Speed Hold'em—Fast Game

What's it like? Let me put it this way. It's Ferrari in F1; It's running back of NFL; It's 100-m sprint on the Olympic track …

We call it Speed Hold'em. You know what? The gaming software engineers have instilled the essence of fascination into the game. That is, Quick, Fun and Convenience.

First of all, quick gaming is what we promote and honor at the poker table. The time limit for every move of every player is largely reduced—30 seconds compulsory. You don't have to wait endlessly before the monitor for one of your components is involved in his templation or in worse case, he is stuck in a time-consuming non-poker-related business. So, Speed Hold'em saves us time and energy.

"Have fun" is the ultimate priority of all human entertainment activities. For Speed Hold'em, it's no exception. You don't have to doubt any change in the poker rule itself. Speed Hold'em is nothing but Texas Hold'em. But quicker, and that's what we throw in for your interest!

Last but not the least, Speed Hold'em is devoted to convenient user experience. HINT signs pop up 3 times to warn it's your TURN now. "Pre-select" button is set at your service so you can decide your action before other poker players even act. when emergency comes, it won't bother you anymore.

Join me in this game, cowboys. Speed has no limit.

Position Q&A

I've always wondered why the big blind is in 2nd position instead of first, where it would seem to make sense to put the poker player with the largest forced bet in the poker hand (and it would follow that the poker player with the 2nd worst position places the half blind).

Why the blinds are placed how they are?

Big blind before small blind would get funky because the amount of money put into the pot preflop would no longer be ascending (or nondescending). If the small blind acts before the big blind, he has to put in the proper amount or fold; if the big blind acted first, what would he do, check or raise every time?

In short, small blind before big blind can be interpreted as a forced bet of 0.5 big blind, followed by a forced mini raise to 1 big blind.

Poker Talk

Your best chance to get a Royal Flush in a casino is in the bathroom.
~V.P. Pappy

I must complain the cards are ill shuffled till I have a good hand.
~Jonathan Swift

There are times when I don't care if I'm dressed to impress. One of those times is when I'm playing online poker.
~Doyle Brunson

I guess if there weren't luck involved, I'd win every time.
~Phil Hellmuth

Luck never gives; it only lends.
~Anonymous

In the game, I can put other poker players' souls in my pocket.
~Anonymous

People come and go, while the game continues.
~me

4 Cons

In Texas Hold'em, there are 4 kinds of trouble you should avoid:

Loose Start Hand Selection
I recommend simply avoiding specific poker hands you feel uncomfortable playing.

Failing To Release After Start Raising
I start to play super tight pre flop, and as I play so few hands to begin with, I start pushing my hands too hard after the flop. Playing too tight and too aggressive can therefore be a recipe for disaster.

Failing To Respect Raises
Passive poker players seldom raise after the flop with less then two pair. If the pot is small when the raise occurs, you should dump unless you have a monster yourself. You know that even if you have pocket aces your poker odds are slim. Whether you should call it down or muck it right there depend on the size of the pot. If the pot is huge, you should probably call it down.

Failing To Make Timely Decisions With Unpleasant Outcomes
It almost always pays to play tight, and it's on the flop more then prior to the flop that you should evaluate your degree of tightness. Fold those losers, and rest assured that much better opportunities will arise later on. They always do.

Two Things

Texas Hold'em is no mystery nowadays—people all over the world play it with enthusiasm. And it may seem silly to be reminded of the following fundamental facts, but it's surprising how often players get immersed in the excitement of the game and forget the basics.

So, always remember these two things:

1. The two cards you hold are the only cards that set you apart from the other poker players and give you the chance to win.

2. All of the face-up cards are community cards, shared by you and every other player. It's vital that you focus on what those cards could mean to someone else at least as much as you focus on what they mean to you. In particular, keep your eyes open for your opponents' straight and flush possibilities.

For me, the above count for the basic poker strategy and it's just these little ideas that keep my head up in my daily poker experiences.

My Choice

Games are so diverse and numerous nowadays that it's hard to pick up "the one" that topples everything else for us. I choose Texas Hold'em for various reasons.

First, it's a poker game. Poker cards are available all over the world and a kind of household game device.

Second, the game takes roots in America. It's becoming very popular in the English-speaking countries and those under heavy influence of western culture. I won't exaggerate its status in poker game industry, but you can imagine that when globalization is on the way and modernization keeps head up, what's popular in the developed country surely would find its followers in other countries.

