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The first key to playing Texas Hold 'em, Omaha, or Omaha High Low is playing the best starting hands. Remember in these games if you are not in a blind it costs you nothing to fold, at a 10 person table you can have 8 free hands! Most people can watch a T.V. show and pick up the best starting hands for Texas Hold 'em with relative ease. However, Omaha starting hands are a bit trickier, and the best starting hands for Omaha High Low are much more complex. The best starting hand calculations for these games is the Doc Hutchison method; I have used these personally with great success. The calculations can be a bit tricky, and in fast pace online environment they are very hard to use. I recommend getting a Poker Odds Calculator that will calculate these for you automatically.
After you are playing the best starting hands; the next key is to know your pot odds. First when you think you have the best hand play it however you see fit. No calculations just your personal style, whether you feel you need to slow play or be aggressive are things you can only learn from playing. However it gets a bit trickier when you are being raised. You have four hearts and an inside straight. Should you chase? Will they call you a fish? How do you know what to do? It's actually quite easy with a pot odds calculation. You take the number of outs you have (cards that you think will give you the best hand) and divide it by the cards left to see the percentage of getting that winning card. While that number is nice, it's not very helpful on it's own, you don't just want odds, you want pot odds. Pot odds takes your chance of getting that card incorporates how much you are being raised and how much is in the pot for you to win. You see you only want to chase when you have pot odds, and the law of averages will make sure that the times you hit the card will bring in enough cash to come out ahead. Again this can be hard to keep up with in fast pace online environment, so you may want to consider a pot odds calculator.
Lastly if you are serious about making money you need to track your play with a poker journal(also called a poker diary). Do you know of any successful business that does not track where it's spending and making its money? A good poker journal will allow you to put in the Poker Room, the table, the game, the odds, the amount of time played etc. Than when you build up some history you can run reports to see when and where you are most profitable. Select criteria like the game and the odds too see where you excel and where you lack. Some calculators will even tell you how much money you are making an hour.
If you want to be successful you have to develop you own style of play. But remember there are things you can do to lay a foundation for success. Play only the best starting hands, not only does it give you the best odds of winning in the long run but it prevents you from being burned with that second best hand. Only chase when you have pot odds, being a fish will destroy any other skill you have. Track your play and study your reports. Stay away from or lower the stakes where you find your weaknesses and focus on your strengths. Most important, don't play with money you don't have to lose. Poker can be easily abused and you need to stay responsible!
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