A little while ago, on another Web site, I broke down some beginner and advanced craps terms for new players to help them feel more comfortable at the craps table. I found it to be an extremely helpful exercise and would like to bring that to poker over the course of a few articles.
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Poker Articles
Poker terms
March 19th, 2010Changing the way you play
March 19th, 2010One of the most difficult things to do in poker is changing the way you play the game. The reasons for such are infinite, but usually a shift in tactics comes from falling into a losing slump, and needing some kind of a spark to get you back on the right path. At least that’s what we tell ourselves. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it forces us deeper into the hole, closer to a self-imposed retirement.
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Draw hands vs. premium hands
March 12th, 2010Draw hands are so much fun, aren’t they? You have so many options and so many fears rolled into one little pair of cards. But how valuable are these through the course of a Texas Hold ‘Em hand compared to a higher value hand that’s already made? What’s the best way to play these while walking that line between scaring off lower value made hands or overextending yourself vs. better hands that at the early stages have a higher percentage of victory?
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Jacks and queens: Deceptively strong pre-flop?
March 12th, 2010Certain situations can be frustrating in poker. You know you’re playing your hand right, you’re betting correctly, yet you still go up against that stronger hand that drops you quickly out of the hand, and sometimes out of the game altogether.
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The rake
March 5th, 2010“In the game of life, women are the f—n’ rake.”
You can’t ever quote Rounders enough. At least I can’t. And while I’d love to spend this entire article talking about women, I think the better choice is to focus on the rake.
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Those darn all-iners
March 5th, 2010Online, people go all-in like it’s going out of style. Really, sorry for the upcoming rant, but where are these people coming from? The low-stakes, limit games and the sit n’ goes are just havens for these poisonous players who seem to have no regard for losing their money or the purity of the game of poker whatsoever. Bitter? You could say that.
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That guy who’s better than you? He’s not your friend
February 26th, 2010Everyone has that friend that’s dying to get them to play poker with them. They’re very good, and you’re…passable. They’ll sweeten the deal by offering handicaps, rule changes, anything to get you into a heads up matchup with them, because they know that no matter how much of an advantage you think you have, the end result will be all the chips in his pocket.
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The turn: To check or not to check
February 24th, 2010Do you check on the turn? Are you ashamed of it? Just kidding. Like anything, whether you check on the turn depends on the situation. I can’t count myself in the camp of those who say “if you’re not raising, you should be folding.” I’ve said before it’s not always that black and white, and this is one gray area I’m proud to take part in.
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Mastering the bluff
February 19th, 2010When you think about poker, what’s one of the first things that come to mind? All-ins? Not really. Raising and folding? Eh. Vodka on the rocks? Getting warmer. I’m talking about bluffing. How to spot it, how to master it. Bluffing and poker go hand-in-hand like …uh…vodka and rocks.
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Making that difficult decision
February 18th, 2010Poker is all about difficult decisions. What to bet, deciding whether the other guy is bluffing, making a call on an opponent’s range…hell, even pulling out a chair and sitting down in the first place. However, one of the largest decisions, the one that pulls at you long after you’ve made your call, is whether to fold a potential huge hand early on in the game.
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