Poker Tells: Observation for profit

Observing the actions of your opponents is a key element of live poker play. Paying attention to what is going on around you can make, and save, you money, as opponents give out clues to their holdings in many different ways, some obvious, some not so. The improving player will incorporate into his game an understanding of the meaning of tells, and will have studied a good book on the subject, such as Mike Caro’s Book of Tells.

Tells come in three varieties: voluntary, involuntary and stupidity. You can learn about the first two categories of tells, and if you play enough live poker you will probably encounter the last one now and again.

Under the category of voluntary tells comes the “strong-when-weak/weak-when-strong” concept. This suggests that some players, when they have a good hand, will try to represent that they have a weak hand, and vice-versa. You have to watch out for a change in a player’s betting habits and attitude, then figure out if it's relevant to the hand in play.

A player with a strong hand, for instance, may feign disinterest; they may push their chips in very slowly or seem reluctant to put their chips in the pot at all. They may be chatting away to the player next to them until prompted to act. They are being “weak-when-strong”.

Perhaps the most common “strong-when-weak”; tell is the premature bet. You call an opponent’s raise pre-flop, then before the flop has finished being dealt he pushes (or throws) his stack in. Even though it was your turn to act. If you did not learn the possible meaning of this action, then you would be in line to make a wrong decision: you might suspect something was up, but not be quite sure what.

Involuntary tells are the most reliable indicators of what a player has in his hand. A wildly throbbing neck vein of the opponent who has made a large re-raise means he is most likely to be bluffing. The opponent whose hands are shaking uncontrollably as he pushes his stack to the middle should not usually be called: his hand is so good he just can’t contain his excitement. If you are very attentive you may see a player glance down at his chips – for just a microsecond. This very likely means that at that moment he thought about betting. He may not bet, but knowing that he may bet is information you might profit from.

Some players are stupid enough to actually tell you what their hand is – or isn’t. A player once told me “I don’t believe you’ve got the flush” – another player at the table pointed out the obvious. Yes, but now he knows you haven’t got it. One time a player was discussing his hand with a railer, but in a foreign language. With a bit of help from his gesticulating I managed to figure out that what he was saying was, It’s the last few hands before the rebuy period ends; I only got about half a buy-in left so I may as well take a chance with these rubbish cards; If I lose, I’ll make another rebuy plus a top-up, then I’ll have more chips than if I just kept the chips I have now and then topped up, and it will cost me £100; If I take the gamble and win, then I may just need to top-up, which will cost me £50, or possibly nothing if I double-up again;. I called his all-in bet with pocket fives, which beat his J-3 offsuit, then doubled up again a couple of hands later with pocket aces. I avoided both a rebuy and a top-up and went on to finish in the money. And all because I was paying attention.

Pokerstars zoom poker launch

Zoom poker is the fast-paced ring game and tournament format where your opponents change every hand. This is because you play against a pool of players, instead of fixed opponents on one table. It's the fastest poker game experience anywhere online, and you can try it at PokerStars now.

Here's how it works:

• Fold, and you'll immediately be moved to a new hand, at a new table.
• You can fold at any point when you are facing a bet. You can even click 'Fast Fold', which allows you to fold before it's your turn to act.
• Watch the end of a hand play out by holding the CTRL key when you the click the Fold button
• Available across Hold'em, Omaha and Draw ring games and tournaments. You can even play for free!
• Find Zoom ring games under the 'Zoom' tab in the PokerStars lobby, and Zoom tournaments under the 'Tourney' tab.

Zoom is available to play now. Download the free PokerStars software if you haven't already done so, and you'll be ready to play in minutes.

