not recover from.
When I move to a new table... or
begin at a game where I don't know
the players... I always wait at
least 3-4 rounds of betting before I
get involved in a hand... and a lot
of times I wait EVEN LONGER.
This gives me a chance to get to
know my opponents... BEFORE I risk
any chips.
I call it my "Study Period."
Of course, the WHOLE GAME is a study
period in itself... but these first
few hands is 100% devoted towards
just watching my poker opponents.
And here's the added benefit:
If I don't know my competition, THEY
don't know ME, either. By taking my
time and doing my study period, I
learn about THEM... but they DON'T
LEARN ABOUT ME.
If anything, they just ASSUME that
I'm a tight player...
That means within 10 minutes, I
immediately have an
advantage over all the other players
at the table... even if I haven't
won a pot yet... or even played a
hand.
OK, so when you do your study
period, what should you look for?
A lot of newbies think it's all in
the face and in the
eyes... which is a mistake.
Most poker tells are the COMBINATION
of an entire set of movements and
behavior...
On TV-- especially in movies-- poker
tells are portrayed as something as
simple as the twitch of a nose or
the movement of a leg.
Kind of like in "Rounders," when
Mike McDee figures out Teddy KGB
based on how he ate his cookies.
TAKE NOTE...
For the most part, this type of
portrayal of poker tells is a TOTAL
MYTH.
If you think you can figure out a
player's hand just based on how he
blinks, you're in for a rude
awakening... and you'll lose your
chips fast.
In REAL LIFE (where you play), tells
are more complex...
...VERY RARELY are they "cut and
dry."
When you study your opponents...
here are the things you should think
about:
1. Past Play
Think about how this player has
acted in the past...
Is he usually strong or weak?
Aggressive or timid?
Smart or dumb?
And so on...
2. Timing
If your instinct tells you that a
player deliberated for a
long time trying to make a choice,
chances are that his hand isn't too
strong.
However, you should also note how
long he has taken to play in the
past, to make sure that the move
wasn't just a regular timing move.
3. Posture
Especially with bad players, the
posture of a player is a key tell
that will reveal a lot about a
hand...
If the person leans back, that
USUALLY represents strength. If he
leans forward, that USUALLY
represents weakness.
Once again, poker tells aren't black
and white. It's a gray area, where
everything needs to be considered
together...
4. Bet Amount
If a player tends to make small
bets, but then places an unusually
large bet, he could be holding a
strong hand. Or he may be trying to
buy the pot.
Always watch for irregularities in
betting patterns... most
amateurs don't mix up their bets
enough, which gives you an easy edge
if you pay attention.
5. Pulse
This is one of the only "body tells"
that I find works most of the time.
You can usually see the intensity of
a player's pulse by looking closely
at his neck.
Often if a player gets "shaky," he
usually has a great hand. If the
player is cool and collected, it's
probably a fake.
6. Your Gut Feeling
Depending on your poker experience,
your gut will often be your best
guide...
I've been playing poker for so long
now that when I sit down with
newbies, I can usually read the
players almost
INSTANTLY, without much thought.
It just comes naturally... and it
will come naturally to
you, too... once you gain a lot of
experience under your belt... and
once you spend enough time studying
the game.
With the pros, of course, you've got
to be much more
careful, because they DO know how to
disguise their tells and play their
hands in an unpredictable manner.
So, to recap:
1. When you sit down to play at a
table of strangers...
especially in a tournament... take
your time before becoming involved
in a hand.
2. Go through a careful "Study
Period." During this time, SHUT UP
and STUDY the players intensely.
3. When you start betting, watch for
the six things we
discussed: past play, timing,
posture, bet amount, pulse, and your
own gut instincts.
Finally... there's one more step to
add...
And that is:
NEVER REVEAL THE WAY YOU THINK.
Here's what I mean...
Poker is truly a BATTLE of minds.
The tells we've been discussing are
mostly simple REFLECTIONS of how a
player is thinking at the time of a
bet.
For some reason, it's a natural
tendency in all of us to
share our thoughts at the poker
table... ESPECIALLY when we aren't
involved in hands.
This is more common during "home
games" than in tournament play or
casinos...
For instance, let's say there's a
heads up match between Don and John
after the river card.
Don goes all in...
The river was the third diamond on
the board. John has trip Aces.
(Of course, a flush would beat
John's three of a kind.)
Anyway... John's has to decide
whether Don is a on a
bluff... or if he caught the diamond
flush.
THIS is where everyone starts
screwing up:
Since Don is all in... and can't
change his mind... John
shows his trip Aces to the other
guys at the table who
aren't in the hand.
He says, "Man, I don't know whether
to call. Don made a pre-flop
raise... I think he's just
pot-committed and is trying to buy
it."
Someone else might chime in, "Yea,
but he seems like he's got the
flush. Did you notice how he's been
quiet the whole hand?"
Someone else says, "C'mon wuss. Just
call his bet and go all-in... I'm
getting tired and want to get
going."
And so on...
Do you see where I'm going with
this?
John should NEVER show his Aces to
the other guys of course... aside
from being bad poker etiquette, now
they just saw an entire "free hand"
and got to see how John acted the
whole way with his three of a kind.
The next guy just revealed that he's
been watching how SILENT Don has
been... which clues everyone in on
how this guy thinks about tells. Now
you know to be very conscious about
how much you talk around this
player.
And the third guy reveals an
attitude of carelessness...
which means as soon as I caught a
good hand I'd try to get in a
heads-up match with him and go all
in... because there's a decent
chance he'll call.
When you reveal your THINKING
PROCESS, you're simply GIVING AWAY
tons of crucial information... FOR
NO REASON.
The other players at the table with
pick up a read on you quickly...
both consciously and subconsciously.
So don't do it.
Period.
As you know, Texas Holdem is filled
with TONS of techniques and
strategies like these, that anyone
can understand if they just take the
time to learn them.
Unlike popular belief, poker is NOT
about having natural talent.
It's about LEARNING-- through
experience, analysis, and
expertise-- how to MASTER the game.
To develop YOUR poker genius,
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Your New Friend,
Roy Rounder
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