AA Pocket Rockets, Bullets, American Airlines
KK Cowboys, King Kong
QQ Double date, Canadian Aces, Siegfried and Roy
JJ Fish hooks
99 German virgin
88 Snowmen
77 Sunset strip
66 Route 66
55 Speed limit
44 Magnum, Sail boat
33 Crabs
22 Ducks
AK Big slick
AQ Big chick
AJ Black Jack, Jack-ass
KQ Royalty, Marriage
KJ Kojak J5 Jackson five
Q3 Gay waiter
95 Dolly Parton
A8 Dead man’s hand
K9 Canine
J4 Flat tyre
93 The Sikh

Not only are you far less likely to be interrupted by masked gunmen (unless, of course, you are James Bond) but you are able to dip in and out as you will. The pressure involved at international poker tournaments is immense, as the best players in world poker lock horns for the biggest prizes. Imagine earning a seat at the EPT to find yourself sitting across from Phil Hellmuth or Johnny Chan, two herculean legends of the common game and both members of the Poker Hall of Fame. It would be enough for an amateur player to call it a day there and then!

The flip side of this coin is that to become the best one must defeat the best. Hiding yourself away out of fear is no way to progress in poker, just as it is not in life. Should a player earn his seat at the World Series of Poker, for example, he should remember that the key word in that sentence is “earn”. He (or she) has a right to be there, and would not have gotten to that stage without having some skill at the game, be it worked at long and hard or a God-given talent for playing cards. In either case, the pressure can build up, and even the greatest players may feel a cold trickle of sweat glistening on their brow. In such a thing were to happen, amateur players should know that there are methods players can undertake to help them relax and focus their mind.

The key method to relax in a major poker tournament with the pressure building is to concentrate on the task at hand. It may seem ridiculous to say “be one with the cards” but this is exactly the point. Carlton Hammersmith, Professor in Sports Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, believes that the conscious mind can subjugate the unconscious mind to the sportsman’s benefit. “Believing in your own ability is a huge factor for all sportsmen and women,” he says. “The constant reiteration of belief informs the subconscious, relieving those doubts that can creep into even the strongest of minds. In this case, the game of high-pressure poker is no different from that of World Cup football or Olympic athletics.”

In truth, playing at a poker tournament is no more dangerous than heading to your bank to make a deposit into your account. While it may be safer to play online it is by no means the same in terms of atmosphere or experience. In order to sample the true spirit of the game as depicted in the myths and legends of our time and face our own poker demons we must make that journey into the belly of the whale and return victorious with a Golden Fleece of our own.

Playing the outside of the board offers up a lot of exciting options for gamers. One of our favorite playing methods is playing the 12s, or dozens. This refers to betting on whether the ball will land on 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36.

When you play the first, second or third set of numbers of the roulette wheel, the payout increases. Hitting your third of the board will result in a healthy 2-1 payout.

Betting Examples and Payout:

You are playing the outside and wager 10 dollars on the first 12. After the dealer spins the ball, it settles on 9Red. That is between 1-12, so your bet won! Collect $30 total from the table (the $10 you wagered, plus the $20 you won).

If you bet the first dozen and the ball landed on 0, 00 or 13-36, your wager lost. The dealer collects your $10 bet and it is time for the next round of wagering.

Players use a variety of betting systems in roulette – especially in the 12s because of the higher payout and relatively low risk (compared to individual numbers betting).

Playing the dozens is a great way to progress from playing the easier to track outside options like Odd/Even, Black/Red or 1-18/19-36. The payouts are easier to understand that some ‘inside’ options as well.

While learning to play roulette, think about starting from the outside and working your way in.

Next time you are at the roulette wheel, check out the 12s and see if you like the pace, payouts and strategy.

It’s so simple…

And so obvious…

Yet no one seems to get it!

What’s this easy-to-use secret for beating Sit and Go tournaments online?

The answer is this:

PATIENCE.

I know… I know… you were expecting something more, um… “secretive”.

But the truth is, winning at Sit and Go’s is pretty damn easy. I find them easier than “real” poker games, actually.

And that’s why every time I turn on the computer these days I feel like a kid in a candy store… ready to clean out the amateurs at the poker room of my choosing.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

What I want to discuss here is why PATIENCE is so critical for Sit and Go success.

First, let’s get back to some basics. There are four types of poker playing styles:

1. Tight-Passive
2. Tight-Aggressive
3. Loose-Passive
4. Loose-Aggressive

Your style should be tight-aggressive.

Don’t confuse “styles” with “preferences”. If you want to be a good card player, you DON’T get to DECIDE to be tight-aggressive.

You MUST be tight-aggressive in order to be good.

Period.

Of course there are DEGREES of each playing style, and that’s what accounts for the differences between one pro and another… the DIFFERENT DEGREES of tight-aggressive.

OK, now let me ask you:

What does “tight-aggressive” really MEAN?

Here’s the answer:

It means that you play TIGHT in terms of hand selection, but AGGRESSIVE when you enter a pot.

Be careful… “tight” and “aggressive” are not opposites. “Tight” and “loose” are opposites. And so are “aggressive” and “passive”.

TIGHT refers to hand selection. AGGRESSIVE refers to betting.

OK… so this is how playing styles relate to Sit and Go’s…

The NATURE of Sit and Go’s makes them OVERRUN by LOOSE-AGGRESSIVE style players.

The reasons are simple:

1. You can play a Sit and Go virtually anytime, anywhere, and with anyone.

This means there’s very low risk in LOSING, since you can easily just move on to the next game. It’s not like in “offline” poker when once you get knocked out you’re DONE.

2. The money seems less “real”.

Let’s be honest… We all know the feeling of making a deposit into an online poker account and thinking to ourselves how it doesn’t quite feel like REAL MONEY. Am I right?

3. There’s no “embarrassment”.

Online poker is virtually 100% anonymous. If you make a stupid move, you’re not worried about what the other players THINK of you. Who cares?

