By Christopher John Sharpe

No-limit Hold ‘Em is the new giant of the poker world. Any day of the week I can flip through channels and find two or more poker shows going, and they’ll all be featuring no-limit Hold’ Em tournaments. Because tournaments are becoming so common and are so cheap to play, I see a lot of fresh faces at the tables, trying to bring their own slant to the books they’ve read on strategy.

Today I’d like to discuss the blind steal. Any young kid who’s heard a thing or two about poker knows that in order to stay alive in a tournament, you’ll have to rob both the rich and the poor. Liberating them from their blinds isn’t always easy, though; it’s a matter of finesse and timing.

Winning Texas Hold Em

Everyone knows that the button is the last line of defense for the positional blind steal. (The small-blind gets last stab at the pot if the button passes, but we’ll get to that.) The advantage of trying to steal on the button is two-pronged: a) the blinds have random hands that are likely not worth playing, and b) the button gets to see how they act, on the remaining betting rounds, before deciding how to proceed.

However, this play has become so common that it is obvious when employed too frequently. Good players will take a stand often enough in the blinds by going porcupine; they’ll hurt you if you mess with them too often. It’s best to let a few stealing opportunities pass you by so that it won’t be obvious when you’re raising with garbage.

Limping on the button as the first player in is also an option, and is underused by most typical players. You should never be afraid to see a cheap flop in position against the blinds. A better place to steal is one or two spots to the right of the button. Your intentions won’t be as obvious, and by raising in those spots you might “buy” position by causing the button to fold.

The small-blind has the last chance to steal, but will be out of position against the big blind if called. Far too many players try to steal in the small blind after the rest of the table folds. Against any good player, limping from the small blind when you choose to play should be your general rule of thumb in these situations; however, the occasional steal is still called for. Against players who fold too much, go ahead and up the frequency of your steals.

Stealing blinds is a necessity, but it is a careful balance of deception and aggression. Don’t be so quick to fire that automatic raise.

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No-limit Hold ‘Em theory is extremely complex. The fact that you can bet any amount you want to makes for unlimited variables, and few but the keenest math experts can grasp it all on the fly. While it’s tough to do advanced equations at the table, there are a few concepts and numbers that I feel are necessary to compete successfully.

Pot odds are the most important key to any poker problem. Pot odds are represented as a ratio between the size of your current risk vs. the size of your potential reward. For example, if it costs you $20 to see if you’ll win a pot of $100, then you are looking at a 5-1 payout. Your pot odds are then 5-1. Pot odds, by any name, are critical for any investment ideology.

Once computed, pot odds can and should be compared to any information you can successfully quantify. For a simple example: if you must have a 6 to win on the last card, with one card to come, then your chances of winning are about 11-1. (You have one chance to hit one of four cards, taken from 46 unseen cards; 42: 4 = approx. 11 - 1.) If you are being offered a payout of more than 11 - 1, you should attempt to hit your long shot. If you are being offered less than 11 - 1, you should not invest.

To figure your total odds, sometimes you have to take into account the money you might be able to get into the pot on future betting rounds. This is called calculating your “implied odds.” Using the previous example (in which you needed an 11 - 1 payout), if you we were faced with calling $10 in order to win $80, you would fold since your pot odds would be only 8 - 1. However, if you were certain that when your hand got lucky you could get $40 more on the next betting round, you could profitably call the $10; your eventual payout would now be $120 - $10, or 12 - 1. This is why it’s extremely important to observe your opponents. Everyone reacts differently.

At the heart of any gambling endeavor there should be 2 key questions: how much am I risking, and how much do I stand to get paid? Not knowing the price of your wagers will leave you floundering in the dark.

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Online Texas Hold 'em

By Tyler James Ellison

From what have you probably seen in television, you might have noticed some great bluffs that made many doubt if their hands are strong enough (when it truly is), then throw it away out of fear. It is a skill that serious poker players have to incorporate into their game to be successful in poker and stack up the chip count in the long run.

There are basic bluffs that one really has to do especially in short-tables and ones that you only do sparingly that pave the way to the pot.

A Basic Bluff

Technically, this technique is a semi-bluff, but it is deceptive nonetheless. It makes your opponents believe that you have the top pair but in reality, you merely have a drawing hand. Let’s look an example:

You have J-6, both hearts, with four people in the table. The flop shows A-5-8 with the last two having hearts as suits. It’s an ugly flop for those holding face cards except ace and this is an opportunity to make a good-sized flop of around 2/3 of the pot. You seem to represent that you have a pair of eights or aces but you only have the flush draw. In the case that a suit other than a heart shows up on the turn card, don’t fold immediately to a bet. See first if you get sufficient pot odds for calling it. A good size is 3/5 or below as compared to the size of the pot. This way, not only do you have an opportunity to hit a flush, you make sure that it won’t eat up your stack substantially that it renders you soft and defenseless.

Advanced Bluffs

These kinds of bluffs usually appear in the latter stages of the betting round, done when the turn and/or the river card shows up. It may be a panicked all-in when you have the nuts or a soft-looking bet in the river that scares advanced players out their wits (I’ll explain why later).

First is the jumpy all-in bet. There is a specific sequence of circumstances that makes this bluff work. First is that you must raise pre-flop with medium to low suited connectors like 3-4 diamonds or 6-7 hearts. The raise, of course, represents something else like Queens or Jacks.

When you hold 6-7 hearts and the flop shows 4-5-9, with the first two having hearts for a suit, put down the automatic continuation bet of around half the pot, showing that you have high face cards and you seem to believe that the flop didn’t hit your opponents either. Of course, they will call that bet.

When 8-of-hearts is shown on the turn, then you have the nut straight flush, beating anyone who holds a straight. When this happens, don’t just shove your chips right there. Think for a long while and then go all-in. This gives off the impression that you have a set. If anyone has a straight, which is likely because he/she called a good-sized bet, he/she will call it given the seeming desperation of your bet.

The second bluff I’ll teach you is the Post-Oak Bluff. It is very simple; both are bold enough to bet until the river card shows up, when you make a smallish bet of around 1/3 of the pot. It seems as if you are begging him to call you, in an attempt to maximize your gain. But in truth you only have a weak hand, trying to outplay your opponent. This bluff only works for top players, who know the science behind poker betting.

There is an old adage that says large bets scare the beginner while small ones frighten the strong ones. Keep that in mind and you’ll have a good base for your bluffs, and you’ll win more pots in the long run.

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