We hear it all of the time. Tight aggressive play in a Texas Hold’em poker cash game wins. Gus Hansen is famous for his ability to make a career out of being loose aggressive, but he has a huge amount of post-flop skill and it is this skill that allows him to be unconventional yet remain profitable in poker. For the rest of us mere mortals, we strive to become tight aggressive players.

So what is tight aggressive? Simply put, it is playing only a small handful of hands and when you get a hand you like, you bet it hard to build a big pot whilst you have the largest chance of having the best hand. It sounds straight forward enough when you put it like that doesn’t it! But there are many times when we think we are playing correctly but we are making errors due to the way the session is working out for us.

In my poker challenge I started off my opening session on bwin.com thinking “I will play tight aggressive”. Then I was dealt pocket sixes in middle position and had one limper before me. For a moment I paused before hitting the fold button. After all, I thought to myself, I have a pair! But this is a fold. Any other action else is a mistake. In fact, even if it is folded to you it is a marginal call. I would prefer to know more about my table and have a bit of profit already accrued to pay for the limp/fold when it occurs. Hopefully my composure later in the session remains this disciplined so this correct decision can be repeated over and over in different spots.

It is very difficult to maintain a tight aggressive style when you have lost a couple of big pots after doing everything right. You should not get negative and in your mind start thinking it is not your day and everything you do will go wrong. You need to keep folding AJ in early position and stay tight. I personally believe that every player considers (even deep down inside them for the best players) that QT is worth a call or a raise in middle position when they are down a few buy-ins on the day. Don’t do it! If you truly believe TAG is your best style then maintain it throughout your cash games without fail. At least then your post session analysis can be more accurate rather than having to identify the moment you changed styles because of your success or failure in the session so far.

The same goes for the sessions where you win. It is very easy to change styles because things are going well and everything seems to work. 67 suited seems much more friendly when you expect that luck will deliver that hidden straight or nut flush draw that hits for you. Do not become reckless. Think of profits as one step closer to your goals and nothing more.

This is a weird thought for you poker thinkers out there; if you get carried away by wins and tilted badly by losses then the only time you ever play your best game is when you are even, which is likely to be only the beginning couple of hands in your sessions! I’d rather play my best poker all the time, or at least try to, hopefully you are the same. Maintaining an emotional equilibrium is a major part of this. I try and become a robot when I am playing without a concern over my bankroll status. If you use good bankroll management it should not be a concern. It will grow if you win even if you don’t count it!

By Malcolm Clarke

Poker Staking is where one player pays for a buy-in to either a cash game or Poker tournament for another player and should that player win the tournament or cash game the profits obtained will be split between the staker and the staked player. Depending on the exact terms of the arrangement the split may be 50/50 or something else. Specific splitting of prize money should be agreed prior to be a stake being offered/accepted. Players use stakes to play in large poker tournaments that, for whatever reason, they are unable or unwilling to buy into themselves.

One of the most common reasons players ask to be staked is because they have gone bust and need money to play poker. In most circles of society asking to borrow money is not something that people like to do but in poker selling pieces of yourself and buying pieces of others for tournaments is a way of spreading risk and it means that if you bust from the tournament the chances of profiting from the huge prize pool does not begin and end with your own performance.

Other players accept stakes even when they can afford to buy into a tournament themselves. They do this for a variety of reasons. Phil Hellmuth accepts stakes into WSOP events because he gets a following of people cheering him on and it minimises the risk to his own money playing in these high buy-in events. Others may simply be short of cash that day, but mostly getting staked when you can afford not to be staked is designed to minimise your own financial exposure to the buy-in.

My opinion on staking is based upon my belief that your Poker profits and aspirations should be sustainable to you. Much scrutiny has been given to the poker skills of Isildur1 and I asked a friend of mine if he agreed Isildur1 was being staked to make his comeback. My friends said, very wisely, that he would never stake a player who is such a big loser at the tables. Isildur1 has shown he cannot beat the top players but continues to play at those stakes. It is surprising that players like Tony G have gone public saying he would stake him.

