Texas Holdem Players

[djnewb]

Hi Everyone

Just checking to see who plays Holdem regularly on the forums here, wether it be online, at friends houses, or even at the Casino's.

Also, if anyone wants to trade tips, or good websites on holdem, or even books.

Lets discuss on this wonderful lucky game

 

[rgeere]

Count cards, it makes the world go round .. and also bluff alot.

Heck, I once played a game with 5 people, broke 4 of them, and finally lost to the last guy. I was basically winning hands by bluffing on pairs of twos. It is easier to do when you play with people you don't know and there are more than 3 people playing.

 

[rgeere]

Originally posted by mizter6
hahaha if im right this popularity of hold'em has hit california hard especially southern california im not sure about other areas but holden just recently got popular last year. our city just had a holden tournament for all ages yesterday! but damn it! that game is just pureluck, skill level is low

Not really, if you are good at bluffing you can get people to fold out. Counting cards is hard, but still possible.

 

[djnewb]

Luck is definitely a factor, but their is skill invovled.

If anyone has seen the movie Rounders with Matt daemon, it talks about the life of texas holdem and such, and in one part of the movie, the main character says something along the lines of the game not being based on luck if the same people keep winning the world poker championships each year.

But yea, i've grown to love this game and how anyone can get into it.

 

[PRMoon]

My friends play alot of texas hold em. There are some serious sharks here in vegas. Betting gets a little confusing in no limit games.

 

[Giovanni Casanova]

Originally posted by mizter6
but damn it! that game is just pureluck, skill level is low

Totally false.

Texas Hold Em has more skill involved than almost any other casino game. You have to be able to calculate odds, read the body language and facial expressions of other people, bluff when needed, and know when to muck your cards.

There's a lot of skill involved.

 

[Skel]

LOl you cant count cards in holdem. Reshuffle deck each hand duh. Its not blackjack

 

[Maniax]

Originally posted by djnewb
Luck is definitely a factor, but their is skill invovled.

If anyone has seen the movie Rounders with Matt daemon, it talks about the life of texas holdem and such, and in one part of the movie, the main character says something along the lines of the game not being based on luck if the same people keep winning the world poker championships each year.

But yea, i've grown to love this game and how anyone can get into it.

Actually, that quote is a complete falsehood. The same people don't win the championship every year. The champs from last year most likely won't even make it to the top 10 this year, and so on. To win a tournament is more luck than people would like to admit, because you need to have a good amount of good hands in a very short time, with not a lot of hands being dealt.

That being said, to be a profitable player who makes money OVER TIME, is definitely a matter of skill and not luck. Over time, all players will get the same hands. Your profit over time will be determined much more by skill than by luck. Even the best players have bad days.

 

[rgeere]

Originally posted by Skel
LOl you cant count cards in holdem. Reshuffle deck each hand duh. Its not blackjack

I know, that's why I said it was harder, but still possible. I've predicted before by going with gut feelings and remembering the cards that have already been played.

 

[PRMoon]

hmmm kinda hard to remember which cards have been played when alot of the time people fold without showing their hands.

I really can't say how many of you have actually sat down in a legitamate poker room with people who do this for a living. But it's definatly a mixture of luck, skill, and ballz.

It's defintely more then just having a good hand and reading the board. A really good poker player knows how to get inside your head and psych you out to the point where you won't remember any kind of fundamentals that you brought to the table with you. It takes nerve to stay in and out wit your opponent, gotta keep cool. You also have to know exactly how to bet on which hands. depending on the game type of game and limits to betting may alter the types of bets on the cards you get. Smart betting keeps you in the game and also aids you in getting some of the other players out faster. Having subconsious tells while at the table has alot to do with how you play.

There are alot of intangibles to playing holdem, it's definately not an easy game but casinos love it because they really don't have anything to loose. You have to buy in so there money is garunteed there and since you wager against other players, they don't really lose anything.

 

[Maniax]

Originally posted by rgeere
I know, that's why I said it was harder, but still possible. I've predicted before by going with gut feelings and remembering the cards that have already been played.

That makes no sense, at least concerning the laws of probability. Just because last time there was a club flush on the board doesn't mean it can't happen again this time. They are independent of each other.

