Basics of online poker – Part 9

I’ve been apart of the live online poker world for over four years now, playing mainly No Limit Holdem Omaha poker. I have had my shares of excitement, torment, and overall frustration through out the four years. I have played at over 10 different online poker sites in search of fun, profitable money tables and online poker tournaments. But the only two web-sites that stand out for playing poker online are UltimateBet.com and FullTilt.com. Through my adventures at these sites I have learned many tips and tricks to being and becoming a good online poker player.

There are many things to learn to be a great online poker player but the two most important things to remember are being patient and being calm. It is important to remember that good cards and a good pot (money/chips to be won) will come. Be patient. The player must understand that there are millions of others who take many bad risks resulting in hundred’s and thousands of bad beats online. Stay Calm. For those of you who may not know what the meaning of bad beat’ is, online poker will soon teach you a bad beat is when your opponent beats you with an extremely unlikely hand usually with very low likely hood of happening. Learn to forget easily whether winning or losing a hand; if your emotions stay grounded you can think clearer from hand to hand.

I really like ultimate bet for one key reason. You can always find a free-roll tournament on UB. Every hour, 35 min after the hour, there is a new tournament. Although these tournaments register up to 3,000 people there are only about 900 left after the first hour. The top 20-30 people will be paid, but it does require a bit of gamble and good luck to come out on top. Untimely, trying to cash in these tournaments will take good poker reading, or the ability to know what cards your opponents have. Once you have cashed you can enjoy any table from pennies to any dollar amount you wish. If you do not want to wait the 4 to 5 hours to play at a money table, it will take seconds to put a minimum of 50 dollars on your account.

The other site that I recommend to try is Full Tilt poker. Full tilt poker offers great money tables and my favorite, Sit and Go tournaments. The Sit and Go tournaments and Full tilt are always going. They offer 45, 90, and 180 players Sit and Go’s ranging from a $1.25 to hundred dollar tourneys. These tournaments start once enough players have signed and it usually won’t take you longer than 5 minutes to start. Full Tilt also offers easy ways of deposit cash in a matter of seconds.

Whatever site you choose remember that on-line poker is for fun. From my experiences no matter what site you play at, if you want to play with good competitive players you will have to play at the higher dollar amount tables. Finally remember there are a lot of players who like to gamble, you will play against every single one of them.

All In: The ultimate no limit poker play

Choose your opponents and moments wisely when risking your entire stack. It’s true, you do get an awesome rush when flirting with the all-in, over the top raise. Especially when its a stone cold bluff intended only to get your opponent to fold.

Moving all in is not just about winning a huge pot, though. It is a strategic weapon in your poker game. That is, you have to also think of how going all in can be affected by your poker odds. Let’s consider an example:

The blinds are 25/50 and You have 1000 in chips left. You look down to see 78s in middle position. There is one limper in front of you and you elect to call. There is a raise up to 200 from the button. The blinds fold, early position calls and you call as you are being offered just over 3/1.

The board comes down 6s9dAs – a nice flop for you. The early position checks and you throw out a bet of 150 leaving you with 650. The button goes all in and you are now faced with a decision for all of your chips.

Your position is no longer a consideration. It will not matter if you are on the button or under the gun if you are going to be all in anyway. Therefore we can now look at this as a very simple probability problem.

You have 15 outs and so therefore have a 60% chance of improving to either a flush or a straight by the river. You only have 650 left and are being offered odds of just over 2/1 and so you should push all in!

Another great poker strategy for your all in move is when you move all in to prevent implied odds of you opponent. Let’s use the same example as above except flip it round so that you are now the button player.

It’s the same flop so the middle position puts in a bet of 150. It’s on you and you are holding unsuited big slick. You feel that you have the best of it at the moment and want to prevent the middle position from drawing something. Let’s say that instead of the middle position having 1000 at the beginning of the hand, he now has 3000 and so do you. In order to protect your hand, you could raise all in. The the middle position will only be getting odds of 1.32/1 which would not justify a call.

Of course, we know that the middle position will not always fold despite his odds. Such is poker.

