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Internet Poker Strategy

Playing in a casino and playing internet poker has a number of little differences that you should adjust to. It's a fact that people tend to act differently on the internet than they do in real life in areas outside of poker, so it makes sense that people act differently in internet poker vs real life poker also. Here are some internet poker strategies and observations that I think applies to most online

Players will call you more on the internet            

There's some psychology and computer aspects in this statement. On the computer level, it's much easier for a player to click their mouse on a 'Call' button as opposed to reaching into their stack, counting up their chips and putting them on the table. Psychologically, most people also feel more confident while online, because they aren't under the scrutiny of others like in a casino or real life.

You can see the example of this, where someone will be a little embarrassed to outdraw or suck someone out playing a live poker game, but wouldn't care at all doing the same over the internet. This is also why you'll see people berate and argue with one another more through internet chat than in real life, because there just isn't that same presence of being in someone else's company when behind a computer monitor.

How to defend against constant callers?

Simply put, you can't. You're just going to be drawn on more than normal and get rivered by many more callers. Your variance or "swings" will be greater in internet poker as opposed to live poker(especially in low-limit poker games).

There is no good defense against this except to realize that you are still playing correct poker as long as you are punishing others for their draw. However, it's usually much more prudent to check-call the river when you have many callers on the river with you, because the chances are greater that someone has a two-pair or better.
Ignore internet nicknames and aliases

Both good players and bad players will pick names like "ALL-RIVER" or "ALWAYSBLUFFIN" so you can't assume this person really is a river rat or a strong player trying to fool you. If you look at the rankings for any of the tournament ladders for any of the internet poker sites, you'll see that there are all sorts of strange and 'deceptive' names at the top. Don't let people use this internet only strategy fool you. You'd probably be on your guard if some guy dressed in a bright pink tuxedo sat in a casino game, so treat this the same way.

Learn to spot online tells by observing actions

Even though you can't really see your opponents when playing internet poker, you can see what their actions are. One of the biggest things to spot is how fast they bet. Generally, if a player bets fast, that means they have a strong hand. If they bet slow or take a long time for their action, it usually means they need to think things over, which means their hand likely isn't very strong.

Don't play too tricky in low-limit poker games                     

Normally, it's not even worth it to be tricky in a $5/10 game in real life. With internet poker, it's almost worthless to try and be creative in any of the low-limit tables until you are at the $3/6 game. Often, against an entire field of opponents who are willing to call you down, bluffing and other trick plays will backfire against you.

The biggest mistake is trying to get smart against dumb opponents. When your opponents are willing to showdown with down mid pair, low pair and sometimes even Ace high, you will naturally see why it's foolish to try and bluff against them. These are the types of players that you will see the most in low limit games, so save most of your neat plays for tournaments and for special situations.

Top 10 Poker Tips to Make You a Better Player & Improve Your Poker Game

Want to become a better player, fast? Follow these 10 tips to boost your poker performance & profits. While geared to beginner players, there's poker tips that even seasoned pros should remind themselves of once in a while.




1. Don't Play Every Hand / Do Fold More

Probably the number one mistake beginning poker players make is that they play far too many hands. When you're just starting out playing poker, you want to play poker, and that means staying in hands that aren't very good just to be part of the action. But playing more doesn't mean winning more, it usually means losing more. If you find you're staying in half or more the hands you're dealt, you need to upgrade your starting hand requirements



2. Don't Play Drunk

Countless nights have I sat across a table from someone & watched them get plastered silly and throw away their entire stack of chips. I've been that person too - and there are nights where you're just playing with friends for low stakes and it's more about the fun than the poker - but if you're in a casino, watch the alcohol. The truth is, while you may be more relaxed after 2 drinks, it may lead to you playing looser and less sharply, even if one's not 'drunk.'

3. Don't Bluff Just For Bluffing's Sake

A lot of beginner's understand that bluffing is a part of poker, but not exactly how. There's is NO rule that one must bluff a certain amount or at all during a poker game, but many players don't feel like they've won unless they've tried a poker bluff. Bluffs only work in certain situations & against certain people, and if you know a player always calls to the showdown, it is literally impossible to bluff that player. It's better never to bluff than to bluff "just to bluff."

4. Don't Stay in a Hand Just Because You're Already In it

Another common mistake beginners make is to think that "Well, I've already put that much in the pot, I have to stay in now." Nope. You can't win a pot just by throwing money at it. There may be cases when pot odds warrant a call, but if you're sure you're beaten, and there's no way your hand can improve to be the best hand, you should fold right away. The money you've already put in the pot isn't yours anymore, and you can't 5. Don't Call at the End of a Hand to "Keep Someone Honest"

This one follows the last tip. I see a lot of players look at another player's final bet, look at the hand, & say "I know you've got me, but I have to keep you honest," as they throw in a final call. It may be worth it to see if a player really has the hand if you're not sure & you're gaining information that will help you later on, but if you really feel a player has the hand he's representing & you're beat, why give him another pile of your money? Those bets will add up over an evening.
6. Don't Play When Mad, Sad, or in a Generally Bad Mood

When you play poker, you shouldn't do it to escape from being depressed or having a really bad day. You start out on tilt -- playing emotionally, not rationally -- and you won't play your best. Likewise, if during a poker game, you lose a big hand or get sucked out on and feel yourself going on tilt, stand up & take a break until you feel calm later on. Fellow players will sense your mood & take advantage of it
7. Do Pay Attention to the Cards on the Table

When you first start playing, it's enough just to remember how to play and pay attention to your own hand. But once you've got that down, it's incredibly important to look at what's going on at the table. In Texas Hold'em, figure out what the best possible hand would be to fit the flop. Make sure you notice flush & straight possibilities. In 7-card stud, pay attention to what's showing & what people have folded when you consider calling opponents.
8. Do Pay Attention to the Other Players

As you play, one of the single best things you can do is observe your opponents, even when you're not in a hand. If you know if one player always raises in a certain position, & another has a poker tell when he bluffs, & a 3rd folds to every re-raise, you can use that information to help you decide how to play against them. Once you know that player 3 always folds to a re-raise on a river, that's when you can bluff & steal a pot.


9. Don't Play at too High Limits

There are many reasons people move up to a higher limit game than they usually play. Good reasons like they've been winning consistently at a lower lever & are ready to move up, & bad reasons like the line is shorter for higher limits or you want to impress someone. Don't play at stakes that make you think about the actual money in terms of day-to-day life or with money you can't lose. Even if you had one super-good night at $2/4, resist the urge to play $5/10. The next tip explains more why.10. Do Pick the Right Game for Your Skill Level & Bankroll

One of the reasons you shouldn't jump into a $5/10 game after winning a huge bunch of money at $2/4 is because as the stakes rise, so does the average skill level of the players sitting there. You want to be one of the best at the table, not the fish who sits down with sharks. If you're making stacks of money at a lower level game, why move? You're winning stacks of money. The swings up & down at higher limits are much bigger, and one big night's win won't last long at a high-stakes game.

ICEMAN 5 Tips To Improve Your Poker Tournament Final Table Strategy

Let us set the scene… after several hours of play you have just reached the final table of a poker tournament at your chosen online poker room. 700 players are already out - just you and 9 others now remain. The prizes now climb steeply for each place – in fact you are looking at your biggest cash to date, one that could transform your poker bankroll overnight...




While getting to a tournament final table is the dream of many online poker players how many have actually thought through their strategy for when they arrive there? After all, one mistake could now cost $100s if not $1000s!



This article looks to address final table strategy for beginning and developing players by looking at 5 tips that will help any player improve their final table play - after all, you can not control the cards or other players, but can make sure you do many things to ensure you maximize your potential payout..



Poker Tournament Final Table Strategy: Tip #1 - Watch The Last 3 Tables!

Having ‘reads’ on your final table opponents before reaching the very last table will give you an immediate edge. When the game gets down to the last 3 tables make sure you are watching each one closely and are taking notes on the style of your potential opponents. Things to watch out for include aggression, bluffs and strange bet sizes. Any information that gives you a read on an opponent is an important aspect of NL Holdem Final Table Strategy.



Poker Tournament Final Table Strategy: Tip #2 - Who Is Playing to Win?

Sure, everyone would like to take first prize - but there are many players whose first priority will instead be to move up the payment scale. A valuable part of your final table strategy is to identify who is ‘playing to win’ and who is playing to move up the payment ladder. If you do identify timid opponents who are less likely to take risks then you should ensure you play many hands with them. Conversely, those players willing to 'gamble' in order to take the first prize are candidates for big bets only when you have premium holdings.



Poker Tournament Final Table Strategy: Tip #3 - Learn Basic Chip Equity Math.

