Friday, December 24, 2010

Play Poker Online For Free And Win By Bluffing With The Best Hand On The River

You can be playing any type of texas holdem poker, free online poker or money, and you've got A-10 with a board of 8-6-Q-3-2 at the river.

What do you think opponent might have? It may be Q-x, 7-6 or something.

However, notice the board: It contains no opportunities for Straights to form. So you can figure out that if your opponent called (just called) your last two bets which are bluffs, then you can put him on a Straight draw (possibly 9-7 or 10-9).

Now you want your opponent to believe that you have a Queen, but you feel that you have the best hand (and let us assume that you really do have the best hand). Let us add that you won't call a bet, because you have nothing, and you won't raise a bettor. Should you check or bet?

Let's examine how each approach might turn out. You act first and check. If you just check, are you quite sure that your opponent will reveal his busted Straight draw? No.

If he has a hand as good as J-8 or 9-6 expect a showdown. But if your opponent missed his draws, then he will try to save himself the embarrassment of being a draw-chaser by bluffing, and you will fold.

He won't check Nine-high or Ten-high, of course. Expect a small bet which you won't call.

If he moves first checks, and then you check, you do so in the belief that your Ace-high is the better hand. However, revealing Ace-high will cement your reputation as a bluffer, and if you repeat bluffing later, others will be running you down with less than premium hands, such as second top Pair or even a small pocket Pair. So you get a short term chip gain now but at the expense of hurting your overall game strategy style.

Now suppose you are first to act, and you bet. Because your opponent has a busted draw, do not expect that he will call. You still win the pot. Furthermore, because the hand ended before you show down your hole cards, then your opponent will be left guessing as to what your hand really was.

This is the position you want to put your opponent in - he has a lot of guesswork to do, and his brain will be muddled as to what you are holding and as to what you may be holding if you repeat your bluffing later.

Even someone with 9-8 may fold. Why? Because you played strongly in the Flop and the Turn - and still in the river. Your opponent might put you on the Queen or on an overpair or eve J-J; in either case, he thinks his second top Pair is beat.

If your opponent checks, and you bet, it is almost the same as if you are first to act, and you bet.

Bluffing with the best hand is nearly a contradiction in terms: you bluff only if you make better hands fold. But, in this case, it may be better to make anybody else fold - best hand or worst hand - so as to preserve your unreadability which will pay off later.

And what better place to practice your poker mind games than at free poker online site http://www.nopaypoker.com where you can play free poker games 24-7 with no fear of losing money like you do at on money sites while still winning real cash.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Play Poker Online Free And Slow Play Your Way To Bigger Wins

It's one of those uncommon instances, it can happen when you play poker online for free games and high stakes alike, when you have J-9, for example, and you flop J-J-9.

River comes a 2. One last time you check and the opposition places a large bet, maybe even moves all-in, then you call. At last you show your monster J-9 versus their say, 9-7.

Typically with good made hands (such as AK in a flop of A,10,3) we will bet aggressive in the hope that the opposition will think it's a bluff and play back. Or we hope they'll place us on a draw and call us, or they've got a quality showdown hand that's not good enough for our hand and then call us. Or they're not confident enough to call with their draw (say, KQ) and so fold.

Yet with powerful made hands, in particular at the Flop, such as in the J,9 example, you are able to slow play. That is to say, we play passively on the hope that our opponent will bet strongly so we can take away most of their chips.

Note that with a J-9 in the J-J-9 Flop, our checks may mean, that we may not have anything, or we may have just a draw (say, Q-10) so that they will bet on the hope that they will drive out our draw. They can't. Our hand is like an erect statue already that is nearly impossible to demolish. The 9-7 our opponent has is decent enough to take to showdown.

But with the above, what we really want our opponent to have is the Q-10. Our check may mean that we may have nothing so that they may check along with us or semi-bluff with the open-end Straight draw. We just call.

Why wouldn't we do the same with, say, A-J? Because with A-J, we have only Trips, and we do not want to give our opponent free cards to complete a Straight that can kill off our Trips. So we bet big, or raise big, and hope that the opponent folds, or at least put your opponent in the awkward situation of calling without sufficient pot odds.

But with J-9, we can just play it slowly. Since if the opponent gets his Straight, then he's going to bet large and you can raise him. And it escalates to all-ins and calls and in a jiffy all or most of his chips are yours!

If your opponent didn't hit his Straight, however, your slow play might mean to him that you're the one on a draw, and you are playing passively because you are waiting for the right cards to fall. Nope! The right cards have already fallen! He will bluff, and you can take away all you can. Or he may just be in the proper mood to bluff with any hand (say, K-9 or eve A-K) and you can take his chips.

So, with very big hands that are nearly impossible to beat, we should play it slowly because you want your opponents hand to improve into a nearly-matched hand. If he hits his Straight, for example. Should you raise them he might get scared off and not complete the Straight, and you'll get less chips than if you'd played slow.

Or with 9-7, he may hit an additional Nine, thus giving him a smaller Full House. Another reason is that if your opponent is in such a mood to bluff that he is willing to bluff all the way, even with nothing, then you can strip off his chips, so give him that chance to bluff.