If I understand you right, your assumption goes something like this: If I flip a coin 10 times in a row and get tails, you'll bet a million bucks that on the next flip it's going to be heads. And you know what your chances would be? 50/50. That's it. Each toss is independent of the previous toss. Read up on probability theory if this is still confusing.

 

[rgeere]

Naw, I perfer not to totally intellectualize my winning strategies. I still consider what I do card counting even though there is a random element. My memory is also semi-eidetic, which helps alot.

 

[Maniax]

Originally posted by rgeere
Naw, I perfer not to totally intellectualize my winning strategies. I still consider what I do card counting even though there is a random element. My memory is also semi-eidetic, which helps alot.

If that's true, then perhaps blackjack would be more suited to your abilities. If you base your poker strategy solely on your semi-eidetic memory, then I can assure you that this strategy is mildly profitable at best.

 

[Giovanni Casanova]

Originally posted by Maniax
Actually, that quote is a complete falsehood. The same people don't win the championship every year. The champs from last year most likely won't even make it to the top 10 this year, and so on.

Yes, but why is it that although every year there are thousands of people who play the World Series of Poker and other major Hold Em tournaments, the same names -- Howard Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, Scott Fischman, Phil Gordon, Chris Ferguson (Jesus), Dutch Boyd, Men the Master, etc. -- always seem to make it to the final table?

 

[djnewb]

There are some ways to estimate card counting although I'm sure scienticficly its not very possible.

One trick I use is I always raise on high cards, which most people do anyways, and I judge by how many players go in on my raise. If i'm playing in a table of 6, and 5 go in with me, I assume that most of these players have atleast a high card. If I have an ace, and the flop has no aces, I assume that atleast 2 players in that 5 will have an ace, if not someone could even have the pocket aces. In all likelyhood my assumptions can be totally wrong, but playing enough hands that I have has showed that this assumption usually pays off for me.

I'm sure there are other tricks to "count the cards" or see whats possible.

All in all, I definitely believe there is skill to this game, and that its possible to learn and master it to beat the odds.

Remember, Texas holdem is a game against the PLAYERS and not the HOUSE/CASINO, theres no odds against you or any other person, its all fair game.

 

[Giovanni Casanova]

Originally posted by djnewb
One trick I use is I always raise on high cards, which most people do anyways, and I judge by how many players go in on my raise. If i'm playing in a table of 6, and 5 go in with me, I assume that most of these players have atleast a high card. If I have an ace, and the flop has no aces, I assume that atleast 2 players in that 5 will have an ace, if not someone could even have the pocket aces. In all likelyhood my assumptions can be totally wrong, but playing enough hands that I have has showed that this assumption usually pays off for me.

That's not even CLOSE to counting cards. That's a very primitive form of calculating your odds of winning a hand. In other words, all you're doing is playing the game. It's not a trick or cheating or anything.

 

[Skel]

Originally posted by rgeere
I know, that's why I said it was harder, but still possible. I've predicted before by going with gut feelings and remembering the cards that have already been played.

I have played holdem for many years. I know its not about counting cards but about knowing your outs. This mainly depends on the amount of players playing at a table.

 

[Giovanni Casanova]

It's like this... if you're holding pocket aces before the flop, you have the best hand. You're beating everyone... for now.

But if the guy to your left has pocket kings, and a king, jack, nine comes off the flop, then your opponent has a better hand than you.

If a ten comes off the river, your opponent still has a better hand than you, but I'd be damn worried about anyone who might have a queen in their hand.

When good players muck their cards, they aren't going to show you that they had a queen and a jack. You just won't know. The only time you can tell something like that is when you're watching World Poker Tour.

PS... in the above hand, catching one of the two remaining aces or getting a queen will give you a winning hand.

 

[Alpine]

Poker for Dummies is actually a pretty good book. Worth a read even if you are good.

 

[cinephile]

I love to play Texas Hold'um. While I usually play in a regular weekly game, I have now started playing online at Planet Poker. I usually play in the free game just to help me keep in practice for my regular Friday game. I think once I get my Tax check back, though, I am going to put $100 in and see what I can do.