This is something that can be easily done in advance of reaching that online final table. Prize pool structures mean that each chip can be assigned a dollar value. Gaining more chips at a final table will increase your chances of winning a bigger prize - but not in a straight forward fashion. Each additional chip is actually ‘worth’ slightly less in dollar terms than the chip before it.



Mathematical models such as the 'Independent Chip Model' (ICM) explain this clearly, and while primarily used in Sit N Go play can be quickly and easily incorporated into your approach to multi-table tournaments.



NL Holdem Final Table Strategy Tip #4: - Awareness Of Stack Sizes.

By the time you reach the online final table players will have a wide range of stack sizes. Awareness of each persons stack size will help your final table strategy in many ways. Some examples include:



Small Stacks might be desperate enough to go all in with medium strength holdings.

Big Stacks may raise without strong hands to 'bully the table'

A medium stack who raises after a small stack has already entered the pot usually has a stronger hand than when that same person is first to raise. This is because players who expect to be called do not usually raise without good hands.

Your own stack size, especially in relation to the blinds and antes, is also a significant factor in your NL Holdem final table strategy. Calculate how many times you can go through the blinds before your stack disappears and use this to decide how tight or loose to play.



NL Holdem Final Table Strategy Tip #5: - Practice Heads-Up Play!

To win an online NL Holdem tournament you have to beat your last opponent heads-up. For players who are used to full tables adjusting to this can be a big challenge. Practice heads-up poker play in advance, either with a friend or at an online poker room. Experience in the relative strength of hands in heads-up situations will greatly assist your NL holdem final table strategy… remember that the jump from 2nd to 1st prize can be several thousand dollars!!

Managing your Bankroll when to step down

Moving up is fun. You master the $2 Sit ‘N Goes then you move to the $5 Sit ‘N Goes. In no time you’re onto the $10 Sit ‘N Goes then the $20s. You’re on top of the world congratulating yourself on you godlike poker abilities. But everybody ends up having to move down sometime – and that feels like crap.




Even some poker pros had to move down. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. The trick is to know when you should move down. Here are a few reasons you should move down in limits.



Your Bankroll Takes A Hit

Proper bankroll management is the key to making money in poker. If you go on a losing streak and your bankroll no longer supports your current level of play, you should move down.



Your Confidence Takes A Hit

Let’s say you’ve been on a losing streak for a long time and while you’re still properly bankrolled for your limit, you doubt your poker prowess. If you’re not in top mental condition, you should move down in limits until your confidence builds back up. You can’t be a winning poker player if you’re second guessing your plays.



You Want To Try Something New

It’s good to learn new things to incorporate into your game, but these things always have an awkward period. It takes time for you to integrate new strategies and that time is better spent at a lower buy-in level where mistakes won’t cost you as much.



You Haven’t Played In A While

Maybe you went on vacation or maybe you took a break after a particularly nasty losing streak. Whatever the reason, you haven’t played poker in a while and you’re no longer as sharp as you once where. Drop down in limits until you get back into the swing of things.



You Switched To A New Poker Site

New poker sites mean new players and as any online player can tell you, just because the $20 games are soft at Carbon Poker doesn’t mean they’re soft at Full Tilt Poker. When you move to a new poker room, start a little lower than you usually play and work your way up.



There are other reasons to move down in limits, but these five are the most common. Knowing when to move down will save your bankroll from massive and unnecessary swings

Poker Tournament Bankroll Tips

It all comes down to one of two choices: cash or tournaments. There are significant advantages and disadvantages to each of them, but I think that the best way for beginners to gain experience and build their bankrolls is with Sit ‘N Goes and Multi-table tournaments Here are my top 5 reasons why you should agree:




Reason 5 – You only risk a limited amount of your money

When you’re playing in a cash game, you risk every penny in front of you. Even in a game as low as $0.25/$0.50 that can be $50. That’s a lot of money to risk to make a couple dollars an hour. By contrast, Sit ‘N Goes can pay 5x your investment and multi-table tournaments can pay several hundred times your investment. The best part is that you never risk more than the tournament buy-in.



Reason 4 – You get more bang for your buck

You can buy into tournaments for $1 or less and play for hours. That time will help you get a feel for the game so you can sharpen your reading skills and develop your “poker sense.” Essentially you’ll get more experience for less money.



Reason 3 – Playing solid tournament poker is relatively easy

Sure things get tricky when you get to the big buy-in games, but you can turn a profit by playing straightforward tight-aggressive poker at the lower limits. All you have to do is play strong hands early and when the blinds get high you can negate your opponents’ superior postflop skills by going all-in preflop with your strong hands. In addition, you can slowly experiment with more advanced strategies as you gain confidence and your bankroll grows.



Reason 2 – The play in low-limit tournaments is generally softer

People tend to play looser in tournaments. In a cash game, $1 is a real thing. It represents something real that could be used to buy any number of things. But in a tournament 100 chips are toys. They have no intrinsic value and are tossed around more haphazardly.



Reason 1 – Because that’s where the money is

The big money is in tournaments. Try as I might, I can’t think of any professional poker players that made large sums of money solely on the cash circuit. Winning tournaments earns you the  big bucks



New players tend to think that Texas Hold’em is the same whether you’re playing in a cash game or in a tournament game. It isn’t. These two formats require significantly different strategies. For example, folding pocket aces preflop can be the right thing to do in a tournament under the right circumstances. In a cash game, it’s never right to fold pocket aces preflop. Don’t worry if you don’t understand that yet. You will before I’m done with you.

Five Rules to Save Your Online Bankroll

Lots of poker players - even winning players - are prone to burning through their online bankroll, ruining weeks or months of successful grinding by going broke in one or two bad sessions.



Not surprisingly, players who lose money playing live poker (about 90% of the live-poker world) also claim they're simply unable to keep a balance online. Strange.



What is surprising though is the number of truly winning players who have the exact same problem.



If a player is a consistent winner in live poker, it stands to reason that his or her game is profitable and should be similarly profitable online.



Unfortunately, being successful in online poker requires significantly more discipline and control than live poker. Players are stronger, play is quicker and you don't have anyone to see when you go off the deep end.



If you're a good poker player, and you know you're capable of making money online yet can't seem to keep a roll, this article might be just what you're looking for.



1. Play Within Your Roll

Start with the most important concept first: you absolutely must play within your roll if you want to make money online.



The simplest way to explain it is to look at the mathematical theorem Gambler's Ruin.



One of the concepts of Gambler's Ruin is this: take two players and pit them against each other in a zero-sum game (such as flipping a coin, where each player has an expected win/loss rate of exactly 0%).



One player has a finite bankroll. The other has an infinite bankroll. Given infinite repetitions of the game, the player with the finite roll will eventually go broke.





I know you want to, but $200/$400 PLO is not in your roll.



In the online poker world, it's you against everyone else. This means it's your roll against the infinite roll of the rest of the world. If poker was a zero-sum game, you'd go broke.



Luckily, if you're a winning player, you can expect a positive return on your investment. But you need to have enough money in your roll to make the swings and variance irrelevant.



Your bankroll, although finite, needs to be large enough to seem infinite. Stick to the standard rule of having less than 5% of your roll in play on one table at a time.



If you really want to be robusto, drop that number as low as 1% or 2%. Some of the most profitable and serious online grinders play with rolls 10x that.



If you never have to worry about going broke from losing at a specific game, chances are you won't.



2. Don't Monitor Your Balance

If you're following the first rule and playing with a legit bankroll, then (outside of a serious and lengthy downswing defying all odds) you're in little-to-no risk of going broke.



You play poker with chips, not money. You can't think about the money you're playing the game with as it's completely irrelevant.



With checking the amount of your online roll as easy as clicking a button, it's very easy to fall into the trap of micro-managing your account. When you're on an upswing, every time you check your balance you feel good.



The number goes up, so does your spirits. But it only takes one beat to make that number go down. A lot. And if you're still checking your balance, seeing that smaller number will make you feel bad.



You want it back to where it was and you want it back immediately. As soon as you have that thought, you've started "chasing your losses." You're going to start forcing your play to get back to where you think you should be.



This can be the first step towards total self destruction. Typically in poker, making money is a slow grind, and losing money is a quick drop.



If you're watching your balance, you'll fall into the depression of "a week's work lost" or "It will take me a week to get back what I just lost in an hour."



The only way to get it back fast is to jump limits and take a shot at a big score. This breaks rule #1, and is the first step to going broke.



3. Treat the Game Seriously

When you're playing for real money, every session, pot and decision matters. Even the smallest of mistakes costs you money.





This doesn't seem too serious.



The more money you lose from mistakes, the harder it becomes to generate profit and keep from going broke.



Limit distractions: By the very definition of the word, a distraction is taking your focus away from the game, moving it on to something else. As soon as you start playing poker without paying attention, you're almost certain to make multiple mistakes.



Every person is different. Some players can play just as well, if not better, while watching a movie. Other players need to shut everything else down to keep their mind on the game.



