Fri, 02/11/2011 – 05:02 – PokerPages Staff

Much of poker these days is No Limit Hold’em, but there are multitudes of poker variants.  One such variant is 2-7 Triple Draw.  2-7 Triple Draw is an older variant of poker that is seeing resurgence.  For the beginner poker player, understanding the basic poker rules of 2-7 Triple Draw, including betting, is foremost.

2-7 Triple Draw is a form of lowball poker, the low poker hand wins the pot.  The game is played with blinds or forced bets.  Each player receives five cards, of which any may be discarded and replaced with new cards in three draws.  In 2-7 Triple Draw, the best possible hand 7, 5, 4, 3, 2.  Straights, flushes, pairs and trips count against you and ace is always high.  There are four betting rounds.

Alright beginner here is the breakdown of 2-7 Triple Draw play:

1.  Each player is dealt five cards
2.  Betting round one begins with the player to the left of the big blind
3.  Drawing round one, each player may discard some of their cards for new ones or stand pat
4.  Betting round two, starting with the player to the left of the big blind
5.  Drawing round two, another chance to discard cards
6.  Betting round three, player to the left of the big blind begins the action
7.  Drawing round three, last chance to discard
8.  Betting round four, player to the left of the big blind opens the round
9.  Showdown

To learn more poker rules, 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 poker information and poker articles for more poker tips and strategies.

Fri, 01/28/2011 – 05:31 – PokerPages Staff

As a beginner poker player you have learned the basic poker rules, which included poker betting.  Now it’s time to advance your play with some basic tips to success in Pot Limit Omaha (PLO).

1.  Be selective with starting hands.  Premium starting hands in PLO are hands that have combinations.  Since you must use two of the four hole cards you receive, you have 6 possible combinations.  While top pairs will give you a good starting hand, in PLO they are not a premium starting hand.  A premium starting hand in PLO contains connectors and suited cards.

2.  In Omaha the winning hand is generally the nuts.  As such, it is not good strategy to play drawing hands that will not give you the nuts. 

3.  The goal of your game is to maximize profit.  In PLO, like other variations, there are two ways to maximize profit. 

A.  First, you want to extract the greatest amount of chips from your opponent when you hold the best hand.  This is accomplished with a value bet.  A value bet is an amount you believe your opponent is willing to stake with their hand.

B.  Secondly, you want to minimize loss.  This requires that you do not invest your chips with the second best hand hoping it is good enough.  The best strategy is to get out of hands when you know you are beat.

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