Beanie's Daily Poker Articles

[Beanie]

I'll stick up an article a day from the vast numbers available on the Net, from various sources, and aimed at various standards. Just a quick one today from www.pokerpages.com.

Some Tips On Playing The Small Blind
By Mike Caro

In 1988, I wrote a column for a newspaper called Poker Player. It offered some of my thoughts about how to play the small blind. I thought this would be a good day to revisit those decade-old thoughts and add some new comments.

The title of that column was Today's Word is "Small Blind."

While the column addressed only hold'em and lowball, the concepts can be applied to any poker form that includes a small and a big blind. Here is the column:

Ever play lowball? Hold'em? Of course you have. You're a poker player, right? And as a poker player, you've found yourself facing, over and over, a situation that you don't understand. It's the small blind dilemma.

Limit poker and the small blind. How should a human cope with the small blind? It depends. First, let's define our terms. We're talking about limit poker. There are two blind bets. One (the small blind) is immediately to the left of the dealer position. The other (the big blind) is twice as big and is two positions left of the dealer position. In lowball, there may even be a third and smaller blind at the dealer position, but that blind isn't under discussion today.

Wait! If you really want to know, I think that it's disgraceful to put a third blind in the dealer position. That seat has a built-in strategic advantage over all other players, and it's a crime to give it an additional incentive. If you insist on having three blinds, put them all to the dealer's left.

Where were we? Oh, yeah. What we're talking about today is the small blind between the dealer and the big blind. When do you pass? When do you call? When do you raise?

There are no absolute answers to those questions. You'd have to specify exactly the type of games, exactly the hands held, and exactly the opponents you're facing. But here are some general things that you always should keep in mind.

1. It's usually wrong to surrender and let the big blind win for free in lowball or in hold'em. If everyone passes and it's up to you in the small blind, you almost always should at least call.
New note: The reason that a call is correct has a lot to do with the value of that small blind, which already weighs in your favor. Let's say that you're playing $50-$100 hold'em with a $50 big blind and you're in the small blind position, having already been forced to wager $25. Everyone passes. It's just you and the big blind. If you had to call for the full $50, there would be lots of hands that you would fold.

But, it turns out that almost all of the hands that you would fold lose much less than $25, on average, if played over and over. So, to state it simply, you now can call for just $25, because although calling for $50 often may be a bad investment, calling for just $25 is usually a good one. Fine. But what if your opponent raises? Well, you're still getting a 25 percent discount, assuming that you call. You will have to put in a total of $75 to call the big blind and then call the raise, but it should cost you $100. The $25 that you've already entered makes a big difference. In fact, most hands that you normally would fold if you had to put in $100 are worth playing at a 25 percent discount. Now, back to the original column.


2. Whether you should raise depends a lot on how often your opponent will pass. Unless you hold an overwhelming favorite (at least a pat seven in lowball or a pair of kings in hold'em), the best thing that can happen is that you raise and your opponent passes. If it's a $10 blind game, under Southern California structures, you'd win the big blind's $10 plus your $5 (or a theoretical portion thereof, but that's another topic) outright.
That $15 instant return is almost always more than your average earnings for playing many similar hands to their conclusion. But the real question is: How often will the big blind surrender if you raise? If it's 20 percent of the time or more, you're almost always better off raising with anything from a fairly weak to a moderately strong hand. However, if your opponent is very aggressive and is likely to reraise with medium hands, you should be less willing to raise (and, in fact, be more willing to pass) with your weak hands.


3. If your opponent almost never surrenders the big blind, your main incentive for raising (that is, taking the pot right now) is gone, and you should consider just calling with weak to moderate hands. You should pass with more weak hands than you normally would.

4. Your dollar-for-dollar reward is more if you just call than if you raise a big blind who subsequently calls your bet. Let's say that there are two blinds, your $5 blind and the big $10 blind. If you call, the pot affords you $15 to $5 or 3-to-1. If you raise to $20 (investing $15 more) and your opponent calls, you've invested $15 in pursuit of $25 (your opponent's $20 plus your original $5). That's 1.67-to-1. Clearly, if all goes as planned, you'll get better pot odds by calling than by raising.

5. Don't forget that you're going to be in the worst position on all future rounds of betting when you're in the small blind to the dealer's left.

