Welcome to the third in my Texas Holdem Strategy Series, focusing on no limit Texas Holdem poker tournament play and associated strategies. In this article, we’ll build upon the poker tournament strategy fundamentals from last time, with some important poker betting strategy basics.

Winning at Texas Holdem poker doesn’t have to be a gamble, since it’s actually a game of skill. Of course, there will always be an element of chance, but there’s a lot more strategy and skill to poker than meets the untrained eye. When you learn to play the odds properly, it can make a huge difference in your winnings.

No limit Texas Holdem is the game of choice these days - and for good reason. The fact that anyone can decide to push a large raise or all of their chips into the pot by going “all-in” at any moment, adds an exciting dimension to the game. Unlike limit Texas Holdem, where each round of betting takes place in prescribed, fixed increments, no limit Texas Holdem is as varied as the players at the table, since everyone chooses their own betting style and approach.

When playing no limit Texas Holdem, you’re faced with some important decisions. Arguably, the most important decision you’ll make is how much to bet in a given set of circumstances; e.g., hand strength, your position at the table, total number of players, their styles, etc. There are many different betting strategies, but one of the first things to learn and pay close attention to are “pot odds” and whether you have a positive “expectation” to win.

You have a positive expectation whenever the odds favor you winning more than you’re wagering at anything greater than 1 to 1 odds. For example, when flipping a coin, there is a 50/50 chance of it coming up either heads or tails. If you flip a coin enough times, both heads and tails will come up an equal number of times.

Casino games, such as craps, blackjack, slot machines, etc. all give the player a “negative” expectation and the casino a positive expectation. If you play these types of “gambling” games long enough, you will ultimately lose, since the game’s odd structure is never in your favor - negative expectation. People who experience “hot streaks” also have losing streaks (they just usually quickly forget about the losing and don’t discuss it). When you’re making a wager, you’d always prefer to have a positive expectation. This is generally true in poker, but not necessarily always in no-limit poker. I’ll explain why.

Pot Odds are the odds the pot is giving you for making a bet. Let’s say there is $50 in the pot and it’ll take $10 more to call - you’re getting 5-to-1 pot odds to call, since if you win you’ll be paid $50 in exchange for risking only $10. For purposes of this decision, any amounts you previously placed into this pot are irrelevant, since they’re already expended and gone (if you fold).

It’s essential to understand pot odds as it relates to your hand odds, as one key factor in making your betting decisions. If the odds of you holding or drawing to the winning hand are better than the odds the pot is giving you, you should call or even sometimes raise; otherwise, you should typically fold (unless you’re going to bluff, a different story).

Continuing this example, let’s say you’re holding a pair of fives, and the board flops 9, K, 2 “rainbow” (no flush draw, different suits). With 9 players at the table, it’s certainly possible and likely that someone else holds a King or a Nine, or both, making your 5’s look pretty flimsy at this point. Your best shot to win is to draw another 5. There are two more 5’s remaining out of the 47 cards that you can’t see (in the deck or in another player’s hand).

So, the odds of pulling that next 5 on the turn or river are: 2 in 47 (2/47 = about 4%) on the Turn, plus another 2 in 46 on the River (an additional 4%), for a total of roughly 8.6%, which equates to a 1-in-11.6 chance of pulling that third 5 to make a set. Since the pot is only giving 5-to-1 odds, it’s generally time to fold. Otherwise, you’d just be “gambling” with a highly negative expectation of losing that additional $10. In no limit Texas Holdem, players will often raise the pot sufficiently to actually lower your pot odds so far that you can’t possibly justify staying in the hand - at least not statistically.

Clearly you can’t sit there in a real poker room with a calculator and run through all of these pot odds calculations while at the table! So, how does one learn poker odds well enough to apply them in real-time? Well, it starts by seeing the poker odds repeatedly, in a context that’s suitable for you to learn and eventually retain them. A poker odds calculator is a piece of add-on software that runs on your PC, monitoring your actual online play. A poker odds calculator computes the prospective hands you and your opponents are capable of drawing at any point in time. It then displays all possible hands you and the opponents could draw, teaching you what the odds of making that kind of hand would be.

This makes it easy to see what’s going on, and since a poker odds calculator displays the poker odds right there in front of you while you play, you’ll begin to learn them, making it semi-automatic, so you don’t even think about poker odds any more - you just know them. So, the first step is learning and internalizing these “hand odds”. Then, you can quickly calculate pot odds anytime you’d like.