You need to honestly assess your capability for multi-tasking and set yourself up to play in an optimal poker environment.



Don't play out of boredom: You play poker because you want to play, or because it's what you do to make money. Playing because you're bored will force you to make poker your personal entertainment.



Sometimes, poker is not entertaining at all. If you're only playing because you're bored, and you're having a boring session, chances are you're going to make dumb moves to push the action.



If you're bored and you don't legitimately feel like grinding, find something else to do.



4. Pay Attention to Your Human Needs

You are human. Humans require constant maintenance and upkeep to stay healthy. If you're not healthy and feeling good, you're not going to be playing your best poker.



The most important of these factors for poker:



Hunger: If you're not eating well or just plain hungry, you're not going to be thinking as quickly or proficiently as possible. Also, if you're hungry, that's just one more distraction to keep you from thinking about poker.



Comfort: If you're uncomfortable, you're distracted. Get a good chair, a good monitor, and set yourself up as ergonomically as possible.



A good task chair is crucial.


Office Ergonomics Tips and Advice

Use every tip you can find to keep yourself healthy, comfortable and carpal-tunnel free.



Exhaustion: If you're exhausted, you're not playing your best game. If you're not playing your best game, you're losing money. Regardless of how good the game is, when you feel extremely tired, go to bed.



Mental Distractions: If you have anything pressing on your mind, you're going to have a hard time playing your best game. It's best to not play at all when you're in a mental state that's anything other than "normal."



Drugs and booze are another mental distraction. It's one thing to have a beer or two while you play; it's another to try and play while hammered.



Regardless of what you may think, you can't play your best poker when you're drunk.



5. Integrate a Tilt-Induced Kill Switch

Tilt is the #1 bankroll killer in the world.



Usually brought on by breaking any combination of the previous rules, or something as simple as a bad beat, tilt can drive even the most measured player into a frenzy of ridiculous bets, raises and calls.



The cause of tilt is personal and can come from anywhere. Although it will vary in degree from one person to the next, it's impossible to avoid all tilt entirely.



Some players, are rarely tilted. And when they are, it's rarely enough to affect their game all that much.



For the rest of the world, when you feel any signs of tilt, no matter how slight or seemingly harmless, it's time to log off, get up, and go do something else. Poker will always be there when you get back.





When you're on tilt, go do something else.



End Note:



If you follow all of these rules, and you're capable of playing winning poker, chances are you will never go broke online.



But be warned: Once you break just one of these rules, the others can come crashing through the door right behind it.



Be diligent, and at the first sign of any rule being broken, abandon ship. Remember, poker will always be around tomorrow, but once your roll is gone, it's not coming back

Understand Yourself to be a Successful Poker Player

Irrespective of which career you may be looking to choose, you are going to have to ask yourself some very serious questions if you are to avoid moving into a career that is unsuitable for you. For instance people who are squeamish at the sight of blood should really avoid the medical profession. People who lose control very quickly should avoid occupations like the police force or the armed forces. People who have no patience should avoid careers where they are in the presence of small children and the list could go on and on.




Many people drop out of college or university simply because they have lost interest in the subject that they are studying. Quite often this is the result of students not fully understanding themselves and failing to pick the course that is appropriate to their true interests. Many people are quick to analyze and judge others, but tend to be rather reticent about turning the magnifying glass on themselves.



This article could just as easily apply to bricks and mortar play as it does to online poker or any other field of endeavor for that matter. But its importance cannot be understated because if you do not totally understand yourself then you will not succeed in poker or any other profession for that matter. There is a very famous saying that goes,



“True wisdom is to know the extent of one’s own ignorance”



As we go through life we tend to constantly make assessments not only about other people but also about ourselves. Human nature being what it is, we tend to over estimate our own abilities and under estimate those of other people and especially in areas where we perceive ourselves to be good. This is especially the case where no cast iron tests of a person’s ability in a given field exist. Experienced drivers do not take tests to ascertain their driving skill for instance. There are no tests that will indicate just how good a father you are to your children or how good you are in bed for that matter.



Yet these are all areas where most people never ever get to find out the real truth about themselves. Outsiders tend to have a much better picture of us than we do but most keep their views and opinions of us to themselves and especially if they feel that their views may be offensive or could hurt our feelings in some way.



As you go through life, irrespective of just what activity you happen to be doing, one thing is almost a cast iron certainty…..you are not as good at it as you think you are! This principle applies perfectly to poker because no firm guidelines exist that notify us when the time has arrived that we are now good enough to earn money at it.



We instinctively know that we need to be a good or even a very good player to succeed at poker but at what point do we become good and who out there is going to let us know that we have reached that stage. You can see the complexity of the problem. In poker knowing your strengths will enable you to earn money but knowing your weaknesses is just as important as it is this that enables you to save money.



If I can use myself as an example for one minute. I tend to suffer from lapses in concentration after about three to four hours of playing. It is for this reason that I do not play poker tournaments. This form of poker does not allow you the flexibility to start and stop playing whenever you want. I will always stop playing after four hours at the very most and especially if I am playing online because the sensory input is nowhere near as great in that poker arena.



I am fairly certain that I would have wasted my time playing poker tournaments where my edge would be minimal at best. The fact that I have recognised this weakness in my character has enabled me to be very successful in cash games because this is where I concentrate my efforts.

Full Tilt: Rush Poker

Full Tilt has a history of tinkering with the status quo of poker, and that reputation was bolstered today with the introduction of what could be a game-changer for online poker: Rush Poker.






Rush Poker is such a simple concept that it’s a little surprising we’re just seeing the innovation at this stage of the online game. Here’s how it works, in a nutshell: when you sit down at a Rush Poker table, you’re essentially joining a large group of players and not just a single table. Let’s call that group the ‘cloud’.



For a hand of Rush Poker table to be dealt, FTP essentially picks nine players from the cloud, sits them at a table, and deals a hand of poker. Once any player exits from the hand, they immediately return to the ‘cloud’ and are eligible to be picked to play another hand.



That would be a drag if the player pool was small or the software was laggy, but FTP seems to have both covered. In testing of Rush Poker table, hands moved very fluidly from one to the next, and the average hands per hour you’d expect at a normal table are increased by several hundred percent at a rush poker table. It’s aptly named – in many ways you see more action than you do even during certain points of multitabling, because once you fold (or even chose a special quick-fold button) you are immediately moved on to a new hand.



You can multi-table Rush Poker, essentially holding multiple spots in the cloud. Obviously, the software never seats you with yourself. Currently, Rush Poker tables are available at a limited number of limits, ranging from .05/.10 NLHE to .25/.50 NLHE.



How do you play Rush Poker? You take a seat at the table in a fashion similar to taking a seat at a standard cash game table at Full Tilt Poker. First, find the games in the lobby:

East Coast may Become Haven for Live Poker Players?

Once upon a time, poker players in the middle Atlantic states of the U.S. looking for live action had to rely on home games, backrooms or Atlantic City to get their fix. But the options are growing quickly, as Pennsylvania and Delaware should both add poker to their slots-only casinos soon.




Recently, Pennsylvania passed legislation that would allow table games, including poker. Casinos that already exist in the state hope to have their table-game offerings up and running in the first or second quarter of the year.



And a recent move by neighboring Delaware means it may have poker games in its casinos, too. This week, Delaware’s House passed a bill that would legalize table games in slot-machine casinos in the state, including poker. The bill is headed to the Senate, and, barring a hiccup, it will become law. There are already poker rooms in the state, but bringing poker to actual casinos would certainly bring with it more play.



West Virginia added table games, including poker, several years ago. New York tribal casinos like Turning Stone, in upstate, are in their second decade of existence.



And as states look to increase revenue at a time when many states are experiencing budget shortfalls, one of the quickest and easiest ways to make money is by legalizing gambling. With the horse-racing industry facing problems in New York, Maryland and Virginia, it wouldn’t be surprising to see moves to expand (New York) or legalize (Md. and Va.) gambling in those places. Pretty soon, a poker player may not even have to leave his or her state to find a live game at a casino.



All of this is bad news for Atlantic City, which has been hit hard by the recession and once relied on its monopoly as an East Coast gambling haven for those who didn’t want to travel all the way to Las Vegas to get their fix. The landscape for poker and gambling in the United States is obviously changing quickly, and it will be interesting to see where it leads in coming months and years.

Pot Control In Middle Stakes Hold’Em

Playing deep stacked no limit hold’em is less a precision game and more of an abstract art, with the flexibility of hundreds of blinds worth of play in your stack. You can be the hyper aggressive bully, the squeaky tight rock, or the sneaky small-ball player, and can shift from one style to the next before anyone can catch on. One thing that can be harnessed, at least to some extent, is the size of pots you play in comparison to the stack sizes you are facing at your table. With your stack, you have the luxury of making bets that can put the short stacks to difficult decisions. But when matched up against a similar deep stack, decisions in the hand based on pot sizing can drastically affect the outcome of the hand.




