| When there are, say, only four players left at a table and the stakes are so high that nobody can afford to lose two hands and survive, you're forced to do some desperate things. Also, they're more likely to work because you have so few possible opponents. And if you lose, that's okay too, because you were already "in the money" anyway. These tournaments usually begin with over 100 players and everyone at the final table is guaranteed a handsome payday -- even if they bust out on the very next hand. But if you're sitting in a regular 9 or 10 handed Hold'em game for structured limit bets, there's no urgency to get in there and gamble your money. Though you might hold a hand that looks fairly good, there are 8 or 9 other players who could have something better. About four players usually stay to see the flop in a full game, so if you don't have a true quality start, it's better to just wait for the next hand. Regular "limit Hold'em" is a game of patience and discipline. If you haven't got those, pretty soon you won't have any chips either. Solid Basics When you sit down at a regular Hold'em table, leave all the television melodramatics behind. Rule number one: high cards rule. As a broad general guideline if you don't have a pair of pocket 6s or higher, you need two picture cards minimum to get involved. Rule number two: if you miss on the flop, your two high cards don't rule anymore. Unless you're in last position and have two overcards to the flop, don't call a bet. Rule number three: be acutely aware of your position. If you're up front right after the blinds, you should throw away two smaller picture cards like Queen/Jack. That's because there are still so many players behind you who could have better -- and will raise. If you call that raise, you will have to act first throughout the rest of the hand. It's true that a Queen/Jack will make the best hand just as often from an early seat as from a late one. But it will make more money from a late seat due to its positional betting advantage. In prevailing blackjack literature, a "ploppy" is defined as a poor to typical player. Ploppies outnumber skillful blackjack players by a wide margin. A ploppy harbors many false beliefs about the game, and through those beliefs he actually sometimes causes or enables the casino to make the game tougher to win at. Ploppies also tend to make blackjack a more intimidating game to play than necessary. Now what could a bad blackjack player possibly do that would have a negative affect on the overall game of blackjack? Lots of things. Just consider the following three items. Surrender: The surrender option is not available at the majority of casinos even though it's a definite help to anyone who knows how to use it properly. Correct basic strategy would be to surrender 16 against a 9, 10 or Ace as well as 15 against a 10. And if the dealer hits soft 17, then you should also surrender 15, 17 and 8/8 against an Ace. It works out cheaper overall to surrender half your bet with these hands than to play them out. |
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