Comparing online poker and traditional poker – Part 5

To many people today, comparing online poker to traditional live poker is like comparing the two Darrens on “Bewitched”; they both accomplish the same thing, but in two different ways. Online poker, especially since the “poker boom” of 2003 has become the number one way of people to learn the game. And, because of this, it has many of the “old school” live playing rounders shaking their heads in disbelief at what has become of their game.

The average game of Texas Hold Em, when played in a live setting, is a slow, almost tedious game. Between looking at the cards, counting out their chips for a bet, and contemplating a call and a raise, a full, 10 handed game will see maybe 30 hands per hour. According to the experts, you will fold almost 90% of your hands pre flop, in essence being involved in only 3 or so hands per hour. Compare it to the speed of an online game: As many as 120 hands per hour are possible. There is no need to count your chips; the computer does it for you. Most online sites give only 15-30 seconds to make a decision. The inherent speed of this game is the biggest difference. To an online player playing live for the first time, it can mind-numbingly dull, especially after only 3 hands in an hour.

The decision making process is also extremely different. Most people play for low limits (less then $100 a session). When only red and blue circles on a computer screen represent your poker playing bankroll, the money doesn’t seem “real”. It isn’t unusual to see a player putting his entire bankroll at stake on a flush draw. But, when the clay chips in front of you, in your hands, on the green felt, across from a guy with a nickname like “Buggy” staring you down with icicles in his eyes represent next months car payment, you think twice about calling a pot sized raise on a gut shot.

The strategy in both online and live play is similar, however, in online play, you have on great disadvantage: you can’t see your opponent. The study of “tells”, little, subconscious things we do when faced with a decision is a real challenge. Maybe Kohn always covers his mouth when he is bluffing. Mary can’t stop fidgeting with her hair when she has a strong hand. These tells can save, or cost you tons of money in a live game. Online, however, your opponent “Mr. Scary” is represented only by a flashing gold circle. He could be biting his nails, or eating chow mein for all you know. Some great online players have come up with “online tells” such as a betting patterns and the quickness of a decision. The faster the bet, the weaker the hand is the rule. To both online and live players, reading your opponent is one of the biggest advantages you can get in the game. Both players must make the necessary adjustments when venturing into the new version on their old game.

The greatest thing about online poker is the availability of a game, any time, anywhere. You don’t to drive 2 hours to the nearest casino, or book a trip to Vegas. You can just flip on your computer, and within minuets you are playing. This of course is also the downfall of many players. In a casino, when the money is gone, you go home. It’s a big psychological blow to the ego to have to go to the ATM for more money. Lost your roll on pokersite.com? Just add to your account with your bankcard, who’s gonna know?

In all, the game is the same, just the way you approach is different. It’s extremely hard to be successful in one version, but horrible at another. But, if you need to practice, online is the way to go. If you’re losing at both online and live, then sell the computer, put away the chips and take up golf. At least you’ll get out of the house.

Online Poker and How to Win Against your Opponent

Playing and winning online poker is a science. It is both a skill and an art of mastering things that most players take for granted.

If you are signing up for an online poker game, keep in mind never to choose the “any game at this limit” option. By choosing this, you are also hindering your capacity to take control of your position on every sign up list. There are options that give you the privilege of having the top position by winning and giving up the place by quitting and at the same time you could still rejoin and have you name at the bottom of the list.

Always look for a card room that fits your style. This way you always get the upper hand. If luck strikes in and you get on a bad round, look around the page for another table.

Playing two games at the same time seems a nice idea. It seems that by doing this, you could double your money in one playing hour. This could be true for some players, but remember, it happens for a few and not for everybody. Besides, playing two games at a time would definitely lay down your small blind more and you sure are most likely to tilt. Keep yourself focused on one game. This way you could have the upper hand especially if you are playing a major, drawn-out pot. Playing one game at a time also helps you play straightforwardly with only one opponent to concentrate on.

There is online software that has proved to be marvelous. However, there are minor glitches that you need to stay away from. This is the “in-turn” button. This button allows the player to act on hand before your actual turn and allows him to go back trying on other moves. But there may be instances that the internet connection may not be at their best. There may be a time that while clicking the “check in-turn button,” the action may already be on you. What will happen is that the “call” button might be popping out on your screen in the place where you are supposed to click the “check” button.

