Win Video Poker – Five Easy Tips for a Royal Flush

Forget the other hands – fact is: If you don’t get a Royal Flush you will lose on video poker in the long term. Period.

So How do you Increase Your Chances of Hitting the Royal Flush?

Many video poker players ignore the following advice when they play, but it’s the only way to beat a video poker machine. Here are five simple tips to win at video poker.

1. Play the Machines with the Best Payouts

The payouts for all video poker machines are the same except for the payout on the flush, full house or royal flush.

This means playing only the highest paying machines and avoiding the lower ones.

Here is a typical comparison of payouts on a jacks-or-better machine.

Machine Payback Machine Payback with Strategy
9 for a full house 6 for a flush 99.5%
8 for a full house 5 for a flush 97.4%
7 for a full house 5 for a flush 96.3%
6 for a full house 5 for a flush 95.2%

This means that a player, on the 9 / 6 machine, will be winning more for the same hands than other players will.

A 9 / 6 will generally hit the royal flush once for each 40,000 hands.

The 8 / 5 odds are once for each 45,000 hands etc.

You therefore need to play 9 / 6 machines.

2. You Need to Play Maximum Coins.

If you bet five coins, all winning hands are paid out by a factor of five, except for the royal flush. This is a bonus amount designed as an incentive to play five coins.

Any player who plays less than maximum coins will contribute to a Royal Flush that will be won by another player. Make sure your not one of these losers!

3. Play Progressives

It is already obvious that you need to play maximum coins, but you also need to look at the size of the jackpots on several machines and then play the one with the biggest jackpot.

The best video poker games are 9 / 6 machines with BIG jackpots, and they can never be too big!

4. You Need to Play for a Long Time

A player, on the 9 / 6 machine, has odds to 1:40,000 to get a Royal Flush, or equivalent to about 100 hours of play.

You need to keep feeding the machine until you win it, it’s as simple as that.

You will therefore need to finance your play from your own pocket, or by collecting money from the intermediate hands that you do win.

5. You Need to Play With a Strategy.

In video poker, your odds are improved if you play with a strategy – and it’s easy to learn.

The strategy will vary depending on the exact game.

The game you should play should be jacks-or-better and of course; it should be a machine with 9 / 6 payout.

Texas Holdem Poker Strategy: Playing The Blinds

The blinds in Texas hold’em are positions that oblige the player to place a bet before getting to see the cards. A blind is often thought of an imposed pre-flop bid, because it is made before getting your cards. You don’t have a choice when in this position and you will have o bet the amount the game imposed for the respective blind. Texas hold’em has blinds because they bring along with them a little more action, even if it is forced. Without having the blinds, it is highly probable that players would simply sit around the table all day and fold every time in pre-flop just because they didn’t get their pocket aces. The initial idea for the blind was to force everyone pay to see their cards and then the whole game would evolve around the battle for that blind money. But today, the blind evolved and in real or online casino, especially in limit games blinds became very popular. They are often referred to the small and the big blind and they are the players placed to the left of the dealer button. So at table it is first the dealer button (or that player that is in dealer position for that game), the small blind and then the big blind.

As a general rule, the big blind is twice the small one. But their actual amount depends on the limits of the game. The low limit stated is exactly the big blind amount. The limits that a game has are the amount of the small bet or the bet on the flop and the bog bet or the bet on the river. So, if you are entering a $5-10 game, then you must know this is a games in which the big blind is $5 and the small blind is $2.5 (it can be either 2 or 3 if the rules allow that but it is constant throughout the whole game).

The games become tighter as the blinds are higher. If in a game of 15$/30$ limits, then the blind will be $15 and $10 – that is almost a big bet already in from the blinds. The game will be played tight, but when it comes to low limits the games are pretty loose because there are many people in anyways. After one hand, the blind change and they follow the betting direction, going clockwise. So if you were the big blind now you will be the dealer, which is the best position.

The blinds structure mentioned above is the most popular one but there are others that can be encountered. For example there are games that have three blinds. The big blind and two small blinds one in the normal small blind position and one in the dealer position. This way the games are encouraged to become looser and looser.

Handling Decisive Moments in a Poker Tournament

Poker tournaments require constant adjustments in strategy. Unlike cash games (and re-buys), when you lose your chips in a poker tournament, you’re done. Here are some tips to help you handle decisive moments in online poker tournaments.

Never Be Afraid to Fold

If you think someone has you beat, why pay to find out? In a tournament, you can always afford to fold a good hand. If you’re pot committed, it’ll make your decision a whole lot harder, but you have to realize that tournaments require patience. If you don’t like the situation you’re in, fold and wait for a better set of circumstances. Don’t be afraid to stand your ground, but don’t hesitate to throw your cards away if you think it’s the right decision.

