It is all about reading body language. The guy who covers his mouth may be trying to hide a frown or a smile, denoting a bad or a good hand respectively. Pay attention to his eyes as well.

If someone is trying to engage you in a serious stare down, he or she is likely trying to intimidate you. Don’t fall for it!

You need to pay attention to how your opponents behave during the flop, as well. Look for involuntary twitches of dismay. Remember that typically, if a player sneaks a look at his or her chips after the flop, it may denote a good hand.

Like, for instance, it might be better to keep the drinking to a bare minimum when you are playing, unless you are just hanging out with the guys in the basement on a weekend.  If you are really playing for money, though, you do not want to get drunk.  A hangover will be the least of your worries.

Playing fast and loose is not going to impress anyone either.  If you insist on playing every hand and never folding then your opponents are soon going to take complete advantage of that.

Anyway, this time we ended up discussing something that was clear to me but my friend wouldn’t believe/grasp — the huge difference between AT and A8 as a starting hand. He generally folds AT’s and A8′s in early position due to the difficulty of these hands after the flop, while I usually raise the AT and fold the A8 — why? Not only is the ten a kicker, it also opens straight possibilities. The Ace-Eight looks for an eight-high board or an ace. The Ace-ten looks for an ace, a ten-high board or even an ace with two high cards. It opens chances of sucking out on better aces with more than just your kicker-cards — the 3 out you have with the A8.

It might be a small difference, but to an aggressive player like me that’s enough to go ahead and raise it up.

I know theory says to play aggressive when people tighten up close to the money, but I only agree when you’re up against smaller stacks in a specific hand. No need to risk anything as a short stack — someone else will!

She looks lovely as ever.

Click here to view the embedded video.

1. Visit a lot of poker rooms. You’re not going to find the juicy games if you don’t travel. Invest. Don’t worry about spending €250 on a flight to Barcelona if you play 10/20 No Limit Hold’em. It’s 12 Big Blings. It’s worth it if the game is good.

2. Talk to all the cardroom managers. Be a good sport, and explain them you are not a local. Try to get some info as to where the action is coming from. In the long run, when you frequent poker rooms you tend to win at – ask to be called when the game is juicy. Poker room managers will do this if they know you well. Gain their confidence, once you’re on the call-list, you’ve got a great advantage bankroll-wise.

3. Don’t slow down the game by complaining about the bad calls they make when they suck out. DON’T DO IT! You want them making these calls – and they’ll do it again. I’ve seen my KK, QQ & JJ’s get cracked by A4 and A5 in a two players-to-the-flop situation hundreds of times – but most of the time, these ‘winners’ end up going broke. Having them win temporarily is a good thing.

4. Don’t limp with big hands in juicy games. I realize authors such as Dan Harrington have said the absolute contrary, but thing is – juicy games see a lot of high-volume, cheap flops—and you don’t want that – not even with AQ. Raise, and raise big. In the end, EVERY big raise you make will get at least one or two calls, and every big raise will be pure profit in the long run. You’ll get called by any two cards (suited, haha) – and most of the time you’ll be able to take the pot down with any pair, seeing as it’s probably best. On a plus: a big bet after the flop will likely be called by middle pair or any draw – so don’t worry about slowplayin a pair or two, betting is best value in these games.

More to come soon!

Suited connectors and small pairs are great hidden hands. If you hit the flop with a straight or a flush or trips, these hands can be very profitable. You need to understand that about 85% of the time this will not happen. But when it does you can use it to your advantage and rally clean up.

The ‘Rule of 5 and 10’ is a good rough guide for whether to call with these marginal hands.

1. If it costs you less than 5% of your stack pre flop then you should usually play.
2. If it costs you more than 10% of your stack pre flop you should usually fold.
3. If it costs you in-between these amounts then use your table knowledge to make the call.

When you are in the awkward in between stage of whether to call or fold you need to use all those notes you should have been making since the beginning of play. A good position on the table late or on the button is a good place to call. If the player making the raise is very tight and they suddenly raise 5 time the BB preflop this would be a red flag to fold.

If you hold the following, AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs, AKo, or AQs – RAISE. The fewer players you are up against the greater your chance of winning. Players with weak hands should and mostly will fold so you have a better idea of what you are up against. Obviously there are some caveats to this. Be sensible. Watch the other players. If someone who has practically folded every hand they have been dealt for the last hour raises a huge amount and you are holding JJ chances are they have AA or KK and you should leave well enough alone.

You can call with the following; TT, 99, 88, 77, AQo, AJs, ATs, KQs, KQo, KJs, QJs. If you can get in really cheap the middle suited connectors are also worth playing in the late position. But as with above, if that tight player makes a huge raise just fold. Folding is free unless you are in the blinds. Calling only to fold leter can get expensive.

When the flop hits how your hand has developed is in the hands of the poker gods and that is a subject for another time.

Set yourself an amount that you are prepared to lose in on session and stick to it. When you reach that limit walk away from the table/computer and put it from the back of your mind. Whilst it is entirely possible that you will ‘make it all back in the next hand’, it is doubtful and all you’ll do is make a bigger dent in your bankroll.

You should also walk away if you have stopped playing good poker to chase big pots or improbable draws to make your money back. Also if the thought of moving up a limit to make back your losses faster crosses your mind you are definitely tilting.

Be aware of your emotional state when playing. Poker is as much a psychological game as a mathematical one. Don’t play if you have just broken up with your girlfriend and can’t see the cards for the tears (I guarantee you will play terribly) or you have had a huge row with you boss. Depressed, angry or tired players lose money hand over fist. And if anything will make you feel worse it is losing lots of cash.