14 FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO JUST WANT TO GET STARTED NOW! f you are anything like me, you just want to get to the good stuff. So let�s jump right into the game and the Food Chain system.
Sure, there are rules to learn and techniques to understand - and all kinds of interesting tips on betting and odds. This book is full of strategy and background.
But I just want to jump into the game itself as a starting point.
How can you be a winner? OK! Let�s start with an example of how this system works. Then you can learn about the details more at your leisure.
I 15 The Cage �Food-Chain Theory� of Online Texas Hold�em Poker! Fish, as they are called in Texas Hold�em, are prey.
Fish are the losers - and the beginners - and the sloppy players who get eaten everyday by the bigger fish. In nature they are called �prey�. Thank goodness for the fish. They sustain the entire poker �food chain�. Without fish, there would be no monster pots or big paychecks and the game would not be nearly as interesting nor as profitable.
Don�t get me wrong. Everyone is a �fish� in the beginning and there is no way around this essential truth. Everyone gets burned and eaten repeatedly when they start to play poker. Everyone loses on even the best �nuts� hands.
This book is about how to get out of the �fish� category as quickly as possible and start taking money home.
A note about the research that backs this book.
The book you are reading, unlike most of the poker books available on the market today, is not based on anecdotal examples and table stories told by the �old pros�, a few lucky winners or 16 guys who have spent decades learning the ropes; the majority of them playing the old fashioned �bricks and mortar� version of the game.
I am a Computer Programmer with an intense love for Poker (and other games) where there is a strong component of skill involved.
Insider Secrets 2004 is all about the science of Poker.
CardShark, our research team, has gone through millions of lines of code, data results and analysis on billions of played hands of Poker. A good percentage of this research was sourced from the same online casinos you and I play at everyday. The rest came from reputable sources such as Carnegie-Melon University where grad students have been running computerized Texas Hold'em simulations for years. Our theories are based on solid mathematics, proven odds calculations and the results of some very interesting computer studies.
At least three major research studies over the past three years have generated over 5 billion virtual hands of Texas Hold�em poker.
You would have to play poker every day for several million years to experience that many hands. (I know you�re trying to live a healthier lifestyle but I�m not betting on anyone�s chances to make it that far!) Most of the strategy in this book is based on this new exciting research PLUS some good old-fashioned table sense based on over 20 years of reading great card players.
You may be surprised by what this new research shows. I know I was.
17 The better the information you have about what is really happening with the cards and the table, the faster you will get out of the �fish� category and into the winning zone. We open up the big black online poker box and show you the insides. What could be more fun? Here�s the question we hear every day. How much money can you make? Again, based on recent surveys, a good player can make $40,000 to $50,000 per year playing medium $3-$10 stake games.
A real expert, a SHARK, can make $100,000 or more per year � and hundreds do.
Let�s start with the results of a recent computer analysis.
Imagine what we could learn about this game if we created a �virtual� 10-player Texas Hold�em table, programmed the players in different ways � and then just let them play for a few thousand years.
With some of the test runs we would use very aggressive player behaviours just to see how that type of combination of players effects winning and losing. In other examples we would use a very tight and conservative group of players to see how that affects the game over a period of time. Billions of hands were then played and analyzed again and again over several months. More than many lifetimes of play.
Here is the simplest form of the results of this research based on your chances of winning with the first two hole cards.
18 Player Type � If you are a beginner, you are fish. If you are more interested in playing than winning, you are fish. If you don�t do your homework and completely understand how the odds affect your chances then � yes Virginia, you are a fish.
But even good players can become fish during play. Tournament play is a good example where the game can change radically depending on the number of players left in the game. If you start to panic or get short-Stacked, you may unintentionally revert to �fish� tactics. As a beginner you will tend to �act� like a fish � you may stay in the pot longer than your hand would justify. You may Raise when your cards are not that strong. Fish are typified by a playing characteristic called �loose�. Looseness implies a disregard for card odds and a general lack of knowledge about the other players. Combine this looseness with aggressive behaviour and you have one of the most interesting creatures at a Poker table � a �maniac�.
To survive and make money, fish need to play a very tight game.
As knowledge and table smarts improve, they can increase their aggressiveness, bold with fresh winnings.
The best guide to beginner card play is to use the Fish Rule as stated in the Player Type Chart. Based on the latest computer 19 research, fish should only stay in the hand if they have one of the top 24 pocket cards dealt.
Why? Because if they have one of these hands, regardless of the type of talent at the table, they will have an excellent chance of winning. They will also begin to understand the discipline of a �tighter� playing style, which is based on knowing the odds and reading the table.
Betting tactics should not be an issue here and neither should the reading of �tells� or even player position (which we will discuss in detail later).
Here are the top 24 pocket hands in any Texas Hold�em game (out of a possible 169).
Let's start off with the top of the hit parade. (The �s� refers to cards in the same suit.) The big Top 4 � AA, KK, QQ, JJ � are ridiculously profitable at any table. Always Raise and re-Raise with these cards. They don�t come along often, so take advantage. Not raising on these cards is a sign of foolishness. Being aggressive here is a no-brainer.
The top 16 Ranked starting 2 - card Hold'em hands (or pocket cards) are fundamental to winning play. They make up only 7% of all hands dealt, so it�s unlikely that you will get rich by 20 limiting your play to just these card combinations. But you need to know what they represent when they do come along.
If you compare this chart to older books on Poker you may notice an obvious variation. The latest research has shown that the overall power of AKs is slightly greater than that of KQs � especially in games where few players are left after the river.
In fact, with six players after the river, AK places 10th, while in a game with 6 players, it places 5th. This revelation was first discovered in the R&D being done using the latest computerized poker simulations in the late 90�s.
JJ is another example of hole cards that vary greatly depending on the type of game they are played in. They have been highlighted on the chart for the following reason- At a large table of 6 or more players, JJ is Ranked 4th in power. In a situation where there are fewer players, the power of this pair goes down to 9th.
Game Rank with only TWO players after the river (Top 10) Game Rank with SIX players after the river (Top 10)