Calculating pot odds requires you to pay close attention to the game, a key trait of good poker tournament players. Unlike playing online, where the total size of the pot is easy to determine (the online Texas Holdem poker program typically displays the pot amount right there on the screen for you), when you play in traditional offline poker tournaments, you must keep track of the pot size and chip count yourself, so you can estimate the pot odds and your best betting options.

Pot odds become especially interesting as the blinds and antes increase as the tournament progresses. Let’s say there are 10 players at your table, and the poker tournament structure has you at $25 antes with $200/$400 blinds. That’s a total of $850 that’s sitting thre in each and every pot before anyone even places their first bet! So, before you even look at your hand, you know that the minimum bet is $400, so you’ll need a good hand (with roughly 1 in 2 odds or better) in order to simply break even.

At this point, people will be angling to “steal the blinds” by placing a hefty bet, typically at least two times the big blind, or $800, in order to make the pot odds so unattractive that everyone just folds. Therefore, the first player to act often makes off with the booty, since the pot odds become even less attractive and most everyone hasn’t made a good enough hand to call. Of course, this can definitely backfire…

Let’s say the first player to bet raises to $800 in an attempt to steal the blinds, making the total pot now $1,650. Let’s say that a second player then calls with another $800, boosting this pot to $2,450. To get in on the action, you’d only need to call with $800, which means if you win the hand you’re getting a slightly better than 3 to 1 on your money. If it’s the Flop and you are one card short of making a King-high flush, then your hand odds are roughly 1-in-3. This would be “even money” if you joined in on this basis alone; however, you’re holding a King and there’s a King on the board from the Flop, so you now have a better than 1 in 3 chance of winning - a positive expectation! You place your $800 bet, so now the pot sits at $3,250.

You should generally make this bet, since it will yield a good return and you have the high pair (Kings), plus a flush draw, thereby improving your odds even further. Let’s say there was an Ace also showing, making your Kings second best pair. In this case, it time to fold because you have a less than a 1 in 3 chance of winning this hand, and if you continued throwing money at this pot, you’ll end up “pot-committed” and beaten by a pair of Aces (there’s usually at least one player in 10 hanging in there with an Ace hole card).

So, let’s say the last player to act goes “All-in” - after we’ve put our $800 in this pot. Now what? The first reaction should be - what kind of hand *could* this player actually hold? If the player is a relatively tight or solid player, chances are they’ve made a set or an Ace high flush. It’s always possible they’re bluffing, but very unlikely if they’re a good player, since there are already far too many people in this pot and it’s likely they’d get called with a real hand when bluffing.

So, what’s happened to our pot odds? Let’s say they went all-in with $5,000, pushing this pot up to $8,250. If you called with $5,000, you’re now only getting a 8.25 to 5 return, or roughly 1.65 to 1 - especially unattractive under the circumstances with highly negative expectation and so many players in this hand, further reducing your chances of winning. Therefore, everyone will likely just fold; unless they have a very strong hand plus a great draw (some outs).

There’s clearly a lot more to poker betting strategy, including position and acting first vs. last. Generally speaking, though, if you’re going to take a shot at that pot, and you’re in a position to act first, there’s a good chance everyone else will fold; however, you’d better think carefully about the pot odds the opponents will be getting after your bet is in there.

If your bet modifies the pot size such that it improves their pot odds (by limping in with just a small bet), you’re actually encouraging the opponents to hang in there with you, since they still have a good, positive (and improving) expectation level. If you bet enough, such as two to three times the size of the big blind, you’ll be reducing their pot odds enough to swing into a negative expectation, so they’ll be much more likely to fold. It’s really important to think your bet amounts through and understand the pot odds implications of your betting.

When you make such a play at the pot, it’s ideal to have some kind of hand, along with a good draw. If you find yourself short-stacked, then this may be as good as it gets. Bluffing will be covered more thoroughly in a later article, but at this point it’d be great to have at least a small pair, as well as a good straight or flush draw (since you’ll also have the potential to make a set of trips, too). In this situation, you have so many good “outs” that your small pair begins to look a lot stronger, and your hand odds acceptable enough to go on a “semi-bluff” at this pot.

So, these are the basics of Texas Holdem poker tournament betting strategy that you should know and practice (the other good players do). Knowing your basic hand odds and being capable of quickly calculating pot odds are essential to making intelligent betting decisions under fire in poker tournaments, and regular ring game and limit play for that matter. A good poker odds calculator will help you learn the hand odds, and along with practicing calculating your pot odds, you’ll be making better decisions and getting the best of it the next time you play Texas Holdem poker.

