In today’s poker world, especially online, playing a traditional tight-aggressive style will rarely be enough to win.
Pre-flop action is far more aggressive than it once was, and today’s winning poker player has to get creative to win big pots.

One way to wina big pot off an aggressive opponent is to “set mine“, or to play medium and small pocket pairs mode often then traditional poker strategy would dictate.

We’ve all been there. You’re dealt a pair of fives and someone makes a big raise in front of you.
You know that calling a big raise and chasing two outs is not exactly a mathematically sound play, and you find yourself mucking your small pair to wait for a more favorable situation.
The next thing you know your third five comes on the flop and you’ve missed a set and a potential big pot.

The concept of set mining is essentially deciding to stay in a hand with your pocket pair in the hopes that you do hit that set.
The initial pot odds may not be the best to call a big raise, but when you do hit your set (roughtly one cut of eight times you hold a pocket pair) the payoff is usually huge.
When to set mine still requires some thought and strategy, it’s not going to be your best play all the time.

The best time to set mine and risk some of your chips chasing two outs is when you have a big stack compared to most players in the game.
The more chips you have, the more you can afford to gamble, and when you call a big raise and hit your set your opponents will not see it coming… especially if they have an over pair or they’ve hit top pair with two big cards.

Some of you may play so tight that you fold smaller pairs in the early positions because you don’t want to have to deal any raise that another player may put in there after you.
Raising the action with your smaller pocket pair will often allow you to control the pre-flop action, and will even win you the odd uncontested pot.
If you limp in with your pocket pair and face late-position raise, you have to option of calling or three-betting if you think that the late-position raise is just a real-estate bluff.

The thing to keep in mind about set mining is that if you do miss hitting your set, your mentality should be that you’re going to be willing to get out of the hand… especially if any aces or kings come on the flop and an opponent bets into you.

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Pick Your Pleasure

The game of poker has changed in many ways over the last few years.

In the past table selection was a simple skill for anyone to learn.

But in online poker, especially Texas Holdem, the game has become increasingly difficult to beat.

This makes table selection even more important than it’s ever been if you want to gain an edge on the competition.

Years ago, good table selection came down to finding action players who were willing to dump chips, and then playing tight style against them until they were cleaned out.

The modern game has so many aggressive players that this strategy no longer works, and a new approach to table selection is required to maximize your changes of winning.

What you are looking for in today’s games are the loose-passive players, otherwise known as calling machines.

These players have little skill and depend on the cards they are dealt to play the game.

They like to play as many hands as they can limp into and rarely display any moves or bluff at pots.

The best way to find these players is to watch for tables that have a high viewed-flop percentage.

More players in the pot means more calling machines playing any two cards in hopes of hitting a flop.

Multi-way hands also give you better pot odds when you have a big draw, and timely position bets will often take down small pots when your limping opponents miss.

Another Good way to find weak players is to have a time-zone sheet with you.

Lots of players like to come home from the bar and get on their computer to play poker in the wee hours of the morning after a night of partying.

You can track what time it is for any opponent by looking at where an opponent is from, and if the hours match up to 2 am or later, and that player is dumping chips, you will know it is likely because he or she has over-indulged prior to the session.

There are no bigger fish than drunken fish, and trying to find these players will almost always be profitable.

Another type of player that will often be easy to beat is a player with a short stack.

If a new player sits at your table and doesn’t buy-in for the maximum, or they have a stack with change, you know they are likely at the end if their bankroll and have everything with them at that table.

A player at the end of their roll is very likely to take unnecessary changes with their remaining chips to either try to double up, or they will just tilt it off because they have been loosing.

Choosing the right tables to play on will always be one of the most important decisions you will make.

Take the extra time to find a good game to play in, otherwise you give away any edge you could have had on the game.

And remember, just because it’s a juicy game it doesn’t mean you will win every time, but it should increase your overall take in the long run.

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Know the differences of a Loose and Tight Poker Player

A definition of loose or tight play in Texas Hold’em is like describing what a beautiful lady looks like.

Namely, the explanation is in the eye of the beholder.

A general rule would be:

A tight player starts the hand with a high pair or with A-K.

A loose player would start the hand with low cards or unsuited K-4.

The tight player raises when he feels he has the advantage.

The loose player may raise more often than he should.