The type of deals that I really dislike is deals involving make-up. To me make up is like giving the staker a guaranteed return and ploughing all the risk onto the shoulders of the player. Long term staking deals are usually given to players not good with bankroll management and in need of a financially minded staker to manage their money. As well as taking half of all profits they also take whatever losses the players have incurred. This can mean that a player owing make up may see none of the prize money won from a tournament.

The nature of poker is that most make up deals will see big debts racked up to the staker before a player has a win to balance their account. This can be stressful for the staked player and I would urge any player to self-finance their poker play. If a player believes in your ability enough to stake you, they should understand that in poker there are no guarantees.

There is a unique opportunity within online poker for players to build up their bankroll from zero dollars. You should put in the hard work if things go bad to recover. This will test, but also develop your patience rather than trying to take the easy win out and get a stake and have to owe someone money if you lose.

If you have money then staking players should be planned and operated in a professional way just like your own poker playing. Ask your potential staked player lots of questions, specifically why they want a stake and how they view this arrangement. Is it long term or short term? Are they tilting after losing their bankroll? Find out as much as you can because they will be playing with your money. Even if you make a make up arrangement, that player may never win a poker tournament again so before you give anyone your hard earned money think very carefully.

I would prefer stake myself and know that my own successes and failures are my own to deal with and enjoy.

By Malcolm Clarke

Poker players usually sit down for a session with a long term view in mind. Many of these players play poker online extensively often logging over one million hands over the course of a year so the swings of a daily session are of no real importance for them. In fact they do everything they can to ignore a big loss or big profit providing they are playing their best poker. Others do not take this approach and after winning a large pot they leave the table and either play elsewhere or stop playing having, in their mind at least, won the session and move on to something else.

This type of approach to poker is disliked by the many grinders and poker professionals out there. Players are tagged with a reputation as a “hit and run” merchant and sometimes even berated in the online poker chat for their willingness to leave a session early. Let’s take a look at both sides of the argument.

Why Hitting and Running Infuriates the Pros

In any form of combat, either physical or mental, there comes with it a sense of honour. In a Boxing match hitting and running would be akin to an opponent giving you one punch then calling for the bell and claiming victory because he landed a punch and you didn’t. In the spirit of the contest you expect the match to be completed and may the best man win, win or lose. In Poker it is difficult to reach a conclusion because there is no time limit on a cash game. There will be cash game tables on the biggest poker sites that have ran, albeit with many thousands of different players coming and going, for years without breaking. When is the right time to leave a session? We could write books on the subject.

Pros do not like losing and they always believe that in the next hand they will win back what they have just lost. They expect that players respect that poker is a skill game laced with luck and engage over many hands to find out who really is the best player. If you hit and run and deny a player the chance to win back what they have lost so getting a negative reaction from them is to be expected.

Hitting and running does not necessarily guarantee that you will win. In order to find your true win rate you will need to play many hands and winning one hand and leaving the table will just mean that hands that do not work out will happen later on. Variance hurts everyone no matter what poker strategies you use.

The Case for the Defence

If you know a player is better than you and you win a pot from them, why wait for the inevitable recourse which might cost you what you have just won and more? There is no rule that says you must stay and have a long battle against your opponents, quite the opposite is true. Part of the allure of cash games is that you can step into a game and leave whenever you want. Leaving early after either a win or a loss in a hand is your decision as it is your own and your money. If it infuriates your opponents, who cares?

Hitting and running is used by many players as part of a short stack strategy. Whilst other players are looking to get into deep stack situations, which are complex, the hit and run player is looking to get their money in as favourite then leave with their win. Again, it is their decision how they play their hands, even if grinding pros do not like it.

It is up to you how you play Poker. I prefer longer sessions but I encounter many players who want to earn their chips quickly and then leave. It is a bit frustrating to me, but that’s Poker!

