General Poker Tips And Strategy

The biggest mistake for beginner players is playing too many hands and playing too passively. It is important to wait for decent hands and throw away the junk hands. The big pairs such as AA, KK and QQ are by far the most profitable starting hands in poker. It's very important to play them in a way that maximizes your profit because these hands have a very high positive expectation and are rare. Just like other situations in poker where you have the best of it, you want to build up the pot quickly. In most situations, when you have a big hand you want to build up the pot by taking the lead with betting and raising. However, there are some situations where you may want your opponent to be the aggressor and do the betting for you. You do this when your opponent is super aggressive and they bet and raise frequently with poor holdings. You should play it a bit different if you have a large stack nearing 100bb or more. This is because if you get it all-in on the river with a big stack, you will almost always be beaten by a two-pair hand or better. As the stack and pots get bigger, the better the hand you need to see a showdown. Often even strong hands like two-pairs and sets are no good when a lot of money goes in the pot on later streets. So if someone re-raises you on the turn or river with scary community cards, you may want to think about folding your high pair. When you play a hand in poker it is important to plan the hand in advance. Why are you playing that hand and how are you going to play it? Too many players just play the hand because they like the look of it. They have succumbed to the "calling reflex" which is the idea that people have a tendency to want to call, even often without thinking about it beforehand. People don't come down to the local casino or play online to just sit there and fold all day. Small pairs and suited connected cards can be very profitable in no-limit hold 'em. Hitting sets and making flushes and straights have the potential to win big pots. They are often quite deceptive, especially straights like double gut shots, which are very hard to see and put people on sometimes.

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Online Poker Tips, Strategies and Tricks

Nowadays the trick to online poker is not about playing the best, but instead it's now about playing at the best and most profitable tables. But how do you find these profitable sites and tables? The first tip is to play during peak times. This is the time when people come home from work and relax in the evening by playing poker. Another thing about online poker is multi-tabling. Playing multiple tables at once is the best thing about playing online. This is the reason why there are so many grinders at the big sites who play tons of tables at once. They make a slight profit on each one, but it all adds up to a big profit. But how do you get to this stage and how many tables should you play at the same time? The first thing to remember is that you should only multi-table if you are a winning player. Online poker is much more profitable than live poker. The rake percentages of online poker sites are less than that of live brick and mortar casino poker. Typically the casino rake is about 10% and that doesn't even include tipping. Online poker is around 5%, so about half the rake of a real casino. It gets even better with deposit bonuses, rake back and loyalty rewards, you will end up paying even less rake. The best thing about online poker is the tournaments. Tournament poker is different to cash game poker. Play conservatively at first when the blinds are small compared to the stacks. Be more aggressive later when the blinds increase. Single table Sit n Go's are becoming increasingly popular. These are small tournaments with 9 or 10 tables with the top 3 places being paid. Just like larger tournaments, be tight at first and wait till there are 4 or 5 players left. Heads up poker is a very fun variation and is quite profitable. In fact the best players in the world often play this form the game almost exclusively. The thing to understand about heads up poker is that the person who is the most aggressive will often win. This is because you are going to miss the flop more often than not. You can't wait for a decent hand because they are so rare. Often you will find ace high wins the pot and a stack of chips. I have improved my full ring game by playing heads up poker. It teached you aggressive and what to do when you come up against one player.

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Poker Strategy - Playing Trap Hands Like King-Queen

