Pros step into the poker game with confidence. They have such a
wealth of playing experience that they can make tough betting
decisions in a very timely manner. That means that they give the
odds proper consideration, keep appraised of the other players,
and make their play. This is the persona you need to adopt when
you play.

To be a shark you need to act the part.

Sit up straight like a professional. Clean the area around your
computer desk and stay organized. Prepare. Have any note taking
material handy. Plan your game play on a tight schedule. Start at a
precise time; review the casinos and tables for a pre-determined
period of time before you play. Be observant. Start play when you
are certain you have the right table in your sites. Watch the other
players carefully and make notes. Never be sloppy about your
playing time.

Remember, you are a shark, play at the pace of a shark. You scull
through the water, your eyes alert. You make thoughtful and
purposeful moves. You appraise your environment. Occasionally,
when the time is right and your prey is unprepared, you strike
aggressively and purposefully. You raise and re-raise. You push
out weaker players. You gain respect from all of those around you.
Your opponents know only one thing about you – that you have a
significant stack in front of you and you seem to know everyone’s
cards before they are shown.

You are never rattled even by a string of bad beats. They mean
nothing in the big picture to you. You play to win over the long
haul. Small bad breaks have no consequence for you. If you
become tired or you’re just not happy with the table, you leave.
And then after exactly one hour, you finish playing regardless of
your status and take a break. You then carefully polish your notes
regarding how you played and what you have learned – and
record your wins and losses. That’s one of your secret weapons.

You must keep detailed financial records. A business cannot be
successful without detailed financials and neither can you. You
must know exactly how much you have won or loss every time
you play. Be precise. If you won $102.50, then make that your
answer if anyone asks. Or maybe you lost $45.75. Get in the habit
of being exacting. That’s the key to tight play.

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When the stakes required to play a game of Texas Hold’em
increase, there is not a proportional increase in the average
winnings or money flow because most players, especially at the
start of play, play tighter at higher stakes.

Here’s how that works.

Higher stakes cause players to be more cautious. Pots do not grow
proportionately as the stakes and blinds increase. Your return on
investment will therefore decrease as the minimum blind goes up.

Most major online casinos release data on hands played (for a
price) on a regular basis. A recent study (June 2004) from one of
the largest online casinos, based on several million actual hands of
Poker played, revealed that the return on investment varies quite a
bit based on the maximum bet.

In the $2 games, the value of the winning pot varied from 28 to 37
times the Big Blind (BB) – the most you would have to invest to see
the flop (short of raises). The average pots were in the $60 range.
With the right cards, you could expect a return of 3000% on a
winning hand.

Are Low Stake Tables Faster?

Not necessarily. Texas Hold’em is the king of fast play. Several
$1000 plus pots were played in less than a minute and ranged as
long as 6 minutes – the same range for the small stake tables. Over
all, the average length of an online Poker game today is just over
one minute or 50-60 hands per hour.

In higher stakes games, one thing is quite clear. There are a higher
percentage of tighter and aggressive players at these tables than at
the small stake games. That means there are more sharks at the big
tables and a much better chance that you will be one of the fish.
The smart thing to do here is to say away from these kinds of
tables.

Given the fact that the return on investment is lower at the high
stake games, that the average level of play is much more
aggressive and that a much larger stake is required, there is very
little opportunity to be a consistent winner on tables with $50 and
up blinds.

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If you haven’t already noticed, probability is a huge factor in Texas Hold ʹem. For example, there are 2,598,960 possible hands in a 52‐
card deck but only 4 Royal Flushes. If the average serious poker player is dealt 100,000 hands in their lifetime, they will never hold (on the first five cards) more than 4 percent of all the possible
hands. And likely a lot less.

Figuring out straight card combinations for the purpose of this text are called Card Odds (you will be introduced to other kinds of odds later). Card Odds can reveal some quite interesting information. For example, how many pat straight flushes will you see in your
lifetime? To determine that number, the expected number of hands that could be dealt during your lifetime is estimated by the
following calculation:

10 complete poker hands / hr. x 5 hrs. / game x 50 games / yr.
x 40 yrs. / poker life = l00,000 hands of poker per lifetime.
This is a pretty aggressive estimate, as most people will never
come close to this number of complete hands in Texas Hold’em.
Based on this level of play, the number of pat (on the first five
cards) poker hands that you should get during your lifetime is
calculated from the card odds and tabulated as follows:

Cards Dealt | Number of Pat Hands
No pair 50,000
One pair 40,00
Two pair 5,000
Three of a kind 2,000
Straight 400
Flush 200
Full house 170
Four of a kind 25
Straight flush 1.4
Royal straight flush 0.15

So statistically, you should see a pat straight flush on your firstfive cards once or twice during your lifetime. Most average poker players will never see even one.