An example can be found from a local $2/$5 game that I was a part of. In this hand, a squeaky tight player who is considered to be a sound, fundamental player, and Clarence, a fairly tight player who likes to protect pots. The effective stacks were $600 at the start of the hand. Seven-handed, everyone folded to me, on the button, who opened the action for $15., in the BB, looked down at two black aces. Given the stack sizes, what’s your play here?



I hate the flat. With stacks this deep, you want to protect your aces, and you have a tight player opening, meaning he may have one of the more premium hands that you want to play a big pot with preflop, like KK or QQ. I usually will make a standard raise here, something in the neighborhood of $45-$60. You’re decreasing variance by forcing your deep, tight opponent to play more straightfoward poker with you preflop, and by tightening his range against you, your post-flop decisions are easier. Remember; he has position on you from this point on. Make him pay for it. In this hand, however,haven chose to min-bet to $30. He was trying to be cute and build a small pot with his aces, but i can’t fold any hand he opened with for a min-bet, and he quickly flicked the $15 in the pot.



With $57 (less rake) in the pot, the flop was 2d 5d 10d. A player with black aces here has a real dilemma against a very tight player; he’s not likely to make any more money off of any hand that doesn’t contain at least one large (Q+) diamond in it! His situation has deteriorated quite a bit, so what’s the proper play here? Given him action and the player he’s up against, I think a fair continuation bet of around $40 will defend us against hands like 8×8d or 9×9d without putting too much money in the pot if he does happen to have AdXd or KQd, two hands that are completely in our opponents range. Facing a $40 bet, our opponent is probably only calling with QQd+ or a flush, or top set (and he’s likely raising us with top set) and folding JJd or less, and maybe even hands like QQ no diamond. It keeps the pot under control and lets us reevaluate if he calls and we have to play the turn.



In this particular hand, however,he chose to make a massive overbet of the pot, and fired $100 very quickly into the piot.I paused for about ten seconds before sliding a tower of red into the pot.He has now put himself into a terribly awkward position by inflating a pot with a hand that has very little chance for improvement. Our incredibly tight opponent called our oversized bet into this pot with only a small amount of consideration. What’s his range here?



* Flopped flush: Fits the hand perfectly; AJd+ and KJd+ fit the hand. He may raise with the king high flush, to protect against the naked ace (the hand could read for AxAd or AdKx) and he would certainly raise to protect with the QJd, so his flat looks very strongly of a flopped flush.



* Set of 10’s: Not as likely, but possible. He may be waiting to see if a diamond peels before protecting, but it’s not a good idea. Even a tight player could recognize the danger of this board, and would be inclined to make a good sized raise to protect their hand. However, the large initial bet  made may actually hinder his ability to make a protective raise.



* JJ-KK with a diamond: Possible. I think our tight opponent may have the discipline to lay the JJ down, but I’m not so sure about QQ, and I don’t think you can lay KK with a diamond down on this type of flop for a bet, even as big as this is, given that  range is bigger than simply AA. It’s clearly a calling hand, not a raising hand.



Those are about all of the hands that make sense to flat $100 with, and we’re crushed by two of the three, and only a favorite against the smaller pocket pairs, who still have a clean 11 outs to beat us. Our hand is pretty face up, but our opponents is now too, and the turn play in this now inflated pot is going to be hard to manuever. The turn was the 4 of clubs, giving us a board of 2d 5d 10d 4c. With $257 in the pot, and $550 left in each player’s stack, what are we going to do now? By inflating the pot to a point that we aren’t comfortable with, we’ve turned our hand into a bluff catcher and little else, and we’re up against a player that isn’t likely to be bluffing. I’m content to check and let our opponent tell us whether or not he has a big hand; a bet here is going to likely commit us to the hand.



In the actual hand, however, he continued firing with a bet of $200, committing half of his stack to the hand with the bet.He was intending to protect his “monster” hand with the big bet, but what can i call with on the turn now that he’s bet so much? He’s only getting called (or raised) by the set or the flush, and the range of hands that he beats will fold. The problem, however, is the range that beats him actually exceeds the range he beats! The inflated pot made him feel he had to protect his hand, and he made a bet in accordance with the size of the pot. , after a thirty second tank, announced all-in for another $250, and  quickly called, announcing himself as “pot-committed” as  happily turned over AQd for the nuts, having drawing completely dead.



Why did he lose $600? Was this simply a bad beat, as he later lamented? Absolutely not! If he makes it $50 preflop, i actually could’ve folded AQd (he’s tight enough to let hands of that caliber go to a 3-bet from another tight player) and we take the pot there. If not? Let’s look at the hand played with careful calculation after the $50 3-bet, if called.



On the flop, we’re continuation betting, but a number more like $60-$70, a number that defends against the bare diamond while keeping us non-committed to the hand.I would very likely just call, as he did in our example. The turn, with about $240 in the pot, allows us to check and evaluate, as even though a very similar amount of money is in the pot, the larger preflop raise isolated his range, and we can see that we’re clearly either ahead and vulnerable or drawing completely dead, so there’s little need to defend.I would fire a bet here, in the neighborhood of $100-$150. I think this is where we give some respect and simply let it go here, but even if we call, we can fold if a diamond peels on the river, or if he shows us strength again (which he would) and instead of losing the full $600, we lose a number in the range of $120-150 most of the time. (or even win $17 a small amount of the time)



By controlling and manipulating pot sizes, you allow yourself the ability to price people in and out of pots, but you also give yourself that “escape hatch” to get out of a particularly nasty situation without being handcuffed to it yourself. Be cautious of your bet sizing throughout the hand, and you just might thank yourself when that “should’ve been a thousand dollar pot” that your opponent wins is actually only two hundred.

look out for iceman videos

look out for some funny poker videos coming to you by the iceman     soon

How to Play Craps

If the craps dice are hot, the table won't be hard to locate. Look for the noisy table with the loud folks shouting and cheering. There is no comparison between excited craps players and silent concentrated blackjack players.




Just about every tenderfoot learning how to play craps experienced anxiousness the first time they approached the table. Every novice has to start somewhere, though, and armed with some basic knowledge and hands-on surveillance, you'll be shooting craps and yelling along like everyone else in no time.



To learn how to play craps and implement basic craps strategy, you simply need to do a little homework and observe the game up close first.



When the dice are hot, craps is a fast-moving game that doesn't allow time for asking questions for newcomers just learning how to play craps. You should start out with small, straightforward bets initially, keeping to basic craps strategy. Close game observation is a terrific hands-on technique for learning how to play craps.



There are numerous betting strategies in the craps game. It will take a bit of experience and time to learn the more advanced techniques. Start out with simple craps strategy, advancing to higher level strategies as you gain more knowledge of the game.



It is best to start out learning how everything works before launching right into craps strategy. You'll want to familiarize yourself with the layout of the table and the personnel who operate it.



Double layout craps tables are common in modern casinos today. The operation personnel consist of the boxman, the stickman, the dealers, and the floorman.



The boxman is seated on the craps table's long side, guarding chips and taking cash collected by the dealers. Think of him as the game supervisor and banker. Typically dressed in a suit and tie, his word is final in the resolution of any disputes that arise.



Directly across from the boxman is the stickman, who calls the game. He/she maneuvers the dice around the table. When payouts are completed after a dice roll, he/she returns the dice back to the shooter.



The stickman's territory is the table's center layout. He calls out each dice roll's results and prompts players to get their bets in place. He also manages all proposition bets, commonly referred to as "one roll bets."



Dealers are not supposed to have any physical contact with the craps players. They manage payoffs, losing bets, and bet placement. They occupy the craps table on both ends.



The floorman is responsible for keeping an overall eye on a smooth operation, usually on multiple tables. He is also the "credit manager" for the players, handling any requests for casino credit.



The one handling the dice is the shooter, who is selected from among the craps players. Shooters are only allowed to use one hand whenever handling the dice. Don't toy with proper casino etiquette; the personnel are not amused. Big bets are being placed and most gamblers are serious on this issue.



A shooter is not to tamper or toy with the dice. He/she must not exchange the dice back and forth between their hands. There are very specific rules regarding dice handling.



It is perfectly acceptable to let the shooting opportunity pass to another player if you don't want to shoot or feel you cannot abide by the rules.



Some other rules come into play regarding the shooter. The dice cannot be slid, they must be thrown, and they must bounce off the table's opposite side wall. The thrown dice cannot be higher than the dealers' eyes, and they cannot land on the dealers' money or the boxman's casino chips.



Another important thing to remember: place money exchanges onto the table layout. Do not hand them directly to the dealers because they are not allowed to touch the craps players.