6. If other players already have entered the pot, you usually should come in as cheaply as possible in the small blind. This means that you seldom should raise or reraise. Against active opponents, it almost always is incorrect to raise or reraise with a drawing hand in lowball. Similarly, it usually is incorrect to raise or reraise with anything other than a top-quality pair in hold'em. An exception frequently arises if the raiser (or caller) is in a very late position. This often indicates that the raise came with something less than an astonishing hand. Here, you have the opportunity to assert yourself by reraising and freezing the big blind out of the pot. Anytime that you can add forfeited money to the pot and end up head-to-head with prospects that are about as good as your opponent, you should consider doing it.
New note: The problem with reraising as the small blind is that you'll always have to act first. This positional disadvantage usually overwhelms any incentive to take the initiative by aggressively reraising. In hold'em, save those reraises for your very biggest pairs. Even hands such as A-K and A-Q tend to make more money overall if you just call a raise when you're in the small blind. In order to be less predictable, though, you occasionally should reraise -- but only occasionally.

[moDtheGod]

Caro is awesome.

[ONEDUNME]

I'll make a point of reading all these as I struggle to learn the game.

Good stuff.

[aliensyndm]

Caro looks like a deranged mad scientist. I think he's sometimes called the mad genius of poker

[Beanie]

Think I've got an hour long 'Mike Caro's Poker Tells' on my PC at home - mainly dealing with various body language things for live games, but has a few useful pointers.

Article today comes from www.texasholdem-poker.com. A very useful one for someone like me who is absolutely hopeless at changing gears from say a 10 handed game to when it gets down to two, three or four players, as my seconds and thirds in the poker league and constant same level re-entries at rounders will testify...

Short-handed Play

A poker essay by Jonny Vincent

We’ve all seen it a hundred times. That annoying player who, whenever the game gets short-handed, turns into what appears to be a maniac. He’s betting, he’s raising, he’s re-raising - and completely dominating the game. To the beginner, or to those inexperienced in short-handed play, he appears to have no idea of how to play. You wonder, “What’s he doing raising with K7 offsuit - he must have no idea!” But yet he wins - and wins well. What’s his secret then?

The secret lies in one word: aggression. The short-handed player must - absolutely must - be able to play a solid aggressive game. Whilst you can do well playing passively in a full ring game, where others do the betting for you, when the game gets short-handed (five or less runners), you must be able to change your playing style and be able to bet aggressively hands you wouldn’t even have considered playing in a full game. Unfortunately, if you don’t, the aggressive players will run roughshod over you, controlling the betting to their advantage, and you will find your stack diminishing rapidly.

This is often bad news to poker players, as it takes them out of their comfort zone. However, it is also exciting, fun, full of action and - if one develops and hones the unique skills of short-handed play - can be extremely rewarding. Short-handed games have more variance, which means they have more risk - but with increased risks, come increased rewards.

Playing aggressively encompasses more than simply betting or raising more than you would in a full ring game. It’s about knowing when you have the best hand (remember, in short-handed play, you must lower both your starting hand requirements and the hands you would take to a showdown) - and about taking advantage of those who play too conservatively. You want - through your aggressive betting - to make these people fold at incorrect times and, in doing so, incorrectly give up their equity in the pot. Roughly two out of three times, the flop won’t even give you a pair. The skilled aggressive player realises this, and takes advantage of players who don’t. Skilled aggressive players also know how to determine whether they are in front of their opponents, and thus when to speed up and slow down in their betting.

This may sound relatively simple, but unfortunately, it isn’t. Strong short-handed players are not born, they are made. It’s hard work and it takes dedication and a great deal of practice before you will start reaping the dividends. You will need to be able to take in a great deal more information and, more importantly, you will need to be able to process that information extremely quickly. You must be able to assess your opponent/s styles of play - be they aggressive, passive, loose or tight - keeping in mind there are varying levels of each. Many would consider my play very aggressive, but my play is quite tame compared to that of some of the super-aggressive short-handed players going around. You have to be able to assess your opponents’ styles, and alter your play accordingly. And here’s the tricky bit - you have to be able to do this from one hand to another depending on which opponents you are up against in any particular hand. There is a secondary advantage to be gained from doing this - mixing up your play makes it much harder for your opponents to gauge what you’re trying to do.

Russ Georgiev, one of the most skilled short-handed players I have ever had the opportunity to converse with, once gave me this piece of advice:

Realize that anyone that waits for a hand in a short-handed situation will lose many blinds while waiting. Also, when they gets involved in betting, the opposition will know they has something and will be waiting to check-raise them and trap them, or let them win the minimum. Short-handed players that win bet their own hands, they don't bet yours. You have to learn to do this yourself. The object of the game is to get the money called when you have the best of it and have free cards given to you with the worse of it. Short-handed is not a game for callers.

