Fiso Poker: How to Play

[Karrde]

This thread contains a guide on how to play Texas Holdem Poker.

For those that fancy it, a game is played on Ladbrokes every Thursday and Sunday at 9pm. Details are found on the main poker threads in this forum and the Casino forum. Please use this Ladbrokes Poker FISO Link to sign up to Ladbrokes Poker

There is also a special Poker Society within fiso. To apply to join you need to go to the Usergroups link on the fiso menu or click here:
groupcp.php?g=10137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Karrde]

How To Play

Without mincing words, Texas Hold'em is the daddy of all poker games. And the good news is that you don't have to be brainier than Stephen Hawking to play. If you're new to the game, read through the how to play guide below.

The aim of the game

OK, let's start at the beginning. Texas Hold'em is a fast-paced 7-card game that's the most popular, and most exciting, form of poker played today. If you've ever watched poker on the TV, chances are that you've seen Texas Hold'em.
The all important aim of the game is to make the best 5 card hand that you can, using both the two cards that you're dealt face down and the five community cards dealt face up in the middle of the table. But more of that a little later.

The dealer button

Every hand, one player will get the dealer button (a small disk marked with a D). The position of the dealer is important, as the two players to the dealer's left post the blinds. The dealer button moves to the left after each hand, so everyone acts as the virtual dealer and everyone is required to post blinds.

Blinds

The player to the immediate left of the dealer posts the small blind, and the player to their left posts the big blind. The blinds are placed in the pot to kickstart the betting and give players an incentive to enter the hand. They also mean that the winner of hand can never walk away completely empty-handed.
The size of the blinds are dictated by the stakes of the table that you're playing at. The small blind is typically half the minimum bet of the game, while the big blind is typically the same as the game's minimum bet. It's probably best illustrated by an example: if you're playing at a $2/$4 table, the small blind will be $1 and the big blind $2.

The opening deal

Once the blinds have been posted, it's time for some cards. Moving clockwise round the table from the dealer, each player receives two cards dealt face down that only they get to see. These are also called pocket cards or hole cards. It's now time to start some betting. That is why we're here after all.

Betting following the opening deal

At this stage, each player is betting on what hand they feel their pocket cards could lead to. The betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the big blind.
For this round of betting, each player has three choices: to fold, raise, or call the big blind. As the players who posted the blinds have effectively opened the betting, each player has to at least call this bet to stay in the hand, so checking isn't an option at this stage.
The betting goes round the table in a clockwise direction until each player has either called, folded or raised. If no-one has raised by the time the betting returns to the person who posted the big blind, this player may check his own blind, fold or raise.
Once the betting is completed it's time to see the flop.

The flop

Right, now the first round of betting is out of the way, it's time for the flop (things start to get really interesting now). The flop is the set of three cards that are dealt face up in the middle of the table, and each player can use these community cards to build their hand. The middle of the table where these cards are dealt is commonly known as the board.
Now it's time for another round of betting, again at the lower levels of the table stakes. This time, the betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the dealer, regardless of whether the dealer is still active in the hand or not. The player to the left of the dealer will keep the initial action for the rest of the hand. Apart from that, the betting process is the same as pre-flop betting.

The turn card

Once the round of betting has finished, it's time for another card to be dealt face up on the board. This fourth card is called the turn card, and again can be used by all players to construct their hand.

The river

Four down, one to go. It's now time for the fifth and final community card to be dealt: the river. Now that all the cards have been dealt, each player remaining in the hand can now see what their best five card hand is. It's now time for the final round of betting, again at the higher level of the table stakes.

The showdown

Ta da! It's now time to see who's the daddy and takes the pot: the showdown. Each player who's remained in the hand shows their cards, starting with the last person to bet and so on.
If a player wins a pot by default, that is every other player has folded, there is no showdown and the winning player can decide whether to show their cards or not. Most people don't, it's always nice to keep people guessing.

A final note...

If that all seems rather complicated and likely to last an eternity, don't worry. It really is quite simple, and despite a few stages in each hand it passes very quickly.

[barry]

very good explanation Karrde, if I can get a pc at home before the free game I might join in!

[Spencer4]

Sorry if I'm being dense here Karrde. But if it's a free game, I'm presuming there's no prize fund at all.

Therefore it's play-money, therefore I'm going all-in from the start

[Karrde]

Edited because it didnt make sense now I have changed the thread title.

[Karrde]

Therefore it's play-money, therefore I'm going all-in from the start

Only one life though Cat... It will be short evening for you

[Spencer4]

Therefore it's play-money, therefore I'm going all-in from the start

Only one life though Cat... It will be short evening for you

what's new...

[Karrde]

Strategies

If you’re new to Texas Hold’em but want to get better, here are some handy tips that have been learnt at the sharp end. Print this out, memorise it; it’s worth it you know.