In the next article, we’ll explore a popular Texas Holdem poker tournament format - the Sit & Go poker tournament. Until then, have fun. And as always - good luck!

Rick

Rick Braddy is an avid writer, Texas Holdem player and professional software developer and marketer for over 25 years. His websites and Texas Holdem poker software specialize in helping people become better Texas Holdem poker players. If you’re a poker player, be sure to visit his Texas Holdem website today and learn how you can play better Texas Holdem, too.

The history of gambling is as old as human existence on earth. Homo Sapiens have always been fond of gaming. Gaming or gambling was a part of primeval man’s life too. The primary reasons to gamble in those times were amusement, utility and pleasing the deities. As human rationality and advancement enhanced with time, gaming became a source to make money. In today’s era gambling is taken up with an aim to flourish; the gambling industry is known for making many millionaires across the globe.

However, gambling had originated differently in different parts of the world. Most often Greeks are accredited to be its forerunners as well as proponents. Greek history and Biblical references reveal that gambling was the cherished pastime of ancient Greeks especially the Greek gods. They had a passion to play games of chance. Some legendary stories posit the Greek goddess Fortune (the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of Chance, Tycho) as the creator of games of chance. Her obsession with gambling made her built separate rooms and even buildings to play. This very concept of private places to game led to the development of modern day casinos in Europe.

Greeks were particularly crazy for dice games. But dice games were considered sacrosanct. Greeks believed that the dice output was the voice of god. For them god used to answer to their queries via the dice. So, dice games were more than just games for entertainment, they largely were part of a tradition or rituals with which Greeks had associated tremendous values. The Greeks used special cups to roll and throw the dice. Their winner used to be the one who acquired the highest score by rolling the dice.

Apart from dice, Europe is the mother of several other games of chance. Europeans started enjoying the profits accrued through the gaming industry. Prince Charles III due to his fascination for gaming built many wonderful casinos. Europe had the first casino in the world. This exhibits the enthusiasm of Europeans to try their luck at games of chance. Today European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland etc. are evergreen tourist spots to gamble. They invite the gambling aficionados from every nook of the world.

Since even in earlier days gaming was prevalent everywhere, Native Americans too had their specific likings for it. Gaming existed in America much before the Europeans landed here. But there were slight variations. For instance, Native Americans did not play with a competitive spirit. The main aims were entertainment and to earn things of utility through it. Gaming was taken in a spirit where relishing the game was considered superior to winning and losing it. In some tribes games were played with the sole purpose of earning a living.

The situation was infested with the coming of Europeans. They preached and brought to light the wealth aspect of gaming. Europeans introduced lotteries in America. Lotteries were a fruitful resource for them to gain huge revenue. The revenue so collected served as an aid in the maintenance of colonies. The Europeans made it mandatory for possibly everyone to play lottery as a civic duty. Europeans especially the French brought in many new games in America such as craps, roulette and card games. Things were never the same after that in America. The country saw the rise of numerous forms of gaming in its different states. Many new casinos were built which till date have the potential to lure any and every visitor who goes there. Nevada, a place in America got gambling legalized after cumbersome debate.

Nowadays numerous unscrupulous business firms are offering corps and bank accounts in many other jurisdictions with a browsing list of commonwealths useable most every 1 of them no more any good, many being located on Caribbean islands and are rascally the customers into thinking they are real Offshore Companies with secrecy benefits. False!!!
Let’s analyse some matters to look for when shopping for an offshore company.

Savings Bank Privacy - Without this we are not entangled. We want the bank to not be confident to divulge any info about the bank account including whether or not such a banking history even exists unless there is an order from a capable court of justice in the state where the bank is located. More secrecy than this does not exist any property today. Numbered accounts are doomed. Sparbuch accounts in Austria are dead dead, yes I am aware that people provide them for sales agreement on web sites but they are completely long gone and shut down. The bank secretiveness laws must be cursive into the natural law of the country in question. Belize has no such banking concern privacy practices of law written in their laws, people just seem to have faith in them even though there would be zero legitimate penalty for them to uncover savings bank data if they see able to do so. We need bank building secrecy laws to call for prison and humane penalisation for any infractions in addition to allow for 1 to impart suit against the bank for infringements. Panama meets this test.