Not having the opposition able to read your style is the difference between winning and losing. The key is being able to have so many different styles that the opposition doesn't know how to combat it. All shorthanded players are aggressive. But in a horse race, the speed of the speed is the one to fear. However, do you always want to be the speed, if the pace of the game is fast enough? The answer is no. The name of the game is knowing how to bet to get the most information about a players hand. Sometimes it is best to lay off the pace and punish him in the last quarter of a mile, meaning the river.

The kinds of skills Russ is talking about here can only come with practice. I can’t tell you to raise with K9o from late position without knowing the texture of the game, and the styles of your opponents. Knowing when to raise, which hands to start with and which hands to stay with is something only you can learn with time. The trick to starting out is to not underestimate your hands. Simply start betting, raising and check-raising more, even occasionally when you have nothing. Don’t take it too far, especially when you’re just starting out, but take yourself out of your comfort zone - you might be surprised at how much fun you have whilst you are learning. And you also might be surprised at how quickly you do, indeed, learn.

If you have had any experience in short-handed play, you will already be starting to comprehend the point/s I am trying make here, if not yet understanding them fully. If you don’t, that’s ok. As I stated before, it takes time and plenty of practice to hone your skills. I like to think I know what I’m doing in a short-handed game, but the more I play, the more I realise how many talented players there are out there and how much better I can, and must, become - it just takes dedication, hard work and confidence in yourself. Just between you and me, really excellent short-handed players absolutely carve me up. I can’t compete with them!

Which leads me to a very important point: You must be quick to figure out when you are hopelessly outclassed. You then have two choices - stay in the game and learn from the experience (effectively you are ‘paying’ for the lesson), or leave the game immediately and find a different game. Short-handed players who are serious about making money don’t compete with each other (they know the rake will be the winner) - they look for games in which they hold a significant advantage over their opponents to make it profitable. Occasionally talented short-handed players will duel - even if they know there are easier games elsewhere - but this would be an ego thing to assert dominance. There is always easier money to be made elsewhere. If you can’t work out what your opponent/s are doing, or if you’re not confident of being able to work them out quickly, don’t feel ashamed in leaving immediately. The only reason you might want to stay in that game is if you feel you can learn from their play.

I hope this little piece has, if nothing else, given you a starting point for making a serious crack at becoming a short-handed genius. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself - the skills will come. Don’t be afraid to be hard on yourself either - be honest as you sit down periodically and contemplate how you are going. Remember, you will never be the best player in the world - but you don’t need to be. Picking up a few simple sets of skills in short-handed play already puts you ahead of the vast majority - who concentrate solely on their ring game play, to the neglect of this all-too-important part of the game.

Good luck and go start dominating some short-handed games!

Jonny Vincent

[Beanie]

It doesn't say that much in terms of tips, but as it acknowledges it can't as the context of every game will be different.

But a 'comfort zone' is something I fall into all too often - breezing through while half the table is eliminated, and forgetting to change style with everyone nicking my blinds all the while.

I certainly remember neil and Doc becoming a lot more aggressive when down to the last 2 or 3 in the poker league.

Gonna go practice now.

[Beanie]

Today we refer to last months issue of Card Player Magazine, which can be read at www.cardplayer.com.

Its on the topic of bet amount, something which I don't think I have much of a grasp of at the moment.

Betting the Wrong Amount in No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments
by Tom McEvoy

Lots of tournament players play their “A” games for an hour or so — until they can’t stand it any longer. “There are a lot of players in tournaments who don’t have an ‘A’ game,” T.J. Cloutier stated. “In the long run, the weaker players are going to make calls and plays that are so far out of line that they don’t have a chance to win the tournament.” In simple terms, the player who makes the fewest mistakes in no-limit Texas hold’em is the one who makes the most money.

It is particularly important in tournament play to recognize leaks in your game and correct them as completely and quickly as possible. The top pros understand that playing mistake-free poker is their ticket to the top. Sometimes, however, we all have lapses in concentration and make mistakes that can become fatal flaws, especially in freezeout tournaments, in which you cannot buy more chips when you lose your stack. One of the fatal flaws that co-author Don Vines and I discuss in our upcoming book, How to Win No-Limit Hold’em Tournaments, is betting the wrong amount — too much or too little — in no-limit hold’em tournaments.

Betting too much: When you push your chips into the pot, always ask yourself, “What is the purpose of my bet?” When you bet too much, people are often suspicious. “There’s only $100 in the pot and he’s betting $1,000. Why is he betting so much?” they wonder. Quite often when you overbet the pot, your purpose is to shut out people when you have a marginal hand that you think might be the best hand — but just in case it isn’t, you’re praying, “Please don’t call me.”

