ProperCharlie

SB - I've been invited to a low stake poker night and know **** all about the game. do you have any tips for a novice? also can you explain what the terms mean - flop, river etc.

Only time i played poker it was the clothes removal version and i got laid but i don't remember winning any money!

tia

LG John

LMAO - that sounds like a lot more fun

In texas holdem you get dealt two cards then their is a round of betting, then you get dealt the flop (3 community cards) and there is a another round of betting, the comes the turn (now there are 4 community cards) and another round of betting. Finally the river gets dealt (5 community cards) and after a final round of beting the person that makes the best 5 card hand from any of the 7 cards available to them wins

Some people pay pre-flop nearly all the time to see the flop. Even if you have the statistically worst pocket hand (i.e. your two cards) of a 2 and a 7 you never know you might turn a 7,7,2 in the flop and then you are laughing. However, its better to play a tight game IMHO and only go in if you have half decent cards (a pair, AK down to A10, KQ, QJ, etc). I got stung a lot by thinking I had a good hand with say and A3 but its actually not that good. What if the flop comes A, K, J. You have the lead pair but wonder if someone played to the flop because they had KJ! Play only good hands and bail if the flop gives you nothing. Pay attention to how people bet as well. Strong raises pre-flop is very often a way of saying 'I've got a AA or KK or QQ or AK, etc'. If someone is the first to bet and does so he/she likely has a half-decent hand. If the table checks round and the last person raises then it could be a positional bet. I've nicked a few pots doing this because people haven't had the guts to see if I'm bluffing. Also, if you get a really good hand but there isn't much betting going on you might have to play it down a little to secure more money. If you fire in with a raise you might scare people off and ultimately reduce the payout of your good hand. There are entire books on strategy. I've done my best in a few lines Good luck and have fun Best to play with money you can afford to loose as well.

ProperCharlie

cheers SB. So is it right that you pay an agreed minimum stake into the pot before you get your hand, and bets are over and above this?

LG John

Usually there is a big blind and a small blind (stakes). On the £1 stake/£2 raises table I play online the big blind is £1 and the small one £0.50. If there are ten people at the table you pay £1 every 9th hand and then £0.50 every 10th hand. This is useful as you effectively play 8 hands for free so there is no need to waste money betting into the flop if they are crap cards.

You could get lucky of course Earlier on last night I was dealt AA in my very first hand. I raised and some people called. The flop came giving me a pair of kings so I was fairly confident I had top two pair and going by the betting nobody had another King giving 3 of a kind. I bet in and raised at every opportunity and scooped a nice pot. I then left to make my tea Up £20 in 2 minutes and with odds of 231 to 1 of getting AA in the pocket....pretty sweet

ProperCharlie

well i survived the card game without breaking the bank. i think i did ok considering that i didn't really understand the rules at the beginning of the night and was too drunk to care about the rules by the end of the night. came out £40 down but it was well worth it for a night's entertainment.

AbnormalAnimal

I play on William Hill also, just be aware of the scam of a few friends playing whilst talking to each other on msn, can be a bit dodgy.

LG John

Well done charlie - glad you had fun. Who are you on ***** hill abnormal? I often play at the same table as my brother but we don't cheat. Well, if I've got a pair of aces I'll text to him to bail but we certainly don't use each other to push the pot or gain advantage. I think you can usually tell when you are being done.....there are signs.

LG John

Played my first tourney tonight. £10+1 to enter and I won Scooped £50

Hobo_Jojo

ive only been playing with fake money but i think i might give real money a go as i normally come out at least $400 up from what i started on low stakes tables..

LG John

Just be careful hobo. I went onto the 'play for fun tables' with £5k and left 10 minutes later with £8.5k. I totally destroyed them and people were betting with no hand hoping to catch a miricle at the turn or river. They won't do that with real money (or at least most people don't )

Hobo_Jojo

ay im aware they play a much tighter game on real money!

AbnormalAnimal

I'm on as Abnormal SB, original or what!