Everybody wants to play pocket Aces. It is fun to look up and see A-A in you hand. However, playing pocket Aces in online No Limit Texas Hold’em can be tricky. I think many times everyone wants to have this hand but they have given very little thought to how to play it once it is dealt to you.

Here is the basic dilemma with pocket Aces, especially as it relates to online NL Texas Hold’em: so many player limp into hands and play virtually  any two cards.

What is wrong with that? You have them beat with the best hand, right? Obviously, yes, PRE FLOP. The problem is, the more players in the hand, the more chance that someone will suck-out on you and bust you out with you pocket Aces.

I see it all the time. A player in middle position limps in. He is called by the button and both blinds. The flop comes 6-6-J. A raise, re-raise battle ensues, and pocket Aces are busted out by the player in the Small blind who limped into the hand with Q-6 suited. This, or a hand similar to it, happens more often than you would think during internet play, just because you tend to get so many players in the hand. The combinations of cards they can hit is that much greater.

Seems simple, then. Just raise to push out all the limpers. I have seen many players just push all-in pre-flop when they hit a big hand like A-A. The problem with that is, if you have $3k in chips early on in a Full Tilt Sit n Go, when the blinds are $50-$25, if you push all in you are likely to collect $75 in chips when everyone else folds.  Lets say that you dont make an idiot bet of all-in, but you raise 3x-4x the Big Blind, you will stilll find that quite often everyone else at the table will fold and you will just end up with the blinds. This is because novice players love to limp and see every flop, but calling raises generally makes them nervous.

The idea here is that you have to maximize these big hands when you have them, but you can’t be stupid about it and encourage too much action by just limping in. So, what do you do? Can’t raise! Can’t limp.

For me, the answer is usually somewhere in the middle. I believe that you must make a pre-flop raise with you bigger hands to try and weed out the people who have no business in the hand at all. Those are generally the players that will hurt you. You want to try and weed it out to one or two other players in the hand.

If I will most times make a 3x Big Blind raise to open a pot, then I make it only 2x with A-A. Not a lot of difference, perhaps, but it can help get a call or two. The only time I will limp with a big hand is if I have identified a player who is too aggressive. If I think that player will re-raise limpers, then I will try to trap him into doing so with my big hands. Which really brings me to the point of how to play these hands. You need to pay attention to the other players at the table and how they have reacted to various plays previously.

What do I mean by that? Well, if you have seen someone play every hand, then I will make my raise fit something that I know he will call based on his previous plays. I love to find someon who will try and make a big raise if people limp in to try and push them off the pot and steal it. If there is someone like that at the table, then you can many times re-raise them a large amount or even all in, because their aggression will land them in tight places and they cannot give up the hand after making a big raise.

If I see a player who loves to play position, then I will make my bet to try and encourage him to call or raise from the button. Most online players are not very sophisticated. If you can get them to raise when you have a big hand, you can usually re-raise all-in and they will not be able to give it up.

Really, it all comes down to how well you have paid attention to the previous action at your table. If you have correctly identified the tendencies of 1 or 2 players, then you can turn your monster hand into a big pay off. If not, then you are just shooting in the dark and hoping for the best. Remember, monster hands can turn into nightmare hands if played incorrectly, especially in online Texas Hold em.

Tomorrow we will address playing this same hand post flop.

   Playing online poker will expose you to a ton of different poker personalities. Because of the huge number of players playing (50,000-70,000 at a time on Full Tilt alone!) you are always going to be playing against a large number of novice players. Because these novices are playing online which offers unprecedented level of anonymity, you will see a large number of players going on “tilt”. What you need to decide is how to react to these players.

First, going on “tilt” simply means that they lose their temper (usually after losing a big hand) and start playing recklessly, most times just going all-in every hand, no matter the cards. In other words, they have ceased to care of playing poker or the outcome of the game, they want to either bust out or get lucky and double up. Sometimes you will see a player on tilt double up because of some horrible suck out and then calm down and start playing again because he has his chip stack back.

