Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Beating Blackjack - Easier Then You Think

The Blackjack Millionaire
Beating Blackjack

Beating the game of Blackjack is a lot easier then you might think. With a some practice and a little patience you can beat the game of blackjack.

Card Value and Card Count

Step one you need to learn how to count cards, don’t fret this is very simple to do! Any card 2-6 you gets a value of +1, 7-9’s has a value of 0 and 10-A’s is given a value of -1. Low valued cards (2-6) are good for the casino, high valued cards 10-A are good for the player and 7-9 is neutral.

Card counting works like this, when the dealer is dealing look at all of the cards that get dealt and in your mind start adding a subtracting your 1’s and -1’s. The easiest way to do this quickly is to pay attention to the second card that is dealt out to everyone, for instinse if there is a 10 and a 3 they cancel each other out and the total is 0. Example: Seat #1 has 2 and 7, seat #2 has J and 4, seat #3 has 10 and 8, seat #4 has 3 and 4 and the dealer and a Q showing. Do you know what the count is? Seat #1 has +1, seat #2 has 0, seat #3 has -1, seat #4 has 2 and the dealer has -1. The running count is +1.

The higher the running count or the further in the “+” values the more money you should bet because the game has shifted in your favor. Remember the more 10’s-A’s in the deck the better odds you will win, the more 2’s-6’s in the deck the odds move to the house. So if the running count starts to reach 10 or more than you need to start adjusting your bet, bet more money per hand.

Betting Size and Bankroll

Your betting unit should be at most 1/1000 of your bankroll.
Your bankroll is how much money you are willing to lose without going crazy.
For each session your money on hand should be at least 32 betting units. Example: If you want to bet $10 a hand, you should bring as least $320.
If you lose half your bankroll, then drop your betting units by half.
If you win half your bankroll (total $480) then raise your betting units 1 ½ times (to $25).
By constantly adjusting your betting unit, you will never go broke, and your bankroll will increase in the long run.

Maximum Bet

Your maximum bet should be at least 4 times your betting unit. For example, your maximum be would be $40.
Never bet more than ¼ of the money on you, on one round, because you want to have enough money to split and double down if the option becomes available to you.

Optimal Betting

Keep a Running Count.
Approximate the number of decks remaining.
Divide the Running Count by the number of decks remaining; this is called the True Count. If your Running Count is 8 and there is 2 decks left, then your True Count is 4.
Subtract 1 from the True Count to determine how many units to bet. In this example you will bet 3 units; multiply the number of units to bet (3 in this example) by your betting unit ($10), you will bet $30 on this hand.
Play two hands and bet that amount ($30) per hand; if you are the only player at the table, or you can only play one hand, bet 25% more on one hand.

If your running count is less than 0, bet as little as you can without drawing too much attention to your bet, sit out if you can.

If you take some time and practice these strategies before you sit down at that Blackjack table in the casino you will walk away a winner. Practice at home with your friends and family. Take a deck of cards and practice counting; if you count out a whole deck you should have 0 when you are done. Try it, its great practice. Good luck and have fun!

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Monday, June 4, 2007

No-Limit Texas Hold'em: Basic Strategy

Online Poker Strategy
No-Limit Texas Hold'em: Basic Strategy

Introduction
The biggest differences between No-Limit Texas Hold'em and Limit Texas Hold'em involves position and hand value. Position is far more important in No-Limit because the decisions you make will have a greater impact on your stack. If you trap someone in No-Limit with the help of position, you can win your opponent's entire stack as compared to collecting a few extra bets in Limit.

Big connectors like A-K, A-Q and K-Q decrease in value when you play No-Limit as you are more likely to win small pots and lose big pots with these types of hands. As well, all pairs increase in value when playing No-Limit since you are able to double through your opponents when you hit a set. The big pairs, AA and KK, also increase in value when playing No-Limit as you are again presented with an opportunity to trap someone for his whole stack.
In No-Limit it is important to keep track of the amount of money you and your opponents have on the table. The variation in stack size greatly affects how the game is played. Some examples are as follows:
1. You have $500 and your opponent has $25. The blinds are $2/$4. You are sitting in the big blind with a J-Ts and your opponent moves all-in from first position (a position referred to as sitting under the gun). All other players fold.

