Poker is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you are going to get!

Hyzepher

If Forrest Gump had taken up poker instead of ping pong, not only would it have made a better movie but his mom would have given out one of the best pieces of advice any poker poker should wish to hear.

The fact is that no matter what we hold in the pocket, the flop can throw up all types of problems. But funny enough, it only really matters if we are holding a very strong hand pre-flop. A weak hand can only benefit from a weird flop.

Take the situation where you hold AA, KK or AK. You bet pre flop to wash out the 'trouble' hands like 89, 45s, 55, etc. The flop comes and it shows JJQ, 4h,7h,9h or 559. Now you are in a pickle - I hope you didn't bet the houses pre-flop?

No matter what hand you hold pre-flop, the game has a way of being able to kick you in the teeth as it lays 3 cards down at once. The important thing to remember is that although for the most part the flop is out of your control - playing the right way will reap its rewards in the long run. That AA will hold through against the rubbish 90% of the time.

It is also important to remember that when playing low limit or against loose players, you will find that regardless of the pre-flop raise, you are going to have a lot of competition after the flop. Of course this is bad news as anyone can make their draw when it come down to the river. In these situations a pre-flop raise needs to be given some extra thought.

Until next time - run forrest run!

HyZepher

Krusty_Clown

Hmm.. Had this kind of experience last night, while playing on Ladbrokes (Play)..

Was holding an AK suited, and bet a reasonably large amount of money, which weeded out some of the small players. However, two of the wealthier players (play money) stayed in. One of them had a Q9 unsuited.

Flop brought up an Ace for me (and a 10,7). Bet a bit more. Next card brought up a K. So I had two pair (K&A). Looking good.. Sizeable bet. Should have known better. River card was a J. Too much money invested, So, all-in..

Lost to the straight to the Ace..

But having said that, up until that point, was doing well. I wasn't playing the crappy hands.. I wasn't being tempted by the teasing bets, but had played a couple of hands with AK (and simillar), and won..

Then played a tournament. 2nd hand, dealt a pair of Aces. Went all-in with everyone else (these play tournaments are a little unrealistic, as at least 2/3 players go all-in every hand to try and pick up the quick win, before joining the next tournament), and lost..

All in all, using the advice posted here, did much better.. Will keep you posted on my progress!

Hyzepher

Unfortunately the Play money games are very bad at determining your overall skill level, if you simply look at the amount of winnings you have. As a general rule of thumb - if you are playing less hands (recommended) and play those agressively (raise pre-flop etc) then you are bringing yourself up the skill ladder. The fact that you are getting drawn-out is only an indication that you are getting better. The better you are the more often you get drawn-out on - but you also win more often as the long-shot draw is going to lose more often than not.

You can only go so far playing in the Play money games - as you have said. No one takes their stack seriously or is afraid to lose it. When you feel up to it try one of the .25/.50 games and play ultra tight. Try a 10 handed game so the blinds are less frequent and you'll get to see more hands.

Hyzepher

Krusty_Clown

Played my first real money tournament on Ladbrokes last night..
it was a $5 +$1 game, with 10 players...

Huge amounts of restraint later, walked away with the 1st place prize money..
$25..

Thing is, I got alot of good cards during the game (and admittedly alot of bad ones too)... So I'm notching this one up to luck...

Looking forward to the next game.. €5 is very cheap for a couple of hours of real entertainment! Total game took just under 2 hours, which I'm told is a bloody long time for a game like this!

Roll on the next game!

DeVore

If you showed restraint and only played the good cards its not suprising you felt like you "got lucky"!

The hardest thing to do in poker is fold in my experience. You cant lose chips you dont bet but then I play the odds whereas some players play loose and fast (or should that be fast and lose )

DeV.