Consider Pot Odds

Using pot odds is an effective way to improve your decision making skills. To figure out pot odds, you compare the amount it will cost you to make a call to the amount of chips that are in the pot. If the pot is $100 and the bet you have to call is $10, then your pot odds are a favorable 10 to 1.

Bubble Play

Playing on the bubble means that you’re right near the cutoff point for winning a piece of the prize pool. When you’re playing on the bubble, you don’t want to just pack it in. Don’t sacrifice blinds and tighten up so much that you refuse to compete. If you’re stack is on par with the remaining players in the tournament, keep playing your game. Don’t feel like you have to fold every hand until you make it in the money, just don’t make an overly stupid play for all your chips. Take advantage of all those short stacked players that have gone super tight in an effort to make it to the money. Be aggressive against players that don’t want to compete. Just make sure that you don’t beat yourself before you get paid.

Playing With a Short Stack

When you’re a frequent tournament player in Texas Holdem, you will find yourself in plenty of short stack situations. Don’t give up. Coming from behind isn’t the ideal situation, but it isn’t the end of the world either. When your stack is about one-fourth of what the average chip stack is for the remaining players in the tourney, you’re going to have to adopt a push or fold mentality. Fold all the marginal hands you get. This isn’t the spot to play low suited cards or connectors. If you get dealt an ace or pocket pair, push all-in. You may find yourself in a coin-flip situation, but that’s okay. You can’t afford to wait for good hands. Eventually you’ll get blinded out, so when you get dealt semi-decent cards, be prepared to go all-in. If you win, you’ll double up and stay competitive.

Don’t be afraid to fold a big hand if it means that you’ll stay in the tourney. Use pot odds to help you decide whether or not you should make a call. Play tight when you’re on the bubble but use aggression to steal the blinds away from super-tight short stacks. If you find yourself in a short stack situation, be prepared to go all-in with semi-decent hands. Whenever you face a critical moment of decision, stop and think it through. Consider your options. Play the hand out in your head. What sort of reaction is your move going to illicit from the players who still have to act? What will happen if you re-raise an opponent who never folds? Use your table observations to choose the best possible poker strategy in any situation.

The Importance Of Table Position When Playing Online Poker

If you have ever played online poker especially Texas Hold’em then you will be aware that knowing beforehand what your opponent’s moves are can make a huge difference hence the reason your table position is so very important. A full poker table can be broken down into three parts, the first three players are in what is known as the early position and must play before all of the other players. If you find yourself in this position as you undoubtedly will as the deal goes around the table you should play premium hands only and avoid playing marginal hands since there are up to nine other players to contend with and whom you have no idea what they are going to do.

The next group of players will be found in what is known as the middle position. Since they’ve seen the early position play by the three players seated there they know exactly what they are up against as far as they are concerned. They should always play premium hands and should even raise on a premium hand if no one has raised as yet. But they should only play marginal hands if no one before has raised. Another obvious advantage to being in a middle position is the fact that there are less people to play after you and so the odds of someone raising you are lower.

Being in late position is the last set of players. Having seen all of their opponents play already they have the best advantage. Of course the last player of the three in this late position has the greatest advantage of all because he’s seen everyone play already and can make his decision as to how and if to play with greater control. The options available to these players are if they should call a bet there is no chance that someone will raise them. The players in late position can play a larger range of starting hands knowing how many players they will be contending with. They can bluff by driving a big bet and running the entire table or they can play possum and just call whilst sitting on a “big kahuna”.

So in the final analysis, you must play tightly when you are in an early position, staying with only the best starting hand. Middle position players should stick to good starting hands. The late position players can play much more loosely. As your playing improves you can try different poker strategies in early position, one of which is to be very aggressive early in a game in order to build a table reputation in preparation for later betting. Poker after all is a game of the mind, its psychological warfare at its best.

One last word, you can improve your game no matter where you sit, as long you as you pay careful attention to the game and having some good strategies is not a bad idea either. There are numerous strategies that can be employed when you play poker and none is better than the other but rather it’s the attitude with which you apply the strategy which will determine whether you are successful or not.

The Psychology Of An Online Poker Player!

Online poker is a lot different from poker played offline, as you have no idea who you are playing with. In fact, this proves to be a good thing for people playing online.

There are several people who are masters at the game offline, but they lose everything when they try to play online. The reason is that these people make money through tells at offline casinos. They understand when to bluff and when to go big by reading others. Many people think poker tells are the body language of players but it is actually any activity that reveals critical information about the game to an opponent.