After placing your money on the table layout, give the dealer instructions as to where the money is to be placed, such as "change only," or the amount of the bet you are placing.



Now you have the basics down concerning the table layout and the table personnel's responsibility. You are ready now to move on into more advanced craps strategy such as types of bets. You can learn how to play craps if you take it slow and focus on more advanced techniques a little at a time, getting the basics down first.

What to Look For in Sports Betting Strategies to Increase Your Odds of Beating the Game Constantly

Too many people think of sports betting as just something they do in their past time. However, many people can see the potential that exists if you manage to have the right sports betting strategy and correct approach to betting in general. Are you sick of losing? Interested in finding out how to turn your luck around? Do you want to know which sports betting strategies stand to help you make the most from your betting?




Any good strategy should allow you to place bets based on a systematic method. Of course there is always a random element or so called luck involved, but betting is all about stacking the odds in your favor. There should be no guess work involved or bets placed based on gut feelings. Betting is a business and it should be treated like one. Any money you use for betting needs to be separate from money you use for your daily life or anything else. How can you possibly expect to follow a strategy with money that was originally set aside to pay next week's rent with? You can't. This will help you to focus on the task of betting and remove any emotional strings attached to the money.



So what makes a good strategy or what should you look for in a strategy before you decide to implement it? Any good strategy needs to have a positive expectancy. This means that in the long run you will win. The hit rate of the strategy needs to be above 50% for you to be able to profit in the long run. An ideal win rate should be between 60 to 70%, because you will need to cover the fees and other expensive associated with betting. Is it feasible to expect you'll be able to find a system that has a 100% win rate? No, it isn't. The best you can do is find a system that has a positive expectancy and stick with it. In the long run you will make more money than you can possibly lose.



Keep whatever information and news you have about the teams as up to date as possible. Any changes in the teams makeup or factors that affect how the players play will great affect the potential outcome of a match. Make sure that you are constantly up to date on every aspect that affects the potential outcome of a match. Information is the key to winning at sports betting.

Ten Free Poker Tips on How to Stop Losing

Free poker or buy in poker - it really doesn't matter. The point is, you don't want to lose! Well, here are ten great tips on how to stop losing and start winning!




1. Don't play too many hands. If you are playing hands that are likely to lose then fold them and stop playing them. Beginners are better of playing good hands such as high pairs or high card connectors (example QK). You will stand a better chance of winning.



2. Playing your hands wrongly in the wrong position. Position is one of the most important aspect in poker and the most neglected. a 10 pair may be a good starting hand, but do you play them the same way in every position? Late position has an advantage over early position as you can see how your opponents react pre-flop. Rule of thumb - play lesser hands in the early position than in late position.



3. Stop playing if you are not 100%. If you are exhausted from a long day at work or had too many drinks then don't play. Even if you are in a bad mood, don't play. You wont play as you normally would and are likely to be wasting your time and cash.



4. Bluffing too much. Bluffing is cool when you managed to pull off one, winning a pot when you don't deserve to win. But... do you have to bluff so often? Are you bluffing for the sake of bluffing? Buffing is a strategy for more experienced player. For beginners, avoid them until you learn more about the game.



5. Ignoring the pot odds and card odds. These are two of the essential tools that help you decide whether to bet, raise, call or fold. Master them well! If not poker is essentially a gamble when you hope that you will ultimately get the the desired result when the river comes even though you shouldn't get involved in the first place. Master the odds and make the right mathematical decisions!



6. Failure to read the board. It is important to know what is the best hand you have can make from the community cards. But do you know what is your opponent is probably holding? Is he holding a better hand than you? You may hit the flop when you have 2 pairs but what could your opponents be holding? Straights or flush draws?



7. Poor bankroll management. There is a term in poker called "variance". It simply means there are times when you have a bad run or you received lousy hands. To cushioned variance, you need to have a certain bankroll before you are playing at a table. Playing at the wrong table with too high limits in contrast with you bankroll will result in one thing- your bankroll being wiped out.



8. Don't play at high limits. The better players are normally at the high limits tables and if you are new to poker, they will literally wipe the floor with you. Keep your money where you have a chance of winning and stick to the lower limit tables. If you want to try some high limits then have a go at some free poker where you wont lose your own money.



9. Playing poker is not about playing your cards well but also your opponents! You have to adopt a different strategy for different opponents. Some players types are loose passive, loose aggressive, tight passive and tight aggressive.



10. Finally, take it easy. Don't get carried away with the game after winning a few rounds. There will always be a better player out there than yourself, so keep grounded. Poker is a game that take minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. Don't expect you can master it overnight. Try to learn from experienced poker players, books, videos.

poker tells

The eyes truly are windows to the soul. They will tell if someone is lying or not. First you have to understand that when people lie they will look either left or right. It may be just an instant flicker of the eye.




It is very difficult to spot this tell. Mainly because the flicker of eye movement is so brief as almost not to be seen at all. You must pick one player at a time and concentrate on him or her. Trying to access the mass of information and tells coming from several poker players at the same time is just going to confuse you. Pick a guy, or two. Look at the stacks of chips around the table. What stack is the biggest? Start with him. Watch his eyes carefully as he plays. Every bet, raise, reraise and even a check can be a lie.



If you are going to determine if someone is a right looker or a left looker pay a lot of attention to the table talk. When your target joins in keep a lock on his eyes. People lie all the time, not just when they are betting. It is a long process because you have to match what you thought to be a right look tell to the final result of the hand. Did the right look on the reraise before the flop mean that he was bluffing, trying to buy a free card, or was it a genuine tell?



You may have noticed that lots of the poker stars wear sun glasses or a hat pulled down low over their eyes. The reason is that looking left or looking right is an involuntary tell. It is not something that can be controlled or faked. It is a genuine tell.



You will see all kinds of advice on the Internet about poker tells



Including the one about the player who makes forceful moves to raise a pot. The theory being that he is being forceful to intimidate folks because he is bluffing. Since almost everybody on the planet earth has read about the Top Ten Poker Tells you can pretty much bet that there are players out there who are using them as disinformation. Take the guy who makes a dramatic raise with lots of sound and fury. The conventional wisdom is that he is bluffing. Of course, he knows the conventional wisdom and might be into the high drama to get you to call. Be wary of such pat solutions to the complicated and time consuming problem of the tell.



The Facial Expression Tell



Is another good one. Don't ever suppose for one minute that a poker player would have sense enough to grimace in horror when he has a terrific hand and wants to suck you in as deep as possible.



Or The Chip Stacking Tell



Never in a million years would a tight aggressive player have a messy chip stack. Unless, of course, he wanted to pretend that he was a loose aggressive player.



The Peeking At Hole Cards Tell



Imagine that. Anybody who from time to time, has not forgotten what hole cards they have does not play much poker. If you assume that just because they look that they do not have a good hand you are going to go broke.



Facial Expression Tell



If you see a poker player grimace when he looks at his pocket cards; it may well indicate that he has a bad hand. Or, it may be that he wants you to think that he has a bad hand. If the grimace does not follow with a folding of his cards. Be very wary. Like wise if he shows a confident smile.



All Of The Above Tells



Have been to widely publicized to be of any value. Every person is a unique individual and his tells will be unique and individual to him. There is simply no shortcut when studying tells. You have to put in the time and energy and forget the short cuts.



Your Tells



The most important thing that you can do is to make sure that you do not have any tells of your own. The shaking hands, nervous itch, or facial tick can all be eliminated by practice. Put a mirror next to your monitor when you play online and see what you are giving away. If your hands shake when you have a good hand there is nothing to do about it except pile on the experience at the table. Be comforted that while you cannot see any tells when playing in an online poker room. No one can see yours either.

know how to check raise

When you are playing Texas Holdem you are going to want to check raise from time to time. The check raise seems to some people to be sneaky and underhanded. Coming as it does from a hand that first checks, pretending to have a weak hand, to a hand that will raise. It can really ruffle some feathers, especially those guys who are trying to limp into the hand. They want to get all the way to the river without spending any money. You want them to spend money. The other day I was playing and was dealt the seven of spades and eight of spades. I know that there are long odds of catching a flush on the flop and the eight has lots of over cards that will beat it, but I was feeling lucky. The flop comes seven of diamonds, seven of hearts and a king of clubs. Cool, I flopped a set. Fortunately for me another player flopped kings over sevens. His two pair looked pretty good to him. I could tell because he was eager to bet. I thought about it for a long time, making him wait. Then checked. He bet his KK/77 and I raised him. It changed the whole complexion of the game. He had thought he was top dog until I raised. He called me. On the turn the fourth seven came up. It gave him the full house and me the nut four of a kind. I checked again. He could barely hide his glee as he bet.