Whatever the reasons for the player tilting, you have to decide how it will affect you. The worst thing you can do in these situations is start playing non-premium hands. That just playing right into the “tilting” players hand, if you will. Just because you know a player is on tilt, does not mean it is a good idea to call his all-in with K-7 off suit. You are likely to help him accomplish his goal of doubling up this way.

In my opinion, there are 2 ways to deal with this tilting player: do nothing and wait him out or simply wait for a premium hand to go up against him with. Usually I prefer the latter. However, sometimes the player is busted out before you are dealt a premium hand, but thats just life.

When I say premium, I mean a good hand, but not necessarily A-K or K-K either. Pretty much most pocket pairs over 6’s will stand up well here, as well as A-K, A-Q, A-J. You DO NOT want to start calling with A-5 or something like that. Even a tilting playing will play any Ace and you do not want to get into a hand where he has you out-kickered by one card or something like that. The idea behind waiting for a good hand to play against this guy is that you will have an advantage after the flop. Do not allow yourself to get sucked into hands where you may not be favored to win post-flop.

Since you are likely calling his all-in you are going to have to set yourself limits of hands that you will play against him. Also, if he has position on you do not try to limp in with anything with the intention of seeing the flop texture. He will almost always raise you all-in and you will lose you bet. The only time you might try this is if you have a true monster like A-A or K-K, then limping will force him to continue his all-in barrage, whereas a big bet of your own might make him fold. I will use this trick many times if I spot a tilting player and I happen to get dealt a monster. The temptation is almost always too great, they are looking to push all thei chips in anyaway!

The second option of doing nothing is not a bad one either. This is due to the fact that even if you play a monster against Mr. Tilt, there will be times where he will suck-out on you and that is extremely frustrating. Waiting for someone else to eliminate this fool is certainly a viable option, especially if you dont get any cards. It is a much better option than playing a hand that you shouldnt have played. Sooner or later his luck will run out, and the rest of the table can go back to playing poker. The only reason I want to play against the tilter if I can is because I want some of his chip stack if at all possible!

Whatever you choose to do, and your decision will many times be dictated by the cards you are dealt, have a plan going in and stick too it. I have seen many players start playing too loose just because someone else is tilting. Dont let this happen to you. Take advantage of the situation, dont become a victim of the situation.

   A question that I am asked a lot by online poker players is how to succeed in the lower dollar levels of No Limit Texas Hold’em. This question may seem like it should have a complicated answer, but the reality of it is, there is one thing that you can do to immediately improve your game. I am not saying that you will instantly become a winner or win every time, but if you make one simple adjustment you will find yourself winning a lot more money and giving yourself time (and the bankroll!) to really fine tune your game and become good. The answer is simply this: play better cards!

I know, that sounds ridiculously simple and easy, but if you have spent any time playing online poker, especially at the low limit levels, you know that most players play way too many hands. They will play any two suited cards, any connecting cards, any hand that contains one face card, any Ace, etc, etc, etc. You can distance yourself from the pack immediately just by tightening up your starting hand requirements and playing less junk. You will waste less chips and get yourself into less trouble.

By not playing so many hands, it also gives you time to observe the game going on around you and how the other players are playing it. Most players get involved in so many hands that they only have time to think about their own cards. Spend some time watching what your opponents are doing and chances are you will learn more than if you were involved in the hand yourself. You can also pick up on “internet tells” like betting patterns if you are paying attention to the rest of the table rather than worring about playing hands like J-3 suited.

Make notes on players to be used later in the game or in games that may take place weeks or months from now.  The more you play, the more you will run into some of the same players. If you have taken the time to observe their game instead of playing every hand yourself, it will come in handy at a later date. You will learn which opponents are strong and which play junk hands that they shouldn’t. You will have freed up you mental capacity to focus on others and it will make your decisions easier later on.

Overall, playing less hands will keep you in the game longer. You will lose less and thereby gain more experience because you are seeing more hands. If you don’t bust out as quickly by playing junk you will improve faster and have more time to work on the subleties of the game, instead of just trying to hit every flop. Keep track of your stats to accomplish this goal and you will see that your play improves as your percentage of flops you see goes down.