We often see someone in late position grossly overbet the pot with a hand such as pocket sevens. They bet several times the size of the pot because they want everybody to fold. The only problem with that type of play is that they are likely to see one of two outcomes: They will either win a small pot or lose a very big pot. If they get called, they’re almost always going to be up against a better hand. We’ve even seen players routinely overbet the pot in tournaments with hands like A-6 offsuit. Anytime we see players overbet the pot (or underbet the pot, for that matter), their play indicates to us that they probably are inexperienced players.

Here’s a fix for this flaw: If you raise the pot the same amount every time that you are first to act, your opponents will have trouble putting you on a hand. We suggest raising three to four times the size of the big blind if you plan on raising.

Betting too little: Suppose you are playing in a medium-limit tournament and the blinds are $50-$100. A player comes into the pot for $200, exactly twice the size of the big blind. Your first reaction to his bet is, “Uh-oh, a limit hold’em player.” Or, if you know the raiser is a seasoned no-limit hold’em tournament player, you might think, “He wants me to play. He has a big hand and wants to entice some action on it.” Most of the time, however, a double-the-big-blind bet simply indicates that the bettor is a novice player who doesn’t know any better.

One of the worst plays we see new players or low-limit online players make is this: Two or three players have entered the pot for the minimum bet and the novice raises to exactly double the size of the big blind. This is a raise that will not drive anybody out of the pot. Instead, it will reopen the betting for anybody at the table who wants to reraise. If someone has sandbagged (slow-played) a strong hand or believes the raiser’s hand is a bit weak, he often will make a big reraise and take the pot away from the original raiser right there. The original raiser has not accomplished anything with his double bet except lose money on the hand.

Here’s one way to fix this flaw: Raise three to four times the size of the big blind. If callers are already in the pot, add one increment for each caller up to three. For example, if three players are in the pot, raise six to seven times the big blind.

One of the common consequences of betting too little is that players let drawing hands get into the pot too cheaply. It’s like they have a limit hold’em mentality, betting just double the size of the big blind even on the flop. Suppose they have A-J. The flop comes J-10-3 with two diamonds. They probably have the best hand, but this is a coordinated flop. Say there’s $100 in the pot and they decide to bet $20 or $30. Now, they’re making it profitable for anybody with any kind of reasonable draw, including an inside-straight draw with an overcard, to take off a card (call the bet).

Depending on the size of the pot, I like to make a pot-sized bet. I don’t want to overbet, because occasionally I might run into a bigger hand. But, I want to make it costly enough that the marginal hands will leave. If you were to always bet the size of the pot when you thought you had the best hand on the flop and wanted to protect it, and you did no other type of betting, you probably would be right about 90 percent of the time.

[Beanie]

Let's get it on again...a very basic odds article

Probability is a huge factor in texas hold 'em. Players use odds to determine their actions. The chances of finishing a flush or a straight, the probablity of getting an overcard, the percentage of times you're going to flop a set to match your pocket pair are all important factors in poker. Knowledge of these statistics is key to winning. In online games especially with very few (if any) tells, statistical knowledge becomes the main factor when choosing whether to bet, call, or fold.

Here are some terms that you'll hear on this site and whenever you're talking about poker odds...

Outs The number of cards left in the deck that will improve your hand.
"I had four hearts on the turn, so I had only 9 outs left to finish that flush."

Pot Odds The odds you get when analyzing the current size of the pot vs. your next call.

"There's $200 already in the pot, and only another $10 bet coming at me, so my pot odds are good if I hit that flush."

Bet Odds The odds you get as a result of evaluating the number of callers to a raise. "With a 1 in 5 chance of hitting it, and knowing all six of these guys are gonna call my bet, my bet odds are good too."

Implied Odds The odds you are getting after the assumed result of betting for the remainder of the hand. "Since I think these guys are going to call on the turn and river, my implied odds are excellent."

In Texas Hold 'Em, you commonly use outs and pot odds the most. This is also the starting point for those who want to learn about poker odds. To those out there who "ain't good at countin' much", you better get good because that is how it's done. At this point it's only simple division The numerator will be the number of outs you have. The denominator is the number of cards left that we haven't seen. The result will be the percentage chance of making one of those outs. Therefore, the most math you'll be doing will be dividing small numbers by 50 (pre-flop), 47 (after the flop), or 46 (after the turn). Click here for a series of examples on this.

Before we move on, I get a lot of questions about why we never factor in opponents' cards or burn cards. If you are wondering why that is, click here.