One of the most frustrating and subtle strategies of playing poker is through the handling and play of these range of hands that actually are badly overrated by amateurs and beginning players. They are referred to as trap hands because they appear as a premium hand but they are actually really just high suited or unsuited connectors that most players aren't aware of. The beginning player will be dealt King-Queen and will likely think, "Oh, sweet this is just like Big-Slick." They could not be more wrong. Great players that want to play tight, smart poker probably do not even have king-queen on their list of starting hand requirements and if they do it's in very late table position. These hands need to be treated similarly to 9-8s, 10-9s and other suited connectors, the only difference is that they are high in card rank but do not make the mistake of playing them like a premium hand because they are not. Let us look at a quick example. You are dealt K-Q suited, which by most is the highest rated "trap" hand, and call another player's raise (this player was located under the gun, directly left of the big blind and the raise was 3x the big blind). This raise was called by you who sat in 2nd position directly left of the raiser. The first mistake was calling a raise with this hand in early position, when a player raises in early position they are indicating a tremendous amount of strength and poker theory states that to call their raise you need a hand of equal or better strength. The rest of the players fold and the flop reveals: K-J-5. You flopped top pair with second kicker and you are most certainly ahead! You can't be so sure just yet. So you call the original bettor down to showdown and he reveals A-K and you lose the pot. That is the problem with entering pots with trap hands, because most beginners play them like premium hands so they enter pots against premium hands that have them hopelessly crushed.

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How to Out-Strategize Your Online Heads-Up Poker Opponents

Heads Up Poker Strategy - Its impossible to win any heads up poker tournament if you can't dominate your last tournament opponent in a heads up poker match. This article will help you understand the skills you need to master to out-strategize your online heads-up poker opponents. No matter whether you are playing poker live or online, every tournament ultimately comes down to a heads up match between the winner and the best loser. Although my experience is mostly online, the following pointers apply no matter where you play. I love the online poker rooms, however, because they offer heads-up poker tournaments that allow you to use the following skills from the beginning of every game. Because most players are poor heads-up players, this gives the skilled heads-up poker player a distinct advantage. Most poker player incorrectly believe that when it gets down to heads-up play its all about luck. They couldn't be more wrong. The truth is that most players simply don't know how to play heads-up, so they get "unlucky" a lot of the time. The first important principle of heads-up poker play is that you MUST change your play because the value of starting hands is dramatically different when only facing one opponent. You have to play hands you might never dream of playing in any other situation. For example, any Ace is a very good hand that should be played aggressively. This point raises another principle, which is that to be a successful heads-up poker player you must be extremely aggressive, sometimes even when you have a poor starting hand. Keep the pressure on and collect chips at every opportunity. Some players understand they must be aggressive and you can use this against them, re-raising often to collect even more chips. Of course, the result of all of this is that you will need to play a lot of hands. This means raising pre-flop with any Ace, King or Queen in most situations, and re-raising with the same. By keeping the pressure on, you'll amass chips quickly against a timid player and keep even good players from knowing what kind of a hand you've got - giving you a great opportunity to trap such players when you do have a very strong hand.

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Pai Gow Poker Strategy - How to Win the Game

