Table Chat

Some love it some hate it but it is a part of online and live poker. Some players use it to annoy others to try and gain an edge. I have witnessed some great arguments beetween players and I have had my share too. It usually starts over someone thinking they have been beaten by bad play but some players start on someone with no reason other than to annoy them into making mistakes. My advice is to try not to let table chat bother you. I usually try to answer in a cool manner and avoid personal isults - usually the hands they have played can be ripped to shreds. Here are some of my favouirtes.

Annoying donkey who is now chat banned: Various your mother styles 'jokes'
ME: Does PokerStars know you are 12?

Loud mouth fish who has just cracked some poor guys Aces: Do you want 50 cent to call someone who cares?

ME: Wow -Do you know him personally? Do you know Dr Dre too?

New Adventures in Micro

Whilst chatting to another UK based player I discovered the PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker Leauges. These are daily tournies that have a points system and leader board with prize money at the end on the month. I fancy trying my hand (BOOM BOOM) in one of these but I am not sure which division to try.

My options are division 1 - $1 buyin which I am more than covered for or option 2 - FPP division which I have 16 buyins for. Both prize monies are the same but the FPP has about half the entrants in the tournies. I am not sure I fancy a poker tourney everynight but I don't want to be at a disadvantage only entering half the days if some people are playing in them all!

Choices, choices...

The Short Stack

I have never really got the idea of the short stack - I always buy in with the full amount. For starters, if you get a hand you can only win multiples of your stack and if you have $1 only that really limits you. Secondly, you can't push people off pots. Take the following hand for example.



mangelod is very understacked and has already mentioned going all in next hand. I find KQ os on the button and put in a small raise. As mentioned mangelod does go all in with another caller. Seeing as I have posistion on the other player I decided to see the flop. As you can see I flop a gutshot and two overcards - not what I wanted. However when holyuser checks I use my position to see if he has hit anything - His probable AK has missed and he folds. The turn brings nothing still but I hit my 10 for the straight. mangelod flips over pocket nines and a flopped set - A big bet or check raise on the flop and I fold my gutshot especailly given the flush draw too. Unfortunately all mangelod's money was in the middle so he had no more power in the hand giving me free cards...

WSOP Step 2

Using my free buy in form my Step 1 SNG result I sit down at a Step 2 tourney with 8 other players hoping for a first or second place and a Step 3 seat.

I get nice cards at first but AQ suited, KQ suited and AQ os all miss flop.

About 20 hands in my QQ runs into low flop and 99 - nice pot puts me to chip leader.

Later on my KK holds vs AQ off suit. Soon after a player who has been raising alot puts about a 4x raise in and I look down to see Jacks. I immeadiately raise him all in only to then see another player yet to act who I had missed. He calls with KK and shares the big pot with the original raiser hits a set of nines on the river. This leaves me with about 3 big blinds and all but out.

Pocket eights are then not good enough as and I end up in 5th place with 5c for my troubles!

My 10c for the WSOP has ended there!


Play Online Poker

WSOP!!

Ever fancied playing in the WSOP main event? I have but I am a bit short of the $10000 buy in! Whilst playing on Absolute Poker I noticed they are running Sit N Go tournaments that start at 10c. The idea being that you win places to the next step with the winner of step 10 advancing the Main Event.

I am not really a tournament player so some SNG practice can't be bad for my game either. I find a Step 1 table that soon fills up but after about half an hour end up in 5th place, missing out both Step 2 seats and a free retry at Step 1. I decide to have another go and soon find myself with 3 other players and a guarantee of at least a free go at another Step 1 tourney. It is of course a first or second place and a Step 2 seat that I am after. I knock out the 4th place player with a checked flop which he stabs at and I quickly call. Now there are 3 players left and a tense battle begins for the 2 seats.



After about 20 minutes the slightly bigger stack wins an all in against the other remaining player and knocks him out leaving me about 2:1 down and heads up! In doesn't matter as the tourney ends there as both 1st and 2nd place prizes are the same. Step 2 is now here and the WSOP is 1 step nearer.

Can't hit a thing!

Bad day today. Nothing major loss wise - couple of dollars but hand after hand of junk. When something does hit I am outkicked or they have a set! This kind of day happens and can last for a lot longer than a day too! Luckily experience tells me that these swings are all part of the long term game of poker and the good times will soon return :)

My Table

Just a picture of my home table.

The Worst Hand In Poker?

Ask this question to most players and they will say two ,seven offfsuit. No straight or flush chances (bar hitting 4 cards) and both cards are low. In fact, some players take great delight in playing and bluffing with 27os then showing their opponents.

Actually I think the worst hand is not 27os but any hand that is just behind. For example if you have AK suited and raise preflop with one caller to the flop and hit your king then the pocket 3s that called you for a set make AK suited, for that moment, the worst hand in poker. Of course mathematically 27os is the worst hand but it is worth considering that pocket Queens which are considered a great hand are almost certain doom against KK!

Super Tip #2

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Super Tip #1

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Super tip number 1 -

You don't need the nuts to win - In this hand I sense weakness when all the other players check and a good bet with only a straight draw wins the pot.

Session Number 3

My third sit down at Absolute poker starts well enough with some small pots and I find myself about 35c up. Then my pocket Jacks hit QQ against a short stack and I suddenly find myself about 45c down for the first time. It is important to remain focused here and not start playing wildly.



A few rounds pass and I hold my own against the quick blinds as we are only 4 handed. A player sits with $1.59 in one of the empty seats. Watch out for odd buyins as it is often players sitting down with their last bit of money. They are usually playing anything and giving it away.

