This free online poker training article by NoPayPOKER member lostandbroke, thanks Well, I say training but it’s more of a school of hard knocks and reality

Heed thee now the erudition garnered from seven decades of observation – and seven minutes of thought. Poker has rules beyond the ken of average mortals. These rules are incomprehensible, immutable, and insensitive to the expectations of all.

These rules impose themselves upon Hold’em fanatics in a manner inversely proportional to need – the more you want it, the less likely you are to receive it. These rules defy the laws of probability, but prove Murphy’s Law.

They are as follows:

Rule #1: If two non-connected, non-suited small cards go all-in against a pair of aces, the board will flop two cards to match the small cards, and no ace.

Rule # 2: The turn card would have given you a win if you hadn’t folded at the flop.

Rule #3: You will draw a pair of aces and the board will flop the other two aces only when you are sitting out to take an important phone call.

Rule #4: You will see multiple hands containing a royal flush; none of them will be yours.

Rule #5: You will hit quads only if the opponent has a straight flush.

Rule #6: If you wish “gl” for the other players at the table, they will have it.

Rule #7: The river card will fill an Inside straight only if your opponent is the one trying for it.

Rule #8: The board will flop a nut flush only if the turn and river cards give your opponent a boat.

Rule #9: If a serious expert induces the novice to bet, the novice will win the hand.

Rule #10: If you take yourself too seriously, you won’t have any fun. Enjoy the game, no matter what frustration it throws at you.

In face to face poker room games it is easier to read your opponents than is the case online. In online play there is no way to see the many physical tells but don’t worry, online poker has a whole load of tells you can spot when you know what to look for and this free poker online guide is all about ‘em.

Speed of Play
In online poker games there is a time limit on making moves or else the players hand is auto moved all-in or folded. Due to this player speed of action is often a good Tell.

A lot of the time if a player makes a fast bet it is a sign of weakness, slow speed though often indicates strength because the player is busy figuring how best to play their good hand. Note how long opponents take to act and if you get to see their cards at showdown, see if you can determine what they were fast and slow with, that can help a lot next time round.

Do you give away speed tells? Ideally aim to take time for each play unless you can be a real master and mix speed no matter what type of hand you have.

Check Boxes and Auto Plays
A lot of poker rooms online have check boxes to allow players to set automated fold, raise any or call any instructions.

You can tell when a player has used a check box, because actions are immediate. If a player has checked “raise any” it indicates a strong hand. If it is “check” then it is likely weak. If it is “call any”, then the chance is good that it is a draw hand that is not completed but definitely not ready to fold.

While not 100% definite tells, over time you can draw some good conclusions from check box use especially with regular opponents.

Opponents Fold and Flop Percentage
This percentage can’t be exact but over several games you will be able to get a feel if some players fold a lot of hands or if they stick it in most pots.

A lot of folds equates normally to a good player but the player who stays in most pots is not good and can be hammered when you have a good hand.

Chat Box
Generally, if a player chatty player suddenly goes quiet he may well have got good cards.

Alternatively when a player is betting and gets antagonistic in chat it may well be a show of bluffing as the player hopes the show of “confidence” will bluff you off the table.

The chat classic is the “Tilt” player who is whining a lot. Tilted players can’t play good poker until they calm down so it’s a great time for you to push them into making errors.

Waiting for the Big Blind
You will often have the option to wait for the big blind to get to you when you join a table, or you can choose to post a matching big blind so you can get into play right away.

If a player is not patient enough to wait on the big blind to come around, it may indicate an overall lack of patience. Impatient players are loose players and loose players make mistakes.

On the other side players who wait are showing patience or maybe that they are tight fisted with their money, both are good qualities so note who waits and take care with them.

Novice Tells
Free online poker, micro and low stakes games will exhibit a lot of these.

The first is betting with a weak hand and feigning weakness with a strong hand. If you have pocket aces, don’t slow play them. A lot of novices will slow play such pockets and find themselves getting beaten on the flop, turn or river by players who make straights and trips.

Another beginners tell is when they wait one card after he has paired before betting. For example, the player gets a King on the flop and checks. The Turn shows a 2 yet the player starts betting hard. No way would he bet like that on a pair of 2′s so you can be pretty sure he paired the Kings on the flop. If you can beat it bet it.