   I have talked several times about the new “Matrix” tournaments that Full Tilt has introduced. In case you missed it, these are Sit n Go tournaments at all dollar levels where you play 4 separate tournaments at the same time against the same 8 players. This makes for a fun, fast paced game, that differs significantly from just playing 4 individual SNG’s.

The main difference and what makes this Matrix fun, is that you are playing the same players, just at different tables, in different positions. You can notice trends at one table and they may become applicible towards that player at another table. For example, I have watched players steal the blinds from the button and one table, then if they try this with my blind, I simply re-raise all-in and watch them fold. If you notice a player making a move at one table, even if it does not affect you directly, you can bet that same player will try it again at some point at one of the other tables.

Also, I have noticed that players easily go on “tilt” if they lose one hand at one table. This directly affects their play at another table. Their game becomes haphazard and careless because they busted out at another table. Watch for this, it happens frequently. This is due to the fact that you are paid both for making one of the top 3 places at each table and also in an overall pool depending on how you finish collectively. For some reason, players will give up hope and start making dumb moves if they bust out on one table.

You will notice that the action becomes very fast paced in these Matrix games, particularly if you last in all four games as the blinds climb up. It is hard to catch your breath in the later stages, when there are only 3 or 4 players left at each table. The blinds are high, so you do not see nearly as many flops, let alone turns of rives. Someone is usually raising pre-flop. This makes the action move along quite fast, but it also gives you the opportunity to really build your chip stack by bullying the players who are short stacked and just trying to make the money or improve their position in the overall Matrix pool. Don’t miss out on this element in the latter stages, it is key to doing well in this format.

Because things move so fast at this point, be sure to put yourself in the best position to concentrate that you can. Get rid of any distractions that you may have around you, you will need all your metal capacity to succeed once the action gets fast and furious at the end.

Again, these Matrix tournaments on Full Tilt are fun and unique. If you haven’t tried one, you should. You will enjoy it and find yourself faced with a different challenge than you might be used to. If you perfect some of the nuances of this game, you will also find it to be quite profitable.

   I play a lot of online poker. I have watched the way many, many different players play the game and really I think there is only one strategy for No Limit Texas Hold em that works every time. If you can master this one play, you will increase your profitability tenfold.

The best strategy that you can have is to just go all-in every hand. Really. If you just hit that all-in button, most of the time all the other players at your table will fold. Think about it. It is pretty intimidating to play against someone who goes all in every hand. If not every hand, then at least 90% of the time you should go all-in.

If you have any Ace; go all-in. If you have any pair; go all-in. If someone raises in front of you; go all-in. Seriously, even if you have crappy cards, you will probably suck out and win the hand anyway. Most of the time you see players playing crap in on-line poker, they suck out unbelievable hands to win. Just think-you can be that player!

Really, any hand should be good enough to go all-in. Even if you lose, well, the next time you will probably win, so why not just take your shot at it. It is better than trying to play with skill. It takes a lot of time and practice and patience to master No Limit Hold’em. Why bother? Just hit the all-in button and your career path is set. It is that simple, people. All-in is where it is at.

Just kidding, if you want to learn to be good at No Limit Texas Hold’em, buy my ebook, The No B.S. Guide To Winning Online No Limit Texas Hold’em. It will make you more money than just hitting the all-in button!

   Playing non-suited connectors, especially in NL Sit n Go’s is a pretty specific topic and a strategy that you are not going to use every day. Still it, is a play that many online players do not think of, and the beauty of non-suited connectors is that when they hit, they are nearly impossible to detect. Most of your online opponents are totally oblivious to the fact that a straight draw is on the board, while they will see a flush draw nearly every time. Internet players will play ANY two suited cards, but they will often overlook the power of two connecting cards.