After all, the other “players” are really just silly little avatars on an animated screen.

OK, so those are three (there are many more) of the reasons why Sit and Go’s (and pretty much all of online poker) are dominated by the playing style LOOSE-AGGRESSIVE.

Loose-aggressive is also known as the “manic” playing style. And what’s the FASTEST way to beat a manic?

Yep, you guessed it…

PATIENCE.

The reason is because MANICS are constantly playing many hands (loose) and doing so aggressively.

What happens is that it’s difficult to get a READ on them because you never know whether they’re bluffing or not… unless you call their bets… which you can’t do because you don’t have that great a hand.

Has this ever happened to you?

Have you ever been up against a player who seemed to be playing VERY aggressively and you just couldn’t figure out if they were bluffing or holding great cards?

And then when you got FED UP with it and DID make a call, he had you beat?

My guess is that it HAS happened to you… just as it’s happened for me.

The key thing to know is that THERE ARE certain steps you can take to defend this. (I even wrote an entire chapter about this topic in my book.)

But fortunately in Sit and Go’s, this isn’t really much of a problem. Because you’re usually not up against just one or two manics. You’re up against an ENTIRE TABLE of them.

That means you shouldn’t be CALLING anyone’s bets.

Instead, YOU should push the action when you have a monster hand… and ONLY when you have a monster hand. And that, of course, requires…

PATIENCE!

It’s actually much easier this way. Because with a table full of manics, you can rely on getting action with all your great hands.

(I should point out here that I’m generally referring to Sit and Go’s where the entry fee is less than $50. When the stakes are higher the quality of play is usually more intelligent.)

OK, so what I’m about to tell you might take some of the “fun” out of Sit and Go’s. But it will increase your profits dramatically…

Here’s what your Sit and Go “experience” should look like when the field is from 8 or 10 players down to 4 or 5 players.

**************************************************

If your hole cards are…

A-A, K-K – Go all in pre-flop if you’re in early position. If in late position and there was a raise, go all-in. If people were just trying to limp in, make a raise… and then bet very aggressively after the flop.

Q-Q, A-K – If you’re in an early position, bet big (but not all-in). If you’re in a late position, use your read on the other players to determine whether or not you think you have the best hand. If so, bet huge or go all-in.

All other pocket pairs – Limp-in. If you spike trips, go all-in. If not, fold.

Suited connectors – Limp-in if the blinds are reasonably low. Fold suited connectors under 7-6.

Ace-X suited – Limp-in if possible. Only bet if you hit the flush.

All other hands – Fold.

**************************************************

What you’ve just seen will be completely different than most “starting hand strategies” out there.

And that chart is NOT for all types of no limit Texas Holdem. We’re ONLY talking about games that match these three criteria:

1. Online poker Sit and Go tournaments 2. Low stakes (under $50 entry) 3. While there are more than 4 or 5 players at the table (in an 8-man or 10-man Sit and Go)

DO NOT use that starting hand advice for any other poker games… because that’s NOT how you should play your starting hands in general.

So why would Sit and Go’s be so much different than “normal” poker play?

Like I said before, the reason is because Sit and Go’s are heavily dominated by loose-aggressive players… and THIS is how you beat those guys.

Why exactly does this strategy work?

It works because you’re only playing monsters.

Now… if the players at Sit and Go’s were SMART, they’d OBSERVE that you’re only playing monster hands… and they’d FOLD as soon as you went all-in.

I mean… it only makes logical sense, right?

Indeed, this is how it works in live games. But not online. Because for online poker there’s another important factor working to your advantage…

NO ONE’S PAYING ATTENTION!

The truth is, many players are either drunk, hungover, stupid, or playing multiple tables at once. Or all of the above!

They’re not paying attention to your betting patterns. They’re just playing the CARDS, not the PLAYERS.

I call my strategy for patiently waiting for monster hands and then going all-in:

“Tight-Aggressive Squared”

The reason is because my strategy is like the playing style tight-aggressive… but on STEROIDS.

Why go all-in so much?

It’s like I said… you WILL get action. Maybe not every single time, but enough times to make it well worth your while.

For Sit and Go’s, all you need to do is double-up ONCE before the field gets to 4 or 5 players.

THEN you can start playing aggressively. What will happen is that the 4 or 5 players LEFT IN THE GAME will usually be the smarter ones. And some of them WILL notice by now that you’re playing tight.

SO THEN what you do is steal blinds. It’s easy.

Everyone tightens up when there are four or five players in a hand because they want to make the money… and they want to be VERY CAREFUL to make it into the top three.

That is when you steal some blinds and add to your chip stack.

Then, after that point you’ll be in third place and will be in the money.

I have a ton of strategies for getting you into FIRST place too (after you get down to three players), but I’ll have to save those for a different newsletter.

You know, when I first came up with this strategy of “Tight-Aggressive Squared” I wasn’t COMPLETELY convinced it was the best way to win at Sit and Go’s.

At the time, I had been trying a lot of things. The idea of just being EXTREMELY PATIENT and then going all-in with monster hands seemed a little TOO SIMPLE.

Right?

Then one night, I was at a 10-man Sit and Go. I went all-in with a big hand early and doubled up. It was the only hand I got really involved with.

Then… with 9 players still at the table… my Internet shut off. I didn’t know what happened. All I know is that the Internet just plain STOPPED WORKING.

I would have called someone… but it was past two in the morning.

I messed with it for like fifteen minutes and then just gave up. Oh well… it’s just one Sit and Go.

Anyway… I started working on something else on my computer for awhile until all of the sudden the Internet came BACK on.

I logged into my poker room to see what had happened with the game. Immediately the screen POPPED-UP and the action was to me…

I was still in the game, it wasn’t over yet!

Not only that…

But there were only three players left!

I was in third, but still had some remaining chips to play around with.

