Playing Online Poker Game Going A step further

California USA Justin Kuraitis - Is Poker Game always played with poker chips

California USA Justin Kuraitis plenty of luck in Poker, but the game requires incredibly great skill as well, and each player is the master of his own fate.

THE PACK

The standard 52-card pack, sometimes with the addition of one or two jokers, is used. Poker is a one-pack game, but today, in virtually all games played in clubs and among the best players, two packs of contrasting colors are utilized in order to speed up the game. While one pack is being dealt, the other is being shuffled and prepared for the next deal. The procedure for two packs is as follows: While the deal is in progress, the previous dealer assembles all the cards from the pack he dealt, shuffles them, and places them to the left. When it is time for the next deal, the shuffled deck is passed to the next dealer. In many games in which two packs are used, the dealer's left-hand opponent, instead of the right-hand opponent, cuts the pack.

CARD VALUES/SCORING

While Poker is played in innumerable forms, a player who understands the values of the Poker hands and the principles of betting can play without difficulty in any type of Poker game. Except in a few versions of the game, a Poker hand consists of five cards. The various combinations of Poker hands rank from five of a kind (the highest) to no pair or nothing (the lowest):

Five of a Kind – This is the highest possible hand and can occur only in games where at least one card is wild, such as a joker, the two one-eyed jacks, or the four deuces. Examples of five of a kind would be four 10s and a wild card or two queens and three wild cards.

Straight Flush – This is the highest possible hand when only the standard pack is used, and there are no wild cards. A straight flush consists of five cards of the same suit in sequence, such as 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 of hearts. The highest-ranking straight flush is the A, K, Q, J, and 10 of one suit, and this combination has a special name: a royal flush or a royal straight flush.

Four of a Kind – This is the next highest hand, and it ranks just below a straight flush. An example is four aces or four 3s. It does not matter what the fifth, unmatched card is.

Full House – This colorful hand is made up of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, such as three 8s and two 4s, or three aces and two 6s.

Flush – Five cards, all of the same suit, but not all in sequence, is a flush. An example is Q, 10, 7, 6, and 2 of clubs.

Straight – Five cards in sequence, but not all of the same suit is a straight. An example is 9♥, 8♣, 7♠, 6♦, 5♥.

Three of a Kind – This combination contains three cards of the same rank, and the other two cards each of a different rank, such as three jacks, a seven, and a four.

Two Pairs – This hand contains a pair of one rank and another pair of a different rank, plus any fifth card of a different rank, such as Q, Q, 7, 7, 4.

One Pair – This frequent combination contains just one pair with the other three cards being of different rank. An example is 10, 10, K, 4, 3.

No Pair – Very common hand contains "nothing." None of the five cards pair up, nor are all five cards of the same suit or consecutive in rank. When more than one player has no pair, the hands are rated by the highest card each hand contains.

BETTING

Betting is the key to Poker for the game, in essence, is a game of chip management. In the course of each Poker deal, there will be one or more betting intervals in which the players have an opportunity to bet on their hands. Minimizing losses with poor hands and maximizing winnings with good hands is the underlying skill that Poker requires. Cards are even dealt, the rules of the Poker game being played may require that each player put an initial contribution, called an "ante," of one or more chips into the pot, to start it off.

KNOWING WHEN TO BET

The ranking of Poker hands is based on mathematics. The less likely a player is to get a certain hand, the higher it ranks and the more likely it is to win the pot. For example, a player should not expect to be dealt a straight flush more

THE KITTY

By unanimous or majority agreement, the players may establish a special fund called a "kitty." Usually the kitty is built up by "cutting" (taking) one low-denomination chip from each pot in which there is more than one raise. The kitty belongs to all the players equally, and it is used to pay for new decks of cards or for food and drinks. Any chips left in the kitty when the game ends are divided equally among the players who are still in the game. 

CHIPS

Poker is almost always played with poker chips. Game with seven or more players, there should be a supply of at least 200 chips. White chip (or the lightest-colored chip) is the unit, or lowest-valued chip, worth whatever the minimum ante or bet is; a red chip (or some other colored chip) is worth five whites, and a blue chip (or some other dark-colored chip) is worth 10 or 20 or 25 whites or two, four or five reds.

BANKER

One player should be designated as the banker, who keeps the stock of chips and records how many have been issued to each player or how much cash the player has paid for their chips. Players should make no private transactions or exchanges among themselves; a player with surplus chips may return them to the banker and receive credit or cash for them, while a player who wants more chips should obtain them only from the banker.