More on How Zoom Works:

• For ring games, choose your game and stake level in the Zoom lobby, located under the 'Zoom' tab. Click 'Join Game' to get started.
• You'll be asked to choose your buy-in amount and the number of tables you would like to play. Zoom is much faster than our regular tables, so we recommend you start with just one. When you get more comfortable, you can join up to four Zoom tables at once.
• When you click OK, you will be randomly seated with a set of players from your chosen game. Your first hand will usually be from the big blind. For every subsequent hand you will be seated randomly.
• For Zoom tournaments, locate the tourney you want to play under the 'Tourney' tab, and register the same way as you would for a regular PokerStars tournament.
• Regardless of whether you play a Zoom ring game or tourney, if at any time you don't want to play your hand, and you do not have an option to check, you can use the 'Fast Fold' button to fold instantly. If you clicked 'Fast Fold', or fold at any other point in the hand, you will instantly be dealt into a new hand, with new opponents. In a Zoom ring game, you are playing as part of a pool of players who have selected to play Zoom in that game and at those stakes. In a Zoom tournament, you are part of the group of players who registered for that event.
• Players are seated randomly for each hand, and the blinds are then set based on who at the table has been the big blind least often. This way, in the long run everyone pays the big blind the same percentage of the time.
• You can chose to stay at the table and watch the end of a hand, even after you fold, by holding the CTRL key when you the click Fold button. If you use 'Fast Fold' however, you will be unable to remain on that table and watch the end of the hand (the 'Fast Fold' button is specifically there to move you quickly to another table).
• There are also options available to try different Zoom table animations. You can find these by clicking 'Options' > 'Table Display Options' > 'Zoom Animation'.

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PokerStars Women's Club daily tournaments start from just 100 FPPs, or even play money, and any player who cashes in a daily tournament will win free entry to the corresponding Sunday Club Freeroll. To register for daily tournaments, head to 'Tourney' > 'All' and look for the 'PokerStars Women's Club' tournaments in the PokerStars lobby, which are coloured pink. Daily Club tournaments run as follows:

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Play poker with a clear mind

If you are serious about playing poker you have to make sure you are always in control of your mind. If your head isn't clear, your poker game won't be clear either and your game will probably get sloppy.

Poker is a game of psychological warfare comprising of a felt battlefield and mental ammunition. Have you got the mental fortitude to hang tough and beat your opponents with a sharp mind at the poker table? The up and down swings of no-limit hold'em can be severe and only the mentally strong players will be able to overcome a few setbacks.

You will probably remember that time when your opponent had the nuts 3, 4, 5 times in a row. To make matters worse, the same player was playing really aggressively in most pots prior to that, and you happen to have a strong hand, even though it was the second best hand. Because we have a selective attention, we will remember the rare occasions such as losing streaks. That's why those memories will come back easily when you are on another losing streak. But don't let that influence your play.

Let's say your opponent had the nuts 3 times in a row, and you always had a strong hand and paid him off or another player paid him off so you were able to see his big hand. The next hand you are dealt pocket kings and the player running good calls you. The flop consists of some low cards with no straight or flush possibilities and you decide to bet. Your opponent calls and you head to the turn. The turn is an ace. You decide to continue betting, because you put your opponent on a lowish pocket pair, which sounds reasonable. He calls and the river comes another ace. You decide to bet again and you get re-raised all in. Of course he can't have the Ace again can he? Suppose the pot before the re-raise was around $100, and you need $800 to make the call, should you really commit all that money?

Of course not. If you would never make that play then there is no reason to make it now. People think that coincidence always leads to variation. When flipping coins, people tend to think that after heads, the chance of flipping tails is bigger, when in fact the chances remain equal. And even though you are an educated and reasonable poker player, subconsciously this will influence your decisions if you let your emotions take control.

Keeping your mind sharp when playing is mandatory if you want to be a winning poker player. It will allow you to remain focused when involved in a hand, enabling you to play you're best game. It will also help you to identify if and when you start tilting off your chipstack, so that you can leave the game before you lose a significant amount of money.

Make Money Playing Omaha

Poker does not consist of just NLHE – there are other varieties which you should try. Given its similarities to Hold 'Em, Omaha is probably the one you should learn next.