Pot odds are as easy as computing outs. You compare your outs or your chance of winning to the size of the pot. If your chance of winning is significantly better than the ratio of the pot size to a bet, then you have good pot odds. If it's lower, then you have bad pot odds. For example, say you are in a $5/$10 holdem game with Jack-Ten facing one opponent on the turn. You have an outside straight draw with a board of 2-5-9-Q, and only the river card left to make it. Any 8 or any King will finish this straight for you, so you have 8 outs (four 8's and 4 K's left in the deck) and 46 unseen cards left. 8/46 is almost the same as a 1 in 6 chance of making it. Your sole opponent bets $10. You if you take a $10 bet you could win $200. $200/$10 is 20, so you stand to make 20x more if you call. 1/6 higher than 1/20, so pot odds say that calling wouldn't be a bad idea.

We should probably clarify one thing. A lot of players want to somehow factor in money they wagered on previous rounds. With the last example, you probably had already invested a significant portion of that $200 pot. Let's say $50. Does that mean you should play or fold because of that money you already have in there? $50/$200? That's a big no. That's not your money anymore! It's in a pool of money to be given to the winner. You have no "stake" in that pot. The only stake you might have is totally mental and has no bearing on hard statistics.

The next step is to use bet odds and implied odds. That's tougher, because it involves predicting reactions of other players. With bet odds, you try to factor in how many people are going to call a raise. With implied odds, you're thinking about reactions for the rest of the game. One last example on implied odds...

Say it's another $5/$10 holdem game and you have a four flush on the flop. Your neighbor bets, and everyone else folds. The pot is $50 at this point. First you figure out your chance of hitting your flush on the turn, and it comes out to about 19.1% (about 1 in 5). You have to call this $5 bet vs a $50 pot, so that's a 10x payout. 1/5 is higher than 1/10, so bet odds are okay, but you must consider that this guy's going to bet into you on the turn and river also. That's the $5 plus two more $10 bets. So now your facing $25 more till the end of the hand. So you have to consider your chances of hitting that flush on the turn or river, which makes it about 35% (better than 1 in 3 now), but you have to invest $25 for a finishing pot of $100. $100/$25 is 1 in 4. That's pretty close. But there's more!... if you don't make it on the turn, it'll change your outs and odds! You'll have a 19.6% chance of hitting the flush (little worse than 1 in 5), but a $20 investment for a finishing pot of $100! $100/$20 is 1 in 5. So the chances would take a nasty turn if you didn't hit it! What's makes it more complicated is that if you did hit it on the turn, you could raise him back, and get an extra $20 or maybe even $40 in the pot.

I'll let it go at that, as once you've mastered simple outs and pot odds, bet and implied odds are just a longer extension of these equations. If you sit and think about these things while you play, it'll come to you eventually without any tutoring. Good luck!

From www.texasholdem-poker.com

[aliensyndm]

Hmm I don't think that is particularly well explained there actually beanie to be honest. He's not made it very clear at all.
We must search for a better explanation methinks.

[Beanie]

I posted a new thread with some articles about poker mistakes, but it seems it was lost in the server transfer...

Will take too long to post them all back up, but check out the link. It deals with what they say is a 'Top Ten Poker Mistakes'.

#1: Playing Too Many Starting Hands
#2: Drawing to Outs That Won’t Help You Win
#3: Miscalculating Odds with Two Cards to Come
#4: Calling Raises Too Often on the Turn
#5: Automatically Betting or Raising the River When They Think They Have the Best Hand
#6 Playing at Limits Too High in Relation to Their Bankroll
#7 Not Paying Attention
#8 Bluffing Too Much
#9 Trying to Get Back to Even
#10: Playing Short-Handed with Little Experience

Poker Mistakes

[Beanie]

I'll try to get these going again as long as I remember.

Let's start with a realy simple article...

Brad Daugherty’s 10 Tips to Improve your Tournament Play

1. Want to improve your end game? Want to build your level of experience in playing final tables? Want to learn how to 'close the deal' and win an event? Play a single table satellite! And when you do, pretend you are at the final table of the World Championship. Remember, every chip is precious. Playing single-table tournaments is great practice for the end game of multi-table tournaments. The strategies are very similar; with the biggest difference being single-table tournaments usually take less than an hour to play, where the multi-table tournaments take over 4 hours to play.

2. A good basic strategy for the single-table tournaments is to play solid, playing only premium hands in the first three rounds. After that, open up and play more hands, becoming more aggressive the higher the blinds get, and the shorter handed the tournament becomes.

3. Be a bettor, not a caller. Remember, the bettor has two chances to win, the first being you might be able to show down the best hand, and secondly, if everyone folds, you win an uncontested pot!

