Ask me about....online poker

[ECA]

This type of thread is fairly common on some forums but havn't seen it here yet so I'm kicking it off.

I've been playing online poker for around a year, started off with a $55 deposit online and turned it into $4800, currently I have $1700 online ( withdrawn the rest periodically ).

So gogogog ask away anything you can think of.

 

[old.user4556]

Do you delcare it to the inland revenue?

 

[ECA]

Gambling income is tax exempt. Next question.

 

[old.user4556]

If it's in Dollars, is there a pre-defined conversion to pounds, or can you wait for a good $:£ ratio and cash in thus maximising return?

 

[ECA]

The dollar rate is set by the online poker room or e-wallet of choice, I just take it out as often as I want because the dollar is in a slow motion nose dive. You can get around paying a conversion charge but its about a 15 step process and its a total hassle to set up - I might bother sometime next year when the % cut taken by neteller ( my ewallet ) becomes noticeable.

 

[old.user4556]

Do you play poker offline, if yes, doesn't it feel "faceless" or emotionless when online?

As an offline poker player, it really helps to see your opponents face - does it help or hinder you?

 

[ECA]

Yes I play live, and yes it does feel faceless and yes its much more boring online - I usually have music and irc going to keep me attached - or playing as many tables as I can pay attention to.

Does seeing your opponents face help?

Not in as much of a way as you would think.
Poker is really a logic game and the key is really your opponents betting patterns - more so in no limit and pot limit forms than limit - facial and body "tells" on your opponent can only really be used to gauge your opponents stress levels - and you really need to know what its saying about your opponent.

For example a very extravert player may be nervous when he has an extremely good hand - maybe he stops talking or keeps his sentences short when he is sat on a monster hand, maybe its the opposite - until you know which is which you cant use that information and you certainly cant "read his soul" as some might have you believe.

 

[ECA]

Some more in reply to Big G's last post before my reply - information at a live game is much more numerous than a persons face.

There is a metric shitload of information available in live play that isnt available online.

Here are some of the more common giveaways.

Chips are carefully placed in the middle with a real hand, but pushed in with a bluff or vice versa.

A player picks up his cards before its his turn to act - he will then react a certain way - some players will even have their hand ready to muck before the action gets to them - so lets say the hand starts and you're on the button ( ie last to act on all betting rounds except preflop ), and the small and big blinds pickup their hands and look like they are going to fold - everyone folds around to you - you look at your cards and see trash cards maybe a jack-deuce offsuit.

Normally you fold this 10/10 times, but now you dont because you know the blinds are going to fold to your raise.

The looking at the hand before the action is on them is probably the worst mistake new players make.

These are of course the most cliche things I can think of, but you get the idea.

 

[Earl]

Can you teach me to have patience?

Im crap at poker. Period. But I do enjoy playing it, although I tend to lose all my money quite quickly.

My problem is that often i'll get a really good hand and simply win a nice pot due to having the best hand going, but then i'll end up wasting all the money because I went in on a silly off-chance and ended up pilling a load of cash in to end up having nothing...

 

[ECA]

Learning patience took me a while, probably the first six months of online play.

You really have to look at it like this:

Every hand has an expectation - in a ten handed no limit holdem cash game ( just to settle the maths etc. it varies ) there are very few profitable hands to play from early position ( early position is bad because you act first, giving away more information ), mathematically the probability of someone having a better hand than you is the same wherever your seated but from later position ( the button being the best position because you act last on all rounds except preflop ) you gain more information - if five people folded in front of you thats a lot less to worry about.

In addition to that factor there is also the chance of reraises - eg you call from early position with 67 suited and are met with a raise from middle position and a reraise from late position and now you have to fold. ( if you like money that is ).

Positional play and varied starting hand requirements according to position is one of the first basics you need to learn - available online and in all good poker books.

 

[tris-]

online, what is the best method for bluffing if you have no hand at all except say a high card king?

 

[ECA]

Depends..tournament, cash... positions, stack sizes, hand history with villain....etc. etc.

Suffice it to say, many many players bluff far too often ( ie every time they dont make a hand ) not realising that if you dont start with a pocket pair - most of the time you _will_ miss the flop.

Its far too situational to give you any real answer though.

 

[tris-]

so what ya saying is without being dealt a pair your pretty much fucked?

could you also count 2 of the same suit as a pair and for the suit flush?

 

[ECA]

Of course your not fucked without being dealt a pocket pair, but your chance of hitting the flop is low.

With a hand like 67suited you have about a 1/4 chance of hitting a good hand ( not one pair ) that includes 4 flush/4straight/twopair/trips/fullhouse/straight/flush.

When one of these hands connects with the flop you DO make a lot of money, so the money you lose by calling IN POSITION ( so you dont get raised by a player behind - or its much less likely ) and then folding on the flop is more than made up for = profit.

Plus its easier to take pots in position, lets say matey boy raises in early position and you just call with 67suited ( 67s from here on ) he checks to you on the flop - you can bet and most of the time you take the pot down.

If he reraises you have a genuine decision but you will mostly be folding.
If he bets - again know he'll have missed most flops so you can reraise and have a fairly good chance of taking the pot ( if the player has a fairly high aggression factor that is ).

If the guys fairly passive ( ie only bets with the goods and doesnt bluff ) then you have an easy fold.

 

[throdgrain]

I used to play cards all the time, poker , brag pontoon etc. Many a drunken night.
But somewhere along the line they have imported american poker, at the same time as halloween no doubt, and now I have no idea how its played.
We used to play draw poker when I played, nothing to do with anything called "flop"

 

[ECA]

I used to play cards all the time, poker , brag pontoon etc. Many a drunken night.
But somewhere along the line they have imported american poker, at the same time as halloween no doubt, and now I have no idea how its played.
We used to play draw poker when I played, nothing to do with anything called "flop"

Pokerstars just this week ( as in yesterday ) re-introduced five card draw and deuce-seven triple draw!!!!!!

five card draw is shit but deuce-seven triple draw is the fucking shit.

 

[Earl]

im drunk and had to enter my password 4 times, i wonder how much money i will lose by the time I reply to this thread in the morning?

 

[Skyler]

I started playing Poker yesterday for the first time ever. It's good fun so far, I'm just trying to get used to everything and become more consistent in my reading of people.

 

[Earl]

I really am crap. I had AA and knew I had the best hand so raised a bit etc, people met me and well they won. They had a hand like 5 9 unsuited but ended up getting 2 pair. It happens all the time and my money just drains in an instant.

Do you play tournys or normal games?