Matching Playing Styles to Odds in Free Poker Online Games
Weighing up and calculating the percentages will give you an idea on the chances of earning some cash. For instance I’m taking part in a free poker game with twenty nine other opponents and ten of us getting waged. The percentages are quite easy to work out: one in three, and for this I would play quite mild for the majority of the game. Don’t be fooled into thinking I’m not going to be the front runner come the end of the night- but most of the time the cards dealt in the first forty five minutes will determine this.
I’m going to share and explain some of my better card play strategies. Remember this is not a beginning spot and is a long way off the real game. 77 I flat call and receive two times back and call. Flop comes 6D, 3H, 4H- 1st person to make a play all in on a one hundred and sixty five dollar, with a pot of three grand. I fold as they probably had better pockets or a nut flush draw/straight. Even though I had a fair chance of holding the best hand its way too soon to go for such a crazy move.
99 I flat call and the same opponent as previously shoved all in on flop 8D, 8S, 8H; I’m now wondering if I was incorrect on the previous play but I still fold regardless. He shows a Jtwo so I’m deciding I was right before. KJ off I flat call only due to the fact the pot is higher due to another player calling prior to me. We’re around fifteen mins in and I hold two thousand nine hundred of my initial three thousand dollars.
AJ I slow play A,6,9 flop and a player bets $350 the pot at this point was only $115 and the blinds $20/$40 so I fold. This player gave to much away with the size of his bet, if it were only me and him I would have reconsidered but I would like to think he wouldn’t try that with more players in the hand. I put him on a higher kicker, A6 suited or A9. Just in case I mention that he “should start showing a few to make it more believable.”
By doing this if he was being sneaky he may start to think about what I said and believe I know his game. It’s a no lose situation as if I’m wrong he will be wondering if I think he’s blagging & could call if he continues. The truth is as explained I’m just making remarks to keep him in check.
A good twenty mins on the same guy is making a move with K8 on a K66 flop when I have A6. Well as you might have guessed I ensure I double up & gain some vital info. He has in fact have hands when he makes these trivial gambles, however the cards he’s playing it with are very defeatable.
Until this changes my job at the table will be to catching him with another mistake. The player next to me pushes all in pre-flop thinking about the same thing that I am but going about it all wrong. He is aggressive with his hands, not an imbecile. I am still riding out that 6k double up here at 1st break one hour into the tournament. There are still 22 players remaining.
About 1 hour and 41 minutes in I catch the same player again slow playing AK for an even 9k bringing my total now up to 12k with 7 players left I am in 3rd place. So although this player was able to amount about 18k in chips with aggressive behavior he finishes in 8th place while the low stack at the previous table is now in the running’s for 1st place. Finding a target and sticking with it can pay off in the long run but be sure to find another means of making money to keep yourself around long enough for the big pay out.
AA I bet the minimum and have no action. Hour two is now in the books and I am in last. 4th place with 6k left so I’m all in on my next blind no matter what. The next closest player has 16k and blinds are 600/1200. 55 and flop comes Q510… a little luck never hurt anyone! I lay down AQ off to a bet that would put me all in. I didn’t feel like losing my newly found chips so fast. Went out in 3rd place with A4 suited vs K10 off. Not bad for a free poker tournament where I won some money too, shame it wasn’t an WSOP top table!
I look forward to playing you in a free poker tournament soon!
Learning Free Poker Website Lingo
Have you ever been sitting at a table either free poker online or in a real tournament or perhaps watching a tournament on television and hearing the announcers or players using terms you have never heard of?
This guide is to help decipher some of the more complex terms and hopefully introduce you to some new ones in hopes that they will help not only improve your game but can make poker more enjoyable.
We all know some of the terms like , flop, turn , river, check, raise and so forth but there are even some terms for those that are foreign to some players. Such as…
4th street – also commonly called the Turn
5th street – also more commonly called the River
But that is not the limit of the terms you can keep in mind while you’re contemplating your next moves. Keep these in mind when you are watching the bets come around to you.
Plays tight – generally means that a player does not play lots of hands
Plays loose – term meaning that the player plays a lot of hands
Plays “ATC”- they play anything “ATC”= any two cards”.
On tilt- means that a player is being erratic with their bets usually from losing a tough hand earlier.
Above details the pre flop terms, so lets look at board activity terms.
Over pair – A pair in your hand that beats what is on the board.
Top pair – means that you have paired the highest card on the board with one in your hand. Next down is middle pair and bottom pair respectively.
If you manage to survive the flop but have 4th and 5th St. left to endure. Then you have three more terms to keep in mind as you go.
Outs – number of possible cards that can give you the win on a hand.
Drawing dead- Term meaning that you there is no possible way to win the hand. Some players if they are drawing dead may bluff or go on tilt at the last second to try and steal the pot.
Having the “nuts”- Having the nuts means you have the best possible hand available from the cards on the board and in your hand.
Some tricks on betting
Poker and playing free poker is all about betting, checking and raising, but even the three basic options can be pretty interesting.
Even terms like check and raise can lead to some pretty interesting scenarios and put players in a frenzy.
One example is to check-raise. That term means to check when the bet comes to you but then raise if a bet comes up. This tactic can hide the strength of your hand and can lure a player into losing a lot chips if he is not careful on how he plays it.
Value bet – Is a bet that is not a large bet but is considered small enough to call. Some players may call a value bet in hopes of gauging a player’s game play or to see their hand.
Semi-bluff bet – Is similar to a bluff bet but is enough of a bet to make a player think very carefully about what their next move is.
[b]Pot odds -[b] This term I would say is the most useful term to keep in mind. Pot odds is the ratio of your chips in the pot versus the whole pot. For example if you have $1500 in a $6000 pot your pot odds would be 4:1. Keep this in mind if you are in a tight hand and not sure if you should risk more or not.
Pot committed – Term meaning that a player has a majority of their chips in the pot. This is a very useful term as it can decide to back off on a hand or force them all in if you have the nuts.
These terms can all be used in free poker games as well as other poker situations, but if it’s at your table that you see and hear them, then you will know what is going on and that vital knowledge can give you the edge on your next game and hopefully put more chips on your side of the table.