The Language of Poker Bets

The Language of Poker Bets.  Do You Speak This Language Fluently?  Are You Sure?

Being fluent in both reading and speaking the language of poker bets makes all the difference and true understanding comes from lots of practice, like most anything.

How do you feel when someone is speaking a language you don't know?  It feels a bit awkward, doesn't it?  Well, at the poker table, there's an "unspoken" language that's taking place constantly, and unless you're truly fluent in this language, you'll always be at a severe disadvantage.

It's like being in a group of people who are speaking a foreign language.  You feel at risk, you don't know what they're saying about you.  In poker it's even worse.  YOU are constantly speaking to THEM, and you may not even realize what you're saying!

When playing no limit Texas Holdem, you're faced with some important decisions. Arguably, the most important decision you'll make is how much to bet in a given set of circumstances; e.g., based upon hand strength, your position at the table, total number of players, their styles, chip position, etc.

Even more importantly, knowing the language of poker bets will help you understand better what the other players are saying to each other, and what you're saying with your actions.

The "Language" of Poker Bets

We humans are very perceptive creatures.  We are able to communicate in many different ways with one another.  By saying something, by saying nothing, by shrugging our shoulders, by winking, delaying, etc.  These are all forms of communicating. 

Do you realize that every time you place a poker bet on the table, you are communicating to the other players? 

This is one the main "secrets of betting" - understanding WHAT you are communicating with your bet, and understanding what the other players are communicating with their bets...by mastering this form of communications, you will find yourself becoming a truly formidable poker player. 

If you ignore this language of better or don't learn it well, you will lose - a lot.

When a player calls, it often just means they're limping around to see the next card.  They're often on a draw and just want to see the next card cheap, or they have absolutely no hand at all and are hoping to make a hand.  Of course, in rare instances they could be trapping you...

If you're in the hand, you can decide to make it too expensive to see that next card by raising smartly, usually two to three times the big blind, or a bet between 2/3 to a full pot-sized bet.  This kind of bet typically destroys everyone's pot odds, causing them to drop out if they're on a draw; that is, if they're experienced enough to be paying attention to the odds!

When a player bets, they're generally communicating that they like their hand and they want some action, so they're risking more chips in order to either take what's in the pot right then and there, or get more chips into the pot.

Since you've been watching this player closely (right?), you should have an idea how "honest" this player typically plays.  Aggressive players who play a lot of hands are generally considered "dishonest" and can't be trusted to communicate (bet) honestly. 

Tight/solid players are usually more honest, typically betting somewhat in accordance with their true hand. 

Learn to read these different players' betting signals and you'll be amazed at how much your game improves.  Learning to recognize when "something's up" - the player is not betting within their normal pattern, is something else to watch. 

For example, a tight player folds 10 hands in a row, then raises pre-flop with 8 players at the table from middle position.  What do you suppose they might going on here?  Well, it's likely this player has a strong starting hand (Jacks or better, maybe AK), given how tight they tend to play. 

Another example - a loose, aggressive player makes the same exact bet?  What's that mean?  Well, it's a lot tougher to tell, because this player's bets don't necessarily directly relate to their hand strength or opening card selection, as they play just about any two cards.

A big initial bet pre-flop by a solid player usually indicates a big pair (JJ or better) or a big starting hand (e.g., AK, AJs, KTs, etc.).  When you see a potential straight or flop appear on the board, and a player bets big (3 times the big blind or more), they're trying to tell you something!   (or they're representing the flop and trying to steal the pot)

They may have made their hand, so proceed carefully.  On the turn or river, a sudden huge bet or raise/re-raise is often a sign of a player making their hand, so pay attention if the board has paired (boat), or a flush/straight is possible.  Often times, a big bet on the turn will also indicate a player has made a set.

So, what are you communicating with your bets?  Are you even thinking about that? 

When you bet, you need to consider what "message" you want to send the other players, and make sure your intended message gets through, in order to control the action and the outcome.  Decide how "honest" or "dishonest" you want your betting signals to be...try mixing these signals up so the other players don't know what to expect from you.

