learning the game #1

Playing Small Pairs in No Limit Hold’em

Playing Small Pairs Before the Flop in No Limit Hold’em Poker

The ability to play small pocket pairs effectively is an important skill for any serious poker player. While these hands may appear simple, they can be deceptively complex, especially in a no limit hold’em game, where stack sizes and bet sizing significantly influence decision-making.

We define small pocket pairs as any pair from 2s through 6s. These hands have strong implied odds but require the right conditions to be profitable. Unlike limit formats, a no limit hold’em game introduces additional variables such as stack depth, opponent tendencies, and pot-building strategy.

Before making any decision, it is essential to evaluate the full table dynamic. Position remains critical, but stack sizes are equally important. If you and your opponents have deep stacks, small pairs gain value because of the potential to win large pots when you hit a set. Conversely, short stacks reduce profitability, as there is less opportunity to extract value.

Consider a common scenario: you are in a no limit game where the big blind is $3 and the maximum buy in is $200. Everyone at the table has roughly a full buy in including you. You are on the button and look down at pocket 3’s. Three people limp into the pot for $3 and the action is now on you. What is your play? Clearly you’re never folding in this spot; you have a hand that has the potential to bust another player with the right board. This leaves you two options: call or raise.

Raising pre-flop increases the pot size early, which can significantly impact the total value of the hand if you connect with the board. Larger pots allow for larger bets on later streets, maximizing potential winnings. However, raising also introduces risk, particularly the possibility of forcing opponents out of the hand.

This creates an important strategic balance. While narrowing the field can improve your chances of winning the pot outright, it can also reduce the likelihood of being paid off when you hit a set. With small pocket pairs, your primary goal is often not just to win the pot but to win a large pot.

A more refined approach is to build the pot while keeping multiple opponents involved. In many lower-stakes games, a smaller raise can achieve this balance. It increases the pot size without discouraging action, allowing you to capitalize if you connect with the flop.

Another advantage of playing in position is the ability to control the hand post-flop. If the action checks to you, you can choose to check back and take a free card, preserving your stack while still having the opportunity to improve. This flexibility is a key component of profitable play in a no limit hold em game.

Stack sizes remain a critical factor. If opponents have limited chips, the value of your hand decreases because there is less money to win. Similarly, if you are short-stacked, small pocket pairs lose much of their strategic value. In these situations, folding pre-flop is often the most disciplined and profitable decision.

Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Success comes from understanding the situation, recognizing how variables interact, and making informed decisions based on position, stack depth, and opponent behavior.

At California Grand Casino, players can refine these strategies in a live setting and gain experience in real-game conditions. By approaching hands like small pocket pairs with discipline and awareness, you can improve your long-term results and make more confident decisions at the table.

Player Tips #2

Seat Selection in Poker

Seat selection in Poker – Why move?

One of the most important yet often overlooked elements of a successful poker strategy is poker seat selection. Whether you are a seasoned player or just getting started, where you sit at the table can have a meaningful impact on your long-term results.

At California Grand Casino, when you first join a game, you are typically assigned the next available seat. However, as players leave and new seats open, you are presented with an opportunity to improve your position. The key question becomes: should you stay put, or take advantage of a better seat?

From a poker game theory perspective, position is one of the most valuable advantages you can have. Acting later in a hand allows you to make more informed decisions based on your opponents’ actions. Because of this, many players aim to position aggressive or less experienced players on their right, giving them the ability to act after them and control the pace of the hand.

A commonly shared approach to poker seat selection is to “get the action on your right.” This strategy allows you to isolate certain players and play more pots in position. While this remains a strong and widely accepted concept, there is another strategic approach that experienced players often consider.

A more advanced idea is to prioritize acting last as often as possible. While the dealer button naturally provides the best position, selecting a seat with tighter, more conservative players on your left can effectively extend your positional advantage. When those players fold frequently, you are able to act last more often, even when you are not technically on the button.

For example, if you are seated a few positions away from the button and the players between you and the button tend to fold, you may find yourself consistently acting last in key situations. This creates opportunities to control pot size, apply pressure, and make more informed decisions throughout the hand.

