Poker Tips: From Choosing Seat to Value Betting

Some may believe that they have a lucky position on the poker table but in reality, there is no lucky seat. What you can get is a winning seat and that depends who will be on your left and who will be sitting on your right.

Remember that the action goes clockwise in poker so anyone who is to the left of anyone has a positional advantage. So the person to your left will always see what you will do before he or she decides. This is not the case of course when you go heads up.

Loose players should be to your right. This way you will make most of their aggressive moves. Tight aggressive poker players should be to your left because they do not participate too much on the pot and therefore will not be able to make most of their positional advantage.

Value Betting

When you say value betting, this involves betting on a situation when you are considering gaining some small advantages while the less aggressive players will go for a check.

Value betting will work for you if your opponents are somehow intimidated by your presence. Go on value betting if you think you have a psychological hold of the poker table limit holdem. This means you cannot really make most of value betting when you are on the losing end since the other players feel superior over you. When you don’t have psychological control of the table, then value betting does not give you an edge.

Overcalling

Winning poker players make money because they know when to bet, raise, and call. They must really be doing something right. Most of the time though these players overcall. Overcalling means that there is already a bet at least and then you become another caller. A lot of players lose money when they overcall on the river.

Playing Small Pocket Pairs

Small pocket pairs are the 2-2 thru 6-6 that you will be dealt with on the poker table. Anything higher will be your medium pocket pairs or the high pocket pairs. Most beginners will think that these are very low cards holdem poker to play but these small pocket pairs are deceptively strong.

Remember that these small pocket pairs are well ahead of other cards before the flop as long as the other players will not have a higher pair. The situation gets tricky though after the flop especially when you do not improve your hand.

The strength of the small pocket pair is when upon flop, you make a set. Lets say that on the flop, you get another card to make what you have as a three of a kind. This sets are very strong hands and has a big potential to make a lot of money since most opponents will not suspect that you have a 3-of-a-kind.

The best way to play your small pocket pairs is to see if you can make a set during the flop. If you do not make a set, the wisest move will be to fold. Take note that it will be very difficult to play these cards after the flop and when you do not make a set. If you cards do not improve upon flop, then do not push on and fold.

The odds of hitting a set upon flop when you have a small pocket pair is not that great. The odds is 7 to 1, but still it has a very good potential that is worth checking out. Remember the cardinal rule for playing small pocket pairs, fold when you do not make a set upon flop. See 10 Hold’em Tips to know more.

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