On the other hand, if you've been playing tight/solid poker and have developed a tight table image, be aware of that and use it to your advantage.  There are two sides to playing tight.  1) playing only the better hands and avoiding engaging in riskier situations, and 2) leveraging your tight table image from time to time to bluff and steal effectively.

So, one more time - BETTING IS COMMUNICATING.  You need to learn this "language" and use it to your advantage.

Pot Odds and Expectation

One of the other fundamental things to learn and pay close attention to are "pot odds" and whether you have a positive "expectation" to win if you participate further by betting. You have a positive expectation whenever the odds favor you winning more than you're wagering at anything greater than 1 to 1 odds. For example, when flipping a coin, there is a 50/50 chance of it coming up either heads or tails. If you flip a coin enough times, both heads and tails will come up an equal number of times.

Casino games, such as craps, blackjack, slot machines, etc. all give the player a "negative" expectation and the casino a positive expectation. If you play these types of "gambling" games long enough, you will ultimately lose, since the game's odd structure is never in your favor - negative expectation.

People who experience "hot streaks" also have losing streaks (they just usually quickly forget about the losing and don't discuss it as much).

When you're making a wager, you'd always prefer to have a positive expectation. This is generally true in poker, but not necessarily always in no-limit poker.  Let's examine why...

Pot Odds are the odds the pot is giving you for making a bet. Let's say there is $50 in the pot and it'll take $10 more to call - you're getting 5-to-1 pot odds to call, since if you win you'll be paid $50 in exchange for risking only $10. For purposes of this decision, any amounts you previously placed into this pot are irrelevant, since they're already expended and gone (if you fold).

A poker odds calculator is a piece of add-on software that runs on your PC, monitoring your actual online play. A poker odds calculator computes the prospective hands you and your opponents are capable of drawing at any point in time. It then displays the odds you and the opponents have to draw certain kinds of hands, teaching you the odds of making each kind of hand.

These tools make it easy to see what's going on, and since a poker odds calculator displays the poker odds right there in front of you while you play online in the tournament, you'll begin to learn the odds, making it semi-automatic,so you don't even think about poker odds any more - you just know them after using the tool for a time. So, the first step is learning and internalizing "hand odds". Then, you can quickly calculate pot odds anytime you'd like.

Calculating pot odds requires you to pay close attention to the game, a key trait of good poker tournament players. Unlike playing online, where the total size of the pot is easy to determine (the online Texas Holdem poker program typically displays the pot amount right there on the screen for you), when you play in traditional offline casino poker tournaments or home games, you must keep track of the pot size and chip count yourself, so you can then quickly estimate pot odds and your best betting options.

Pot odds become especially interesting as the blinds and antes increase as a tournament progresses. Let's say there are still 10 players at your table (either initially or as you progress to another table in a multi-table tournament), and the tournament structure has you at $25 antes with $200/$400 blinds. That's a total of $850 that's sitting there in each and every pot before anyone even places their first bet!

So, before you even look at your hand, you know that the minimum bet is $400, so you'll need a good hand (with roughly 1 in 2 odds or better) in order to simply break even.

At this point, people will be angling to "steal the blinds" by placing a hefty bet, typically at least two times the big blind, or $800, in order to make the pot odds so unattractive that everyone just folds.

Therefore, the first player to act often makes off with the booty, since the pot odds become even less attractive and most everyone hasn't made a good enough hand to call. Of course, this can definitely backfire...

Let's say the first player to bet raises to $800 in an attempt to steal the blinds, making the total pot now $1,650. Let's say that a second player then calls with another $800, boosting this pot to $2,450. To get in on the action, you'd only need to call with $800, which means if you win the hand you're getting a slightly better than 3 to 1 on your money.