Incorporating this concept into your overall poker game theory approach can help you gain a subtle but meaningful edge over time. Seat selection is not just about chasing action, it is about maximizing your positional advantage and adapting to the tendencies of the players around you.

The next time a seat opens up, take a moment to evaluate the table. Ask yourself: will this new position improve my ability to act later in hands? Are the players to my left tight or aggressive? Small adjustments like these can have a lasting impact on your results.

At California Grand Casino, every detail matters when it comes to improving your game. By refining your poker seat selection strategy and understanding positional dynamics, you can elevate your play and make more confident decisions at the table.

learning the game #1

Poker Lore: The Meaning Behind “The Nuts”

In poker, few phrases carry as much weight as “the nuts.” Seasoned players know it instantly refers to the best possible hand at any given moment, one that cannot be beaten regardless of what cards remain to come. But where did this iconic term originate, and why has it endured as part of poker’s rich vocabulary?

The phrase “the nuts” is widely believed to trace its roots back to the Old West, a time when poker games were played in saloons, on riverboats, and around campfires. During this era, chips and cash were not always the only items wagered. Players often bet personal possessions of real value, including horses, tools, and wagons. When a player wagered their wagon, the most critical part of that bet was the metal nuts and bolts holding the wheels in place. Losing those meant the wagon could not roll away, leaving the unlucky bettor stranded.

Because of this, a player would only risk those wagon nuts when holding the strongest possible hand. Anything less simply was not worth the gamble. Over time, “the nuts” became synonymous with absolute confidence, a hand so strong that going all-in was the only logical move.

You may also hear the phrase “stone-cold nuts,” which emphasizes complete certainty. In the days before modern transportation, losing your wagon on a cold winter night was more than inconvenient, it could be dangerous. That risk reinforced a key poker lesson still relevant today: never overcommit with the second-best hand.

Poker lore like this is part of what makes the game so compelling. Every hand carries history, strategy, and the thrill of decision-making. At California Grand Casino, players can experience that excitement firsthand at our live table games. Whether you are chasing the nuts or sharpening your skills, our welcoming atmosphere and professional dealers create the perfect setting for memorable poker action.

Visit California Grand Casino today and put your knowledge of poker history to the test. Take a seat, place your bets, and see if you have what it takes to play the game the way it was meant to be played.

““

Player Tips #2

Poker Tournament Tips

The holidays are a wonderful time for friends and family to gather and enjoy the activities they love. For many poker players, the extra free time makes this season ideal for trying out tournaments. Some players may already be familiar with no-limit hold’em tournaments, but for those who are new to them, California Grand Casino offers essential guidance and poker tournament tips to help players understand the basics and elevate their skills.

In a typical no-limit tournament, everyone pays a fixed buy-in amount and receives the same number of tournament chips. The blinds increase at regular intervals, driving the action and requiring players to accumulate chips or risk being blinded down. Play continues until one person holds all of the chips, with payouts structured according to finishing position.

Navigating a tournament field is challenging. A single mistake or unlucky runout can eliminate a player instantly. Understanding this core difference between tournaments and cash games is crucial because once a player loses their chips, their tournament is over. Keeping that in mind allows players to make better decisions and apply foundational poker strategy tips throughout the event.

Avoiding unnecessary risks is one of the most valuable tournament principles. Chasing draws or playing marginal hands can cost valuable chips that could be preserved for stronger opportunities. Chips already in a player’s stack are often more valuable than the potential chips gained when gambling with speculative holdings. Marginal hands also lead to difficult post-flop situations, especially in tournaments where chip stacks are often limited. This conservative approach is an important element of improving your poker game.

A second critical concept is learning how to use aggression strategically. Skilled tournament players recognize that many opponents are fearful of going bust, especially as blinds rise or when nearing a payout jump. By applying pressure, players can force opponents into difficult decisions and win pots without needing a made hand. The example below illustrates how aggression can completely shift the outcome of a hand.

