All Questions
6
votes
5answers
524 views
How are side pots built?
While playing online, in a lot of situations side pots are built. This happens if one or more players goes all-in but I can't figure out the rules on which these side pots are built.
The only thing I ...
24
votes
8answers
427 views
Is there a comprehensive source for poker terminology?
I've been playing for years at small cash games and in casinos, but not online. Yet I'm seeing a fair amount of terminology and abbreviations I haven't seen before. While "Hero" and "Villain" are ...
15
votes
4answers
480 views
What can I do to calculate my odds in a hand?
How do I calculate the odds of making my hand for any given game of poker?
6
votes
2answers
154 views
Looking for the BB/M math to build good NLHE Tourney Blind Structures
I'm running a home game and I want to better design NLHE Tourney Blind Structures.
So far the auto generators I've found either bias slow build up or long tourney times.
8
votes
2answers
248 views
Tools for Managing Bankroll, Income and Losses
What professional grade tools available for managing a poker bankroll, and trending income and losses?
Web, desktop, and phone applications are all welcome.
5
votes
1answer
133 views
Online play analysis software
What software would you recommend for analyzing one's game? I'm talking detailed number-crunching after the session, not online databases like sharkscope or in-game odds calculators (meh).
Is there ...
29
votes
4answers
725 views
How to deal with people who randomly go all-in
In many free or low buy-in tournaments some people just goes all-in every time or bet too high for no reason. This is a bit annoying because it scares me a bit, but also it might be an opportunity I ...
22
votes
4answers
413 views
In a private live game, how do you deal with severe violations of table etiquette?
In some of the early cash games I played, we had one player who would consistently hold his cards below the table, out of sight. It was a group of friends, so the assumption was that he was not ...
5
votes
2answers
703 views
Is it possible to play for real money online in the US?
I know that after "Black Friday" many online poker sites didn't allow U.S. Players to play for real money anymore. I've heard/seen that it's possible to play via bitcoins and/or other proxy methods. ...
4
votes
2answers
197 views
Publicly available poker stats
Are there any sources of poker hands, including how they play out with betting etc... I am imagining the log files of some poker site somewhere.
I am looking for complete hand histories - and ...
17
votes
7answers
285 views
What are Pot Odds, and how do I determine them?
I understand this is the relative value of playing vs. winning, but how do I determine the values? Am I supposed to count the pot? Does the cost of playing include hands already played, or just the ...
16
votes
1answer
3k views
Minimum re-raise in Hold em
What is the minimum re-raise in Texas hold em? I have heard both that you need to double the previous bet and that the minimum raise is the big blind. Which is it?
9
votes
6answers
796 views
Classic Books for Texas Hold'Em
What are the classic books for learning Texas Hold'Em, off- or online? Books that every good player should, at least, know the gist of?
7
votes
4answers
2k views
What are some examples of good, free poker tournament software?
I'm looking for a good and free software that will help me setup a poker tournament structure.
The idea is to keep simple stats about the game in a screen available for everyone to see during the ...
5
votes
5answers
191 views
How can I keep my skills sharp without online real-money poker?
As a player residing in the United States, what is the best way to keep my poker skills sharp without access to real-money online play at sites like PokerStars or FullTilt?
What if I live in a state ...
7
votes
2answers
564 views
How do I Calculate Expected Value of Shoving, including Fold Equity, in heads up play?
How do I calculate my expected value of shoving, including Fold Equity, in heads up play?
I know several factors are involved
Pot Size
My Stack
His Stack
My chance of winning if he calls
His ...
5
votes
3answers
176 views
Poker Rooms Comparison
I am playing at Pokerstars only. Basically there are a lot of tournaments/cash games at PS according to any taste and bankroll.
I am think of creating an account in some other poker rooms.
So what ...
5
votes
2answers
114 views
Implied odds meaning and usage
What is exactly implied odds, and how to calculate it correctly, in which situations should someone use this tool, and in which situations should someone avoid it?
Thanks.