I immediately went all-in and everyone folded. Then I did it again and everyone folded. And a few hands later I did it AGAIN.

I picked up three enormous sets of blinds and was right back in the game. The reason everyone was folding was because I hadn’t played a hand in 25 minutes. They were probably wondering what the hell was going on!

Anyway, as it turned out, I actually WON 1ST for this Sit and Go. First place baby… and my Internet only worked for about 1/5 of the game!

After I was done I started thinking about what had just happened. I realized that by PLAYING in a Sit and Go you can often do MORE DAMAGE THAN GOOD when there are lots of players at the table.

And of course, I became 100% convinced that the “magic equation” for success is:

PATIENCE + AGGRESSION

Your goal for these games should be to place in the money as much as possible. Period. So why risk chips on silly hands early on?

They’re just not worth it…

The other thing about this strategy is that it’s a HUGE time-saver. Because it doesn’t require hardly any work until there are 4-5 players left. It makes it MUCH easier to play multiple tables at once… or do other things while the Sit and Go plays in the background.

OK, so here’s your “Tight-Aggressive Squared” Sit and Go strategy:

1. Be patient, be patient, be patient!

Only play the hands I showed you earlier. Only bet before the flop with Aces, Kings, Big Slick, and Queens.

2. When you catch a monster, go all-in. Don’t do this if you think someone has you beat (i.e. there’s an obvious straight or flush draw on the board).

I’m talking about only playing hands when you know you have the best odds of winning.

3. When the field gets down to four or five players (depending on how high the blinds are and how many all-in showdowns you’ve won), shift gears completely and STOP using this “Tight-Aggressive Squared” strategy.

That, my friend, is the “secret” to Sit and Go’s.

It’s obvious… but not-so-obvious.

But it is DEFINITELY simple.

And you can start implementing it IMMEDIATELY…

To get step-by-step advice as you play Sit and Go tournaments online, make sure to download “Sit And Go Shark”. This amazing software tool will “take you by the hand” and give you coaching as you play online Sit and Go’s.

Free for a limited time. Click this link:

CLICK HERE

Cash games require different skills than tournaments. In this strategy series we will teach you some of the required skills for cash games.

Stack sizes. Building a tight table image If you want to pull off a good bluff, the other player will need to believe what you are trying to represent. Obviously, if you bet pot on every flop, at some point they will play back at you with middle or even bottom pair. In order to be successful at the cash tables you will first need to build up a certain image and then make use of that image. The best thing to do is just play tight for a certain number of hands before you start trying to bluff.

Once you have shown down a couple of strong hands, the players at the table will notice you usually have the goods when the money goes in and the next time you put in a bet they are likely to believe you have it. So play ABC poker for 50 or maybe 100 hands and make sure to showdown quality hands, maybe even show your cards when you have the nuts and your opponent folded to a bet. You are not letting them know how you play, on the contrary, you are setting them up for some good bluffs later. Your table image is much more important in a cash game than in a tournament, because tournament structure forces people to change their strategy along the way and become more aggressive as the blinds go up. Thus, even if you have been playing tight in the beginning of a tournament, people will often still think you are stealing blinds and continuation betting on the flop. In a cash game, the blinds are constant, so generally play is more constant as well. Abusing you r table image As the cash game session progresses, you will notice people starting to avoid your bets unless they have a strong hand. Now you can start to abuse your table image !

The key to good bluffing is using scare cards that come on the turn or river. If you call a bet with a straight draw, but a third diamond comes on the turn, now would be a good time to try and bluff at the pot as your opponent is now very likely to think you have made your flush. Of course you will have to be careful not to give anything away by for example changing your bet sizing, or even taking a different time to think about your move. Just repeat what you were doing when you had the nuts, and your opponents are very likely to believe you.

Don’t get overconfident though, since you have been playing tight, your opponents are probably also playing quality hands against you. So if they play back at you, it’s probably a good time to let the hand go.

Example hands: You have been playing at the same $1/$2 cash table for 2 hours and have been showing down premium hands and betting them aggressively. You have won and lost some hands and your stack has increased from $200 to $250. The table is 6 handed and all the stacks are between $200 and $300 when the following hand occurs: You are on the button with Jd10d and it’s folded to you. Your hand is good enough for a raise here, so you make it $6 to go. The small blind folds and the big blind defends. The flop misses you completely when it comes 2h6dQs and the big blind checks. You put in a standard continuation bet of $8, just more than half the pot. The big blind calls your bet and the turn card is a beautiful As. The big blind checks again and you see a perfect opportunity for a bluff here. First of all, your opponent has shows weakness on all streets so it’s unlikely he has a strong hand. Also, you do have a gut shot straight draw whi ch is a good spot to bluff. If you get raised it’s an easy fold, if your opponent calls you still have 4 outs to make a straight. Most likely however, your opponent is either going to give you credit for an ace here, or at least give you credit for a strong hand since the ace didn’t scare you. So, you decide to bet out $20 and your opponent folds indeed.

Now that we have covered the basics of playing at the cash tables, next month we will discuss: Cash games – Deep stacked play

Everyone knows the surest way to make money at online poker is by WINNING TOURNAMENTS. The reason is because you can win large multiples of your buy-in… 200%, 500%, 1000%, or even higher.

In this strategy article we’ll discuss step-by-step exactly how I consistently make a “killing” at online poker by beating Sit and Go tournaments. Read on to learn this amazingly simple method…

What Is A Sit And Go?

A Sit and Go is an online poker tournament. The name “Sit and Go” comes from the fact that these games are fast– with a clear beginning and end. Each Sit and Go has a pre-determined number of players… so once the spots are filled, the game starts.

Everyone in a Sit and Go must buy-in for the same amount of money and starts with the same number of chips.The blinds gradually go up in “levels” or “stages” until one player is left standing.

The payouts are determined before the game and are displayed when you buy-in.

How Many Players Are In A Sit And Go?