Pai gow poker is derived from the Chinese domino game pai gow. Unlike typical casino card games like blackjack, this game can run more slowly and offers a longer amount of playtime for the investment. To find out the best strategies for winning Pai Gow, let's first look at how the game is played. Pai Gow utilizes all 52 card and one joker-53 in total. The basic object is for each player to create two poker hands out of the seven cards he receives. The dealer places seven facedown piles of seven cards per pile. The remaining cards are unused no matter how many people are playing (up to seven people may play). It is important to note that even if there are only two people playing, one player and the dealer, the cards are dealt as if there were seven people at the table. The players' betting depends on his position from one to seven; the dealer is included in the play and the dealer can change from to any player from time to time depending upon house rules. Betting positions can either start with the dealer and then go counter-clockwise or can be determined by random numbers chosen electronically or by a pair of dice. The object of the game is for a player to create two hands out of the seven cards the dealer gives him. The players five-card hand is ranked just as in five-card draw poker, the two-card hand is ranked as pairs or the higher of the two cards. After initial wagers have been placed, play begins with the first person showing his best five hand card and best two-card hand. The joker is usually wild. This continues with all the other players until everyone has completed their five and two card hands. Then the dealer, or seventh player takes his turn. To win, beginning with the first player he must beat the dealers five card hand and then two card hand. If the player hands are tied with the dealers, the game for the player ends with the dealer getting the money. If the player beats the dealer on both hands, he wins money, less a 5% commission to the dealer. If the player wins one, but loses the other, the game ends in a push. Okay, to figure out the best strategy here, let's look at what some experts do. One choice is to pre-pay commissions, which you are allowed to do. For instance, if you are betting $100, pay $105. The reason this is better is that it lowers your commission from 5% to 4.76%. Another strategy may be the cards dealt to the non-players. Remember seven piles are dealt even if there are only four people playing. A player has the option to trade with these non-playing or "dragon" cards; these cards may hold higher hands than what you have. Further, try and make your two-card hand higher than your five-card hand. The best source of strategies we found was on Wikipedia1 that explained how to determine what is your best hand. Experts have contributed to Wikipedia's strategies and we offer them here and have noted our source in the footnote area: If a player has no pairs, straights or flushes, he can set the second- and third-highest cards in his two-card hand. For example, with K-Q-J-9-7-4-3 he can play Q-J and K-9-7-4-3. There are a few minor exceptions to this, for example, with A-Q-10-9-5-4-2 it is slightly better to play Q-9 and A-10-5-4-2, but these situations are rare and do not affect a player's win rate much. If a player has nothing but a single pair, he can set it in his five-card hand and put the two highest remaining cards in his two-card hand. For example, with A-Q-Q-9-6-5-3 he can play A-9 and Q-Q-6-5-3. There are no exceptions to this rule. This and the above rule will cover approximately 65% of played hands. Two pair is the most common case where strategy isn't obvious. A player can either play high pair behind and small pair in front, or else two pair behind and high cards in front. The smaller the high pair and higher the remaining cards, the more inclined he should be to play two pair behind. If his side cards are small or his larger pair is large, he should split the pairs. He should always split the pairs if his high pair is of aces, and should almost always split if his high pair is of kings or queens: they are high enough by themselves. With cards like J-J-4-4-A-Q-5 he can consider playing A-Q and J-J-4-4-5- since A-Q in front is not much worse than 4-4; however, two pair behind is much better than a single pair of jacks. A player with jacks and tens might be more inclined to split, because tens in front is much better than A-Q. With pairs as small as 7s and 8s, a player might consider playing two pair behind if he can play a king-high or better in front. With 2s and 3s he may even play as little as a queen-high in front. If he has no side cards higher than a jack, he should always split pairs, even 2s and 3s (most house ways split if there's a pair of 6s or higher, and split small pairs if there's no ace for the low hand). Three pair is a very good hand. A player should always play the highest pair in front with no exceptions. For example, with K-K-7-7-4-4-A he should play K-K and 7-7-4-4-A. If a player has three of a kind and nothing else, he should play three of a kind behind and the remaining high cards in front unless they are aces. He should always split three aces, playing a pair of aces behind and ace-high in front. Occasionally, he can even split three kings if his remaining side cards are not queen-high; for example, with K-K-K-J-9-7-6 it is slightly better to play K-J and K-K-9-7-6 than to play J-9 and K-K-K-7-6. Most house ways only split three aces. If a player can play a straight or a flush or both, he should play whichever straight-or-better five-card hand makes the best two-card hand. For example, with K`-9`-8c-7`-6c-5`-4` playing the flush would put 8-6 in front, playing the 9-high straight would put K-4 up front, but the correct play is K-9 and 8-7-6-5-4. Occasionally the player will have a straight or flush with two pair; in that case, he should play as if it were two pair and ignore the straight or flush. This rule applies even if a player can play a straight flush; if a straight or flush makes a better hand in front, play it that way. With a full house, a player should generally play the three of a kind behind and the pair in front. The exception is if the pair is very small and the side cards are very high; for example, with 5-5-5-3-3-A-Q it might be better to play A-Q with the full house behind. However, these cases are rare, and a player will never be making a big mistake if he never play a full house behind. House ways usually split the full house. With two three of a kinds, a player should play the higher as a pair in front and the smaller three of a kind behind. For example, with Q-Q-Q-7-7-7-A he should play Q-Q and 7-7-7-A-Q - no exceptions. With four of a kind, a player should play as if it were two pair, but should be slightly less inclined to split. For example, with 10-10-10-10-J-5-4 he should play 10-10 and 10-10-J-5-4, and with 3-3-3-3-K-Q-7, K-Q and 3-3-3-3-7. Most house ways always split the four of a kind. With three pair and a straight or flush (only possible with the joker), a player should play his hand as three pair (with aces in front). Pai gow poker is a good bet for your buck if you want to spend a while playing one game-there are a lot of pushes in the game. The Americanized version of pai gow poker was created by Fred Wolf in 1980 and has grown in not only large Las Vegas casinos but smaller casinos across the United States.