Card players often talk about having a ‘lucky streak’ or a ‘run’. Mathematically, ‘streaks’ don’t exist. But suppose you did have an
amazing run of cards one evening. What would the odds be of having five consecutive straight flushes in a row?

Players use card odds to make playing decisions. A decision made without taking into account card odds makes poker a guessing
game. The chances of finishing a flush or a straight, the probability of getting an over card (face card), the percentage of times youʹre
going to flop a card to match your pocket pair ‐ are all extremely important factors in Texas Hold’em.

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Many players play two tables, read e-mail, watch television, talk on the telephone,
and many other things that might distract them from the game. Since there are so
many distractions, some of your opponents may not be aware of all the action that
is taking place. This is yet another reason to use less deception in your game, since
some of your opponents will not even see some of your plays so that you can gain
some future value out of them.

One final point about play on the Internet. Since players move in and out of games
a lot, can’t see your face, and are distracted by many other things, they tend to
notice less that you are playing a tight game. In a live game, if you sit there a
couple of hours without playing a hand, don’t expect a lot of action when yon decide
to bet or raise. On the Internet, you can play a straightforward tight game for a long
time and still get good action when you bet since opponents either do not notice or
have not had enough time to realize that you are such a tight player.
On the other hand, if you don’t play many hands in a live game, your chances for
pulling off a successful bluff are high, while on the Internet I doubt this gives you
much of an advantage. A bluff on the Internet is usually only profitable by the merits
of the play of the particular hand, not by table image.

Table image is not as important online as in a live poker game since players are
easily distracted and move in and out of games a lot; therefore, generally play a more
straightforward tight game online than you would in a live game.

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One of the enjoyable things about poker is the social aspect of the game. Although the Internet is very different than live play in this aspect, the chat feature adds a unique dimension to Internet poker. Of course, you can chat in live games, but if people said the same things in a live game that they sometimes say on the Internet, there would be a lot of bloody noses sitting at the table. Although some players abusethe chat feature, in general it adds a great dimension that allows you to talk to players from all over the world.

Internet chat has created a lot of jargon to shorten the amount of typing required.

One of the most popular is lol or Laugh Out Loud. Most players use this to laugh athow a hand developed usually in a bad beat situation, but it can also be used as a laugh in general. Arg is another common term used when someone is not happy with something. Some other common terms you will see include:

Smiling face

Frown

vnh Very nice hand

brb Be right back

tx or ty Thanks

woohoo Celebration

zzzz Going to sleep from the slow play

t Testing or time

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The basic steps in applying odds at the poker table are as follows:

1. Determine the number of discounted outs.
2. Calculate the pot odds. This is the size of the pot in relation to the bet.
3. Calculate the implied pot odds. This is the current pot plus the bets you
expect to win in relation to the current bet.
4. Compare the implied pot odds to the odds against improving your hand
5. Determine your best strategy.

Let’s look at a few examples to show how to apply these steps.
A middle player calls and you raise from the cutoff with K♣ Q♥ in a $10-$20 game. The big blind calls and three players see the flop of T♣ 7♦ 5♠. The big blind, a tight rock who never bluffs, bets out and the middle player folds. What should you do?

• Determine the number of discounted outs. We assume your opponent has at least a pair since he never bluffs; therefore, you need a king or queen to improve, which is six outs. You would be drawing dead against TT, 77, or 55, unless you hit a runner-runner straight. Other likely holdings of your opponent include AT, KT, QT. and JT. In this case, a king or queen would not help against either KT or QT. It is doubtful that your opponent would call a raise preflop with K7, K5, Q7, Q5, T7, 75, or T5: therefore, you only need to discount your outs for the probability that your opponent holds KT, QT, TT, 77, or 55. One other consideration is what could happen if you hit the king or queen on
the turn. Your opponent could possibly win on the river by hitting two pair or better. You should discount your outs a little more for this possibility. To determine how much you should discount your outs, it is helpful to evaluate the probable hands of your opponent. Probable hands that you could beat if you improve include JJ, AT, A7, A5, JTs, and 99. Discounting outs is always a matter of judgment, but you might expect to win this hand 50% of the time when you improve, considering the possibility that your opponent might have a set, KT, QT, or improve on the river. Therefore, you should discount your six outs and play as if you had three outs.

