Poker Article: Making The First Call

Today I would like to share with you a poker article from one of the most successful poker players, Chris Ferguson.

Why I never call as the first to enter a pot.

In tough Hold'em and Omaha games, one of the simplest, most important rules to follow is to never call if it is folded around to you before the flop. The reasoning is that since you have no money involved in the pot, if you fold you lose absolutely nothing. Therefore, to even call you must have a hand that expects to earn money, and if your hand is a favorite, why not raise? I have never understood why people routinely call in this situation. Many books suggest calling with hands they believe play well against a large field. Their idea is to induce others to call therefore creating a multi-way pot. The problem with this thinking is two-fold. First of all, the future callers will also have hands that do well multi-way, but they have position giving then the best of it. Furthermore, against astute opponents, the original callers are giving away valuable, exploitable information about their hands. It is far better to simply either raise or fold in these situations. This gives the minimum information possible because it doesn’t split playable hands into two categories, calling hands and raising hands. To sum up, any hand worth calling in this situation is worth a raise. It is an odd fact that a few hands not worth a call are actually worth a raise. Probably the best way to think about this rule is that if a hand is not strong enough to raise with, it is not strong enough to call. If you don't believe me, just watch the final table at any major poker tournament. It is not uncommon for the entire final table to be played without ever seeing a player call as the first to enter a pot.

So why do so many players routinely call before the flop? Are they all wrong? There are two types of players who routinely call as the first one in. There are weaker players who don’t know any better, and there are players attempting to exploit their weaker opponents. Even though I virtually never call as the first one in, I will reluctantly defer to those who recommend calling with some hands before the flop, but only as an exploitive measure in very weak games where the following three things apply. First, you are unlikely to steal the blinds with a raise. Second, you expect to be called by even weaker hands behind you. And third, your opponents play very poorly after the flop. In particular, it may be right to call if others are giving way too much action on later streets. The bigger the pot the less of a mistake it is to call on the turn and river. Thus, by calling and keeping the pot small before the flop, you are magnifying your opponents’ mistakes of calling too frequently after the flop.

What if there is a single raise in front of you before the flop? Is it all right to occasionally call now? In tough limit hold’em games the answer is NO! The same logic applies. Obviously you should only play hands that are a money favorite in this situation, but since you have no money invested in the pot, any hand worth calling must be a favorite, so why not raise? Again, never calling has the added advantage of giving away as little information as possible regarding your hole cards.

Doesn't this argument apply to pot-limit and no-limit hold'em? Yes, the argument applies, but I still occasionally cold call behind a raiser in no-limit because there are two other considerations. First of all, when I am the first one in to raise the big blind, I am not re-opening the betting, which is to say if I call, the big blind can raise me anyway. Such is not the case for an original raiser. If I call the original raiser and no one re-raises we will see the flop without a chance for him to raise yet again.

The other difference is that position is more valuable in pot-limit and no-limit, and when the original raiser shuts me out with a re-re-raise, particularly an all-in move, I lose that advantage. In limit, the prospects of being four-bet don't scare me since the pot will already have at least 7-bets in it, so there is very little down side to raising. In fact it would be wrong for the original raiser to make it four bets. He would almost certainly be better off calling and check-raising on the flop, but that’s a story for another article.

Bluffing in Poker

Learning how to play poker is easy enough. Even learning all the variations and how to bet is pretty straightforward. The hard part is winning. As with (almost) all card games, there is definitely an element of luck. If someone has a great hand, they will probably win. If you have a rubbish hand, you will probably lose. Probably.

The technique you must learn (or 'art form', as some would call it) to turn the odds to your favour is bluffing. In case you don't know, bluffing means tricking, fooling, conning - or, if you prefer, lying. If you're bad at bluffing, or you do not apply it, people can often tell what sort of hand you have, especially if you are playing with good players.

Bluffing is one of the two steps you need to follow to win - or, at least, become a better player, which is not necessarily the same thing. The other is trying to discover what sort of cards the other players have.

Starting Off

Okay, you've sat down, put on your mysterious sunglasses and stuck a huge cigar in your mouth. You've got your vodka martini at hand and a beautiful, bikini-clad woman (or other attractive life-form, according to preference) looming over your chair. Now what?

Well, you get your cards. You look at them quickly, then either keep them in your hand, or put them face down on the table - although in the latter case, you need to keep them close at hand, or the dealer might think that you are folding. Now take a good, hard look at the other players. Unless you're some kind of genius, you will not know right away what kind of hands the others have. But you can get an idea - especially if you are playing with regular poker players. This is due to something called...

