Just how likely are you to win with your pocket pair?  Use this quick little chart to learn just how strong certain pocket pairs are against multiple opponents.

# Players AA KK QQ JJ TT 99 88

       2       88 85 82 79 77 74 71

       3       76 72 68 64 60 56 52

       4       68 63 58 54 50 46 43

       7       44 39 34 30 27 25 23

       10     34 30 26 22 20 18 16

# Players 77 66 55 44 33 22

       2       68 65 63 60 57 55

       3       48 45 43 40 37 34

       4       39 36 33 30 26 22

       7       21 20 19 17 16 15

       10     14 13 12 11 10 10

Poker tournaments, both in live and online card rooms, are some of the most fun to be had when you want to play cards.  The biggest problem for beginning and novice level poker enthusiasts though is that tournaments in a live card room often feature a large, semi-experienced pool of players, as well as a buy-in that is not extraordinary cheap.  As a result, beginners often find that they have no chance of winning these events, and end up spending a lot of money in the process.

A lot of card rooms will offer tournaments with cheap buy-in’s, some going as low as $20 (and even cheaper in some cases), but these normally run at specific times and quite often during typical work hours.  A lot of tournaments on the weekends will cost more since the number of players in attendance will be greater, and now you’re spending even more money to experience a tournament.

The easiest solution is to try to satisfy most of your competitive itch by going online.  There you’ll find tournaments as cheap as $1, and you can use these events as an inexpensive method to build up your tournament experience so that when you do go play a live tournament on occasion you will have a better chance at placing in the money.

Making the switch from live to online tournaments can end up saving you hundreds of dollars, not to mention a drive to the local card room.  Next, do some research of all the card rooms in your area so that you can find out where to get the best value for your dollar for a live tournament.  Overall, you’ll get tons of additional playing time at a far smaller cost.

Just because you can afford to play at a certain level doesn’t mean you should.  One of the reasons pro poker players can thrive is because there is no shortage of rich amateurs that are willing to put a huge bankroll at risk simply because they can.  If you’re playing poker for the right reasons then you should be looking for games you can beat and as the rule of thumb typically goes, the cheaper the buy-in, the easier the opponents.

The first question you should ask yourself when you join a new online site is what type of poker do you like.  Cash game?  Tournament?  Heads-up?  No matter what your preference is there will be dozens of tables for you to choose from.  Lets say you like No-Limit Texas Hold’em and don’t sweat much at the thought of depositing $200 into your online account.  Where should you start?  If you pick a $1-$2 buy-in no-limit table, you’re going to want to buy-in for at least $75 - $100 in order to give yourself some chips to play with, though many players would suggest that you give yourself 100 times the big blind to work with, which in this case would be your full $200.

Putting your entire bankroll into play is a disaster waiting to happen.  You can lose your whole stack on a bad beat or just through poor play, and you’ll always play differently when you know that you’re literally wagering everything you have.  The general recommendation is that you try not to put more than 10% of your bankroll at risk at any given time.  Using that theory, you can buy into a $0.10-$0.25 game for $20, giving yourself 100 big blinds to play with and only putting 10% of your stack at risk.  If you start to dominate this level right at the start, use it to build your bankroll up to around $500 and then move up to the next level, which should be $0.25-$0.50 on most sites.

If you like tournament poker, realize that you may have to be willing to put aside a few hours in order to play even a medium-sized online event.  Don’t want to spend all day in a chair?  Try a Sit & Go tournament instead, which are (generally) one-table events where all you’re doing is competing against the players seated at that individual table.  You can get into a Sit & Go for as cheap as $1 on many sites, and the same rule as with the cash games apply; if you find yourself dominating these cheap buy-in matches, use the opportunity to build up your bankroll a little and then move up the ladder to the next level.

When first starting to play online you should begin at the bottom of the totem pole so that you can get a good handle on how you stack up against the average opponent.  From there you can pick the right game that matches your bankroll, instead of putting it all at risk right from the start.

There are a lot of poker players out there that will play A-X in almost every position.  Obviously combinations like A-K, A-Q and even A-10 are considered very playable in most situations, but the strength of your ace post-flop diminishes greatly when you have a weak kicker attached, such as A-4 or A-2.  So should you even get involved with ace-rag ever?

Well, lets look at why hands like A-4 are bad to begin with.  Say there is a small raise pre-flop and you and three other players call and the flop comes A-10-6 and your first to act.  How strong is your top pair here?  The chances of an opponent holding an ace with a better kicker is very possible since more than two players called the pre-flop raise.  It’s hard to lead out here with a bet since you are opening yourself up to being raised by someone with a higher ace, and if you just check and someone bets, how likely is your hand to still be good?  This is why more often than not, especially in early position, you should release ace-rag.

Now are there times where getting involved with a weak ace makes sense?  Sure.  If you’re sitting on the button and the action has folded around to you, then limping with a weak ace against just one or two opponents wouldn’t be terrible.  Also, if there are a lot of limpers pre-flop and you hold ace-rag suited, you can call here and hope to flop big, and if you don’t you can still release your hand without having gotten involved for too many of your chips.

Still, in the vast majority of situations, you’ll want to stay away from ace-rag, as it will be very tough to ever know just how strong your hand is if an ace comes on the board.  Always try to get your money in the best circumstances possible.