MLAT - MutualLegalAssistanceTreaty. Some countries have embarked into these correspondences. For a list of countries that take embarked into these understandings with the USA courtesy of the US Government.

It is debauched as to how numerous countries are in such correspondences. Still Panama is in such an arrangement but it is reasonably limited in reach.

Offshore Companies

If you were to save up for a “cruise of a lifetime”, that you are an experience that will “exceed your expectations”, and which is “like no vacation on earth”, aren’t you being set up for disappointment?

Nowadays, the advertising that cruise lines use sets us up expectations for perfection……or at least suggest that everything we think a cruise should be will be realized. On the other side of the coin is the reality. Very often cruisers have been served food with shards of glass, been in a cabin next to a member of the casino staff who would blare the tv at 3AM, been given air tickets that return
them to a different city than from where they leave. It’s really bad service.

Have you been on a cruise with minimal air conditioning, had a company forget to provide the transportation from a precruise package to the ship. In each of these cases, sometimes the companies involved have not responded to these problems in appropriate ways. If you change your attitude, will the bus that doesn’t show up all of a sudden appear? We certainly think not.

While one’s expectations need to be realistic, many cruisers have appear to be willing to accept things that some would find intolerable — cold food is not an attitude problem; poached eggs that have been
cooked-refrigerated-then dumped in hot water before serving (a common practice on cruise ships — it explains why the eggs on eggs benedict are hard) are no better when one has a “fun” attitude; insulting
comments by cruise staff because one doesn’t want to play their games is not the fault of the passengers; and a company taking the robes from a cabin the last night of the cruise (ostensibly so they can be cleaned, though we all know it is because they don’t want them stolen) does not change because of a difference in attitude.

If a company says they will exceed my expectations - I am sure you want your expectations to be exceeded… Isn’t this truth in advertising? Would you buy any other product that makes promises that you know will not be realized and walk away happy — after all, it is just your attitude?? We
truly wonder……..

The spy industry has known that one of the best ways to learn more about your target of surveillance is to go thru their trash. Often information can be found in the garbage that can provide clues or links to help learn more information. Spying is about gathering intelligence and the Intelligence Community needs accurate information.

Yet we need to find ways to get more information faster without risking putting more stars on the wall each year at the CIA Central Intelligence Agency wall, which signify a lost comrade in the overall and perpetually ongoing game. It is risky to put people in harms way simply to pick up the trash, but indeed there may be an easier way. How so you ask?

By using trash-sifting robots we can gain the necessary intelligence we need. These robots will sift thru each piece of trash carefully and quietly taking digital pictures of each piece to check for writing on them. They will check for receipts, food items and any little clue to help our spies do their job better.

Once all this information is collected the spy robot will go to the nearest building climb up the side of the wall and get on the roof and send all the information collected directly to the satellite for review at command central or CIA Headquarters in Langley, VA. Think on this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

TX Auto Insurance Coverage Legal Requirements

• Bodily Injury Liability: $25,000/$50,000 Limit
• Property Damage Liability: $25,000 Limit

*Higher limit requirements went into effect on 4/1/08

Texas auto insurance laws follow a tort system. This implies that a motorist will always be found to be blameful in an accident. This driver and their auto insurance underwriter are then held liable to cover any damages. You should be reminiscent that the specifics of a tort system vary from state to state.

Drivers in the state of Texas can get complementary optional coverage such as uninsured motorist or No-Fault auto insurance. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury protects you in the chance that you are involved in an auto accident with one person who doesn’t maintain an auto insurance policy. No fault automobile insurance compensates you irregardless of who’s at fault for causing the accident.The state of Texas does not call for these additional auto insurance policy choices by law, but many people do opt to add them to their insurance policy.

The state of Texas has a bit higher insurance costs compared to other states. In 2003, the national average was $914 while the average resident paid around $932. The Texas state government does not totally determine auto insurance quotes even though plenty of motorists are under the assumption that there is one set price. This simply is false - there are plenty of ways that you can get lower premiums on your auto insurance policy. Your Texas auto insurance rates can be kept down in different ways. Two such ways are by sustaining a clean driving record or by finishing a defensive driving course.

Using auto insurance sites can give you the ability to find out if you’re paying too much for your auto insurance policy.These auto insurance agregators will allow you to get better quotes on your insurance coverage by comparing quotes right away. They can also give you more posts on how to increase your discounts.