Online poker is not just clicking a button and either winning or losing, like most people believe. The major part of playing online poker lies in analyzing the betting patterns, such as the speed of the bet, raise or call, size of the bet etc. Since most online players play regularly, there is standard behavior to be expected.

Also remember that most of the players online are not experts and they enjoy calling. Usually the psychology of online players is that they play loose than when they are playing a live poker game. The reason behind this is that these players only play with non-tangible assets. This is precisely the reason why off-line casinos use chips on the table. It hurts to see the chips go because they are tangible. Online players are less careful even when their chips are taken away because they are just numbers online. They are not likely to bother about the consequences of losing a hundred or even a thousand bucks, until they lose it all. For people who truly play a thinking game, this can prove to be the greatest advantage of online games that far outweighs the fact that there are not too many tells that can be taken advantage of.

Trying to use bluffs is an exercise in futility. A fool cannot be bluffed and there is no point in trying to bluff when playing online. Most people playing online have no idea what the other person is going to do and a foolish player cannot be expected to fold.

All the opponent has to do is click a button and the money disappears and they load quicker than they have lost. This carefree attitude towards money is what makes online poker game great and potentially very profitable to the “smart player”. You must ensure that you do not behave like the others and in fact you should be in a position to take advantage of their behavior.

Razz Poker – Horse Poker Introduction Series

Razz Poker:

(Also known as “Seven Stud Low”)

This is article number 4 out of 6 of the “HORSE Poker Introduction Series”.

Overview:

Limit Razz Poker is the ‘R’ in “h.o.r.s.e” poker, if you know how to play seven card stud then you will be familiar with the game structure.

Razz Poker really gained huge popularity in the last few years.

I can think of few reasons for that:

First: The game is easy to play.

Second: The proffessional poker players love it!

Third: It’s been played in mix games (like h.o.r.s.e) therefore more and more players trying to master this game, in order to get big advantage over their opponents on the mix games.

How to Play Limit Razz Poker:

Limit Razz Poker is similar to other 7 stud games, but this is a low only game, means that the player with the low 5 card hand wins the pot.

It’s common to use antes, and bring-in as the force bet, but here the player with each player will get dealt 3 cards two of them are face-down and one of them is face-up , after few round of betting and cards dealing your hand will look like this DDU-U-U-U-D ( U = face-up , D = face-down ) .

Now it’s time to show your hand, the player with the lowest five cards will win the hand

Note: razz poker is not an 8 or better variation, if your 5 lowest cards are: 9 8 7 4 2 and this is the lowest combination you got the pot.

Straight and flushes does not count, therefore the best possible hand is: Ace 2 3 4 5.

Thing You Have to Know:

The best starting hand is: Ace, Deuce, and Three.

The Worst starting hand is: King, King, King

Razz Poker Lingo:

Door-Card: The face-up card out of your three starting cards is called door-card.

Bring-In: Force bet, these kind of bets force action about the players, not all the poker variations uses bring-in.

Baby Bluff: when you got starting hand, like [k] [q] 2 and all the other players have high cards you can raise to make them think that you got small cards in the two face-down cards. Family Pot: when four or more players are in the pot.

Win More Games By Developing Your Own Poker Playing Style

If you new to No Limit Texas Hold’em poker and have watched the WSOP you are probably amazed at the brilliant play of some of the professionals. Most likely you find yourself saying, “Wow! How did he know to raise in that situation” or “How in the world did he know that he was bluffing?” Well, sometimes it is luck but more often than not it is skill and knowing their opponents tendencies. When you are staking out your next opponent you may want to keep in mind that most players fall into four distinct categories, loose passive, loose aggressive, tight passive and tight aggressive.

The term loose and tight describes a poker player’s frequency of played hands. A loose poker player will play many hands and mix their play up. They don’t necessarily wait on what would be thought of as a good starting hand. A tight player will play hands less frequently usually waiting on a good starting hand or at least to be in good position.

The term passive and aggressive describe a poker player’s betting tendencies. A passive poker player will normally check or call many times even if they have top pair or over cards. An aggressive player, on the other hand, has a tendency to bet or raise and put your ability to read them to the test.

Loose Passive

A loose passive player is generally new to No Limit Texas Hold’em. They will start with almost any hand not fully understanding which hands are strong and which hands are marginal. When the flop and turn are shown and they catch middle or bottom pair they will generally check or call giving the opponent an opportunity to catch cards. This type of opponent may scare easily with a large bet on the river.