Third, my own situation guides to the game. I am fairly good at English. I make my choices when concerning different products or services on the basis whether it's "in" in the western world. I won't deny it's kind of vanity style. However, that's a style I can live with, and I live with it happily. HOHO.

Journey Back Home

It's a long journey home. On the train, we are bored with sleeping and eating. There is little privacy for chatting for total strangers are around within inches in this crowded place at this festival season. So we play poker.

Just between the 2 of us, we play the game "24". It's about showing 4 cards on the poker table, excluding the jokers. And the person who calculate by addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division to get 24 with least time wins the game (note: all 4 numbers indicated by the cards must be involved).

Basically, we play it only on special occasions like this one. We don't have notebook computer so no movie; my MP3's battery is dead before we get our butt on our compartment seats. Even not, it can't last for a 50-hour trip; no other entertainment can come up in my mind to kill the time. I try to inspire my GF to experience the magic of Texas Hold'em. But the game loses its attractiveness when there is no money or punishment involved. So I quit myself before she gets bored too.

Monkey Tilt

Poker terms can be very interesting and vivid, like this monkey tilt.

It's an extreme form of tilt, often caused by a series of bad beats, excessive table banter from donkeys, or otherwise pure luck in a poker game. The poker player experiencing monkey tilt may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

1) complete and utter disregard for money (in fact, other players may even claim that the player in question "hates money")

2) frequent bluffs and all-in moves before the flop in a no-limit Texas Hold'em game

3) calling bets with complete disregard for the cards or the odds being offered

4) calling jumping up and down screaming "oooh oooh aah ahh" while shoving a banana down your own throat

Learning is Winning

The other day, I was caught by a friend who asked me about the ABCs about Texas Hold'em. I was eloquent in explaining to him about poker glossaries, poker hand rankings, so on and so forth. But the cat got my tongue when it turned to bet structure.

The thing is, I can play comfortably in the game, but I took it for granted that I should have known therefore the poker rules and other "small" things.

So I logged into my poker room account, observed every step during the round, and took notes of what I was missing before.

Note 1

First of all, on the table there is a position called "Button". Basically it's the reference subject in the poker game. And this button rotates clockwise after each round of game.

The first player next to the button clockwise chooses to bet the small blind. Small blind is half of the big blind. Don't blame me if I am a little off the subject... For example, Room XYZ 3/6NL: No limit for bets, with 3 as small blind, and 6 as the big blind and minimum bet.

The second player next to the button clockwise chooses the big blind. As soon as he bets the big blind, which equals the minimum bet at one time, the 2 hole cards are dealt.

From the next player to the button, they have the privilege to see their hole cards before they decide to call the bet, raise or fold. So the button always is the last person to act. And he/she can see all other players' moves before making his own decision. So the button has an utmost advantage.

Then the ball rolls to the small blind. He can choose to call the blind, raise or fold, which in his position, would mean the loss of small blind.

Remember it's always the first person next to the button who has the first speak.
I am into my game once again... My hands are hot right now. I'll be inspired to do the teaching another day, I think.

Welcome to PLO

Pot-Limit Omaha is a unique game. It is one of the few poker games that is much more widely played in Europe than in North America. Pot-Limit Omaha also is a game that tends to have huge swings. Even a poor player can be lucky one night and win almost all of the chips at the table in a game of Pot-Limit Omaha. It is also one of the few games that tends to be associated with higher stakes.

Pot-Limit Omaha centers on two things: building the nut hand, and position. The first point is obvious. The hands are strong in Pot-Limit Omaha, so you want to be able to hold the best hand. Most Pot-Limit Omaha games do not go to a showdown. When they do, more than likely one player has the nuts or was drawing to the nuts. When two players have strong made hands against each other, generally one has the nut hand or second-nut and the other player also has a near nut hand. An example would be a board with AQ554. One player could have AAxx and the other player might have QQxx. If a poker player called a huge bet on this board with 23xx, they would be a fool. While this straight would be a strong hand in Texas Hold'em, it would be a very weak hand for this board in Omaha.

Another central concept to Pot-Limit Omaha is position. Omaha is all about position. There are several reasons for this. First, free cards are death in Omaha. If you are in early position, you will almost always have to bet your hand, even if you hold the nuts. For example, if the board is 567 and you hold 899A, you definitely have to bet. Someone could too easily draw to a full house, flush, or perhaps even a higher straight. Because of this, people in early positions tend to give away their hands. People in late position can much more easily bluff at pots because they can be fairly certain that people in early posiitons do not have a hand, and people in late position can sometimes earn themselves extremely valuable free cards.