Many reasons exist for learning new varieties of poker, not least the opportunities that often arise in private/forum games when there is money added, or when there are bad players in the game – there's nothing worse in poker than finding a good game but being unable to take part. Another good reason to extend the range of games you play is that it will help with all the games you play – many of the same principles apply and you will definitely benefit from trying out some other poker variations.

Omaha, like HE, can be played to different limits, Pot Limit being the norm and the game dealt with in this article. The betting is the same as HE and so is the way the cards are dealt. The difference is the number of hole cards you start with and the way they relate to the board: you are dealt four cards of which you can use exactly any two with exactly any three from the five on the board – unlike HE where you can use any five of the seven cards between your hand and the board. Other than this very important difference there is none – the hand rankings remain the same and so do the betting rounds.

Starting Hands

Having four cards dealt to you means you have a lot more starting hands than in HE – up to six in fact. This means that you will find what looks like a playable hand much more often than in HE. One thing that makes Pot Limit Omaha fun is that if you want to see a flop you usually will – because there's much less difference in the value of Omaha hands preflop than in Hold 'Em, your average Omaha hand, before the flop, won't be that far behind any other hand. Don't be surprised to see the entire table calling before the flop, especially in a low buy-in MTT.

This does not mean, of course, that any hand can be played. So what type of hands do you need to start with?

Think coordination, this is key to winning at Omaha – having a coordinated starting hand. As in HE you can sometimes get into a pot with complete rubbish and win, but it's always best to have a solid foundation on which to build your hand. So to get down to some specifics the best possible starting hand is generally considered to be AK double suited – two Aces suited with two Kings. Another 'ideal' hand would be something like 8 9 10 J. A hand like 10 J K A is good especially with a suited Ace and/or King, as is say two decent pair, 9s and 10s for example. Hands to be avoided include those with low cards, which for me means I don't often play hands like 6 6 7 7 or 5 6 7 8 at a full table. Yes, they look good – and can often win – but trouble is best avoided when first starting out in Omaha and these hands don't usually play that well. Top set on the flop (and beyond) is difficult to make with pairs lower than 8s and even then you are vulnerable to overpairs that will call you down, usually with other draws going. Lower straights/straight draws are exremely vulnerable to higher straights and straight draws. By the turn you are often hoping to hit your straight with a low card – otherwise a higher straight might be possible – and that's too few outs.

When I first started playing I learned that I needed four cards all coordinated with one another for me to get involved (at a full table), but I have since relaxed this condition. One factor is that I enter a lot of six player SnGs and I have found that lesser hands can be played when shorthanded. So I will often be in a pot holding an 8 9 x with a Suited Ace or 10 J K x, even at a full table depending on cost and position. As a beginner you need to try things out or use a chart – up to you really.

There is not usually a lot of pre-flop raising in Omaha but one thing you should bear in mind is that if you can get it heads up and all-in your pocket Aces will be favourite to win. Not that this should be your regular aim, as you're not that much of a favourite, but sometimes you will need to pull off such a play.

 The Flop

Fit or fold is a good attitude to take – either you have the best hand on the flop or you have a draw/draws to the best hand. You would like top set or the nut flush or draw to it. You would like a straight or a draw to both ends of it. Ideally you would like more than one way to win, and that's where a good coordinated starting hand comes in. Do not draw to less than the nut flush, but you can bet a made King or Queen flush. Do not always automatically bet your made straight on the flop. It's intuitive and obvious to do so but with so many cards out there you could be up against a draw to a full house (or two), a flush draw, a higher straight or a combination of these plus a duplicate of your hand.*

Two split pair is a hand you don't want to spend a lot of money on. You'd like to turn it into a full house but that rarely happens. On a quiet flop you could have a stab at the pot, but dont' take it too far. Will sometimes win in a showdown.**

Remember that at a full table, by the time the flop comes down, 43 cards will have been dealt. That's a lot of cards to be out so if someone could have the combination of cards they appear to be representing, then they probably do have that holding.