I was using the check raise to build the pot. I wanted everybody to stay in but I knew they would not if I bet in early position with three sevens on the board. That bet has to smell to high heaven of a full boat at the very least. He was calling on the bet that I did not have pocket aces and thus AA/777, to beat his kings. His reasoning was sound. If I had pocket aces it is most likely that I would have raised before the flop instead of limping in.



There are some guys who just get, well...pissed off, if you check raise. They will turn all their guns on you and try their best to beat you. It is tough to do. First they have to have a hand to play against you. Second they have to have a hand to play that will beat yours. And third they are morons for taking it personal. Anger will loose them money every time.



The art of poker has been called the art of raising. If you play, as I do, only a few hands an hour then it is essential to get as much money into the pot as possible when you have a winning hand. There are people who will call any raise even if they could not make a poker hand out of the next ten cards. These people are known as LOSERS. If you do not have a hand after the flop or the possibility of the best hand then you need to drop and try again the next hand.



In Texas Holdem if you peek at your hole cards when they are first dealt and you have Ace/Ace then raise. If any one raises you, then raise them back. You are sitting with the best possible hand, right at that moment. While Ace/Ace is a terrific hand to start out with things can go down hill fast, so you want to raise to eliminate other players and increase your odds of winning.



Raising or reraising at this time will also give you information about the other players hands. It is quite possible that someone else also has Ace/Ace. If so, the worst thing that can happen to you is that you will split the pot with him. Unless, of course, he has the Ace of diamonds and four more diamonds come out in the Flop and the Turn or worst yet, the River. Hey. It's poker. Anything can happen.



I know some guys, when they sit down to a poker game, think that they have only two options. Raise or drop. That is: if their cards are good enough to sit in on the hand they should be able to raise. It puts poker in a nice black and white light. Neither life nor poker is that way. Things change and they change rapidly. Suppose you take the Ace/Ace that you have in the hand at the beginning of this article. All the betting is done and the dealer lays out the flop. It comes Deuce of Clubs, Ten of Hearts and Three of Hearts. To somebody with two Hearts in the pocket, a Heart flush has become a possibility. Then comes the Turn. The dealer lays down the Ace of Hearts. You have three aces but your opponent has an Ace high flush. Raise or Drop? It might be a good idea to try and sneak in as cheaply as possible. It is no mystery to you that he might have a flush. There are three hearts laying on the table for all to see. The only thing that can help you now is the case Ace for four of a kind, or pairing a card on the table for a full house.



The only point to playing in a poker game of any kind is to separate the other folks from their money and put all of their chips in your stack. It will not happen if you do not raise when you have the best hand or when a raise will make every one think that you have the best hand. Lots of folks think that poker is lots of bluff. In my view unless you get caught bluffing a couple of times a night you are playing too tight. You have to keep your opponents confused. Do not hesitate to raise when you have the best shot.



When you are playing in the free games be prepared to be called every time. It is almost impossible to raise everbody out of a pot. Before you join in one take a look at the Average Pot column when you sign into the game. A high number in this column will indicate that the folks who playing are not serious about poker and call every thing with no chance to win. Playing in these types of holdem games is good practice for developing patience. If you do get a moderately good hand in the first two cards and it is not improved dramatically on the flop. Get out. With everybody calling right up to the last card you can almost bet that it will be a great hand that wins the pot.



Be aware that these people are training themselves to be losers. Nobody gets a hand delt to them that allows them to stay to see the flop every time. But when they finally buy in to a real money game they will have trained themselves to bet the come and see your raises all the way to the river. It will have happeded often enough that they pull the winning hand on the river that they will be unable to drop out as long as they have the vaguest hope of winning. Good for them. It's their money...Soon to be yours.



What is intresting is to see how they react to you and how much time it takes. After you have sat into the game for an hour or so dropping hand after hand. It still takes them awile to recognize that if they call you they had better have a hand and not just the hope of a hand. It is as if you are invisable if you do not play in every hand.

play pocket pairs right or don't play them at all

If You Flop Two Pair




Be very careful. What you are looking for is to flop the set. If the flopped pair is higher than your pocket pairs get set to drop your cards like hot rocks. You are not married to them and there is another hand coming right up. Chasing pocket pairs all the way to the river can cost you lots of money and damage your average winnings per hour.



Making The Set With Your Pocket Pair



If you flop the set with your pocket pair you are in very good shape. If you have picked a seat carefully you will have a loose aggressive player on your right. He will do your betting for you if you want to slow play the hand. Just be wary of any straights or flushes that can beat your three of a kind. pay very close attention to the board and run the possible hands through your mind. You should be playing at a set slow steady pace, no matter your hand. It is only when it has come down to you and the loose aggressive player that you begin to reraise him.



Alternately you can slam the raises and reraises into everybody right from the get go. If you reputation is not set in stone as a tight aggressive player this may be the better strategy.



Pocket Pairs Look Better Than They Are



Especially after a long bought of garbage cards. It is tiring not to be able to play in lots of hands in a row and pocket pairs may tempt you to play in a hand that you shouldn't.



Pocket Kings are almost the same as Pocket Aces. You have only one overcard that can beat you and it will come about 22 percent of the time on the flop. It is best to eliminate as many players as you can before the flop. Someone holding Ace/Six can be convinced to drop. But someone holding pocket aces is sure to raise you back. Start limping and stay to see the flop as cheaply as you can. If an Ace flops, drop. If a King flops you have improved your hand.



If you have Pocket Jacks be very careful. About 45 per cent of the time, an Ace, King, or Queen will flop and no Jack. Limp into the pot as cheaply as you can but be prepared to throw the Jacks away if you see an overcard on the flop. If you are in late position and no one has raised yet then you do so and try and steal the blinds.



Pocket Tens is a very difficult hand to play. It is just so damn, well, middle ground. One the one hand you can beat lots of other pocket pairs, but on the other lots can beat you. Be extra special very careful when playing Pocket Tens.



All the other pocket pairs from Pocket Nines on down will have an overcard flopped more often and not without flopping a set. Be prepared to fold these cards pre flop if faced with any kind of raise. If you can limp in and see the flop with, pocket sixes, do so. Make no mistake about it, when you call this bet you are gambling, for sure.

10 tips to make your poker games better

Want to become a better player, fast? Follow these 10 tips to boost your poker performance & profits. While geared to beginner players, there's poker tips that even seasoned pros should remind themselves of once in a while.




1. Don't Play Every Hand / Do Fold More

Probably the number one mistake beginning poker players make is that they play far too many hands. When you're just starting out playing poker, you want to play poker, and that means staying in hands that aren't very good just to be part of the action. But playing more doesn't mean winning more, it usually means losing more. If you find you're staying in half or more the hands you're dealt, you need to upgrade your starting hand requirements



2. Don't Play Drunk

Countless nights have I sat across a table from someone & watched them get plastered silly and throw away their entire stack of chips. I've been that person too - and there are nights where you're just playing with friends for low stakes and it's more about the fun than the poker - but if you're in a casino, watch the alcohol. The truth is, while you may be more relaxed after 2 drinks, it may lead to you playing looser and less sharply, even if one's not 'drunk.'



A lot of beginner's understand that bluffing is a part of poker, but not exactly how. There's is NO rule that one must bluff a certain amount or at all during a poker game, but many players don't feel like they've won unless they've tried a poker bluff. Bluffs only work in certain situations & against certain people, and if you know a player always calls to the showdown, it is literally impossible to bluff that player. It's better never to bluff than to bluff "just to bluff."



Learn more about bluffing dos and don'ts4. Don't Stay in a Hand Just Because You're Already In It

Another common mistake beginners make is to think that "Well, I've already put that much in the pot, I have to stay in now." Nope. You can't win a pot just by throwing money at it. There may be cases when pot odds warrant a call, but if you're sure you're beaten, and there's no way your hand can improve to be the best hand, you should fold right away. The money you've already put in the pot isn't yours anymore, and you can't get it back just by playing a hand all the way to the end.5. Don't Call at the End of a Hand to "Keep Someone Honest"

This one follows the last tip. I see a lot of players look at another player's final bet, look at the hand, & say "I know you've got me, but I have to keep you honest," as they throw in a final call. It may be worth it to see if a player really has the hand if you're not sure & you're gaining information that will help you later on, but if you really feel a player has the hand he's representing & you're beat, why give him another pile of your money? Those bets will add up over an evening.6. Don't Play When Mad, Sad, or in a Generally Bad Mood

When you play poker, you shouldn't do it to escape from being depressed or having a really bad day. You start out on tilt -- playing emotionally, not rationally -- and you won't play your best. Likewise, if during a poker game, you lose a big hand or get sucked out on and feel yourself going on tilt, stand up & take a break until you feel calm later on. Fellow players will sense your mood & take advantage of it.7. Do Pay Attention to the Cards on the Table

When you first start playing, it's enough just to remember how to play and pay attention to your own hand. But once you've got that down, it's incredibly important to look at what's going on at the table. In Texas Hold'em, figure out what the best possible hand would be to fit the flop. Make sure you notice flush & straight possibilities. In 7-card stud, pay attention to what's showing & what people have folded when you consider calling opponents.8. Do Pay Attention to the Other Players

As you play, one of the single best things you can do is observe your opponents, even when you're not in a hand. If you know if one player always raises in a certain position, & another has a poker tell when he bluffs, & a 3rd folds to every re-raise, you can use that information to help you decide how to play against them. Once you know that player 3 always folds to a re-raise on a river, that's when you can bluff & steal a pot.



