Saturday, March 19, 2011

A Poker Decision: Which Game Should You Choose?

By Thomas Kearns


While Omaha is an attractive and profitable choice, there is so little literature on the subject that it is not your best option. You want to start with Hold'em with its rich body of literature both in book and online form. It is easily accessible to players because it is the most popular form of poker played today in casinos and clubs as well as online.

Okay, now that Hold'em is the game of choice, which form of Hold'em suits you best personally? Do you gag on risk or thrive on it?

It is a very peculiar thrill, and those who cannot stand, having calculated your best chances, to make that step into the air, like Indiana Jones towards the end of The Last Crusade (he did not so much summon the faith the walk on air, but merely calculated that his father's diary implies an invisible bridge), had better keep away from the poker table (watching others play might be the compromise to settle for). Nor is poker the right activity for people who cannot control themselves and play kamikaze-style. For those who feel they do not sufficiently understand themselves, there are tests which determine inclination towards risk. The more risky you are the more sense it makes to play no-limit cash and tournament poker.

Determine whether you are best at "math" or "psychology": if you are a human calculator, best try limit games; if you can read the opponents hands by reading his body language, your best shot is at no-limit and in multi table tournaments(MTT).

Should you really want to invest some time and brain matter in the game, the complexity of no-limit and MTT games give you the best shot at developing as a player. For the dilettante, stay with sit-and-go tournaments and limit poker.

The least potential for players reach the heights of fame and fortune is in limit poker. The best games for would-be poker champs are tournament games and high profile no limit games.

Limit poker is becoming rarer in casinos and clubs and is more accessible online. Tournament poker is the only form of the game officially considered a sport, so that it may be important to pay attention to tournaments in public establishments.

Those considering poker as a profitable career should focus on those games with a high percentage of weak players. Hold'em poker involves the fewest of the weaker players due to the widely available literature devoted to the game. No-limit and tournament poker should be your target, as long as you have made the decision to educate yourself on it and continue to do so. The beginning player should play limit poker in games with limits below 1$/2$. If in a SnG game, the novice should stay below $20+$2 and in a no-limit game, below $100. If you want to play in games below these levels, just a basic knowledge of the rules of poker is probably sufficient. More intense study is required of higher limits and even the most apt student of the game is incurring risk.

These considerations are a good preliminary to your first games, but the answers to the questions will become clearer as you accumulate experience.




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