Loose Aggressive

An experienced loose aggressive player is a very dangerous player and you always want them on your right. This type of poker player will play various types of hands and also bet very aggressively, as if he/she always has a great hand or is catching a great flop. Watch out for this type of player because it is extremely difficult to put them on a hand.

Tight Passive

A tight passive player is one of the most respected players at a poker table but that can be a good and bad thing. A tight passive player will only play a limited number of hands. They generally wait on good cards and will call or bet only when they have made their hand. Generally a poker table will recognize a tight passive player and when they represent a hand the table will respectfully fold their cards resulting in smaller pot sizes.

Tight Aggressive

A tight aggressive poker player will sit back and wait on a good hand or good position and then bet aggressively. It is thought that this style of play fits extremely well with No Limit Texas Hold’em. This type of player will frequently raise pre flop. If he/she is on a draw or thinks the hand is good, you better believe there will be a strong bet or raise following as well.

If you’re new to the game then you may not have a strategy down yet. Remember, there is no right answer to what type of style you choose or fall under but with practice you will probably be able spot what type or poker style suits you the best.

Holdem Starting Hands

In Texas holdem the first two cards dealt to each player are the holdem starting hands. As a players’ starting hand consists of two “hole” cards it is essential that the odds on the dealt cards are understood as it is on the strength of these two cards that the decision to bet will be made.s
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One hand in every 17 dealt will be a “pocket pair” (2 cards of the same rank), 4 hands out of every 17 will be “suited” cards (and a potential Flush) and 12 in 17 will be “offsuit” hands ( which could be ranking cards and potential high pairs e.g. Ace of Hearts and King of Clubs).s
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Generally all of the holdem starting hands have different strengths, these are rated on the assumption that nine or ten people are playing so if you are one of the first players any “pocket pair” is worth a bet but higher pairs should be played with restraint to leave your opponents guessing as to their value. The later your position at the table will influence the choices you make according to the value of your cards, the number of active hands and the size of the bets. If you were the seventh to tenth player and there were several active bets and raises a small pair should probably be discarded. High “suit” cards are probably worth a small bet early in the table and, if the stakes are not too high, they are worth holding on to if you are later in the table.s
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The “offsuit” hands are not such a good bet whatever your position at the table and even an Ace, King combination is only ranked around 12th position in a table of winning probabilities. The top ranked probabilities are the pocket pairs’ Aces to Queens followed by the “suited” cards Ace King and Ace Queen. How you play your hand will depend on how others play their hands and even on how you feel. You should always be aware of the odds on your hand being the winner and bet accordingly.s
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Even the best odds and reasoning can be thwarted when the community cards are exposed, especially the with the river card. The real skill is in knowing at which point you keep betting but, more importantly, at which point you don’t bet. The ability to recognise and run a bluff is also important. Knowing a good hand is not a guarantee of success but knowing the best holdem starting hands can certainly influence your decisions.

About the Author:
sLike games? then www pacific poker com and play at new internet poker sites

The Kings Secrets Revealed Double Bonus Poker Strategies

Go for the big bucksDouble bonus poker is the usual game dished up in Southern Nevada. This is not for the faint of heart nor the amateur. There is more to the usual thrill when playing double bonus poker. Strategies plus quick thinking are required to if you wish to call the shots in the next session. Actually, these strategies are easy, when you get the hang of these. Once you do, there is no reason why you should deal with simple combinations.The thrill for higher stakes can also be experienced with multi-play and dollar machines. Forget the quarter machines; they just give loose change. To whet your appetite here is a sample run-down of machine winnings. A Full House pays 10, and Flushes lets you pocket 7. Chances of winning are more than a 100%. Dont attempt to waste your time on 9/7 and 9/6 double bonus poker these dont well. Go for the 10/7 instead. These are some double bonus poker strategies that pay.If you are a beginner trying your luck with double bonus poker, the video poker game will be a good training ground before you go for the jugular. Playing against the machine will hone your mettle prior to facing real live players. Get the paying sets of double bonus poker. Strategies must be tucked up your sleeve when the deck of 52 cards is shuffled.Four of a Kind (Aces), Four of a Kind (twos, threes, or fours) and of Four of a kind (fives through Kings get high payouts. So start brushing up on these. Note that the maximum payout for video poker is 4000 coins. For 25 cents you can roll the minimum bet. The maximum bet of 25 dollars will run at five dollars x 5 coins. For a bet, click the coin icon to get the right denomination.Focus for the Kill

Winning is not everything. When playing at the table, a player has to observe poker etiquette and know how to read body signals. However, whatever double bonus poker strategies you have mastered, it sure pays to focus on the game.

Learn to Play Poker and Become a Profitable Player

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