Do You Have the Winning Hand?
Trusted sponsor: Poker is a game where strategy is supposed to matter more than having the right cards. After all when you play poker you’re supposed to play the opponent and not your cards. This works out well playing when playing in person but becomes more difficult if you want to become an ace in online poker. While it can still be done it is important to know your odds of holding the winning hand at your table. It is possible to commit a few of the winning hand percentages to memory, but not really feasible in the high stress environment of a poker tournament. This is where online calculators have come to help those of us who play online poker.
These calculators, which can be found online with a quick search, allow players to make quick choices. Do you fold or do you stick around and try your luck? The calculator can give you a quick idea. You might want to fold that hand with only a 5% shot of winning, but maybe you’ll raise on the hand that gives a 25% or better. This kind of guidance can be tremendously helpful, especially if this is your first attempt to learn poker.
But how do you know when to follow the calculator’s suggestion or follow your gut? How often do people choose cards that actually win? It depends largely on your opponents. I suggest trying a few games of free poker to get started, pay attention to who bets when and what cards they had when they won or lost. Even in online poker it’s typically the best player and not the best cards that guarantee a win.
Don’t let other players bully you out of a pot. If they have a large stack of chips in front of them they may bet high with poor cards, attempting to make it too expensive for you to risk betting on even a great hand. Use the calculator for that extra boost of confidence you need to stay in, but be careful. An opponent betting slowly, quietly raising or only calling what you put in may be trying to draw you in. In those cases the calculator may not be helpful.
Remember, when you play poker, it is not just a game of numbers but a game of people. Calculators can give you valuable guidance but they won’t win you that poker tournament alone. Keep your eyes open and watch for trends, if you do you could be the one winning with a poor and not the guy across from you.
This entry was posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009 at 7:53 pm and is filed under Post Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