The blinds are at 20-40 and everyone at the table has roughly 750 in chips including you. You are in the big blind and are dealt 9h 8h. The play folds around to the button who raises to 100. The small blind folds and you call. There is 220 in the pot you and your opponent have about 650 in chips and the flop comes Kc 7h 6d. You check and your opponent bets 140. What should you do? If you decide to be passive and call the pot will swell to 500 you will have 510 left and you will be looking at a turn card out of position. If you miss your card on the turn you either have to bluff and lead with a bet into your opponent risking that he has a hand and is likely to eliminate you or you can check to your opponent who is likely to bet an amount that is close to your entire stack. You will be forced to fold or put your tournament life on the line with one card to come. You have just lost one third of your stack chasing a draw and you only got one card more! You didn’t even get to see the river before committing your chips!

Now consider playing this hand differently. Your opponent bets 140 on the flop and you raise him or her to 340. Your opponent now faces calling an additional 200 but he or she also knows that if they make the call they will likely have to call your remaining 310 putting them all in on the turn. With your small raise of 200 you have turned the tables on them and made them make a decision for their tournament life. Think of all the hands your opponent might raise with that would fold in this situation. Any pocket pair that isn’t aces and didn’t flop a set is in a very tough situation and would likely fold. AQ AJ AT Ax and any other raising hand that doesn’t contain a K is likely to fold as well. On the off chance they have top pair with a K they will still have to hold up against your open ended straight draw. More often than not they will fold and you will take down a nice pot without a showdown or a made hand. Occasionally they will call or go all in and you will still have a decent chance to win a bigger pot. It is a great situation to try and accumulate chips that will help you reach the final table. This example demonstrates how players can apply poker tournament tips to pressure opponents and build a stronger stack.

No-limit hold’em tournaments offer a different experience than cash games. They limit the potential loss per event while giving players the chance to earn a sizable payout. Understanding the differences between the two formats provides an important edge and helps guide better decisions at the table. Avoiding unnecessary risks, not chasing weak draws, and leveraging smart aggression are all essential strategies for improving your poker game.

learning the game #1

Playing Small Pairs in LHE

Playing Small Pairs Before the Flop in Limit Hold’em Poker

Small pairs can be very tricky hands to play. In Limit Hold Em Poker, a case can be made for all of your pre-flop options calling raising and folding. As with most things in Texas Hold Em games, there is no right answer but understanding the specific situation you are in and the players at your table can help you make the right choice more often than not. This is especially true when you’re working with a small pocket pair, which behaves differently in limit versus no-limit formats.

For this article we are going to define small pairs as any pocket pair from 2’s through 6’s. When you look down at your hand and see a small pocket pair you need to ask yourself some questions to decide how to proceed. The first question I would ask myself is “What game am I playing and how is the game being played?” By that I mean am I sitting in a higher limit 15-30 game where the players tend to be more aggressive or am I in a 3-6 game with more passive opponents? Is the table full of action and large multi-way pots or is the game playing tight with only 2-4 people seeing every flop? In situations where the game is more tight and/or aggressive I would lean more towards either folding or raising/re-raising. Why?

A lot of this depends on your position as well. If the action has folded to you and you are on the button with pocket fives I think a raise is clearly in order. If only one person has entered the pot for a raise and you know that player as a blind stealer or someone that raises with many hands then consider putting in a re-raise. If you have those same pocket fives and are under the gun (first to act after the big blind also known as UTG) then I would advocate simply folding the hand and waiting for a better spot to get my money in the pot. Let’s look a bit closer as to why this may be advantageous for you.

In the first situation on the button raising puts pressure on the blinds. They may fold and let you take down the pot right there or they may call with a less than strong hand. Once the flop hits if they check to you and you bet you will likely win if they miss the flop regardless of whether or not you hit your pair. They will also often lay down their hand if an ace or king hits the flop as they will give you credit for having high cards.