The following are some poker tips when evaluating preflop in Omaha:

• High pocket pairs are good. This is because they have the chance at building a big full house. If you do not hit a set with a big pair, the pair is essentially worthless.

• Connecting cards are helpful. A hand like JT98 is a very good Pot-Limit Omaha hand because it affords the player with so many straight opportunities. Holding JT98 is far superior to holding QJ56 because you can build many multi-way straight possibilities with JT98. However, you cannot with QJ56.

• Suited cards should be treated with caution. One can call and draw to an ace high flush. However, drawing to any non-nut flush can be very foolish. Having non-ace high suited cards is only helpful for redraws, multiple draws (i.e. also having a straight draw), or back-door flush draws. One should never draw to just a flush that is not a nut flush.

• Low and mid pocket pairs are close to worthless. A hand like 5588 belongs in the muck. Even if you hit a set, you can easily lose to a higher set, straight, or flush.

P.S. Kobe was definitely playing Speed Hold'em in the photo.

Top 10 Worst Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em

1. 2-7
7-2 off suit is considered the worst hand in Texas Hold'em. They are the lowest two cards you can have that cannot make a straight (there's 4 cards between 2 and 7). Even if they are suited, they will make you a very low flush, and if either pairs, it's an awfully low poker hand.
Because it is the worst, some players will play it for fun and in online games, it is known as "the hammer."

2. 2-8
This is the same basic problem as above, only you've got an 8 instead of a 7. Still pretty bad for a high card. Suited or not, this is a fold'em hold'em hand.

3. Tie: 3-8 & 3-7
The 3 makes this hand able to beat the two above it, but with the 3-8 you still can't make a straight and the 3-7 still, well, just sucks.

4. 2-6
While if the board gives you a miracle flop of 3-4-5, you will have a straight, someone with a 6-7 will have a higher straight. If you get a flush, someone will probably have a higher flush. Against even 4 poker players, this hand will lose about 90% of the time. Not good odds.

5. Tie: 2-9, 3-9, & 4-9
The only thing these three hands have going for them over the hands above is the 9. If the 9 pairs, you'll have a middle pair that could still be beat by anyone holding pocket 10s, jacks, queens, kings, or aces, yet you might be fooled by a board filled with low cards into thinking you have the best hand and losing a lot of money. No straights can fill the gap between these cards, either. Beware.

6. 2-10
This hand has a legendary quality because Doyle Brunson captured two World Series of Poker Bracelets with it. But it's not a good hand -- Doyle Brunson is one of the all-time best in the game and unless you're a Texas road gambler who's logged thousands of hours at the poker table, you shouldn't try and win with the Doyle Brunson.

7. 5-9
Another hand people play because it's fun is the old 9 to 5, the "Dolly Parton." If you're playing to win, it's not a good idea to play hands because they have a funny name. That may be how you pick the winning horse in a race, but poker's a marathon, not a sprint, and over the long term there's no doubt this hand is a statistical loser.

8. Tie: 4-7, 4-8, 5-8, 3-6...
All these hands will rarely win, especially unsuited. Toss 'em. Just toss'em. Yes, even in the little blind. If you see two low cards in the hole, unless you're in the big blind and you can see the flop for free, fold.

9. Face card + low card, unsuited
One of the most common mistakes I see beginners make is that when they see any paint in their hand, they play it. J-2, Q-3, K-4 whatever -- and most of these hands are losers. They're junk that may win a few pots, but more often will lose you huge cash when you find the other poker player has a higher kicker and the winning hand.

10. Ace + low card, unsuited
This is another common beginner mistake, playing any ace. Again, it may win occasionally, and heads-up it's a fine hand, but at a table of 4 or more, this hand shouldn't be played if there's a raise in front of you. You're going to be outkicked a lot with Ace-little, and it's going to feel like a kick in the junk when the other player shows their higher ace.

Top 10 Body Language of Poker

1—the Eyes
Eyes rarely lie. This is why many pros wear sunglasses. For example, many players can't help but stare at big hole cards, so their length of time peeking is longer. Conversely, if a player is looking to steal the pot, he may look to his left to see if the remaining players, who haven't yet acted, have quickly glanced at their cards and are likely to fold.

2—Facial Expression

Again, many poker players try to disguise their entire face by wearing a cap and looking downward. Without knowing it, you may have obvious unhappiness in your face when your hand is weak, and conversely, you may show a contrasting show of confidence when your hand is strong.

3—Weak is Strong/Strong is Weak
Basically, players like to be actors. When they have a monster hand they tend to look disinterested. Alternatively, a player increasing the level of his voice while raising the pot, and trying to look intimidating, may be running a bluff.