• Calculate the pot odds. The total pot at this point is $75 (three players paid $20 to see the flop + $5 small blind + $10 bet on flop by the big blind): therefore, your pot odds are 7.5 to 1 for a $10 her.

• Calculate the implied pot odds. Do you expect to win more bets when the king or queen comes? You should win bets 50% of the time when you improve, but you will lose more bets the other 50% when your opponent has a better hand. A simplified assumption would be that all future bets break even.

• Compare the implied pot odds to the odds against improving your hand. In this case, we look at the pot odds since the implied odds are the same. The pot odds of 7.5 to 1 are compared to the odds against improving with three outs of 15 to 1 (see out chart).

• Determine your best strategy. The odds against improving are 15 to 1; therefore, we should fold since the pot odds are only offering 7.5 to 1.

Let’s discuss this hand a little further to show the importance of discounting outs. Many players draw to overcards on the flop hoping to pair up, and this example shows that this often is a big mistake. If we played our hand thinking we have six outs to the king or queen, our odds are 7 to 1 against improving. This compares favorably to the 7.5 to 1 pot odds; therefore, we would call expecting to make a
small profit. However, this assumes we would always win when the king or queen comes. As we discussed before, our opponent could very well have KT, QT, TT, 77, 55 or beat us on the river.

Some players also justify calling by saying that they have implied odds of winning more bets should they improve. This is true if your hand wins, although sometimes you won’t even collect more bets when your opponent folds on the turn to a bet or raise. The problem is that sometimes you will lose additional bets. If your king or queen comes on the turn, you will probably raise and then be faced with a reraise, if
your opponent has a set or two pair.

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Let’s look at another example of $10-$20. An early and middle position player call. You call on the button with A♣ 5♣. The small blind calls and five players see the flop of K♣ 9♣ 4♦. The small blind bets and the big blind folds. A strong player in early position raises. The middle position player folds. What should you do?

• Determine the number of discounted outs. The early position player most likely has a pair of kings and might have 99. The small blind most likely has a pair of kings, K9, 99, 44, or possibly a flush draw. You have nine outs to the nut flush and three ours to the ace. If one of your opponents has a set or two pair, you could hit your flush and possibly lose to a full house; therefore, a small discount I needed. An estimate might be to discount your flush draw from nine outs to eight outs. Your three outs to the ace need to be discounted since you would lose to AA,
KK, 99, 44, AK, A9, A4, K9, K4, 94, and for the possibility that someone hits a better hand on the river. Again, (his is a matter of judgment, but you might estimate that a pair of aces would win about 33% of the time; therefore, you could discount your three outs to one out. As a result, I would play the hand as if J had nine discounted outs.

• Calculate the pot odds. The total pot at this point is $80 (five players paid $10 to see the flop + $10 bet on flop by the small blind + $20 raise by the early position player). You face a bet of $20, so your pot odds are 4 to 1.

• Calculate the implied pot odds. If you hit the flush on the turn or river, you can expect to gain some extra bets, especially if one of the players has a set. Since there are two opponents in this hand, you might expect to gain at least one big bet on the turn and one big bet on the river for a total of $120 ($80+$20 + $20). Your implied odds are 6 to 1 faced with a $20 bet. Note: A big bet is the amount of a bet on the turn and river, compared to small bets on the first two rounds of betting.

• Compare the implied pot odds to the odds against improving your hand. Nine outs are 4 to 1 against improving, which are equal to the pot odds of 4 to 1; however, your odds compare favorably to the implied pot odds of 6 to 1.

• Determine your best strategy. Calling is profitable. Raising is a consideration to try to buy a free card.