First of all, by non-suited connectors, I am talking about hands like 9-T or 6-7. Possibly 5-6 in some situations, but like suited connectors, the more you stray down into the low card territories the more likely it is that if you do hit a straight, you will lose to someone with a higher straight. For most purposes, I like to go no lower than 6-7 off suit.

These cards combos are not ones that you want to play strongly pre-flop. Nor are they ones that you want to mess with at a really aggressive table. These are card combinations that have a relatively low chance of hitting, so you do not want to spend a ton of chips to see the flop. You want to limp in with these or not get into the hand at all. You are also better off playing them early on in a Sit n Go because you are less likely to be raised all-in by a short stack and you have to commit far less of your chip stack this way. In other words, if the blinds are $15-$30 and you have $1500 in chips, you can see a flop pretty cheaply as opposed to when the blinds are $300-$600 and you have $3000 in chips. The time for this play is early on. You are just taking a shot at getting lucky.

So, the texture of the flop is crucial. It will tell you whether to stay in or get out. If it comes something like A-J-3 then you run for the hills. Remember, this is a slash and run type style, not a head to head one. Don’t try and bluff with your 7-8 off suit here, someone has an Ace! Every once in a while I watch a player lose a lot of chips in a situation like this and type into the chat box something like “I was trying to represent a hand!” Dumb. In online poker, early in a SNG, you don’t make this play, someone has you beat.

Anyway, you are looking for a big score, so the flop has to be perfect. The only time you might think about stealing is if it is a total orphan like 9-4-2 rainbow. The other players in the hand probably have some type of over cards and if the action is checked to you, you might be able to steal the pot with absolutely nothing just because no one else hit any piece at all. You can try this, but dont get carried away. If you get caught, abort. Just because you feel your opponent has nothing, it doesnt do you much good if you have nothing (and not even a high card) as well.

If you hit your flop. You are golden. I suggest slow playing in most cases. The only time you might put on a little pressure is if you feel there is a chance that someone could draw to a higher straight on you. For example, you are hold 6-7 off and the flop comes 8-9-T. You have better get your money in and quick, someone could be holding a Jack. Also, in this case, you had better make a probe bet of 1/2 the pot to see if you are already drawing dead against someone with Q-J. This is a perfect example of why it is better to play high connectors than lower ones. However, if the flop was 3-4-5, then you are pretty safe slow playing.

One thing you have to always be aware of with a made straight is flush possibilites. If there is a flush draw on the board, assume the worst and drive that hand hard. Your opponent may eventually make his flush, but force him to risk alot of chips to do it. If he has a brain he will realize that you are not giving him proper pot odds to pursue it and fold. If not, you did what you could. There is nothing worse than hitting your hand and having someone draw out a flush on you.

There are a few other aspects of playing non-suited connectors that you need to be aware of and we will discuss these tomorrow. For right now, get comfortable with the idea of occasionally playing these hands and if you get in the right situation, they can be quite profitable.

   A question that I get asked by poker players on a frequent basis, is “is there a basic, simple strategy that I can apply to change my poker game right away?” While this may seem like a complex question, with many, many different answers, really there is something that most online poker players can do immediately that will improve their game drastically.  The answer to the question is just quit playing crap cards!

Obviously there are tons of different poker strategies that you can employ at various times depending on whether you are in a cash game, multi-table tournament or a Sit n Go. Of course,  you have to take into account, what type of players are at you talbe. Are they aggressive? Re-raisers? Limpers?

Then you have to look at your position at the table in any given hand. Is it late in the tournament? Are you  on the bubble? Final table? Is it a deep stack tournament? Turbo SNG?

All these things will determine on a case by case basis what strategy you want to use at any given time.

However, if you want a simple place to start, just quit playing junk. Most internet players tend to be quite loose. Online games lend themselves to this far more easily than live table games in a bricks-n-mortar establishment do. You can make all kinds of silly plays and if you bust out, just find another Sit n Go. I think many players get addicted to the action, they live to see the flop. The allure of the flop is in their minds at all  times. Probably at some point in the past they doubled up by hitting a flush with they 9-2 suited and now they want to hit it again. Maybe they threw away6-3 off suit and 3-treys came on the flop so they vowed never to miss that opportunity again. Whatever the reason, the vast majority of online poker players see way too many flops.