In the second situation re-raising a loose player gives you a great deal of information and creates a lot of advantages for you as well. Everyone acting after your re-raise will be much less likely to enter the pot without a very strong holding (although be aware of the players in your game to ensure that this is the case). You will drive out medium strength hands that are a danger to your small pair like KQ, JT and weak aces (Ax) making it much more likely that you end up with the best hand. Your opponent will also give you credit for a strong hand unless they have seen otherwise from you and will likely fold if they miss the flop. You are in a great position to follow through with your aggression through the hand and win the pot. If you’re lucky you’ll flop a set your opponent will hit the flop and your hand will be well disguised.

In the third situation you might be thinking “Why would I just fold a pocket pair? I could hit a set and win a big pot!” While this may be the case the numbers just don’t justify it. First and foremost your position is terrible. You are first to act and there are many players after you who could end up having a big hand. The more players behind you the more likely this is the case. You also don’t know if someone will raise behind you doubling how much it costs to see the flop. Secondly many people could enter the pot meaning any flop that comes is most likely going to make someone a pair bigger than yours. Your only hope is to hit a set and even then there’s no guarantee that it will hold up. You flop a set with a pocket pair roughly once out of every 7.5 times. This essentially means that when the only realistic way of winning the hand is by going to showdown and having the best hand you need roughly 7.5 to 1 odds on your money to justify playing and show a profit. Sure you can win more on future bets in the hand and that is something to be considered but remember that you will not win every time you flop a set as well. I’m sure we can all remember countless times where we flopped sets and lost to straights flushes etc.

Clearly there is no “right” way to play small pocket pairs since every table and situation is different. Understanding what factors to look for and consider when making your decision on how to play your small pocket pair is critical to your success and becoming a better player. If you’re just looking to enjoy the action and the game is wild by all means call with that small pair in early position and hopefully take down that monster pot! If you’re looking to improve your play plug some leaks and become more of a winning player then folding these small pairs in early position is something you can do to lower your variance and improve your bottom line. Until next time good luck at the tables!

casino chips

Cardroom Safety and Coronavirus

THE PLAYER EXPERIENCE WHEN CARDROOMS REOPEN

On June 5, California’s Governor issued State guidelines for the re-opening of california cardrooms. The guidelines address sanitizing, hand washing, distancing or alternative measures such as plexiglass barriers, the wearing of masks, and other safety procedures. Before re-opening, cardrooms will need to be in a County that has met State readiness requirements, need to develop written safety plans, and coordinate their opening with local public health orders.

Under the guidelines and local public health orders, what will the experience be like for our customers?

At least at the beginning, customers will have temperature checks and wear masks. The cardroom games also may look different. There may be plexiglass barriers, and movement around the cardroom may be subject to marked lanes. It may be difficult to operate short-handed poker games with only a few players per table, so poker games may not open immediately. Some games may be dealt face up so players don’t have to touch their cards. And don’t be surprised if the game mix changes and there are new games to try that are easier to operate under the new procedures.

Of course any procedures will be subject to public health orders and guidance, which may change over time. But hopefully our customers will understand and become accustomed to the new procedures, as well as exploring new games.

The new health and safety protocols may initially include:

  • Temperature checks
  • Using masks
  • Hand washing and sanitizing
  • New cleaning procedures before a customer takes a chair
  • Removing chairs or using plexiglass partitions between seats
  • New air systems that kill many germs
  • Health checks on employees
  • New procedures for signing up, waiting for a seat or using the cage
  • Food service changes
California Grand Casino poker table showing a winning hand of Ace and King with chips and community cards during a Texas Hold'em game

Preflop Play in Omaha 8 or Better Part 2

Best Omaha Preflop Hands

In part 1 we discussed different types of A2 hands, and what qualities we look at when comparing them.


In this part we will look at some other types of hands, and consider when and how they might be played.

Wheel Aces with High Potential

These are the bread and butter hands of Omaha 8 or Better. Hands with an A that can make a wheel for the low, while also having cards with some high potential. Hands like:
AKT4 AQJ3 AJ46


A key concept with hands like these is that they will often play better with fewer players in the pot. As we discussed in part 1 the ability to make the nuts with a hand shoots dramatically up in importance as the pot goes multiway.