4
votes
2answers
116 views
Is a semi-unlimited stack a significant advantage?
I've been playing in a "home" game (NLHE $1/$3 with a min/max buy-in of $60/$300) from time to time and I've noticed that one player has taken it upon himself to be the banker. He doesn't buy-in per ...
11
votes
2answers
195 views
What is a straddle bet?
I've seen this term used in various questions, but have no idea what it means, so could someone please define or explain it for me please?
7
votes
4answers
80 views
Is it advantageous to buy into a NL cash game at the maximum amount?
Is there an inherent advantage/disadvantage to having a larger stack than your opponent in a cash game? I know it can affect tournament play.
I would think if you expect to have a skill advantage over ...
7
votes
1answer
154 views
What topical resources do you often use to learn more about poker?
To get information that's usually considered cutting edge, it's often good to discuss topics more candidly with experts forging new thoughts on well established theories.
Books of course mostly deal ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
What is the“Top Five Cards” rule and how does it apply to splitting pots?
Before you answer the question I will give a scenario that confused me thus prompting this question. The other week I was playing a game and we had this scenario :
8 players - down to me and a pal ...
6
votes
3answers
201 views
NL600: River Decision OOP vs Thinking Regular At Very Wet Board
Opponent is a good, thinking semi-loose regular, capable of almost all the things you'd imagine. 28/21/2.5 (VPIP/PFR/AF) over ~1200 hands.
This is early in this particular session although we've ...
6
votes
2answers
162 views
How do you determine which player needs to show their cards first?
When all the cards are out and betting is done, which player is required to show their cards first? Does it vary based on whether or not there was betting in the final round? Is there a standard ...
5
votes
2answers
158 views
Quantifying the amount of luck required to win a tournament
If we disregard deals, players accidentally mucking winning hands, and time-limited tournaments, in order to win a poker tournament, you must win the very last hand of the tournament. In order to win ...
5
votes
1answer
338 views
Thoughts on Chen's formula
These days I came across this post describing the Chen's formula.
The Chen formula is a system for scoring different starting hands in Texas Hold'em. It was created by Bill Chen for use in the ...
5
votes
3answers
622 views
Optimal Win Rate Standard Deviation
I've been tracking my live sessions for some time now. After 35 sessions (about four hours a session) my win rate is 34.42 an hour. My win rate standard deviation is 157.67. This seems high to me. ...
5
votes
1answer
188 views
How big an edge can you have on a tournament field ? ROI vs edge question
The situation:
You are playing a deep stack tournament with 300BB starting stack.
Let's suppose you have exactly 300% ROI in this field, in this specific tournament.
UTG goes all-in on the first hand, ...
4
votes
3answers
151 views
Effect of number of players in the probability distribution of poker hands
We have this official rank of hands.
I have a theory (which I do not know how to prove) that the number of players in a texas-hold-em table will affect the probability distribution of the hands.
...
3
votes
1answer
51 views
Heads Up NL Holdem: Best strategy against all in every hand
Assume you are playing a NL Holdem tournament heads up. What is the best strategy against these all-in scenarios, and what is the expected win percentage when implementing the best strategy against ...
3
votes
2answers
189 views
Why do people make the following call, check, call round the table?
I play in a work tournament usually 2 tables of 6 or 7 for a set time period with the top 3 chip counts on each table moving to a final table to win the prize.
It is largely amateurish but with ...
3
votes
1answer
114 views
Most common freerolling situations in holdem?
Player1 K♣T♣
Player2 K♥T♥
Board is A♣ Q♦ J♥ 4♣
This one is most common, what are the few others(most common)?
2
votes
2answers
245 views
Handling “running it twice” situations
When players agree to "run it twice" (or more times), should any additional cards be burned before each replayed step?
Also, shouldn't the cards turned in the first run be shuffled back into the deck ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
Position/order of dealing post pre-flop
During pre-flop I understand that one has position over others who are seated in an earlier position than him; and one is out of position to players seated at a later position than himself, but this ...