In poker, the only sure way of winning is by showing down the best hand. This is true not only for casinos but for online as well. However, there a number of reasonable ways a smart player could increase his chances of winning. The sure way of acquiring winning poker skills is by checking out how players deal with their games and keeping in mind the right moves.

This Poker Room is very popular Visit Full Tilt Poker

Do Online Poker Tools Really Work?

If you’re like most online poker players you want to know the secret to gaining an advantage over your opponents. You then probably understand that gaining this advantage online is much more difficult than in face-to-face live games.

Online games move so fast it’s hard to keep track of an opponent’s play, their decisions and how they play certain hands in particular positions.

Well there’s good news. An onslaught of online poker tools have come along to help you maximize your advantage. Before we find out if online poker tools really work let’s define what they are.

In short, online poker tools are any legal assistants (yes the online poker tools I am referring too are legal!) or software programs that help you play online poker. And hopefully play online poker better. These software programs assist you while actually playing at a table or they help you with your pre and post play analysis.

Most common online poker tools are calculators and trackers.

A poker calculator is a software program that’s run during play that provides valuable information like odds, probabilities, outs, etc.

A poker tracker is software that’s run before, during or after play that provides vital trending information that can be used to help analyze your play and improve performance.

Do these online poker tools really work?

Yes they do. With one caveat, since there are so many poker tools out there you need to find the right one/ones for you. I’ll be honest. Just like everything in life some are very good and some are horrible.

There are free tools out there. But I’m a believer that you get what you pay for.

That’s why I use one tool that stands above all the rest. Its called HoldemPirate or HoldemHawk. And it is the best poker odds, outs and probability calculator in the market today.

This tool has dramatically helped me understand how and why I make decisions the way that I do. Sometimes it has helped me when I could have made a very costly decision. It’s amazing the clarity you can receive from HoldemPirate.

I highly recommend this online poker tool. If you truly want to win more and systematically increase your odds of winning then you owe it to yourself to at least review this great online poker tool. In fact, you should get it as soon as possible.

Online Poker Tells – you Can’t See Them But you Can Judge Them!

Do Online Poker tells really exist? A tell? What is it? A poker tell is some sort of gestures, subconscious act or other mannerisms a person will display playing poker (or really action in life).

Being able to read them is essential for poker playing, but can you understand anything about a player’s tells online? The answer is YES.

Most pros of Online Poker will tell you that the tells they can read are very, but very clearly revealing.

For example, most agree that the speed of play is a very good tell, or indication of what your opponent is holding.

Online Poker offers you the option of waiting till its your turn to play to make any moves, or you can select the ‘in turn” button option.

This means you can act even before its your turn when it relates to checking, folding, betting or raising.

So having selected whatever option you wish, when its your turn, the action is almost instant.

As a good example, the quick bet is usually an indication of weakness.

Similarly, the delayed response is usually an indication of strength. as the delay is often for calculation on what to do with a stong hand.

Some online poker tells are very obvious, and can suggest that your opponent is a beginner.

For example a beginner will usually waits for one card after he has paired before making a bet.

You can see this in the example that he has been dealt a queen in 7 card stud poker, and checks.

You see he is dealt a three on his next street, and is now betting very high.

Is he so stupid to bet high on a pair of threes? You know he has paired his queen in the last street.

Chat boxes also mean a great deal in Online Poker tells.

If the player has been chatting away and all of a sudden goes silent…something is amiss.

This is a great online poker tell.

This sudden quiet is concentraton maybe on some good cards.

However, its also a way to bluff, so you must be really observant of the chatter.

Another really indicative tell is the lightening check.

In 9 times out of 10 this usually indicates weakness. Why?

Because when players quickly use the check and fold buttons, it means they are planning on folding their hands to any coming bet.

However, and note that although checking quickly usually means weakness, use caution if the player check and raises.

To be more exact, as a player check-raises, you can almost bet that at first, the check was a bluff to bet into his strong hand.

Finally, another easy tell is the pause followed by the bet.

