TELLS

TELLS

If you can't spot the sucker within the first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker.

-- Common poker saying, as spoken by Matt Damon in Rounders and originally attributed to Amarillo Slim

In live games, reading your opponents is much easier than it is online. Professionals wear sunglasses to hide any trace of emotion in their eyes. They bring I-pods and portable CD players to listen to and minimize distractions. They spend countless hours looking for tell-tale signs of a player’s strengths and weaknesses.

When you play online, you don’t have the advantage of looking into the other players’ eyes to get a read on their cards. This makes moves like bluffing significantly more precarious. It can be done, and we’ll cover that in a separate section, but you can also get some tells from your fellow players in the online poker room.

Several of the tells listed here are useful in both online and offline poker. However, since we lack the ability to read opponents’ physical expressions, these are the tells that are available to us making them that much more important.

First, let us define a “tell.” A “tell” is a habitual action by another player that gives you a clue as to what he is holding. In offline poker, a widening of the eyes is often a “tell” of a very strong hand. That is one reason you see so many poker players wearing sunglasses at the table. It’s not because of the bright Las Vegas lights.

Let’s take a look at some of the tells that are exhibited by online players and what they mean.

Speed of Play

Every online poker room has a set number of seconds that each player has to respond before he is declared either all-in or folded. Sometimes, due to internet issues, a player's actions will almost always be slow and laggy. However, often, the speed of play can be a good “tell.”

Typically, a quick bet is a sign of weakness, and a delayed action is a sign of strength, as the player is calculating his strategy with what he perceives to be a huge hand. Watch how much time it takes the other players to make their action, and mentally make a note of it. If you get a chance to see their cards at showdown, see if you can determine what they “slow bet” with and what they “fast bet” with.

Now would be a good time to think about our own play and whether or not we exhibit these tells by our speed of play. A good strategy is to try and take the same amount of time for every action, so that observant players cannot draw any conclusions from your own speed of play.

Use of Check Boxes/Auto Plays

If you have been to any of the online casinos, you will notice that they make use of check boxes such as “fold” “raise any”, or “call any”. You can tell when a player has used a check box, because his action comes within the blink of an eye of the player before him. You can use this to your advantage. When a player has checked “raise any” it should be obvious that he has a strong hand. If a player uses the check box to “check” then you can probably surmise that his hand is weak. If a player uses the check box to “call any”, then maybe we can assume that he has a draw hand that he has not completed, but is definitely not ready to fold.

While these are not 100% accurate, the observant player can over time, begin to draw conclusions and make assumptions based on an opponent’s use of the check boxes.

The fact that a player feels strongly enough about a hand to make a decision before even seeing the actions of the players before him, should be a “tell” as to what that player is holding.

Opponents Fold/Flop Percentage

While you cannot mark this percentage down exactly, you should over the course of several games get a sense of whether or not the player folds a lot of trash hands or if he is staying in almost every pot. This “tell” can be used both online and offline, to help you determine the strength of a players overall game. If he folds a lot of cards, beware. If he stays in almost every pot, you can probably run over him if you play good cards.

Chat Box

Just as in brick and mortar casinos, the “chattiness” of a player can be an obvious tell. Generally, if a player who is chatting all of a sudden gets quiet, you can bet he is playing a set of good cards. He is spending every ounce of focus on playing his cards and squeezing out the biggest pot possible.

On the other hand, if a player is betting and becomes antagonistic in the chat box, he may be bluffing and hoping his show of “confidence” will aid him in bluffing you off the table. Watch the chat box also for players who are “steaming” or “on tilt.” A whining player or one who is using lots of abusive language is probably emotionally unable to play good poker until he or she calms down.

