Poker News

Great Poker Hands

Doyle Brunson, the most recognized name in the game, has said, ?What separates winners from losers is not the cards the play, but the ones they throw away.? Sounds simple enough, but so does hang-gliding.

The first, most important decision in Texas Hold?em is whether or not to play the hand after looking at your first two hole-cards. The most common error the majority of poker players make is they play too many hands.

New ?strategy cards? marketed by GreatPokerHands.com may be the best aid to teaching players the relative value of every possible starting hand. Each strategy card contains a color-coded grid depicting all 169 possible two card starting hand combinations.

The credit-card sized cards show the number of times any two hole-cards would win if the player stayed to all the way to the river. Strong starting hands appear in red, good starting hands are in yellow, mediocre hands in green, dubious hands in blue and inferior or bad starting hands are shown in gray.

The Hold?em strategy cards were developed by Nick Berry, a Seattle-based rocket scientist. Mathematics and odds are especially important factors in playing Hold?em successfully. What?s more, the odds change depending on the number of players at the table. ?The number of players that stay in a hand, the higher is the average hand needed to win the pot,? Berry says.

For this reason, Berry developed a card and color grid of the relative value of all starting hands for a full table of ten players, as well as for 9 players, 8 players, etc., through heads-up. ?My cards improve your game by teaching you which hands are the better starting hands,? he explains.

Knowing the relative value of your two hole-cards gives you a perspective and confidence most players lack. That?s a big edge right from the start,? Berry points out, ?and that?s what my strategy cards teach you.?

Scientist Berry has worked for a major computer game producer for 12 years. He?s credited with a number of industry patents and inventions. When he discovered Hold?em a few years ago, Nick was struck by just how critical to success is the player?s first decision — whether or not to play the hole cards you?ve been dealt. Millions of simulations later, he had the basis for his strategy cards.

A set of Hold?em strategy cards is $20, or $25 for two packs (a great gift for your poker playing friends). ?If these cards keep you from entering just one pot, they?ve more than paid for themselves,? he points out. Berry markets his strategy cards online at: www.GreatPokerHands.com.

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