Hands in this category are excellent hands to play in pots with 2-3 total players. 

High Hands

High hands, or hands that cannot make a low, are dangerous hands in Omaha 8.  They will very rarely see a “clean’ flop where they know they will never have to split the pot with a low, and also rarely flop a hand so good that they can never be beat for high.


That’s why it’s important to only play the very best hands in this category, and be selective about when to play them.


Consider a hand like QsQcTs9h.  In Omaha Hi this hand is a premium, hovering around the 5% rank.  But in Omaha 8 or Better this hand is closer to the 35% mark, and it’s easy to see why.  Let’s look at some flops:


Jh8h5s:  This is one of the better flops for QQT9 where we flop an overpair an open ended straight draw, but against a reasonable 20% range of hands we are not even a favorite with only 43.5% equity.


K54:  On common board types like this with a possible low and overcard our hand has only 30% equity and cannot continue.


J98:  A slam-dunk board for us, and we still only have 75% equity against a reasonable range of 20% of hands.


We can actually graph how often our hand will be a favorite on the flop:

When evaluating high-only hands it’s important to remember a few points:

  1. They don’t do well in two player pots
  2. They don’t do well when your high cards will rarely draw to the nuts (IE AKQJ is much better than QJT9)
  3. They don’t want to pay a high-price preflop because they will frequently have to fold on the flop

Low Cards Without an A

Hands like: 2345 2456 3568


These hands fit into a category that is similar conceptually to high hands. They will rarely hit a flop in a very strong way, and will often have to fold immediately on the flop. They perform poorly in two player pots. 


Just like with high hands it’s important to be very selective with which of these we play, and when we play them.


We want to make sure we plays hands that can hit flops hard, and that we are in position to maximize when we do. This means only playing the lowest, most connected versions of these hands. Hands like 5678 are complete trash and should always be folded. And it also means only playing these cheaply before the flop in hands that are most likely to go multi-way.

 

Bay Area poker players love the California Grand Casino. We have the best poker and the liveliest action in all of Northern California. For seven years in a row, the California Grand has been voted “Best Casino in the East Bay” and “Best local Gaming in the East Bay” by the readers of the Bay Area News Group, which includes the San Jose Mercury News, the East Bay Times, the Marin Independent Journal and bayarea.com.  That is why they call it Hot Action Poker.™

Our Bay Area casino is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with fast paced Hold’Em and casino game action. We focus on what everyone wants: great games and service. Our staff is friendly and experienced, and as a result our poker games here are considered by many to be the best and with the most action in the Bay Area.

 

 

California Grand Casino poker table showing a winning hand of Ace and King with chips and community cards during a Texas Hold'em game

PreFlop Play in Omaha 8 or Better Part 1

Omaha Preflop Strategy

Omaha 8 or Better (frequently written shorthand as O8) is a Hi-Low split the pot version of Omaha poker played fixed-limit, meaning you can only bet in fixed increments.  The low hand must be five cards of 8 or less, including Aces.


As with most poker games, preflop decision making is a very important part of winning Omaha 8 strategy. Generally, you want to play hands that can scoop, that is capture both the high and low best hands. You certainly want to play hands that can win the high, because in some hands there are not five cards for the low (8 or less). So it often does not make sense to play for the low, especially since low hands are more likely to tie, meaning even if you win the low you may get only 25% of the pot if someone has the same low hand.


Players used to Texas Hold’em might be surprised to learn that there are no “preflop charts” for Omaha 8. This is because Hold’em has 1,326 starting hand combinations whereas Omaha has 270,725 starting hands.  It’s impossible to give a concise and accurate description of what hands to play from each position for Omaha 8.  This makes Omaha 8 a very dynamic and interesting game with no concrete guidelines available each pre-flop situation can be truly unique and is an opportunity to apply your problem-solving skills to determine the best course of action.  


Unlike most poker games you will find top players who disagree about what the best hands are preflop, and how they should be played.  You’ll even find players who have been playing the game for many years who do not have a good grasp of what a “good” hand even looks like.  

