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Historically, out of all the winning hands in Texas Hold’em poker, a high card wins usually 45% of the time and a pair or better roughly wins about 55% of the time. A typical pair of eights without improving through a set on the flop, river, or turn would only tend to beat a high card or a lower pair. It starts getting worse once the player goes lower down the scale. That’s something to keep in mind in the online poker rooms and Las Vegas casinos.

Usually, when a player sees two eights in the hand, he gets excited. However, practically it isn’t a good pair at all. The disadvantage of holding two eights in your hand is that the only card that could improve your hand is another eight, at the same time as your opponents might have two better/higher cards and along with the boarding card, their hand would be better than eights. In addition, they might have a flush or a straight draw along with your pair, which means there are fewer chances of winning until you get really lucky.

Pocket Pairs – The Strategic Play

There are hundreds of poker strategies existing on the Internet, to play poker pairs appropriately. However, we recommend the two best techniques that could be used with low to medium pocket pairs.

The first strategy involves raising the pot. The next step would be to try and eliminate the opponents out of the hand. You stand better chances of winning if there is less competition at the time of calling the flop. In the end, if you manage to get all the opponents, except one, out of the hand, you have a better chance of winning the pot. Typically, this strategy would work well if the player is in a late position. While calling a raise on an early position, there are chances that you would get re-raised by about two to three callers. This would cause a lot of trouble, hence restricting your middle pair to come to the top.

The second strategy has proven to be more effective while playing small to medium-pocket pairs. Here, all you need to do is try to limp in and expect to hit three cards of the same kind (also called a set) on the flop in www.788club.net/sg/en-us/. Conclusively, hitting three eights would become a strong hand and it would also present an opportunity for slow play if the other circumstances are right. The best thing about this hand is that it is in disguise and it is unlikely that your opponents could put you off with triples. Secondly, if there is a pair of similar kinds on the board, you stand a chance of getting an unbeatable house.

Therefore the moral of the story would be to tread carefully as far as small to medium pocket pairs are concerned. Always keep in mind that there are fewer chances of holding up and winning a hand with a lower pair. Be prepared to fold your pair at any point during the game. It has been demonstrated that even an AA pair could lead down to the path of ruin if played incorrectly.

Many poker enthusiasts are of the strong opinion that poker should be considered as a game of skill rather than tagged as a game of chance, and the primary reason for this opinion is bluffing. No player can claim to have become a master of poker unless he has mastered how to use bluffing to his advantage. A newbie who has read poker guides usually goes with the usual moves like betting for great pocket cards and waiting for flop/turn/river in hope for a slice of luck or to simply fold even before the flop of the pocket cards are low. Even though these basic strategies are useful in most situations, to give a cutting edge to your poker game strategy you need to go beyond the obvious.

Following are some useful tips regarding bluffing which are employed by poker pros:

Poker Bluffing Tips

Those who have mastered the art of bluffing successfully deceive their opponents in assuming that their cards are weak when in reality they hold a strong hand. Similarly, players also use this ingenious technique to delude their fellow players into perceiving that they have a weak hand, while the reality is quite the opposite. In short, bluffing is all about playing asia818 with the mind of your opponent, and making sure that he does not have a clue about the cards you have.

But bluffing is not that easy as it may sound as proper preparation and skill are required. Following two techniques will help you understand how a bluff is arranged for:

Be Predictable

The ideal situation when a bluff is most successful is when your opponents think that you are becoming predictable. For the first few hands before going for a bluff, you can safely start playing textbook poker. When you have good cards keep calling, and fold straight away if you get a bad hand. And when you hit upon a match-winning hand go all-out.

After a few hands, your opponents will pick on your style of playing and will start altering their game accordingly. Now you have set up the perfect platform to use bluffing to your advantage. It is always useful if others start tagging you like a tight or a loose player because then your bluff will be more effective.

Be Unpredictable

Another way of making your bluff successful is to become unpredictable. Whenever you get a bad hand, do not show your emotions and the same care should be employed in case of a great hand. As the game proceeds players around you will think of you as an unknown commodity and you can use this as a great opportunity to throw in your bluff.

We have often heard stories of how the expert players read their opponent’s minds and predict the kind of hand they would be dealt, merely by observing the actions and movements of their opponents. There are some programs on the internet that teach you how to observe the other players during the hand. However, none of these programs offer a guaranteed win.

It is mandatory to adjust to the other players on the table. Observation is the key here since it would help you read your opponents’ hands, the total number of hands they have been dealt, their betting style, and everything that has happened around them on the poker table. There would be players talking loud or silent strategists, players who would play a tight game in the beginning and bet only on premium hands, players who would be aggressive in the beginning to accumulate a heavy bankroll, and finally the ones who bluff all during the game. Recognizing the players and their wagering style would act as a guideline for you and help you choose better hands. Subsequently, you may also calculate your odds of winning the pot, merely by observing the players on the table.

Here, the trick is to play long-term games with experienced players and learn from their style. Poker tells, usually known as bluffs in poker, are an important aspect of the game and even expert players tend to give out tells easily. Initially, get started with the sole purpose of learning and gaining experience. Staying within the limits would ensure that you have a bankroll that would last longer.

Poker is one of the most popular games in the world has its style and dress code that has to be followed by the players. Different poker groups follow different styles and the dressing could vary from being casual to formal one. The dressing also tends to change by the age groups of players. Some players deliberately dress overboard, to create a certain impression at the poker table. Quite a lot of times, people judge their opponents based on their dress and accessories, if any.

Adjusting to Tight and Aggressive players

Tight players

Tight players rarely take any risks. Therefore they are easy bluff and slowplay. Re-raise and push them to fold. Slowplaying pocket aces against this kind of player is one of the best tricks, especially in tournaments.

Aggressive players

These players kind of bluff and a lot. If you got a strong hand, just check and let them bet first. Fire of a big raise if you want them out, or slowplay just to get some more chips/money out of them.