Referral Code Full Tilt

Every poker player has their own individual style of playing, and this is likely to vary depending on other players. This is because it relies on an individuals intuition, an understanding of the other players and luck. Indeed many poker players will find that they will fly against their normal habits and rules in a whim for any unknown reason, and as the saying goes – ‘that’s poker.’

Some top poker players suggest that you play only high card combinations – AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQ for instance, basically any two cards between Ace and Jack or ten. This means that you have to play quite a tight game and people may consider you to be ace chasers but there is some logic in this tactic. Others suggest that you make regular small bets on many hands, and carefully accumulate wins, subtly raising if the community cards present an opportunity.

A good player will read what you are doing one way or the other, but by playing high cards only, most players will respect your call – you are effectively telling them – ‘yes I have high cards again.’ It will mean a lot less people will call or raise, this is good in some ways as the less players in on the hand means you have a higher chance of winning, but it also means there may be less money to win. If the flop comes up with more high cards it will put your competition on high alert, any raise you make will probably push out anyone who has come in with a low hand. Beware though if someone calls or even raises you.

The other method, of betting on all reasonable hands at low calls will mean you will see a greater amount of hands, you will also probably fold more often after the flop, especially to anyone’s raise. This tactic can be used very well at the beginning of a tournament, as the blinds will be low and you should have a reasonable stack to weather the storm, but at some point, you will need to tighten in the reigns. It can also be a good scare tactic much later in the tournament, when and if, you have accumulated a massive chip lead and want to intimidate players limping along.

If you can imagine a line graph of the two types of play, the high card player will keep a reasonably steady amount of chips, the line would dip and jump here and there in relation to the blind cost. The player who plays more hands would probably be more erratic, often finding his stack halves before any serious gains.

The difference would be that the player playing high cards is more likely to need to make sizable bets to make their point, whereas someone who plays ’any reasonable’ hand would probably tag-along through most hands without raising. Both tactics have legitimate grounds for applying them, and I would argue that a good poker player would need to mix and match their playing style to keep his opponents guessing.

I think the key point to make though during any game is to play steady, don’t call an all-in if you have a weak hand, even if you have called the blind already. If someone is showing off in such a way, you need to question why, do they have a killer hand – or are they bluffing? And remember there is a difference to having a few less chips after a hand – than having none. A tournament is about survival, and you don’t necessarily have to come first place to see some money out of a game.