BETTING LIMITS

There are different ways of fixing a betting limit. Some limit is necessary; otherwise a player with a lot more money would have, or would be perceived to have, an unfair advantage. 

FIXED LIMIT

No one may bet or raise by more than a stipulated number of chips, for example, two, or five, or 10. Usually this limit varies with the stage of the game: In Draw Poker, if the limit is five before the draw, it might be ten after the draw. In Stud Poker, if the limit is five in the first four betting intervals

POT LIMIT

Any bet or raise is limited to the number of chips in the pot at that time. This means that a player who raises may count as part of the pot the number of chips required for the player to call.

TABLE STAKES

The limit for each player is the number of chips the player has in front of them. If the player has only 10 chips, they may bet no more than 10 and he may call any other player's bet to that extent. In table stakes, no player may withdraw chips from the table, or return chips to the banker, until they leave the game. A player may add to their stack, but only between the deal just completed and the beginning of the next deal.

Sacramento, California Justin Kuraitis - Quickest Way to Play Poker Game

Sacramento, California Justin Kuraitis there are 10 tactics and strategies that will make you a more confident and profitable poker player. Now, this list won’t teach you how to win every time – not even the greatest poker players do that – but it will help you improve, whether you play cash games, tournaments, in live poker rooms, or online.

10 Quick Poker Strategy Tips

You can click any of these poker tips to jump straight to a detailed explanation that will help your game.

1. Play Fewer Hands And Play Them Aggressively

There is a limit on how many starting hands you can play before the flop in No Limit Texas Hold’em, even for the world’s best players. If you try to play too many hands, you’ll bleed away your chip stack (unless lady luck is on your side). The best approach is to play a tight range of strong and/or playable hands, and you need to play those hands aggressively. Playing all of your hands aggressively, including the more speculative ones like 7♠ 6♠ or 5♥ 5♣, allows you to disguise the strength of your actual hand.

When you raise, your opponents won’t know whether you have A-A, A-K, or 7-6, which makes you super tough to play against. Tight and aggressive wins the game!

2. Don’t Be The First Player To Limp

Limping (just calling the big blind preflop) is an absolute no-no as the first player to enter a pot. There are two main reasons why this play should be avoided:

l You can’t win the pot before the flop like you could if you raised.

l You give the players behind very enticing pot odds, making it more likely you face multiple players and thus less likely you win the pot.

l The only acceptable situation in which to limp is when at least one other player has already limped. This is called over-limping, and it can be a good play because you are getting great pot odds to join the action so you can hit something good on the flop, hopefully.

3. “Semi-Bluff” Aggressively with Your Draws

The most effective way to bluff is to let the cards you have dictate if you are going to bluff or not. This means bluffing with hands that have outs to improve to the best hand on a later street, such as straight draws, flush draws, or even just an overcard or two to the board. Think of these draws as your backup plan in case your bluff gets called.

4. Fast-Play Your Strong Hands to Build the Pot and Make More Money

A player checks their flopped nut flush three times, and then has to awkwardly table their monster of a poker hand when their opponent checks back the river. Slow-playing too often is a mistake common among players who are afraid of chasing their opponents out of the pot when they have strong poker hands. It’s best to bet your strong hands to build the pot and protect your equity. That’s not to say you should always bet/raise your strong hands post-flop. You can check your strong hands if:

l It’s unlikely that you will be outdrawn. There aren’t many scare cards to prevent you from getting paid on later streets.

l Your opponent’s range is heavily weighted toward hands with no showdown value.

5. Defend Your Big Blind (with the Right Hands)

Because of your discount and the fact that you are the last person to act preflop, you can profitably call with many more hands than if you were sitting in another position. That’s not to say you should call raises with trash hands like 9♠ 5♦, but the more borderline hands like K♣ 9♦ and Q♥ 6♥ become playable in most situations.

6. Fold When You’re Unsure

The biggest difference between a bad player and a professional player? It’s the good player’s ability to lay down a good hand like top pair when they think they are beaten. This sounds very simple, but it is very hard to do in practice partly because of the way our brains are built. We are naturally curious and we naturally want to win. When we fold, we surrender our chance to win the pot and we don’t get to satisfy our curiosity by finding out what our opponent has.

