H&K Poker Guide

Hello All,

Over the past couple of months, I have played countless games of poker in both real life, and in Torn. In that time I have collected a plethora of tips and tricks that have helped me become more successful at the table. I’ve decided to do my best to share as much of that information as possible. I’ve organized this guide into 4 Parts.

 

• Player Stance

• Starting Hands

• Odds

• Common Tactical Pitfalls

 

This guide was meant to help players who know the basics of poker but would like to take their playing to the next level. Before reading this guide I suggest you learn the basics of poker, without basic knowledge this guide will be useless to you.

Player Stance

There are 3 main stances a poker player can take, all of which have their own advantages and disadvantages. The three stances are the following: Conservative; Liberal; and Aggressive. The stance you choose to play will greatly affect the outcome of the game. All the stances make you see the game in a different way. No stance is better than any of its counterparts, and any player can use any stance to achieve success. The tricky part is choosing which stance to play.

 First, what are the stances?

 Conservative

• Plays only top tier starting hands. Ex. (A,A) (10,J) (Q,J)
• If a pair or higher is not hit on the flop, conservative players will usually fold, unless checking is an option.
• Check whenever possible, unless winning is a guarantee
• Cautious with bets, only bets when there is a strong chance of winning
• Rarely makes big bets to scare off opponents
• Takes little risk
• Little to no bluffing

 Liberal

• Plays with both middle tier and top tier hands. ex. (6,A) (8,J) (J,K)
• Will often play hands past the flop even if hand is empty
• Checks often, but is not afraid to bet and raise the pot
• Bets when there is a chance to win,
• Utilizes bigger bets to scare off opponents
• Takes some risk
• Occasionally bluffs to make opponents fold

 Aggressive

• Plays all hands, including bottom tier hands. ex. (2,4) (6,8) (7,7) etc.
• Often plays until the River, likes to see the whole board
• Bets frequently to muscle out other weaker players
• Often bets higher
• Risks low odds often in return for a high reward
• Bluffs Often

 When to choose which Stance?

When entering a table with unfamiliar players, play ultra-conservative and observe the other players betting patterns and analyze which stance they are playing. After you have determined which stance all other players have taken, it’s time to decide for yourself. To choose a stance you must ask yourself a series of questions.

• How many chips do I have? Am I the chip leader? Do I have the least amount of chips? If you are the Chip leader, then I suggest an Aggressive stance, if not, Conservative or Liberal is appropriate.
• Am I comfortable with the amount of chips I am playing with? If you are not comfortable, then a conservative stance is suitable for you.
• How are your opponents playing? If the majority of them are conservative, try playing aggressive. If they are aggressive, play conservative.

 Starting Hands

It is important to understand which cards correspond with your stance. Keep in mind that conservative players use only top tier hands, liberal players use middle and top tier hands, and aggressive players use all hands. The following table demonstrates the 3 tiers of starting hands.

Top Tier	Two cards greater than or equal to 10. ex. (A,10) (J,Q) (KK)
Middle Tier	One card less than 10 and one card greater than or equal to 10. ex. (4,J) (7,K) (5,Q)
Bottom Tier	Two cards less than 10. ex. (4,4) (3,2) (7,2)

The Misconception Behind Suited Hands

It is also important to note the importance of the suit of the cards in your hand. A suited hand (two cards of the same suit) holds more value than an off-suited hand (two cards of different suits). This is due to the increased possibility of obtaining  a flush. However, be cautious with this type of hand, because people will often overvalue them. Let’s say that you’ve decided to play conservative. It is commonly believed that a suited middle tier hand is equivalent to a top tier hand. This, however, is a grave misconception. The odds of having a flush, even with a suited hand, is still vanishingly small. Due to this, suited middle tier hands and top tier hands should stay completely separate in your mind as they have nowhere near the same value.

Odds

 Understanding the chances of the card you need being played on the turn or on the river is a crucial part of poker. Yes, doing the calculations in your head the conventional way proves next to impossible, but there is a trick I learned that helps simplify the math.

 First, determine the number of cards in the deck that will help you, these cards are called Outs. Second, multiply the number of Outs by 4, this will give you the chances of those cards being played on either the Turn or the River. If it does not come on the Turn, then the chances of it coming on the river are cut in half.

 

Ex. You are Holding (K,Q)

 The Flop is, Q, 7, 2.

 To Calculate the odds of this hand improving, you must, first count the number of Outs. In this case, there are 5 Outs, 3 kings + 2 Queens. Then multiply that number by Four and that number will be the chances of a King or a Queen to appear on the Turn or the River

 5 x 4 = 20, so 20% chance a King or Queen to appear on the Turn or the River

 Let’s say the turn is exposed as a 9, this in no way helps you.

 Now to calculate the chances of a King or Queen appearing, divide your previous odds by 2

 20% / 2 = 10%, so 10% chance of a King or Queen appearing. It’s as simple as that.

 Now once you have determined your chances of your hand improving, you can now make a well informed decision on how to bet. Conservative players should avoid playing hands that have a low chance of improving, Aggressive players usually do take those risk to try and get a winning hand. Use this information how you please, but always remember to calculate it, without calculating you are playing a game in which you do not know all the variables.


Common Tactical Pitfalls

It is crucial to understand how to avoid certain tactics which lead to imminent failure, as well as why they are detrimental to your victory.

Over Playing Hands

Players often go on cold streaks where they are dealt bad hand after bad hand, so, in response those players start to play some of those hands to see if they get lucky. As you would expect those players end up losing money because they are playing hands they shouldn't, all because they could not be patient. Just remember that there are good cards coming, be patient and good cards will appear.

 Tilt

Tilt is something that every poker player has to deal with, even professional poker players get tilted and lose focus. Tilted players often lose their composure and end up playing without thinking logically. The most important thing when it comes to tilt is recognising it, once you realize you are tilted, leave the table immediately, players who are affected by Tilt make poor choices and lose lots of money

 Overstaying a Victory

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Quit while you’re ahead.” This directly applies to Torn poker. Once you’ve made a big win (~doubling your initial money), you should leave immediately. Yes, you may make some more money if you stay, however, keep in mind the sudden adrenaline will often lead you to make more impulsive, risky decisions. These decisions will sometimes lead to “All-ins” and guess what, you’re most likely in the negative again. Avoid this possible risk by leaving while you’re ahead, it’ll save you millions. Keep in mind there are muggers who will try to get you when you leave the table, so make sure you put your money away quickly in a trade or in your company bank.

 Going All In

When you are sure you hold the best hand at the table, going all in can be an excellent tool to making loads of money, but people are often starved of big victories, so they decide to try and go big once they get a good hand, but more often than not, those good hands are not good enough. Do not try and force big wins, you will just end up losing more. You should only ever consider going all in when you are sure you have the best hand at the table. Aggressive players love to go all in, but in many cases it hurts them more than it helps them.

 Not Staying Focused

Poker is a game of skill, it is not like any other casino game where you can put your brain in neutral and play. Unfocused players rarely make money, keep your attention on the game, try to limit distractions, ie. Guitar, Netflix, Trades, Attacks, etc.


Contact Me!

If you have any further questions on strategy, odds, common mistakes, or anything really, msg me, I’d love to answer questions. Also message if you would like me to post any other information regarding poker.

Also, Started a new faction which is recruiting all new players, so feel free to apply (:


Headlevel & Kasparian