4. When your chip stack gets less than five times the size of the big blind in a no-limit single-table tournament or a multi-table tournament, consider moving all in with any two cards as long as you are the first one in the pot. In these situations you are just betting that no one has a hand that they can call you with. If you do get called and have the worst hand, you might get lucky and draw out on them. If you aren't the first one in, you are joining a pot with automatic competition.

5. In the late stages when you have a large stack of chips and it's one or two spots from the money, it's easy to rob players that are desperately trying to make the money. Play more aggressive in that spot, reduce your starting requirements, and pick up some extra chips!

6. When you have an opponent who is overly aggressive, use it against them. Let them think you have a weak hand when you really have a strong one. Check into them so they will bet. You will then have the option to checkraise and take advantage of their aggressiveness. In the case of a real monster, check it a second time, and then pop it up!

7. Play Real Money games to practice for the early rounds of multi-table tournaments. The play here is very close to the same because you aren't under pressure from the blinds. So play real money games anytime you have the time to improve your play for the early rounds. Play solid poker.

8. Have a game plan for your tournament. Decide if you are going to start out playing tight in the early rounds, or if are you going to play fast and try to accumulate chips early. Consider adjustments you might make if you get short of chips, if you get a large stack, or how you might adjust to different types of opponents styles. Be prepared for everything!

9. When you are playing, always observe your opponents and pick out who will and who wont, defend the blinds. The higher the blinds get, the more valuable this information becomes. Remember the tight players are easier to rob. Be ready to take advantage of them.

10. Save the best for last. Play your own tournament! That's right, your own little event that starts and ends when you want. You are the tournament director and can play any form of poker you'd like. Sit in the smallest game you can find. The rounds are 20, 30, 40 minutes, anything you want, so set an alarm clock. When the clock goes off, you must get up and move to the next highest game. Keep going and see how much you can accumulate and how far you can go. Get to the biggest game and you win the trophy. Of course, in this tournament, you can quit at any time and cash in your checkers. Good Luck!

From www.pokersourceonline.com

[Beanie]

Here's an interesting one...online tells

Online Poker Tell #1: To Pause or Not to Pause
When playing online, poker rooms limit the amount of time you have to play your hand. Most give you 30 seconds or less. That’s not much time to watch for a tell, but it’s enough. As a general rule, if a player pauses a long time, then bets, that still means he probably has a good hand and is trying to figure out his play. If, however, he pauses for a long time and just checks, it usually means his hand is mediocre at best. Of course, you’ll still have to be careful; some players know about these tells and will deliberately do the opposite of what’s written here to throw you off.

Online Poker Tell #2: Instant Playing
Most online poker rooms have little boxes you can check for quick play. As a general rule, you shouldn’t use these! They give too much away. If a player instantly checks or bets, it usually signifies a weak hand. Again, sometimes players will do the opposite, but most fish just use check boxes without thinking.

Online Poker Tell #3: Mr. Talkie
Just as in home or casino games, some people talk when they’re nervous or when they’re feeling good. Watch the chat screen. At times, players will say things like “Finally!” or even “What’s up with these flops?!” Those are good insights into what they may be playing with…especially if they’ve said something like this before and gave themselves away. Also watch for phrases such as “This playing online stuff is cool.”—giving away the newbies.

Online Poker Tell #4: “Sorry”
One of the most frequent online tells of a distracted player is long pauses or timing out. Sometimes they’ll even apologize for it. This usually signifies that that player may be distracted. When playing online, many players are at work. Others are playing several games at once. Still others are reading message boards or surfing the net. All of those players will be distracted and not playing at their full potential…and you can take advantage of that. Again, watch the chat, too. Many times you’ll hear, “Oh man! I just lost $20 at my other table!” Good news…he’s distracted.

Online Poker Tell #5: Raising in Position
This tell, also seen offline, is a common tell. If you’re in one of the blinds and everyone folds except one of the people in late position who raise, they may just be trying to steal the pot. If you have anything at all, raise them back. This move will most often result in them folding…but if they don’t, watch out! They may really have something.

Online Poker Tell #6: Waiting for the Big Blind
In most online poker rooms, when you arrive at a table, you have the option of jumping into play, or waiting for the Big Blind. As a general rule, online players are impatient and will jump right into play no matter what the cost. If you see a player come and wait for the Big Blind, this could be a good sign that he’s a patient player and will play only strong hands.

Online Poker Tell #7: Frequent Flopping
All it takes is several hands of play to get an initial read on an opponent. Many opponents will try to always see the flop, no matter how bad their hand is. This is especially true in low limit games where seeing the flop can be very cheap. If you’re playing against someone who’s always getting in to see the flop, you can count on the fact that many of his hands may not be very good…and a little pushing will usually nudge him out of the hand.