4—Anxiety
Anxiety typically occurs in people when they are confronted, or anticipating confrontation. Physical changes include flexing of muscles, eye pupil dilation, palpitating heart rate, dry throat. Some of the top players in the game will stare at the vein on the top-side of your face for blood pressure changes.

5—Trembling Hands
Also, a byproduct of anxiety, beware of a player whose hands are shaking, this nervousness can represent a big hand.

6—Glance at Chips
It is common for players to quickly glance at their poker chips if they connect with the board after a Flop. This may be a subconscious reaction, but the tell is that the player is already planning his attack!

7—Peeking Hole Cards on Flop
Some players will take another look at their hole cards when, for example, the board is showing a potential 3 card flush draw. Typically, the player is looking to see if one of his cards is connecting, because he remembers only that the two cards are different suits.

8—Repetitive Betting Patterns
Usually the most revealing poker tells are based on the way a player habitually bets during particular situations. For example, maybe the player always checks when he has made the nuts, or a player may regularly fold after being re-raised.

9—Body Posture/Attitude
Some players show obvious changes in their posture based on their attitude/poker hand strength. For instance, you may notice their shoulders drop/slump when they are not confident (weak hand). Conversely, you may notice the player is very attentive and sitting in an erect position when he has strength. You may also notice that a player who bluffs a lot, leans forward in a confrontational way … remember Strong is Weak!

10—Chip Stacking
When you first sit down at a table, study the way the players stack their chips. Although it is a generalization, loose aggressive players typically maintain unorganized/sloppy stacks, while tight conservative players keep well organized/neat stacks.

P.S.the above tips apply not exclusively to Texas Hold'em.

Against My Will

You know the game called Omaha? Have no idea? It's OK. I can explain it in just a few easy steps (I am assuming you all know its big brother Texas Hold'em).
What you do is get four cards. Doesn't matter much what they are because nobody really looks at them anyway. Next, they put three cards on the board. It doesn't matter what they are because nobody really pays any attention to the flop either. Then one more card for the turn and another one for the river. Same betting scenario as before. Doesn't really matter much what they are, except, for a few of the poker players that may have "cheated" and looked at their hole cards. These players may now fold if they have absolutely no outs. (Mostly bad sports.) Now, at the showdown, everybody turns over their cards and helps the dealer figure out who has the best poker hand. You MUST play two cards out of your hand so this usually takes a while and the winning hand is usually found out after a little bit of searching by all of the players and a partially confused dealer. The dealer now pushes the pot to the wrong player and everybody yells at him and he smiles glibly and says, "Oh yeah, sorry" and then sends it in the right direction. Then, after all of that excitement dies down, everybody lets out a collective sigh of relief and gets ready to wind up and do it all over again.

That's it. Hell of a simple poker game, right? For me, I won't blame if you label it as lame due to my lame introduction.

P.S.
I was bluffed at an online poker room last night. Refused to go in there anymore, at least a week I swear. If there are some unpleasant words mentioned in my article about the poker rules, forgive me. I don't mean it.

To Do List

1. Return my 3-year-old Mp3, try to get a refund.

2. Go to the theater. "Astérix et Obélix contre César" is on the show.

3. Play Texas Hold'em online.

4. Search and listen good foreign music clips, something like "Doar Cu Tine".

5. Find new hobbies.

6. Continue to listen to good music.

7. Hold poker tournaments at home. Beat WSOP.

8. Play football.

9. Eat more vegetables.

10. Avoid bad milk.

11. Follow on One Tree Hill. Hopefully Payton and Lucas could make it work.

12. Move into my new house.

13. Get this blog going.

14. Be smart.

15. Travel, see the real casino.

16. Think.

17. Learn to play Majhong.

18. Live life.

Double-edged sword—Dangerous Starting poker hands

What is the most dangerously deceiving starting hand for an amateur player in Texas Hold'em?


Many poker stars would argue that A-Q suited is among the top 10 best poker hands. The first thing to accept is that A-Q suited is not a top 10 hand, but does make it into the top 20. If you played ABC poker by following a chart of hands, A-Q suited (A-Qs) is one you would never play in early position, and would only play in an unraised or unopened pot in middle to late. That explains why it is called as the worst best hand a player can start with.

Personally, I follow the straight-forward poker strategy: Call with a draw hand only when you have the pot odds to justify it. And I learned my lesson from some resources that a tie such as AQ, KQ, and QJ. Those are death hands to be avoided at all costs, especially if your opponent has made any aggressive move pre-flop.