Just by tightening your starting card requirements, you will shore up a major hole in your game, stay out of trouble and last longer in any tournament that you play. The problem with playing junk is that you have ot be very disciplined when it doesnt hit. Most players are not. If they decide to play Q-4 off suit and that Q hits on the flop they just cannot lay it down and are many times out-kickered before they even make that bet on the flop.

Or, they think that they can pla 9-3 off suit and then bluff every one else off the pot when the flop comes A-7-5. This may work once, but it won’t work all that often in online games. You just get too many players playing hands online, and the likelyhood of someone having that Ace is way too great.

So, the answer is play less hands. Wait for better cards. Look at your stats, Full Tilt, PokerStars, Bodog, they all show how many flops you are seeing and how many hands you win out of those. Check these out and determine what percentage you are most efficient at. For me, it tends to be about 30%. Some players maybe more, some far less. It depends on if you are aggressive or conservative by naure. Whatever works for you, try just tightening up for a couple of SnG’s and see how you do. The results may surprise you.

   In their continuing efforts to be the only group who lobbys for the rights of online poker players, the PPA has put out  a Congressional Rating Guide. Since 2006 the PPA has met with nearly all members of Congress to educate them about the skill game of internet poker, as well as get their opinions on the subject. The PPA continues to advocate the promote the licensing and regulation of online poker, as opposed the the groups that want to abolish it.

The PPA’s Congressional Rating Guide gives each member of Congress a letter grade, based upon their position and opinion of internet poker.  You can find this guide at www.congressionalpoker.org It is an easy to use guide where members are rating with an A-F. These ratings are based on sponsor-ship of bills, letters of support, public statements and private meetings with the PPA, so it is not just a casual arbitrary rating. It is based on real information that should show how each member really feels about the subject of internet poker.

You can search this guide on a state by state basis and another very nice feature is that you can actually send an email to your Congressional Rep directly from the website. This way you can let them know how you feel about their grade, be it good or bad. A short note encouraging a positive stance on poker  or a note letting them know they need to rethink their position may be appropriate. Either way, this is a great tool to find out where the members of Congress in your state stand on the subject of online poker.

Kudos again to the PPA for coming up with this rating guide. For too long the subject of online poker has had nothing but negative voices assailing it in our government. The PPA has given us excellent tools to use to contact our elected officials and let them know that we do care about their support of our pastime.

   Once again, Full Tilt has come up with a new, creative, fun twist for online Sit n Go tournaments. Their latest idea is called the Matrix tournaments and after playing in a few last night, they are unique, challenging and fun to play.

The idea is simple: Full Tilt has taken a  9-player Sit n Go at the dollar level of your choice and made it into a 4 separate game format. In other words, you sign up for a 9-plays SNG. You then play a total of 4 tournaments at the same time against the same other 8 players. So, four table going at once, but each player is the same at each table, just in different positions.

You are then awarded points based on how long you stay in the tournaments and based on other players being knocked out. The final 3 finishers are paid, just like a regular Sit n Go and you are given additional money based on the points you earned over the course of all the games. Win all 4 tables, and become the Dominatrix which means you not only get the top prize for each table, but the entire Matrix prize pool as well. For complete rules and explanation of the game go to www.fulltiltpoker.com/matrix-tournament-details.

The Matrix format is easy to find under the Sit n Go tabs by looking for the “M” designation along the far left hand side of the tournament listings. Simply scroll down until you get to the dollar amount at which you would like to play and sign up for your game.

This format is challenging and a alot of fun. It is quite obviously not for players who do not enjoy multi-tasking. You have got to be paying attention to manage all 4 tables well at one time. The interesting thing about playing against the same players at each table is that you might notice a tendency to trend that pops up in their play at one table and then utilize that to your advantage at one of the others. I also noticed that players tended to go on “tilt” at the other tables once they had busted out at one table. Be aware of that!