Seeing Tells and acting on them takes practice, so start of by testing yourself and learning and play free online poker games at NoPayPOKER.com or the lowest stakes possible at PartyPoker before you start to risk real money.

In this free online poker coaching lesson learn how to play low pocket pairs. 2/2 through to 9/9 are what we define as low pocket pairs and they will, believe it or not (and you will believe by the end of this article) win you more money long term than any other pocket cards.

More than pocket A/A, pocket K/K, pocket Q/Q? How is that possible you shout! It is. They will.

And they’re good against all skill levels of players too and especially good for taking out “know it all” donks and maniacs.

Why Are Low Pockets So Good?

First lets look at some base facts and rules of pockets pairs and low pockets in particular.

1. You have about a 6% chance of being dealt a pocket pair of any type.
2. This equates to approx. every 16 or 17 hands.
3. With a pocket pair you have about a 1 in 8 chance to get a set at the flop (3 of a kind).
4. So 6% followed by 1 in 8 comes to you having a post set flop once per 133 hands.
5. At a 10 player table that equates to once every 13 small/big blind bets you deposit on.

 

Low pocket pairs are playable from all table positions however ONLY:

1. At a cost that does not exceed the big blind from Early Position.
2. Over 2x the big blind from Middle Position
3. 3x big blind from Late Position.
4. Plus, the low pocket pairs are never a pre-flop cause for raising the big blind.

Should you limp in from Early Position, or if you have called a 2x BB from Middle Position, and there has been a raise to 3x the BB, and there are five plus players left in the hand,then you should call 3x the BB bet from Early and Middle position.

Why?

When there are five plus players left there is a higher probability the flop will show 2 or 3 low cards. This is true primarily because it’s logical to assume that the 5 or more players currently in the hand each hold one or more paint cards.

Now, the one set we end up with becomes a powerful weapon. This is especially so if it is a 2-9 set. Yes, Aces down to Tens are serious weapons too, but the chance to put a big hit on the opposition lies more in the lower pocket pairs, rather than the higher pocket pairs.

That’s because a lot of players don’t fear lower cards in the flop, now do you see where we are going with this?

This example hand illustrates the point.

1. You’re seated Late Position with pocket 5c/5h.
2. There is a ‘bad’ player with Jh/7c and a ‘good’ player with Ad/Qd.
3. Our better player raises 3x the big blind and the poorer one calls, you also call, everyone else folds.
4. The flop shows Ah/Jd/5s; you have made a set of 5′s.
5. The ‘good’ player, again bets 3x the big blind.
6. The ‘bad’ player, raises by a factor of three; crazy as he’s holding the middle pair, and the ‘good’ player has betted into the flopped Ace.
7. You call and so does the good player.
8. Now it is the Turn and the card is a 7d.
9. It gives the ‘good’ player a nut flush draw (Ad/Qd/Jd/7d), and he holds the high board pair (Ad/Ah).
10. It gives the ‘bad’ player two pairs (Jacks over Sevens).
11. You have your set of 5c,5h,5s.

At this point you may be concerned that the River will bring a card to fill the flush or a J or a 7.

But do not be.

1. Left in the deck are 9 flush maker cards and 4 full house maker, 13 in all minus the last 5.
2. It’s a flush-maker but will also give you quad Fives.
3. So there are 12 cards left that can be dealt that will make you lose and 34 that will win it for you.
4. You’re about a 3 to 1 favorite to win.

The river card is one of the 34 so is no use to the others. The ‘bad’ player moves all in and you call and take a large pot.

So how was it that this pocket 5 situation was so good?

It’s because the set of Fives was hidden; as will always be the case when pocket 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7, 8/8, and 9/9 are turned into sets by the flop (1 in 133; although that includes sets of Tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces).

Plus the fact that no one could have read the cards. You almost always slow-play it such that opponents, ‘bad’ or ‘good’, cannot identify the powerful set the flop created.

The power of low pockets is not very well known but is used by all pro players. After all low pocket pairs win more money at a poker table than any other two cards so why shout about it!

