STRATEGY POSTS Those new players among you who use poker forums for the first time to exchange poker tips and strategies may be quite shocked at the level of hostility that rages between poker players. It’s not unusual to see postings calling people “moron fish” if they don’t agree with a certain approach. In fact strategy posts are over-run with extremely opinionated folk blasting away at one another. Be sure not to post ideas that are not thought through or you will be deluged with a hail of vehemence. If however you can overcome an initial overwhelming desire to run back to snooker or even eye-gouging as a more polite pastime you’ll find that amongst the mud slinging and jostling egos lie a whole treasure trove of inventive, sometimes eccentric thought processes that can seriously improve your understanding of our species and ultimately your game. Poker is a people game. The type of people who become passionate about poker are often difficult people, frequently with an oddball disposition, but they are edgey and interesting and informative. If that’s a cocktail that floats your boat, poker forums are for you. Here’s a posting I read the other day that I think is valuable.
Apart from pre-flop decisions which in the main tend to be extremely bad from most beginners, the worst limit Hold’em mistakes I see are made on the river. Way too many newbies fail to bet the river. The biggest mistake new players make is they call too much. If you’re a mature player and you don’t bet often enough with strong hands, the bad players aren’t being hammered for their bad play.
POKER QUOTER We’d like to translate a couple of statements you’ll get used to if you play enough poker and demonstrate their real meaning to you. “I’m down a little” simply translated means “I’m down so much the pain is beyond morphine.” Another favourite is, “Things just can’t get any worse.” This means… they’re about to!
TODAY’S POKER TUTORIAL Q: You’re in the small blind position holding eight of spades and eight of clubs in a $10-$20 game. An early player and a middle player limp. You call. The big blind now raises and everyone calls. There is $80 in the pot and four players. The flop is: queen of hearts nine of hearts and eight of diamonds, giving you bottom set. What to do you do? A: Bet in the hope of being raised so you can re-raise. With three cards in a playing zone plus a two-flush, you need to make sure the flop gets bet and no free cards are handed out. Chances are you’ll be raised by a player with a top pair.
