Fri, 08/12/2011 – 13:03 – PokerPages Staff

Learning poker is a daunting process. Luckily, there is loads of poker information that will provide you with top tips to guide you as a beginner poker player.

Consider Your Strategy
When betting it’s important to be patient: be prepared to fold early and only play if you have a good hand. You should also play aggressively by raising when you have a good hand. Also, try to figure out your opponent to guess what they might have.

Pick Out Your Opponent
Beware of tight aggressive players as a beginner poker player. They’ll happily relieve you of your bankroll. Fast and loose players tend to win big and lose big, sometimes paying off huge bets.

Figure Your Opponent Out
If you are playing online poker then you will not have the advantage of reading your opponent’s physical gestures and facial expressions. Online, bet timing and betting patterns offer similar information. Hesitation can possibly mean weakness whereas rapid fire betting can mean strength, depending on the opponent.  

Avoid Over-Confidence
It is easy to bet more with your emotions rather than your head when you start to win big. Always proceed with caution and consider your bets carefully.

Always Keep a Low Profile
Don’t be tempted to tell anyone in a poker chat room how well or not well you’re doing. Don’t ever be tempted to give out personal information, especially where you live and what you’ve won.

Ready to start betting? Then visit PokerStars.net where you can practice what you’ve learned for free. Check out PokerSchoolOnline for more beginning poker player information.

Thu, 08/11/2011 – 23:51 – PokerPages Staff

Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem took part in the opening day of the Epic Poker League Main Event on Tuesday. The 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event champion, who has earned over $11 million during his career, recounted a hand he played during the morning session.

With blinds at 300/600 100 ante, Hachem open raised to 1,800 from the small blind with A-9os and only the big blind made the call. “Going into this hand, what I knew about this player is that he hates to fold. I know that if I make any hand, I’m just going to fire on every street.”

The 9h-9c-4h flop improved Hachem to top set and he fired a 1,900 continuation bet. The big blind continued his interest in the hand. Hachem reveals that this flat call narrowed his opponent’s range to a medium pocket pair or a heart draw.

The action followed the same pattern on the turned 4c. Hachem led out for 3,700 and the big blind made the call. “Again, I bet pretty small in comparison to the pot, but I was setting him up for a call on the river that I want.”

Hachem did not slow down on the 2d river, firing a final bet worth 12,800. The former World Poker Tour winner admits he may have moved all in if his opponent had not suffered a bad beat only a few hands earlier. The big blind went into the tank before calling and Hachem took down the pot.

“I guess the moral of the story is, play the player. If you know that some is going to pay you off, get the most of it.”