One of the biggest problems for just about ever player out there, regardless of skill, is the frustration factor. No matter how much we practice, read, learn and resist, the act of getting frustrated can easily overturn all reasonable thoughts and result in us making poor decisions at the poker table. These frustrations can come from many sources such as getting bullied by another player, running cold on a deck and even just general tension and uneasiness. Can it be avoided? Not completely, so really the only choice any of us have is to try to get these emotions in some sort of controllable state as soon as we feel them starting to come on.

When dealing with frustrations caused by another player at the table, the only real solution is to try and ignore them, as hard as that may be. If someone is constantly singling you out, stealing your blinds, insulting your play, your first reaction is going to be to sink down to their level and either mimic their behavior or play back at them far too aggressively, which can just add to your anger if end up losing more hands as a result. No one likes these types of players, so you’re probably not the only one at the table that wants to gang up on the guy and take all his chips. If the player is just super aggressive you can’t really get upset with his playing style, all you need to do is just adjust your own game a little to accommodate his methods. However if he’s being very over the top in terms of nasty language and behavior, don’t put up with it any longer than you want to and just call for a floor manager to come issue a warning, which should put a quick end to that.

As for frustrations that come from non-opponent instances, such as running unlucky in a series of hands or not catching a lot of good cards, the best medicine is to actively work on building up your patience. Even the top pros will hem and haw all the time out of frustration when they can’t catch a premium hand, but at the same time they probably won’t let it affect their overall play either. The only way to get use to dealing with the frustrations of a cold deck is to get enough overall poker experience under your belt to understand that these types of situations happen to all players and that you just need to be patient and wait for the cards to come, even if that means stepping away from the table for awhile. The mental break will give you a chance to clear your head, and hopefully the deck will be more in your favor by the time you sit back down.

Chris Iaquinta

Every time I play poker, both live and online, I always curse my luck when it appears that once again I have been stuck at a table that has a loud, foul-mouthed, reckless player that appears to be doing everything in their power to hinder/ruin mine and the tables poker fun. Turns out though that all my poker friends have the same story to tell of their own poker bully/chucklehead. I’ve personally never understood this type of behavior or the personality/mindset needed to manifest it, but it exists everywhere. While there are some obvious things you should avoid doing at a table in order to not make yourself out to be the bad guy of the group, there are a few lesser known bad poker etiquettes that you may be doing and annoying others with, perhaps even without knowing it.
1. Acting/Playing Slow – Poker, in a very general sense, is a game that should be played fast in terms of how many hands should be dealt in hour. More hands per hour equals better odds of you picking up better cards per hour, and nothing grinds that speed to a halt like a player that just can’t help but to play overly slow. This can be because they’re not paying attention to the game and have to be reminded when it is their turn to act, or maybe they’re watching TV, etc. Whatever the case may be, it is considered extremely rude to even unintentionally slow up a poker game. If you rather be watching TV, then leave the table and go watch TV.

2. Bad Language – Some people just like swear and curse, it’s understandable, but there’s differently a limit. A four letter profanity every once in awhile isn’t going to hurt too many feelings (unless the card room has a strict no swearing policy), but if you’re dropping f-bombs every time you lose a hand (or even win a hand), chances are a lot of the other players at the table aren’t going to want you around. That type of language can be distracting and can easily make others uncomfortable, so try to tone it down a little, because if a floor manager has to be called over to warn you¸ the next time you let one fly is probably going to result in a penalty of some sort or even ejection from the poker room.

3. Harassment/Name Calling – I know it sounds childish, but it’s amazing just how many older poker players resort to old-fashion 1^st grade name calling when they’re upset at a poker table. They’ll insult the skill level of other players, constantly rib them as the session progress, and create a really tense environment in the process. Just because Phil Hellmuth does it doesn’t mean it’s the cool thing to do, though unfortunately I fear that the reason many of pokers new breed do hurl insults regularly is because they see their favorite pros do it so often. That is one trait you do not want to pick up from our living legends.

One question I’m often asked by new and beginning poker player is where they should start to gain experience.  A live card room at a casino? One of the more popular online sites?  Is there a difference?  The answer, as you may suspect, is not all-encompassing, it heavily depends on the player in question.  Do you have the time to visit your local card room enough in order to gain adequate experience?  Are you comfortable enough with the basic computer skills needed to play online?