By Malcolm Clarke

In every game of Poker you play either online or live your opponents are doing exactly what you are doing. They are trying to classify your style to help them make profitable decisions in hands against you in the future. Players try many things to combat this information gathering and one of these techniques is to check, bet, or go all-in before the next card is dealt. This is known as acting “in the dark” or “betting blind”.

It is perfectly within the rules to do this and although it is not necessarily a good poker strategy it can have some positive effects on the hand. Obviously acting in the dark is not something you can do when you play poker online but in live poker it is possible. You should not overuse betting in the dark as it is border-line in terms of etiquette and every card drawn or flop dealt has an effect on your own hand strength so it makes sense to see the cards before acting, most of the time.

When you are to act first you can say “I check” when the dealer is dealing the flop but before the cards are drawn. You see this done in cash games sometimes. This redresses the balance as your opponent must consider why you did this rather than their normal action on that street. Checking in the dark usually means some sort of strength or a plan to make a bluff at the pot at a later street. Betting directly into the player is a real statement of intent because you still have position in the hand.

What should you do if an opponent starts betting blindly like this? In most occasions simply playing ABC poker and deciding the value of your own hand and proceeding accordingly is the right path to take. Your opponent is making a very creative play and there could be a number of reasons they could be doing this. Depending on the blind levels, getting involved in a dangerous game of re-bluffing at this point with nothing could be dangerous. Having an opponent bet blind into you is rare and therefore the current hand may not be the time to get involved.

Holding a strong hand you should think carefully about why your opponent is making this unusual move. Are they simply bored and changing things up to keep themselves interested or could they have the nuts? Perhaps they hold a strong hand, but then so do you so that is no reason to panic. They are sacrificing looking at the flop or next card before acting so you may get a free card for a drawing hand. Either way betting blind is not really a good long term move so if you are careful to not get drawn into a situation you would rather avoid you will be fine.

Betting strongly into the blind bettor with a strong hand may scare away your customer so I prefer to give them some rope to allow them to make the aggressive bet later in the hand which basically says, “I bet blind indicating strength no matter what cards were coming and by continuing to bet I obviously have a great hand, you must fold”. Good post flop skills are essential to dealing with this type of play. I have found the check in the dark is usually a drawing type of hand where they would slow play if they hit and check if they missed so they are simply making the play they would make anyway, but it looks far more confusing.

Speaking with various players about betting blind they recommend thinking of your own hand strength and do not get involved in testosterone fuelled battles of ego. Treat the hand like any other and do not play into your opponents hands by considering for too long the reasons behind their unusual action. Certainly never change your play because of it because this is the exact intention of the early action, to alter your game and give them the advantage.

By Malcolm Clarke

In every game of Poker you play either online or live your opponents are doing exactly what you are doing. They are trying to classify your style to help them make profitable decisions in hands against you in the future. Players try many things to combat this information gathering and one of these techniques is to check, bet, or go all-in before the next card is dealt. This is known as acting “in the dark” or “betting blind”.

It is perfectly within the rules to do this and although it is not necessarily a good strategy it can have some positive effects on the hand. Obviously acting in the dark is not something you can do when you play poker online but in live poker it is possible. You should not overuse betting in the dark as it is border-line in terms of etiquette and every card drawn or flop dealt has an effect on your own hand strength so it makes sense to see the cards before acting, most of the time.

When you are to act first you can say “I check” when the dealer is dealing the flop but before the cards are drawn. You see this done in cash games sometimes. This redresses the balance as your opponent must consider why you did this rather than their normal action on that street. Checking in the dark usually means some sort of strength or a plan to make a bluff at the pot at a later street. Betting directly into the player is a real statement of intent because you still have position in the hand.

What should you do if an opponent starts betting blindly like this? In most occasions simply playing ABC poker and deciding the value of your own hand and proceeding accordingly is the right path to take. Your opponent is making a very creative play and there could be a number of reasons they could be doing this. Depending on the blind levels, getting involved in a dangerous game of re-bluffing at this point with nothing could be dangerous. Having an opponent bet blind into you is rare and therefore the current hand may not be the time to get involved.

