Each of us responds to a different kind of pick-me-up. It could be a walk in the park. It could be going for an award-winning movie. It could even be the weekly get-together to play poker with your buddies.

In my opinion, a once a week poker game can be a real pick-me-up sometimes. Sure, if you play badly, you may end up losing a lot of money. But that happens only if you play foolishly. The intelligent player is aware of what the odds are and only puts forward an amount that he can afford to lose.

Every seasoned poker player is aware of what the odds are much before the game even begins. How much is he willing to risk? That is really the important question. Plunging headlong into a poker game with a bunch of professionals without having an action plan is not advisable. In fact, that could be rather dangerous. It is easy to call poker a game of luck, and nothing else. Yes, Lady Luck has great influence over this game. If you are dealt bad cards, you might have no hope of winning the game at the very outset. Then again, a poker champ trains himself to play better than the others even with his bad cards.

Poker is a game of strategy. You have to keep planning your moves in advance. In that sense it is like chess. However, poker also requires you to bluff a bit as well. You have to fool your opponents into a sense of false security. Make them feel like they are in charge of the game even while you hold the royal flush. The sense of suspense in a poker game is one of the factors that determine the winner. If you are cool and calculating when the game gets really tense, you could well be the champ who walks off with all the money.

When it comes to card games, poker is one of the most popular. It does give your mind a lot of exercise by literally giving it a run for your money. Being a poker champ, therefore, does not come easy. To become a poker champ, you have no option but to practice, practice, practice. Make sure you thoroughly study the rules before you challenge anyone to a serious game. Try out some online poker games to get a feel of playing against real opponents. In the initial stages, you might more often than you would like. However, just keep practicing if you want to eventually become a pro.

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In texas hold’em, 2-7 offsuit is the worst starting hand you can possibly have because your chances of making any kind of winning hand are slim. You could make a straight or a flush but you will only be using one of your cards, and if you do make a pair it’s unlikely to be a winning one.

Despite this, however, in my experience a lot of players have a soft spot for this hand because it’s so bad, and because in theory you have very little chances of winning the hand, it presents a challenge.

Therefore, it can encourage some players to bluff with this hand, particularly if they have table position, and can sense weakness amongst their opponents. They can then take great delight in flipping over their 2-7 offsuit, and seeing the reactions of the other players.

In most situations this hand should of course be an instant fold, but it’s important to note that at times your chances of winning with this hand are not as bad as most people think. For instance, when you’re playing no-limit heads up play, or find yourself against just one other player, it can become a playable hand.

Many less experience players fail to fully understand probabilities, and therefore automatically assume they have no chance of winning with this hand, but this assumption is wrong.

Let me demonstrate this point with a few examples.

Assuming you’re holding 2-7 offsuit, your chances of winning against Ace-King (offsuit) are approximately 32.5%, Ace-King (suited) 30.5%, Ace-Jack (offsuit) 32.5%, and 10-6 (offsuit) 34%, so as you can see you would not be that much of an underdog in any of these possible scenarios.

In fact, if you believe that your opponent has two different cards, ie not a pair, then you are always going to have roughly a 1 in 3 chance of winning, which are pretty good odds.

Even if you are unlucky enough to find yourself up against a pair, your odds of winning are still reasonable.

For instance, you would have a 12% chance of winning against a pair of Ace’s or 9’s, for example, and a 28% chance against a pair of 4’s.

There are also occasions when you would prefer two low cards like 2-7 to a higher combination. A classic example would be in a multi-table tournament which you are on the verge of going out of. In this case going all-in with your 2-7 would in most cases put you up against maybe just one other player, who would probably hold at least one of the higher valued cards. Therefore at least you would have two live cards, and could win if you hit a 2 or a 7.

So to conclude, although 2-7 offsuit is not the hand you want to see at any time, there are times when this hand is not as bad as you may think.

James Woolley is a regular poker player and the author of a poker blog which is a complete guide to internet poker, and contains the very latest tips and advice to help you become a better poker player.

When people talk of poker, there’s one name that stands out over the rest of the poker games - the Texas Hold ‘em poker. This kind of poker is believed to be the most popular kind being played in the casinos today, whether online or off.

Usually, Texas Hold ‘em Poker begins with a group of two players sitting at the left of the ‘dealer button.’ This dealer button refers to the round puck being circulated clockwise to each player. It shows who will be dealer in the event that the deal were to move forward from one player to the next.

The betting begins at the first part of the game when the money is put into the pot before dealing the cards. Usually, the 1st blind is the one that puts half of the compulsory minimum stake. The 1st blind relates to the player sitting to the left of the dealer. The 2nd blind, on the other hand, is the one responsible for placing the full minimum compulsory bet.

Because the very object of the game is to win whatsoever is in the pot, it’s best to know some rules or strategies to acquire an edge over the other players. Here’s how:

1. The table.

When a player is playing Texas hold ‘em poker, the most beneficial matter that he or she should consider is choosing the table. This is due to the fact that players, no matter of their skills in playing the game, will be restrained to give their best shots if the table is too assertive, too rigid or too loose, or if it consists of players that are more proficient.

