Know your bluffing rights
In real life you cannot sit at a poker and think to yourself, ‘I am 50% probably winning, so I will bet.’ Thus up against one player in no limit hold’em before the flop, you should raise with a hand as weak as J-7 or Q-2. Against 9 opponents it needs to be as strong as 10-10, A-10 suited or A-Q. There is a table in the book and I sit with it beside me when I play no limit hold’em online.
This includes your bluffing rights. Why bet or raise with 7-2 against one opponent when you can choose a better spot? J-7 isn’t the greatest hand in the world, but it is an adequate one with which to try to win the pot two-handed.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Courts to recognise poker as game of skill ?
There has been a great deal of interest expressed recently in poker rooms which are not regulated by the Gaming Board. The Gut Shot Club in Clerkenwell expects their case to go to court soon. Their defence is based on the unarguable case that poker is a game of skill, not solely luck and thus should not be heavily regulated. This same argument could be applied to Blackjack.
Even if they win, it may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory. I would expect legislation to be introduced within two years closing the loophole.
The Fox Poker Club in Mayfair is applying for a soft gaming license. It is hard to see why this should be refused or why it should take a long time.