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Let’s look at one more example of $10-$20. You raise in early position with J♥ J♠. Two middle players, the button, small blind, and big blind all call for a total of six players. The flop is T♣ 8♦ 8♥. It is checked to you, and you bet. One middle player, the button, and small blind call. Four players see the turn card of Q♦. The small blind checks and you bet. The middle position player raises and everybody folds to you. There is $220 in the pot. What do you do?

• Determine the number of discounted outs. Assuming the middle player is not a tricky opponent, your opponent has at least a pair of queens with a band like AQ or KQ. He might also have TT, 88, or A8. QQ is unlikely since he probably would have reraised preflop. Q8, J9, and T8 are unlikely since he probably would have folded to a raise before the flop. You have four outs 10 a straight and two outs to a full house. Your two outs to the full house are strong since the only two hands that would beat you are QQ and 88. Your four outs to the straight are relatively strong unless your opponent has QQ, TT, 88, or 98, QQ and 88 are unlikely, but TT is a decent possibility. Only a weak player would call a raise preflop with 98s. One other small possibility is that your opponent has QJ, in which case you would split the pot if a 9 comes. Therefore, I would only discount your six outs by one out to account for QQ, TT, 88, and QJ, and play the hand as if you had five outs.

• Calculate the pot odds. The total pot is $220 and the bet is $20, so your pot odds are 11 to 1.

• Calculate the implied pot odds. You should expect to earn another bet on the river if you improve. You might lose two bets on the river if you come out betting with the straight and lose to a full house. You might estimate that you would win $15 on average when improving; therefore, the implied odds are $235/20, which are 11.75 to 1.

• Compare the implied pot odds to the odds against improving your hand. 11.75 to 1 implied pot odds compares favorably to the 8 to 1 odds against improving with five outs.

• Determine your best strategy. Given the large pot, calling is correct.

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Here are some common odds that can be helpful or just interesting to know:
Dealt a pocket pair 16 to 1
AA 220 to 1
Any AK {suited or unsuited) 82 to 1
Three-suited flops 18 to 1 or 5%
Two-suited flops 55%
An A will flop (and no K) when you hold KK 3.3 to 1 or 23%
An A or K flops (and no Q) when you hold QQ 1.3 to 1 or 43%
An A, K, or Q flops (and no J) when you hold JJ 7 to 1 or 59%
Flopping at least a pair with any two cards 2.2 to 1 or 32%
Flopping at least a set when you hold a pair 7.5 to 1
Flopping a flush when holding two suits 118 to 1
Completing a flush when starting with two suited cards 15 to 1 or 6%
Flopping a flush draw when holding two suits 8 to 1
Completing the flush draw by the river 1.8 to 1
Backdoor flush 23 to 1 or 4.2%
KK loses to QQ if played to river 4.4 to 1
Set on flop completing to full house 2 to 1 or 33%
2♥ 2♦ beats A♠ K♣ 53%

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Probability tells you how many times an event will happen while odds tell you howmany times an event will not happen. For example, the odds are 3 to 1 againstimproving your hand while the probability of improving your hand is 25% or 1 in 4. Pot odds is the relationship between the current pot and the current bet Implied pot odds is the relationship between the current pot and the bets you expect to win, tthe current bet.

An out is a card that improves your hand. An out is counterfeited when a card that improves your hand improves your opponent’s hand to an even better hand. Outs that are potentially counterfeited should be discounted when calculating odds, and disregarded if you are probably drawing dead.

On the Internet, you can simply post a chart next to your computer showing you the odds against improving your hand for each number of outs. One of the most common mistakes made by many players is assuming that they will win when a particular card improves their hand. When determining your outs, you must look at those outs that will improve your hand to the winning hand. Whenever the flop is two-suited, you should discount a suited out against a lone opponent and probably disregard the out against several opponents for the risk that
one of them holds a flush draw. When drawing on the flop, you should discount your outs a little, and maybe a lot, for the probability that your opponents could draw to an even better hand on the river.

The basic steps in applying odds at the poker table are as follows:
1. Determine the number of discounted outs.
2. Calculate the pot odds.
3. Calculate the implied pot odds.
4. Compare the implied pot odds to the odds against improving your hand.
5. Determine your best strategy.

In many cases, it is the size of the pot that determines if drawing to a particular hand is profitable. Given the same exact hand and scenario, your hand could either be folded or played depending on me size of the pot.

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