So add these rules to your playable pockets reference card (see Playable Pockets Tutorial or Building Bankroll part 2) now and start practicing hard and play free online poker games at NoPayPOKER.com!

In this free online poker lesson we are looking at one of the areas of poker that most players want to learn about most. Namely pocket cards, what ones to play and from which position on the table.

Fact – To win good money in lower stakes poker you don’t need to be a professional. Free, micro and lower stakes tables have a constant inflow of new players who are very bad at playing poker and lose their cash fast. They lose all their cash to players who know this fact and are there waiting to pounce, these players aren’t pros but they do have good poker skills.

Occasionally one of the bad players wins an all in when playing a terrible hand like 4,7 unsuited but this really is exceptional, to them it proves their theory that poker is luck, you know of course that it’s simply the bad thin end of probability.

Overall, statistics prove that when you play only certain pocket cards from certain table positions you win over the long term.

Pocket cards – Quick definition
The 2 cards you start the game with that only you see.

The Evidence
UCLA (the University of Chicago) mainframe computers played over 2 trillion hands of 10 handed Texas Hold Em poker games assessing all 2,652 possible combinations of two pocket cards (52 x 51 = 2,652). The results statistically defined pocket cards with both Positive Expected Value (+EV) that win in the long haul and Negative Expected Value (-EV) that lose.

That’s great you say, just play +EV cards then, ah, sorry, there is a small complication which relates to your Table Position.

Table Position is critical
Early, Middle, Late are the 3 areas on a poker table. You seat position is fundamentally important to card EV as you will see.

1) Early Positions are Small Blind, Big Blind and Under the Gun (UTG), UTG is the player on the left of the Big Blind.

2) Middle. Count left from the UTG player; Middle 1, Middle 2, Middle 3, and Middle 4.

3) Last, are the Late Table positions: Late 1, Late 2, and the Dealer Button.

For fast reference it is a good idea to code positions by 2 character codes: SB, BB, UG, M1, M2, M3, M4, L1, L2, and DB.

The thing to know is that pockets become playable or not depending on where you are sat.

Early Position. The pockets with Positive EV are:

1. AA
2. KK
3. QQ
4. AK suited
5. AQ suited
6. AK unsuited
7. Low pockets: 22 through to 99

All other pockets in Early are -EV, fold.

Middle: M1-4

Pockets with +EV are:

The same as early, plus:

1. AJ suited
2. AT suited
3. JJ
4. TT
5. AQ unsuited
6. AJ unsuited
7. AT unsuited
8. Any suited picture cards, 10,J,Q,K.

All other combinations are negative, fold them.

Late Position

Pockets with +EV are:

The same as early and middle, plus:

1. A5 suited
2. A4 suited
3. A3 suited
4. A2 suited
5. A9 suited
6. Any unsuited picture cards.

Every other possible pocket in Late position has a Negative EV.

Other considerations
With the exception of AA and KK, only play them if the cost to get to the flop is not over 3x the Big Blind bet. The Low Pockets, 22-99 have some further play rules in this regard but that is another whole article, look for that later.

To remember the playable pockets make a reference card to keep by your PC. Split it into 3 sections. Early Position, middle and late position, with the associated playable pockets.

So create your reference card now and start practicing hard on some free online poker games at NoPayPOKER.com!

This article is a cut down version of the DM Vadnais Building a Bankroll lesson 2, check that one out for expanded details on the points in this article.

Here at NoPayPOKER as on other free online poker sites as there is no risk of losing money there does seem to be an “element” among the membership who, shall we say, like to play with what can be politely called reckless abandon…AKA playing as donks.

If that is not you then by all means read on, the post below is amusing (we think) if you are a donk…please read and think.

Now, OK, it’s up to you how you play but wouldn’t you rather win by design rather than by luck as, guess what, poker is NOT a game of luck or chance WHEN you know what you are doing.

When you play donk then it’s luck and at considerably worse odds than a coin flip (hint there, there is such a thing as odds…why not visit the free poker training sections to learn about that)

If you’re an addicted donk but you do truly want to get better you need to check out all the free poker lessons and also run through the simple 12 step program below. Once you are out of the hole then you can ignore step 12.

