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I’ve recently been playing a new type of poker tournament variantion called All-in or Fold. The rules are this: There is only one blind (called big blind). Every player begins with one chip only, not that it matters much as you only have 2 options, All in or Fold! All in or Fold poker tournaments are increasingly popular in both cash and free online poker why not have a play if you come across one, they can be good fun. But be sure to read this first!

If you’re on the big blind you’re automatically all in. You receive change, however, if, say, you have 5 chips and someone moves all-in with 2 chips and you call him (which is an all-in, too). He won’t win 5 chips from you; instead you’ll get change of 3 chips.

If you’re on big blind you can simply ignore everything else that follows. (It happens only about 1/10 of the time, however, in a 10-player table. If you want to become hooked for some reason.) So it’s very much a math poker game as well as a position game.

Why math game?
Because you will be relying entirely on preflop all-ins, and you have to commit to memory the probability of your winning, or at least have a gist of them. I can give some examples (You can generalize; the probability’s pretty much the same in a similar situation; for instance the first example will be: Two Overcards vs. Small Pair, or the first example will apply too if it were, say, A-10 over 5-5) and approximate the probabilities:

A-K vs 8-8
55%-45% in favor of 8-8

A-K vs A-Q
75%-25% in favor of A-K

A-10 vs K-K
75%-25% in favor of K-K

A-K vs 7-6
65%-35% in favor of 7-6

A-10 vs K-Q; A-Q vs K-J
63%-37% in favor of A-10 and A-Q

A-A vs 8-8
80%-20% in favor of A-A

A-A vs A-K
93%-7% in favor of A-A

A-A vs K-Q
85%-15% in favor of A-A

But these do not imply that you should wait for A-A or K-K or A-K before you move all-in, of course. Do it with two face cards, a pair, or A-x. Just make sure the big blind doesn’t reach you, for if that happens your decision’s beyond your will.

All-In or Fold is also a game of position. Oftentimes players in these tournaments play hands similar to the above, and throw away the rest.

Consider these two examples:

(1) You are in late position with 4-4 and there are two all-ins in front of you. You might be facing three or four overcards, or an overpair. Fold.

After all, if you are in late position, there will be many hands before you reach the big blind.

(2) You have A-8 in early position. You are two hands away from being the big blind, so you move all-in, and players after you will interpret an early-position all-in as a sign of strength.

What you consider, then, is the strength of your hand and the surrounding action.

With one-on-one, which happens mostly, the above probabilities still apply. But with three or more, hand strength matters more. Big pairs are still big; medium pairs shrink in power (because you can’t see the Flop yet; usually we see the Flop with a medium pair to hit a Set). A-x becomes weaker; A-K and A-Q weaken down a little bit. However, make sure you play a hand while you’re still in control of your decision. When you get yourself blinded out, it’s for your tournament life, mostly.

To read more articles like this and learn to play online poker check out the NoPayPOKER.com blog which is full of free online poker tips and lessons as well as offering a no risk play free poker games site where you can put theory into practice.

I’ve been a poker player since I was a teenager, I’ve played for money in casinos and lots of fun money free poker at home. For the last few years though I’ve focused most on free poker sites. Initially this was easy and fun but as time has passed I found it getting harder and harder to win, after thinking long and hard I realised that I’d become stuck in a rut I now call the “Easy Play” trap.

The trap is where you get into the habit of playing every single hand in the belief that it is the only way to win. You post and play every hand praying the flop with give you a hand. The problem with it is that you lose more and even worse anyone with any skill learns how you play really easily which makes things even worse. The problem is most common I find on free poker tournament sites where, due to the very low or even no risk nature of the poker games it is easy not to be bothered. No problem is it’s just for fun but a very bad habit if you have aspirations to play live or online poker for money later.

Then last year I started playing what I call “SMART”. “SMART” players think of the odds of playing each hand based on your starting hand. The two cards in your hand give you an idea of what your chances of winning before the flop.

“SMART” poker means as follows:

Singles – A - K - Q – J

Married – AK – AQ – AJ – A10

Average – 10 10 – 9 9 – 8 8 – 7 7 – 6 6

Rare – AA – KK – QQ - JJ

Terrible – 2 7 – 2 8 – 2 9 – 2 10 – 3 8 – 3 9 – 3 10 -4 9 – 4 10 -5 10

Singles should be used cards of the same suite.

