Gain More Respect: Getting a Hold of Poker Etiquette

Photo: Pxhere

As poker rises in popularity, so does the number of ignorant players who just play for kicks. They disrupt the whole flow of the game and give it a lot of disrespect. A certain instance is when one says "bad fold, bad fold!" when he/she sees that the rather ragged flop has hit his/her hand. It is very annoying for all the players in the table and has cut off the bluffing element of the round since one has declared that he/she has one or two of the cards on the table.

Anyway, follow these basic guidelines of good behavior to ensure that the game is fair and enjoyable.

Don’t Talk About Your Cards after you’ve folded them

This is one of the most common breaches of etiquette that people do. Similar to the situation above, there might be instances wherein someone just bangs at the table and fusses over what a horrible fold he/she did. Again, it takes the life of the game and takes out some strategies that may be used on the round.

If You Want To Show Your Cards, Show It to Everyone

There are times when one asks an opponent to show their hand to them. Sometimes, they accede to the request and show it to them. But the problem is that they seem to keep it to themselves as a cute little secret. Don’t do that in a casino or even in a cash game. It annoys a lot of people. Keep the game fair for everyone.

Muck Your Hand Properly

There are lots of moments where one just throws their card like it was literally trash. Sometimes, the cards flip over and your hand will be shown to a few people who even cared about looking at you. Again, this takes out the element of fairness in the game because the other player may use this as a basis of calling or

folding given that card can’t possibly be a kicker for his/her opponent. So to speak, you’re wrecking the game for a couple of unknowing players. Keep things

formal and fold your hand properly by sliding it to the dealer using both hands.

Don’t Splash Your Chips

When betting, some people just toss in their chips, making a horrid splash that makes it difficult for the dealer to count. This takes up unnecessary time and drains all the energy of the round and disrupts the natural flow of the game. Bet properly by stacking your chips and sliding it over to the center of the table. Doing that shouldn’t be very difficult.

Pay Attention!

There are people who space out in the middle of the round and it takes a little nudge or a tilted eyebrow to get him/her back to earth. Don’t make everyone remind you it’s your turn, please. A lot of people take poker very seriously and a good number even gamble with this game as a profession. Respect the game, and you’ll get respect in return.

Conclusion

Honestly, if you want to be respected at the poker table. Don’t be a brat but be a mature person who loves to play the game. Minding your manners is a part of that. Actually, people shouldn’t even talk about this because it should be a customary task. And not only does it help you in the poker table, but also in life in general. Play the game properly and you’ll both get respect and admiration from your peers because of your class and love for the game.

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The Importance of Aggression in No Limit Texas Hold‘Em

Texas Hold'em Poker Ass - Photo: Pixabay

No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em is a game that moves by the rules of psychology. Players try to read their opponents if it is the right moment to bluff or to fold. They also seem to know their opponents' hands by their betting patterns. And if they trail in the chip count, they try to make the opponent fear them into folding good hands so they can catch up.

The main rule in winning consistently in poker is to give an impression that you’re the top dog. You must drill the notion that no one will scare you into folding and stop you from hammering into that pot. But one shouldn’t do that haphazardly. One should get a feel of the table, knowing how others play specific

cards so that one will know if it is the perfect time to stomp your foot down and scoop the chips on the table.

Read the Table First

Don’t just try to put your hand into that pot, read your opponents’ betting frequency and patterns first. If most people simply limp into the pot and fold if the flop doesn’t hit them, then what you have is a rather loose and weak table. After the flop, if everyone checks to you, make sure that you throw in a bet around a third of the pot to get an idea if anyone is serious in playing their hand. When you do that, it seems as if you’re making a serious bet when in fact, you’re just checking out the field. Remember that you shouldn’t treat your chips as money, but rather a tool to pick on your opponents. With that done, you’ll be eating up small pots like crazy.

Aggression Conceals Your Hands Perfectly

With you chomping on pots, it will give off an image that you’re a freak who bets on marginal hand or worse, nothing at all. When they finally call your probe bets that is the time to change gears and play a tight-aggressive game. Just limp in your good hands like AA and AJ to keep that image and make your customary bet of one-third of the pot after the flop (if you hit something or it is favorable). When you do this, they will sense that you’re trying to eat the pot again and call when in fact, they’re drawing dead.

If all the betting that ensued will put you and your opponent(s) into a hand showdown, he/she will freak out when you showed a legitimate hand. When people see this, they will respect your bets more and fold once again when you throw your chips around like in the first instance.

Conclusion

It is integral to your game that you know how to utilize both conservative and aggressive techniques. But your main style should be the latter since it will help you win larger pots when you do shift into the conservative approach.

But given this advice, it can’t be done without feeling the table and being aware of how people think of you as a poker player. If the table’s very tight and they fold immediately when their hand doesn’t fit the flop, throw in some bets. If they randomly call any bet, meaning that they have no idea how the game of poker is played, then be wary of using bluffs and instead, make straightforward bets to ensure a win.