Very strong starting hands

 Pair of aces (pocket rockets)
 Pair of Kings
 Ace-King on suit
 Pair of Queens
 Pair of Jacks

Strong Starting Hands

 Ace-Queen, Ace-Jack and Ace-10 on suit
 Ace-King off suit
 Pair of tens
 Ace-10, King-Jack, Queen-Jack, Jack-10 on suit
 Ace-Queen, Ace-Jack off-suit
 Pair of nines
 King-Queen off suit
 King-10, Queen-10 on suit

Medium Strength Starting Hands

 Pair of eights
 Jack-9, 10-9 on suit
 Pair of sevens
 9-8, 8-7 on suit
 An ace with any other on suit card
 King-Jack, Queen-Jack, Jack-10 off-suit

Other starting hands that are sometimes worth playing

 Any low pair
 Connected cards in the same suit, for example 8-7, 6-5, 5-4 etc
 Ace-10, King-10, Queen-10 off suit
 King-9, Jack-8 on suit

Starting hands you really shouldn’t play

Basically, anything else. You can still get away with it, and if you’re short stacked and forced to go all-in you may not have much choice, but they should generally be treated with extreme caution.
Always remember, that there’s an inherent degree of luck involved with the game. While playing the percentages should lead to a profitable and rewarding time at the poker tables, bad beats are a part of the game. You can sit there with a pair of aces against a player with 2-7 and watch them flop three of a kind to beat your pocket rockets…

Some basic tips and strategies

 Play cautiously when the game first starts. Settle down, catch the mood of the game. Of course, if you’re a naturally aggressive player, or you catch some decent starting hands, you can go for it from the start. If other players are playing cautiously, you can often force them out early.
 Play aggressively if you’re dealt a strong pre-flop hand, it gets money in the pot early and encourages weak hands to fold. You want those potentially weak hands out of the way; they can still get lucky on the flop.
 If you’re dealt a low pair, play cautiously and only play when the betting is cheap. If you don’t flop a three of a kind or two pairs, it’s probably best to get rid.
 Play aggressively when you have options after the flop. If your hand has a chance of making a straight, flush and three of a kind for example, get raising.
 Watch out for uniform flops like 7,8, 9. Even if you’re holding top pair, someone could easily make a straight.
 Beware of suited flops. If three hearts appear, chances are high that someone somewhere is going to make a flush.
 Getting caught bluffing once in a while isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can even be worth deliberately getting caught playing a bluff in a certain way, thus making it harder for opponents to read your game. Just don’t throw away too much cash right?
 Study your opponents. Watch how they bet, flop, call and bluff. Do they act quickly, do they take time to act? If you’re looking to play regularly, it’s worth making notes on the players you come across. Having notes to refer back to can give you an edge in future games.
 Don’t be too quick on the fold. If you can see cards for free as everyone’s checking, then do so.
 Don’t look to play every hand. If you haven’t got a decent starting hand, bin it. Save your cash for when you have something worth playing.
 Beware of good hands in large games. If in a full ring game of nine people, six or seven are still in a hand, it’s highly likely that one of the players has a very good hand. Your pair just won’t cut it. Just let go dammit, let go.
 In very short-handed games, or in heads-up play, good hands are hard to come by. That pair of three’s that you thought was a loser may not be so bad after all…
 If you have a losing streak, never never never start playing more aggresively to try to win back your losses. Luck evens itself out over time, play your game and you’ll do OK. Losing your rag is called going off tilt. It’s a bad thing.
 Don’t try to beat other players; let them try to beat you.
 Learn the probabilities of making certain hands in any given situation. A player who plays the odds well, is a player who plays well.
 Play as often as possible, even if it’s only for low stakes. There’s no substitute for experience.
 Vary your playing strategy from time to time. Play the same way all the time, and good players will work you out.
 Make sure that you learn from your losses. They often provide you with more telling information about how to play the game than winning. Whatever happens, don’t give up.
 Never play at a table where you can’t afford to lose. It’ll affect how you play. Adversely that is.

[Karrde]

Ten Top Tips For Tournament Success.

Don’t try to play too many hands.

The cardinal sin in any form of poker, but particularly tournament play, is to try and play too many hands. There’s a fold option, so don’t be afraid to use it.
A good pre-flop strategy is only to play premium hands. In early position (ie one of the first to act), that means you should only be looking to play hands such as AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs, TT, AQs, AK, AJs and KQs. If you’re in a later position, you can expand the list a little depending on what has gone on before you. Assuming that no-one’s made a huge raise, hands such as 99, AQ, ATs, QJs are also worth playing if it’s cheap to see the flop.
Always remember, folding is often the best option. Don’t worry when you fold 9-3 and 9-3 come out on the flop; you’ve still made the right decision.

When you do play a hand, play it hard.

