Poker Academy Blogs

"Shuffle up and deal!"

Had a chance to play online at PokerStars today. Entered a $5.50 No Limit Texas Hold 'Em Turbo. 2,800 players signed up. No re-buys - no add-ons.

Lasted for less than an hour. In fact I was only dealt 41 hands until I busted out. Of those 41 hands I took the Flop on 19% of them.

The reason I'm even mentioning this is not to further illustrate my exceptionally low-level donkness, but to share an observation about the "random" shuffles and the results therein. During those first 41 hands of the tournament I saw Pocket Rockets dealt 9 times. Once to me, but as my recent luck would have it, they were also dealt to an opponent two seats away. We split the pot after getting all of our chips in the middle.

Not only did Aces come out 9 times on 41 hands, but pocket Jacks and pocket Queens were also dealt 4 times each.

Okay, at this point you'd be right to expect this blog entry to dissolve into a major rant over online poker software, how their decks are "randomly" shuffled and more nonsense about the theory behind Random Number Generators.

I will resist the temptation to do so and just say a few more words and leave you with an explanation of all of the above taken directly from the PokerStars WWW page.

Last time I checked, you can expect to be dealt pocket aces once in about every 220 hands. Holy crap, the folks at today's $5.50 tourney were all apparently overdue for their pocket aces, because those things were shooting out faster than lame props at a Carrot Top show.

Veteran poker players vow that online deck shuffles are on the up-and-up and the only reason you witness more anomalies is due to the increased number of hands that can be dealt per hour compared to the number of hands being dealt at a brick and mortar casino.

That's all well and good and I respect that logic, but I can't stop that feeling deep in my heart of hearts that something about online poker doesn't add up.

So here's how my favorite poker site sums up all of this, and I have to tell you it does not make a whole lotta sense to me. Especially the references to "mouse movements, thermal noise, and the required amount of entropy" which I find to be very strange and hard to understand.

Enjoy:

"Anyone who considers arithmetic methods of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin." - John von Neumann, 1951

We understand that a use of a fair and unpredictable shuffle algorithm is critical to our software. To ensure this and avoid major problems we are using two independent sources of truly random data:

user input, including summary of mouse movements and events timing, collected from client software
true hardware random number generator developed by Intel, which uses thermal noise as an entropy source
Each of these sources itself generates enough entropy to ensure a fair and unpredictable shuffle.

Shuffle Highlights:
A deck of 52 cards can be shuffled in 52! ways. 52! is about 2^225 (to be precise, 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660 ,636,856,404,000,000,000,000,0 00,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000 ways). We use 249 random bits from both entropy sources (user input and thermal noise) to achieve an even and unpredictable statistical distribution.

Furthermore, we apply conservative rules to enforce the required degree of randomness; for instance, if user input does not generate required amount of entropy, we do not start the next hand until we obtain the required amount of entropy from Intel RNG.

We use the SHA-1 cryptographic hash algorithm to mix the entropy gathered from both sources to provide an extra level of security.

We also maintain a SHA-1-based pseudo-random generator to provide even more security and protection from user data attacks.

To convert random bit stream to random numbers within a required range without bias, we use a simple and reliable algorithm. For example, if we need a random number in the range 0-25: we take 5 random bits and convert them to a random number 0-31, if this number is greater than 25 we just discard all 5 bits and repeat the process.
This method is not affected by biases related to modulus operation for generation of random numbers that are not 2n, n = 1,2,..

To perform an actual shuffle, we use another simple and reliable algorithm:
first we draw a random card from the original deck (1 of 52) and place it in a new deck - now original deck contains 51 cards and the new deck contains 1 card then we draw another random card from the original deck (1 of 51) and place it on top of the new deck - now original deck contains 50 cards and the new deck contains 2 cards. We repeat the process until all cards have moved from the original deck to the new deck. This algorithm does not suffer from "Bad Distribution Of Shuffles."

PokerStars shuffle verified by Cigital and BMM International.