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The Importance of Position in Texas Hold ‘Em (Pre-flop Play)

Poker - Texas Hold 'em - Photo: Wikimedia

Grabbing information is one of the most important skills that you need in poker. From your opponent’s betting patterns and the "tells" that they make simply define your hand and are simply integral on your next decision. But you can’t do that without proper positioning, which is on the button or somewhere near it.

But that doesn’t mean that you should fold every hand if you’re not in the proper position, each has its pros and cons, and it should also determine how you should play your hand.

In this article, I’ll tell you how to utilize perfectly your position in pre-flop play.

Early Position

This position is from under the gun to the third turn in a ring table, which has around eight people seated. In this seat, you have to be choosy in raising your hand or simply limping into the pot because there are about five to seven people yet to act, thus there are more chances for them to raise the bets and given that you don’t have a hand that’s good enough, you just lost money the size of the blind.

So it’s important that you only raise premium hands in this position like AK, AQ and AJ suited. When someone re-raises after you, you have a good idea that he/she has jacks or queens. So not only is raising pre-flop a good way to drive out people who have small cards that may get lucky after the flop, it also gives you information on who probably has a hand better than yours.

Middle Position

In this position, you have to be looser, but not to the extent that you’re virtually throwing your chips away. A9, K10, and QJ may be raised here, given that no one has raised and indicated that he/she has an excellent hand.

Again, the reason why that you should raise pre-flop is to mine important information about your opponents, if they have good to great cards.

Late Position

In late position, you can practically raise any hand you want, depending on the circumstances. If everyone just limps into the pot, and a raise is nowhere in sight, then you stick your foot right in and raise around four to five times the big blind, even withcards like 24. It may win you the pot right there.

But be wary when everyone calls when you do raise,because they may sense that you’re trying to steal the pot. Don’t cringe if your technique fails and if the flop shows high cards like A-J-4, raise outright and try to steal the pot again. They may rethink that you tried to steal the pot before the flop and give you credit for hitting aces or jacks.

As you may observe, one may get looser in choosing his/her cards when nearing late position and also presents you the opportunity to steal the pot. The late position also entails you to play more aggressively and show some muscle, enabling you to hammer on pots, do isolation plays and basically eat up the blinds. So to speak, the position should guide you on how to play your hands because it opens the option of instilling fear into your opponent, bluffing your way into the pot or does the complete opposite of the previous two.

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History of TEXAS HOLD 'EM

Picture of hole cards in a game of texas hold 'em
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Even though not much is known about beginnings of the game of Hold ‘Em, or poker in general, it is said that it started at around 1900s. It has spread throughout the state of Texas and was embraced by many as their prime poker game for gambling. And it has been introduced to the bright lights of Las Vegas on 1967 by a group of Texan gamblers and card players, notably Crandell Addington, Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim.

Early Years

Its magic has enthralled many, with players ranging from crack-heads to more sophisticated players. But in the 50s, only a few casinos offered the game of Hold ‘Em, and they had shabby poker rooms for it. With that, many professional players tried valiantly to find a better location for their cash games, and they finally found it in the now-defunct Dunes Casino on the Las Vegas Strip and with its prominent location, Hold ‘Em’s popularity simply took off.

In the late 60s, poker tournaments for Hold ‘Em were now being held, notably by the Gambling Fraternity Convention and it helped the game gain more recognition. The Convention was then bought by Binion’s Horseshoe Casino and has taken up Hold ‘Em as the main event due its leanings on psychology rather than pure odds. The game simply rose to the top after that, with merely eight entrants in its nascent stages to 100 in 1982 and that has doubled a decade later.

With the surging popularity in place, one of the top No Limit players, Doyle Brunson, started the advent of Poker Literature with his book, Super System, which has revolutionized how people played poker. Also, it has brought the game to a wider audience and had put it into the mainstream. It even influenced more poker books to be published, notably by David Sklansky and his Theory of Poker and Dan Harrington’s Harrington on Hold ‘Em. This made the game’s learning curve a lot shorter and made every tournament more exciting and challenging.

A pair of aces is arguably the best hand to be dealt in Texas Hold'em Poker.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Explosion in the Nineties

This has carried on until the late 90s and the first decade of the 21st century, when the popularity of the game went into another level and went worldwide. It started with the film Rounders (1998), which starred Matt Damon and gave the Hold ‘Em a romantic feel.

One also has to take into account the influence of the internet and gave everyone on what was years of experience in a short amount of time. Online poker rooms like Partypoker.com and Pacificpoker.com paved the way for that. It is said that current stars like Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen fined tuned their game in the internet.

And from there, what was only 200+ 1991 WSOP grew to 800 in 2003 and an unbelievable 5000 in 2005.

Conclusion

Texas Hold ‘Em is definitely here to stay, given that it leans more on strategy and psychology rather than strict mathematical analysis and probability, which has been the case of other games like Blackjack. Its appeal stretches to far reaches, not only in terms of regions but also of social class. It has hit popular culture, with it being considered more and more as a sport rather than gambling. It has even changed how people think of the game, with works like the The Poker MBA sitting in bookshelves. Truly, Texas Hold ‘Em has grown to a new level.