At this point in poker's life, many top players believed that J-T suited was the best starting hand in poker. It was the highest suited connector possible with full straight potential. It doesn't "dead end" on the top end as Q-J would.

After all, every person has his own criteria on how to judge a hand as good or bad. Either you follow the golden poker rules, which is how people do at the table most of times, or you can do things your own way. Nothing is impossible and nothing has extremes. Just be yourself.

Top gun—Blackjack

Sometimes I love being in the crowd, enjoying the feeling of thinking while others are yelling. That's when I play in the pit, that's the charm of casino game, among which Blackjack is my favorite. The following is a simple-version of know-how about it.


Blackjack is partly based on luck, so don't expect to win every time. Compared with poker games (Texas Hold'em, Omaha, etc.), the way to play Blackjack is easy. All you need is a dealer (you can do that if it's played at home), some people, a deck of cards, and some poker chips (really optional and unnecessary when you play at online casinos). First of all, the dealer serves TWO cards to each person, face down. When people say HIT ME, you give them a card. If they pass the number 21, they lose. If you win with a black jack (it consist of an ace, a jack, queen, king, or the 10 card), you beat everyone, and the house wins. If you pass the 21 limit, you lose, and the players may win. If you play with poker chips, when you win, you take the chips (or if someone else won, they take the chips).

Quiz: I do not recall what it is called if two people have the same number (like you have 19, and someone else has 19).

P.S. My mind is like an open high way. Every thought can lead very far or nowhere.

Funny joker—introduction of wild card

Due to personal hobbies, I always look for weird things and exceptions to satisfy my curiosity. Anyway, we are all geeks in some way. And here is what I find in poker game: some card that can be designated as any card you wish. Yes, it’s the "magic" wild card.


In most cases, wild cards are jokers, or they can be any cards agreed upon by the participating players. Poker rules make it clear that there are two kinds of functions for wild cards: "fully wild" cards and the "bug". A card that is fully wild can be designated by its holder as any cards he chooses with no restrictions. Under this rule, for example, a poker hand with a natural pair and a wild card becomes three of a kind. With wild cards in play, the best possible poker hand is a five of a kind. While the more common application of the wild card in casinos is that it plays as a bug, which is given the rank of ace unless designating it as a different card would complete a straight, flush, or straight flush. Under this rule, a hand such as T-T-Joker-7-3 is just a pair of tens (with an ace kicker), but any four same-suit cards with a bug make a flush, and a poker hand such as 8-Joker-6-5-4 makes a straight.

In particular, five-card draw is traditionally played with a joker in California (which plays as a bug), and also plays well with deuces fully wild. Seven-card stud plays well with one or two bugs, especially when played high-low split. Other games such as Texas Hold 'em and Omaha do not play well with wild cards.

Learning in poker

Once at the poker table, you face a lot of choices and have a lot of decisions to make. Believe it or not, my motto of life seems to apply here: live and learn. For your record, selective thinking and learning can help you avoid being sniffed at as a bystander or a follower.

Texas hold'em case study: hole cards are 6s, Ts; flops are 2h, 9s, Jc.

No doubt it's a good start. It leaves us with a great space for imagination (though based on calculation). Listed below are the possibilities (from the best hand to the worst):

1 - Straight flush. You pick up 7s, 8s in the turn and river, Bang!
2 - Flush. Two more spades will suffice.
3 - Straight. From K-straight to J-straight. 7, 8, 9, T, J, Q, K of rainbow, we need the last two cards to be blessed.
4 - Sets, two pairs, one pair, high cards. There is no math involved.

The above is utterly obvious. I can imagine you would use your online poker calculator to figure out the pot odds of catching such hands. Then you are not seeing the whole picture. Remember: diamonds cut diamonds. After you find out at what odds you can form your desired hand and how many poker chips you could throw in the pot accordingly, don't forget to glimpse over to see your opponents' moves. You have your odds and they have theirs. If you don't count them in, then it's a natural thing that a black horse comes out from nowhere, with a poker hand just better than yours. And you can't afford that happens. Of course, if everyone is playing according to the book, you would estimate out what hands they have by calculating on their bet, on the condition you are the last one to call. Since you can't control the game, you must take everything into consideration.

I am always quick to summarize. Skill-wise speaking, I am focusing on POP (pot, odds, and position) here. Maybe I'm not that good at picking up the right words, but my idea is basically there. Now, put out a deck of cards, play your case while thinking a little bit, and you can be a self-made mentor quite soon.