What the Heck is an Arkansas Flush?
When I played in a recent game in the midwest, there were four cards of the same suit on the board. Luckily, I had the matching ace as my hole…
The Squeeze Play
It’s designed to put pressure on the player who has flat called the raiser. The action is pre-flop with a big re-raise or three bet, thus squeezing at least one…
What Does it Mean to Float
Simply put, it’s a strategic play to call a continuation bet with a good hand. The aim is to bet or raise on the turn to take the pot. However,…
No Limit Hold “Em Quiz
Quiz: On the last hand of the night, on the button, I picked up a pair of red kings in the hole. Slowed played an opening bet, plus a raise.…
How and Why Did I Lose $50 in a Low-Limit Game?
A friend recently asked me that question. Background: he’s a good player but very loose. My answer was, “You bled chips.” The thought that it’s only another buck or two,…
Big Blind Ante
The latest innovation to build pots in high stakes poker games and tournaments is the big blind ante. The World Series of Poker has bought into the concept for their…
Zombie Poker
As you probably know, a zombie is a person who has died and come back to life. The equivalent in poker is when a tournament structure allows someone who has…
Quite a Hand
I recently played in a Hold ‘em home game with an interesting structure. It starts as a tournament with blinds increasing after each round. As players are knocked out, a…
The Moneymaker Effect
In 2003, Chris Moneymaker, an amateur player, won the World Series of Poker, besting 838 entrants. His payoff was $2.5 million dollars. He set off a poker boom. Moneymaker’s win…
Why C-Bet?
In recent years, the c-bet (short for continuation bet) has been pretty much the favored action in No Limit Hold ‘Em. What is it? It’s a followup bet after the…
Deck Check
I’ve got a couple of issues relating to card counts and rankings. Are there really only 52 cards in a standard deck? Sure, four each of Aces through Kings equal…