Lou Krieger - 52 Great Poker Tips. At Home, Tournament and Online

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First published in the United Kingdom in 2007 by

Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited

1 Gower Street

London WC1E 6HD

Copyright Batsford

Text Lou Krieger

The moral rights of the author has been asserted

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

First eBook publication 2014
ISBN 9781849941877

Also available in hardback
ISBN 9780713490350

This book can be ordered direct from the publisher at the website:
www.pavilionbooks.com, or try your local bookshop.

This book is dedicated to my wife, Deirdre Quinn. The odds against love are longer than those of any poker hand, but some people are fortunate enough to be lucky in love and poker too. Thanks to her, Im one of them.

Lou Krieger

Theres never been a better time to learn poker. With the advent of the lipstick camera a tiny camera pioneered by the World Poker Tour that is positioned next to each competitor and shows the television audience what the players cant see: each others cards poker has become a spectator sport and its popularity has sent TV ratings through the roof. More and more people are learning how to play for the first time, or brushing up on their game if all theyve ever done before is learn the rudiments in order to play at the kitchen table with family and friends.

Although the players you see on television and those entering high buy-in tournaments such as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker are incredibly skilled, most of the new players coming into the game are not. The majority of poker players youll encounter have never read a poker book in their lives.

Just a bit of study will give you an edge over most of the players youll encounter in casino poker games. You can even earn money-playing poker without having to be a world-class player. All you have to do is be able to beat your opponents. You cant say that about most other sports and games. If youre not one of the top tennis players in the world, or one of the best basketball players, or a world-class golfer, you might enjoy the sport as a hobby, but you cant count on it to supplement your income.

But when youre playing poker, you neednt be as skilful as a World Series of Poker winner to make a buck from your favourite hobby or avocation. You just have to keep one step ahead of your opponents. Its all relative, and a little learning gives you a big edge.

This surge of interest in poker has resulted in a publishing bonanza for poker books aimed at players at all levels of skill and development. This book is aimed at beginning poker players as well as more experienced players, who might have a lot of table time under their belt, but who have not taken the time to study the game. I know about most of these books. Ive written ten of them myself. The format of 52 Great Poker Tips is straightforward. Following an introduction to Texas holdem poker there are 52 tips one for each card in the deck. If you learn the game and learn these tips, you will profit from them. Just applying one tip each time you visit a card room or casino can produce money in your pocket or save you from the devastation of a really bad day at the tables.

You are living during holdems good old days. Thats right. Theres never been a better time to learn the game, or a better time to ply your skill at the tables. With all the newbies flocking to casinos and cardrooms everywhere including cybercasinos that can be accessed from the Internet games are typically filled with beginning players who are less skilled than you. At lower betting limit games, you might find an entire table filled with beginners.

Its a gold rush for good players. So pick up this book, read the tips and improve your game. Although this book is aimed at beginning players, the truths in these tips can be applied to all games, even those filled with skilful players.

While this book shouldnt be your complete poker education no single book can hope to accomplish that its a beginning aimed at grounding you in proper play and allowing you to spread your wings and grow as a player.

Poker is a collection of games with common attributes such as hand rankings, betting and bluffing. In Texas holdem, the highest poker hand wins. Other forms of poker reward the lowest hand, and in still others the highest and lowest hands split the pot.

Poker differs from the vast majority of casino games because its you against the house in casino games, and the odds are always in the houses favour. Poker players dont compete against the house; theyre just trying to beat the other players. The house is your host and makes its money by raking a token sum from each pot, or collecting a time charge from each player every 30 minutes, to pay for the table, chips, chairs and a trained, professional dealer.

Poker is a game of money thats played with cards. Underlying each strategy in poker is the relationship between the odds against making your hand and the size of the pot. It is a constantly changing environment where choices are usually made on incomplete information. Although luck is significant in the short run, players making better decisions than their opponents are certain to be rewarded over the long haul.

Thats another way of saying that your decisions matter in poker. In the long run, whether you decide to choose black or red at the roulette table doesnt matter at all. But decision-making matters at poker, and at the end of the day the best decisions usually determine the winners.

Poker players exercise control over their actions. Can I make better decisions than my opponents? If I can, I will be rewarded with matchsticks or millions depending on my willingness to take a risk and back it with logic, knowledge of my opponents and my instincts. A little luck never hurts, either.

Texas holdem, which is far and away the most popular form of poker, is a simple game to learn. The objective is to win money. You accomplish this by winning pots