When you do get a premium starting hand, you should be looking to make a raise unless there’s already been a large raise before you, in which case a call should do it. If you’re first to act, then start with a raise. Why? Because (a) you want to get some money in the middle if you’ve got a good hand and (b) you want to knock out players with lesser hands, particularly those on the blinds who could otherwise see the flop cheaply. These players may have lesser hands, but they can still get lucky on the flop, so you want them out of the way. Never let people see cards cheaply when you’ve got a good hand. 3 times the big blind is often enough to limit the field to one or two callers, or even to win the pot right there.

Large pocket pair? Raise.

If you’re in early position, and have been dealt a large pocket pair, you want to raise (see above). And if there are already callers before you, the pot may already be reaching a size where you want to try and win the pot there and then without even seeing a flop. With AA, KK or QQ, make a large raise to either scare players off or make them pay through the nose to see more cards, especially as they’re likely to have an lesser hand than you. If everyone folds and you win the pot without seeing any more cards, well that’s a good thing.

One thing to be very cautious of is overcards on the flop. Your monster KK pre-flop is very very vulnerable to a flop with an Ace in it. Even Aces don’t look too pretty if the flop brings Flush or Straight possibilities.

Watch out for raisers and re-raisers.

If someone has raised before you, or re-raised you, only play the hand if you still reasonably expect to have the best of it, as even good starting hands can become vulnerable in this position. Unless you suspect a bluff or poor play, don’t be afraid to lay down a good hand. For example, even if you’ve got something like KQ, you can still be vulnerable to someone with a large pocket pair, AK, AQ etc. Avoid large confrontations unless you’re highly likely to be in the driving seat.
If, however, you’re pretty sure that you are in the driving seat (you’re holding something like AA or KK), then play it strongly and re-raise or move all-in. They’re the best starting hands you can have, so you’re highly likely to be in the lead, which makes this an opportunity too good to pass up. It’s best to act pre-flop; if your opponent folds and you win the pot without a fight (and without bringing lady luck into the equation), then so much the better.

Found a flop you like? Bet big.

Again, it sounds obvious but you should always be doing it. If you made top pair with a strong kicker, three of a kind or a flush, then you should go for it; now is not the time to be hanging back. Of course, always look for dangerous flops which makes a straight or flush draw increasingly likely.
You may decide, from time to time, to “slow-play” a hand. For example, you’ve got a pocket pair and you make three of a kind on the flop. You’re now highly likely to have the best hand, but if everyone else if checking (especially if the flop isn’t much help, ie 2-6-9 in different suits) you may also wish to check in the hope that someone else catches a worthy, but inferior hand. One thing to watch for; make sure that you’re not giving someone a cheap way to make a better hand than you, so keep an eye out for possible flush or straight draws.

Know when to bluff.

Bluffing tends to work best when there’s something on the board that makes a bluff convincing. For example, if you get to the river and you’re trying to make a straight but miss, and want to bluff, continue to bet as though you made the straight. The cards on the board should act in a way to help your make your bluff that little bit more believable. Bluffing when there’s nothing doing isn’t recommended.

Keep an eye on your chip stack.

Always, always, know how many chips you have and play accordingly. For example, if you’re short-stacked and only have 1,000 chips remaining and blinds of 400/800 are coming to you, you need to make a stand on the next two half-decent cards or face being all-in on the small blind, forced to play anything that comes your way. Also, it’s often best to play a hand while you can still make at least a reasonable raise rather than get to the point where you’re struggling to cover the blinds. Any raise from that situation will always meet with many callers, thus reducing your chances of winning the hand.
Similarly, if you’ve got a lot of chips compared to other players at the table, don’t be afraid to use them to put them into some unpleasant situations.

The later things get, the more the blinds are worth.

Another one from the school of the bleeding obvious. The higher the blinds, the more important they are. For example, blind stealing can be a more profitable activity towards the later stages (and hence the risk levels are more acceptable) and if you’re on the big blind, it can sometimes be worth defending your investment in the pot even if you don’t have a premium hand.

Be brave. Even if it could mean going out.

Whenever you’re put to a decision for all your chips, that decision is not going to be easy. But always have courage. If you’ve played sensibly and are reasonably sure that you’ve got the goods, then play the hand even in the face of aggressive play from an opponent. Just because they’re making big raises, doesn’t mean you should automatically back down because you don’t want to go out. To win any tournament, it’s likely that you’ll have to take the odd risk.

Sometimes it’s best to let other people do your dirty work.

While you should always be brave, the aim of the tournament player is to not get eliminated and finish as high as you can, ideally in the money. If two or more players on your table are slugging it out and going all-in, you might want to consider folding and letting them get on with it no matter what cards you have. After all, you’ll be one place closer to your goal and there’s no risk. This is especially true for the latter stages of a tournament, where each place you move up is taking you nearer and nearer to the money.