Playing singles with low off suites is hazardous because some times it is the kicker that means a win. Watch the flops and see how the cards are falling as if there are more small off suites hitting with a single you might want to try.

Married and Rare hands are your better possible starting hands prior to the flop and requires that you think first. Going all in with a Married or Rare hand before the flop is good but may also be a killer. Watch the other players for a while to get an idea of what they play before going up against them.

Average poker hands are good to start with but the flop truly provides a picture of how you will play your hand. On an average a third will fall with the flop when holding a small pair. If not, and there is a small bet, try the turn but never the river as odds are against you.

Terrible are poker hands I try not to play because they normal are losing hands. True you might get lucky but if you do not have any money in the pot why waste the time and money on a chance. High blind and there is no raise, yes play, however low blind, forget it and wait for a better hand.

During a recent live game I was down to 80 in chips with the blinds at 10 – 20. I was not getting a hand and we were down to three players. Being “SMART” I came back and won the money.

Now the important bit, how to learn to play “SMART”: If you are new to poker or are stuck in the trap, get yourself over to a free poker site and practice loads. Be serious about your game and don’t get distracted by all the Easy Play Trap people you’ll come across. The, once you are confident and showing consistent bankroll growth you can move on and up.

Here’s a blow by blow or maybe hand by hand account of a recent free poker tournament of mine, I hope it gives you some guidance on how to think and play in such situations.

Tonight’s game is 10 of 31 paid, good odds here about 1 in 3 so lets play it smooth for a little and see what happens. Some hands that I’ve played early are 52 suited in the small blind and K9 off with 6 to 1 pots odds, AJ off I slip in cheap. Pot odds are simply the ratio of the cost to call to the size of the pot example $100 to see $600 pot would be 6 to 1.

Up about 1k playing the K9 aggressive with Q9Q flop and hitting a free A on the river with AJ. I tell people this countless times that they have to bet in these unsure situations if no one else has either wise you have nothing else to go on.

I bet 3x with my KK and get one caller, the flop comes up 5,8,10 and he bets so I string his J10 along for another 1k. Slow playing should most often only be done when you have an unbeatable hand but the action here is few and far between.

An example of cards I have had to limp off with are: A2, A3 suited, and 88 due to the poor odds. By poor odds I mean to work out how much cash your opponents are holding and to know if it’s possible to bankrupt someone with good cards calling five dollars with junk may not seem as bad if you can take their fifty dollars in doing so.

There are certain cards I have passed on now that the blinds are higher and pot chances even smaller, such as, K10, J10, Q8 suited, and the Q8 ended up being a very poor fold. I’m now around an hour and a half into play & my wallet still holds two grand which I had built up before- plus a further five hundred and sixty dollars with other minimal pot plays.

I am folding AQ off suit here because we are two away from payout and it looks like smooth sailing to the final table. Folding these higher hands takes a lot of discipline but becomes easier with each bubble you get. The bubble refers to the last person to go out before the pay. I end the match in 6th place which I’m very happy with…you can make living from places like that if you’re consistent. So start small, play on free poker tournament sites and work your way up in line with your growing confidence and bankroll.

Knowing where you ’stand’ in a free poker tournament is very significant in your ability to make the most of your odds.

For example, if the player on my left opens, the next two men call, and the following player raises it, then I can’t come in with that possible straight, for these three reasons: First, if I call that raise, those other players behind me may have limped their good hands. So if I put my checks in to draw at this straight, the next man calls it, and the third man moves in and raise the re-raiser, my straight probably wouldn’t be any good if I make it. (When you put checks in the pot, you’ve got to think you’ll be able to go with your hand).

Additionally I’m not in place- and it comes down to being in a bad position as under the gun- 1st to tattletale your hand. The original raiser could go again with a common amount- I could call them- as at this time I don’t believe my str8 has the potential to win. I will also get some action from 4 other opponents. When this occurs it will leave the pot at five to one I cant make my str8 although the card draw chances are not five to one that I wont. So in this play I could gamble all my checks and this is where the concealed percentages appear. I know that my str8 will take an opponent down.