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Free Poker Strategy Tips

The goal of every poker player is to win the game, and winning it with free poker bets is even something more delightful. You can increase your chances of winning by following these free poker strategy tips. Poker is perhaps the most popular game online. As a matter of fact, the internet is flooded with countless poker sites that offer free to intense poker competitions. One can easily be astounded with the number of poker sites and games available online. It is crucial that you find a poker site that will offer you the best options, munificent free bets, and unmatched bonuses. In a poker game, it is important that you are able to outwit and outsmart other poker players. In honing your skills as a player, there are poker strategy tips that you can consider. These poker strategy tips will enable you to become more clever and sharp-witted in poker and will enable you to get the better of your opponents. One of the more sensible poker strategy tips is to familiarize yourself with the rules of the game from the basic to its variants to the progression of hands to a point where you can consider yourself an expert. Knowing the game thoroughly can definitely give you an intelligent edge over your opponents. You also have to develop the skill of anticipating the moves of your opponents. You've got to think on their lines in order to outwit them or catch them when they try to cheat. Maintain a calm demeanor when you play even when the game becomes heated. Don't ever give your opponents hints through your gestures and reactions of what's going to be your move. Perfect timing is also crucial in a poker game. Of course, as with everything else in life, an important element in any poker game is preparation. You have to be prepared to play poker. You wouldn't enter the competition without your armors and tools right? You must be able to know the playing field, the number and strength of your opponents as well as their weaknesses and limitations. In playing poker online, you may be facing the computer or genuine people as your opponents. With the computer as your opponent, you can sharpen your skills by playing different levels of expertise. But nothing compares to the excitement and thrill of competing against real players. Here, you can study their moves, get to know them better to get the better out of them. As most poker players are always concentrated on the hand they hold, you can carefully observe from their hands to their eyes how they move to give you hindsight on whether they are holding strong or weak cards. There are several other poker strategy tips that you can consider as your guide to improve your expertise in playing the game. From mastering the art of bluffing to exercising flexibility, you can always benefit from these poker strategy tips to polish your own individual game. With so many strategies, methods, techniques that you can learn and understand, you can always come out a guaranteed winner in a game of poker.

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Essential Online Poker Strategy