7. Attack When Your Opponent Shows Weakness

Players don’t check with hands that can call multiple bets as often as they should. This means that, when they do check, they usually have a relatively weak hand that will often fold if faced with multiple bets. This is the “bluffing with nothing” situation I alluded to earlier. When your opponent shows a lot of weakness in a heads-up pot (like if they check on the flop and the turn), you can take advantage of them with an aggressive bluffing strategy.

8. Play Solid Poker Early in Tournaments (Don’t Worry About Survival)

9. Only Play If You Feel Like It

Poker should be a fun experience, regardless if you are playing as a hobby or if you are a professional player. You’re going to perform best when you are happy, so it makes sense that you should only play this mentally intensive game when you feel that way.

10. Only Play In Good Games

Bottom line is that you generally need to be better than half the players at the table if you want to have a positive win-rate. You want to make a sick-good profit, you want to play against the worst players you can find. Here is a checklist for a good poker game:

1. At least one player is limping regularly.

2. There are many multiway pots.

3. Re-raises are either very rare or very frequent.

California Justin Kuraitis - Types of Poker Games Players & Choosing Poker Game Chips

California Justin Kuraitis says a poker party is a great party, best with 6 to 10 people. Here's what you'll need: Between 6 and 10 players; 7 or 8 makes for a great game. If you have more than 10 players then you'll need to split into two tables or play will be too slow.

Someone who knows how to play. It's really going to go better if you have at least one person to explain the rules at the start of the evening,

• Enough poker chips, preferably in four colours 
• 500 chips is enough for up to about 10 people.

It's very reasonable to get nice casino quality chips, they are usually listed as 'clay' chips and should weigh 10 or more grams. A suitable table so you can all sit comfortably round it. For a really fancy game there are some nice table-tops that go over your own table, a cheaper option is some green baize which you can buy the roll.

2 packs of cards with different backs. Proper poker cards have nice clear numbers as people need to be able to read them from the other side of the table. If you have more than 10 players you'll need another two packs as you'll want to split into two tables. Get cards that have been used in Vegas casinos which adds an authentic touch. You don't have any of the stuff then get one of the many poker sets around, they will include the chips, cards and the dealer button. You might also want to print out our helpful list of poker hand nicknames, these are the names people call particular combinations of hole cards. It does sound so much cooler to declare you've got "Big Slick" rather than just "A King and an Ace"

There are an infinite variety of poker games. Starting with Texas Hold'Em as it's currently the most popular so more people are likely to know it. Have a regular game then you might also want to play a few rounds of "dealer calls" where the dealer nominates the game for that round.

Choosing Poker Chips

There are various 'standards' for the colour of poker chips and what they are worth; for instance the state of New Jersey defines these:

Colour Value

White 1

Pink 2.5

Red 5

Blue 10

Yellow 20

Green 25

Black 100

However you probably only want to get four colour so a reasonable set of values might be something like 1, 2, 5 and 25. Want to get more of the lower denomination chips than higher; a reasonable ratio is something like 4/3/2/1 so, for instance, you might want to get 400 white, 300 pink, 200 red and 100 blue chips.

Each player needs to start with a good number of chips, say between 30 and 50, and make sure you have enough left to let people re-buy; you only need the larger value chips left for re-buys as the other players can 'make change'. Not so long ago a nice set was really expensive but they have really come down in price. It's not that much to get nice 'casino quality' chips. Look for ones listed as 'clay' chips weighing 10 - 11.5 grams. Before the game starts & Go over the basic rules. It's fun to give people chips in a 'virtual' currency. So if they buy in for 10 pounds/dollars you give them 1,000 pounds/dollars of chips, it just makes all the pots seem much bigger. Obviously when cashing out you reverse the process! 

Use two packs of cards: at the end of each hand the dealer collects the card, passes the dealer button on and the next dealer starts dealing the second pack. The old dealer shuffles the cards well then passes them to the player after the current dealer ready for a prompt start to the next hand. This keeps the game moving. If you have more than 10 people you probably want to split into two tables.  As people leave you can combine the tables.

If you're going to play for cash rather than just chips then there are three golden rules: 

Golden rule 1: Make sure everyone knows the key rules, especially on re-buys and cashing out.

Golden rule 2: Keep the chip stash in a safe place and have one nominated person (usually the host) who takes the cash and gives chips in return. This person is the only one allowed to do it and has to make up the shortfall if things don't add up. Never trust someone else count of the chips, count them again in front of them before handing over cash. Countless games have had 'unpleasantness' at the end of the evening when someone miscounts when cashing out, leaves and then there isn't enough to pay the remaining players.

