Ruff Poker Blog
Learn Train Dominate Poker

As you become more experienced in poker you will learn one important concept: Not all advantages are the same. A little talked about concept in poker is risk to reward, but it will play a vital role in your poker career.
Read any poker book or article and it will tell you, that you need to [...]

Most Limit Hold’ Em books place starting hands into ‘categories’ that are to be played from different positions or situations [category 1, 2, and so on]. This method of separating hands into groups is not without its problems though: The most glaring problem is that a certain hand may be stronger than another in a [...]

Poker is at its core entirely a game of math; every scenario and decision in the game of poker comes to odds and probability. What are the chances my bluff will succeed compared to the amount I will win? What are the odds my opponent that moved all-in has a better hand than my AQ? [...]

One of the most profound bits of poker advice I have ever read was written by Bill Chen in a forum post on the now defunct rec.gambling.poker. In his post Chen explains your edge in poker by using the coin flip example: Basically, Chen explains that a good player is essentially flipping a coin every [...]

Let me begin by saying that I was once one of these uninformed people -I guess ignorant is a better way to put it-but as soon as I read my first strategy article the light went on for me, and I started to ‘get’ it. Perhaps that is why I am so perplexed at the [...]

Low hands can make a high hand; high hands cannot make a low
This is a very key concept in any high/low game. When you start with a good high hand, such as (KQ)K you have no chance to make a low hand: However, when you start with a good low hand, such as (A4)5 you [...]

The following line –coined by noted poker author Lou Krieger– is a microcosm of how to be successful in poker. The axiom goes as follows:”Most of the money you’ll win at poker comes not from the brilliance of your own play, but from the ineptitude of your opponents.” And it’s extremely important you understand precisely [...]

Poker specific tells deal with the information you can glean only at a poker table. Without the chips and the cards, you wouldn’t be privy to these tells. A few examples of poker related tells are:

Perhaps the trickiest of the ‘tell’ categories for players to make use of is reading, and interpreting, another player’s body language. The problem players have is that reading body language is more of an art than a science, and will prove a very difficult task for even the most skilled expert.
The best way for a [...]

Basic tells are things everyone can see, but very few people will be able to gain any solid information from. Not because they can’t interpret what these tells mean; most players simply choose to overlook them, or pay little credence to these telltale signs. An astute person can learn a lot about a player just [...]