Waiting for the Big Blind

When you sit down at a Hold 'em table, many times you'll have the option of “waiting on the big blind“to get to you or you can post a matching big blind and start playing immediately. This a good tell on how patient and online player will be. If he is not patient enough to wait on the big blind to get around to him, he might not be very patient about waiting on good starting hands. Expect him to be a loose player. The opposite holds true for players who do wait on the big blind. Either they are patient or cheap. Both are pretty good qualities to have if you are playing online poker. Cheap players, even when they are not especially

skilled will tend to wait on better hands since they are loathe to throw away their bets!

Beginner's Tells

Some of the tells that we should note here, are almost hilarious in nature, but players see it all the time in low limit poker.

The first one that comes to mind is the common “bet with a weak hand, feign weakness with a strong hand.” If you are playing Hold ‘em with pocket aces, don’t slow play them. This author has seen so many players with pocket aces feign weakness only to see an opponent’s straight or trips made on the flop, turn, or river to beat them. This may seem elementary. It definitely is, but it’s seen all the time from beginners in online poker.

Another comical beginner tell is when a player always waits one card after he has paired before making a bet. A player will be dealt a King on the flop and checks it. The turn is a deuce and now he’s betting like a madman. Would he be betting on a pair of 2's? Of course not, but you can be pretty sure he paired the Kings on the flop. Bet it if you’ve got it.

You will see many of these types of situations in your online poker career. Make an effort to observe them in other players, while avoiding them yourself.

It’s easy to exhibit tells when you have a good hand. So what happens when you have a not so good hand? To bluff or not to bluff – that is the question!

STRATEGIES

STRATEGIES

"Know how to win before you sit down. Experience may be the best teacher, but it’s also the most expensive."

-Doyle Brunson, Poker Wisdom of a Champion, 2003

Hold'em is basically HIGH card game. The players holding two good high cards have the best chance at the best hand or a draw to the best hand after the flop. Only play strong hands that will stand a raise or multiple raises, from early betting positions. Play medium strength and other playable hands from the later positions if you have a good chance of seeing the flop at a reasonable price.

Play strong high hands MOST of the time, and play them very aggressively. Take all the raises you can get. If you don't thin out the competition, you reduce your chances of winning. Plus, your aggressive play before the flop can add credibility to any strong play you might want to use on

the next round if a garbage flop falls and you want to try a steal. Be ready to fold your high pair if you get a lot of action with a threatening flop

However, before you start betting like a madman when you get two eights in the pocket, you need to carefully consider all factors involved in solid pre-flop strategy.

The factors to consider are the number of players, how aggressive/passive the players at the table are, your bankroll, your position, and how much risk you are willing to entail.

Number of players: With 10 people in the game, it's much more likely that someone else has a strong hand in the pocket than in a short-handed game. Also, you'll need to be more cautious in larger games, as the chances of someone's pre-flop hand fitting the flop will be much better. More competition means stiffer competition.

How aggressive the players are: Assuming you've been playing with a few people for several hands, and you noticed some jerk is raising every hand pre-flop, you'll want to play tighter. Let the guy win the blinds (big deal) and nail him to the wall when you have a solid hand in the pocket pre-flop.

Your bankroll: If you have $2 left, you'll want to play extremely carefully and select one hand to bet on, hoping to get as many players involved as possible for a larger pot. You'll want to be all-in before the flop is dealt. On the flip-side, if you have $1000 at a $1/$2 table, you can take the high-risk, high-payout bets.

Your position: People in late position (big blind, small blind, on the button) have the ability to influence the size of the pot much more than those in early position.

This is especially true pre-flop. See our separate section on position.

Your tolerance for risk: Depending on your playing style, you may want to play more or less aggressively pre-flop. Players who shoot for larger pots, but don't mind a greater chance for losing a few hands will want to raise pre-flop, especially if they are in late position. Some players prefer to be as selective as possible pre-flop, grinding out a winning hand here or there. It really depends on your own style of play, and how you perceive the players around you.

You of course will want to consider what cards you have in your hand. Naturally, AA is the best to start with. It helps if your hand is suited or if the cards are sequential in rank like a Seven and an Eight ("connected"). It's important to understand how your two cards hold up against other combinations of cards though.