 

Golden rule 3: Be fairly strict on the mechanics of the game, proper shuffling & cutting, no string bets, no playing out of turn, re-deal if there's a misdeal, if a player steps away from the table they still have to play blinds etc.

California USA Justin Kuraitis - Why People love to play poker Game

California, USA Justin Kuraitis says People love playing poker because it allows them to influence the game using strategies and also enjoy reading other people to make bets on who has the better card. It only becomes more interesting when you start learning how the professional players change their game style or strategies to bluff or trap other players into betting. These tips will improve your game, so you can make a place among professionals. 

Think about ranges rather than hands

The pros do not concentrate on their hands, but what their opponents possibly has. While the average players think of specific cards that others may have, the pros think in terms of ranges. For example, having a King and an Ace on the table can make the beginners think that the opponent may have a pair of Kind or Ace, but a professional player will be thinking on the range from a pair to a full house or even a royal flush.

There is no favourite hand

If you think Jack and a ten is your favourite hand, you are wrong. The probability of winning is only based on its face value. It is not a sure win every time even when it looks like one. Even a pair of Aces can be beaten easily with a small full house or three of a kind.

Have a consistent strategy

Every professional Poker Player has a consistent strategy to play their games. They may use a different strategy in every tournament, but as long as they are at the table, they try to keep the same strategy for as long as they can. If you keep changing your strategy in between the game, it will backfire in no time and may also cause the tilt.

Avoid tilt at all cost

Talking about tilt, it is one thing that you should always avoid during the games. It is the destroyer of bankrolls and dreams of making it big. Poker is never a sure-shot game, and you will face many defeats while you make profits. You can do nothing about it but just go along with your “luck”. If you fall for the tilt, you will have a hard time recovering. Whenever you find yourself making rash decisions and getting irritated by unexpected losses, you should take a break and relax before you can start again.

California Justin Kuraitis - What is 2-5 No Limit Player in Poker Game

California Justin Kuraitis level of cash games, is the beginning point where a significant amount of money can be made. At lower levels, the lack of stack depth and higher relative rake, cut into profits to a large degree. An intelligent player at these stakes in poker can make enough money to grind out a living if need be. Through countless hours playing in these games, I have recognized a few key traits that are possessed by the best players, at these stakes.

1) This was the structure used when I came up playing and I have a lot of experience

2) There are specific adjustments that must be made to maximize your win rate in these games, due to the shallower stacks.

Some of the topics I will be covering will include: calling too much pre-flop, value betting, recognizing player types, avoiding fancy play, limping and 3 betting.

The ability to recognize player types that you will encounter in these specific games, is critical in determining the correct strategy. By correctly identifying player types, we can play an exploitative strategy that in most situations is the most profitable. The most common player type encountered will be the Loose Passive (LP) recreational player. This player type limps into many pots pre-flop and rarely shows aggression without a strong holding. These are the most profitable and lowest variance players to play against.

The LP players that you encounter are very single minded thinkers in poker. They focus on their hand and not the opponents. Absolute hand strength is more important (one pair, two pair, straight) than the relative strength of their hand. The key strategy to exploit these players is that you can be very aggressive. Due to their lack of aggressiveness, there is little reasoning behind pot controlling weak hands or draws. There is also little fear of folding equity incorrectly in a hand, since most aggressive action is an indication of superior strength. Bet folding hands on turns and river, become your biggest money maker. You are able to go for more semi-bluffs and thinner value versus these players due to lack of aggression.

 

Common player type in these games are the Tight Passive (TP) grinders. This player is similar to the LP, but is very selective in the type of hands played. AJ off-suit is an easy fold under the gun for this player. This player tends to play very fit or fold with hands such as pocket pairs and suited connectors. Like the LP player, this player shows little aggression with out a strong hand. A three-bet pre-flop is likely a big pocket pair, or a check-raise is an indication of a flopped set. The main difference is that the TP player is playing a tight range pre-flop. With a tight range, he will flop stronger hands and be able to continue on more flops. We want to have a lower continuation bet percentage versus this player, then the LP who is more likely to miss flops with a wider range. An example may be a TP player calling my early position range and the flop coming KQ5.

 

The Gambler is playing many hands, just like the LP, but is coming in for a raise pre-flop. The Gambler is there for entertainment and lacks patience and discipline of a LAG player. The Gambler doesn’t like to be bluffed out of pots, thus we should resort to less bluffs and thinner value bets versus this player. The Gambler will be playing very wide ranges pre flop, thus they will miss lots of flops. They will use their post flop aggression to make up for missing flops. They are likely to have a very high continuation bet frequency, thus we should fold less flops versus this player.