Holding a strong hand you should think carefully about why your opponent is making this unusual move. Are they simply bored and changing things up to keep themselves interested or could they have the nuts? Perhaps they hold a strong hand, but then so do you so that is no reason to panic. They are sacrificing looking at the flop or next card before acting so you may get a free card for a drawing hand. Either way betting blind is not really a good long term move so if you are careful to not get drawn into a situation you would rather avoid you will be fine.

Betting strongly into the blind bettor with a strong hand may scare away your customer so I prefer to give them some rope to allow them to make the aggressive bet later in the hand which basically says, “I bet blind indicating strength no matter what cards were coming and by continuing to bet I obviously have a great hand, you must fold”. Good post flop skills are essential to dealing with this type of play. I have found the check in the dark is usually a drawing type of hand where they would slow play if they hit and check if they missed so they are simply making the play they would make anyway, but it looks far more confusing.

Speaking with various players about betting blind they recommend thinking of your own hand strength and do not get involved in testosterone fuelled battles of ego. Treat the hand like any other and do not play into your opponents hands by considering for too long the reasons behind their unusual action. Certainly never change your play because of it because this is the exact intention of the early action, to alter your game and give them the advantage.

By Malcolm Clarke

You are just about to sit down for a session of Texas Hold’em poker online and you want to make sure you have everything you need at your disposal. Hopefully this article will ensure you are fully prepared to devote 100% of your best poker game at your opponents to win their chips. Being comfortable and well-prepared is a good thing to do. Poker players are not known for their forward thinking so you are developing real skills when you start thinking about the little things in poker. Remember the saying, “Look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves”. This is very relevant to poker playing.

Get a Comfortable Chair

Do not simply pull up your plastic chair. After sitting in it for a few hours you will feel the pain and so will your concentration levels. Find the best office chair in the house and if you do not have one, make plans to purchase a good one. Being comfortable, i.e. not in pain, means your focus can be solely on your poker game which helps you have the best chance of success possible.

Food and Drink

If you are heading towards a meal time and you want to play without a break, take a snack and something to drink to the computer with you. Avoid consuming too much alcohol as this will not only make you need a toilet break, but make you drunk. Drunken play is something we hope the USA fish and UK fish do when they come home from a night out and you are stealthily awaiting their return. Do not fall into the trap of donating chips by playing bad poker whilst drunk or under the influence of any intoxicant.

Turn off Phone and Email/Lock Door

Unwanted distractions cause you to move your focus from the poker game you are involved in. At the beginning of a cash game poker session or tournament is where you learn about your opponents so when you are faced with a tough decision later on you have something to base your decision on. If you find yourself late in a tournament not sure about a player you have sat with for a while you are making errors and not watching enough. Switch off the phone, lock your door and have everyone in your house know that you mean business when you play poker.

Cool, Calm and Collected

If you are moody, upset or you are suffering from an illness this may not be a good time to embark on a poker session. Playing poker is stressful if you take bad beats and are playing well but not getting rewarded. You should learn to manufacture a positive attitude whilst playing poker. Try and enjoy playing poker and treat it as a reward. Have a comfortable seat, some nice food and no distractions will help you concentrate on playing poker and we all love to do that. Be happy to play. If you are not happy to play, then do not play! You should play most of your poker at optimal conditions, some of which like those above can be manufactured manually.

The recommendations given above will not guarantee profits but it will help create a comfortable poker environment that allows your poker skills to flourish to their best ability.

By Malcolm Clarke

Texas Hold’em poker players were shocked last week when one of the main poker rooms launched a new fast version of poker, Rush Poker. Many articles and commentators have lauded the launch of the rush game as a turning point in the history of online poker, but I feel that a defence of the standard cash game must be offered. There are disadvantages to the rush game, some of which are listed below.