After not providing a drop-off since 1999, insurance auto insurance costs ultimately declined in 2007. Many people saw a lessening from their 2006 rates by .5% to 1%. 2008 followed in the first half, but then insurance costs began to follow their normal cycle and increase slightly. Increases like these have been forcing people to see if they can reduce their monthly auto insurance premiums using insurance rate comparison websites. These websites have facilitated the change by bringing competition directly to the motorist and by lowering your costs through technology!

As the years go by the auto insurance costs also shift and by dismissing the rate changes in Texas, you might be paying more than you need to. In 2003, average expenses were $932. Just one year earlier, the average insurance rates in 2002 was about $882, that’s an go up of about 5.67% in just one year! Don’t waste your money paying high auto insurance rates, start saving now by getting an online quote from multiple auto insurance rate comparison websites now.

Academic Dress

The gown, cap and hood that are worn by graduates as they receive their academic certificates are used to celebrate and symbolize their long awaited achievement. It is hard to imagine that these kinds of garments were worn by European scholars on a daily basis. The academic hood dates back to the first established universities. Throughout the early medieval period, students were in holy orders and very religious. The students had to wear long clothing as a reflection of their religious rank. However, as fashion evolved, the universities held on to this academic dress to be worn upon successful completion of university degrees.

An academic hood is worn as part of the entire academic regalia over the graduation gown at graduation ceremonies. Velvet fabric included in the attire symbolizes the degree earned. To represent whether an academic gown belongs to the Bachelor, Master or Doctoral hood, an academic dress has different sizes in terms of the length and width. One does not have to buy the gown, it can also be rented at an affordable right, but for people who want to have a gown to call their own, they can buy it, along with the academic hood and cap.

One of South Carolinas most popular areas for real estate is Johns Island. You will find Johns Island right off the coast, adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway. With its blend of old and new, the island is attracting more and more property buyers who are looking for Johns Island, South Carolina real estate.
The island, one of the states largest, features an intriguing mixture of traditional farming districts and modern housing developments. There are several residential developments dotted around the island, each offering a different lifestyle. You are bound to find one that fits your character and requirements. This is one of the big attractions of Johns Island real estate.
When you start exploring the Johns Island, South Carolina real estate market, you will discover a friendly, peaceful, fun place to live. Your neighbors often become good friends. You can buy your fruit and vegetables fresh from the farm on a Saturday morning. You will find excellent schools and other facilities for your children.
You really should check out the real estate on Johns Island. There are so many different housing developments and homes for sale that there is virtually something for everyone. You could well find the ideal home for your family on Johns Island, South Carolina.

The fascinating thing about search engine optimisation melbourne is how your current web site, or your current page is optimized. Now this doesn’t mean inputting keywords all over the place on the page. Normally, you are looking at about 5% or so for the keyword appearance but it is near to impossible to write an article or write content in the page to make sure it comes up to that sort of percentage.

Here’s some good advice when choosing a web developer:

1. Make sure your page’s HTML is properly marked up - When you get some young freelance web developer who has been out of the university for 5 minutes and is cheap, you are probably doing yourself a huge kick in the butt. Yeah you’ll end up with a cheap option but the damage done is huge. Good web developers will know the difference between proper HTML and incorrect HTML. Ask the question … Can you do hand coding? Yes or no.

2. Does your developer know the difference between a div id and a div class? Yes or No? The answer is pretty simple. div ids are used as a layout feature, meaning you can only reference back to it using Javascript once. The class is a style feature, you can assign a class to any element on the page.

In live poker cash poker games, you have to always be on the lookout to profit from others in the casino. You must act in self-interest and sometimes intimidation is what wins a hand. But intimidation can be a double-edged sword because it can scare weaker players away from the table completely.

You must find a middle road where your aggression on behalf of your own interest is not irritating or rude. It helps to engage in friendly chatter in-between poker hands. Be ready to talk about sports, popular music or movies, or even have a few jokes up your sleeve.

Making disparaging comments about other players’ tactics and hands will only make your opponents angry. It may cause some to go on tilt, but others will dig in determined to beat you. You’ll no longer get easy action when you do have a hand. When you display disdain for other players, and overplay the bully role, you’ll promote a tighter atmosphere where chips stay on the sidelines instead of going into the pot.

Everyone at the table is acting in their own best interest. It’s a given. But if you congratulate others on a winning hand or compliment them on clever play, you’ll help create a relaxed atmosphere where players are more apt to call with weaker hands.

Temper aggression with consideration and a friendly attitude. Try to foster a spirit of camaraderie, and you’ll draw looser play against your big hands.