1. Acknowledge that there IS a fold button.
2. Admit to yourself and others that you have a problem using the fold button.
3. Contemplate the possibilities of using the fold button.
4. Fold.
5. Try not going all in on the first hand before the flop, just once.
6. Overcome the idea that having pocket cards 39 offsuit is a good reason to shove in all your chips.
7. Realize that a successful donk is just lucky, and not really someone you want to emulate as a basic strategy.
8. Admit that you are and always will be a donk unless you take positive steps to stop.
9. Reconcile with those you have donked, through apology or repayment of freeds.
10. Have faith in your own ability to overcome your donkiness. (Learn how to play poker)
11. Stop praying for that higher power to bless your preflop calls.
12. Stay of ring tables.

So you yourself a favor, believe us, poker is much more fun when you play it properly, who knows, one day you might actually be able to play poker for money at a place like PartyPoker and not lose your shirt!

In this short free online poker tips article I’m looking at some basics areas that all players, new and maybe old, need to be very aware of – the oft overlooked importance of your table name and then some fundamental tips on how to play smart in order to cut into probability and minimize “bad luck”

First : Your name

• The user name is the first “indication” or tell that you give to your opponents when you arrive at the table. In the online game unlike the real game there is a lot less to go on and your user name can be one of them if you choose unwisely.
• Remember – the point is to win. So do not be a pseudo aggressive or too “nice.” These are nicknames that you remember easily and regulars will note you.
• Be like a spy – they grey man as they say. Go for a meaningless name that will not stand out. Aim to stay as anonymous as possible on a poker table. Only silly boys call themselves things like psychopokerman or all-in-maniac etc!

Second : play smart on table position, playable cards and who you play against.

• Learn about table position and how it affects the cards you should play. See our free online poker training lesson Building a bankroll lesson 2 for details on table position and playable pocket cards.
• Observe and record clues about the players you come into regular contact with – the good AND the bad.
• This can help you in games and also to choose tables to play at when you see how is seated already. See a table full of weak players….get in there! A table full of good players – avoid!
• On this note, if the poker site you’re at allows you to see other player statistics then this can save you a lot of time in figuring who you should and should not go up against.

The Blinds

Preflop

Because B has position over A (and because his K-Q is suited) B can afford a call. In the meantime A plays his pocket A’s like any other raising the hand in middle position to confuse B. If A only called his Aces it could make B think he has A-A and result in B calling or folding later should A give away more strength signals.

The Flop: 7s-2d-Qh

A bets 23k
B calls 23k (Pot 96k)

A’s gets are based mainly on the pure value of the Aces rather than the possible value of B’s hand. His Aces are most likely secure now due to 3 undercards falling and the probable pairing of the Queen with a caller in late position, that is just so long as no face card falls later on as that could result in a paired kicker to the one holding a Queen. B also believes that his Queens have value, but not strong enough if a King or Ace falls – he may put A on a bluff with A-x or K-x – so he just calls.

The Turn: 7s-2d-Qh-8d

Now A bets with 55k
B responds by calling with 55k making the pot 206k

A does again what he did on the Flop, and thinks likewise. B also thinks likewise. As there are no draws on the Flop (both may think a backdoor Flush unlikely) and his Aces still all undercarded A keeps on hammering B aggressively and B stays hammered in passive mode.

RIVER: 7s-2d-Qh-8d-blank

A bets 121k (Pot 372k)

This bet forces B all in. Because all cards are undercards to A’s Aces, and all other board cards are undercards to B’s Queens, A thinks B now has a Queen which he may be willing to be suicidal with. So A keep the aggression going where a lot of players might slow down given that the Aces are only just a pair and so may check to stay safer or check-raise if they feel their Aces are decent, A however pushes B all the way to all in.

B still thinks his Queens are strong enough which is why he has come as far as the river. Then he does the orthodox maneuver. Could it be that he is up against A-Q? Not likely, so

B moves all in on 121k

A aggressively hammered at B all the way from preflop to the post river all in death and B just kept accepting the hammering. A did not give B a chance to react gracefully. B played passive in response to the aggression and called all the way to his all in destruction.