Sit and Go’s can have as many as 50 players or as few as 2. It really just depends on which casino you’re playing at and which type YOU CHOOSE.

A majority of Sit and Go’s are single table games with 10 players. In a game like this, the top 3 finishers would place “in the money”. (“Single Table Tournament” is abbreviated STT.)

For instance, let’s say you want to play a $10 Sit and Go. You buy-in for $10 and pay an “entry fee” to the casino– probably a buck. All 10 players would start with the same number of chips– let’s say 800. The blinds would start low, probably 5-10. As the game progresses, the blinds will keep increasing to force action. The buy-ins on a game like this would total $100. That money would get split between the top three finishers. First place would be $50, second place would get $30, and third place would get $20…

How Long Do Sit And Go’s Last?

A 10-player Sit and Go will usually last between 30-60 minutes. Some casinos have “turbo” Sit and Go’s where the blinds go up faster. Turbo games finish more quickly.

A 2-player Sit and Go– which is really just a “heads-up” match– will often last a FEW MINUTES before ending.

There are also Sit and Go’s with 5 players, 8 players, 20 players, 30 players, and so on. (A Sit and Go with more than 10 players will be played on more than one table. These are known as “Multi-Table Tournaments”, abbreviated MTT.)

No limit Texas Holdem Sit and Go’s are generally faster than limit Sit And Go’s… because the ability to move “all-in” gets things moving.

How Do Sit And Go’s And Ring Games Differ?

The easiest way to understand the distinction is to understand that Sit and Go’s are simply TOURNAMENTS. Ring games are like “cash games”. Here are some of the key differences:

* You can buy-in or leave anytime during a ring game, whereas you must enter the beginning of a Sit and Go to play.

* Sit and Go’s have a clear start (when everyone is ready) and end (when only one player is left). Ring games are ongoing.

* The blinds go up during Sit and Go’s, so in the later stages you’re forced to loosen your starting hand selection and take risks. In ring games, the blinds stay the same.

* Winning a Sit and Go requires a completely different set of strategies and techniques than winning a ring game…

Why Sit And Go’s Are So Popular

Sit and Go’s are HOT right now. I personally love to play Sit and Go’s, because I can often make MORE money and have MORE fun than in ring games.

Playing a ring game requires “grinding it out”…

Playing a Sit and Go is an exciting battle with ups and downs– with a “do or die” feeling to it.

And here’s the best part: When you learn how to master the STRATEGIES for Sit and Go’s, you can amass a FORTUNE in winnings! You can predictably and consistently log onto your computer and win tournament after tournament after tournament…

Here’s why: Since Sit and Go’s pay the top finishers, you don’t have to place first to always make money. You obviously WANT to win first– but it’s not necessary for making a profit. I’ve developed a system of tactics where I shoot for first, but “hedge my bets” to settle for 2nd or 3rd as a backup plan…

How To Consistently Beat Sit And Go’s

Because of their unique structure, there are SPECIFIC strategies you need to beat Sit and Go’s on a consistent basis.

It’s taken me YEARS to “crack the code” on this and figure it all out. But now that I have, I can easily log onto my online poker account and make money… just about every time.

It’s a great feeling. And I want to share it with you.

That’s why I developed Sit And Go Shark.

The concept for Sit And Go Shark is actually very simple. This easy-to-install poker software is like having your very own PERSONAL POKER COACH.

That “coach”, of course, is me.

When you use Sit And Go Shark, the program shares several pieces of IMPORTANT ADVICE that you need to be thinking about at the table– everything from your cards to blinds to positioning to pot odds and more…

The advice– which took me over 6 MONTHS to write!– is drawn from a HUGE DATABASE of possible combinations and factors. It runs alongside your table while you play, so it requires ZERO extra work from you.

I should also point out that online casinos don’t mind if you use Sit And Go Shark. As you know, some software out there is banned and dangerous to use… and I would never, ever recommend you to any of these software programs. You can feel comfortable using anything I point you to.

Anyway, like I was saying, Sit And Go Shark is like having me sitting on your shoulder… telling you what to do each step of the way… and teaching you how to handle the situation.

You’ll get two main benefits from using it:

1. You’ll win more (a LOT more) money simply by following the advice.

2. You’ll learn more (a LOT more) about the game of Texas Holdem. You’ll even do better at offline tournaments and ring games, even though you won’t have the tool in front of you.

Pretty cool, huh?

OK, so that’s Sit And Go Shark in a nutshell. To get started now and check out the website, just click the link below:

CLICK HERE

You DON’T need to be a “math genius” to understand poker odds…

Not at all.

In fact, you can be TERRIBLE at math (like me) and still be able to use “odds” to your advantage at the no-limit Holdem tables.

There are TWO main things you need to learn right away:

1. The concept of OUTS
2. The concept of POT SIZE

These are easy. Let’s start with the first.

“Outs” refers to the number of cards in the deck that will complete (or “make”) your hand.

For instance… if you have Ace-King and the board reads Q-J-4, you need a ten to make your straight.

Since there are four tens in the deck, you have FOUR OUTS.

Or… let’s say you’re holding Q-J and the boardreads K-10-5. That means you have an open-ended straight draw– either the Ace or the nine will complete your straight.

Since there are four nines and four Aces in the deck, you have EIGHT OUTS.

Let’s do one more. Let’s say you’ve got 8-7 of clubs and the board reads 2c-Ad-Kc-3s. That means there are two clubs on the board and two in your hand. If one more club hits on the river, you’ll have a flush.

There are a total of thirteen clubs in the deck (thirteen of each suit times four suits equals fifty-two cards).

But that DOESN’T mean you have thirteen outs, because you’re already using four of the clubs.

Instead, you have NINE OUTS (thirteen minus four). If any of those nine cards hits on the river, you’ll have a flush.

OK… so that’s how you calculate OUTS. We’ll do some more in-depth examples in a minute, but first let’s talk about POT SIZE.

