Poker has fast become one of the most played table games of all times. A major chunk of credit for poker climbing the popularity charts goes to the numerous gaming junctions and casino houses.

Gambling and winning gives the thrill and adrenaline rush that urges players to play more and more. The games in these casinos are based on standard rules and basics stand the same in all variations in all casinos.

There are numerous ways to play a poker game with a standard deck of 52 cards. The cards rank from ace followed by king, queen, jack, 10 and so on and henceforth. Here is a list of the most played games of poker and their variations.

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I’m not going to make fun of autism, but you got to see this video none the less. This guy has a bit of Tom Dwan in him….

I am a luckbox, but I did create some of it myself – to be honest. Here’s a rundown:

• First hand I pick up aces on the button (so lovely), I raise 8 big blinds, short stack pushes in against me and a guy in the middle who limped in first calls the shortstack’s raise. I smoothcall decided to shove the flop. Flop comes K92, villain bets, I shove, Villain calls with KQ. I scoop the pot. I say, go aces, if I get ‘m again I’m pushing it right in!
• I pick up aces the very next hand on the cutoff, one guy raises it up in early position, i push in, he calls, TT. I take the pot.
• The hand after everyone limps in, I raise it up. Guy re-raises after me and I say “dude I’m running so good why re-raise against me?”. I push, he calls me down with KJos. He hits two pair on the flop bot the board pairs fives on the river giving me the pot.

I love live poker.

If you’re looking to actually become a poker pro there are a few things you should consider before making the leap. PPPpoker just made an excellent post about the Skills you need to Become a Poker Pro and I seriously advice everyone to read up on it as it has some great value for semi-pro players and recreational players too…

From the post:
This boom in popularity, combined with a seemingly endless flow of “dead money,” resulted in a huge number of players trying their hand at playing poker professionally. Yet many were to be unsuccessful, as either their luck expired or as they ran into games that were too tough for them. Even competent players may be doomed to failure, as the life of a professional poker player takes more than just skills at the table.

During some of the poker games, such as the Pot-Limits and No Limit, the rules apply. Throughout the game betting is essentially understood by most professional poker players who intend to challenge each hand to win the game; they often consider No Limit Poker rules, but they consider terms, blinds, buttons, all-in, buy-ins, position, check raise, calls, bets, and other essentials in poker as well.

Euh, right… From Poker Decadence.

One advantage of playing Pai Gow poker over many other table games is that it involves some decision making, much like blackjack. But, unlike blackjack, Pai Gow poker strategy does not lend itself to a pocket-sized card that can be memorized in a short number of hours. Instead, it consists of recognizing many different situations, grouping them, and arranging your hand accordingly.

The most important thing to remember is that the five-card – or ‘behind’ – hand must be stronger than the two-card – or ‘top’ – hand; otherwise, the hands will not qualify and your wager will be lost. This does not mean that you must play the full house if you are dealt K-K-K-9-9-6-4, only that the three kings must at least be behind; in fact, proper strategy would be to play them this way, with the pair of nines on top. Most hands will consist of seven cards that do not make anything or a single pair. In the former situation, the highest card must be played behind, but the next two highest cards should make up the two-card hand. With one pair, the hand should be played the same way, with the pair and the three lowest cards in the five-card hand.

When you get to higher ranking hands, like two pair and flushes, the rules get a little murkier. With two pair, it is often best to separate them, with the higher pair behind, unless they are both very low and you have some high cards that would make a strong hand on top, like an ace and a king. With three pairs, put the highest pair in the two-card hand the others pairs in the five-card hand. If dealt a straight or a flush, the player should put it behind, unless he also has two pair, in which case the two pair should be played separately and the straight/flush ignored. The only other situation that bears mention is three of a kind, which should always be played behind, except in the case of three aces. If you are dealt three aces, a pair should be kept behind while ace high should be played as the two-card hand.

