Author: Scrawnybob
Article:
Starting Hands – “AK Big Slick, Playing it right”
Ace King … It’s monster hand and you plan to get as much
money out of everyone as you can.
Big Slick is called Big Slick for a reason. Yes its a monster
drawing hand but it is a drawing hand all the same.
IF you hit either an Ace or a King on the flop then you’ve got
yourself top pair with the best kicker. You might get lucky as
is connected to get the nuts straight, if its suited you have
got the table crippled if you draw that flush. It’s worth noting
A-K suited is 5th best starting hand but A-K off is 9th best.
But this is the thing – when you haven’t seen any cards what
have you got really ? An Ace high … with a King kicker, just
about any starting hand could beat it.
Top players know AK is a great drawing hand but they also know
its can be a killer if it just doesn’t work out. In the hands of
a new player it has 4king bustout written all over it, quite
simply they fall in love with it.
Now here is the next problem with playing AK – OK it’s a
drawing hand so your thinking – don’t play it too hard until you
see the flop and then you can work out how your doing … Wrong.
Omaha hi-lo is an exciting game with lots of actions and big pots.
Players like the game because there are many ways to win a hand and so many opportunities to play and win.
One of the most exciting variations of Omaha hi-lo is when the game is played pot limit.
You can find this game in most online poker rooms, such as Full Tilt Poker.
Here’s how to play pot limit Omaha hi-lo to win.
Pot limit means that players are able to bet or raise the amount that is in the pot at any time.
This is in contrast to no limit where players can bet any amount up to everything they have in front of them at any time.
The reason Omaha hi-lo is played pot limit instead of no limit is that draws are so powerful in Omaha hi-lo that
it would be correct for anyone making a strong hand on the flop to move all their chips in to avoid any draws,
and not too much poker would get to be played.
Because draws are so dangerous, it is important not to slow play, and to bet your hands strongly.
For example, if you have a hand of 9s 9c 3d 4h and the flop is 9d 8d 4c, you may be tempted to slow
play since you currently hold the nuts (note that you only have three of a kind here, not a full house,
as you may not use the 4 in your hand). However, you should bet this hand as strongly as possible.
Any 8, 7, 3, 2, or A will give someone a low and cost you half the pot. Any diamond will have you losing
to a flush unless the board pairs, and even a card as innocuous as a T may kill your hand by giving someone
a straight or three tens.
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This column is provided free of charge by www.RoyRounder.com
“Roy Rounder” is the pen name of a successful professional
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Techniques For Winning At Online Poker
*** QUESTION FROM A READER ***
Roy,
Great article.
I had one question to you. Wouldn’t you advise
calling with all pairs even with when facing a
raise?
I play 25 NL on Party and I will call a raise
with any pair as long as the raise is less than
10% of the opposing players stack. My thinking,
with a monster hand like AA or KK that he is
raising; when I do hit my set I am taking his
whole stack.
So I hit my set statistically 1 in 8 times and
call any raise with any pair as long as its 10% or
less of a players stack. I make most of my money
on the no limit tables doing this.
Author: Scrawnybob
