Remember that these small pocket pairs are well ahead of other cards before the flop as long as the other players will not have a higher pair. The situation gets tricky though after the flop especially when you do not improve your hand.

The strength of the small pocket pair is when upon flop, you make a set. Let’s say that on the flop, you get another card to make what you have as a three of a kind. This sets are very strong hands and has a big potential to make a lot of money since most opponents will not suspect that you have a 3-of-a-kind.

The best way to play your small pocket pairs is to see if you can make a set during the flop. If you do not make a set, the wisest move will be to fold. Take note that it will be very difficult to play these cards after the flop and when you do not make a set. If you cards do not improve upon flop, then do not push on and fold.

The odds of hitting a set upon flop when you have a small pocket pair is not that great. The odds is 7 to 1, but still it has a very good potential that is worth checking out. Remember the cardinal rule for playing small pocket pairs, fold when you do not make a set upon flop.

Picking the right seat

Some may believe that they have a lucky position on the poker table but in reality, there is no lucky seat. What you can get is a winning seat and that depends who will be on your left and who will be sitting on your right.

Remember that the action goes clockwise in poker so anyone who is to the left of anyone has a positionl advantage. So the person to your left will always see what you will do before he or she decides. This is not the case of course when you go heads up.

Loose players should be to your right. This way you will make most of their aggressive moves. Tight aggressive poker players should be to your left because they do not participate too much on the pot and therefore will not be able to make most of their positional advantage.

Value Betting

When you say value betting, this involves betting on a situation when you are considering gaining some small advantages while the less aggressive players will go for a check.

Value betting will work for you if your opponents are somehow intimidated by your presence. Go on value betting if you think you have a psychological hold of the poker table. This means you cannot really make most of value betting when you are on the losing end since the other players feel superior over you. When you don’t have psychological control of the table, then value betting does not give you an edge.

Overcalling

Winning poker players make money because they know when to bet, raise, and call. They must really be doing something right. Most of the time though these players overcall. Overcalling means that there is already a bet at least and then you become another caller. A lot of players lose money when they overcall on the river.

Twitter.

MySpace.

Endless others.

What do they all have in common?

They make us accessible to everyone.

They broadcast what we say and what we do.

And a lot of poker players are saying and doing something they should not without fully considering their privacy.

They are sharing their poker strategies on these social networking sites.

In so doing, they are giving ammunition to current and future competitors.

They are completely giving away their secrets and tricks without a second’s thought.

Consider what you are saying on your social networking sites.

Consider who is reading what you say.

Spread the word.

Knowing the rules of the game is absolutely going to help you in the long run and it is going to make sure that you know what you are doing.  A good way to find out about the rules is to do your research before you play.

In the next blog, we are going to talk about limits and what you need to do in order to play within your limit!

Raising from under the gun — aka sitting right next to the blinds in that round — can make you seem like a bad player. You need to bet at least twice before seeing your cards; this will make your opponents see you as a reckless sort of gambler.

Bluffing badly, so that you are easily caught, can also show you as a bad player. If your opponents assume you are easy to catch in a bluff, then you will have the advantage when you later flip the switch.

Do you want to know that skill is?  Well, it is actually the skill of being able to read facial expressions.  To be quite frank, it took me a hell of a long time to be able to read every little crimp, every little sign and certainly every smile and now that I do – I know exactly what the player next to me or across from me is thinking.

The reason why this skill is so important is because you will be able to tell if you should raise or fold – if the players have good or bad hands.  It’s a great skill for every single poker player to have!

In fact, many players are smug about it and that is called their poker bluff, however you want to make sure that you still have a poker face on for your back up, in case you do not get good cards.  Your poker face should be stripped of all emotion and should just be head on.

That way – no matter what cards cross your hand, you are not going to give them up by your lips or by your eyes.  Remember that when you are playing poker!

What cards to they think I have?  Why did they make that bet?  Where do they think their position is on the table?  What are they thinking?  Getting inside the other poker player’s heads is something that a very good and very smooth poker player knows all about – you want to make sure that you put yourself in their position and truly figure out where they are coming from.

That is what every good tournament player does and if you want to be a good poker player … get yourself in the game and truly get your head in the game!

Even if you are an aggressive poker player, you still need to learn that you will not win every single hand and you will not lose every hand either.  Patience is key also when it comes to the other players – if someone is taking too long on their turn, you do not want to rush them, rather you want to take this into consideration … maybe they are unsure of their hand and you can take advantage of that.

Patience is something that truly will help you in the long run and a skill that can be very valuable to you in the game of poker – if you learn it early on!

Playing poker is something that will elevate all of your senses and will definitely make your emotions that much harder to control.  Whether you are trying to be happy for winning or sad for losing, you could find yourself right inside an emotional breakdown right in the middle of a game just because you had a bad hand … that is not the way it should be though.

Just remember that it is a game and even if you lose a lot of money, you could always win it back in the end!