Learn more about reading poker tells9. Don't Play at too High Limits

There are many reasons people move up to a higher limit game than they usually play. Good reasons like they've been winning consistently at a lower lever & are ready to move up, & bad reasons like the line is shorter for higher limits or you want to impress someone. Don't play at stakes that make you think about the actual money in terms of day-to-day life or with money you can't lose. Even if you had one super-good night at $2/4, resist the urge to play $5/10. The next tip explains more why.10. Do Pick the Right Game for Your Skill Level & Bankroll

One of the reasons you shouldn't jump into a $5/10 game after winning a huge bunch of money at $2/4 is because as the stakes rise, so does the average skill level of the players sitting there. You want to be one of the best at the table, not the fish who sits down with sharks. If you're making stacks of money at a lower level game, why move? You're winning stacks of money. The swings up & down at higher limits are much bigger, and one big night's win won't last long at a high-stakes game.

LOSING WITHOUT BEING A LOSING PLAYER

Unlike sports though, in ring game poker, every hand is it's own universe. You, or opponents, can quit after any hand, possibly never to be seen again. The advice from Vince Lombardi at the top of this article doesn't completely literally apply to poker. Only an idiot thinks he should win every hand he plays. But his advice does apply to poker in the long run. The key thing is that doing things right is not a "once in awhile" thing. If you want to be a winning poker player, you should be doing things right all the time -- and right does not mean getting lucky or doing things that work out profitably even though you thought about them wrong. Right means acting in the most sensible, logical, mathematically favorable way possible based on the information you have available.









What really distinguishes poker from other games is how some you can lose even when you do everything possible right to a very extreme degree. If on a A77 flop, a player goes all-in with AA against another player who has 22, and the turn card comes a deuce, and the river card comes deuce so the final board is A7722... the player with the AA will be the "loser" in the hand, and may even be eliminated from a tournament, but that player did not play losing poker. He may have lost the hand or the tournament, but he played winning poker.



The AA versus 22 example makes the point rather obviously, but this phenomenon occurs to a smaller, even microscopic, degree in hands, sessions and tournaments around the world every day. Losing doesn't mean you played losing poker. It doesn't mean you didn't do things right. It doesn't mean a player isn't playing with the habit of winning. And, just because some luckbox or lousy player who gets lucky has a winning session or takes down a tournament doesn't make him a winner.



In fact, many apparently successful ring game and tournament poker players are total, busted losers who are in action because someone is staking them in hopes of getting a debt back or because they know the busted person occasionally plays exceptionally well, even though he is a loser in the long run.



Spectacular flukes don't make someone a winning player, except in a past tense way. It is possible for an extremely poor player to be literally the luckiest person on Earth for a few days and take down millions in a poker tournament. This would make that person literally a winning player on an accounting sheet, or in the eyes of the IRS. But one second after that player sucks out for the last time to win that tournament, he reverts back to being a losing poker player.




Not winning a hand doesn't make you a losing player. Not winning a tournament doesn't make you a losing player. What makes you a poker loser is the habit of playing like a loser. Don't do that. Play like a winner, even when you don't win. Act like a winner, even when you walk away from a tournament table when you have been eliminated.

10 TIPS ON WINNING A POKER TOURNAMENT

1 Rest — Pub­con is out of con­trol. For those of you who are regu­lars, you know what I mean. For those of you who are going for your first time, you’ll see. If the tour­na­ment starts at 8:00, I recom­mend catching a nap befo­rehand so you’re well res­ted. Being alert and well res­ted will seriously improve your game and give you an advan­tage over the pla­yers who are still figh­ting the han­go­ver from the day before. (That being said, don’t overs­leep and miss the tour­ney alto­gether like I did last year!)


2 Drin­king - Now while not drin­king may seem ridi­cu­lous at an event when there is an open bar, you can’t play serious poker when your jud­ge­ments are seriously impai­red. If your goal is to win, con­si­der not drin­king, or seriously limi­ting your­self to one or two drinks an hour. Other­wise if you are just there to have a good time and enjoy the open bar… Come sit at my table

3 Don’t Over­va­lue Hands - If you have top pair top kic­ker on a board with pos­si­ble straight and flush draws, be care­ful about get­ting all of your money into the pot. Just because you think your oppo­nent isn’t that strong, how do you they’re not trap­ping? Even if they’re not, do you know the odds that they will draw out to make the best hand? Best advice is to pro­ceed with caution.

4 Don’t Be Pre­dic­ta­ble - If you find that oppo­nents that you were bea­ting, you are now loo­sing to hand after hand, maybe you have pre­dic­ta­ble pat­terns that pla­yers can easily read. Try to change up your play to avoid being too predictable.

5 Remem­ber the Action — One of the things that novice poker pla­yers always for­get is to keep track of what has already hap­pe­ned in the hand. If your oppo­nent lim­ped in pre­flop, then chec­ked the flop and turn, and then sud­denly fires out a big bet on the river when an Ace hit — does it make sense that he/she has an ace? Why wouldn’t they bet pre­flop, or when an uncoor­di­na­ted board came out on the flop?

6 Play A Style Oppo­site of the Table You Are Sea­ted At - As a gene­ral rule of thumb, you will do bet­ter in poker when you play a style oppo­site of the rest of the table. If the table is pla­ying gene­rally aggres­sive, take a con­ser­va­tive style; if the table is pla­ying con­ser­va­tive, play aggressive.

7 “Poker Tells” — While it is unli­kely that you will pick up someone that has a “tell” as obvious as not loo­king at you when they have a hand, and sta­ring you down when they don’t, be alert of small phy­si­cal tells like someone who might get ner­vous and put a chip on their cards when they nor­mally don’t. If you spot on a tell, sit on it. Oh, and, share it with me

8 Res­pect the Power of Posi­tion — While you may have heard that “posi­tion is power”, you need to unders­tand why. In black­jack, the house always has posi­tion, they get to see what you do before they have to make any deci­sions. Some­ti­mes you bust before the house has to do anything. The same applies to poker, if you are out of posi­tion, your oppo­nent has a lot of infor­ma­tion about you based on the deci­sions you are for­ced to make before he/she has to do anything.

9  Don’t Get Bored — If this is the first live tour­na­ment you’ve pla­yed, don’t be sur­pri­sed when every hand isn’t an all-in show­down of AA vs. KK. Poker tour­na­ments are a lot of sit­ting around, and a lot of bad cards that you should fold. Don’t get bored and find your­self pla­ying hands that you shouldn’t just because you want something to do.

10 Defense - Tour­na­ment poker is much dif­fe­rent from cash poker in that you can’t buy back in if you bust out. Because of this you want to play defen­si­vely, making sure to defend your chip stack. Tour­na­ment play is not the place for outra­geous all-in bluffs or cha­sing down expen­sive hands to the river if you want to build your stack. Con­si­der not only your stra­tegy on each hand, but your stra­tegy for the tour­na­ment as a whole to make it to the final t

HOW TO PLAY CHINESE POKER

Learn how to play Chinese Poker, a tricky game for two to four players that is popular among poker pros. Most often played with four players.


Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 20 minutes

Here's How:

Each player is dealt 13 cards.





From the 13 cards, each player makes 3 groups or sets -- two containing 5 cards each, and one 3-card set. The 5-card sets are known as the "middle" and the "back," while the 3-card set is called "the front"





To make the three sets, there are certain rules that must be followed. The "back" 5-card hand, must be the highest hand, while the "front" 3-card hand must be the lowest hand. The "middle" should by default be the middle hand. Straights and flushes do not count in the 3-card "back" hand.





Once each player decides on the cards that make up each set, he places each face-down in front of him, with the "front" set farthest away, then the "middle", then the "back" closest to him.





After all the players have put their sets down, the players see whose hands beat whose.



See: Poker hand rankings





Now here's where it gets tricky: In Chinese poker, instead of playing for pots or betting during the game, the game is played for "units" or points. Each "unit" counts for a pre-decided amount of money.





Instead of a winner-takes-all result, players win units from every other player whose front, middle, or back player they beat. In other words, you could lose two sets to one player, but beat the other, and also beat the other two players. If the hands are equal, its a tie and neither player gets a unit.





