How to Post a Hand for Analysis

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Here are some simple, basic rules for posting in the Hand Analysis forums. Following these rules will help you get the maximum amount of engagement and advice in your threads.

1. Provide a descriptive title. For members of the forum, it's a lot easier to decide whether to read a thread if it's obvious what the thread is about.

Here are some descriptive titles:

"KQ hits 2-pair on Turn, villain shoves. My move?"
"QQ vs. Preflop Reraise"
"Second nut low, nut flush draw vs. crazy 3-way flop action"
"Fold AA on this coordinated board?"

Here are some useless titles:

"OMG what a donk"
"Should I have folded here?"
"Was this play okay?"

2. There are some simple fields in the form that you need to enter that indicate what the game format is. These are automatically set up as a prefix to your thread title (i.e., "25NL Hold'em: QQ vs Preflop Raise"), so there's no need to add the game format to your title.

3. Use our hand converter. Unconverted hand histories are much more difficult to read than converted hand histories. In addition, unconverted hands imply but don't state what the pot size is on each street - hand converters automatically display that important piece of information. Plus ours has a cool replayer feature.

4. Provide any available information about table dynamics and villain tendencies in the opening post. These things are as important as your cards to good hand analysis.

5. Do NOT indicate what the outcome of the hand is, especially in the opening post. This is a truly irrelevant piece of information, since it's an unknown variable when you acted throughout the hand. It also biases the analysis; if I know that you got sucked out on the river, I may not think clearly about what your action should have been on the flop.

6. Do NOT post brags and bad beats in Hand Analysis. Post those in the Brags, Beats, and Challenges forum. Believe me, we feel for you, we sympathize, we've been there, we're happy for you, you're an awesome player - but that's not relevant to hand analysis.

7. Do NOT post in Hand Analysis for the sake of posting. If you're commenting in a thread, try to have something to contribute, whether it's proposing a solution, an amplification of a point someone else has already made, or a question about the analysis. Posting "Ditto" for the sake of a post is incredibly annoying, as well as "call", "shove", "fold" with no explanation. These types of posts will be deleted, so don't waste our time or yours.

8. Read the entire thread. Some threads are too long to make this practical every time, but it's rare for this to be the case in Hand Analysis. If someone has already made the point you're making, don't make the same point again unless you're extending the point already made. If the point you're about to make is at odds with another post in the thread, take that other post into account in making your post.

9. Do NOT resurrect old threads unless there's a real reason to do so.

It is imperative that posts in this forum be in good English and are easy to ready and understand. Posts in poor English will be deleted.

If You've Never Participated in Hand Analysis Before:

If you're a newer player, or new to poker strategy discussions, hand analysis is one of the most valuable tools available for learning. While reading and watching videos are important tools in learning the game, there's no substitute for actually playing - and then reviewing your play to see where a better play may have been available. If you don't review the hands you play and look for better ways to have played specific situations, you're missing out on some great improvement opportunities.

While you're reviewing hands, you'll frequently have questions about the situation - that's where hand analysis comes in - you can post your hands in the appropriate Hand Analysis forum (Cash or Tournament) and get feedback from the CardsChat community.

Hand Analysis is also a place where you can interact with like-minded players pursuing the same learning opportunities. Peer discussion is one of the best tools available for improving your game, and can lead to sweat sessions and further discussions in and outside the forum.

Be prepared for a lot of fun and some great insights into different ways to play the game. But also be prepared to have your preconceptions challenged by a community composed of newer, intermediate, and experienced players. Check your ego at the door, there are very few of us who couldn't stand to learn more about the game.

For some specifics:

1. Skim through some of the threads in the Hand Analysis forums, you'll get a sense for how analysis is performed and what you can gain from it.

2. Be prepared to be challenged if you state something as a fact. If you say "He always has AA here", get ready to say why you think that if it's not completely obvious.

3. If you're relatively new to poker strategy, be prepared to have a lot of ideas you may be taking for granted challenged. If you think AK is an overrated hand, or that JJ is unplayable, or have never heard of things like "ranges", "ICM", "M", or "stack to pot ratio", there are a lot of cool fun ideas waiting for you in the Hand Analysis forums. But getting the most out of hand analysis as an activity will require you to be open to new ideas - look forward to having some of your basic ideas about the game challenged.

4. We have some great threads related to Strategy Articles.

5. If some of the lingo is unfamiliar, check out this thread: Hand Analysis Lingo & Other Poker Terms

6. Please be respectful of other participants in Hand Analysis. Keep in mind that different players are at different points in their learning curves. Excessive trolling and flaming of fellow members will not be tolerated.

Opening this thread up in case anyone has questions about posting in the Cash Game Hand Analysis section. Not to mention everyone should refresh themselves on these hand analysis posting guidelines.

I would like to request in the drop down menu choices when creating a hand, can we add "$2/5" as one of the choices. It is probably the 2nd or 3rd most popular NLHE stake played live.

thanks!

Originally Posted by missjacki

I would like to request in the drop down menu choices when creating a hand, can we add "$2/5" as one of the choices. It is probably the 2nd or 3rd most popular NLHE stake played live.

thanks!

Sorry - this is not a place we would look for a suggestion so I am just now seeing this. We will get that done.

For point 3 above relating to hand converters a good one to use is available at upswing poker.
Just copy and paste your raw hand history into the converter, click submit then copy and paste the resulting output directly into the forum text box.