 The Turn

Everyone's hand will be a little more defined by now and depending on the action you should have an idea of the likely hands out there. Now might (or might not) be a good time to bet that straight or split pair if the board looks unthreatening. You could also bet second or bottom set if there was little action on the flop, as top set would have likely bet himself. You can draw to a flush or full house depending on the price but you can give up a lot of chips this way – best to be the one doing the betting with top hand. But of course, this is Omaha, and when you have multiple outs, especially if you are favourite to win if you go the distance, then you must usually stay in to make the best hand by the river. You don't have to if you feel uncomfortable with drawing hands but unlike Hold 'Em you won't want to give up easily on the flop or turn if you have a decent hand that didn't quite hit but can still make the nuts.

 The River

You either have the nuts or you don't. If you don't be very careful, if you do then bet the amount that will get a call. Generally you should always bet the pot unless you have a very good reason not to. If in position you can bet or call with less than the nuts if there's little or no action before it gets to you. Two high pair, for example, or second best trips. Maybe a straight with a flush on board or a flush with a full house on board. Any pair in the your hand will usually be good enough to win when three of a kind is on the board – you fear the quads but a pair in the hole will usually take it down otherwise, making the full house. A small value bet here will normally get a call but checking may be better, depending on the size of your pair and the size of the trips – the higher the better.

Various Tips

One thing to be aware of is when it looks like you have the full house and don't. Its easy as a beginner to see what looks like a full house on the board when in fact you only have trips. This is the one main thing where as a beginner you can make a drastic mistake. A board of A A K K 7 with a King or an Ace in your hand does not give you a full house, as it would in HE. A pair of sevens in your hand, however, would make the boat. Always stop and think – to make the full house you would need either a pair in your hand or one of each of the relevant cards.

Be sure, before drawing to a straight, that the card/s you need won't make a higher straight for someone else – for example you hold 7 8 X X with a board of 3 9 J – a ten would make you a straight, but might give another player a higher one.

Raise preflop sometimes with the likes of K K Q J, especially if suited but not with bare Aces (other than as above).

When dealt your cards, say in your mind what they are – just the numbers. You might think that as the cards are no more than about six inches apart on your monitor it's no problem seeing what you hand is, but repeating to yourself what your hole cards are when the flop comes down does make things more immediately clear. The suitedness of your cards is dead easy – it's there in black and red and different shapes. Numbers, however, especially how they relate to each other, is a little trickier – looking from left to right, from board to hand and vice-versa may work for you, but if you can hold in your head what cards are in your hand whilst concentrating on the board I think you will find it easier to work out what's going on – and of course you can still look to your hand as well – it's just that now you'll have a lot more certainty as the hand develops. There's no need for such an approach in HE as it's pretty easy to see what's happening between your hand and the board, but I believe that just doing this one thing will improve your Omaha.

When can you bet or call with the non-nut flush, or a lesser hand? That's something you'll have to try out for yourself and let me know the answer to, but paying attention to the action, or lack of it, may give you a clue – like in most of poker some commonsense should be applied in order to ascertain whether or not you are in front.

Conclusion

Omaha is a lot of fun to play and can also make you a lot of money if you play it well. You can usually get into a game at most poker sites and at the lower levels the play isn't always that good. To start with I would recommend you play some $1 SnGs to get the hang of it, or maybe a small buy-in MTT where you at least should be able to stay in for long enough to get an idea of how the game is played.

Best place to play Omaha is Carbon Poker

*Deep into an MTT I found it easy to dispose of my nut straight on the flop when the likely holding for this particular bettor (I had played many hands against him and observed his play) was the same hand as mine, but with outdraws. The best I could hope for was a split and with two streets yet to play I'd have had to have poured a lot of chips into the hand and put my tournament life on the line. It just wasn't worth it. Straights are, I repeat, very vulnerable.

**Saying that, I just bet the pot on a flop of 3 4 J with a 3 4 in my hand. There had been a raise before the flop, indicating Aces, maybe Kings, which checked the flop. I did fear a set of Jacks from the one player yet to act, but it was shorthanded and checking would have been lame.

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