In California, and possibly where you play, the casinos have a jackpot for poker players. Most casinos require that you have Aces Full or bettor and lose the hand to Four-Of-A-Kind or better. To make it harder to hit, both players must usually use both cards in their hand.

The rake in the casinos is so high that it has become prett customary for the blinds to just take back their bets when no one else enters the pot. This prevents the house from taking a 30% rake or higher.

Now a lot of players like to play and win the jackpot. When it comes down to only the two blinds in the pot, the two players usually look at one another and say “let’s chop, unless you have a jackpot hand then we’ll play.” One player will show something like 10-4 offsuit and say, “No I don’t, lets chop”.

I’ve seen this happen so many times as most players think, that to hit a jackpot, you need a pair in one hand and Ace with a big kicker in the other. While this may be the easiest way to hit a jackpot (remember, jackpots are VERY hard to hit no matter which way you hit it) it is not the only way.

There is only ONE hand in Hold ‘Em that CANNOT hit a jackpot! Read that sentence over. Only one, and that is 2-3 offsuit. Any two other cards CAN hit a jackpot and often do.

For example, you hold 10-clubs and 4-diamonds. Your opponent has 5-6 of spades. Is that a jackpot? You betcha! All you need on the board is 7s, 8s, 4s, 4h, 4c. One player makes a straight flush and the other four of a kind with a big kicker. BINGO!

Now remember, the odds of three 4’s coming on the board IS THE SAME as three Ace’s. The only hard part is getting the correct spades to make the other hand.

Now before I go, here’s another jackpot situation: 2-4 offsuit and 3-3. If the board comes 2-2-2-3-3, you have a jackpot! Four dueces and four threes.

So the next time you get 2-4, or 2-7, or even 3-9, don’t give up. You can still hit a jackpot.

There have been a lot of stories written about tells. Most I’ve read never seem to be true. Of course then, maybe I play with such a high caliber of poker pros who have read the books on tells that they know the tell and give it out for the opposite reason.

The following tells have always tipped me off as to when a player has a monster hand:

1> They shake their head no (or come out cussing, as if the card that came up hurt them), and then come out betting. Monster hand!

2> They say “Who’s it up to”, and then when it is their turn, they come out betting. Monster hand!

3> On online poker, a player who takes a long time to think about what to do, then comes out betting. Monster hand!

4> Or the player who bets, then picks up his hand (while you are thinking about whether to call) and holds it as if he is about to throw it away usually has a monster hand.

Those are just some of the tells I have found to be accurate.

One mistake I constantly see in most low limit Hold ‘Em game is when everyone has folded except for the player on the button. The mistake is to call in this position.

If everyone has folded except the blinds and you plan to come in, give it a raise! Chances are you will win it right there and if you do get one of the blinds to call, you can probably win the pot by betting after the flop, if it has been checked to you.

Also, if your hand isn’t decent enough to raise, then you probably shouldn’t even limp-in in the first place.