You can be very certain this is a tell, and it usually indicates strength.

In other words, the player who delays longer than normal and then suddenly bets, has a strong hand.

This tell means that he is trying to say to you his hand is weak, and he needs time to think. He really hopes to bait you into a call.

For certain Online Poker tells are much different than the live table play tells, but nevertheless, you will find the above guidelines helpful while in the game play online.

You may not be able to see their face but the fact that you can observe their way of playing can be revealing.

Poker Strategies – Part 1

The game of Poker has taken the world by storm in recent years. Although it has always been an exciting card game, lately it has gained mounting popularity and has shown us through tournaments such as “The World Series of Poker” that even an average Joe, who has been playing the game for a relatively short amount of time, can walk away a millionaire. The way to win is to devise your own way of playing the game by building from a variety of tried and true Poker strategies available for you to learn.

The most important trick for a beginning Poker player to learn is how to “read” the other players. Unless you have an absolutely stellar hand that you are certain will win, then the strategy of reading your opposing players, to help determine what you should do with your own hand, is essential. You should begin by taking a few hands to observe your fellow players. Try to uncover if there are any habits your opponents have that coincide with a good hand or a bluff. Most great players try to conceal anything that could give away their hand, however, there may be very small, almost unnoticeable, things they are unaware of.

Another good way to try and determine what your opponent may have is by his verbal skills. He may try to distract you from your own hand by carrying on a meaningless conversation or taunting you when he is trying to bluff, be almost silent when he has a great hand, or over-acting like he has a outstanding hand when he actually has nothing. After a few hands, you may be able to decipher any patterns that your opposing players may have.

As you try to read your fellow Poker players keep in mind that they are probably trying to read you as well. Therefore, it is a good idea to try and not develop any noticeable patterns of your own. When playing with close friends, ask if there is anything you may do and are unaware of that could possibly give away your hand. Sometimes even something as little as an eyelid flutter can give devoted and observant opponents the advantage.

If trying to read your opponents doesn’t work out in the beginning, don’t get discouraged! The more you practice reading other players, the easier it will get. With each game of Poker that you play, you will be able to hone all of your skills and strategies until you are a true Poker master and, eventually, you may be ready to enter into the “World Series of Poker” yourself.

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Popular Online Poker: Some Facts

The anonymous play is particularly advantageous to the novice, and can be very important when playing with a with a card shark who has a sharply honed ability to read other players behavior. Although there are a lot of online games website which offer free games also, but playing games with real money has always been excited as you have an opportunity to earn good amount of money. Detailed notes regarding your opponent’s style and previous play can be kept close at hand in a notebook something you cannot do in a live game, and can be referenced and utilized at any time. While there are subtle telling actions in online poker that can be picked up on, these are much more easily controlled and circumvented.

The first and foremost quality to master this game is skills, if you have skills you can make money and also if you don’t have skills you will always learn to play better next time. Other tools at the online poker player’s disposal include easily accessible odds information and statistics, and the ability to use charts and calculators during game play. With a little effort poker tricks can be learned and used instead against your opponent. Apart from being very simple, it is also fair and transparent. Online poker players also have access to their own securely stored history, making it easy to examine and continually improve upon their game from past experience.

There would be always online poker rooms in the online games sites. If you are a beginner, you will also find free registration in few online poker sites. If you spend much time at all playing poker, this small amount can really add up. In addition, while playing online, it’s never necessary to tip the dealer whereas in a live game, it is customary, even expected, that you tip the dealer when you win, in addition to the rake. To play online poker game, the best way is to analyze the moves of your opponent and make your own strategies based on your observations.

There are a few disadvantages to playing online poker as well, but for many the advantages far overlook them. Ease, Availability, Game play, and Money saved are consistent factors, but online play can’t provide the thrill of face to face action or the buxom waitress supplying complimentary drinks. Also few websites provides free virtual money so that the beginner players will always have an opportunity to learn this game without the risk of losing their real money. Online poker play doesn’t preclude live play and many poker enthusiasts are able to find a balance that satisfies both their gaming preferences and entertainment needs.

