This time: playing cards and dice by a lingerie label called “Miss Lala“.

What follows below is not a direct paraphrasing of Miller, Sklansky, and Malmuth’s work, nor do I attempt to imitate them – that would be plagiarism. Instead, I have listed several tips for use at these games, many of which were inspired by SSHE. If you are serious about playing low-level limit hold’em, I highly recommend that you follow the advice in this column and pick up a copy of the book for yourself.

Before the Flop

• If you aren’t sure whether to call or fold, you should fold. Mediocre hands will often lead to difficult and incorrect decisions after the flop.
• Raise your strong hands (high pairs, AK, suited AQ and KQ). You will see a lot of players who only raise pocket aces or who try to get cute with big hands before the flop. Do not follow their leads, even if they give you a hard time when you raise; you should be trying to win money, not make friends. Be respectful and you will be able to do both.
• Don’t be afraid of a capped flop with a moderately good hand, like a pair of jacks. The garbage that people will call four bets with will often surprise you.

After the Flop

• Making loose calls is fine at most tables. Even if you don’t technically have the odds to call, other players can make your hand profitable by staying in much longer than they should. It is worth it to play one small bet on the flop for the chance of winning several large ones later in the hand. Furthermore, people often neglect to bet the turn, allowing you to see two cards for one small bet.
• Raise strong hands mercilessly. Many players will incorrectly use the above philosophy, staying in with virtually no shot of winning. Make them pay to see your winners.
• Exploit overly aggressive players. Some players will bet and raise with just about any type of hand or possibly with nothing. Call them down with a strong hand and save your raise for the river; when you have nothing but suspect that they have the same, play back at them earlier in the hand.

On the River

• Watch out for two types of players – those who never bet the river and those who bet mediocre hands on the river. For the first group, make sure that you get in a bet when y our hand is strong because you don’t want to miss value. For the second group, try an occasional bluff raise and see what happens – they may be reluctant to call with middle pair.
• SSHE advises you to never fold for one bet on the river of a large pot. I will take this one step further: don’t fold a strong hand in a large pot unless you have greater than two opponents or if a strong player caps the betting. I learned this in one of my first ever sessions, when I folded an ace-high spade flush in a raised pot when the board was showing four to a straight flush. The original bettor had the 5 of spades while the raiser had the deuce; neither had a straight flush, or a hand worth betting, for that matter. Countless players only look at their own cards and do not take your possible hands into consideration. Let these players build your pots for you.

Well, there you have it! Not a compendium of poker advice by any means, but this should serve as a useful guide to get you started on your way to playing winning limit hold’em.

This comment circulating around several poker sites was fraudulently posted by someone claiming to be a GSN board member. While many parts of the statement are inaccurate, GSN has picked up the option on the 5th season of HIGH STAKES POKER and continues to enjoy poker on its air.

What is this all about? A comment on this post on ppppoker!

(I can’t wait — High Stakes Poker still is way the best poker show on tv!)

Besides being a proficient poker player, professionals require certain characteristics to make it through the long haul. Foremost of these is patience; one does not master any craft without practice and time. Though many players hit it rich at once in the early days of Partypoker.com, among other sites, they were not prepared to handle the long losing streaks or the deliberate pace of moving up in limits using proper bankroll management. They also refused to wait for profitable games to come along, instead interjecting themselves into contests where they were clearly overmatched. Numerous budding professionals flamed out as they climbed too high on wings made of ephemeral Internet success.

Related to patience is self-control; a professional must be able to maintain an even keel in the face of the worst beats, or else risk losing even more money on account of uncontrolled emotions. Taking frequent bad beats is sometimes seen as the mark of a skillful player, as these players will have their money in when they have the past chance of winning; a player who lays many bad beats on others is just getting lucky. Not tipping your hand and avoiding alcohol while playing are also related to self-control (a few professionals are able to drink while playing but this is not recommended, as poker requires concentrated thought and memory to be played successfully).

Finally, a poker player must be able to handle the psychology of the game. Any advantage over another player is important, and it takes an incisive mind to be able to get into the heads of others. On the flip side, the poker player must be difficult to figure out, or else find himself vulnerable to others who have better developed this ability. A perfect example of a player great in both of these traits is Phil Ivey — one of poker’s greatest!

Although there are many skilled poker players, few have the required makeup and combination of traits to allow them to become full-time, successful professionals. Unfortunately, most of the skills cannot be taught, though they can be developed with enough training and dedication.

A little excerpt:

“Little has been resolved with regards to online poker in the 20 months since the President signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). In general, people are still unsure of whether they are legally allowed to gamble over the Internet, and many of them are upset about it.”

Click for full size!

Thanks to pokerpauly.com!

I had such a painful even tonight and I feel like sharing.

I’m on the button with about $1200 in chips. I pick up AJs. The whole table fold/limps to me and I decide to open with a 6BB raise (average for the table). Two limpers and the big blind call my raise so 4 players see a A-A-T flop.

Good result. I flop a set of jacks, and I assume I have by far the strongest hand at the moment. Pocket tens beat me — but that’s it. I check, two players check behind me and one guy bets about half the pot. I call, one guy behind me calls too.

The turn is a Jack. I make the nuts. Good stuff. One of the caller bets +/-80% of the pot and I decide to just call again. The other players fold.

The river is a Ten.

The other guy leads out, I raise, he shoves, I call.

He flips over pocket tens.

He had about $1050. Second in chips at the table.

Bah.

Source: 4 Pocket Pairs all-in Pre-flop… at Poker Ustmib.