I received two questions from readers:

Question  #1: I have two sixes in my hand, my son has Jack 10 and the flop comes Ace, Jack, Six. The turn comes a Jack and the River comes a 10. Who wins?

In this case your son wins on the river with Jacks full of 10’s, which beats your 6’s full of Jacks. This was an unfortunate case because flopping a set against someone’s pair your about a 10:1 favorite to win the hand. The way to determine winning full house hands is by looking at the 3 of a kind first. The highest 3 of a kind for the full house hand is the winning hand. For example, Jacks full of 2’s (3 Jacks and two 2’s) is better than 10’s full of Aces (3 10’s and two Aces). If you both have the same three of a kind, then the pair matters. For example, Jacks full of 6’s is better than Jacks full of 4’s. Hope this helps.

Question #2:  What’s your number 1 strategy for the beginning player who wants to take his game to the next level?

(more…)

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our new, free “Ask The Poker Guy!” service. Whether you’re a beginner trying to figure out how to get started, or a long time player looking to take your game to the next level, Poker Moments can help you.

Want to know something about the history of poker? Why not ask us! Need to try a new poker strategy? We can point you in the right direction. Want tips on bluffing or playing tight? Let us show you the best way to get results fast.

To ask us a poker question, just click on the Ask The Poker Guy! link at the top of each page.

In poker it is very important to analyze a player’s betting pattern and tendency. Based off player behavior you can maximize the amount of money you can gain from a pot by manipulating your play to trap them. I don’t mean a basic trap such as turning a
flush and checking to the player, but a trap that starts from the very beginning of the hand before the flop comes. I’ll use an example from a tournament I played in at Showboat in Atlantic City.

(As a side note: the blind structure in this tournament was awful. No antes and it skipped many levels. I’d recommend playing at Tropicana  or another casino that has at least antes included in the blind structure. Antes allow for a lot more action in many hands because of the extra money in the pot.)

In this tournament, there were 4 guys to my left who were all hyper aggressive. They would bet about 4-7 times the big blind with hands like A-J or A-Q off suit in early position. These raises were occuring roughly every other hand. Also, at this point of the tournament, 4-7 times the big blind was roughly half an average persons stack. So by betting that much, the players basically commit themselves to the pot with an ok hand such as A-J off suit.

(more…)