PokerStars submitted extensive information about the PokerStars random number generator (RNG) to two independent organizations. We asked these two trusted resources to perform an in-depth analysis of the randomness of the output of the RNG, and its implementation in the shuffling of the cards on PokerStars. Both independent companies were given full access to the source code and confirmed the randomness and security of our shuffle.

End of PokerStars Explanation

Perhaps the best hand of those wonderful 41 I witnessed today was hand 33 or 34. Three players saw a flop of 7h, 7d, 7c. The first two players checked and the third bet 300. Both checkers folded and the winner raked the pot and showed:

Pocket Aces.

Isn't online poker great?!?

Erick Lindgren said it. Sadly, it was true. Both he and Michael DeMichele, the young Poughkeepsie, New York, multi-game specialist could not beat the drunken, classless, and profane Scotty Nguyen. The so-called, "Prince of Poker" let his desire for redemption (from his meltdown at last year's Main Event) get the best of him. Truth be told, Scotty's inability to control himself while under the influence of cheap beer was what really got the best of him and provided us with yet another glimpse into the dark, troubled soul he's fast become. Poker fans took little joy in watching Nguyen slur and wobble his way to the 2008 WSOP HORSE Championship. Except perhaps, Layne Flack, who matched Scotty slur for slur and wobble for wobble, right behind him in the gallery. The Potent Potable Prince of Profane Poker, is now the "best all around poker player in the world" for the next year.

Lucky us.

Act like an asshole at a card game - win $1.9 million. Only in America, baby.

I've been there and done that (not proud - just saying) but never for a 1.9 million dollar pay day! More like, 10 bucks and 1 down the drain and my reputation in tatters because I couldn't control myself when stoked on wine and pain pills. Tucked safely behind my monitor, keyboard and mouse, I'm worse than Scotty and Tony G, with a dash of Phil H., thrown in for good measure. So while Scotty gets some well deserved kicks in the proverbial ass for being a douche bag, I myself, and many of you can relate to his boorish behavior. Hopefully he's hung a mirror up for all of us who have left games in the past and upon further reflection cringed over our senseless behavior.

And while it's not surprising that a well known poker pro like The Profane Prince would behave inappropriately at the final table of a WSOP event, the fact it was the $50k HORSE event with a trophy named after one of poker's rare gentlemen, Chip Reese, only compounded the ugliness and irony. People behind the scenes point to ESPN Producers as the enablers of this one, as Scotty's antics went way over the top enough to earn him the boot (he was given at least one two-round penalty), but money talks and ESPN leaned on the WSOP and forced them to look the other way as Scotty cursed, attempted to collude, show cards, berate opponents and generally play the heel in a Vince McMahon-like rasslin' Passion Play for the Worldwide Leaders in Sports.

Give some credit to ESPN announcers, Lon Macheron and Norman Chad for not totally glossing over Scotty's actions, but once again money, media and insider influences converged to create enabling and sanitizing in order to line some pockets and present a "polished" product.

So here's a question to ponder: Why did we not know about Scotty Nguyen's atrocious actions until we finally viewed them on TV this week? Does anyone recall how CardPlayer covered this when it first went down? How about Bluff or PokerNews? Was there honest reporting of what happened? Was there outrage? Did anyone call Scotty out over this?

I would love know how this one got so downplayed. Seems to me his actions have set the game back a bit.

But who am I kidding? How do you set back a game that seems to take delight in shooting itself in the foot any chance it gets? For example, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet were humiliated in public when caught allowing insiders to steal millions from unsuspecting players. This coming at the worst time for online poker in light of the government's zeal to shut it down for all U.S. players. So, do people leave AP or UB in droves and send a message that this will not be tolerated? Do top players like "The Poker Brat" renounce their sponsorships? Hell, no. In fact, young DeMichele wore the UB logo at the HORSE final table. Remember him? He was our "hero" fighting the "evil" Scotty Nguyen, and yet he was happily shilling for a site that has been exposed for stealing money from players by allowing so-called, "Super Users" to see their opponents hole cards. What's more heinous is that the site took months to fully investigate the crime; even longer to finally admit it occurred; and to date, the thieves have not been prosecuted. Although most of the victims have been reimbursed, I can't wait to see the "60 Minutes" piece on this and how the mainstream media spins will it. (Word is CBS will be broadcasting the episode soon.)