Online Poker Tell #8: Frequent Folding
On the converse, some players will always fold their hand. This typically means they are a patient player, waiting for one of the top preflop hands to play. If they end up jumping into a round, watch out…they probably have a strong hand and won’t be afraid to bully you with it.

Online Poker Tell #9: Reloading
Sometimes you’ll notice a player who busts out, frequently reloading his cash. This probably means he has some cash in the bank, but isn’t good enough to keep it in his hand! If you see someone who’s reloading a lot, they have “fish” written all over them. Make them reload again!

Online Poker Tell #10: At the End of Their Rope
Finally, one of the best things about playing online is that you can easily see how much the other players at your table have in cash. If someone started playing with $20 and is now down to $4, chances are they’re at the end of their rope and they will either leave the table or just blow the $4. If they’ve been seeing a lot of flops, raise them with a good hand and try to get the rest. More often than not, you’ll be the one sending them packing.

Online Poker Tell #11: Big Bets Fast
A lot of online poker rooms let you see a table’s percentage of players who see the flop. If the percentage is high, this usually means you have a table of limpers, who want to see the flop no matter what they have in hand. If a good player sees that you’re at such a table, many times he’ll come in, sit down and, after everyone limps in, he’ll go all-in or raise the hand, hoping that everyone will fold. If you’ve got a good hand, it may be worth it to challenge this fast, big better.

Online Poker Tell #12: Folding Instead of Checking
Though most online poker sites have prompts to save you a mistake, some amateurs will fold a hand instead of checking it, when the check would have been free. This is usually the sign of an amateur player. However, a good player may fold instead of check on the river if he’s been bluffing and doesn’t want anyone to see his bluffing hand. This is also a good tell, since you’re getting a read on a good opponent’s bluff.

Online Poker Tell #13: The Turn and River “Instant” Bet
While Online Tell #2 warned you that instant playing usually signifies weakness, the opposite could be true at the Turn or the River. By now, a player usually has a stronger indication about whether they can beat their opponents. And if the person you’re playing against instantly bets at the Turn or the River, they most likely think they can beat whatever you hold. In this case, only hold on to a strong winner…otherwise you might want to consider dropping the “second best.”

Online Poker Tell #14: Time of Day
Though this isn’t as much a tell as it is a hint to catching the fish, watch what time of day you play. If you play in the US, early morning play usually means you’re playing people from Europe. Evening play usually means you’re playing other US players. Middle-of-the-day play happens during business hours in the US and sleep hours in the UK, so it usually means you’re playing those who aren’t there just for casual play, so your games will turn more serious. Most players find Friday and Saturday night the best times for catching fish, plus right after the US airing of the most recent World Poker Tour.

Online Poker Tell #15: You Name It
Finally, take a look at your opponent’s names. As a general rule, serious players use their real name, a clever alias or a non-descript alias for playing. Fish many times have silly names or “rude” names. Though this isn’t always the case, it’s a general rule that can many times give you a read on the maturity level of your opponent. Some sites allow for personal avatars that can provide clues, too. Again, however, watch out for those who are hoping you’ll suspect this and are playing the opposite.

From www.pokersourceonline.com

Infact that wasn't as good as I thought it might be

[Beanie]

Let's get some basic odds down...

Starting Hands

The probability of being dealt:

Pocket aces: 220-1 (0.45%)
Any pocket pair: 16-1 (5.9%)
Any pocket pair or two cards ten or higher: 4.5-1 (18%)
Any pocket pair of sevens or higher or two cards ten or higher: 5.4-1 (16%)
Either pocket aces or pocket kings: 110-1 (0.9%)
Either pocket aces, pocket kings or Ace-King (AK): 46-1 (2.1%)

Ace-King (AK) suited: 331-1 (0.3%)
AK offsuit: 110-1 (0.9%)
AK suited or offsuit: 82-1 (1.2%)

Any two suited cards: 3.3-1 (24%)
Any two-way suited connectors (4-5 to J-10 suited): 46-1 (2.1%)
Any two-way offsuit connectors: 11-1 (8.5%)

Pocket Pairs

You have a 16-1 (5.9%) chance of being dealt a pocket pair.

