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The Mahalo Top 7

1. Wikipedia: Poker Strategy
2. Quamut: General Poker Strategy
3. Poker.net: Poker Strategy
4. About.com: Read Your Opponents and Improve Your Game  
5. wikiHow: How to Calculate Pot Odds
6. CardsChat: Poker Strategies, Theories and Forum
7. Amazon.com: Poker Strategy Books

Poker Strategy

• The following documents some of the basic tenants of poker strategy:

Fundamental Theorem of Poker

• Attributed to poker ace David Sklansky, the fundamental theorem of poker states that every time you play your hand the way you would if you could see your opponent's cards, you gain. Every time your opponent plays his or her cards differently from the way he or she would play them if he or she could see your cards, you gain. This theorem forms the basis of many poker strategies. You are using deception to induce your opponents to play differently than they would if they could see your cards.

Common Poker Strategies

1. Bluffing: To bluff is to bet or raise a bet with an inferior hand. You are trying to get other players to believe you have the dominant hand so they will fold.
2. Loose vs. Tight Play: Loose players play more hands including weaker ones. Tight players are conservative and will not continue with weaker hands. Bluffs are less effective on loose players because they are less likely to fold.
3. Aggressive vs. Passive Play: Aggressive playing refers to betting and raising. Passive play involves checking and calling. Aggressive play is more effective when attempting to bluff.
4. Folding: If you have a weak hand, fold. Television makes it look as though every hand is played. It isn't. You also shouldn't count on new cards to give you the winning hand. Play the cards you're dealt.
5. Reading a Tell: Reading a tell involves making a guess about the possible cards in an opponent's hand based on a detectable change in his or her behavior or demeanor. Do not stake money on your ability to read tells. Unless you are an especially insightful psych major or a character in a David Mamet play, leave reading tells to the pros.

Common Tells

1. A bluffing player may throw his or her chips into the pot forcefully, looking directly at the player he or she hopes to discourage from calling.
2. A player's excitement over a strong hand can activate his or her adrenaline gland causing his or her hands to shake, face to flush and pulse to race.
3. Disinterest or casual conversation may mean that the player is trying to disguise a strong hand. In contrast, a loud, aggressive demeanor may be disguising a strong hand.
4. A player with a strong hand may subconsciously keep his or her hand over his cards and look back at them frequently.

Calculating Pot Odds

• If you are missing a card to complete a hand, you can calculate the likelihood of your drawing the card you need and thus determine whether you should bet, call or fold. To calculate the pot odds, you'll need to know:

1. Your Outs: The cards you need to complete your hand. Let's say you're one card away from a straight (5-6-7-8). You could finish your hand with a 4 or a 9. There are four 4s in a deck and four 9s. You have 8 possible outs.
2. Remaining Cards: The cards you haven't seen. In stub games, subtract the number of cards in your and everyone else's hand from 52. In draw games, subtract the total number of cards you have and those you have discarded from 52. In community games, subtract the total number of cards in your hand and the total number of community cards on the table from 52.
3. Bet Formula: The maximum amount you should bet is determined by calculating the percentage of your outs to remaining cards, multiplying that percentage to the pot plus the amount you need to bet to stay in the game.

Pot Odds Example

• You're playing five-card draw. The pot is $60. You're facing a $10 call to stay in the game. Your hand is one card away from a straight (5, 6, 7, 8, K). Should you call in the hopes of being able to turn the K into a 4 or 9?

1. Calculate Your Outs: Four 4s or Four 9s could complete your hand. You, therefore, have 8 outs.
2. Calculate the Remaining Cards: There are only 5 cards you know the value for out of 52. There are 47 remaining cards.
3. Calculate the Percentage of Outs to Remaining Cards: 8 is approximately 17% of 47.
4. Calculate the Bet: Multiple 17% by the total pot ($60) plus the minimum bet ($10). The total ($11.19) is the maximum amount you should call for this round.