Amazingly, poker lives on and will live on forever, despite its player's penchants for self abuse, self loathing and unexplainable acts of self destruction.

The point is, there are no fair brokers in the world of poker. At least not when it comes to Codes of Conduct and responsible reporting of poker news. There are no trusted poker journalists working for trusted poker media outlets. In fact, most poker rags are propped up with funds from successful, famous players, so don't count on them to do true hard-hitting journalism. Just expect more poker site info-mercials that pass for cover stories while the connected players and their business monkeys play grab ass with public relations types. Finding out the truth is left to those with good e-mail contacts, occasional honest posts on open forums, and some of the few poker bloggers out there that have the courage to report what they see despite who they might see doing it.

Oh, and yes, Scotty Nguyen did "apologize" for his actions. The apology appeared in one of the more popular poker info-mercial magazine's internet forums. Check it out if you care, it's one of the best non-apologies ever penned and almost as pathological as his performance at the HORSE Final Table.

IMHO, Scotty's blatant violation of WSOP Rule 37 should earn him at least a one-year ban from WSOP events. His attempts to collude were, no doubt, the worst part of his behavior that night.

And finally, to all the Scotty fans who have tried to excuse his actions by saying that it was "taken out of context" and "just a few moments out of a 13-hour final table marathon." I say, shut your pie holes and stop kidding yourselves. It is what it is and it was what it was. No excuses. No special editing. No misunderstanding. No accountability.

It's not too late to hold him accountable for his actions and to re-calibrate the tournament staff and casino personnel to prevent an occurrence like this from ever repeating.

Like many other poker players, I blame Chris Moneymaker for getting me interested in No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. Watching him successfully bluff Sammy Farha HU at the final table of the 2003 WSOP was certainly a seminal moment in the history of poker. You have to wonder if there would have been as big a "Poker Boom" (earlier in this decade) if Farha hadn't mucked and instead called Moneymaker off for pretty much his tournament life. So sitting there watching a no-name amateur luckbox his way through thousands of players to win millions of dollars and the WSOP bracelet made me wonder if I could be any good at this game, and if I really worked at it, could I become a good player? Is there skill to play winning poker, or is it all luck?? These questions and the desire to find out more drove me to start looking at online poker sites.

My very first online poker experience was at Poker Room dot Com. In June 2004, I registered the Lone Rhino screen name and deposited $250. A screen name, a few hundred bucks, and dreams of poker greatness lie just beyond the mouse on my desk and the PC monitor sitting behind it. Or so I thought.

Up until this point my only experience playing cards was in high school and college. Mostly with my best friend's older brother and his crowd. 7 Card Stud, or Guts were the games most often spread. So I didn't enter the online world of low stakes No Limit Texas Hold 'Em as a total rube, but I wasn't much above being a dolt from the very first hand on. This lasted for quite a few months as I chased hopeless draws, bet small aces out of position, limped into more pots than a nursing home full of dead-dick war vets, had no clue how to read the board, and always thought two pair were the nuts. I was clueless and wasn't exactly using each game or tournament as a learning experience, because - of course - I would be TOTALLY pissed off each and every time I lost because it was NEVER my fault.

Learning the basics of poker, understanding position, the law of probabilities, betting patterns, the art of the size of bets, etc., are some of the building blocks for becoming a solid poker player. In my fleeting moments of calm and clear thinking I came to this realization and now embrace it as the truth. So began my quest for poker knowledge. Knowledge of this game of hard luck and human instincts. Knowledge of one's self. And you know what? This game is not easy - this game is hard and no matter how bad the beats are, or how fucking angry I get, I just can't stop coming back for more.

Awesome website, cool job guys! Lots of great content - with style! .. looking forward for the launch!

So .. I'm officially the first lady on this blog! Let me be the first in here to give a brief prelude to the female sector in this industry .. :)

When ladies like Jennifer Harman and Annie Duke appeared in the poker scene for their first time, they showed everyone that women can play poker too. Generally speaking, as women, we are less probable to bluff and not disposed to gamble as much as men would be. We are often perceived as tight, often emotional and fragile. I guess some may agree, and others may not! Anyways .. most of us ladies don t give a flying fork about all that :) .. Just look out boys, we're here to stay!!

