Hole Cards
There’s nothing nicer when playing a game of poker than looking down at two aces. It’s a wonderful feeling, and at the same time as being giddy you need to ensure you are not giving information away to your opponents.
The question here is - how do you look at yours?
If you’re new to poker you may be giving away more information when you look at your hole cards than just a look of joy - you may be showing others what you’re actually holding!
Here are 3 tips on how to protect hole cards, and yourself, when playing poker:
1) Wait until it is your turn to act before you look at your cards.
If you do not know what you are holding until it is your turn to go, nobody can possibly get a read on you - they can’t adjust their actions based on your interest/disinterest in your own cards if you haven’t seen them yet - so just wait until the action comes to you before sneaking a glance.
2) Keep your cards on the table at all times.
Don’t lift the cards to your chest, lean back in your chair and sneak a peek at them. Never pull them under the table to your lap to have a look. If not everyone is paying attention they may act out of turn by looking to the felt in front of you, seeing no cards there, and assuming you’ve mucked. Also, if the cards disappear from view you may get accused of cheating.
Keep the cards flat on the table at all times and, when it’s you’re turn to look at them, cup the front left corner with your left hand, and peel up that same corner a little bit with your right hand. Lower your head, glance at the corners - which tells you which cards you are holding - and keep that posisiton for 5 seconds. Then let go of the cards and commence your action. If mucking, push your cards forward. If you’re wishing to play, keep the cards near you and cover them with a card protector (see below).
By repeating this patten you will be sure no-one else is seeing your hole cards, and you are giving away minimal information.
3) Protect your hand.
If someone is not very careful when they muck their cards, you may lose your hand….how? If your cards are unprotected and someone else’s cards touch them as they go to muck - your hand can be declared dead. Protect your hand by using a Card Protector which you place over your hole cards, indicated to the dealer and other players that you wish to play the hand, and also meaning that if someone else accidentally mucks their cards to yours, then there is very little chance of the cards being mixed up.
Many players have unique card protectors, be it a lucky charm, a lighter or a custom made card guard - it can be pretty much anything. If you don’t have one, just use one of the poker chips from your stack.
Keep these basic tips in mind and you’ll be fine at the tables.