Rhythmic Behaviour

This is where the way you play gets into a pattern, and means that other players can figure out what sort of hand you have. Think about what kind of hands people bet with, and how much they bet, as well as whether or not they raise the stakes. If you play with the same group of players a lot, you can develop this skill slowly to put yourself at an advantage. If your opponent is someone you have never played before, don't panic - they don't know your patterns of behaviour any more than you know theirs. You just have to pick up on their patterns of play as quickly as you can.

Rhythmic behaviour is not limited to the amount of money you are willing to bet. There are more giveaways. For example, if you see someone who rubs his brow/removes her glasses/sips a drink/quickly slams her cards face down¹ every time he or she has a good hand, you know to fold your cards. You can of course, use this to your advantage, slamming your cards down and looking around when you have a weak hand to make people think it is good, so they fold and you win.

Another common sign is in the handling of betting chips or money. Sometimes people split their money into piles, separating what they are going to bet from the rest. This is a mistake. Do not let people know how much you will bet or raise before your turn. You must remember to think about your own rhythmic behaviour, and here is what to do about it: avoid it.

This can be quite difficult, but you have to think about it. If you find that you are betting £30 every time you have two pairs, stop it. If you find that you bet £100 when you have four of a kind, why not bet the same amount when you have an ace high, thus scaring people off?

Bluffing consists of scaring people away from betting or attracting people to bet. If you have a brilliant hand, you have to make people think you have a poor one. They're then likely to bet high, and you win an optimum amount of money. If you have a poor hand, you have to make people think you have a brilliant one, thus scaring them off and making them fold.

Some people like to play consecutively, and bet according to their hand - fold with a poor one, and bet with a good one. Don't do this. Instead, to confuse people, lure them into thinking you are a consecutive player then bet high with a rubbish hand, scaring everyone off. If you win due to everyone else folding or you fold, you do not need to show anyone your hand - in fact, it is often considered bad etiquette to do so. Since no one sees the hand, you can repeat the bluff. An elaborate bluff like this does require one thing though, other than bravery...

Practice

Practice makes perfect in all games that require skill. So don't start off playing against high rollers in Las Vegas. Start small, and work up. And that's about it. Play a lot, practise a lot, and you'll get there. Happy bluffing!

Definitions

• Semi-bluffing - This is where you have an okay hand (say, two pairs) which could win, but you make it look as though your hand is better. This is safer than outright bluffing, ie, betting high with a terrible hand.

• Double-bluffing - This is an elaborate way of bluffing, where you make people think you are bluffing when in fact you are not - which paradoxically means that you are bluffing. For example, you could bet high, wanting others to think that you are pretending you have a good hand - when you do in fact have a good hand. The idea is to stay one step ahead of your opponents.

Texas Hold'em Terminology

• Action
• Being your turn to act ('Action is on you').
• Getting someone to call your bet/raise or raise you back.
• All-in
• Having all of your chips wagered.
• In no-limit, the act of betting or raising all of your chips at once ('I'm all in').
• Bet - The first wager in a round of betting.
• Board - The face-up cards in the middle of the table for all players to use to make a five-card poker hand.
• Burn - Taking the top card of the remainder of the deck and adding it to the Muck.
• Button - A marker that rotates around the table each hand to represent the dealer.
• Call - To match a bet or raise. This is required to participate further in the current hand if someone has bet or raised.
• Check - Passing on the oppurtunity to bet, but retaining your cards. This is not an option if someone at the table has bet or raised.
• Chips - Sometimes called checks. Round coin-like representations of money usually made of clay or a clay/plastic polymer. Different colours represent different amounts. Traditionally, white = £1, red = £5, blue = £10, green = £25 and black = £100. Many casinos do not adhere to these traditions, but the values assigned to the chips are clearly marked on the face. There are higher-valued chips, but this author does not have the cash reserves to closely inspect them.
• Dealer - The person who manages the cards and the chips that are wagered at the table.
• Fifth Street - See River.
• Fold - To drop out of play for the remainder of the hand. Giving your cards to the dealer.
• Fourth Street - See Turn.
• Hole Cards - The cards dealt face-down to each player.
• Kicker - The card to be used to break a tie.
• Mechanic - Someone skilled at manipulating cards or chips in order to allow themselves to cheat. Players should be alert when playing in an informal 'back room' setting, or a mechanic may get the better of them.
• Muck - The inactive cards at the table.
• Off-Suit - Cards of varying suits.
• Overcard - A card higher in rank than another.
• Paint - A face card (jack or higher).
• Pass - See Fold.
• Pocket - See Hole Cards.
• Pot - The money or chips that have been wagered during the current hand.
• Rainbow - A flop where all three cards are a different suit.
• Raise - After a bet, you can raise the amount of money required for players to participate further in the current hand.
• River - The fifth and final card turned face-up on the Board.
• Set - Three of a kind.
• Suited - Cards of the same suit (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs or Spades).
• Throw Away - usually done at the end of a hand if someone shows a hand stronger than yours.
• Trips - See Set.
• Turn - The fourth card turned face up on the Board.
• Undercard - A card lower in rank than another.
• Wired Pair - Hole cards that are paired.