Besides, by not being able to open, I don’t have a quarter in the pot at this point. There’s no reason for me to risk my check to come in and draw at this “possible.” Even if I do come in and make it, I may go broke. So rather than do all this guessing, I know there’ll be another deal in about forty seconds and I’ll just wait for a new hand.

However, I would play this hand altogether differently in a limit game. I’d go ahead and call this raise and re-raise, knowing there is a limit on what I could lose. And if I did make it, I’d sure as hell bet that I could, because I don’t draw to any hand that I won’t bet. If you draw at something, make it, and check it, then you’re defeating yourself.

There are general strategies you can use for Hold’em competitions & sit & go tables. Practice makes perfect and the more you practice your style and advance the better you will become. You don’t want to learn this trade by parting and potentially loosing your hard earned cash so what better place to learn your trade than playing a free poker tournament.

My style depends mostly on my odds of making money. Tonight I am playing a free poker tournament with 30 players where 10 get paid. With a 1 in 3 shot of making a profit I tend to take it easy for the most part. That’s not to say that I won’t be chip leader tonight it’s just mostly going to depend on the cards for the first hour or so.

I’m going to share and explain some of my better card play strategies. Remember this is not a beginning spot and is a long way off the real game. 77 I flat call and receive two times back and call. Flop comes 6D, 3H, 4H- 1st person to make a play all in on a one hundred and sixty five dollar, with a pot of three grand. I fold as they probably had better pockets or a nut flush draw/straight. Even though I had a fair chance of holding the best hand its way too soon to go for such a crazy move.

99 I flat call and the same player from before pushed all in on flop 8d,2s,2h at this point I am starting to think maybe I was wrong the 1st time but fold anyway. He shows me J2 now leading me to believe I was in fact correct the first time as well. KJ off I flat call only because someone before me called as well increasing my pot odds. About 15 minutes in now I have $2,900 of my original $3,000.

AJ I engage sluggish A,6,9 flop and an opponent gambles three hundred and fifty dollars making the total to play for a mere one hundred and fifteen dollars & the blinds twenty / forty dollars- I fold. With the amount of his gamble he showed too much- If it was me I could have rethought my options, but he probably wouldn’t have tried that with more opponents in the game. I did put him on a kicker, A6, suited or A9; just to be sure I bring up he “should start showing a few to make it more believable.”

By doing this if he was being sneaky he may start to think about what I said and believe I know his game. It’s a no lose situation as if I’m wrong he will be wondering if I think he’s blagging & could call if he continues. The truth is as explained I’m just making remarks to keep him in check.

A good twenty mins on the same guy is making a move with K8 on a K66 flop when I have A6. Well as you might have guessed I ensure I double up & gain some vital info. He has in fact have hands when he makes these trivial gambles, however the cards he’s playing it with are very defeatable.

Until this changes my job at the table will be to catching him with another mistake. The player next to me pushes all in pre-flop thinking about the same thing that I am but going about it all wrong. He is aggressive with his hands, not an imbecile. I am still riding out that 6k double up here at 1st break one hour into the tournament. There are still 22 players remaining.

One hr and forty odd mins gone and I grasp the same opponent again slow playing a AK for an even 9 grand making my full sum twelve grand with seven opponents left and sitting in a modest third. Although this opponent had managed to pull together around eighteen grand in chips with an attacking style his final place is eighth while the low stack at the prior table is now playing for first spot. Looking for a mark and staying with it will work out in the lengthy game however you need to ensure you have another plan to bring in money to ensure you’re at the table long enough for the big dollars.

AA I gamble the smallest I can as I don’t have much to play with. The second hr is now in the books and I’m in last. Forth place with six grand so I will go all in blind regardless. The nearest opponent has sixteen grand and blinds are six hundred / one thousand two hundred. Fifty five and flop comes Qfive hundred and ten- a bit of good fortune never hurt anyone. I put down a AQ off to a gamble that would go in all in. I didn’t feel I wanted to lose my new chips so quick. Went out third place with A4 suited against K10 off. Not to shabby for a free poker tournament where I won some dollars although could have been WSOP from top table!

I look forward to playing you in a free poker tournament soon!