Another question to factor in, if possible, is to ask yourself what you believe your future in poker will be.  If your goal is to get good enough so that you can play in a lot of live tournaments, then you want to play mostly in brick & mortar card rooms.  However if you think you’ll end up spending most of your poker time playing online SNG’s and cash games, then obviously you want to focus your energy towards sites like Party Poker.

If you don’t know what your poker future holds, then there are some other determining factors you can use to help base your decision off of.  First, ask yourself if you have the patience to play for 4-5 hours in a live card room.  Fewer hands are dealt in a live room, which means you’ll be waiting longer for premium hands than if you were playing online.  If you only want to play poker an hour at a time, then a live card room isn’t going to work out too well for you.

On the flip side, if you enjoy human contact/conversation and even the social aspects of poker, a live setting is far more rewarding than the cold atmosphere that some players experience online.  Most players tend to keep to themselves online, so interaction can be at a bare minimum.  There’s also a certain satisfaction that comes from being able to hold the chips and cards in your hands instead of clicking a mouse, which is why I always try to find time to get in some live action instead of focusing mainly on online SNG’s.

Do a little soul searching and ask yourself what you want to get out of poker.  Your answers will help steer you towards the right training ground and get you started on the correct path.

By:Chris Iaquinta

You’ve probably heard before that aggression is the typical preferred style of choice when playing most poker games. The reason being is that the aggressive player at the table can normally take control of a hand or even the whole game by forcing their opponents to have to make most of the big decisions, driving the action in the direction they want, instead of having to sit there and be put under pressure hand after hand.

Imagine if you limped into every pot and checked every time you missed a flop. You are eliminating practically all the best ways in which you can win a hand simply because you aren’t comfortable enough to bet or raise when you most likely don’t have the strongest hand out there. Now if your opponent bets after you check, you’re probably going to have to fold. However, if you raised with a medium strength hand and then led out with a continuation bet on the flop, regardless of whatever three cards came, you’re now showing considerable strength in your hand, and that bet should be able to get any opponent with a weak to none playable hand to toss it into the muck.

If possible, you always want your opponents to be the ones who have to make the decisions. Obviously you don’t want to bet out of position with a weak hand against a player you know to be strong, but at the same time you don’t want to give a weak to average player too much credit for a hand and let them see a lot of free cards. When you check, the only way you can win is to catch a card on the next street that helps your hand. When you bet, you’re giving yourself two ways to win, because now you can also win if the other player throws their hand away.

Just think back to how many times you’ve missed a flop and checked it all the way down to the river with another player, only to see that both of you had nothing the whole time. If you had fired a bullet on either the flop, turn or river you probably could’ve easily taken that pot down. In the future, aggression and pressure are two playing styles that you should try to incorporate into your game as often as possible.

By: Chris Iaquinta

1. Develop a routine – You give away the strength of your hand when you start to do things physically when you get good hands that you don’t do when you get weak hands. This can be anything from switching up your posture to fiddling with your cards. If you develop the discipline to try and act the same way, bet the same way, fold the same way no matter what kind of cards you get, then your opponents will have a very hard time using your physical movements to judge your hand strength.
2. Change up betting patterns – When you miss a flop do you always check? When you get a big hand pre-flop do you always bet? The biggest mistake players make is that they tend to play very robotic in nature, constantly making the same type of plays over and over again. By changing up your strategy a little bit you’ll become unpredictable to your opponents, thereby making it very hard for them to determine your hand strength at any given time.
3. Maintain focus – Imagine you’re being dealt one bad hand after another, leaning back in your chair, watching the TV in the cardroom, and then all of a sudden you’re dealt pocket aces. You immediately turn your chair around and become very focused. Anyone at the table that’s paying attention will see that you’ve all of a sudden developed interest in the game when previously you had none. This is the most obvious way to clue your opponents in to the fact that you now hold a monster hand. By maintaining your focus throughout the game, both through the good cards and the bad, you’ll go unnoticed by the other players most of the time, so that no matter if you limp or raise pre-flop, no red flags will go off in their mind and you can play any two cards however you like.