To give you an idea of what I mean let’s consider a few similar looking Omaha 8 hands:

Hand 1:  As 2s 3c Kc

Hand 2:  As 2s Qs Jc

Hand 3:  As 2c 8c 9c


All of these hands are superficially quite similar.  They all contain (A2) which is the 2-card combination most likely to make the nut low.  However they vary dramatically in quality.


Hand 1 is a super-premium, top 1% hand.  It’s double suited to both high cards, contains (A23) which is an extremely powerful low-draw, and (AK) which is a powerful high hand.  It’s such a good hand that not raising with it, even when facing a raise, will almost always be a mistake.  It’s a significant favorite over even a tight player only playing 10% of their hands.


Hand 2 is also a premium hand, but it doesn’t have the super-premium status of Hand 1.  We see that the hand is no longer double-suited, but single suited.  It also has an extra spade, which hurts its value somewhat.  However, significantly, it’s still suited to the Ace, and it still contains strong high-card potential.  This is a strong hand that should be usually played for a raise, however unlike Hand 1 it is not an equity favorite over a tight player’s opening range.  


Hand 3 is one of the worst (A2) hands.  (A2) is strong enough in Omaha 8 that even the worst (A2) hands will be playable in most situations, but this hand is far from a favorite over a tight opener’s range.  Unlike Hand 1 and Hand 2, this hand has limited high potential.  Our 9-high flush draw will always be in danger of domination, and neither the 8 nor the 9 make particularly powerful pairs. When we pair our A we are likely to be out-kicked.  


In Part 2 we will look at other types of Omaha 8 hands, and how to evaluate them. Then finally, in Part 3 we will look at how the specific qualities of our hand can affect preflop decisions in non-obvious ways.

Bay Area poker players love the California Grand Casino. We have the best poker and the liveliest action in all of Northern California. For seven years in a row, the California Grand has been voted “Best Casino in the East Bay” and “Best local Gaming in the East Bay” by the readers of the Bay Area News Group, which includes the San Jose Mercury News, the East Bay Times, the Marin Independent Journal and bayarea.com.  That is why they call it Hot Action Poker.™

Our Bay Area casino is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with fast paced Hold’Em and casino game action. We focus on what everyone wants: great games and service. Our staff is friendly and experienced, and as a result our poker games here are considered by many to be the best and with the most action in the Bay Area.

Poker table with cards at the California grand casino in east bay

WHAT IS HOT ACTION BLACKJACK?

The old gambling saloons of the Barbary Coast played a French game called “Vingt Et Un” or “21” which gave every advantage to the dealer.   The dealer could require the players to double their wagers after  the dealer saw his or her first card.  The dealer could decide whether to stand, hit or split after seeing how each player hand was completed.  The dealer could even collect quadruple payouts from the players if the dealer had a 21.  The dealer won all ties, which added to the dealer edge.  The players could not double down.   All the strategy decisions belonged to the dealer.  Understandably, the French game proved unpopular.

Casinos later developed the American game “Blackjack,” where the dealer had no discretion and the players could make the strategy decisions including, hitting, doubling down and splitting after seeing the dealer’s first card.  There are now hundreds of variations of Blackjack with different rule sets and odds played all over the world.

At the California Grand Casino, we offer the newer and more player-friendly “Hot Action Blackjack:” blackjack with better action and better odds than Vegas.  We add Jokers to the deck for more winning hands and more payouts for players.  The Jokers count as 12 or 2.  Players win more easily when Jokers appear, and players don’t bust at 22 if the dealer also has a 22.  

  • Players win 4 times their wager if their first two cards are Jokers.  (“Natural 24”)
  • Players win 2 times their wager if their first two cards are suited Aces.  (“Natural 22”)
  • If the Player and the Dealer both have a Natural 24 or Natural 22, the Player still wins.
  • Players are paid 6:5 for any Blackjack unless the Dealer also has Blackjack.
  • A Player 22 is not a bust if the Dealer also has a 22.