It could be that B sensed As unusual strength since he just called all the time. But if so he should have trusted his senses once the river was reached and bowed out. The bets at Flop and Turn bets might offer cheap call spots and even if he thinks he is beaten then he can still draw, but by the river stage bet is not cheap and is enough to finish him off.

As you can see there are a lot of factors involved in this hand, the same goes for most poker hands. One point to be clear on is that there isn’t a right and wrong way, you should not play aggressive or passive all the time, in order to be great at poker you have to be able to play both ways and all the ways in between and adapt as you go along.

In this free online poker instruction and tips lesson we’re looking at the use and application of value betting by use of a pro game real life hand example. Read through to find out who won and how.

In a board which is one off a Straight, such as 7-8-9-2-J, what will you do if you had the 9-8? If your opponent checks, would you also check? Most of us may, because your opponent may have, say, A-10 and hung on the Turn only to try to trap on the river. 

But once you have determined that he is more likely not to have the Ten in this case than to have it, we can get some additional chips from him by value-betting. Here is an example of a similar hand:

This hand was shown on the Turn. (Pot about 250k)

Both players checked on the Flop.

Both checked, maybe, because their hands were too weak for a Board which presented Straight and Flush possibilities. One may be on a draw, and someone may not be willing to continue strongly with just one Pair.

TURN: 9d-6d-10s-9s

A has ??-??, checks

B has ??-??, bets 200k

Now maybe B has a gutshot or a Flush draw, so he wants no more trouble with A. What does A do?

A raises to 600k

B calls 400k (Pot now 1.45m)

Now A’s check-raise may reinforce B’s belief that A has a made hand, like 9-x or a high Pair, but B may be on a draw, so B calls. Additionally, the pot is large already, so B can afford a call (400,000 in a 1.05m pot) if he has a Straight or a Flush draw, or even an overpair (which I suspect), or a Pair with a draw, even if he believes that A has a Nine (B may also have the remaining Nine with a Flush draw).

RIVER: 9d-6d-10s-9s-8c

A bets 1m

Even on a dangerous Board with a Straight draw (but without any more Flush possibilities), A bets. Now this is not a board where A can afford to push B all in; however, this is quite right for a value bet.

Here are the reasons:

1. A bets because if B has a hand and if B bets, then A will be put on a decision. A doesn’t want that to happen. He has shown strength on the Turn when he check-raised; therefore he wishes to be consistent. He wants to put B on a decision. He wants B to think if he has the Eight than give his opponent the opportunity of making him do the hard thinking.

2. Furthermore, A bets because check-calling has the same effect as betting and then getting called. But the second alternative, betting and getting called, is more aggressive.

3. A wants to get additional value for his Trip Nines. As long as he believes that B has a decent hand but not a strong one, he will bet to get chips from B, who has played passively from Flop up to now (checking after he checked on the Flop, betting small then calling a raise on the Turn). If B folds, he hasn’t a hand, and A wins the pot. If B calls and A’s estimate of his hand strength is right, then he will obtain more chips than he would if he checked and B just checked (which is what a passive player will do).

4. Now, let us add that A is a very strong player. He may be bluffing, but he doesn’t want it to be obvious. Therefore he dresses the bluff in the form of a value bet. He hopes that B will be fooled, especially in a Board in which a bluff may work well against marginal hands (paired Board and one off a Straight).

B calls 1m

B calls. B may have a decent hand which is good enough for showdown. A’s value bet gives him about 2.5-to-1 on a call (1m more to win a 2.45m pot) which B may consider to be sufficient enough for a pay-off with, say, A-10 or even a small Pair. So what are the two hands each are holding?

A reveals Jh-9h

A correctly rounded off the respective hand strengths of his and B’s hands; this gave him sufficient confidence for a value bet. A more passive player will just check-fold or check-check.

B mucks

So what was B holding, and what could he have made? He may have K-K, Q-Q, or A-10, and just slowed down when he saw a Board conducive for a Straight and Flush development, as well as a Pair. B may also have a small Pair, where he thought was the best hand, and just decided to pay off.

Whatever it is, it is a made hand, and maybe he couldn’t help wondering what A was holding; who was this A? That’s right; it’s Phil Ivey. Maybe B assumed the check-raise on the Turn and the bet on the river were bluffs; it was just Phil Ivey playing aggressively and reading hands.

