In 2007 a court in the United Kingdom ruled that poker is a game of chance. Quite obviously the judge who sat in judgement was not a poker player. Poker is not a game of chance. Poker is a game of skill. An element of chance exists in every poker round, and this presents a challenge to the players, but taken long term poker is a game of skill and a skilled player will win more than a random player relying upon chance. As such, it is possible to learn the skills required to win at poker, though not every single hand dealt to one.
To win at poker one must consistently do two things: win the most money and lose the least money. It is inevitable, especially in a variation such as Texas Hold Em where one is forced to bet irrespective of the hand dealt, that one is going to lose some hands due to the element of chance. It is therefore essential to minimise the amount that one loses. This is known as playing tight. One might think of it as being boring, or miserly or careful.
Winning the most money in a round of poker usually involves taking a risk, gambling. The most expert poker players gamble least often. One might even say, paradoxically, that great poker players don't gamble. If poker was simply a game of chance, it would be a case of gambling on every hand. Mathematically it has been calculated that relying upon chance, and playing wildly a player might, if lucky, win 40% of the time. This also means they will lose 60% of the time.
Popular are Texas Hold Em poker tournaments where players pay the same stake, receive the same quantity of counters - known as chips - and at the end of the tournament the stake money, perhaps minus a percentage taken by the venue, is paid out proportionately to the winners, the first player receiving the most money, second a smaller amount, third a smaller amount still and depending upon the size of the tournament other losing winners may also receive some money back. If one plays in such tournaments, it is only necessary to be among the winners to make money. Entering twenty tournaments, losing nine and coming first in one may make one feel good, but it is usually more profitable to be placed third in fifteen of the twenty tournaments and lose the other five.
In order to win a hand of poker it is essential to know the rank of the different hands, perhaps most common is for new players to forget that a full house out ranks a flush, or that a straight flush out ranks four of a kind. Pairs are often over valued. A pair of aces may appear very attractive, but it is out ranked by any two pairs, or three of a kind, straight, flush, full house &c. In short, a pair of aces is just a pair!
A lot is made of the mathematics of poker. Knowing and calculating the probabilities of communal cards being dealt which will join with your hand to provide a higher ranked hand. It is not necessary to be able to precisely calculate the odds, but a basic understanding of likelihood is beneficial. Given ten players at a table of Texas Hold Em, twenty cards from the 52 card deck will be dealt. It is quite likely that someone has been dealt at least one ace. If there are just five players at the table, ten cards will be dealt, and the likelihood of someone being dealt an ace is much lower (about 1 in 5). There are numerous tables published showing the odds on various poker hands, suffice to say the chance of drawing five cards straight from a deck and receiving a pair is 42% (about two in every five attempts), three of a kind is less likely at 2.11% (about one in every forty-seven attempts) and a full house has a probability of 0.14% (one in every 694 attempts). In Texas Hold Em these odds are reduced because each player has seven cards from which to make a hand of the five best, and full houses are considerably more common than the odds might imply. Remember also, probabilities are unaffected by what has gone before. One can sit all night and not draw a pair of aces, the likelihood of being dealt a pair of aces next hand is no more likely than it was for any other hand - luck may change, probabilities do not.
After the flop in Texas Jold Em, there are still two more communal cards to be dealt. These cards may assist a player's hand, the number of cards which can make a target hand are known as 'outs'. For example, if a player has a hand consisting of four suited and consecutive cards, there are fifteen cards remaining which can make either a straight or a flush. The likelihood of one of these fifteen cards being dealt after the flop, with two cards still to come, is very likely (0.8 to 1 in the player's favour). If the first card dealt doesn't make the hand, the river might still do it with odds of 2 to 1 against. By contrast, if a player has three of a kind, the chances of being dealt the fourth card after the flop with two cards still to come is very slim. There is just one out (only one card which can make the hand) and the odds of it being dealt are 22 to 1 against, reducing to 43 to 1 against if the turn does not deliver. Dave Scharf, a respected poker player and author, recommends 'when you have doubts, proceed with eight outs. Fold all the rest'. Meaning if you have doubts about your hand winning and there are less than eight cards which could be dealt to help your hand, then cut your losses and fold.
Bluff is often overstated in poker. Psychology is less talked about. Great poker players, known as foxes, know what their opponents have, and play accordingly. One famous poker player famously folded a pair of kings pre-flop when challenged to bet all-in by an opponent. After folding his opponent revealed his hand - he was holding a pair of aces. Bluff can be used in poker, and indeed should be used, but sparingly. Excessive bluff leads to wild play, and that leads to losing a lot of money. Better than bluff is to be able to read the body language of your opponents and gauge an idea of what they are holding. When a poker player views his hold cards, if those cards are high ranked he will frequently experience an adrenalin surge. This surge will frequently cause an involuntary physical reaction, perhaps a sharp intake of breath, a nervous twitch of the eyebrows, pumping of the knee, a smile. The reactions vary to each person, with great poker players suffering the fewest and least obvious reactions the least times. They 'stay cool'. Bluff involves convincing your opponents that you have a better hand than them, when you don't, so that they fold and allow you the pot. Bluffing is a gamble. If you know the opponents don't have a great hand, the chances of winning should they call your bluff are increased. If you know they have a great hand, and they will win if they call your bluff, then don't bluff. Lose as little as possible.
Poker is not about winning pots. It is about winning money. If poker was about winning pots one could simply bet aggressively - bet lots of chips - every hand and encourage the opponents to fold, thereby winning the pot, but without encouraging the opponents to contribute more to it. If, however, one has a very strong hand, then by allowing one's opponents to bet until the very end one can encourage the size of the pot to increase before winning it. The danger with this type of play, known as slow play, is that with cards yet to be dealt it is possible that an opponent may draw a better hand. The typical scenario is being dealt a pair of pocket aces. Before the flop you check, and then on the flop two kings appear. If one of your opponents is holding a king, they have immediately drawn a stronger hand than your two aces. It is a matter of judgement when to bet aggressively, and encourage opponents to fold, and when to play slowly and encourage opponents to bet. Inexperienced players are often amazed at how few hands good poker player play. But by folding your weak hands you are not losing any money, and your opponents are taking each other out.
Sometimes you will be unable to read your opponents body language. Playing on line for example. However, their manner of play may give you some idea as to their hand. A check call may indicate a weak hand, or may be a slow playing bluff. Similarly, a raise may indicate a strong hand, or may be a weak hand hoping to bluff the other players out of the pot. This is particularly likely if the player making the bet is late in the round, the dealer of the player to the dealer's right. At a table of ten players, if the player to the left of the big blind makes a strong bet it is likely that either: they have a strong hand, or they don't know how to play Texas Jold Em. A re-raise, however, is usually a sign of a strong hand or at least of confidence by the player. Be wary of feeling you have to call a re-raise because you have already bet so much. Better to lose what you have already bet, than to throw away even more. If a player is folding almost every hand, and suddenly bets heavily on a hand, it is fairly likely they are a tight player and have now drawn a strong hand.
Similarly, it is not uncommon for players to attempt to 'steal the blinds' by making a bluffing raise pre-flop. If one is the big blind then one is the last player to bet pre-flop and this is a strong position to be in. One can often steal the raise by simply counter-bluffing and re-raising the opponent.
Some basic principals of Texas Jold Em poker playing are:
You don't win money from good players, only from weak players.
Abbreviations
Recreation
Research How To Win At Poker