Texas Hold'em - the Poker Game (Part 2)

Read First: Texas Hold'em - the Poker Game (Part 1)

Limit, Pot-Limit and No-Limit

A limit poker game will be said to be £2/£4, £3/£6, £4/£8, £5/£10 etc. In a £2/£4 limit game the blinds are £1 and £2. In the first two rounds of betting, the bet and raise increments are £2. In the final two rounds the increments are £4.

Pot-limit is the least common form of hold'em. In a £5/£10 pot-limit game, the blinds are £5 and £10. The minimum bet is £10 during all rounds of betting. The maximum size of a bet or raise is the amount of money in the pot, including all bets and raises in the current round of betting. Readers should not worry much about the specifics of pot-limit, as rarely will it be seen if at all.

In a £5/£10 no-limit game, the blinds are £5 and £10. The minimum bet is £10 during all rounds of betting. There is no maximum size of bet or raise.

Most gambling establishments will require a minimum amount for the player to buy-in with. This means a player must exchange their money for minimum number/amount of chips in order to be allowed to sit at the table. These minimums are typically not enough for the average player, so it is recommended to purchase more chips.

Examples of good and bad starting hands

If your face-down (aka hole or pocket) cards are of the same rank, you have a pocket pair or a wired pair. Obviously the higher the rank, the more powerful your hand is. Aces are the strongest and twos are the weakest of the pocket pairs.

An ace with any face card (jack or higher), is a strong hand. The higher in rank the non-ace cards is, the better. An Ace with a king is stronger than an ace with a queen, unless another queen appers on the board. If they are of the same suit, they are slightly stronger, as a flush is now possible as well as pairing a relatively high-ranking card.

While many people will play them aggressively, an ace with a low-ranking card is a mediocre hand at best, statistically speaking. If they are suited they are slightly more powerful, as a flush is more likely. Many people will play an ace with a suited low-ranking card, as it is possible to draw a straight, a flush or even a straight flush.

Cards of consecutive rank (a king and a queen) are decent, as you can draw a straight. If they are suited, then you can draw a flush or a straight flush. Obviously, the higher the rank of the cards, the better they are.

Statistically, the worst possible hand you can have in the hole is seven and a two off-suit. Those cards and pretty much anything else are cards that should be folded unless you want to gamble or bluff. Bluffing requires skill in reading your opponents to know when they're bluffing and hiding any nervous ticks you display when lying - which is what bluffing is: although you should play these cards if you are the big blind and nobody raised. Since your blind is already committed to the pot it costs you nothing more to see the flop, and you may get three of a kind, two pair or a full house. This is possible, but rare.

Example of play in a limit game

This is an example of how the game is played. It's possible these exact hands with these exact actions could occur, but this combination of starting hands is very unlikely. Also, the betting and raising in this example hand is not the most realistic, either. This example is just that, an example. It is intended to show how the order of play is applied.

Ranking and description of final hands will not be discussed here, as there is a listing in the poker entry.

Andrew, Betty, Carl, Denise, Eric and Fay are playing £2/£4 limit game in a casino. They are sitting at the table in the order listed.

Andrew is 'on the button' which makes Betty the Small Blind (£1) and Carl the Big Blind (£2). The dealer distributes two cards, one at a time, to each player, starting with Betty and rotating clockwise.

Denise, being the first to act for this round of betting, looks at her cards and sees an ace and a king of the same suit. Given the strength of this starting hand, she decides to raise. She announces the word 'raise' and places £4 worth of chips in front of her (far enough away to not be confused with the chips she has in reserve).

Eric looks at his cards and see two threes. He decides that, while low in rank, pocket pairs can be strong at times and that £4 is not too steep a price to pay to see the flop. He calls, placing £4 in the pot.

Fay looks at her cards and sees a seven and a two of varying suits. She folds her hand and continues to watch the action.

Andrew looks at his cards and sees two kings - a very powerful hand - and raises, making it £6 to continue.

Betty, in the small blind, already has £1 committed to the pot, but her cards are too weak, at a nine and a three, to risk more money, so she folds.

