The Context Machine

1.) The poker cards and breaking even.

We’ve all heard of the statistics, you’ll get a pair approximately one in every 17 hands, you’ll flop a straight, a flush, a full house, or trips x% of the time. These are all good online poker strategies to live by when you pay as they help you measure odds, and accordingly help you decide how to play your hand. But in the end, the cards probably will not break even with you. See, these statistics are estimations, and in an imperfect world, perfect statistical data doesn’t always hold up.

How this applies to life: You simply can’t control your luck. You win 1000 dollars in one session, and only win 100 in the next, you had a 900 downswing, but you still came out a winner and in the positive. So you’re still happy with your 100 dollar win, but why? Well, because you made the best decisions that you could. The same applies in life, it’s not about luck since we’ve established that you can’t control that. It’s about making the best decisions that you can with the hand you were dealt in life. As Caro says, “Stop expecting life to be equal for everyone.” It isn’t. Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. It’s all about how you play the game, not letting the game play you, and making the best of life, even if you’re dealt a 2-7 offsuit. You never know, the board could come out in the end with three other 7s on the board. Look out for these things when you play poker online.

So, I’m playing in an online poker tournament recently and I get dealt K-7 in the blind. Two people call, I check. I like getting weird poker hands like K-7 in the blind when no one raises, it lets you have a little fun and see what happens. Anyway, the flop comes down K-4-2. Great, I’m thinking, this could be a nice little pot. So both other players check to me, I make a nice sized bet, the first guy folds and the second just calls. I thought that was a little weird, so when the turn card came out J, he checked to me and I checked this time, kind of wary of what he might have. So, the river comes and it’s another 4. he makes a pot sized bet to me that just didn’t see right. I didn’t think he had a 4. if all he had was 4 something, why would he even be in the hand, much less call my bet on the flop. Anyway, something smelled fishy. If this were a pro I might’ve acted differently, but I just got the sense this guy didn’t know what he was doing. So I called, showed my pair of kings, and and all he had was J-10! Why would he even call my bet on the flop, he didn’t even have a draw of any sort! Anyway, the jack on the turn sealed his fate because it gave him something to play for. I always say, you end up losing the most money on those hands you know you should’ve folded long ago at the casino online , but stayed in with for some reason. This guy fell victim exactly to that. It’s a valuable lesson.

I used to hate playing with online poker opponents that I knew were better than me-I’d get all nervous and lock up my game, never playing a poker hand with them. I’d find myself avoiding games with players that I knew were skilled, looking instead for a table full of newbies who didn’t know how to play (by the way, let me know if you ever find that newbie table). Of course, it turned out that if I wanted to play, I had to get used to playing with at least one or two (most often more than two) poker players who were better than me, and eventually I learned how to play with them. Of course, I learned to steer clear of playing them without premium hands, but mostly I found that I could learn a lot from watching them play and become a better player myself. You can learn a lot about poker from the myriad books, and of course there’s no replacement for a well-written poker blog (ahem), but I learned so much of how I play now from watching stronger players than I work a table. Blind stealing, making good reads, continuation bets and so on, I’ve learned (and continue to learn) a ton from better players, so the next time a poker stud sits at your table, don’t freak out-just watch and learn.

There are many kinds of common poker tells that can be applied to newer and amateur types of online poker players. In general, those more green in the game are less adept at hiding their intentions, and watching them closely can yield a wealth of information that can translate into a literal wealth of cash.

One of the best times to take in these kinds of reads is at the moment the flop is laid out. The flop defines the hand more than any other, and if your online poker opponent is a reactor type, you can pick up a lot on him.

In general, if an amateur player leans forward in his chair and seems interested in a board, he has likely hit his hand. If he seems disinterested, he might not have much. Many players can be deceptive and flip this perception, but for players that are easier to read, this can be a pretty reliable tell.

Some players like Greg Raymer llike to put this information at their greatest disposal by watching their opponent rather than watching the cards come down. Either way, being attentive to your opponent’s reaction to the flop might be a good indicator to how you stand to fare later in the hand.

Poker commentators sometimes refer to a style of playing called “small ball” online poker - a reference to the American game of baseball. What is small-ball online poker and how can you incorporate it into your game strategies?

Small-ball tactics are best pursued by seasoned players with good hand reading skills. With small-ball poker, a player attempts to stay in contention for the pot with a speculative hand by keeping the pot small and minimizing the risk of losing lots of chips on one hand. This type of play also decreases the variance in chip swings that typically happen in No Limit formats.

Playing the small-ball strategy works best from late position. The first tactic in small-ball poker is obvious - try to see the flop as cheaply as possible. However, if you are playing a speculative hand that might warrant a raise from late position, like two suited faces, make the raise somewhat smaller than the standard 3x the big blind. In small-ball poker, you want to keep the pot smaller, so that if any raise comes out later, it will be proportional to a small pot.

Managing pot size is also dependent on the board texture. If it is shaping up with lots of drawing potential, then your opponents will probably want to keep the betting minimal too. In this case, your raise should be big enough to scare some off without putting a big percent of your chip stack at risk.