He may call too often on the possibility of an inside straight or full house draws.

Typically he plays too many hands which depend on luck to win, rather than play according to what he currently holds.

Both types of players can hurt you, but the fight player is probably easier to play against.

You can usually identify the tight player from the flop and the betting.

The loose player is not easy to read as he may hold anything at anytime.

It is his unpredictable play which makes him more dangerous in many hands.

He may not flod when bet against, like the tight player would.

The loose player may play for the miracle draw and when he gets it, he puts a bad beat on you.

The tight player will only raise when he thinks he has a sure thing.

This gives you an advantage as you can get cut of the hand or at least nor re-raise.

Loose players have a small edge, when they raise, you don’t know if they have a hand or are just trying to win by betting.

Since their starting hand can be any two cards, an odd flop may fit their hand very well.

This makes playing a big pair against them a more risky proposition than it would be with any tight player.

Loose players are great pot builders, since they are likely to call bets more freely.

In the end we can summarize all this into Play Strong, not weak and above all PLAY SMART!.

And remember that one of the best, reliable places to play online poker is Odds Poker

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Capitalizing On The Check-Raise

Poker Pro Series

The check-raise is one of the stronger moves a player can make in poker game.

The play sends an instant message to an opponent that you either have a strong hand or that you’re putting them to the test, and are forcing the action in an attempt to take the pot from them.

Properly utilized, the check-raise will be dependent on the situation in which you find yourself.

Sometimes it’s a play to steal the pot, while other times it will be used to defend a lead you may have.

On rare occasions you can even use the play to build the pot when you have a monster hand.

Check-raising to steal the pot is best attempted against an opponent who can easly be forced off a medium-to-weak-strength hand.

Check-raising novice or loose players when you have nothing will often get you in trouble because those players are much less likely to fold their hands.

They don’t give you credit for a hand, and you’ll be in a tough situation out of position after the next street.

Save the check-raise moves for players whom you expect to take a stab at the pot with weak holdings if no one has raised the action before them.

When you check-raise an opponent who is trying to make a move for the pot, you’ll almost always pick it up right there.

If you do get called, you can either fire another barrel at the pot or you can get off the hand and hopefully you’ll get a free card from your opponent if they also decide to check.

The type of opponent you’re in the hand with should help you determine whether or not to make another bet into your opponent after they called the first one.

Flopping the lead in a hand, when you’re out of position, is usually a situation where you should consider the check-raise.

Unless you have the nut hand, your hand will be vulnerable somehow.

To bet into your opponent or opponents will rarely be to your advantage.

Betting your hand for value in this situation creates a lot of question marks if you get called.

But a check-raise will tell you where you’re going to get your action from, and after your check-raise you’ll most likely win more than you would have if you decided to bet out your big hand right away.

This type of situation usually requires that you have a big lead, and that you make a big raise so that any drawing opponents will have to make a bad play to stay in the hand against you.

Make sure that possible straight and flush draws pay at least the size of the pot to draw another card.

Get your chips in there when you have the best of it, and don’t wait until they draw out to a bigger hand before you make your move.

When you are in an aggressive situation, like heads up or shorthanded games with aggressive players, check-raising to build a pot can be a tricky way to get an opponent to play when they normally may not have.

If the action has been going back and forth between you and another player, check-rasing would look more like a weak move than a strong one.

It looks like you’re just trying a re-steal, and players with big cards will give you action because they feel you’re just trying to push them around.

You’ll be able to value bet all the way to the river, getting called by an opponent who doesn’t believe that you would have check-raised with a big hand in that situation.

by Dean Stone

So don’t forget to apply what you learn, and win big time at Odds Maker Poker Room…

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Playing aggressive isn’t just about throwing in big raises and making wild bets.
It means putting in those raises and bets with value when the situation is right.

What’s one attribute that most successful poker players possess?
Is it the ability to read people?
A knowledge of number?
A good grasp of the fundamentals of the game?
The best answer to that question is actually “aggression”.

If you want to be a winning poker player you must be aggressive.
A lot of bad poker players find it hard to be aggressive at the table, and their passive tendencies make them fish bait for the sharks.
Some people say you can’t teach a poker player to be aggressive because it’s a natural instinct.
However, if you sat down a fish with a pro and showed him how being aggressive helps him win, it would definitely help them see why it’s so important.

