In 2003 poker was put on television and no-limit hold em quickly became the most popular form of poker played in casinos, public cardrooms, and on the Internet. At first, because of the newness of the game to most participants, they could be easily be beaten by players with only a moderate knowledge of sophisticated strategy. In this book he introduces the reader to the concept of 'non-self weighting strategies' and explains why successful gambling is actually a balance of luck and skill. Other books he has co-authored are Hold em Poker For Advanced Players, written with David Sklansky, and Seven-Card Stud For Advanced Players written with David Sklansky and Ray Zee. Poker Guides For Beginners & Advanced Players ♠ Poker Strategy Poker Lessons Tutorials Tips & More. Become a Smarter Poker Player!

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We all acknowledge that poker is a game of skill, but because of the uniqueness of each situation, we can often miscalculate our own skill when self assessing. I'm sure you have seen a bad player turn his hand into a bluff with no real idea why he's betting, have it work out, then pat himself on the back for his great play because it worked out in his favor. When the circumstances are right, turning a marginal hand into a bluff can be a very effective, high-level play. However, it can also be done randomly in spots by a bad player who doesn't know what to do. Without knowing what to do, he then bets or raises as a default.

So what is the difference between the skilled player that turns his hand into a bluff and gets his opponent to make the tough laydown and the bad player that accidentally wins the pot? If you guessed 'intention,' then you are correct.

The skilled player made an assessment of his opponent's range, analyzed how he would react to aggression, and then acted in a manner to get the desired result. The bad player acted on his emotions. He wanted a certain result to be achieved, didn't know how to achieve it, and reacted according to his feelings, which can result in any number of ways.

Let's look at an example so you can see what I'm talking about:

Hero opens to $30 at a $5/$10 table with an effective stack of $1,000 holding pocket sixes in middle position. Villain calls in the cutoff. The flop is . Hero continuation bets $40, and Villain calls. The turn is a . Hero checks, and Villain checks behind. The river is a , and Hero decides to turn his hand into a bluff and bet three-quarters of the pot. In this example, Hero is putting his opponent on some type of one-pair hand no better than tens. Hero realizes it is easier to represent a broadway combo that improved than it is for Villain to do the same. So, Hero took the opportunity to bet in order to get those one-pair hands — the ones that beat his pair of sixes — to fold.

On the flipside, a bad player could actually play his hand the exact same way, but his thought process would look something like this in his head: 'I have pocket sixes. That's a pair, so I raise.' The flop is . 'I don't think he caught any of that. I'll bet $40.' The opponent calls. The turn is a . 'That's another overcard. There are so many hands that beat me now. I'll check.' The opponent checks. The river is a . 'He checked, so I can win if I bet. I'll bet $110.' The opponent folds. 'I did it!'

As you see in this example, there were a few flaws in the bad player's thought processes, but it did not hurt him in this hand. The over card queen on the turn was not a scare card because it hits very little of his opponent's range. He also did not think through what his opponent's range on the river was. He just simply reacted to his opponent checking back on the turn. Had the opponent bet the queen against the bad player, he would've been able to win the pot (especially if he was willing to follow up his aggression with another bet on the river) even though his line represents only a small range in reality.

Now, let's take a look at an example that shows how these leaks could cost money.

Hero opens to $30 at $5/$10 with an effective stack of $1,000 holding pocket threes from middle position. Villain calls from the cutoff. The flop comes . Hero continuation bets $40. Villain calls. The turn is an . Hero checks, and Villain checks. The river is a . Hero checks, and Villain checks. Villain shows pocket fives and beats us.

For the bad player, his thought process is as follows: 'I have pocket threes. That's a pair. I raise.' The flop comes is . 'I don't think he caught any of that. I'll bet $40.' The opponent calls. The turn is an . Now stop the tape.

From here, I have seen this play out two different ways. Either the bad player bets the turn because they think, 'I still don't think he has any of that, and I want to find out where I'm at.' And then the bad player will check the river when they realize they're probably beat. Or instead, the bad player will check the turn, and if the opponent checks behind, the bad player will bet the river. The reasoning for this river bet will be similar to the reasoning in the first example. The bad player is unable to see the differences in board textures, which affects the opponent's range in this situation. As you can see, either way the bad player is going to lose an extra street of value because of these flawed thought processes being exposed.