The best starting hands in Texas holdem poker – Part 2

Beginners will often first seek to learn the ‘best’ starting hands for Texas holdem. Having strict starting hand requirements will give you a base to build upon, but can be very restricting to growth as a player.The importance of your starting hands goes down in value as your experience in Texas Holdem increases.

In fixed-limit holdem, starting hand requirements are extremely important but this is not so much the case in no-limit holdem. Fewer and fewer players play limit holdem these days and virtually all new players go straight to the World Series Main Event game ; No-Limit Holdem. This being the case, let us focus on no-limit starting hands for the beginning player.

Almost any two starting cards have value in different situations but the beginning player will get him/herself into a lot of trouble after the flop unless they play a select few hands preflop and know what to do with them after the flop hits.

For tournament poker, Dan Harrington’s “Harrington on Holdem Volume 1″ outlines what cards to play in what positions and relative to the action that precedes your turn. A few online resources have even made hand-charts based on Harrington’s book which will guide you through every stage of a multi-table tournament.

For ring (cash) poker at a full table of nine or ten. A beginning player can profit by playing the following hands.

>>All Pocket Pairs (AA-22)

>>AK, suited or unsuited

>>AQ, suited or unsuited

>>KQ suited

>>AJ suited

Granted this is a narrow range of hands but the idea is to keep the new player out of trouble.

AA and KK, play aggressively from any position. Ideally try to get all the money in preflop. Pocket pairs in general should be played for set value only. No set – no bet. If you end up with an overpair to the board, be cautious. AK can be played aggressively preflop and on the flop against one opponent. AQ KQ and AJ should raise in late position unless facing a raise, in which case fold.

The suggestions here will create a robotic, unthinking style of play. This is all that can be expected using starting hands as a basis for your play. Poker is a wonderfully complex game with many many layers of thought and strategy. If you just want to make a few quid at the micro/low stakes then now you can do so. If however you want to improve your game and get more enjoyment from it, then I recommend studying and practising all aspects of the game instead of focusing too much on starting hands.

Useful Ideas to Improve the Game in Online Poker Rooms

The rules for online poker are straightforward and very easy to learn. However, knowing how to play it right in order to improve your play and have an edge over others takes some workup and time. On the brighter side, as long as you try to understand the rules and know a few good strategies, you will generally do well in all online poker rooms you join.

The key to success in all online poker rooms is to make the right decisions and the best choices. You can only win consistently if you are able to use the information you have to interpret opponent behaviour and to master the game in general. Making the right choices starts not from the minute you enter the online poker rooms, but from the minute you choose a poker site you wish to play at. You should only choose reputable poker sites which are already well-known to be quick-paying and strictly follows industry standard. Once you have chosen a poker site, you should carefully set your betting limit, your stake and your table. When choosing among the available tables in the poker rooms, do not be in a hurry. Instead of being eager, try to observe at least three and choose based on what you think will give you a better chance of winning.

Many poker players will suggest you take down notes of the game as you play. What you want is to carefully analyze the style of your opponent so you know exactly what strategy to use in order to win. Many sites have online poker rooms which allow you to add your own player notes. In relation to this, make sure you turn off all distractions and chat functions in your online site. Stop surfing, stop checking your email. Instead, remember that your play involves money so devote your full attention to it and to the poker rooms.

Once you have mastered the basic rules and fundamentals of a particular poker game, it is very common for online players to fall into the trap of mechanical play. No matter how the online poker rooms encourage you to be stimulated, the fact that you are stuck in a seat at home encourages otherwise. When you fall into mechanical play, your strategies will become predictable, you will start losing focus, and you seem to make your moves without having to think. If you find any of these happening to you in online poker rooms, take this as a signal to start mixing up your play and tweak your game a little. This will not only spice up your almost boring poker game, but it can put your opponents in an off-balanced state to your advantage.

There is no room for timid minds in the poker rooms. You should play as tightly as you can. Know the rules by heart and understand what the odds are. Make aggressive bets at the right time within reasonable limits. Finally, when playing make sure you stay long enough to improve your strategy, but not too long. You might get tired and sloppy afterwards. Online poker is fun no matter what poker rooms are available, but improving your play will make it all the more fun.

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