When it comes to developing a reputation at the poker table, especially at a live card room, I believe that image is everything.  If you look like you know what you’re doing, people will treat you as such, and that added advantage can prove to be very powerful.  Casinos are packed with new and beginning level poker players, many of who can be easily intimidated if they think they are up against someone that frequents the card rooms on a regular basis.

Want to look the part of a professional poker player?  This is what you’ll need.

1.  Sunglasses – The poker pros that are easiest to remember because of their personal appearance (ex. Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, and Greg Raymer) are the ones that normally wear sunglasses of some sort.  Wearing sunglasses gives you a permanent aggressive stare, and removes any nervousness or doubtful looks your eyes might give off.

2.  iPod/Headphones – When you see someone sitting at your table with one headphone cup around their ear, you normally identify that player as someone that plays a lot of poker.  Fill up your iPod with your personal choice of music, or just leave it off the whole time.  The visual image you’re trying to convey does not require that you actually turn on the iPod at any time.  ☺

3.  Hat – Cowboy hats are normally reserved for the very eccentric professional players, but wearing a simple poker-themed hat will add a little extra flair to your overall appearance and will improve that air of mystery you’re going for.

4.  Card Protector – A card protector is something you place on top of your cards in order to signal to the dealer and the other players that you plan on playing a hand.  They can range from special coins you purchase online to even personal trinkets from home.  These are another poker accessory that you typically only see experienced players using, and if you have a personal story as to why you use that particular card protector, all the better.

Small pocket pairs can be the bane of a poker player’s existence.  They hold a minimum advantage over any non-paired pocket hands, yet can be very difficult to play on a board that contains overcards and straight/flush draws.  The hole many players work themselves into is that they end up putting too much money in with small pocket pairs pre-flop and are content to call off additional bets on the flop as well, which can lead to some pretty bad losses.  So what’s the true way to go?

Personally, I like to limp with small pocket pairs like 4-4 or 6-6 in pretty much every position.  I may fold a hand like 3-3 in early position if I know my table likes to raise it up a lot pre-flop, so again the dynamic of the table you’re at will play an important role in your decision making.  By limping in with these small pairs, you allow yourself to see a cheap flop risk free and at the same time put yourself in a good position to fold easily to a scary board, or on the flip side pick up a lot of chips if you flop a set.

Calling raises pre-flop with small pairs can be tricky because you figure most pre-flop raises are going to come from players with big hands like A-Q or higher pocket pairs like 10-10.  If you call this raise with 5-5 and the flop comes A-10-7 with two hearts, there are all kinds of ways you could easily be beat and trying to draw at a set is almost never worth it.  Advanced players can possibly win a pot with 5-5 on a scary board, but that requires the knowledge of knowing how much to bet and whether or not the opponent can even be pushed off a big hand like top pair.

The best thing to do at the table is to make life as easy as possible.  Sure 6-6 might be a small favorite to A-K pre-flop, but the power of those sixes can evaporate quickly after the flop.  Have the discipline to release hands like these in less than favorable situations, and at the same time have the knowledge to know how to maximize value when you do flop sets or better with your small pocket pair.

The following is a quick guide to reference while playing to help you decide what range of hands to open with pre-flop depending on your position, as well as if you should just open, call a raise, or even re-raise.

*lower case “s” stands for “suited”
Early Position
Re-Raise – AA, KK, AKs
Call Re-raise– QQ, AK, JJ, TT
Open – AQs, 99, AQ, 88, AJs

Middle Position
Re-Raise – AA, KK, AKs, QQ, AK
Call Re-raise – QQ, AK, JJ, TT
Open –77, KQs, 66, ATs, 55, AJ

Late Position
Re-Raise - AA, KK, AKs, QQ, AK
Call Re-raise -  QQ, AK, JJ, TT, AQs, 99, AQ, 88, AJs
Open – KQ, 44, KJs, 33, 22, AT, QJs

Still in over your head at the poker table because you can’t understand the lingo?  It could take years of experience before you hear every possible nickname associated with poker hands and phrases, but this short list of some of the more commonly used lingo should get you on your way.

Big Stack: When you have a lot of chips compared to the average stack in the tournament.

Blank: A card that doesn’t appear to improve your or your opponents hand.

Cash Games: A game where you can buy in and leave whenever you want.

Dead Money: The money left in the pot when someone is forced to fold.

Fish:  The sucker at the table.  You don’t want this to be you.

Free Card:  When you get to see the next card without having to call a bet.

Hole Cards: Your two down cards in Hold Em’.

Information Raise: When you raise a small amount to gain maximum information about your opponent’s hand cheaply.

Leverage:  The money you can continue to bet after your opponent calls your first bet.

Muck:  To fold your cards.

Race:  What happens when two hands get all-in before the flop.

Read: Your best guess as to what your opponent has.

Scare Card: A card that comes up on the board that looks like it might have helped the trailing hand.

Set: Trips, better known as three of a kind.

Tell: Clues, that include both verbal and physical indicators, that your opponent is holding either a weak hand or a strong hand.

Value Bet:  Betting a hand that is likely to be good but could easily be beat.