Poker is a game of cards and the only true way to win at poker would be to have a solid and foolproof strategy. But if you have no idea what cards to play, how to play them or even if you should play them, you are bound to lose more than you can possibly win.
This is only a guide on how to play dewalive, a game that has many drastically different versions, some of which are stronger than others, and all of them are encouraged to succeed. Whether you are playing online poker or face to face poker, the main objective is to have a card that sums up the best possible hand you can make, the numbers of the cards in a suit are of primary importance and the rank of the cards themselves comes last.
The game of poker opens with the dealing of the cards to each player and, after all, that’s where the majority of the play starts. The first two players to the left of the dealer (the button) are called blinds, or throwing the cards away, which incites a large degree of aggression and the holder of the small blind is referred to as the button.
Being the blind, you are in a position of being first to act; everyone after you can now play their hand, so you are at a disadvantage. Because of this, you are encouraged to get typically more aggressive as the blinds shoot up and you want to have a strong hand so that you can protect your blind. Betting at this stage should be more about trying to take the pot down pre-flop, as you are likely to be outdrawn, but you may take what may be the last shot at the pot down to see the river if you are fortunate.
The next two players to the left are now the big blind and chip leader. The blinds will battle it out with the other players for the rest of the hand, but as the blinds parallel the size of the stack which is, generally, a good hand, it is not advisable to play too aggressively at this stage as the blinds are likely to have a fairly strong hand and a high percentage of other players in the hand.
Now that the blinds are past, the action starts on the first individual who calls the pre-flop bet placed by the big blind. This new bet now becomes a full on pot, with the players pasteboard being dealt face up. On the river, if a player has a high enough hand, almost all the players traditionally go all-in, and again, the showdown begins.
When it is your turn to act, be sure to raise the appropriate amount, or the large blind or the low blind, depending on the previous playing attitudes, but stay away from the crowds. Do not call the large blind, as you are likely to be outdrawn, and call the low blind hoping, however, that someone else, hopefully, will have a decent hand and call for you. If you sense weakness, in other words, feeling that no one has made a reasonable hand, you can raise. Though, if you are in early position, you have a better chance of being outdrawn.
In early position, you may want to consider a blind steal. If you have noticed that nobody in the group is playing overly aggressively, a large blind here would not give you much protectability if you were to meet an over-pair of kings. In other words, it would be too much of a coincidence to play head on with 7-2, only to get beaten by pocket 5’s. It is even possible to defend against three kings with ease.
Twos – unless, of course, you havevance playable hole cards. The common pre-flop raise is 2.5x the big blind or 4x the BB. Some groups move it up more than that, but it is not a hard number to calculate. 2.5 should be plenty strong enough.
Now that you have your groups set up, you need to consider the size of the blinds. If you have five hundred in chips and the blinds are ten grand, you are in trouble. The ten grand blind is nearly three times the size of the five hundred chip stack. If you have five hundred in chips and the blinds are 25 and 35, you are in even worse shape.
The larger blinds mean you can’t push the small blind out of the hand as easily. If you think your opponent will re-raise you in the blind, consider folding. Unless you have a monster, it is just best to get out before you are blinded out.
This principle applies whether you are playing in a tournament or a cash game. In tournaments, you need to survive. If you are not getting in the money, get out. Get in the money and survive. Survive means winning pots.