Poker Probabilities: Starting Hands

The key to winning at poker tables is choosing your battle carefully and make the final blow when it counts. As much as it sounded like a war strategy, it actually applies to poker perfectly. One of the most common mistakes new poker players make is play every single hand. I have even seen a player go all-in pre-flop with only a 2-6 same-suited hand, just because he’s expecting a flush; yes, he did lose all his money that instant.

Understand that getting same-suited starting hand is very common in the game of Texas Hold’em poker. You shouldn’t be overexcited about it, since completing the flush may be a lot harder than you think. There are 23.58% chances of getting a same-suited starting hand. The odds against you completing the flush right after the flop is a whopping 118:1; you only have less than 0.9% chances of getting three cards of your suit being dealt for the flop. Getting two cards of your suit at the flop is possible, but the chances are just a little over 10%. You do have 41.6% chances of getting another card of your suit.

That is just the flops. Your chances of scoring a flush gets relatively tighter as you see the turn and the river. If the flop only showed one card of your suit, the chances of getting one card of your suit on the turn and the river is reduced to 5.77%. Next time you want to play a hand just because it is suited, consider the odds and decide your moves based on the individual card rationally.

Calling When You Should Fold

Texas Hold’em poker is a very popular casino game. Even social networking sites have Texas Hold’em poker as part of the available games for users. This is because the game is very exciting to play and can also be very rewarding if you know what you are doing. Don’t get too excited, because poker is mostly about skills. You need to understand some basic plays before you can be successful in beating your opponents and winning in the game of Texas Hold’em.

The biggest mistake you can make is calling when you should fold. There are several reasons why a poker player might make this mistake. If a player gets too emotional, or on tilt if the words of poker, it is very easy to call bets he know he shouldn’t call. Most of the time players feel the need to stay in the game after investing a substantial amount of money into the pot, even when they know they cannot win the round.

So how can we avoid this mistake? Simply play rationally. Once you understand the basic strategies, you can easily map which hands you should play and have the power to walk away whenever you realize you cannot win. Remember to prevent emotions from clouding your judgments; formulate a strategy and stick to it no matter what. Don’t think just because you are feeling lucky you can actually win a round, because most of the time you won’t. Make calculated moves at all times, and you will be more profitable at poker tables.

Video Poker: Choosing the Hand to Play

For some casino players, video poker is more interesting to play. The game is indeed exciting because you can still increase your chances of winning the big cash prize by applying some basic poker skills to the plays. One of the first things you should do before you look into more advanced strategies is to know which hand to play. Unlike table poker games, you can’t simply fold in video poker. With this game, choosing the right hand to play means selecting the combination you are aiming at.

When you are dealt a set of cards, you need to be able to decide which cards you are going to keep. The best way to choose is by analyzing the strongest possible hand and aim for it. However, sometimes there are several possible combinations; for such situation, you need to be able to choose the hand you play properly.

For example, if you are dealt 3 of clubs, 3 of spades, Ace of hearts, King of diamonds, and a Jack of spades. Although you might be tempted to keep the three high cards, you need to remember that you also have a low pair of 3s in your hand. Which ones you should keep?

The answer is the low pair indeed, since you are looking at a solid win. If the three high cards are all same-suited, however, your best option is to keep them and trade the low pair of 3s. You can also study the probabilities of each hand combination for video poker to get better understanding of possible best options.