Here are some general strategies to keep in mind:

Fast play high pairs and very strong hands before the flop. This puts more money in the early pot and encourages weak and garbage hands to fold that could get a lucky flop and beat you.

Don't draw to the low end or both ends of a straight. If a 9 8 7 flops, you want to be playing the J 10 and not the 6 5 or the 10 6. (The low part is commonly called the "ignorant" end of the straight.)

Unconnected Medium and Low Cards are Usually Unplayable. This includes suited cards that can't flop a straight. Both ends of a straight such as 9 5 fall into this very weak category.

Play starting low pairs cautiously. This means from 66 down to 22. You should not usually play them from an

early seat and play from the late positions, only when the price is right. If you don't flop a set or quads you should usually fold.

Play aggressively when you have a two way draw after the flop. If you can make a straight AND a flush or trips etc., usually bet/raise your hand.

Bet an Ace or two high over cards after a garbage flop (a three suit "rainbow" with unconnected medium and low cards). Usually fold if someone raises.

Watch out for uniform flops, like 8 7 6, they can easily turn into straights that can overtake your high pair or other good hand.

Check the raisers chips. Players that are close to all-in often rush the betting just to get all their chips in a sink-or-swim last hand.

Beware of Suited Flops that can make a completed flush. In this case, you should usually hold the nut in that suit, or have trips or two pair that can fill up.

You can have all the strategy under your belt that your brain can hold, but be careful! There are tell-tale signs that can be exhibited by even the most seasoned poker player. While it’s true that playing online doesn’t give you the advantage of seeing a player face to face, there are still some tells that many online players have to give them away.

BETTING

BETTING

Nobody is always a winner, and anybody who says he is, is either a liar or doesn't play poker.

— Amarillo Slim

A bet is a declaration that either:

a)"I have the best hand and I'll wager money on it" or

b)"You have a poor hand, and you will fold if you are

forced to wager on it”

Typically, players are supposed to bet when they have a good hand. Players who don't have good hands are supposed to fold. Of course, if it was this simple, there would be no need for this book. You might as well wager on Tic-Tac-Toe. Most players play contrary to this idea, attempting to be a cunning or deceptive player. Don't fall into this trap when you are just learning to play.

Your betting strategy should be built upon this simple idea, but you must know when to stray and bet in situations when you otherwise wouldn't. Here are some situations you should start looking at to improve your game:

Blind-stealing

When you are in the dealer's position, and only you and the blinds are remaining in the game, a raise is often called "blind-stealing". This is because the blinds may fold, whereas if you didn't raise but simply called, the blinds would simply check. It’s a good way to make a buck or two, but will never make you rich. It’s more of a way to end the game fast and have a new hand dealt with more players (and more money).

The steal-raise

If you are last to act and all players have checked to you, betting to simply limit the number of players or take the pot is called a steal-raise. Don't use this exclusively, as better players will be onto you quickly and begin check-raising against your (most likely) poor hand. It is good to

use a steal raise when you have an excellent drawing hand such as a nut flush draw. Players will tend to "check to the raiser". If you draw to your hand, you now have a larger pot to win. If you don't, you can always check, and hope the fifth card makes your hand.

The check-raise

Check raising is checking to your opponent, with the intention of luring them to bet, so that you can raise them back. Your intention is to lure them into a false sense of security so that you can raise them and increase the pot (remember, after one bet is committed, its more likely they'll commit to two).

The opener

This reckless move is often done by people who bluff. It is when the person first to act raises, making all other players call two bets at once. Its intention is to limit the number of players. Basically, this move amounts to a backwards steal-raise. The effect will almost certainly cause many players to fold, but the ones remaining will either be equally aggressive or truly have a great hand. This is also known as betting for information. This tactic is best used with few players in on the hand.