Me vs Daniel negreanu

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Winning the 100k event!

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Going pro!

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Random questions!

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Inside the poker mind.

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Just My Luck!

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Losing with Aces!

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Mike Matusow vs Greg Raymer        WSOP 2004

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Mike Matusow vs The Grinder

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Great read at the WSOP!

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Going all in against Jamie Gold at the WSOP!

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Me at the 2008 WSOP: $1,500 No limit hold'em final table!

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All about my poker life!

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In the first one I show you how to be agressive even if you don't have anything.

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In the second one you will see me facing a tough decision in high stakes poker.

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1.5k Rebuy No Limit Hold'em conclusion - World Series of Poker 2008

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Phil Ivey Holding Quads of Kings against Jerry Fit. Ivy is human after all. We all get too excited when we get nuts and do things we regret later. He could have made even a dollar extra but instead he made none. Learn from this and dont get too excited. Small value bet and he would have pushed all in or call at worst. But Ivy is great!

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Scotty Nguyen's infamous 2008 World Series of Poker $50,000 HORSE Final Table drunken rampage.

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I would like to apologize to all my fans for the disappointment I have caused in the H.O.R.S.E. Event. For that I would like to express my sincerest apology. I would like to ask for understanding of what really took place. Keep in mind this was a five day event, with an almost fourteen hour final table that was reduced to two hours of air time including all the commercial breaks.

With that being said, as you can imagine, more took place than what made the final cut for t.v. Last year's Main Event I made the mistake of letting someone get under my skin, of which overtook my mental focus of the game, and cost me my tournament along with a lot of disappointment amongst my fans and peers.

Since that time, it has haunted me and even now with the mistake that I made. As a professional, you always critique yourself to make yourself better, and in doing so you have to focus on the mistakes you make, in order to improve.

This year, I needed redemption of my own 2007 Main Event demons to prove to myself that no one would get to me again. This tournament was too important for me, the trophy, the fifth bracelet, and history, my head was zoned in for this event, and for that time, I forgot the fans were watching me. I said things I shouldn't have said that have disappointed you, and I apologize for my actions. All my life, there have been many many tournaments, I put all the fans first, tried to play bad hands and win to give more excitement, and I would blow my tournament, however I have never regretted it, because without all you fans there would never be a Scotty Nguyen, and I appreciate all of you every which way. This tournament I played the players game.

They wanted to play a drinking game, and they couldn't win, they say they can't even beat a drunk, how can you beat a drunk if I'm not drunk. They can't beat me in a drinking game, now they play the talking game to try to get under my skin like in 2007, and I gave it right back to them and got underneath their skin, and they couldn't win. When it came down to playing a poker game, the best will win. Because they can't beat me in a drinking game, a talking game and then we played poker, of which they can't beat me, and I am the one who brought the trophy home. This event I had my mind set, I wouldn't let anything interfere between me and the bracelet and the Chip Reese trophy, and I proved that to the whole world. I can beat them at any game they want to play. And all I have to say, I hope all you fans understand what I'm trying to say. And watch the tape again. I was not the one to start anything, not even drinking or talking, they wanted to start it with me, and they got beat by me fair and square on all levels they wanted to play. All I would ever be sorry, is how the fans feel about me, I would never be sorry to beat those players. If they can't accept defeat, then stay home, crawl under their loved ones arms, don't bad mouth because you got beat by the best poker player. Another thing, I always bring joy and excitement to the poker game every time I'm on tv, and all of you know, when Scotty Nguyen is on tv, your eyes are glued on the screen. Why? Because I make it fun so you guys don't switch the channel. All these years that is all you've seen of me, and that is the real me. That proves to you, how great and nice I am, I am the real deal. One cannot be on tv all these years with the same persona if it wasn't the real deal. Even during this final table, I still took time for all the fans with a smile on my face. You have not even heard of one fan who was there that came up to me and could say that I was rude to them or out of line with them in any way.