Pai Gow poker strategy contains many subtleties that aren’t included here, but these have an insignificant effect on overall win rate. Pay special attention to your two pair hands because these are the easiest to play improperly, and remember that you should break up a straight or flush if you can play a pair in both hands. Making your two-card hand relatively strong is more important than constructing a powerhouse hand behind. Here’s wishing you good luck on your next trip to the Pai Gow poker table!

Every once in a while a live poker player like myself sits at a table that he loves and hates at the same time. I try to scout tables for players I know and have mental notes on — but not yesterday. The regulars were all at the $10/$20 table and I didn’t fancy to go up against the specific players that were sitting there as I would have been sitting on the exact wrong side of two aggressive players on the high end of my games moneywise (I never play over $25 BB).

Anyway, went to the $5/$5 NL game and found a table of absolute madmen. I sat down on a showdown Ace-Ten vs. KQ, both all-in pre-flop, stacks of about $250.

AWESOME… or not. It was a rollercoaster. I had aces in the first half hour, made a huge raise due to the table being so loose, one guy shoved — and showed AQ. I doubled up — and I kept cleaning out players by playing LOCK DOWN POKER. Started off with $300 and ended at about $2900. Not too shabby.

Okay so a couple friends and I were playing PLO in our home game ($1/$2) and when player 3 went bust and couldn’t rebuy due to rent money issues and fears of going on tilt we decided to break it down and play some PER POINT five card draw. In its nature, that game takes all the skill out of it and pretty much means he who gets lucky wins most… Still, it’s a matter of making the right decisions changing cards to hit big hands etc… But right, mainly luck…

Turned out to be hilarious, and quite the action game at $2.50 a point. With eight players that’s $20 a pop, getting people up $100 and down $100 quite quickly…

I ended up losing $30, but I was up about $240 in the Pot Limit Omaha game, which luckily kept me up over $200 over the night…

Got to love WATCHING (not experiencing first hand, plz) when someone pulls out a one-outer on the river — this guy rightfully calls a bet with the overpair, but he’s faced with a higher overpair….

Luckily — he makes the miracle suckout on fifth street. AWESOME!!!!!! source!

HOLE CARDS[]
Dealt to marshmong [ ]
Dealt to Hero [ ]
Dealt to tiboots62 [ ]

FOLD BigDukesix
FOLD monst1
CALL marshmong $0.10
RAISE Hero $0.60
CALL tiboots62 $0.55
CALL flammandz $0.50
CALL marshmong $0.50

FLOP [Pot $2.25]
[]

ALL-IN tiboots62 $0.10
CALL flammandz $0.10
ALL-IN marshmong $6.33
CALL Hero $6.33
FOLD flammandz

TURN [Pot $15.11]
[]

RIVER [Pot $15.11]
[]

LOL

In this short article I’ll be talking about a very simple and effective way of winning in low-stakes poker homegames. What I’m talking about is valid for most kinds of poker, but especially to Hold’em and Omaha type of games. Realize though that this technique will take focus and poker skills after the flop – but I’m assuming you’re not completely clueless when it comes to poker when you’re taking the time to read up on poker websites…

Anyway – my winning strategy starts with basic knowledge on the players you’re playing with. Seeing as homegames usually have the same suspects, it’s pretty easy to find out who likes to go for draws, who bluffs a lot and who only plays the real hands. Make sure you know these things. Make sure they know your style too – and make sure they feel you are a loose cannon.

Accomplish that by bluffing. A lot. A whole hell of a lot. Take the first half our to lose 25% of your stack in bluffs. Plan on losing because of your recklessness. Plan on playing way too loose. Home cashgames always start off slower (pots will be way bigger at the end of the night!) – so early times are perfect for risky play. Show your bluffs.

Once you feel people are calling with inferioir hands pre-flop – you got ‘m where you want ‘m. Do NOT TIGHTEN DOWN YOUR PRE-FLOP GAME. Keep taking charge of a lot of pots pre-flop – you’ll get more callers – and you’ll get payed off when you finally hit a real hand against a mediocre one…

It works – good luck!