We also offer the Buster Blackjack Bonus Bet, which allows you to wager on the Dealer going bust.   You can win up to 200 times your bonus wager.  And with the added Jokers, there is more opportunity for dealer busts that pay more.

Unlike Nevada Casinos or Indian Casinos, at the California Grand Casino you also can wager on the dealer hand against all the other players.  The Las Vegas Casinos and Indian Casinos would never let you do that. At the California Grand Casino, there are more ways to Play and Win.

Girl with two cards at the California grand casino in east bay

TEXAS HOLD ‘EM POKER TELLS PART TWO: POST-FLOP

Now that you have seen the other players look at their starting hands, the flop is your next opportunity for information.  As tempted as you might be to watch the dealer put out the cards for the flop, turn and river, it can be far more profitable to watch the other players watch the dealer put out the cards, especially the pre-flop raiser and any players who act after you. 

You are looking for some of the same poker tells we talked about in our first article about Pre-flop poker tells, but now your initial focus is on the other players’ reaction to the board. Do they stare at the board trying to make sense of it or do they look at the flop quickly and then look away because they connected (just as pre-flop a player with a good hand will look at their hand quickly then put it down)? Are they touching their chips? Are they shaking their heads or did they talk because they just can’t get any luck or help? Are they relaxed or tight when and after they bet? Are any of the players acting differently than normal?

Think about how long they take to act.  In no limit Texas Hold ‘Em, a value bettor on the river may take more time determining whether to bet and how much.  A bluffer may act faster.  While pausing may be a sign of a value bet, someone who checks slowly at any point may want you to think they have a stronger hand than they do and needed more time to decide.  However, in limit Texas Hold ‘Em poker many players find less reason to be deceptive and these indicators can change.  A quick bet may be stronger.  A quick call may indicate a drawing hand or a weak kicker.

Also pay attention to how your opponents place their poker chips in the pot when betting and calling.  Do they count out the chips deliberately?  Do they drop a pile out haphazardly, or place them down carefully.  How much force do they use to put the chips down?  For some players excess force when betting can indicate a bluff.  Regardless, you are looking for a relationship between how they act and what hands they show.

Lastly, remember to consider the players who have already folded their cards.  If two 5s come on the flop and a player who folded pre-flop grunts or makes a face, they may have folded one of the remaining 5s.  You can use this tell to narrow your opponent’s range. 

For example, suppose in a no-limit game, you open the betting from late position with a pair of 8s.  The small blind, a loose player who checks and calls, is the only caller.  The flop comes 6-6-9.  The small blind checks, you bet a little more than half the pot, and he calls. The turn is a 9 and you see another player who already folded make a face and turn away.  You suspect that player folded  a 9.  The small blind checks and you check back.  The river is an 8.  The small blind checks, you bet and the small blind immediately shoves all in for 5 times the size of the pot. 

Well, the small blind clearly has a hand.  He usually folds on the river when he misses, but here he quickly shoved.  If he thought you were bluffing or he had only a straight, he may have paused longer before he folded or called. 

So with this board there are a few possible strong hands: quad 9s, quad 6s, and full houses: 9s over 6s, 9s over 8s, 8s over 6s, 6s over 9s or 6s over 8s.  You have the fifth best of these hands.  Your first thought might be that you are in danger, but then you start running through his possible hands.  You are pretty sure another player folded a 9, so that rules out quad 9s.  That also means that the chances of 9s over 8s or 6s is less since there is only one 9 not accounted for.  So even though there are four hands that beat you, the odds of the small blind having a six is higher than the odds of him having two 6s or one 9.  You put this information together with your read of the small blind’s play , then you call.  The small blind turns over a K 6 suited. 

Don’t forget to watch the other players, even the ones who already folded.  Players who have already folded generally aren’t trying to hide anything, and you may get a good read on what they folded which will help you narrow your opponent’s range.  When you are playing Hold ‘Em every bit of information can help.  The California Grand Casino is a great place to improve your poker play and win in the Bay Area.