Pot size is how much money is in the pot. Pretty simple, right?

There are three main parts to pot size:

1. How much money is already in the middle
2. How much is bet in the current round of betting
3. How much WILL be bet in the current round

Let me explain.

Let’s say four players call the big blind of $4 in a game. That means there’s $16 in the middle.

The flop comes out. You’re on the button, which means you’re LAST to act. Player 1 bets $10 into the pot. Player 2 calls, and Player 3 folds. Now it’s your turn. What’s the current pot size?

The answer is $36. There’s the $16 that was in the middle first, then $20 more from Players 1 and 2.

The $16 is the first part, the $20 is the second part, and there is no third part since you were last to act.

Let’s take another look. Let’s say you were SECOND TO ACT, instead of on the button.

Four players call the big blind of $4, which means there’s $16 in the pot. Player 1 bets $10, and now you must make a decision. What’s the pot size?

Well, it’s $16 + $10 + UNKNOWN.

Why “unknown”?

The reason is you DON’T KNOW if the two players BEHIND you are going to call, raise, or fold. So you really don’t KNOW the exact pot size.

This is a fundamental reason why math doesn’t solve all your problems in poker. You must use your INSTINCTS to “guess” and “infer”.

In this case, you would try to guess whether or not the other two players would call or fold (or raise) and make your decision then. This is also another reason why POSITIONING in a hand is so important.

One more thing about pot size before we move on…

A lot of players don’t know whether to count THEIR OWN MONEY in the actual pot size.

The answer is you count your own money that’s ALREADY THERE from before. In the example, your big blind of $4 is already in the pot… so you DO use it to calculate the pot size.

Once your money is in the middle, it isn’t yours any more. Period.

But you would NOT include your $10 in the pot size, because you haven’t put it in yet. You’re THINKING about putting it in.

Make sense?

Let’s say you called the $10 bet from Player 1 and the other players all folded. The turn card comes and Player 1 bets $20. What’s the pot size?

Well, it’s $16 from pre-flop, $20 after the flop, and now $20 after the turn.

You DO count your $10 after the flop because now it IS already in the middle.

OK… so what does OUTS and POT SIZE have to do with ODDS?

The answer is EVERYTHING.

Now that you know these two basics, you’re ready to start calculating “complicated” poker odds.

To calculate odds, you need four pieces of information:

1. Number of outs
2. Number of “unknown” cards in the deck
3. Pot size
4. Current bet amount

We talked about the outs and pot size. The other two are very straightforward.

The number of “unknown” cards in the deck simply means how many cards you DON’T KNOW. Before the flop, there are 50 cards you don’t know. You only know the two in your hand.

After the flop, there are 47 cards you don’t know. You know the two in your hand and the three on the board and that’s it.

After the turn there are 46 cards you don’t know.

Like I said, this is simple stuff.

And the CURRENT BET AMOUNT is just… well, the current bet amount. It’s how much you must put in the pot to “call”.

OK, let’s review.

Let’s say you get dealt J-10 offsuit. You call the big blind of $6 and so does one other player. The small blind folds. The player in the big blind checks. That means the POT SIZE is $21 ($6 + $6 + $6 + $3).

The flop comes out Q-2-9. You’ve got an open-ended straight draw. Either a King or an eight will make your straight. Since there are four Kings and four eights in the deck, you’ve got EIGHT OUTS.

There are 47 unknown CARDS in the deck (52 cards minus the five that you see).

You’re second to act. The first player bets $12. That means $12 is the CURRENT BET AMOUNT.

The POT SIZE is $21 + $12 + UNKNOWN. The unknown is what the player after you does…

So there you have it… those are the four pieces of information you need. The only thing you don’t know for SURE is the pot size in this example.

Sometimes you’ll know the pot size exactly (like when you have good positioning). Other times you’ll just have to estimate.

OK, let’s do some odds.

THE WAY TO CALCULATE ODDS IS TO COMPARE THE ODDS OF MAKING YOUR HAND TO THE ODDS OF THE POT.

Here’s the exact “formula”:

(Unknown Cards – Outs) : Outs

VERSUS

Pot Size : Current Bet Amount

If the first comparison is smaller than the second one, that’s good. It means that “pot odds justify a call” (or raise).

For instance, if you have 12 outs and there are 47 unknown cards, that means you have ABOUT a 25% chance of “making” your hand.

The odds against you are 35:12, or about 3:1.

Remember… when you see two numbers like X:X, the first number is the chance of one thing happening against the chance of the second thing happening. You’ll miss your hand three times and make it once. That’s 1/4 or 25% or 3:1.

Now let’s say the pot size is $50 and the current bet amount is $10. That means the odds would be $50:$10, or 5:1.

It’s easiest to look at in the X:X format and not use percentages.

OK, so here’s what you’ve got for this example:

Outs = 12
Unknown Cards = 47
Current Bet Amount = 10
Pot Size = 50

There are 35 cards that WON’T HELP YOU (47 – 12).

So the odds are 35:12 for the cards.

And for the pot it’s 50:10. You don’t add your $10to the first number. Just use the current pot size.

35:12 is about 3:1. 50:10 equals 5:1.

The entire point of calculating odds is to make a good decision. To make a decision of whether or not to call a $10 bet here, you would compare the 3:1 versus 5:1.

The odds here are IN YOUR FAVOR.

If this scenario played out four times, here’s how it would look STATISTICALLY:

- You lose $10.
- You lose $10.
- You win $50.
- You lose $10.

You lose three times and win once (3:1). When you add your losses it equals $30 but your wins are $50, giving you a $20 profit.

If the scenario happened eight times you’d win twice and lose six times. That means you’d lose $60 and win $100… for a $40 profit.

For real life poker situations, the key is to calculate whether or not you can “justify” staying in the hand.

Let’s say you have A-8 and the flop comes out:

K-10-4

Someone bets $10 and the pot size is $20. What should you do?

