Game of skill
It's luck when everyone else hits their out on the river. When I hit my out on the river, it's talent!
How much to bet?
After the flop, 3-h, 7-h, 10-h, you find that the A-h you are holding would need one more heart, in the turn or the river, to give you the nut flush. Your opponent raises the value of pot. Everyone else folds. Do you bet, do you call, or do you fold?
Here's the read, chances are, your opponent has already made the flush -- at least, that's what he is saying the way he raised pot. So you are behind. Let's assume that for the moment. Hitting another heart on the turn is a more or less 25% probability. Your opponent is asking you to pay 33% of the possible win for the chance to see that 25% turn card. That there is still the river card even if you miss the turn is immaterial at the moment, because your opponent can still raise and ask you to pay even more for the chance to see the river card.
So do you call with those numbers? That's your decision. But the odds are against you. You are betting 75 to get 50.
Here's the read, chances are, your opponent has already made the flush -- at least, that's what he is saying the way he raised pot. So you are behind. Let's assume that for the moment. Hitting another heart on the turn is a more or less 25% probability. Your opponent is asking you to pay 33% of the possible win for the chance to see that 25% turn card. That there is still the river card even if you miss the turn is immaterial at the moment, because your opponent can still raise and ask you to pay even more for the chance to see the river card.
So do you call with those numbers? That's your decision. But the odds are against you. You are betting 75 to get 50.
A-K suited strength
You drew A-K suited, it's a beautiful sight to see. But just how strong is it? Well, not really. Against any pocket pair, A-K suited is slightly behind on an almost 50-50 toss-coin. Against 2-2, an A-K suited still needs to hit an ace or a king, and this true from 2-2 to Q-Q. Against A-A and K-K, then A-K is dominated. But chances are, if you are pushing all-in with A-K suited, you are playing with 50-50 odds against a pocket pair, good enough for a newbie, but definitely not how real poker ought to be played.
Booted out
Came back to play the shootouts at Zynga after not playing for almost 3 years. On the third attempt, I got some momentum going and reached the third and final round. Continued with my tight-play strategy punctuated with all-in bets when I have the goods, and I got myself in the final three of the final table with the three of us practically having almost equal chip counts. It's the perfect spot!
But then it happened. Just like that, I got booted out. Nothing dramatic about it, one second I was checking, the next second I was at the lobby. I didn't even get an error message. Nothing. So I went ahead and tried to reach technical support, but after tracking links to what I hoped would be a way to send this error message to Zynga tech support, all I got was a note that basically informed players that this shit happens more than occasionally now at Zynga and they're doing their best to fix the problem. Wow. Good thing Zynga chips aren't real, this kind of incompetence simply won't do with real money stakes. Way to go Zynga.
Mind what are you saying.
Knowing how to read your opponent is one thing. Speaking to your opponent is another. And I am not talking about vocal chatter. Betting, after all, is the language of poker. While mid-level poker players can read their opponents, the next higher-level players know how speak with their betting.
Learn to say, get off the pot now, with a huge bet. Of course, poker being a competition, while you can say that, your opponent might not do what you tell him to do. And that is the game -- that is poker.
The simple point is, know that your betting is saying something about your hand. And your opponent is trying to read you. You can talk to him. For a example, the flop shows a flush draw situation. Your opponent raises, you call. He raises again at the turn, flush draw card didn't come, and you call again -- just call. At the river, flush draw card comes, he raises, you re-raise big. What did you just tell your opponent? It doesn't matter if you had the flush or not, you just told him you had it. Whether he believes you or not, that's the game.
Learn to say, get off the pot now, with a huge bet. Of course, poker being a competition, while you can say that, your opponent might not do what you tell him to do. And that is the game -- that is poker.
The simple point is, know that your betting is saying something about your hand. And your opponent is trying to read you. You can talk to him. For a example, the flop shows a flush draw situation. Your opponent raises, you call. He raises again at the turn, flush draw card didn't come, and you call again -- just call. At the river, flush draw card comes, he raises, you re-raise big. What did you just tell your opponent? It doesn't matter if you had the flush or not, you just told him you had it. Whether he believes you or not, that's the game.
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