If you have a pocket pair, the probability of:

Making a set (three of a kind) or better by the river: 4.2-1 (19%)
Flopping a set or better: 7.5-1 (11.8%)
Flopping a set: 8.3-1 (10.8%)
Improving to a full house or better by the river when you flop a set: 2-1 (33%)
Improving to a full house on the turn when you flop a set: 5.7-1 (15%)
Improving to a full house on the river when you have a set on the turn: 3.6-1 (22.7%)
Flopping a full house: 136-1 (0.74%)
Flopping four of a kind: 407-1 (0.25%)

Unpaired Hole Cards

If you have 2 unpaired hole cards, the probablity of:

Flopping a pair or better (using one of your pocket cards): 2.1-1 (32.4%)
Flopping a pair (using one of your hole cards): 2.5-1 (29%)
Flopping two pair (using both of your hole cards): 49-1 (2%)
Improving to a full house or better by the river when you hit two pair on the flop: 5.1-1 (17%)
Improving to a full house on the turn when you hit two pair on the flop: 11-1 (9%)
Improving to a full house on the river when you have two pair on the turn: 11-1 (9.1%)

Flopping two pair (using only one of your hole cards): 24-1 (4%)
Flopping trips (three of a kind, using one of your hole cards): 73-1 (1.35%)
Flopping a full house (using both of your hole cards): 1087-1 (0.09%)
Flopping four of a kind (using one of your hole cards): 9799-1 (0.01%)

Making a pair or better by the river when you have two overcards on the flop: 3.2-1 (24%)
Making a pair on the turn when you have two overcards on the flop: 6.8-1 (13%)
Making a pair on the river when you have two overcards on the turn: 6.7-1 (13%)

Flush Odds

You have a 3.3-1 (24%) chance of being dealt any two suited cards. If you have two suited cards, the probability of:

Making a flush by the river: 15-1 (6.4%)
Flopping a flush: 118-1 (0.84%)
Flopping a flush draw (two cards of the matching suit on the flop): 8.1-1 (10.9%)
Making a flush by the river when you flop a flush draw: 1.9-1 (35%)
Making a flush on the turn when you flop a flush draw: 4.2-1 (19%)
Making a flush on the river when you have a flush draw on the turn: 4.1-1 (20%)

Flopping a backdoor flush draw (one card of the matching suit on the flop): 1.4-1 (41.6%)
Making a flush by the river when you flop a backdoor flush draw: 23-1 (4.2%)
Hitting a flush on the river when you have a flush draw on the turn: 4.1-1 (20%)
If you have two unsuited cards, the probability of:
Making a flush by the river: 53-1 (1.8%)
Flopping a flush draw (three cards of the matching suit on the flop): 88-1 (1.1%)
Flopping a backdoor flush draw (two cards of the matching suit on the flop): 6.8-1 (12.8%)

Straight Odds

The probability of...

Making a straight by the river when you flop an open-ended straight draw: 2.2-1 (32%)
Making a straight on the turn when you flop an open-ended straight draw: 4.9-1 (17%)
Making a straight on the river when you have an open-ended straight draw on the turn: 4.8-1 (17%)

Making a straight by the river when you flop a gutshot straight draw: 5.1-1 (17%)
Making a straight on the turn when you flop a gutshot straight draw: 11-1 (9%)
Making a straight on the river when you have a gutshot straight draw on the turn: 11-1 (8%)

Flop Odds

The probability of the flop containing:

A pair (ex. 4-4-J): 5-1 (17%)
No cards in sequence: 0.8-1 (56%)
Two cards in sequence: 1.5-1 (40%)
Three cards in sequence: 28-1 (3.5%)
A rainbow (three cards of different suits): 1.5-1 (40%)
Two matching suited cards: 0.8-1 (55%)
Three matching suited cards: 18-1 (5.2%)
Three of a kind: 424-1 (0.24%)

Preflop Head-to-Head

Here are the approximate preflop odds of a hand winning in a heads-up situation.

Overpair vs. underpair (ex. AA vs. 77): Overpair ~80% favorite
Pocket aces vs. non-pair: Aces are ~80% to ~86% favorite
Pocket aces vs. suited connectors: Aces are ~77% favorite
Pair vs. two overcards (ex. 66 vs. AK): Pair is ~51% to ~57% favorite, this is commonly called a "race" or "coin flip"
Pair vs. one overcard unsuited (ex. 66 vs. A2o): Pair ~70% favorite
Pair vs. one overcard suited (ex. 66 vs. A2s): Pair ~66% favorite
Two overcards vs. two non-pair undercards (ex. AK vs. 94): Overcards ~57% to ~62% favorite
One overcard vs. two non-pair undercards (ex. A2 vs. 95): One overcard hand ~50% to ~55% favorite
Dominated hands (ex. AK vs. AQ or J5 vs. J4): Hand with better kicker is ~69% to ~75% favorite.