Poker Articles

After this weekends bad beat fest, I wanted to attack a subject that needs attention. Being a student of the game, I wanted to talk about the most overused and miss used phrase in poker… NH You see it said at every table you play on. You and I say it as well. Too many times it is said when it does not apply. A person wins a big pot and the first thing out is NH. To illustrate this I’m going to use actual hands that either I have been in or witnessed on different sites. Also, to make it a little more interesting, I’m going to put it in true or false form.

Pokerstars

I have KK in a middle position on the first hand of the tourney. Everyone folds  to me and I bet 100 chips. The only taker is GDOG8 who is on the button. The flop comes 46J. I bet 500 and he calls. The turn is a 2. I bet another 500 he calls. The river is a 5 and I go all in which he calls. Now the whole time I’m thinking he has AJ. With no overs hitting he feels pretty good about his hand. He shows 73 off for a straight.

T/F is this a NH?

False-  How can you make the pre flop call and the turn call? If anything this is a Slotsman award candidate. Saying this is a nice hand ignores basics of poker. Poker is playing hands that have favorable odds pre flop and then seeing those odds increase after the flop.  When players make these kinds of plays it’s called gambling more than it is poker.

Pokerstars II

I raise the bet to 250 chips, in a middle position, with the blinds at 25-50, holding QQ. The big blind, NKNIGHT32, calls from the cut off. The flop is 923. I bet 500 and he calls. The turn is J and I shoot hard with a bet of 1250 and of course he calls. The river is a 7 and I push in the remainder of my chips with a 1000 bet, which is called. He turns over 97clubs. One person says nice hand and the guy responds “thanks, I played that well”.

T/F is this a NH?

False- The first mistake is pre flop. The next mistake is calling a large raise with top mid pair and no kicker when the bet is being raised. Then calling the turn when the bet keeps increasing is simply ignoring the fact that you aren’t even close to having the best hand.

Party

Under the gun, I raise the blind 3X to 300 with AKh. Marcardo calls from a middle position. The flop comes Ad3h2h. I check and he bets 750. Of course, I call and the turn comes 7c. He now bets 1500 and I call. The river is 5d and he bets another 1500, which I call. He shows 46 off. Right away 2 people say nice hand and he says “you just got taught by the master”.

T/F is this a NH?

False- If anyone disagrees with this it shows how far you have to go as a poker player. What can a person possibly be thinking to play this hand? What are you thinking to say nice hand afterwards? The only appropriate thing to say to the guy is “I didn’t realize this was a fishing tournament”.

Party II

I’m watching a buddy of mine play in a tourney at Party and this hand happens approaching the bubble. My buddy has AQh UTG and raises 3X the blind which are 50-100. TSJerome calls from the button. The flop is Ad3h7h. My buddy bets 1000 and quickly is called. The turn is Jd which gets another 1000 chip bet that is quickly called. The river is a Kc. Another 1000 chip bet is called and TS shows K3.

T/F is this a NH?

False- Someone please explain to me how K3, suited or not, is a hand you are calling 3X the blind with. Then after the flop you have bottom pair and a 1000 chip bet thrown at you. Simply making the call is foolish. That fact that the river hits doesn’t make this a nice hand…just a lucky one.

Paradise

You knew this one was coming didn’t you? I have AA UTG. I triple the blind to 3600 and get two callers. The flop is J84. TONY..TIGER bets 3600 and I go over the top all in with 9600. He shows QJoff. The turn is a Jack and I’m out. Some guy says nice hand.

T/F is this a NH?

False- How in the world he makes the preflop call is beyond me. QJ IS NOT a premium hand!! Then to call an all in when I could be stupid enough to have KJ or even better AJ is simply stupid poker. The fact that he won simply makes this a bad beat…NOT a nice hand.

Another thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with hand tables and percentages. Go to the card calculator here at pocketfives and see for yourself that your AK is NOT a 50-50 proposition against ANY pocket pair. Stop making yourself look ignorant by saying nice hand to every hand that wins. Study the game and be informed when you make comments.

Here’s hoping my own losing streaks end! See you at the tables.