No Tracking Software

Many of these facets of cash games can be viewed as both a positive and a negative thing. Tracking software is powerful for the regular cash game grinder with a ton of hands on their database that helps them make decisions on opponents in tricky spots. Rush poker takes this out of the equation. Without tracking software you cannot know when to fold your bottom set against a tight player, because you may not know the player is tight! If you like to use tracking software then rush poker is not for you.

Game Selection

You cannot game select on Rush poker so there may be long periods where you are seated with excellent players and you may not realise it. You may sit with players that you would never choose to sit with in normal ring games. Game selection is a big advantage because you can sit with people you know you hold an advantage over and you can only game select in standard cash game tables. In fast poker where you change your seat after every hand if you find a fish you only have one hand to take advantage of that.

Big Swings

Most players not used to the speed of rush pokers tables and game play will struggle to adapt to it in the short term. Players quickly realised that you can hold out for premium hands because you see so many hands per hour so when you have a playable hand most of the money is going to get in. There will be big swings if you find numerous playable hands per hour which could result in a big win or big loss if you get unlucky. If you are not used to swings like this you may be prone to tilting.

ABC Poker Rules

If you suffer from “fancy play syndrome” then learning the ABC style of poker that works on the rush tables will help your normal ring game play. When you transfer the skills learned to succeed at the rush tables at the slightly slower pace your advantage over your opposition can grow. Your new solid game is assisted by tracking information. I thought I played ABC poker until I went onto the fast tables. My cash game play on standard tables is now much better having made some adjustments.

It is premature to say that everyone who plays online poker will move to this new type of game and neglect standard cash game tables. Do not forget that you hold numerous advantages when you are observant and sit with the same opponents. Playing fast tables are designed for certain types of online players but as sensible considered poker sharks you can still win by playing on cash game tables where observation, patience and fundamental skills are rewarded.

Rush poker is a great innovation and for many players the answer to their online poker prayers. We will continue to offer you many good pieces of advice for standard cash games as they remain the purest form of poker online and the type of game where you can sit for many hours and show a lot of profit.

By Malcolm Clarke

One of the oldest poker games is 7 Card Stud. Along with 5 Card Draw, this is one of the typical games that you will see played on TV shows that portray poker games. This is especially true for westerns. Unlike Texas Holdem, Stud moves at a bit of a slower pace and as a result, many people would rather play Holdem.

The above video is a somewhat simplistic video about the game of Stud, but it does capture the essence of how to play the game. A couple of things should be pointed out regarding casino Stud games that were not mentioned in the above video.

First, in most stud games, the bring-in bet on third street is typically double the amount of the ante. Also, after a player puts up the bring-in bet, the other players have the option to call or complete the bet, which is amount of the small bet. In a $10 – $20 game, $10 is considered the small bet.

Next, I should mention betting on fifth street. In stud games, the betting from fifth street to the river is the amount of the big bet, or $20 based on our example above. Also, if there is an open pair on fourth street, a player may make a double bet. If they don’t, the option to make the double bet passes to other players.

The primary reason that I point this out is for casino considerations. In many home games, you will run across a varied range of betting rules. The above video should give you a solid understanding of the basic rules of stud.

Online poker is played at great speed and during full ring games you could see up to three hundred hands per hour if you play multiple tables. Texas Hold’em poker is particularly prone to swings in fortune as many players are happy to get into flipping situations with +EV shoves ever more marginal as the differences between a skilled and weak player decreases. As you play more frequently you will encounter variance more often, you must develop immunity to the negative impact variance can have on your poker game if you are to succeed at poker long term.

Our negative reaction to variance has many facets. The main part of variance is the sense of injustice. When an opponent makes a terrible play and you call them to task only to lose, it is easy to think that online poker is rigged to make the bad players remain in the game. The reality is that a five percent one outer will happen five per cent of the time so you are not a victim of a scam, unfortunately you are just a victim of mathematics. Think positively if this happens as ninety five per cent of the time you would win in the same situation.