And what better place to practice your slow play trickery than at fab free online poker NoPayPOKER.com where you will find many how to play poker for beginners courses and can play free poker games with 0 degree kelvin absolute zero risk of loss but can still win real money and get your bankroll paid for entry into cash sites when you're ready to step up to cash games. Nice.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Free Online Poker Guide To Bluffing With The Best Hand In The River

You can be playing any type of poker, free poker online or money, and you've got A-10 with a board of 8-6-Q-3-2 at the river. What hands do you expect your opponent to have? It might be 7-6, Q,x or something.

However, notice the board: It contains no opportunities for Straights to form. So you can figure out that if your opponent called (just called) your last two bets which are bluffs, then you can put him on a Straight draw (possibly 9-7 or 10-9).

Now you want your opponent to believe that you have a Queen, but you feel that you have the best hand (and let us assume that you really do have the best hand). And lets say that you're not going to call a bet as you have not got anything, and you won't raise a bettor. Should you check or bet?

Let us see the differences between the outcomes of these two actions. Suppose you are first to act, and you just check. If you do that are you sure he will show his busted Straight draw? No.

If he has a hand as good as J-8 or 9-6 expect a showdown. But if your opponent missed his draws, then he will try to save himself the embarrassment of being a draw-chaser by bluffing, and you will fold.

He won't check Nine-high or Ten-high, of course. Expect a small bet which you won't call.

If he moves first checks, and then you check, you do so in the belief that your Ace-high is the better hand. The problem though is that to show the Ace-high confirms you as a bluffer which can cause problems later as others will note this and look to run you down with hands like small pocket pairs. So you gain chips now, but at the cost of cramping your aggressive (maybe loose-aggressive) style.

Now suppose you are first to act, and you bet. Because your opponent has a busted draw, do not expect that he will call. You still win the pot. Furthermore, because the hand ended before you show down your hole cards, then your opponent will be left guessing as to what your hand really was.

This is the position you want to put your opponent in - he has a lot of guesswork to do, and his brain will be muddled as to what you are holding and as to what you may be holding if you repeat your bluffing later.

Even someone with 9-8 may fold. Why? Because you played strongly in the Flop and the Turn - and still in the river. Your opponent might put you on the Queen or on an overpair or eve J-J; in either case, he thinks his second top Pair is beat.

If your opponent checks, and you bet, it is almost the same as if you are first to act, and you bet.

Bluffing with the best hand is nearly a contradiction in terms: you bluff only if you make better hands fold. But, in this case, it may be better to make anybody else fold - best hand or worst hand - so as to preserve your unreadability which will pay off later.

And what better place to practice your poker fear tactics at free poker online site http://www.NoPayPOKER.com where you can play free poker games 24-7 with no fear of losing money like you do at on money sites while still winning real cash.

Top Free Online Poker Player Reveals His Bluffing With The Best Hand In The River Strategy

You can be playing any type of poker, free poker games or money, and you've got A-10 with a board of 8-6-Q-3-2 at the river. Have you got a feel for the hands your opponent have? Could it be Q,x, or 7,6 or is it something else.

However, notice the board: It contains no opportunities for Straights to form. So you can figure out that if your opponent called (just called) your last two bets which are bluffs, then you can put him on a Straight draw (possibly 9-7 or 10-9).

Now you want your opponent to believe that you have a Queen, but you feel that you have the best hand (and let us assume that you really do have the best hand). Let us add that you won't call a bet, because you have nothing, and you won't raise a bettor. Should you check or bet?

Let us see the differences between the outcomes of these two actions. Suppose you are first to act, and you just check. If you do that are you sure he will show his busted Straight draw? You can't be.

If he has a hand as good as J-8 or 9-6 expect a showdown. But if your opponent missed his draws, then he will try to save himself the embarrassment of being a draw-chaser by bluffing, and you will fold.

He won't check Nine-high or Ten-high, of course. Expect a small bet which you won't call.

If he moves first checks, and then you check, you do so in the belief that your Ace-high is the better hand. However, revealing Ace-high will cement your reputation as a bluffer, and if you repeat bluffing later, others will be running you down with less than premium hands, such as second top Pair or even a small pocket Pair. So you get a short term chip gain now but at the expense of hurting your overall game strategy style.

Now suppose you are first to act, and you bet. Because your opponent has a busted draw, do not expect that he will call. You still win the pot. Furthermore, because the hand ended before you show down your hole cards, then your opponent will be left guessing as to what your hand really was.

This is the position you want to put your opponent in - he has a lot of guesswork to do, and his brain will be muddled as to what you are holding and as to what you may be holding if you repeat your bluffing later.

Even someone with 9-8 may fold. Why? Because you played strongly in the Flop and the Turn - and still in the river. Your opponent might put you on the Queen or on an overpair or eve J-J; in either case, he thinks his second top Pair is beat.

If your opponent checks, and you bet, it is almost the same as if you are first to act, and you bet.

Bluffing with the best hand is nearly a contradiction in terms: you bluff only if you make better hands fold. But, in this case, it may be better to make anybody else fold - best hand or worst hand - so as to preserve your unreadability which will pay off later.

And what better place to practice your poker mind trickery than at free poker games site http://www.NoPayPOKER.com where you get to play free poker with 0 degree kelvin absolute zero risk of loss but can still win real money and get your bankroll paid for entry into cash sites when you're ready to step up to cash games.