How many players can you squeeze on a poker table?
Maximum poker table numbers, the squeeze and poker aggression unleashed ...in today's poker column!
FREQUENTLY ASKED POKER QUESTIONS Q: A pal of mine from the States was telling me he’s played in games of Texas Hold’em with more than twenty people at the table. Can that possibly be correct or is he just bragging? A: No! He’s quite correct. In fact, the maximum possible number of players is twenty two. The reason you will find all online sites setting a maximum of ten players at a virtual table is experience shows that ten participants provides the ultimate entertainment value in a game of Texas Hold’em.
Q: I played only my third game of online poker this week and the talk in some of the chat-boxes was about applying a “squeeze”. What’s a squeeze? A: Usually a squeeze will only be applied in a short-handed game (six players or less). Let’s say you’re holding a premium hand (high pair) and you’re picking up clues from the flop that your opponents are hoping to draw to a possible straight or flush. They will know the odds of them making their run or flush are stacked against them. If you make a healthy bet your action automatically makes their “pot odds” even more uncomfortable for them. If you make them doubt their chances sufficiently you are said to have “squeezed” them out of the game.
Q: What are the best two books on poker you have read? A: 'The Education of a Poker Player' by Herbert Yardley. It’s traditional and some of his tips have been overpowered by online poker tactics but it contains some real gems. 'Super Systems 1 & 2' by Doyle Brunson is the most all-encompassing work on the subject.
“TRIPS” ‘LL DO YOU GOOD Q: Is it the case that if I’m holding a pair of Aces and three Fours I lose to a pair of Twos and three Fives? A: Absolutely. All new players need to realise the power of a Full House is determined by the ranking of the “trips” (three-of-a-kind). The Fives beat the Fours. End of story. The Aces mean nothing.
DEFINING AGGRESSION Banter caught on a U.S. radio station covering one of the scores of World Series events sheds some amusing light on the definition of aggression. “Would you say you’re an aggressive player, David?” “Yes. I think I would. How would you define real aggression?” “When you go fishing do you fly fish, trawl or do you try and haul sharks in from the back of a fast boat?” “Hell, no! I was raised in Texas. I use dynamite!”
