You have a casino night with the group each and every 30 days and you want to spice up the game room a bit. What can you do to achieve that? You can have a wonderful poker table. The table can possess a super slick cloth so the playing cards will ‘fly’ better. The chairs can be genuinely ‘comfy’ and adjustable for height. The cards can be plastic material and nearly unbreakable. What’s remaining? The poker chips.
target="_blank">Poker chips vary in both weight and composition. They range from the plastic chips you may have played with as a child, up to the 15-gram chips that are the sturdiest you can get. Naturally, the cost of the chips will vary with the weight of the chip and its material, plus the customization on the chips.
Yes, you heard correctly, the design on the chip. Today, with the W.S.O.P. and the W.P.T having become so popular on Television, poker has caught up with the times. In doing so, it is available to everyone everywhere. But along with the attractiveness, casino supply companies and discount casino gear warehouses have popped up all over the place to help the public satisfy their thirst for at home gaming.
So, if you are looking to upgrade your poker game with the guys, or you operate a poker night, chips can help make your game a ‘class act’. You can put your own name on the chips, the game rooms name, or any name you like. Along that line, there are many different designs on the chips and the best way to find out is to shop them and narrow down the one you really want. Then you have to choose what weight chips you want to use.
Usually the higher gram you choose, the better top quality poker chips you will get. Naturally, the 100% clay chips are the best, but they are also the most high priced. An all clay set of chips at the 15 gram weight would be the most costly. When you throw in personalization with your own logo or name, or both, and you can have a pretty expensive chip set.
Also the weight is where the ‘casino feeling’ comes from. Heavier chips feel more like you are actually playing in a casino. So the best thing to do now, is to go online and check them out. Just remember, the heavier the better, put a simple design on them for ease of reading, and get a case to keep them in. Google casino supply sites or low cost casino gear sites to locate which you want.
As you may have noticed or most likely lived through if you play poker is that no matter what you do, you will have a short stack at one point or another in your career. Maybe it is simply because you have lost a big hand. Anyways, an important tool in any professional’s arsenal is knowing how to play a short stack.
Most players will tell you that when you get a short stack, well then it is almost time to throw in the towel. However on the contrary to popular belief this is the time to play your best. Even though you are below average at this point you do have options!
A prime example of this is professional player Jack Strauss who came to win the WSOP Main Event after being down to just one single chip. This is where many believe the poker motto “Just a chip and a chair” came from. So like Jack, instead of giving up there are a few tips that you can use to take your game to the next level even when your 11.5 Gram Poker Chips have seemed to disappear.
Most importantly when you have a short stack is to wait for a decent hand. This is simply not the time to be chasing suited connectors. You are looking for hands that are likely premium before the flop and remain strong after the flop as well.
The next thing is to go All In! One of the most powerful weapons you can use while you have little to no poker chips is to bet them all. This lets everyone at the table know you are serious about your hand. Now if everyone folds, great since this should be your main goal. However is someone does call, this is where your decent hand should be strong enough to withstand a shaky board.
Another important fact is to be the first person to act at the pot. It is a lot scarier if you go all in first, than if someone raises and then you go all in. In fact this also increases their chances of calling since they might believe you are just making a move.
Most of all you want to avoid the big stacks at the poker table. These are the players that are more likely to call because your small amount of Clay Poker Chips just will not do much damage to their incredible amount of chips. Instead you want to target other short stacks, and average sized stacks. Other short stacks are looking to find a premium hand as well before they push so if they did not find one, which chances are they won’t they will instantly fold their cards. Average sized stacks as well have to be careful with their chips. The will think twice before calling your all in call, simply because they don’t want to lose themselves.
To make your game better, try to adjust your strategy to your chip stack. If you are just below average there is no reason to drastically change your style. On the other hand, if you only have one big blinds left, it is time to widen up your “premium hands” range. The last thing in a tournament that you want to do is ante yourself to death. When you become really low, just about any face card will do the trick.
So the next time you are on a short stack remember these tips. As well think about Jack Strauss, and who knows maybe you make a comeback.
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