Squeezing

Squeezing is a tactic only used in a short-handed game. It's betting when you have a good hand currently, and you suspect another player or players may be on a draw. For example, you have top pair with the best kicker. Chances are they won't make their draw (be it a straight or a flush draw, etc). Your goal is to limit their pot odds. The above examples are really just examples of bets. If you are playing no limit or pot limit hold em, the whole thinking behind betting becomes radically different.

When you're dealt Aces, Kings, or AK suited, you can and should raise and even re-raise before the flop, no matter your position. A pair of queens or jacks you have to be a bit more careful with, but the chances are still huge that you are top hand before the flop. Raise and drive out the draw hands, if there are no raises in front of you.

With strong cards (paint suited), look to raise in middle or late position, only if no one has raised before you. If you raise in middle position and someone in late position re-raises, be careful. If they're a strong player they probably have you beat in card strength unless they’re bluffing to try and take the blinds and antes.

While bluffing might be a good tactic for some players, it’s not always the way to go. Hard and fast strategies will help you to win in the long run.

PLAYING THE RIVER

PLAYING THE RIVER

The River Card. Showdown. It’s time to see who is taking down the chips, and who is drowning in the river. River play is fairly simple. If you have the best hand either by strength of good cards early, or luck of the draw on the river, now is your final chance to get a few more chips from your opponents.

Some “classy” players will check here, even though they know they have the top hand, and thus save their opponents a few dollars to put back in their wallet. Unless it’s a long time friend, I would advise taking his wallet, emptying it of its contents and then stuffing the wallet down his throat. There are winners and there are losers in poker. If you are looking for “courtesy play”, then play with family.

The world of poker is like Jack London's icy wastelands where only the strong survive.

The only real advice we can give on river play is to almost never fold. If you have been playing good cards up to this point in the hand, then you at least have a shot at holding the winning cards. By now the pot is large enough that it also makes good money sense to stay in.

Unless you did not complete a pure draw hand, call any bets. Don't get the reputation as someone who can be bluffed off the river. If this happens, you'll just face more and more bluff bets on the river. On the other hand, if you get the reputation as someone who can't be bluffed, then no one in their right mind will attempt it.

The only other times you should consider folding is when an extremely conservative player who never bluffs has been calling towards a draw hand the entire hand and now it looks like he has hit his card. Or when there are two or more players who start betting and raising on the river, you can be sure that at least one of them holds the goods. You can make a case for folding here.

Pot odds dictate that you bet or call on the river, unless you are practically positive you are beat.

PLAYING THE FLOP

PLAYING THE FLOP

Besides the dealing of the pocket cards, and your decision to fold or hold them, the Flop is probably the most important moment in Texas Hold em. Three cards hit the board, often making “nut” hands out of weak pocket cards, and at times, making strong pocket cards useless. Your ability to read the flop will be a huge factor in your success in Texas Hold em.

Flopping 3 of a Kind

There is a difference between flopping a set and flopping trips. First, flopping a set would be a situation where you hold a strong pair, such as KK, and the river comes K-A-6. Your monster 3 Kings are hidden, and anyone with an Ace is probably going to be putting in a raise, seeing top pair on the flop. The potential for this hand is amazing, and slow play would be a good option.

A similar situation we will call flopping trips. This would be a situation where you hold only one of the 3 cards as your pocket card. Say you hold AK suited, and the flop comes out K-K-Q. Here again, you have 3 of a kind, but even so, you have to understand that this is a bit of a weaker hand. Anytime a pair is showing on board, there is danger of a full house already formed. QQ would definitely be a hand that someone would hold onto, and if given this flop, your 3 Kings are losers. It’s also harder to maximize a pot with the two Kings on the flop. Those are huge scare cards, and if you bet out right away, you may get nothing more than what is already in the pot. Again, slow play, and be especially careful of an already formed full house.

There are, however, certain times you want to jam the pot with 3 of a kind. If the flop gives chances for a straight draw, like K-K-10, where anyone holding Q-J has a good chance at a straight, or if 2 of the cards are the same suit, giving someone a chance at a flush if they held onto a pair of same suited cards. In these instances, they are going to play to the river, so make them pay to see extra cards!