The session continues to go downhill when my raised KJ hits a king on the flop - after some betting and calling the other big stack flips AK and I am out kicked and another 75c down! Time to leave with my bankroll now at $102.71

I decide to sit down at Absolute Poker to continue my bankroll of $100. I seem to be on a bit of a roll and flop hand after hand. Short stacks all bust out and leave me and another player who has lost a few hands to me so far. I turn an Ace high flush and play a check raise which he calls quickly - A safe river comes and and I bet a solid amount - he calls and mucks the straight he rivered (remember kids flush beats a straight) leaving me about $3.25 up on the table.

I leave at the point with my roll now at $104.28 - A winning start is always nice as it takes the pressure off a little.

First "Proper" Hand

After about 10 mins of usual blinds going and folding I got dealt this hand. This came two hands after bluffing and showing player 3.

Click play above to watch the hand unfold...
A set (pocket pair and one on the board) is very hard to spot, especially when you have hit top pair and top kicker. Also the check raise on the flop where I checked my first action then raised his bet is a strong play and one that a lot of people can't deal with. Combined with the bluff two hands earlier he probably thought I was at it again. One last thing to note is the blue and green coloured cards - Most sites have a 4 colour deck option. I use this to help avoide confusion between hearts and diamonds which can lead you in to thinking you have a flush when you don't.

The New Site

As part of this blog I have decided to join you as a new player at a site I have not played at before.
I have deposited $100 of my own money at Absolute Poker as MICROPLAYER



That gives me 25 full buyins of $4 at the 1/2c tables. I have chosen a 6 seater table with a 49% plr/flop percentage. This means that half the table sees every flop. There are two players with about $2.50 and two with about 80c.

First hand and I am strangley nervous considering I have played online so much! I get 56 of hearts and use that 56 high to bluff a 4c pot away from the other player at the flop.

20 hands or so later and a few big hands included quad aces with other players has left alot of empty seats. I find QQ on the button and raise it to nearly cover a very short stack. He raises for the rest of his stack and I call his KJ of diamonds. The queens hold and I leave the table 10c up.

The First Game

So once you have decided on your site and deposited your money it is time to play your first game. Bankroll management is key to survival and most beginners make the mistake of playing out of their depth (usually to try and recoup losses). If you stick to a maximum of 5% of your roll at a table then you should be alright.

Most 1/2c micro tables have a buyin ranging from $1-$5. For your first go I would be tempted to just buy in for $1 just to get the feel for it. Usually I would suggest the maximum buyin. There is no point playing for hours then getting the hand you want and only having 76c!

One thing you MUST do before playing is to learn the hand rankings - Find on online version on Google images and study them. Be aware of higher straights and flushes to what you hold. Infact thinking "what beats me" is a good strategy to have.

In the lobby of most online rooms you will see table information. Use this to pick your tables. I try and go for a mix of short and mid stacks with not too many near the full buyin. Use the plrs/flop percentage to pick a lose table. This percentage tells you how many players see the flop and generally the higher the percentage the worse the play and the easier the pickings are.

Starting!

Let's say you have chosen your site and registered a bank card. Your next decision is how much to deposit.
If you choose a small ($10ish) deposit then it might be an idea to try some low level limit games first. PokerStars starts at 2/4c blinds for limit Hold 'Em.

If you are rich :) or more adventurous then a bigger bankroll is a good idea. A bigger bankroll helps you deal with downswings and bad beats as they don't impact a big roll as much. For example:
You deposit $10 and sit down with $5 at a 1/2c game - Your Aces get cracked and you bust out - Half your roll has gone in one hand! With a roll of say $250 you have lost a much smaller percentage and are therefore less likely to go on tilt and start chasing your losses.

You will notice that I have at no point mentioned play money. This is because I would advise against it - It builds bad habits and the play is not the same as real money - mistakes don't hurt so you won't learn from them.

Choosing A Site

So how do you decide which site to put your hard earned money in?

Sites offer many things to consider. Ultimately the choice is down to you but it well worth thinking about the following key points:

1. Deposit options - What is the miniumum deposit? Most sites let you start playing from as little as $10 although as you see later on I would advise against such a small amount.

2. Game choice - Most people start out with No Limit Holdem which is the most common game. All sites cater for this and some offer a massive array of game types - pick a site that has what you like.

3. Traffic - how many players at the times you play - it is no good if you can't get a game when you want. Obviously the bigger sites like PokerStars avoid this problem.

4. Lastly - support. What is the site like for help with problems and deposit/withdrawal? There is a big difference and some sites (which I might name later) are like Fort Knox to get money out!!

Hello

Hello. I guess!

Welcome to my poker blog - A Guide To Playing Micro Poker.

This blog is aimed at new players to the wonderful game of poker but I hope that anyone who plays the game will get something from it.

First of all I do not profess to be a poker expert, far from it. I have played for about 4 years and have lots still to learn. I have played online with many sites under various different names some with lots of success, others with a certain amount of fail :) The following are sites that I have played at with real money:

PokerStars, FullTilt, PKR, VC Poker Paradise Poker, Doyle's Room, Sky Poker and Noble Poker

As you can see I have sampled a few but this is a tiny fraction of the masses of sites out there.

I have made lots of mistakes and learnt lots of things, some of which I hope to share with you.

I have played live poker at a local casino and at a pub night whilst on holiday. I also host a home game every month or so which see friends come to my flat for a friendly game of poker (if there is such a thing).

I hope to cover many things in this blog especially from the aspect of starting out - Avoiding the mistakes I made and learning the sometimes obvious things it took me weeks or months to work out.

There is a massive amount of poker sites out there and choosing the right one for you can be daunting. They all work in more or less the same way so only a few things should influence your choice.