 

Simple concept, but many players fail to properly categorize players when first sitting down at the table. Throughout the first 20-30 minutes in your session, you should be focusing on players learning their style. Also remember that players change their style throughout the session. Continuously have a mental checkup on how players are playing every couple of orbits. Recognize how players change in style when losing money, winning money, of facing a bad beat. All players will react different and your ability to recognize and adjust will translate to more profit. You can also use player types to help with your table selection, which is very important.

Justin Kuraitis - Ways to Improve Your Poker Game with Poker Copilot

Justin Kuraitis guide to analysing your hand history with Poker Copilot. Make sure you have plenty of hands in your Poker Copilot database first. Choose first if you are focused on your cash game skills or your tournament skills, your Hold’em or Omaha game, and your preferred table size. All the instructions here assume you are analysing 6-max No Limit Hold’em cash games.

1. Set the Filters

In Poker Copilot’s filter, set table size to 6 Players Max, and set game type to No Limit Hold’em. If you believe your playing style has changed a lot in recent months, consider setting the date to 6 Months.

2. Check Your Preflop Aggression

New poker players are scared of raising. They tend to call which is an easy way to lose money. If your hand is worth playing, then you should often raise. If it is not worth playing, you should fold. Beware the temptation to call.

3. Check Your Positional Awareness

Poker players soon learn to be more loose, the closer they are to the dealer button. When in the button you get more information before making a decision; conversely when you are under the gun you need to decide with less information than any other player. The number you see next to each position is how often you put money in the pot from each position. The number should be consistently decreasing as you move away from the button.

4. Check Your Blind Stealing

Blind stealing, if done well, is highly profitable. When you are on the button, and every one has folded before you, you have a blind steal opportunity. Many players are timid at blind stealing. If in doubt, try to steal. Do this often, and you’ll have an extremely high “big blinds won per 100 hands” for blind steal attempts. 20 times, 50 times, even 100 times your normal win rate is common.

5. Check Your Blind Defending

Consider only the hands in which you are the big blind, and are facing a blind steal attempt. If you folded your big blind every time you were in this situation, you’d lose exactly one big blind per hand, which is a precise average of 100 big blinds/100 hands.

How to check if this is the case.

l In Poker Copilot’s filter bar, select More -> Advanced -> Steal -> Had Opportunity to Defend the Big Blind Against a Steal Attempt -> true

l In Poker Copilot’s left hand menu, select Position

l The “by Position” table will show exactly one row. This is a summary of all your blind defence attempts.

l Find the Avg Win (BB/100 Hands) column.

6. Check How You Play Pocket Pairs

Remove all filters except 6 Players Max and No Limit Hold’em. From the Leak Detectors select Pocket Pairs. Click on Start for Ring Games.First column make sure AA through 88 all show a VPIP of at least 85%. Less than that means you are too timid with these powerful hands. AA, KK, QQ should all have a VPIP close to 100%.

In the second column, you want an extremely high ratio of PFR to VPIP. These are raising hands, not calling hands. You should have a positive value for Big blinds won/100 hands for every single pocket pair. If there are exceptions, then you’ve got a big leak. Over the long run, you should not be losing money from any pocket pair.

7. Check How You Play Suited Connectors

Here you want to check that you are not overplaying suited connectors. It is too easy to misread these as powerful hands. Being connected only adds roughly 2% to your chances of winning, so don’t, for example, get too attached to T9 suited. The percentage should quickly drop for VPIP and Preflop Raised as you move down the list of suited connectors.

Check your Big blinds won/100 hands. AK is a premium hand, and you should have an extremely high number here. For other hands, look for any with a big loss. Consider folding these hands more often.

8. Check Your Continuation Bets

A continuation bet is when you continue your preflop aggression on the flop. You should be doing this the majority of the time. You want to make your opponents uncertain about their hands, even if they hit the flop. If you don’t have a good reason for checking on the flop after being the last to raise preflop, then you should be betting.

When an opponent calls your preflop raise and sees the flop, they are probably going to miss the flop roughly two-thirds of the time. Furthermore they probably think you've got a good hand. Your continuation bet gives the impression that your hand is good and you've hit the flop. It is an intimidating move and should be part of your poker toolkit.