This was an issue at the table, and one I didn't take out on the fans even during that time. This was business. How many players do you know that would do that to the fans except one, the Prince of Poker, Scotty Nguyen and once again I apologize to all of you.

No excuses for my behavior in that $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. final table. And I have explained to you why and how that happened. Bottom line, I only ask for you to please understand and remember that I, Scotty Nguyen, the Prince of Poker is still a human being, just like all of you. I too have good times, bad times, sad times and angry times, just like everyone else in this world, and I hope you can understand that. I do promise to all the fans that no matter what, from now, I would never disappoint you again any which way. I forgot about the fans, and only focused on me. I am sorry.

I am sorry.

Thank you, Scotty Nguyen

If tournament poker is a game of situations, then it’s important to know how to play from the blinds. Poker comes down to three basic decisions: fold, call, or raise. When you’re facing a pre-flop raise, folding the blinds will usually be your best option. You have a significant disadvantage when you defend your blinds because you will be out of position for the remainder of the hand. However, there are times during the course of a tournament that you can pick up a key pot or two by making the right play from either the small or big blind.

One of the first things to realize is that you should never get too attached to your blinds early in a tournament. Being first to act leaves you at a clear disadvantage. The reward of winning a small pot simply isn’t worth the risk of playing out of position. Later in a tournament, when the blinds are more significant and antes come into play, you should think twice about automatically folding your blinds to a raise because there are so many more chips at stake before the flop.

In fact, these are the times in a tournament when you need to think about playing back at your opponents from the blinds. As I mentioned, tournament poker is a game of situations and it’s critical that you evaluate your situation properly throughout the event. When appropriate, you may want to just flat-call a late position raise or even think about re-raising from the blinds.

I’ll never defend my blind with marginal cards against an early-position raiser no matter what point of the tournament I’m in. When a player raises in early position, it’s often safer to assume he has a real hand as opposed to thinking that he’s just trying to pick up the blinds. Against strong players, I usually let the blinds go because I know there’s going to be a battle. I’m looking to pick up pots, not pick a fight.

As each player folds and action gets passed closer and closer to the button, the likelihood of a “blind-stealing” raise increases. These are the situations where you want to evaluate your opponent and determine if you think they’re vulnerable to a re-raise. If you sense weakness, this is a good time to play back in order to show that you’re not going to be bullied, and to build your stack.

Against a late-position raise from an opponent who I read as weak, I’m going to re-steal the blinds by putting in a re-raise. I don’t recommend re-raising all-in because it’s not wise to risk your tournament on a bluff. Instead, I think it’s best to determine your re-raise based on the size of both your own and your opponent’s chip stacks. You should put in enough of your stack to make it look like you’re pot-committed – even though you’re really not. Giving the appearance that you’re pot-committed displays your strength which makes it unlikely that your opponent will come back over the top unless he’s holding some kind of monster. By properly sizing your bet here, you can still get away from your hand and save yourself some chips by folding.

Be sure to check back for next week’s tip, when I discuss playing from the blinds in relation to your opponent’s style of play and table image.

In poker, image matters.

Throughout a tournament, your table image will help determine how much action you’ll get and, ultimately, how you can manipulate your opponents into making big calls or big laydowns at the wrong times.

While establishing a loose, aggressive image early on can help build your initial chip stack, I believe it’s important to develop a tight table image in the later stages of a tournament because it gives you the ability to maneuver at the times when the chips matter most.

When the action is folded around, some players will always raise from the cutoff and the button. The problem with this play is that’s its predictable and can be easily exploited. If you always raise from the button, the players in the blinds catch on sooner or later and will put in a big re-raise with any two cards. You will also find players just calling you with a much wider range of hands from the blinds before putting in a big check-raise on the flop.

Why do they do this? Because you have been presenting a loose table image by raising any time the action is passed to you. During late-stage play, this image hampers your ability to maneuver because any time you try to make a move, it’s likely that someone will play back at you.

