Tue, 01/04/2011 – 03:52 – PokerPages Staff

Learning to play successful poker goes far beyond the poker rules.  In poker, nothing is more comforting than holding high pocket pairs.  Getting high pocket pairs, however, is not a common occurrence.  As such, the beginner poker player must learn how to play the other possibilities.

More commonly, a player may be dealt a small pocket pair.  A small pocket pair is a pair of sevens or lower.  Playing these hands tends to be quite troublesome to many players.  For a number of players, there is a tendency to overplay these hands.  It is important to learn that the value of low pocket pairs is determined by getting to the flop cheaply.

A small pocket pair is a drawing hand, in most instances.  The goal of playing low pocket pairs is to catch trips on the flop.  If you do not catch trips on the flop it is correct to fold your low pocket pair without putting more chips in the pot.  If you are lucky enough to catch your third card on the flop, you will hold a large advantage and could steal away a lot of your opponent’s chips, who will not likely put you on trips.

To learn more, check out PokerSchoolOnline, the best source on the internet for poker related learning.  Then put those skills to work by playing for free at PokerStars.net.  Also, check out the PokerPages sections on poker information and poker articles for more poker tips and strategies.

Sun, 12/26/2010 – 18:29 – PokerPages Staff

There are three basic tournament stages and each stage requires a different type of game play. Here are some basic poker rules and tournament play tips:

Early
Early in a tournament, there are good players and bad players.  Bad players are generally players who are new to the game or players who just play bad, such as those that call you down to the river no matter the hand they hold.  Since there are so many of these types of players in the tournament early, it is appropriate to play the early stage of the tournament very tight and aggressive.  By playing tight, you are playing and placing poker bets on only the best hands.  When you play these hands, you want to play them aggressively.  Your goal is to win with the best hand and to prevent the fish from busting your strong hand.

Middle
In this stage of the tournament, the blinds have increased to an amount that makes your hands more valuable.  During the middle stage, you must play more hands and cannot wait only for the best hands, as this would be a costly mistake.  Waiting for only the best hands during this stage of the game can result in more and more of your chips being surrendered to the blinds.

Late
In the late stage of the tournament, most of the bad players have busted out and now you are facing very good players.  During the late stage is when you must play your very best poker.  You must play aggressively and make no mistakes. 

To learn more, enrol at PokerSchoolOnline, the best website on the Internet for poker learning.  Then visit PokerStars.net to put those skills to work with some poker betting.  In addition, PokerPages sections poker information and Poker Articles contain useful poker betting tips and strategies.