If it's the Flop and you are one card short of making a King-high flush, then your hand odds are roughly 1-in-3. This would be "even money" if you joined in on this basis alone; however, you're holding a King and there's a King on the board from the Flop, so you now have a better than 1 in 3 chance of winning - a positive expectation! You place your $800 bet, so now the pot sits at $3,250.

You should generally make this bet, since it will yield a good return and you have the high pair (Kings), plus a flush draw, thereby improving your odds even further. Let's say there was an Ace also showing, making your Kings second best pair.

In this case, it time to fold because you have a less than a 1 in 3 chance of winning this hand, and if you continued throwing money at this pot, you'll end up "pot-committed" and beaten by a pair of Aces (there's usually at least one player in 10 hanging in there with an Ace hole card).

So, let's say the last player to act goes "All-in" - after we've put our $800 in this pot. Now what? The first reaction should be - what kind of hand *could* this player actually hold? If the player is a relatively tight or solid player, chances are they've made a set or an Ace high flush.

It's always possible they're bluffing, but very unlikely if they're a good player, since there are already far too many people in this pot and it's likely they'd get called with a real hand when bluffing.

So, what's happened to our pot odds? Let's say they went all-in with $5,000, pushing this pot up to $8,250. If you called with $5,000, you're now only getting a 8.25 to 5 return, or roughly 1.65 to 1, which is unattractive under the circumstances, with highly negative expectation and so many players in this hand, further reducing your chances of winning.

Therefore, most everyone will likely just fold; unless they have a very strong hand plus a great draw (some outs).

There's clearly a lot more to poker betting strategy, including position like acting first vs. last. Generally speaking, though, if you're going to take a shot at that pot, and you're in a position to act first, there's a good chance everyone else will fold; however, you'd better think carefully about the pot odds the opponents will be getting after your bet is in there.

If your bet modifies the pot size such that it improves their pot odds (by limping in with just a small bet), you're actually encouraging the opponents to hang in there with you, since they still have a good, positive (and improving) expectation level.

If you bet enough, such as two to three times the size of the big blind, you'll be reducing their pot odds enough to swing into a negative expectation, so they'll be much more likely to fold. It's really important to think your specific bet amounts through and understand the pot odds implications of your betting.

Typing in specific bet amounts is another good idea, as it makes it harder for opponents to calculate their odds (which can come in handy sometimes).

When you make such a play at the pot, it's ideal to have some kind of hand, along with a good draw. If you find yourself short-stacked, then this may be as good as it gets. Bluffing will be covered more thoroughly in a later article, but at this point it'd be great to have at least a small pair, as well as a good straight or flush draw (since you'll also have the potential to make a set of trips, too).

In this situation, you have so many good outs that your small pair begins to look a lot stronger, and your hand odds acceptable enough to go on a semi-bluff  at this pot.  A "semi-bluff" is when you probably don't have the best hand, but you have at least one out that could give you the winning hand, making the semi-bluff a much better play than a plain bluff.

So, these are the basics of Texas Holdem poker tournament betting strategy that you should know and practice (the other good players do). Learning the "language of betting", and knowing your basic hand odds and being capable of quickly calculating pot odds are essential to making intelligent betting decisions under fire in poker tournaments, and regular ring game and limit play for that matter.

A good poker odds calculator will help you learn the hand odds faster, along with practicing calculating your pot odds.  The sooner you learn your hand odds and pot odds, the sooner you'll be making better decisions and getting the best of it more often.

Why so much time on betting and poker odds?  Because it's the basis for getting a good read on your opponents.  If you're up against a beginner, then you must realize it and that you're dealing with an unpredictable type. 

If you're up against an experienced player, who is playing the odds properly, then you can get a reasonable read based upon their position (starting hand requirements) and bet strengths. 

If you're up against a maniac who plays any two cards, you realize that a reading their bets is virtually impossible, as they often raise with any two cards.

Betting is a form of poker communications.  The more fluent you become in this language, along with interpreting it in concert with pot odds and hand odds, the more you'll be involved in the actual, unspoken conversation that's taking place at your table.