The fear of watching your bankroll shrink can also cause negativity to affect the way you play poker. The way to become immune to this sort of variance is to believe in your poker game and always play within limits that are comfortable to your bankroll. I get worried when I am on a downswing because I do not want to be the only winning player ever to lose everything and become the anecdote of gamblers who discuss a good player for whom everything went wrong. Yes it is an over reaction, but the worry is there nonetheless. I control this by taking a break from poker if I feel this desperation beginning to emerge; I take a break before returning to the tables feeling better and ready to win. The focus returns to winning rather than losing and that helps me get my best poker game back.

As you get more experienced you will notice yourself playing good poker regardless of temporary swings. The better equipt you are mentally for the gamble the better. I have found that some players could have $1 million and play well even if they were down to their final $10,000 and some are more affected by small losses simply because they value money so highly. I am more of a skilled poker student than a hardened gambler so working on treating the poker chips as chips rather than cash is taking time. As I improve on this mental approach to poker and money my resistance to negative thoughts because of variance is increasing.

I find that updating my poker blog regularly is an effective way to get the bad beats you encounter out of your system so you can move on. Obviously losing the money in the pot hurts a little when you feel you should have won, but you will inflict bad beats of your own at time goes by. Providing you are getting your money in favourite enough times you should show a profit in the end. Real money cash games are about long term vision and effective bankroll management. A fat profit at the end of the month helps you stay immune to the emotional turmoil variance can cause.

By Malcolm Clarke

Since the poker boom some years back almost all decent casinos have installed a poker room manager who facilitates the various poker tournaments that take place during the week and on weekends. Along with roulette, slots and blackjack, poker is now considered a major part of the casino gaming experience. If you are a poker player and not a casino enthusiast then you need to know what to expect from your first visit to the casino to play poker. The poker room at your local casino should have a range of cash games, regular poker tournaments and even impromptu SNG poker tournaments if things get busy enough so you should always be able to find a game.

When you first arrive at the casino you will need to join as a member before you can gain access to the gaming area. This is vital for the casino as you need to be old enough to legally gamble in your country. Click on the link if you want to research more about gambling law before you visit the casino. For me, that meant being 18. Which is fine by me as I was 27 before I even stepped into the casino as my entire poker experience was gained playing online poker for many years!

After you have signed up, which is normally free at the casinos in the UK, you get given a membership card which you must bring with you each time you visit the casino. You then go into the gaming area which is usually filled with slot machines, roulette tables and blackjack tables. Towards the back of the casino floor you will find the poker section (if not find a new casino!) This usually looks like a bunch of empty poker tables tightly bunched together with possibly one or two tables playing if there are cash games active. At larger casinos obviously things will be on a larger scale.

Casinos place the poker tables at the back of the poker room to force players to walk past the other games and hopefully be tempted by them before they reach the poker section. Also after a player busts out they may be on tilt and decide to play some Blackjack in anger. The casinos make more money from the casino games where the game odds are fixed in their favour. Poker is a good way to get people to visit the casino but the rake and fees are relatively small compared to what can be earned from other games. If you are not a Blackjack specialist then like a player new to poker you should tread carefully.

There is normally a board next to the poker room showing the schedule of upcoming tournaments. Most casinos have a weekly schedule that is set for up to three months at a time so you can plan which tournaments you would like to play in advance. In a larger casino there will be ongoing cash games, if not there is sometimes a board where you can sign up with your name and telephone number and if a game is going ahead someone will call you and let you know.

Ask the poker room manager for more details as they are always keen to get a game going. I prefer online poker as I cannot multi-table playing live poker and it costs more in rake to play live but it is certainly fun and a nice change to play some live poker once or twice a week.

Hopefully this article will help you out being more confident in entering the casino to play poker. If you can win in a live poker setting you will certainly feel more confident at the online poker tables.

By Malcolm Clarke