Well, you don’t have anything but an Ace high. If the Ace comes on the turn, you’d have top pair. So let’s ASSUME that your top pair would be the winning hand.

That means there are three cards in the deck that can help you (the other three Aces). And there are exactly 47 unknown cards in the deck.

So we have our numbers:

Outs = 3
Unknown Cards = 47
Current Bet Amount = 10
Pot Size = 20

Using our formula…

(47 – 3) : 3

VERSUS…

20 : 10

So the numbers come out 44:3 (about 15:1) versus 2:1. Should you call?

Of course not.

You’re only getting 2:1 for your money but your chances of winning the hand are very slim.

If the hand played out 16 times you would win ONCE. So you’d lose $150 (15 X $10) and win $20, for a total loss of $130.

You’re always striving for good odds on your money and good odds on your hand.

Good odds on your hand means the X:X number is as SMALL AS POSSIBLE… because you want lots of outs. You don’t want there to be only one or two cards in the deck that can help you. You want fractions like 47:12, 46:10, 46:8, and so on.

Good odds on your money means the X:X number is BIG. You want 10:1, 5:1, 12:1, and so on.

OK, I’m going to give one more example. See if you’re smart enough to figure this out on your own (you may need to use a scratch piece of paper)…

You’re second to act pre-flop and look down to see Kc-Jc. You limp-in by calling the $4 big blind.

Three other players call. The small blind (who put in $2) folds.

The player in the big blind decides to RAISE the pot to $8. You call. Two of the other three players call… but one folds.

So now there are four players total in the hand… the guy in the big blind, you, and the two other callers. (Still with me here?)

The flop comes out:

Ac-4s-8c

What a great flop for you. You’ve got the nut flush draw.

The player in the big blind is first to act. He checks. You check also (which I would NOT recommend doing here, by the way).

The next player bets $16. The next one calls. The guy who made the original pre-flop raise folds.

So now the action is on to you.

What is the…

Number of outs? Number of unknown cards? Current bet amount? Pot size?

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY…

Should you call?

See if you can figure it out before I give you the answer.

…

…

…

…

OK, so the answer is this:

Yes, you should call.

The pot size is $70. The current bet amount is $16. The number of outs is 9. And the number of unknown cards is 47.

The pot size was the hardest thing to figure out. Remember… the small blind folded his $2. Another player folded their $4. So there was $6 in the middle, plus $32 with the four callers. So $38 before the flop.

Then there were two players in for $16 after the flop, which equals $32. $38 + $32 = $70. Luckily, there weren’t any other players left to act after you in this exact round of betting.

The number of outs is simple. Thirteen clubs in the deck minus the four you already see equals nine. And the number of unknown cards is 52 minus the five you see… which equals 47.

Plugging those numbers into our handy “formula” gives us:

(47-9):9 Versus 70:16

That’s equal to 38:9 versus 70:16

Now you might be wondering, “How the hell am I supposed to know what 70 divided by 16 is or 38 divided by 9? It’s not like I’ll have a calculator handy at the table!”

True.

But you don’t have to know the EXACT numbers. All you need to know is if the second one is bigger than the first. And that’s pretty easy.

When I do it, here’s what goes on in my head:

“38 over 9 is about the same as 36 over 9, which equals 4. That means 38 over 9 is 4 and 2/9ths.

70 over 16 is closest to 64 over 16, which also equals 4. That means 70 over 16 is 4 and 6/16ths.

Now I just have to compare 2/9 to 6/16. 2/9 is like 2/10, which equals .2. 6/16 is kind of like 6/18, which is .33. So the second one is bigger.”

And that means the call IS justified.

Now let me clarify something…

In this example the two numbers are VERY close (4.22 versus 4.375). Usually they WON’T be that close. Usually they’ll be something like 3.3 versus 8.2 or 2.5 versus 4.1.

That means in MOST cases you won’t have to do all that fraction stuff. OR, even if you DO have those fractions, you won’t need to calculate it. You’ll probably just consider it “about even” and make your decision based on other factors.

All right… so that’s basically how you calculate pot odds. Of course, there’s more.

You also want to know IMPLIED ODDS. Implied odds aren’t as math-related. Implied odds basically pertain to hands where you can “bust” or “surprise” your opponents.

In the last example, you were on the nut flush draw, because you had the King of clubs and the Ace of clubs was on the board.

If your opponent was ALSO on the flush draw and he had the QUEEN of clubs, this would be very good for you…

Because if another club hit on the turn, you and your opponent would both have flushes. But yours would be higher.

In this case, your opponent would likely go “all-in” and you would win a TON of chips.

So even though the “odds” on your money are 4.375:1, they’re actually higher because of the “implied odds” of your NUT flush draw.

Besides implied odds, you’ll also have to think about the “unknown” pot size, as we discussed. Many times you just won’t KNOW the exact pot size, and will be forced to guess.

Also… you must be careful to consider what your OPPONENTS are holding…

Let’s say you’re holding As-5h and the board reads: 8h-Qh-2h

You have the flush draw. And the odds of “making” it are good. But that doesn’t mean you want to calculate the nine other hearts in the deck as your “outs”.

Why?

Because all your opponents need to BEAT you is a heart higher than a FIVE. And someone most likely has it.

The point is, when you calculate OUTS, you want to calculate outs based on making the WINNING HAND.

And obviously there’s no way to know for sure what the winning hand will be… unless you’ve got the nuts.

So as you can see… there are a LOT of different factors to take into consideration.

Calculating pot odds is a useful technique for the right situations. Over the long term, it can become very handy and will help you make sound, logical decisions at the poker table.

Of course, pot odds is only one small aspect of “poker math”. There are dozens of calculations you’ll want to make at the table to quickly, consistently, and easily dominate online poker.

And the best way to achieve this is with an advanced odds calculator. “Holdem Genius” is the world’s most advanced odds calculator… and it’s available FREE for a limited time. Just click here to learn more:

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Do you use a poker odds calculator?