Carl, in the big blind, already has £2 committed to the pot and has a decent hand - two tens - so he calls by placing £4 more in front of himself.

Denise calls as it's only £2 more and her hand is still powerful. Eric does the same.

The dealer pulls all of the chips to the centre of the table, burns one card and turns up the flop cards. The flop is ace, king and ten - all of different suits. This gives Carl three-of-a-kind tens, Denise two pair (aces and kings), whereas Eric still has one pair (his threes) and Andrew has three-of-a-kind kings.

The action would start on Betty, but since she folded pre-flop the action goes to Carl. Carl's three of a kind is a strong hand, so he bets £2.

Denise doesn't know that her two pair is weaker than the others' hands, but her two pair is still strong, so she raises to £4.

Eric folds since all of the cards on the flop were higher-ranked than his and it's likely at least one of the other players has hat least one of those cards in their two hole cards, meaning he's beaten.

Andrew raises, since his three-of-a-kind kings are a strong hand. He does not know if someone else is holding pocket aces (for three of a kind) or a queen and a jack (for a straight). Either of those two hands beats his, but his hand is still very stong and a raise is the correct move. In turn, Carl and Denise call Andrew's raise.

The dealer gathers the chips from that round of betting, adding them to the pot. She then burns one more card and turns up fourth street - a seven, which helps nobody's hand.

Carl bets £4 on his three-of-a-kind tens, Denise raises to £8 and Andrew raises to £12. Carl calls by placing £8 more in the pot and Denise calls as well by placing £4 more in the pot.

The dealer gathers the chips again, then burns another card and puts the river card on the board - another ace. At this point, all of the players have a full house. Carl has tens full of aces, Denise has aces full of kings and Andrew has kings full of aces. Denise's hand is the most powerful.

Carl bets £4, Denise raises to £8 and Andrew calls £8, as does Carl.

Since Denise was called, she must show her cards: she turns over her ace king displaying aces full of kings. The other players muck their cards (admit defeat and not show their cards) and the dealer collects Denise's cards while pushing the pot to Denise.

Texas Hold'em - the Poker Game (Part 1)

Texas Hold'em (more commonly referred to as simply 'Hold'em') is the most popular form of poker played today. While discussing how to play the game of Hold'em, most players maintain the cliché, 'It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.'

Terms you need to know

• Blind - A forced bet placed by the two players to the left of the dealer button before any cards are dealt. This is done to ensure action on the hand.
• Small Blind - This term is used to refer to both the bet and the table position. The small blind is posted by the person to the immediate left of the button. The small blind is half of the minimum bet, usually rounded to the nearest dollar (or other unit of currency).
• Big Blind - This term is used to refer to both the bet and the table position. The big blind is the same as the minimum bet.
• Flop
• The first three cards turned face up on the board.
• The act of placing the flop cards on the table

Below is a terminology section for any other terms that may not be understood.

Order of Play

Between each hand a marker, called the dealer button, moves clockwise around the table. The button represents the dealer. In an informal setting where one individual is not dedicated to dealing, such as a home game, the button is sometimes not used as the deal rotates around the table, in the same way as in other card games.

1. The player to the immediate left of the dealer button posts the small blind.
2. The player to the immediate left of the small blind posts the big blind.
3. The dealer distributes two cards, one card at a time, to each player starting with the small blind and moving clockwise.
4. The first person to act is the person to the immediate left of the big blind. This player looks at their cards and decides if they wish to call, raise or fold.
5. Play continues around the table clockwise until all players have acted upon the same options and all players who have not folded have called the latest raise (if a raise occurred).
6. The dealer burns one card and turns up three cards in the middle of the table, this is called the flop.
7. Another round of betting occurs, this time starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer button (the small blind). This person may choose to bet, check or fold.
8. Play continues around the table with the same conditions as before the flop.
9. The dealer burns one card and shows the 'turn card.'
10. Another round of betting occurs, just as after the flop.
11. The dealer burns one card and shows the 'river card.'
12. A final round of betting occurs, just as after the turn.
13. The person with the best five card poker hand wins. If the best hand is made entirely of the cards turned face up by the dealer, the pot is split among the remaining players.
14. The dealer button moves one position to the left and the process starts over.

If at any time during the hand every player except one folds their cards, the hand stops and the remaining player wins the entire pot. If this happens, the dealer button moves one position to the left and the process repeats itself.

Also, it should be noted that many gambling establishments will put a limit, or 'cap', on the number of time a bet can be raised per round. This 'cap' is usually three or four raises per round. Some allow an unlimited number of raises if there are only two players remaining in a hand.

Continue: Texas Hold'em - the Poker Game (Part 2)