It doesn’t take long before your loose table image will make you a target for the experienced players at the table (or even the inexperienced players who get tired of being pushed around). The amount of chips you risk by being loose in these situations is usually not worth the reward of just picking up the blinds. Be careful, though, because when you play too tight you end up missing many opportunities to slowly accumulate chips or even just stay afloat. Ideally, you want to project a very tight image while actually being somewhere in between the standard perceptions of “loose” and “tight.”

I have one very simple piece of advice to help you with this part of your game. It may sound so simple you would wonder why I bother mentioning it but, in fact, this is one of my most important rules: Always fold junk.

By always folding junk hands, you accomplish a number of goals:

• You resist the temptation to attempt a blind-steal just because action was passed to you. With the level of aggressiveness that characterizes today’s play, it’s better to pass on bad hands even in position.
• You avoid pot-committing yourself with a hand that will usually be dominated in a race with a short-stack. For example, if you raise from the cutoff for 3x the big blind with J-3 attempting to steal the blinds and a stack with 8x the big blind moves in behind you, you are in a bad spot. It’s better to just avoid these situations altogether.
• Most importantly, you further cement your image as a tight player. Now when you raise with a hand like A-8, you can feel confident that your tight image will allow you to steal the blinds although you’re actually playing a bit looser.

Another temptation players face is to pick on someone’s blind just because they view that player as “weak.” I rarely pick on someone’s blinds without a decent opening hand. Opening from the cut-off with a hand like K-9 suited is about as low as I’m willing to go in attempt to just pick up the blinds.

Using my tight table image enabled me to maneuver through a very tough field in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold ‘em event at the 2007 WSOP*. After I doubled up early in Day 2, I used my table image in the late stages to steal blinds and to pick up a number of pots in key situations. I was able to carry this momentum to the final table, where I was fortunate enough to win the bracelet.

Remember, it takes more than good cards to be a winning player. By creating a solid table image in the late stages of a tournament, you may actually be able to play a wider variety of hands than your opponents expect and take down key pots at critical times.

1. The most crucial skill in willing a multi-table poker tournament is luck. If you join a poker tournament with 200 people you need to win more than your fair share of coin flips to win the entire tournament. Skill and experience can get you far, but luck is essential to win a tournament. A tournament player running bad can play an enormous amount of tournaments without cashing in. The variance in MTT’s is crazy and only a very limited number of players make their living playing tournament poker.

2. If you are already a successful ring game player you will need to adjust your strategy. In ring games you need to accumulate the maximum amount of chips. In tournament poker you need to collect all the chips under a certain timeframe and constantly increasing blinds. That means you must win chips a lot faster than in ring games and therefore play more hands.

3. Chips have relative value. In a standard poker game each dollar is always worth the same, while in tournament poker the chips have different relative value. If you start out with $1000 worth of chips these chips are worth a lot more than the next $1000 chips you are able to win. Since you are unable to buy you way back into the tourney, the last chips you have are always the most valuable.

4. Remember the Gap concept! David Sklansky introduced the Gap Concept with is priceless in tournament poker. The Gap Concept means, that you will need a better hand to play against someone who has opened the betting, than what you need to open with yourself. This basically means that you need a strong hand to call a bet, but only a semi-strong hand to make a bet. This is important to remember when stealing blinds an making moves.

5. Follow the blinds. Play tight in the beginning of a tournament. How tight you should play depends on the structure of the tournament you are playing. When the blinds are low you can sit tight and wait for other players to make mistakes, but when the blinds begin to rise it is time go get in there and gamble.

6. Position. Position is everything in no-limit Texas Holdem. Play tight from early position with a lot of people to act behind you. Play aggressive from late position and try to steal blinds with semi-strong hands.

7. Try to focus on the table you are sitting at. Don’t worry how many players are left at the other tables and how they have distributed the chips amongst them. Focus on your table and try to become the chip leader. You need to win all the chips anyway, so might as well start at your own table and worry about the rest of the opponents later on.

8. Try to read observe your opponents to get an idea of how they play and use this information when making decisions. A correct read on your opponents is a very powerful tool.

9. You need to survive. Remember you often only have one shot. If you move all-in there is no reload button and you will be eliminated from the tournament. One mistake can cost you the tournament.