I sure hope so. Odds calculators are a CRUCIAL part of winning money at online poker. Here are a just a few ways an odds calculator can QUICKLY and EASILY improve your game:

UNDERSTAND YOUR STARTING HAND STRENGTH…

The biggest mistake made by most card players is playing TOO MANY HANDS. For example, tell me if this thought has ever crossed your mind…

“It’s worth calling the flop even though I have bad cards– because who knows, I might catch three-of-a-kind… or two pair… or something really good!”

Every poker player has had this thought from time to time. Even the pros.

But the problem is, thinking like this will cause you to LOSE MONEY in the long run. And the reason is because of the ODDS. Even though you might make a “great hand” once in every twenty flops, those other nineteen hands will cause you to lose MORE money than you won.

But here’s the thing:

The right odds calculator will show you EXACTLY how strong or weak your starting hand is… based on a PERCENTAGE and will show you the appropriate “Sklansky Starting Hand Group”. What this means is you will IMMEDIATELY know how good your hand is, as soon as the cards come out.

For example, at a 10-man table pocket Aces has a hand rank of 100% and is GROUP 1. Pocket two’s has a hand rank of 63.3%, which is in GROUP 7. (This is for hands to the river.)

But let’s be honest… understanding how “good” those hands are is EASY. You don’t need an odds calculator for that.

But let me ask you, which of THESE hands do you think has the highest “Hand Rank”?

a.) Queen-9 suited
b.) Ace-5 suited
c.) Jack-10 suited
d.) Ace-Queen offsuit

(Here’s a hint… the strongest hand is NOT options “b” or “d”…)

Give up? Are you surprised that A-Q wasn’t the strongest? Well, that’s just ONE of the ways an odds calculator can be incredibly useful… you’ll know the exact hand strength right away and can make a more educated (translation = MORE PROFITABLE) decision before the flop.

KNOW YOUR CHANCES OF HITTING AN “OUT”…

As you probably know, “outs” are cards that will help you improve your existing hand.

For example, let’s say you’re holding 5-6 and the flop comes out 3-4-Q. That means you need either a two or a seven to make a straight…

Since there are four two’s and four seven’s in the deck, you have EIGHT OUTS.

Odds calculators will show you how many outs you have at any given time… and also give you the PERCENTAGE chance you have of getting them. In addition, a REALLY good odds calculator will “break it down” by each hand…

For example, in the scenario above with the straight draw, let’s say you ALSO had a spade flush draw. That means you have more than eight outs, since one more spade will help you.

Premium odds calculators will show you the exact percentage chance you have of making the straight, the exact percentage chance of making the flush, and the TOTAL percentage for the two…

This is a huge time-saver for you. Online poker is fast-paced… and it’s not practical to sit there and do advanced calculations and long division while you’re trying to make a decision.

PLAY YOUR POSITION MORE EFFECTIVELY…

In Texas Holdem poker, positioning is everything. You want to play MORE hands with good positioning and FEWER hands with bad positioning. It’s that simple.

The odds calculator I recommend allows you to ADJUST your starting hand settings depending on where you’re sitting at the table. For instance, if you’re on the button (the dealer position, which is the best position to be), the program will automatically set the “Hand Rank Requirement” to 50%…

…So if you pick up a hand that has a Hand Rank LOWER than 50%, it will recommend that you fold.

But if you’re UNDER THE GUN (the player to the left of the big blind, which is the worst position to be), the program will automatically set the “Hand Rank Requirement” to 85%… so the software will make “tighter” recommendations while you’re in this position.

Make sense?

Now here’s the real beauty of this:

IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS MORE QUICKLY…

Most poker players improve their skills over YEARS of hard work, practice, and study. This is the slow and painful way.

Using an odds calculator ACCELERATES the learning process dramatically. Here’s why:

As you’re playing online poker, the odds calculator will automatically compute the odds, hand strength, percentage chance on outs, and so on. You’ll use this information, make better decisions, and win more money.

Then here’s what will happen…

In a matter of months, you’ll find yourself “knowing” the odds and hand strength WITHOUT looking at the software! It will become “natural” to you… because you’ll be seeing the same types of hands so frequently.

Of course, you’ll still want to use the odds software for the more advanced calculations.

But you’ll be AMAZED when you sit down at the poker table with your buddies, see the flop, and then blurt out:

“He has an 19% chance of making the flush on the river.”

Your friends will think you’re a poker genius! Because the truth is, learning the odds ISN’T about learning the MATH… it’s about SEEING and PLAYING with the numbers in front of you frequently enough.

This is how the pros do it… and this is how YOU can do it with the right tool.

GET “ODDS-BASED” RECOMMENDATIONS…

Ultimately, the point is to reach a conclusion about WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IN A GIVEN SITUATION… BASED ON THE ODDS.

You and I both know that “odds” are only a PART of the game. They may be a BIG part, but they’re still just a part. There’s bluffing strategies, betting patterns, and many other factors that will affect your decisions…

Now let me show you the odds calculator that I use when I play online poker. It’s called “Texas Calculatem”. One of the great things is that it gives you “odds-based” recommendations…

In other words, it take the outs, percentages, ratios, number of players, starting hand strength, and everything else… compile it all together… and then spit out a “decision” about what you should do.

So while you’re playing online poker, this program will run near the bottom of your screen and say something like, “Check” or “Fold” or “Call Unraised Only” or “Raise and Re-Raise”… and so on.

And here’s another reason why I like Texas Calculatem so much:

ADJUST YOUR PLAYING STYLE AUTOMATICALLY…

Texas Calculatem lets you adjust your “style” according to your preferences and table strategy.

For instance, let’s say you’re playing a 10-player Sit and Go. Well, at the beginning you want to play extremely tight because you just want to SURVIVE as the other players start knocking themselves out (after all, Sit and Go’s pay out for the top three finishers, so there’s no need to risk many chips in the beginning).