If you have been looking for a new challenge for your online poker game, check out the Matrix games at Full Tilt. They are different and fun and once again, Full Tilt continues to be the industry leader in coming up with unique promotions that you just won’t find at any other online sites.

   Online players love to use the all-in move. It is the simplest, yet sexiest bet to make, and indeed, probably what attracts many novices to the game of No Limit Texas Hold’em. Rather than having to use some poker skill on subsequent streets, just hit the all-in button and you can double up your chip stack or make everybody else fold. If you play much online poker, you have seen the all-in over and over. There are a couple of rules that I like to keep in mind though, when it comes to playing NL Hold em against players who use this play.

First, there is a huge difference between a pre-flop all-in and and all-in post flop. Many times players will go all-in pre-flop with less than premium cards because they know it will be hard for you to call them. You will see players raise all-in into a pot of 3 or 4 limpers just to collect the blinds. You will see players raise all-in from the button, again to collect blinds. You will see players raise all-in with high pocket pairs like K’s or A’s because they are so excited they can’t stand it. You will also see them raise all-in with middle pairs to try and push players with questionable A’s out. You will even see them raise with complete junk just because they get a kick out of it and they have not got the skill to make more advanced plays later on.

The point is, pre-flop all-ins may mean just about anything. Here is a good rule of thumb: stay away from pre-flop all-ins. As tempting as it may be when you think a player is just full of crap, there is really no need to call a pre-flop all in unless you have a huge hand like K-K or A-A or later in a SNG or multi table tournament to put a players out, etc. Remember this; even with Big Slick, you are only about 50-50 against 2-2. You will have better chances than that to double up your chip stack, trust me.

So, having said that about all-ins pre-flop, here is where most internet players get confused: the all-in after the flop almost ALWAYS means something. What does it mean? It means that player hit his hand, most likely in a big way and he is trying to suck you in for all your chips.

Here is another rule of thumb: most players will not bluff their entire chip stack post-flop. They are too scared that you might have hit the flop. It takes a real gutsy player (or a real moron) to go all in on the flop, turn, or river, on a total bluff. So what does that all-in bet mean? It means he has something.

Time and time again I see a player who has been aggressive, maybe pushed around the table a little bit go all-in, someone calls him and he has a monster hand. It happens more than you think because some players just do not want to give credit for a big hand. They have seen it on TV way too many times where a player with top pair, top kicker gets bluffed off the hand by a player with 6-2 off suit. Trust me, that is going to happen very little. 99% of the time when a player goes all in post flop, he has the nuts or pretty close.

Usually these confrontations are something like this. Player A in early position raises. Called by player B in the small blind. The flop comes A-T-3 rainbow. Small blind bets the pot, player A raises all-in. Small blind calls and turns over pocket Q’s and player A has A-K. Player B busts out and has to go find another Sit n Go to play.

Respect the all-in if it is made after the flop. It means something 99% of the time. (obviously, this is situational and we are talking about plays made in a cash game or early in a tournament. Exceptions to this rule would be late in a tournament where position plays are constantly made and few hands actually go to showdown. In these cases a player may bluff with all his chips simply to stay alive by taking the blinds and antes.)

The only time when you don’t have to respect the all-in is when you have flopped such a monster than you have the nuts or pretty close. For example: you have pocket 8’s in middle position. 2 players in in front of you, the flop comes A-8-2. One player bets the pot, one re-raises all-in.

Chances are, they both have a good Ace and will not be able to get away from the hand. Calling that all-in here is obvious, your set is going to win every time and they will not see it coming. So, there are times when they only “think” they have the best hand, but you do have to have a monster in order to call. Do not call all-ins in a hand like the above example when you have something like A-J or A-T. The odds of something else playing A-K are just too high.

So, remember in regards to the all-in, stick with these 2 simple rules of thumb and it will save you a lot of chips over the long haul. It may not be a perfect theory, but it is a good place ot start to keep you out of trouble.