By: Chris Iaquinta

The final non-Texas Hold’em game I want to share with you may very well may be the oldest poker game in history, five card draw. Most would agree that this type of poker is by far the easiest to learn and play, and requires minimal skill in terms of hand strategy but at the same time puts a lot of emphasis on being able to read your opponent.

Here’s how to play:

1. All players place a small bet in the pot (also known as “ante up”).

2. Starting with the player immediately to the dealer’s left, the dealer will deal each player five cards, face down.

3. Players are allowed to look at all five of their cards at once.

4. One round of betting, starting with the player immediately to the dealer’s left.

5. When this round of betting is done, those who are still in the hand get the option to trade in 1, 2, or 3 cards from their hand in excahnge for new ones. If a player has an ace, they can trade in the four other cards in their hand, but usually they have to show the ace.

Note: You don’t have to trade any cards – if you’ve already got good hand, you can elect to not trade in any cards.

6. After everyone receives their new cards, there’s another round of betting, starting to the dealer’s left.

7. Once the betting is completed, the players show their hands and with the best hand winning the pot.

By: Chris Iaquinta

Omaha is a type of poker game that is very similar to Texas Hold’em and has managed to stay popular despite the recent Hold’em surge. As with Hold’em, Omaha is a known as a community card game, with the players sharing cards on the board, but one stark difference with Omaha is that each player is dealt 4 hole and they must use exactly 2 cards from these cards and 3 from the board in order to make a 5-card poker hand.
The game can also be played hi/lo, but for this ‘how to’ we’ll stick to Omaha High; the highest hand wins it all version

Here’s how to play:
The two players to the dealers left put out blind bets. The player directly to the left of the dealer puts  out the small blind while the other player puts out the big blind.

Each player is then dealt four cards, face down. These are known as hole or pocket cards.
The action, also known as the first move, falls to the player to the left of the big blind. He can call the bet, raise it, or fold. From here on betting continues around the table, clockwise.

Once the betting is completed, three cards are now dealt face up on the table, which is also known as the board. These cards are called the flop and are “community cards.” This means everyone can (and will) use them in conjunction with their own hole cards in order to make the best hand.
From the flop on, betting will begin with the player to the left of the dealer, who can check or bet.
A fourth card is then dealt face up onto the board. This is known as fourth street or the turn card.
Another round of betting.

The final card is now dealt face up. This card is known as fifth street or the river.
A final round of betting now occurs after which the remaining players show their cards. To make up their final five-card hand, players must combine two of their four hole cards with three of the cards on the board. Players are allowed to use any two cards from their hole along with any three from the board, but to make the best 5 card hand they must use exactly 2 from their hole cards and 3 from the board.

By: Chris Iaquinta

Last time we should you how to play Razz, a fairly unpopular poker game when compared to Texas Hold’em, so this time you’re going to be introduced to 7-Card Stud, a game that prior to the poker boom a few years ago was almost neck and neck in terms of popularity with Hold’em.

The most important thing to know with 7-Card Stud is that you will get 7 cards to pick from in order to make your final 5 card hand. You don’t have to use any specific ones out of the 7 that you’re dealt, just whichever 5 cards give you the highest hand.
Here’s how it breaks down:

1.    All players put in an ante.
2.    Starting to their left, the dealer will deal each player two cards down (these are called hole or pocket cards) and then one card face-up.

3.    Everyone looks at their hole cards.

4.    The player that has the lowest card showing face-up will have to put in a small bet which is called a “bring in.” Betting then continues to that player’s left. Each player can raise, call, or fold their cards.

5.    When the betting is completed, another card is to be dealt to each player face-up. This card is known as “fourth street” or alternatively  “the turn.”

6.    Another round of betting now occurs, starting with the player that has the highest cards showing. From “fourth street” onwards, the player that has the highest cards showing will continue onwards as to be the first to bet.

7.    Once betting is complete, the fifth card (also known as “fifth street” or “the river”) is to be dealt face-up. More betting now occurs, and then the sixth card is dealt face up. This is followed by more betting.

8.    The 7th and final card is to be dealt face-down to those players that are remaining in the hand. A final round of betting now occurs.

9.    The players will show their hands at the showdown. The player who is able to make the best five-card hand from the original seven they were dealt, wins.