So what I do is set the “Pre-Flop Slider” to a very tight setting.

BUT… when you DO play a hand in the early stages of a Sit and Go, you want to play it AGGRESSIVELY. Especially if it’s a really good hand like a high pocket pair. Because the reality is, there are a lot of “loose manics” at the Sit and Go’s who will call anything… so you want to increase your chip stack by taking advantage of them.

So in that situation, I set the “Post-Flop Slider” to a more aggressive setting.

You see, with Texas Calculatem you can adjust each of these settings without affecting the other. And you can adjust them mid-game or any time you want (I adjust mine back to more normal levels when it gets down to six players in the Sit and Go).

Of course, it’s the same way with Ring Games and other tournaments. In a four player ring game I like to play lots of starting hands and aggressively “bully” my opponents… so I adjust the sliders to the looser and more aggressive settings and “Bam!”… the program adjusts its computations automatically.

AND… get this…

Texas Calculatem instantly adjusts all of the odds and recommendations based on HOW MANY PLAYERS are at the table. In ring games people are constantly getting up, sitting out, coming in, etc… and in Sit and Go’s players are continuously being eliminated. All of this makes it confusing to figure out which hands to play and how to play them.

Calculatem adjusts everything AUTOMATICALLY. You don’t have to input anything, either. It “detects” everything by itself.

Speaking of detection… that’s something else you need to be aware of:

DON’T BUY AN ODDS CALCULATOR WITHOUT THESE FEATURES…

There are some KEY FEATURES that make an odds calculator a very effective tool. But ironically, MOST ODDS CALCULATORS don’t have these features!

For instance, most odds calculators make you “manually” type in what your cards are… what the flop cards are… and so on.

This makes no sense. After all, you can do the math faster than that!

Texas Calculatem was designed in a way that requires NONE of your time or effort. It automatically “attaches” to your poker game and detects your cards and the cards on the table (from the flop, turn, and river). You just sit back and focus on the game.

Obviously Texas Calculatem doesn’t read your OPPONENTS cards, though… since that information is completely secured by the casino. (That sure would make things easier, huh?)

Another great feature that Calculatem has is called “Fold Depth”. This basically uses “human logic” to make the odds computations more accurate. For instance, let’s say the flop came out 7-7-3 and two players folded.

Texas Calculatem “knows” that neither of those two players folded the seven. (Duh!)

The reason this is important is because it affects all of the ADVANCED calculations from that point forward. Using the “human logic”, Texas Calculatem knows a more accurate percentage of WHERE the other two sevens are… as well as all the other cards in the deck.

The result is a program that is far superior and more useful than any other on the market. In fact, I’ve really only “scratched the surface” of all the features that Texas Calculatem has… and all the ways it can help you win more money at online poker.

Honestly, the question isn’t whether or not you need an odds calculator…

The question is: How can you afford NOT to use one?

The cold hard truth is that many of your opponents WILL be using Texas Calculatem… which gives them the IMMEDIATE ADVANTAGE at the tables.

If you’re only going to play poker for “play money”, then I guess it’s OK. But if you’re playing for REAL MONEY, then you need to download Texas Calculatem to your computer TODAY. Without it, you’re just another fish.

The best part is, Texas Calculatem is FREE when you setup a new account at one of the partner poker rooms…

So click this link, setup your account, and download Texas Calculatem for FREE. You’ll be winning more money at online poker within the next five minutes…

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See you at the tables!

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The increase of poker popularity has led to a flood of fish who are just WAITING for you to take their money.

Seriously.

These fish are untalented, undisciplined, and lack the fundamental skills to succeed in Texas Holdem. These players think that since they have seen a few episodes of the World Poker Tour, they are poker pros.

If you want to make money playing Texas Holdem, you need to learn to take all the money from these novices before they give it to someone else.

There are many ways that you can bankrupt the bad players at your table. These methods are tested and proven and can give you an advantage over everyone else at the table.

These methods include…

1. Fake Weakness

It seems that everyone over-estimates their own poker ability. Bad players usually think they are one of the best players at any given table.

This false sense of ability will lead bad players to attempt to buy virtually EVERY pot.

This over-aggression makes weak players especially vulnerable to check-raises and slow playing good cards. When you have the nuts, DON’T lead out with a big bet (like you should against a good player), instead slow play the hand and let the novice try to buy the pot.

2. Destroy Their Game Plan

Usually a novice’s plan will depend on his ability to bluff effectively. If you are able to remove a significant section of their stack, you will destroy their game plan and put yourself on the fast track to the chip lead.

3. Show No Respect For Weak Bets

A bad player will fear losing all their chips on a mediocre hand. This means they will often make small bets on the turn and river. Show ZERO respect for these bets. Making a large raise over these weak bets will often scare away bad players leaving you with the pot.

4. Face Bad Players “Heads Up”

Since good players and bad players require different strategies, try to force other players out of hand before clashing with a weak player.

Eliminating other players will reduce the amount of possibilities you have to consider. This will allow you to focus more on how to scare away weak players.

5. Always Have A Decent Hand

Even if you play your hand flawlessly, a bad player may call all your bets with nothing but an Ace high.

This is very frustrating, but very common. In fact, I know many poker professionals who will not play against novices because they are so difficult to bluff.

So, before you enter into a high-cost hand with a bad player, make sure that you have at least a decent hand and you are confident that they don’t have anything better.

These are just a few of the quick, more simple ways to take advantage of bad poker players…

To become a serious SHARK, you need the right TOOLS to use at the poker room.

You need a program that gives you the CONSISTENT edge over your opponents… so that you can quickly “clean up” the competition– any day, any night.

The software program you’re looking for is called “Calculatem Pro”. This amazing tool will help you win more money at online poker by giving you the exact odds and data you need as you play. It’s the most sophisticated poker software online.

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