Pokerbird Has Moved

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Believe in Lucky Cards

For me it’s the two of hearts. You can see how a hand like two of hearts, seven of clubs instantly looks so much more powerful. I'd certainly not pass up the chance of betting on it. Raising... well, not so much really.

Let's get more sensible. Such cards may act as random signals to bluff and as such should not be pooh-poohed. Players use combinations too. Any five and ten is a popular one on the basis that all straights contain one of these cards. So, you're going to hit your opponents with a not-so-well disguised straight.

And then there's that old perennial favourite: ace and... ace. Ha! Don’t make me laugh. The number of times that's failed?

Don't Worry About the Size of Your Bankroll

You'll win soon enough to increase it, and keep on increasing it. Your cash in hand will always be sufficient to cope with the few losses you'll suffer. Oooh, half a dozen at the most; certainly not twenty or thirty on the bounce.

Should Fate actually dare to treat you so badly, simply replenish the bankroll, make a loan to it – you know, just for the short while that you're in the red. It won't be a question of throwing more money at the game; you'll take the loan back when the winning times return.

As they surely must.

Call a LAG Only with a Great Hand

Despite your lack of notes, you’ve identified the guy who’s in every hand and who bets every flop. Time at least mentally to give him the LAG label. Loose-aggressive. You’ve got his number. And you’ve finally got a good hand, better than top pair anyway. Call him all the way to the river, or the end of your stack, whichever is sooner. He'll not beat you this time.

Trouble is: LAGs have a tendency only to stick around when they do have a chance of winning or if they can bully you out of the pot. If you start picking and choosing the hands to stand on, they'll out-guess you every time.

THEY'RE NOT STUPID.

But it’s so much easier to believe that they are.

Texas Hold'em Isn't Proper Poker

So seek out draw or stud games. They'll be easier to come by if you insist on sticking to cash but much harder in tournaments. You may be twiddling your thumbs a while there. Frustrating – always a bad start.

You can overcome this by mixing your games – a dash of draw here, some stud there, a few hands of hold'em in between. Nothing like switching methods and mindset to obscure the basics of poker, which you are still trying to learn, right?

Texas hold'em tournaments – how dull, for an inquiring mind, so make sure they're long ones that require hours of concentration. (You know sit'n'gos make sense really.)