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Short Handed Pocker

December 16, 2005

If you are caught almost every time you bluff at pocker, you're bluffing much too frequently. If you call all the time, you will never lose a pot you could have won, and if you seldom call, your opponents will learn that they can win by betting and driving you off the pot unless you have a very strong hand. Bluffing, after all, is much like mom's advice: "All things in moderation."

If you want to sound worldly, tell your friends you're practicing Kai-zen, a Japanese management philosophy. A key element of Kai-zen is to improve at a more rapidly than your competition -- catching, and passing them, while continuing to strive for improvement. If you are a serious party pocker player, or even an aspiring pocker player who wants to become a serious one, Kai-zen is worth building into your makeup.

Pocker Ducks

Betting limits are $10 until the fifth card is dealt (fifth street, in pocker parlance) at which point all bets and raises are in $20 increments. (But if there's an open pair on fourth street any player has the option to bet $20 on that round, too.) Most of your opponents will play too many weak starting cards, and call when they should fold. You, however, should be more selective. Deciding whether to continue with the hand you've been dealt is a critically important decision.

Toss it in the muck (the discards) and your hand is fouled. It cannot win. If you are uncertain about whether you hold the free pocker hand at the showdown, turn it face up and let the dealer read your hand. The rule is: Cards speak! But dealers are human and can make mistakes. If you think you hold the best hand turn it face up and announce it. Let the dealer determine the outcome. In fact, if you are unsure of anything, just call "Time!" Then get your questions resolved prior to acting.

Pots sometimes grow to be quite large, particularly when there has been a raise before the flop. This can tie lots of players to the pot, and if the flop provides a flush draw or straight draw to your opponents, you can be certain that they'll be there to the end. If the straight or flush cards fail to come, a bet usually will eliminate any opponents who were drawing.

No Limit Pocker Anarchy

If you have the best hand, betting gets more money into the pot and makes it expensive for anyone to draw out on you. But it's not a totally risk-free strategy. If your opponent has made a set or has turned a straight, you can count on being raised or reraised. And when you don't? It's unfortunate, but true: Most of the time, the turn card will not help you. What's a player to do?

That's a big edge, since some starting hands play better against a large number of opponents, while others play better against a smaller field. In late position, you'll also know which of your adversaries are representing strength. The later you act, the more information there is at your disposal, and pocker is a game of information - incomplete information, to be sure, but it's a game of information, nevertheless.

While Hold'em may look like seven-card stud, it is a different game altogether. Texas Hold'em is also the fastest growing when you play pocker game in the world, and is the game used to determine the world champion at the World Series of Pocker. In this series, I'll present a short course in Texas Hold'em, designed for beginning players. You won't be an expert at this series' conclusion, but you'll have enough information to allow you to hold your own in most lower-limit games.