Biggest Mistake while playing Texas Holdem POKERWritten by Rory Monahan
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continues as Nathan and Greg- who are both sitting left of you- call your raise.
The next few players muck their hands, and then Cindy, who is just to your right, jumps into action and calls.
You really didn't want this much action with your pocket nines.
But hey, you've built up a nice pot, and you might get lucky and spike on flop.
Plus, everyone simply called your pre-flop raise (no one came back over top), which is a good sign.
The flop hits:
K, 7, 4.
Not too great of a flop for you, but not that bad either.
You would feel a lot better off without that King on board.
Cindy, first to act right now, taps her hand on table and checks to you.
This isn't surprising, since you took control before flop.
So action is to you...
This is where most poker players would CHECK.
Big mistake.
Right now, you have absolutely NO WAY of knowing who has best hand at table.
And that is PRECISELY why you must make a feeler bet...
Think about it:
If you CHECK, you're portraying weakness to your three opponents... letting them know that flop didn't help you.
Which gives one of THEM opportunity to make a bet or try to buy pot.
And you still won't know where you stand.
So instead of checking, you throw out a small FEELER BET that isn't going to get you into much trouble.
This isn't a bluff.
This is just a bet to find out who has a real hand and who doesn't. And it keeps you in a position to WIN pot.
"Thirteen dollars", you say as you push in a stack of chips.
Remember, this FEELER BET isn't going to get you into trouble. You're not going broke if you lose this pot... because you've got over $200 in your stack of chips.
And this is ONLY WAY you've got a chance at winning this hand.
Nathan and Greg both immediately muck their cards.
The action goes to Cindy now, who thinks for a few moments while peeking at her hand a second time. Finally, she calls your bet.
Your feeler bet worked well. You got rid of two players... and you've got a read on Cindy now.
Because she called, you think she might be on a draw or might have King without a decent kicker.
The turn card is an Ace.
This is GREAT for you.
It's great because you made that feeler bet...
Because you're confident that Cindy is NOT holding an Ace. If she had Big Slick, she would've made a pre-flop raise, rather than simply limping-in and calling your feeler bets.
She checks again.
This is where you can take pot down with a real bet.
"Forty dollars", you say as you push in a stack of chips.
Cindy folds, of course, and you rake in a nice pot... all of which was SET UP through your two feeler bets.
If you hadn't made your feeler bets, there's no way you would've won hand.
Because you wouldn't have scared out other players, you wouldn't have created good positioning for yourself, and you wouldn't have had a read on Cindy.
This is why I make feeler bets all time... and why you should too.
I throw out "feelers" with top pair, second pair, bottom pair, or draws.
These bets are only way I know whether I have best hand at any particular point in time...
Sure, I get re-raised often. And that's when I fold hand and lose bet I just put in.
BUT THAT'S OKAY.
Because I found out EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED TO KNOW.
If you get re-raised after a feeler bet, then you know you probably don't have best hand at table... so muck it.
Losing few dollars you made with your feeler bet is perfectly fine...
Because it's MUCH BETTER than just CALLING bet after bet without getting a read on your opponents... and then losing after all cards get flipped over.
That's a SUCKER way to lose a pot.
And you'll go broke that way.
Plus, my feeler bets give me CONTROL and create ACTION at table...
If a nine had come out at flop in example above, I wouldn't have needed to slow-play it...
And I wouldn't have been worried about having a monster and not winning any money with it (which happens to a LOT of amateurs)... because I had already created action with my FEELER BET.
So next time you play no-limit Texas Holdem, throw out feeler bets consistently and use them to your advantage.
Nothing too big... just enough to get a read on your opponents and find out where you're at in each hand.
You'll IMMEDIATELY realize POWERFUL EFFECT that feeler bets will add to your game.
Because you'll have HUGE stacks of chips in front of you at end of night...
While EVERYONE ELSE will just be sitting there, with their jaws wide-open, wondering how in world YOU BEAT THEM SO BADLY...
If you want to learn how to KICK ASS like this in no-limit Texas Holdem poker... night after night... then go to my website.
There you can read about more great techniques and download my online eBook. You can download it right now by clicking on this link:
Download The POKER EBook
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| | The Music Revolution Has Begun--A Guide to Internet Music Downloads Written by Larry Denton
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Musicians and distributors are tapping into consumer anger to rewrite rules of music industry amid financial turmoil. GarageBand.com is one example. Once just a community of online musicians, it is now becoming Internet's answer to a record label as well, one that leaves much of power--and selection process--in hands of musicians. So far, digital music movement has been a double-edged sword for artists. Newcomers and struggling musicians find Internet to be a revolutionary way to produce and distribute their own music, bypassing major record labels. The Internet can provide what every musician needs to be successful--exposure. Without exposure, no one buys CDs, attends concerts or purchases T-shirts, ball caps, beer mugs and posters sold by artists. On other hand, some artists have reacted negatively to online music, fearing a drastic reduction in royalty payments from CD sales and losses of other revenue. Whether you support idea of music downloading or not, there is no turning back. As of end of 2004, 200 million songs were downloaded that year--a tenfold increase from previous year. And courts have ruled that file sharing software is NOT illegal, in and of itself. While major legitimate online music services like iTunes Music Store, EMusic, and Napster 2.0, with deals from major record labels, carry between 700,000 and 1 million songs, Internet upstarts like GarageBand.com already claim an expanding library of 1.8 million songs available for free. Whether you use a subscription site and buy your tunes, or search out free music on Web, there is no doubt that entire music world has been radically changed by Internet and advent of digital music. So get online, download your favorite tunes, turn up volume, and "let good times roll."
Larry Denton is a retired history teacher having taught 33 years at Hobson High in Hobson, Montana. He is currently V.P. of Elfin Enterprises, Inc., an Internet business providing valuable information on a variety of timely topics. For a recording studio full of information, resources and suggestions about music downloads, visit http://www.MusicDownloadHere.com
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