Another time you want to jam the pot is if you have flopped a small set. For example you checked with the big blind with a pair of 3's, and the flop comes out Q-8-3. You have your set, and will most likely win with it, but you don't want to risk someone holding a higher pair getting their set on the turn or river for free. Bet, raise, check raise if you know someone else will bet, whatever you have to do to narrow down your competition and hopefully force out the medium pairs. What you like to see is someone with AQ in this situation with top pair, top kicker who will give you action but has very little chance of winning it. Jam the pot with small sets.

Top Pair after the Flop

If you held a high pair before the flop and were jamming the pot, then you should continue to jam the pot if you still hold the top pair. If you held Q-Q, and the flop comes out 10-2-7, you're most likely still the leader, unless someone was slow playing Aces or Kings before the flop, or someone with 10's just flopped a set. The fact is, if you play aggressively with a high pair before the flop, you will generally know whether or not you still have the lead.

If you held A-K, and the flop comes out 4-K-9, here again, you're jamming the pot. You hold top pair with the best kicker, and the last thing you want is for someone to draw out and complete a flush or straight to beat you.

Top pair is strong after the flop, but definitely not strong enough to sit on and slow play.

Flopping a small Pair

Suppose you were holding A-8 of clubs, and the flop comes out Q-8-3. You have missed your flush draw, because only the 3 is clubs, but you have flopped a pair of “babies.” You have to respect the fact that someone may have a queen, and have you beat. Even so, if the action is checked to you, you should seriously consider putting in a bet here. By putting in the bet, you accomplish the purpose of finding out the true strength of your pair. If anyone holds a queen, you can expect a raise. If you have high hand, expect calls. If you are raised, then you must consider the personality of who raised you. If a weak or tough player raises you then it might be time to call or fold. If it’s the mediocre player, then by all means stay in, and even re-raise.

This particular hand might be hard to fold, though, simply because you still have a lot of outs. An ace would give you a huge hand; another 8 would be even better, and there’s always the possibility of 2 more clubs hitting the board.

So, go ahead and bet with the small pairs, and then judge by your opponent’s personalities and actions as to where you stand.

Flopping a Monster Hand

By monster hand, we mean flopping a royal flush, 4 of a kind, full house, flush, straight, and straight flush. Statistically the hand is yours or practically yours. In most circumstances, the best choice is to slow play. You want the other players to stay in and build a decent hand that they will bet with or at least call to the river with.

We offer a word of caution though. In the case of flushes and straights, make sure you don't get caught with the low end of a straight or a low card flush, where someone makes the same straight with a higher card, or someone

makes the same flush with a higher card. If you are playing good quality pocket cards though, this should rarely happen. But if your flush is only a 10 high, bet aggressively and try to force out anyone holding a jack, queen, king or ace of your suit. Granted, most people won't fold with four to a flush, but at least you're making them pay for a chance to get their card.

As a general rule then, slow play the monsters and wait till the more expensive turn and river to begin extracting chips from your opponents.

Flopping a Flush or Straight Draw

You have to first of all understand that odds are still against you making your hand (2-1 with four to a flush or open ended straight). But the rule of thumb to follow here is that Texas Hold em rewards aggressive play. Bet this hand if it is checked to you and hope for one of two results. Either everyone else folds and you pick up a small pot, or you end up making your flush or straight and winning a huge one.

If there are bets and raises to you, then you will need to resort to calculating pot odds to determine if it is profitable to call or in some cases raise.

Flopping 2 Pair

Say you hold J-10 suited, and the flop comes out 10-4-J. You have managed to flop the top two pair. I would tend to jam the pot with two pair. While two pair is strong, there are still a lot of hands that can beat it. There is no harm in jamming the pot and elbowing everyone else off the table. If you end up making a full house on the later streets, you can adjust your strategy, but for moment, you want to bet and force the limpers out.