To further complicate matters, you can play that the player that wins 2 or 3 of the sets gets an extra unit, or with hands that win bonus units, for instance, giving extra units for straight flushes or four-of-a-kinds.

When a Huge Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better Draw Isn't Worth It

In Pot-limit Omaha 8 or better, big draws are the name of the game. Good players know how to manage their draws and realize that the nuts on the flop can actually be pretty far behind. For example, KcQhJhTc looks pretty fantastic on a 9h8d7h flop, but against a hand like Ah3h7c7s, not only is it an underdog to win the high half of the pot but it is a 2.5:1 overall equity underdog and will only scoop around 13% of the time1. Flopping a set, nut flush draw, and low draw on the same hand is pretty tough to do though, and an easy trap for even the experienced player to fall into is overplaying draws that look a lot better than they really are. Let’s look at some situations where falling in love with a big draw could get you into trouble: For simplicity’s sake, we’ll say that everyone at the table has 125 Big Blinds (BB) and assume that everyone at the table is a regular, non-maniacal player who knows what they’re doing.




Hand 1: Hero is dealt 7c4c3h2d in early position and decides to mix it up, raising to 3BB. CO pots it and the BB cold calls the two raises. Hero calls. Flop (32 BB): 8c5s3c.



BB checks, Hero checks, CO bets 20BB and BB raises to 60BB. At first glance, this hand looks promising as Hero has third nut low and decent chances for a good high hand with 9 outs for a flush, 6 outs for a straight, 8 outs for 2 pair and 2 outs for trip 3s meaning that 25/44 remaining cards in the deck will improve him to two pair or better. The problem is Hero has very few Turn/River cards where he can actually feel safe with his hand given the action. With the bet and raise, it’s very possible that Hero’s flush draw is no good and his low is almost certainly no good at the moment against the two better low possibilities (A2/A4). There are only 3 non-club aces the will give Hero the nuts with a wheel but due to the reraise preflop, it’s very likely that CO has 2 of them and we also assume that the BB has one as it would be very difficult to call two raises preflop and then checkraise this flop without A2 meaning there is probably only one Ace left in the deck. The three remaining non-club 6 will give Hero a second nut straight which will probably be good but the trip 3s are dangerous because if either opponent has the last 3 or flopped a set, that’s a dangerous card. Hitting two pair is almost worthless as it will make straights possible (especially the 2 or 4 and that will give the good low hands a wheel. So overall, Hero probably only has 1 out to scoop and somewhere between 4 and 6 (Depending if the trip 3s are good) cards to even take the lead for half.



Hand 2: Hero is dealt 8h7s6h5s in mid position and limps, seeing a flop with the Button and both blinds. Flop (4 BB): 9s6s3d. Hero bets pot, Button calls, SB folds but BB check-raises, repotting to 20BB. This time Hero has a wrap straight draw and a bad flush draw although he does have a gutshot straight flush draw. This time Hero has cleaner outs with 8 flush cards, 14 straight cards and the straight flush card (8s). Of these outs, ten of them (Non-spade 4,5,T or 8s) will give Hero the nut high hand, however everything but the 3 tens will bring a low out which will in all likelihood give an opponent a lock on half of the pot. If Hero reraises, he will probably convince the Button to fold, which may improve his low possibilities, but he would have to move all in to do so. It’s also quite possible that the CO has a hand like As2s7dTd that could simply call the flop waiting to improve but would not mind committing his entire chip stack in a 3 way all-in where his implied equity is a lot better against multiple opponents with a nut low draw, nut flush draw and gutshot to the nut straight. So despite the number of good hands Hero can make and the high likelihood the he will improve, odds are he will be lucky just to split the pot with a straight against a better low. Additionally, even if he hits one of his draws to the nuts, only the 8s will protect him from possible full house or higher flush redraws. This is a dangerous spot, and Hero should simply fold this to the BB’s reraise. I’m all for creative play, however this is simply not a hand that you should voluntarily commit chips with. Even when it looks like you hit a great flop you almost certainly have not, so it’s best to avoid putting yourself in a difficult spot like this by simply folding trashy hands preflop.



Hand 3: Hero is dealt AsJsTd9d on the Button and calls a raise to 3BB from the CO. First of all, I think it’s important to make a few comments about this hand’s playability preflop. Many players would lump this hand into the same category as hand 2 and some may even consider it worse because it has no low potential at all. However, I advocate playing hands like this in position for a couple reasons. First of all, you’ll rarely continue with this hand unless two or more high cards flop, so unlike hand 2 you won’t be subjected to as many tough decisions. Second of all, if you do hit, it’s unlikely that your opponents will have hit as well. When no low draw flops, this hand gains a lot of strength and even on a mediocre high flop like QsJc2h which doesn’t give Hero a made hand, he still has 8 nut straight outs, 2 outs for trips, 9 outs for two pair (which may be good despite the fact that any two pair will bring out a straight) and a backdoor nut flush draw. When Hero does flop well, he’ll get to act behind the original raiser and put him to a tough decision with a sizable bet and no low draw immediately available to Villain. Unlike in limit, where a hand like AA3x would only have to call 1.5 big bets to see a river, in PLO8, you can protect against low draws with a pot sized bet on the flop and a turn bet 3 times as big. If CO has a high continuation bet %, this preflop call is even more profitable.



Flop (9.5 BB): 8h7s5s. BB bets 6BB and CO raises to 21BB. Hero once again has a flush draw and wrap straight draw, giving him 10 straight outs and 9 flush outs, but this time all of them are draws to the nuts with the exception of the 8s which could give an opponent a full house (and some unlikely straight flush possibilities). Hero will improve to the nut straight or flush slightly more than 2/3 of the time. However, since the board already makes a low possible and Hero can not even be eligible for a low, he will be fighting for half of the pot at best. Hitting the nuts 2/3 of the time is nothing to sneeze at so this hand still might be playable especially because it’s very possible that both players will continue with their low hands, meaning Hero could make a profit by winning half of a 3 way pot. The problem is that if Hero calls, the BB could reraise, forcing him to commit all of his chips with no made hand and hoping for only half the pot at best. Even if Hero calls and the BB simply calls or folds behind, Hero needs to hit one of his cards on the turn or else he will be susceptible to a big turn bet from the CO with no hand and no chance to scoop. Additionally, there is a small chance that one of the players could have a set or two pair and improve to a full house, making Hero’s hand completely dead. Despite the plethora of high outs, the fact that a low hand is already killing half of the pot makes this hand unplayable for Hero with two players showing strength. Although this flop is tempting, the strength of high-only hands lies in putting pressure on opponents on boards with one or fewer low cards. You’ll almost never continue on a board with 2 low cards, much less a board with 3. You can profitably play hands like this in position but be sure that you see a helpful high flop before you continue.



All of these hands, especially hand 3 would be much stronger in PLO but in PLO8 they all need to be folded. When many players flop a big draw, they let their mind run wild with all of the chances that they could improve to a big hand without realizing that many of the cards that will help them might not end up resulting in much of a profit, and could actually allow opponents to quarter them or worse, freeroll against them with a lock one way and a few redraws for a scoop. Managing draws and having a feel for when they should be pushed, called, or folded is a major skill necessary for a winning PLO8 player.

Weekly Freerolls: $30k Coming Your Way

January is typically a slow month for freerolls, but poker is bucking the trend with $30k worth of freerolls on the way.

The following freerolls are open to all Poker players. Qualify in the specified qualification period, then take your seat to win a fistful of free cash.

If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up. Getting your free seat in the tournament can be just as simple as that.

Bwin Poker

Earn 50 points and take your seat in bwin’s $2,000 monthly freeroll.

Date: Jan. 17
Value: $2,000
Qualify with: 50 points
Pacific Poker

For new depositing players only. Exclusive $500 freeroll to any new PokerListings players who deposit and play at Pacific Poker.

Date: Jan. 19
Value: $500
Qualify with: Deposit and play
Full Tilt

Full Tilt offers weekly freerolls to all PokerListings players. Qualify with 100 points earned the week before the event to grab your seat.

Date: Jan. 23
Value: $1,500
Qualify with: 100 points
Qualify between: Jan. 17-22
Betfair Poker

Alright, so it’s not a freeroll, but it’s a guaranteed $3,000 prize pool for $1. Chances are there will be a huge overlay, so don’t miss out on this one.

Date: Jan. 24
Value: $1,500
Qualify with: $1
PokerStars

The next massive freeroll from PokerStars comes as a $25k event awarding $24k worth of “turbo takedown tickets” plus $1k cash for the final table. Collect 100 points in December as a PokerListings player to earn your seat.

Date: Feb. 21
Value: $25,000
Qualify with: 100 points
Qualify between: Jan. 1-31
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