So get practicing your poker value betting and learn how to bet better in poker games by applying the ideas in this free online poker training article. And if you’re not already playing free poker practice games at NoPayPOKER get started today, it’s utterly free and risk free and is US player legal even by the latest 2011 definitions!

This new free online poker training lesson looks at how you should approach bankroll management when you play poker online for real cash rather than free poker online tournaments and ring games.

Of course the principles also apply to free online poker and I advise that all new players should play at NopayPOKER as it is an ideal place to practice your game and bankroll management, however the focus of this how to play poker lesson is money games where your skill in bankroll management is the largest single factor in deciding if you are profitable or bankrupt.

Bankroll Basics
Some basics first. A bankroll is your total funds into a poker account. It’s a fact of poker that now and again you will suffer a series of bad beats, therefore you need to have a bankroll that is big enough, in relative terms to the games you play to keep you afloat and able to play when you get hit by a run of bead beats. The key is to be realistic with the amount that you can bring on a table per game. Do not play beyond your means because it is the best method of accumulating frustration and lose even more.

Bankroll Goals and objectives
Growing your bankroll is your main objective. Yet, in their impatience to achieve this, many players make the error of entering poker tournaments they cannot afford to lose at. The prize money in the multi-table tournaments are often very interesting. If we win, our bankroll rises dramatically but this is rarely the case. You will lose all your bankroll in a short period of time if you don’t follow the rules. Then, with no money you will be stuck doing very small freerolls in order to get back again and that is a long and boring road.

Bankroll Rules
It is recommended to bring only 5% or less of your total bankroll on Cash Game tables and around 2% Buy In or less for tournaments (Sit n Go and Multi-table). When you stick to these percentage rules, as long as you play a solid game your bankroll will increase slowly but steadily. The mistake many make is to try and go too far too fast by risking too much of a percentage, they lose (which is more often than not in poker) and the bankroll gets cleaned out before it can be replenished.

It is impossible to win every time. As a rule when things are going badly it’s good to stop playing for an hour and do something else. When you will return, the game may be in your favor. Focus on leaving negativity aside, anger or frustration in poker games is a sure way to lose it all. Opponents can spot this sort of weakness like sharks smelling blood and will not be slow to take advantage you.

Cash Game:
The main game many play is the Cash table. They can be long duration and boring at times and you will find all styles of player in them. You need to know how to adapt to each type of players in order to win as frequently as possible. Overall cash games will pay you more money in the long term than tournaments. The key to them is not winning big but winning often.

Even if the gains are large or small, what matters is to leave the table with a profit. In cash games you will find that your funds go up and down slowly so it is essential to be disciplined. Never bring more than 5% of your funds on a table. If you are playing 2 tables then assign only 2.5% per table. Playing on more than 2 table is not recommended because you will start to play your cards without real focus on the game of your opponents.

Sit n Go:
Sit n go’s (SNGs) can be good earners when you play the right type. Find tournaments where there are large stacks and the play is normal speed, by this I mean Blinds increase every ten minutes or so. Such tournaments will let you see more pre-flop meaning you can play only the better hands. In games like Turbo’s where the Blinds go up fast luck becomes a bigger factor more than strategy and relying on luck means you are gambling and gambling is not good business. If you play with luck then you may as well just play roulette.

Multi-Table:
Multi-table tournaments are tournaments which look attractive but where a lot of players go away without a profit. Luck can sometimes give you a good profit but it is not something to rely on as this type of tournament can really hammer your bankroll quickly. The variance (or probability range swings) in MTTs is simply too high and my advice is to avoid them. Maybe play them every now and then if you feel luck is with you but just for fun with a little bit, perhaps 1%.

Critical Tips:
The most important rule should be to have fun. Poker is largely a game of luck blended with probability, there is nothing secured. If you have no fun, you better stop for a moment, your cash will not run away. It is best to reload emotionally before reloading monetarily.

And rehearse your bankroll management on free poker sites such as NoPayPOKER.com  and benefit from all the free online poker training we offer you will find there, this can help your greatly when you are playing for real money.