Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Poker

If you play texas hold-em, only bet to see the flop if you've got good cards. A high pair, or a couple of suited face cards. It easy to blow through all your chips just trying to see what's going to happen on the flop. There's other times you should maybe pay to see the first cards but those are the easiest to explain here.

Take the same amount of time, every time, when putting money into the pot..count to 5 in your head, or whatever feels right, then put the money in the same way every time.

If they're playing for nickles, dimes & quarters, just have fun while learning the different games. Most you can lose is 50 bucks or so. If the game is for real money, don't play.

Some of the games may be high-low. In that case the pot will be split between the highest hand & the lowest hand. The best low hand in poker is the ace-2-3-4-6.

Take isaac with you and let me know what night that happens so I can go win too.

Bob, are you free tonight?

Thanks to Kenny Rogers, we all know how to play poker.

You gotta know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run

You never count your money when your sitting at the table
There'll be time enough for counting when the dealin's done.

KC

BOB--BOB the ladies callin you!!

Don't risk more than you can afford, scared money never wins.
Bet your cards, not your hope (the draw)
Stay sober
Take a break once in a while
Don't make loans- I did that once to a cute lady when she went broke. By morning she was a big winner and I didn't have breakfast money.

A little history is perhaps in order. The game was created as a magic trick. Audiences were amazed to see their friends and neighbors turned into a##holes by simply dealing the cards.

SL

I'm gonna wait up to make sure you're okay.

People can read you like a book. That's the best advice I can give.

Sometimes not knowing exactly what you're doing is a PLUS. I've played poker exactly 4 times. Each time it was during a work assignment and I got "bugged" into playing w/ the rest of the boys. Five dollar buy in is about all they do. I found that you can really piss serious players off when you go all in to win a big hand, and you later (after winning, of course) find out that you need more than 4 in a row to make a straight...OOPS.
I've found that for our small games, people take it way too serious. If you bet a bigger chip, they act like it's a big deal, when in reality it's not even a quarter. I played to have fun and mess w/ the folks who took it serious....and damned if I haven't won all four times. Begginers luck is a wonderful thing..(=

What are the stakes?

Mirrored glasses can show your opponents your hand.

Don't play every hand, don't fold every hand but real good ones, when you do get a good hand everyone will fold on you.

Fold the slop, play the good hands, but learn what mediocre hands to play.

There will always be at least one player who is bluff happy, you will most likely have to call him when you think he is BSing even with only an average hand, otherwise he will continue to bully you out of hands.

Fishing for two cards to make a flush or straight is extreme, most of the time you will come up empty, don't get in the habit of fishing for hands like that unless it is cheap.

Do you know what games they play?

Oh ya, a couple of obvious tells.

If a guy looks at his cards then leans back in his chair, he is attempting to distance himself from a real good hand. Leaning back in his chair after looking at his cards usually means a powerful hand.

Likewise, a guy who sets his cards down on the table and looks around the room disinterested or makes idle chatter in the middle of hand is usually trying to play down his good hand.

Wouldn't ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 beat ace, 2, 3, 4, 6?

Okay, you know nothing.

Do not get drunk! (But make sure everybody else does.)
Make SURE they know you don't know how to play. (They won't believe you.)
Do a lot of "folding" at first, reserving your money/chips.
Ask questions every hand...you'll learn the game(s) quickly.
When everybody else is drunk, most have busted and you now know the game and have money to bet...bust all of them!

First of all make sure you know what beats what. Next, never go for an inside straight (which is half as likely as an outside straight) if there's any money at risk, i.e., not on a raise or a call. Bluff a few times early on, and make sure people see that you bluff occasionally, even if you lose a little money (i.e., lose on a bluff or too early on). This way, when you do have a good hand some with lesser hands will believe you may be bluffing when you raise or call and will stick with you. If you win on a bluff, you don't have to show anyone what you had, and don't let them see (You may have to personally mix your cards into the deck depending on who you're playing with). Make sure you fold pretty early if there are few prospects. Don't let anyone pressure you to stay in just to be a good sport. They just want you to add to the pot they think they're sure to win.

when playing tournament style, the thing to remember is that anyone can play the good hand well. To be in at the end, you have to NOT play the bad ones. If you can mitigate the losses while winning occasional hands, you will most likely be around at the end of the game.

No. That is a straight.

Yep, Ace can be the start or the end of a straight.

Hope you didn't stay up too late. No game last night.