Before we get too far let’s explain the difference between playing aggressive and playing like a donk.
Playing aggressive isn’t just about throwing in big raises and making wild bets.
That’s plain stupid play, not aggressive play.
Being aggressive means putting in those raises and bets with value when the odds are in your favor, or you think you can bluff the pot, or you’ve picked up a tell from your opponent that you can exploit.
Playing like a donk is throwing in a huge bet with no reasoning to back that bet up.
This would include chasing improbable draws and trying to bluff at the wrong time.

Playing aggressive will give you an advantage over your opponent because it puts all the pressure on them.
They have to make all their decisions in reaction to your moves.
By putting this preasure on your opponent you open up more instances in which they might make a mistake and pay you off.

There are three things that playing aggressive will do to help your game…

Reduces the number of players – When you’re always betting and raising nobody can check or call a small bet to get a free or cheap card.
This should limit the number of players playing against you, unless you’re up against a bunch of donks.
The number of players you are up against makes a big difference no matter what cards you are holding.
You’ll hear some donks say that by betting and raising you’re keeping the pot from growing.
This is actually false, and it doesn’t matter how big the pot is if you allow players with crap cards to tag along to the river cheap, only for them to get lucky and beat you with a hand you could have made them fold by betting.
Increases the pot size – Playing aggressive really does keep the pot growing.
If you’re repeatedly betting and raising it will make it harder for other players to know when you’re playing a strong hand and when you’re bluffing with garbage.
Since you’re hard to read you will receive more calls when you bet big instead of having everyone fold, leaving you only the blinds.
Think of it like this: “Two players calling a bet of $100 creates a bigger pot than four players calling a bet of $25″.
You can win two ways – If you’re betting and raising you can win two different ways.
You can either win with the best hand or you can win by causing everyone else to fold.
If you’re not aggressive no one will ever fold to your bets and you’ll only win when you have the best hand.
That’s playing by luck instead of skill.
Remember the old adage – “luck fades, skills doesn’t”.

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Most true poker rookies seem to end up in the same place in most poker tournaments – as the short stack.
If you’re constantly ending up with fewer chips you’ve got to learn to dig yourself out of that hole or you’ll never make the big money.

The first thing to remember when your chip stack is running low is to be patient.
If you’ve just had a big hand nearly bankrupt you, don’t simply go all-in on the next hand because you think your chances of winning are gone.
To truly have a shot at getting back among the chip leaders you need some patience, and a little luck.

Since you have so few chips the hands you can play before and after the flop are limited.
You’ll want to get into a mindset of either all-in or fold.
You’re going to need to think like this to have a chance at rebuilding your stack.
If you still have enough chips to survive a few rounds of blinds, wait for real premium hands and go all-in.
This is your best chance of doubling up, or if you’re playing at the right table, possibly tripling up or more.

If the blinds haven’t reached monumental heights yet and you still have enough chips to see a couple flops, do it with medium to premium hands.
If you hit anything on the flop be aggrevisse and come out betting.
Even if you only end up with what’s already in the pot at least your stack is going growing again. If you’ve got a read on any of your opponents now is the time to use it.
If you come up against a tight player, try to steal the pot when you think they might be weak even if you’ve got nothing yourself.
If you’re up against a loose player, try to wait for a big hand and bet big since you can almost be assured they will call.

If you’re down to your last chip and will be forced all-in the next time the blinds come your way, your next play should be determined by position.
In an early position you should go all-in with any medium hand or higher.
You’re basically hoping to get lucky here with the blinds coming right behind you.
If you get a junk hand fold it and hope for something better in the blinds position.

In a middle position tighten up a bit and play any ace, any pocket pair or any two face cards.
If you end up hitting on the flop with one of these hands, you should have a good chance at winning or even doubling up.

In late position you’ve got more time before the blinds get you so don’t bet anything unless it’s a great starting hand.
Don’t be affraid to let go of mediocre cards if a player ahead of you goes all-in, especially if this player generally plays tight.
by David Harrison

I hope you found this poker article useful and interesting, also I would like to recomend OddsMaker Poker as one of the best places online to play online poker…
Well since I got nothing else to say today… I will leave you to your poker playing…. See ya at the poker table… who knows… peace…