Heather Gearan

As you play poker, ask yourself this one simple question -- Am I having fun? You are at the casino playing low-limit Texas Hold’em. You have been playing that game for many years. You have played in home games, but for the last 20 years you’ve played only at your local casinos, with occasional visits to Las Vegas. In the long run,...

In this article we will analyze a particular Texas Hold'em hand situation and then extrapolate from that to better understand how to "correct your outs". So let's say you're playing hold'em in a brick and mortar casino or perhaps online or on your mobile device via one of the Pennsylvania casino apps. After the flop...

In a previous column I discussed betting patterns and described many patterns that your opponents may be using. Knowing that and other supplementary information about your opponents, you will be better prepared to defend yourself. Our focus today is on low/middle-limit hold’em where the bet size is limited, as contrasted with no-limit and high-limit games. For the greatest advantage, combine all your information...

My book, The Art of Bluffing, focuses on poker skills for successful bluffing. I estimate that a skillful bluffer can expect his bluffs to succeed about 60 percent of the time. What’s more, a successful bluff will gain you many more chips than you would lose over time should your bluff be called. That ought to hold true both in live poker...

It was February 24, 2000, well over 20 years ago, when Poker Digest’s Mason Malmuth identified five skills as essential to achieving success in poker. I will list them in the same order as he did: 1\. Hand Selection 2\. Check- Raising 3\. Reading Hands 4\. Semi-Bluffing 5\. The Ability to Vary Your Game I would agree that all of these poker skills are...

The game of poker has a terminology all its own – some words adopted from our common language, some you have probably never heard of, some that are just plain interesting, and some that go way back in modern times. In many respects, that special lexicon is something that sets poker apart from other popular card games. To be sure, games like...

I must own over 100 poker books, some written by top poker celebrities. On occasion, I have been asked to name my favorite book. Which is the best poker book ever written? Which poker book ought you take on your next trip to a casino for some fun or interesting reading? After writing my third book, that thought garnered more than an occasional...

It’s no secret that I take notes while playing poker. Anyone can see me do it. All you need to take good notes is a small piece of paper, a pen, and some self-discipline. More tech-oriented folks might prefer a mobile app like Poker Notes Live. Some opponents have commented on my note-taking, occasionally in a derisive manner. I just smile and...

To a large extent, your opponents bet the same way over and over. Their betting pattern becomes a habit. Knowing your opponents’ betting patterns can be valuable information. Poker is a game of partial information. The more you get, the better your decisions, the more you win. That holds true whether you're playing at a brick and mortar establishment or online on...

In poker, when the pot odds (reward) are higher than the card odds against you (risk), you have a positive expectation that you will gain chips by playing that hand. The inviolate laws of probability favor you. If you play your hands with this in mind, in the long run, you are bound to go home a winner. This applies to the game...

Much like when you begin a session of online pokies in Australia, when playing Texas Hold’em poker, the goal is to win as much money (chips) as possible. There will be times when you catch a monster hand. Plan your action so that you squeeze out every possible chip from your opponents. Slow-playing and sandbagging are common trapping tactics to accomplish that...

Nicholas Goldberg, an erudite columnist on the staff of the Los Angeles Times, wrote these words: “We prosper not through luck or handouts but through hard work, gumption and discipline.” – Nicholas Goldberg, as per Elliot Fein; Los Angeles Times Editorials; June 27, 2021. It’s not hard to see how hard work, gumption, and discipline help us to enjoy happier, successful...

The mental game is a fundamental skill that poker players must work on. Not mastering the mental game can cost you a lot of money in a session or tournament, live or online....

Moving up in stakes is the ultimate goal for any professional poker player. Many professionals start by grinding online or live $1/$2 NLH until they have a bankroll to play full-time. The first jump for live no-limit (or PLO) professionals is usually from $1/$2 to $2/$5. From there, the goal is to gradually keep moving up in stakes until you are playing the...

Every poker player knows that prudent starting-hand selection is essential for winning. Next, one hopes their hand improves on the flop. After all, the best hand on the flop usually is favored to take the pot on the showdown. Or is it? The Power of the Raise Even modestly skilled players realize the power of the raise. A raise can help you take...

Lou Krieger’s Tip 42 in his classic book, 52 Great Poker Tips, encourages us to play more aggressively. However, I wonder if his example limits the potential value of the concept. Perhaps it would be wise to expand on Lou’s example to make it all the more valuable to players. Much depends on the situation. I agree with Lou that “aggressively...

Phil Ivey is a poker celebrity. Among his accomplishments, he has won over $30-million in tournaments, while earning 10 World Series of Poker bracelets. He has also won a number of other major poker tournaments, and he has done extremely well in high-stakes cash games, both online and live. Last year, Ivey was interviewed by Joe Ingram (a.k.a., Chicago Joey), a well-known podcaster...

GTO or Game Theory Optimal is a strategy in poker in which players use mathematical concepts to find the best possible outcome given the available information. If you ever hear someone talking about a solver, they are talking about GTO. GTO poker has become the prevailing strategy among professional poker players over the last decade and has been embraced in particular by the...

One of the most widely used words in our language is “time.” By way of example, here are some of the common ways and phrases it is used in daily life: ● Any time (whenever); ● At times (occasionally); ● For the time being (for the present); ● From time to time (once in a while); ● In time (sooner or later); ●...

So, you want to be a poker pro? I don’t blame you. It can seem like an enticing career path. No boss, no set schedule, no physical labor or pointless meetings, opportunities to travel, the list goes on and on. I spent the better part of a year in Los Angeles trying to live solely off poker income. As I soon learned,...