[bspittles]

Kaarde, could you explain the following pieces of jargon you've used. New players won't understand them:

short stack
bad beat
short handed games
strong kicker

Also, I think it's worth pointing out
a) that blinds increase as the game goes on (every 10 minutes in the case of the FISO game),
b) playing for the smallest stakes = reckless play on many tables, so aren't the best way to hone tactics and strategems, and
c) the order of precedence of working out who has won. This is most confusing for newbies (I wrote down the order and kept referring to it on my first few visits to the table).

[Vid]

I'd recommend that anyone interested sign up for the Poker Society forum - click on "usergroups" (above your log out and Sudoku at the top of the page), select from the drop down list, hit "view information" and then click on "join" (also the way into several hidden forums that may be of interest - we also need more chess players!)

I think the poker forum is probably the best place to post relevent info such as hand values, jargon and general tips and the like.

The info is available in Ladbrokes poker help section (amongst a multitude of other online poker sites) which is available from the same page that you arrive at when clicking the affiliate link in the first post.

[Vid]

Also there is a low stakes ($1) tourney set up for 8pm Monday 10th - details in the Casino forum (also a long winded walk through to find the FISO games once you've got the software set up)

[crabby]

yeh i'd like to have a go please.

[Karrde]

Glossary of poker terms:

http://conjelco.com/pokglossary.html

[totempaul]

Karrde, just an idea...maybe you could set the table up now in advance....that way we can see and track the progress, it may also encourage players to sign up early creating momentum in making a biiger freeroll game!

[Karrde]

Karrde, just an idea...maybe you could set the table up now in advance....that way we can see and track the progress, it may also encourage players to sign up early creating momentum in making a biiger freeroll game!

I will set it up tonight when I get home, but I have observed in the past that if an early set table doesnt fill up quickly Ladbrokes tend to delete it.

I used to always set the Thursday table up on Wednesday, but twice it got removed... The same happend to Vid and his $1 table last week.

As long as a fair few of us enter tonight then there probably wont be a problem.

If it does get deleted, I will be back on here to inform you.

[Grant]

I may be being daft, but what's the table called?

[Spencer4]

It's not there yet, oi Stormtrooper

[Karrde]

Technical difficulties. Try again tonight at 6ish

[totempaul]

Technical difficulties. Try again tonight at 6ish

No worries Karrde, It's there when it's there.

[Karrde]

Im trying, but every table name I try is "invalid" no reason is given.

It doesnt like:

fiso
or
karrde

Any ideas?

If I can start this up, the fee invloved means I am limiting it to 50 players, and there is a frankly bewildering screen where I am forced to offer a prize. I have put "0" in the box, but if the winner somehow cleans out my bankroll... I want it back!

[Karrde]

Ok, it appears that the naming trouble was to do with the description I put for the tournement lobby. Maybe it didnt like having a website there.


Table: fiso free
Password: peach

Sunday: 7pm

I hope to see plenty of new faces. This has cost me to create this event. If you have ever thought about joining the fiso poker game, but were worried about the cost... Well now is your chance!!

[Vid]

um, a freeroll that has a $1 + 0.10 buy-in??? Something not quite right there!

[Karrde]

um, a freeroll that has a $1 + 0.10 buy-in??? Something not quite right there!

What the!!!!!!!!!! It WAS a free roll, it made me jump through hoops to get it as well, then charged me a tenner.

I give up.

[wingnut]

can you join in this tournamant if you are only registered as a guest player?

[GiuseppeRossoneri]

help, cant find this table

Fiso free
where are you

[wingnut]

is this still on as i couldn't find it either?

[Spencer4]

I think Karrde withdrew it as it didn't appear to be a free-roll at all. Ladbrokes obviously cpcked up.

So sorry to any who were interested, Looks like a $1 is the lowest stakes game that works so we should get one of those going soon.

Come and watch the 9pm $10 game, just by using the peach password. You can't chat, but can watch and get some idea what goes on.

[Karrde]

Yes, I am sorry but organising a free roll proved to be a tricky business in the end!

After making jump through hoops, I eventually got it up and they charged me their admin fee.

However a new screen came up that insisted I offer a prize. Now I love you all, and want you to come and join in and all, but Im not bankrolling a full Multi Table Tourney prize structure. So I put "0" into the prize box and it seemed to accept this. I then register to enter what was (at this point anyway) a free roll.

A day later it is reported to me that Ladbrokes had changed it to be a $1 entry. Presumably because I hadnt offered a prize (not that its any concern of theirs!)

Anyway, in a nutshell... I havent a clue how to go about setting up a genunie free roll that wont cost me a packet.

[crabby]

karrde just a quick thought are you not going to ask laddys for the money it cost you to set it up back?