The bottom line: Even if the essence of winning the game is directly affected by the skills of the player, it is still best to play on a table that has few raisers but many callers.

The logic behind this idea is founded on the fact that the more raises that there are in a table, the fewer the chances of winning the game.

2. Position

When a player is in the early position, it’s better to raise with K-K, A-K, and A-As, then, with A-Qs, Q-Q, J- J, A-K, T-T, have a call and then fold everything additional.

3. Don’t Wait

For players who already have a noteworthy hand starters, particularly when he or she has a high pair, say JJ or even higher, it’s best not to waffle raising it before the flop.

Indeed, playing Texas hold ‘em poker demands skills as well. It is not all based on gambling. This just goes to show that games like this requires both luck and skill to win the pot.

Garland Choate (GR) is a retired Airline Captain who now publishes articles from the USVI. Find many great articles about Texas Hold’em at http://www.texas.wahwarriors.com

Poker is a very popular card game, where players with either full or partially hidden cards bet into a central “pot.” To the player having the best card combination, the total bet in the pot is then handed over.

Before the dealing of the cards, one or more players, dependent upon the rule, is required to place an initial bet into the pot. Afterward, the cards are dealt, face down. Thus the beginning of the game.

Strategy had best be developed so that one will learn who plays fair and who the better player is. By defining them, you can easily deal with them. Carefully study each player’s move so you will prevent loss in your cards.

Poker is a game of strategy. Even with a poor hand of cards, a good poker player nonetheless has a good probability of winning. Here are some tips:

*Hand strength. Any hand that’s smaller than a pair should be folded at the soonest chance that comes. Don’t delay believing that other cards will remedy the situation, because they will not.

*Show a poker face. This makes the other players suspicious of your cards. Your facial expression will let your opponents know how good or how bad your cards are. A point to recall, never project a clue to them, if you do, then make a point that if you do have bad cards, pretend that you have differently.

Do bear in mind that bluffing will not work if you are a poor player. Keeping in mind that players who overrate the strength of their hand. Besides, if a player bluffs repeatedly or on a regular basis, adept players will eventually sense their style and would now know if they’re bluffing or not.

*Do not be afraid to fold. One forbidding aspect in poker is placing your bet. As to how much or how little one should bet, feel the game. As you continue, you will then be versed and know when to bet and when to fold. A rule to remember is, don’t anticipate that later cards will rectify your situation if you have nothing in your hand. Be free to fold as often as needed.

*Control. Bet with wisdom. This means betting with your head. Bet only within your means. You can not win fortunes in poker, so keep inside your limits.

*No intoxicant. As alcohol makes one bolder and daring, it’s wise to avoid it at poker time. You may find yourself betting more in not so good cards. Avoid alcohol particularly when the stakes are high.

It’s of importance for one to give a good deal of time to the development of their own strategy. The more you play the game, the longer that you’re exposed to it, you could then have your own secrets to winning the game.

Garland Choate (GR) is a retired Airline Captain who now publishes articles from the USVI. Find many great articles about Texas Hold’em at http://www.texas.wahwarriors.com

A bad beat is one of the most frustrating things that can happen to a poker player. It can be defined as losing a hand to an opponent who held an inferior set of cards to you, but in reality, the term is generally reserved for when your opponent wins the hand despite being a big underdog statistically to do so.

The frustrating thing about bad beats, and the reason why all poker players of all levels hate them, is because they essentially level the playing field between the professional players and the amateur players, because at times luck can overcome skill.

Nevertheless it’s a big factor in poker, and one of the reasons why poker is so universally popular, because in any given hand there’s always a chance that a rank bad hand can win through against a strong hand, especially in the most popular form of the game, texas hold’em.

Most players will have tales about how unlucky they’ve been in various hands and at various times in tournaments, but it’s the way players deal with these bad beats that will ultimately determine how successful they will be at the game.

Bad beats can really make a big dent in a player’s bankroll, and can effect the way a player plays the game. For example, you will often see players go on tilt as a result of suffering a bad beat. They may also verbally abuse the player who inflicted the bad beat, and in some cases will go after that player and try to win their money back. All of these scenarios usually only lead to the player making further dents in their bankroll as a result of reckless play.

So you have to learn to be disciplined and control your emotions. Bad beats are a part of the game, and you just have to accept the fact that even if you are a strong favourite to win any given hand, you will still lose to the occasional bad beat.

The most important thing to remember is that if you develop a sound playing strategy and stick to this strategy throughout, then the occasional bad beat will not stop you from making good long term profits from poker. Don’t make the mistake of criticising other players and chasing losses as this will only do more harm than good.

One other point worth mentioning is that if you find yourself going through a bad patch, suffering an abnormally large number of bad beats, remember that your poker play is generally sound because you’re going into a lot of hands as the favourite. Therefore statistically you will win far more of these hands than you will lose in the long run.

Plus of course, there will be times when you have some good fortune yourself and inflict bad beats on other players, so they even themselves out in the long run.

James Woolley is a regular poker player and the author of a blog containing the very latest poker tips and advice to help you become a better poker player.