Playing small-ball means you’ll occasionally lose some hands on the river. By keeping the betting action low, there is always the risk of giving an opponent the opportunity to suck-out. With small-ball poker, you goal is to deliberately manage the pot size and wait to see if you make a monster hand while minimizing chip loss if you don’t.

Have you ever been playing a casino game when the dealer switches the deck in play for a new one? This is called a cold deck. Introducing a cold deck can be done for a wide variety of reasons. Typically in modern casinos cold decks are introduced to assure the poker players that no cheating or collusion is occurring. The cold decks are often factory sealed before they are put in the shoe so that players can be assured of their accuracy. These are perfectly legitimate uses of cold decks.

The problem with cold decks, however, is that they can often be used to cheat. In the old days, cold decks would be stacked for the benefit of the casino. You can be relatively assured of the accuracy of the game in a well respected brick and mortar casino, but this same guarantee does not extend to a casual online poker game. If you are playing anywhere else but a registered casino, you should be extremely alarmed if anyone offers to put in their own cold deck. The deck is probably stacked against you. While cold decks are okay in official online poker casinos, using cold decks in alternative circumstances can be considered a form of sleeping.

There are a number of player options in blackjack. These are listed below:

- Stand - Also known as “stick” or “stay,” this blackjack player option allows the player to stop taking cards from the dealer and play his current hand.

- Hit - The player chooses to take another card from the dealer in an effort to improve his or her hand. Choosing to hit is one of the most exciting player options in blackjack.

- Double Down - This option allows the player to wager up to twice their original bet and receive only one more card. At some casinos, the player can bet less than double their first bet, but this is not always allowed according to blackjack rules.

- Surrender - According to casino blackjack rules (which differ from place to place), this option may not always be available. If it is, you can choose to give up the hand and only lose half your bet.

- Split - When both your cards have the same rank or value, you can choose to split. This means that your bet is doubled, and your two cards each become the first card in a new hand. For high rollers, this is one of the more popular player options in blackjack.

Blackjack Rule Variations

There are over 100 blackjack rule variations throughout the world. In many places, the casinos are not required to post these rules, so it’s up to the player to ask before they sit down at the table. If you’ve never played the game before, you might as well learn these variations while learning how to play blackjack. Some of the most common include:

- Five Card Charlie - In this blackjack rules variation, the player automatically wins if they draw five cards without going bust.

- Number of Decks - Players (especially card counters) usually prefer less decks. Casinos, on the other hand, usually prefer four or more decks. The amount of decks used will vary from casino to casino and table to table.

- Dealer Hits on Soft 17 - In some blackjack rule variations, the dealer must stand on 17. On other versions, they must hit on a soft 17 and stand on hard 17s. If the dealer stands on a hard 17, the house has an even greater chance of winning.

- Altered Blackjack Payout - One of the least popular blackjack rule variations. Instead of getting a 3:2 payout for a natural, the player only receives 6:5 or 1:1. This will sometimes be offered in conjunction with a single deck game. Most experienced players stay away from such odds, as it increases the house advantage up to 1000 percent.

- Resplit Limits - At some casinos, the player may only resplit a maximum of four times. In other casinos, they may continue to resplit as long as they get same value cards and can afford to make additional wagers.

See also: Betting Websites.

Putting your opponent on a online poker hand is one of the most exciting aspects of online poker . It’s like magic-from recognizing subtle (and some not-so-subtle) signs, a good poker player can ascertain what cards his opponent is holding, sometimes down to the suit. Many people who are just starting out in poker see players like Daniel Negreanu read an opponent’s hand and think that they’ll never be able to do what he does. You may not be able to do it as well as Mr. Negreanu (few people can), but by picking up little signs here and there and allowing them to accumulate into a bigger picture, it’s possible for anybody to accurately read their opponents hands. One of these little signs is the speed with which your opponent places his bet. It’s a bit like reverse psychology-if your opponent bets quickly, it’s likely that he’s got a bad hand, but if he places his bet slowly, he’s probably got something pretty good. A quick bet is usually compensating for a bad hand, and it can also show a player’s anxiousness to see the next card to see if his hand improves. A slow bettor has little to worry about, so he can afford to take his time.

Poker hands sometimes offer a draw to a player that keeps the poker online player betting into the pot. Perhaps the hand could complete to a straight or a flush. These situations can be dangerous though because sometimes the card that completes your hand might give a better hand to an opponent, and cost you a lot of chips. Always analyze what the best possible online poker hand could be based on the board texture before you act when you hit one of your outs to the draw. For instance, you are on an open-ended straight draw with 9-J and 10, Q, 2 rainbow appear on the flop. Out comes a Jack on the turn, giving you top pair with the open ended straight draw. You bet with eight outs, looking for the King or 8 to complete your straight. The river brings the 8, and your opponent bets. With your straight complete, you are tempted to raise. But stop, and think before assuming your poker online hand is the winner. Can any other hand beat your straight? Can your opponent be holding A-K to make a higher straight? Perhaps you are on a heart flush draw, and the river completes your flush with a card that pairs the board. You then must consider whether your flush may be up against a full house or even quads. When your drawing hand completes, be sure the miracle card is not in fact a disaster for your hand.