10. Change gear. To be a successful tournament player you need to be able to know when to play aggressively and when to play tight. A great tournament player use position, reads on players, tournament structure, blind level, and many other factors to determine his actions. Use this information to determine when to play aggressively and when to play tight – if you want to win multi-player tournaments you will need to do both. Tight players do not win poker tournaments, the key to winning is a mix between tight play and loose aggressive play.

These are standard poker tournament tips. It doesn’t matter if you are playing in an online qualifier, satellite event, online tournament or live tournament. The tournament structure might differ but the goal is the same and every one of the above tips applies - even though the player’s skills might differ greatly.
We hope these poker tournament tips will help you in your next online poker tournament

Omaha is highly situational. In hold’em, you can get pocket aces ten times in a row and it may usually hold up even if your hand doesn’t improve on the flop, turn or, river. In Omaha, you can get a strong double suited AKAK and never win a pot if the flop always comes six high.

Look at Omaha as shifting the action one street later. Pre-flop, you can play nearly any reasonable cards to see a flop, the flop is when you commit more to a hand, the turn defines your hand, and of course, the river finishes a hand (one way or another)

Because of this shift, you should play most of your good hands on good flops straight forward both to get maximum value and to protect your hand. In Omaha, like any poker game, if you think you have the best hand, your goal is to make your opponent make a mistake. Giving them incorrect odds to draw out on you is just that, and can be achieved by a pot-sized bet, especially if you follow that up with a pot-sized bet on the turn if a blank comes down. You’ll force them into a second opportunity to make a mistake, and if they draw out, you’ve done all you can.

For this reason, you need to know when to move hard on a flop and when to wait. Most of the confrontations in Omaha are between a strong made hand (top set or the nut straight) against another draw or draws. Redraws and wraps are powerful, and if you’re fortunate enough to hit a flop with both a straight and a flush draw, you’ll usually want to get all your money in however you can.

If the opponent has a hand, they’ll usually come along with you on the flop, so make them pay if you think you’re best.

Position isn’t as big of a factor as in hold’em. But if you watch the action, position can be used as a bluffing opportunity. If there doesn’t seem to be much action, a hand like two-pair can usually bet out thinking the hand is good. A late position player may call with the intention of bluffing at a turn card that looks like it hit a draw and try to chase out the opponent if they then check. They may also be trapping, so know your player, and you may even try that move yourself in early position.

Additionally, later position allows you to read the opponents’ hands better. If there are three flush cards on a board and you have just the ace of that suit, a bet and a raise tells you that the raiser probably has the flush and wants to know where the ace is. No, you don’t have the flush and can’t improve to make it, but if you call (hopefully with some kind of two pair/set draw to pair the board so you aren’t totally naked with the “dry ace”) and they put in a smallish bet or check on the river, you might steal the pot by blasting them out with a pot-sized bet, representing the ace high flush that you know they don’t have.

The best strategy to progress to expert mode is simple: just as in any poker game, know the odds, know the players. Odds calculation is standard, as most players at this level will know the basics from hold’em (just adjust for the additional known holecards). But since so many players play nearly every hand in Omaha, be prepared for odd things to happen. That way if you have a set of kings on a K356 board, you’ll know if the player checkraising you is capable of playing with a 2-4 or 4-7. Some players merely represent this hand, others play it regularly for just such an opportunity (which is a good way to mix up play if used judiciously).

Omaha creates huge pots, since often there are multiple players seeing a flop, a couple hanging around to see if the turn completes their draws, and thus, a lot of dead money if you hit the nuts. It’s also a game of protecting made hands and big draws. You may, then, think of increasing your bankroll requirements to account for additional volatility. Flopping a set with a flush draw is a nice place to be, and if you can get your money in the middle, great. But your hand isn’t always going to hit by the river, so be prepared to come up empty from time to time on the big draws while a tiny straight rakes in the money. If you can handle those swings both financially and emotionally, and play with a sound mind towards the possibilities, you should be able to succeed at Omaha.

Poker tutorial Videos with Daniel Negreanu.

Stacked with Negreanu Part 1 of 15

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