This is clearly a situation in which you should fold since you are most certainly the underdog and risking an additional $21 in order to win his last $25 is not a profitable play. If your opponent also has $500, then a call may be acceptable as you have a chance of winning $500 by risking another $21. The decision of whether to call or not depends on how well your opponent plays after the flop.
2. You have $1,000 and your opponent also has $1,000. The blinds are $2/$4. You hold QQ and make it $20 to go. Your opponent, who is acting behind you, now moves all-in with his entire $1,000 stack. You should fold unless you know your opponent does not have AA or KK. If your opponent made the same play with only $60 in front of him, you should call his all-in bet in the hopes that he does not hold AA or KK.
No-Limit Texas Hold'em Top Advice
Playing too many starting hands. In a standard $2/$4 NL game you should have a 20-30% view of the flop percentage. This means folding A-J in first position, K-T in middle position and Q-T in late position.

Table selection. Only play in games where you have an edge. You want at least a couple of weak players at the table when you sit down.

Playing the players. Make sure to quickly assess the opposition: who plays inferior hands, who folds at aggression, who bets with draws, who calls big bets with weak hands and draws, who can be bluffed, who bluffs, etc.

Pump it or dump it. Fold or bet/raise (if the odds are with you). You should avoid calling unless you have a good reason (like trapping an opponent).

Respect most big bets and raises. This is particularly true on the turn and river as most players do not bluff.
No-Limit Texas Hold'em Common Mistakes
• Not releasing a decent hand when beat, thus losing the whole stack on one hand
• Calling with weak holdings when facing a bet
• Playing too many starting hands
• Not raising pre-flop with premium hands (putting pressure on limpers holding drawing hands) and then going too far with them after the flop
• Over/under betting the pot (risking a lot to win small/not protecting hand)
Basic Pre-Flop Strategy
Most of the time you should raise/re-raise with top-pairs (AA-QQ) and top connectors (A-K, A-Qs) in order to make low-pairs and various connectors pay to see flops against you. Remember, they will often have the opportunity to double up on you if they hit (although many beginners do not realize this and fold too often pre-flop).

Stick to the premium hands. You will pay dearly to "chase" with second-best hands in NL.

Keep most raises down to between 70% and 100% (making it 3 times the big blind to go typically equals an 80% pot bet) in order to save money when you get re-raised or called by stronger holdings. If there are limpers in front of you, raise to about 4-6 times the big blind.

Have respect for strong tight players (for example, you should drop A-Q if a strong player raises under the gun).

When very weak players have entered the pot, be inclined to call and take flops with them.
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Sunday, June 3, 2007

The Biggest Secret of Online Poker

Secrets of Winning Poker Tournaments
The Biggest Secret of Online Poker

Of all the tips I've received during my years of playing poker online, only one stands out above the rest - have patience. Patience is what will make or break Internet players and bring in the money.

It is common to occasionally encounter cold runs of cards for weeks, and a good poker player learns how to ride it out. A general poker rule is that playing too high of a limit will bust you really fast, but playing impatiently will bust you even faster. If you loose a few big rounds try and avoid going on tilt and loosing your whole bankroll.

Professional Poker Players Are Extremely Patient

You won't find a professional poker player who's impatient because poker is a game that is won over the long run. There's just enough luck involved in poker to keep the fish coming back, but the best players know the game comes with more highs and lows than the stock market and the most rewarding plan is to stay steady and play consistently.

It can take over 1, 400 hours of play before you can expect to make a profit. While I don't believe this is completely true, I do believe that poker should be taken month by month. If you played well and consistently, each month should return a profit.

Occasionally, you'll have a horrible streak and may lose for the month. If you find yourself losing month after month, ask yourself if patience could be your problem.

There are two types of impatience:

1. Betting too much on busted hands
2. Playing too many hands

Betting Too Much on Busted Hands

Even if you only play the best hands, you can still be impatient. You could be putting too much money in on busted hands. For example, say you raise kings and receive three callers. You see an ace hit the flop and bet anyway. You get re-raised and know you're beat. Good players know to lie this down. Impatient players won't recognize that their hand is busted, and will keep playing it as if it's the nuts.
While you want to push good hands hard, you never want to be dead money. If you totally miss your flop with ace-king, don't go crazy; live to fight another day.

Playing Too Many Hands

You could also be playing too many hands. Staring at your computer screen for an eight hour session of poker can be boring. This causes some people to get tired and loosen up their playing too much; it becomes easier to click the call button rather than stay alert in the game.

The best advice I have for combating the fatigue and boredom that can accompany long poker sessions, is to only play when you're alert since it's your best defense against new players. Otherwise, you'll most likely become uninterested in playing your best poker and look for luck as the way out. Learn to log out or leave the casino when you feel tired.

Good luck and see you at the tables!!!
Texas Holdem Poker Secrets Exposed!