There are exceptions to this of course. If you hold AQ and the flop comes out AQ2 rainbow, you are pretty strong

and can afford to let someone catch up a little. Read the texture of the flop. If the flop is suited or connected you definitely do not want to mess around with slow playing, but rather get your chips in while you are ahead and charge the draw hands to play. Flops that show little help to the other players might be worth slow playing a bit so that they improve enough to call your bets on the turn and river or give an aggressive player a chance to bluff.

Ugly Flops

If you are holding onto a marginal type hand, and it is not helped at all by the flop, then plan on checking and folding. Taking bad hands to the river will take a major toll on your bankroll.

The turn or 4th Street in Hold em is the first instance where the bets are doubled. You can hear the “cha-ching” in your ears, as you bet those good hands. However, for the beginner, this street can be exceptionally dangerous, as this is where many players complete their straights and flushes, along with all of the other hand possibilities of poker.

If you have played good poker up to this point, at both the pocket card selection and flop, then you should have some idea of whether or not you are ahead or behind in the hand. As a general rule, if you are ahead after seeing this 4th card hit the board then bet and start building the pot. On the other hand, if you are pretty sure you are behind, this is the prime time to fold your hand, before you start throwing your money away by calling the expensive bets.

Say you were dealt J-J, and you bet aggressively before and after the flop. The flop and turn board looks like this: Q-3-7-A, three of which are diamonds, and unfortunately, you hold the black jacks (spades and clubs). You should fold this hand to any raises. Why? Count how many ways you are beat: an ace, queen, 2 diamonds, or 1 diamond if another shows on the river, plus a remote straight

opportunity if the river card is a 10, K or another Jack. That’s a lot of ways to beat you.

Now count how many “outs” you have and what the best possible hand is that you could form. Right now, your best hope is another Jack, giving you three of a kind. Are you willing to call bets and raises when there are only two cards left in the deck that can help you, and even then, still have a shot at getting beat by someone blessed with a diamond flush or straight??

Good poker plays before and after the flop gives you the information you need to make the decision on the Turn. Stick with your gut instinct. If you're ahead, bet, and if you're behind, fold unless you are getting good pot odds with a draw hand. Don't pray for miracle cards. Play the cards you hold.

Now that you have the flop, the turn will come, but perhaps the most significant card you want to see is the river.

POT ODDS AND “OUTS”

POT ODDS AND “OUTS”

Probability and odds are huge factors in Texas hold 'em. Players use odds to determine their actions. The chances of finishing a flush or a straight, the probability of getting an over card, 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 a 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.

Pot odds decisions are one of poker's most elementary, yet it is one of the most common mistakes made by amateur players at all levels. You will most likely always find a player who is making bad pot odd decisions or ignoring them entirely, meanwhile paying off the rest of the table!

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. Outs are defined as a card in the deck that helps you make your hand. At this point it's only simple division.

The numerator (top number) will be the number of outs you have. The denominator (bottom number) 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)

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 hold em 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. 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.

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 hold em 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 versus 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 you’re facing $25 more till the end of the hand.

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 with 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. Is there an easier way to calculate pot odds? Thankfully, there are several short cuts that have been devised to make a quick judgment for pot odds.

One of the easiest methods is to take your total outs, multiply times 2, and then add 2. This is roughly a percentage chance of making your hand.

For example, say you have an inside straight draw with 4 outs. 4x2 = 8. Add 2, for a total of 10. You have roughly a 10% chance to make your hand. Your call should be no more than 10% of what is already in the pot. This method is quick and decently effective, though certain calculations will be a bit off. This method does not take into consideration the fact that you may have more than one card remaining to come; it simply estimates your chance of hitting your “out” on your next card.

There are a number of tools online that help you calculate your odds. Just do a Google search, and you’ll find several. Keep in mind, though, that using them may significantly slow your play and cause your fellow players to interpret this as a “tell”.

Playing your pocket cards is key, but you’ll also need to know some strategies when it comes to the flop and the river.