Everyone has tendencies similar to the 'bad player' I've talked about, and I made these examples extreme to highlight my point. Sometimes you can get away with flawed thought processes, but over time, it will cost you money. Make sure that when you are self assessing, you do not place too much stock in the end result. Remember, poker is a game for the long run, and making the correct decisions over time will turn you into a profitable player. Being results oriented in the short term will do the opposite.

David Randall is an instructor for Pocket Fives Training and has shot over 100 hours of instructional video and coached over 120 students privately. His most recent project is called 3D Poker Training, which is centered around hosting poker camps in Europe alongside, Sorel Mizzi. The next camp begins October 1st in London. The 3D Poker Training method teaches players to develop adaptive thinking using interactive questions and examples from actual hands students have played. If you are interested in learning from Randall, you can contact him via 3D Poker Training's Facebook page or at the 3D Poker Training website.

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Caribbean Stud Poker is popular because of its easy-to-understand rules, fair odds, and generous payouts. Since the game bears a striking resemblance to blackjack in that it is played against the house and not against one’s opponents makes it attractive to blackjack players too. Since the aim is to beat the dealer by creating a hand stronger than the dealer’s, the game is much more relaxing than other variants of poker such as Stud, Omaha, and Hold’em. The highlight of Caribbean Stud Poker is its progressive jackpot feature, which can be activated by placing the optional side bet of $1, considered by many as a sucker bet.

Players’ Aim

As previously mentioned, the aim of the player is to beat the house by producing a poker hand stronger than the dealer’s. At the beginning of the game, both player and dealer get 5 cards each. While players can view their cards right away, only one of the dealer’s cards is a hole card. The entire game is played with cards dealt at the beginning of the game. The rules, therefore, are easy, and players can improve their chances of winning by employing certain proven and tested strategies.

Watch an exclusive video on How to Play Caribbean Stud Poker

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Importance of Strategy

Contents

Implementation of strategy can help players reduce the house edge, but they should implement the strategy correctly and at the right time. Caribbean Stud Poker is one poker variant that is friendly to players with different sizes of bankrolls. Players usually follow two major types of strategies while playing Caribbean Stud Poker:

1. Basic Strategy – This is a simple strategy that is easy to understand and easy to remember, allowing players to reduce the house edge by a fraction.

   Advanced Caribbean Stud players must understand the basic strategy thoroughly before attempting to understand the advanced strategy.

2. Advanced Strategy – This strategy is slightly complex, but it definitely reduces the house edge by a considerable percentage.

Basic Strategy

The basic strategy includes 3 simple points:

• Avoid folding small pairs – Folding small pairs is a common mistake made by beginners. In case of Caribbean Stud Poker, players will find themselves getting small pairs often. In the long run, these small pairs prove to be extremely valuable, owing to which players must avoid folding these small pairs.
• Avoid playing weak hands – Players who get a weak, unplayable hand must not hesitate to fold, as they will simply lose money in the long run. Experts say that players must fold if they have got a hand weaker than the Ace and King combination.
• Play the Ace and King combination properly – If players get the Ace and King combination, they should play only if the other card in their hand matches the dealer’s face-up card. Since dealers qualify most of the time, players must make doubly sure that their hand is strong enough to beat the dealer.

Poker Strategies For Advanced Players Salaries

Advanced Caribbean Stud Strategy

Once players have grasped the basics, it is time to move on to advanced Caribbean Stud strategies. If players understand this strategy well and implement it properly, they can convert Caribbean Stud Poker into a player friendly game.

• Raise on a hand comprising pairs or better
• Fold hands lower than Ace and King

If players find that their first two cards are an Ace and a King, here is what they can do:

• Raise only if their third card is a Queen or a Jack and if the dealer’s face-up card is a King or an Ace
• Raise only if the dealer’s face-up card is a Queen or a lower card, which forms a pair with a card in their hand
• Raise if their third card happens to be a Queen and their fourth card is better than the face-up card of the dealer.

The golden rule is that players must fold if they get any other hand.

Is there a perfect strategy for Caribbean Stud Poker? Most advanced Caribbean Stud players, who have tried out a number of strategies at a number of casinos, ask this question. Several sources claim to have the perfect Caribbean Stud Poker strategy, and all players need to do conduct the required research before trying it out. Several players feel that advanced Caribbean Stud strategies are too difficult to understand, which is why they stick to the basic and advanced strategies outlined above.