There is an online gambling strategy for craps, roulette, blackjack, poker and any other game you have in mind. It only seems natural that what ever game you choose to play, you have some sort of well thought out strategy to beat the odds and come out the winner. After all that is pretty much the bottom line; the point is you won and of course all that beautiful, beautiful money! Very few people would argue that the game of poker has not had any transition problems going from the traditional brick and mortar to the many online casinos. If anything, being able to gamble in the comfort of your own home on your own schedule has made it incredible easy to go online and take your shot at winning. Since it has become so simple to get into a game then the next logical step is to concentrate on working out your strategy details for winning. The strategy for playing and winning at online poker is a crafty one consisting of playing mind games with your opponent. It is a lot like using the smarts of a fox to get to the eggs; only in this case you are after the pot of money! This technique for winning goes way back and the reason it is still in use today is because it can be a winner all the way around. It you learn the skill of bluffing you have just mastered the necessary techniques for winning at poker. People that understand other people's thoughts and know what makes them tick and how they will react can do an excellent job of bluffing. First off, never abuse the number of times that you bluff because the more you bluff the odds will increase that your opponent will call your hand. Do not repeat any type of patterns often that will draw attention from other players. Watch the other players and learn their style of playing before you bluff. The strategy of bluffing in poker has made many a man pretty wealthy by bidding his time for the right play. As you learn more and more about playing poker you will come to realize that often times you are going to have to make some very quick decisions because that is what the game calls for. Sometimes people do quite well at playing poker when they listen to what their gut says. Instinct can be a very powerful emotion and many times it is, right down to the last card. If you are new to the art of poker the first thing is to get on board with the rules until you know them backwards and forwards. Once you begin to feel comfortable then you will develop your own sense of style. What works right for you, what feels comfortable and works well? Learning to play poker well takes some time as you take small steps towards winning. It is interesting how you acquire confidence after learning a new subject, technique or even a new job. You start out as green as can be with no foundation about the subject and eventually learn all about it. The next thing you know without even realizing it most times is that you begin to exude confidence, you feel comfortable and you can accomplish your goal easily. Poker works the same way. Once you slide into that confidence arena choices are much easier to make and many decisions do not even require any careful considerations. You just make the judgment call naturally and that is the way to succeed at playing a good hand of poker.

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The Art of Folding the Cards

While many players spend hour perfecting their bluffing skills and learning to look for tells in other players, the art of folding is often overlooked. Believe it or not, it is possible to fold every hand and end up in the top 50% in any given online poker tournament! Human nature makes many of us believe that the other players at the table are bluffing and that your Ace/King draw is enough to win you the big pot but the art of folding is based on smart, conservative play. Folding with cards you don't have full confidence in will help minimize your losses, which funny enough, increase your profits made on your strong hands. Developing a consistent strategy is crucial in winning at online poker. Whether it be Texas Holdem, Seven Card Stud or any other form of poker it is always best to condition yourself to play only the hands you have a strong chance of winning and decreasing your chance of losses with weaker hands. If you have established a solid bluffing skill and are able to quickly spot the tells of other players, the art of folding is the third tool in making you a better player. Establishing yourself as a player who will fold on first site of a weak hand can be beneficial in later play when you decide it is time to use your well rehearsed bluffing skills. Players will think twice before continuing to raise the pot when they know of your high fold rate. The longer the game goes the less likely they are to challenge you when you are aggressively raising, which translates into more wins coming your way by simly mastering the art of folding! Another benefit to the art of folding is it gives you more opportunity to study the behavior of the other players at the table. You can make notes on who is a "maniac", who uses the bluff too often and who is playing the same strategy as yours. Knowing the behavior patterns of the others at your table will help you determine how far you can take your strong plays and when it is best to execute your bluff. This is the art of folding and how it improves your overall chances at a successful round of online poker. As with any part of your strategy, use the fold smartly and play smart to win big!

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General Poker Tips And Strategy

The biggest mistake for beginner players is playing too many hands and playing too passively. It is important to wait for decent hands and throw away the junk hands. The big pairs such as AA, KK and QQ are by far the most profitable starting hands in poker. It's very important to play them in a way that maximizes your profit because these hands have a very high positive expectation and are rare. Just like other situations in poker where you have the best of it, you want to build up the pot quickly. In most situations, when you have a big hand you want to build up the pot by taking the lead with betting and raising. However, there are some situations where you may want your opponent to be the aggressor and do the betting for you. You do this when your opponent is super aggressive and they bet and raise frequently with poor holdings. You should play it a bit different if you have a large stack nearing 100bb or more. This is because if you get it all-in on the river with a big stack, you will almost always be beaten by a two-pair hand or better. As the stack and pots get bigger, the better the hand you need to see a showdown. Often even strong hands like two-pairs and sets are no good when a lot of money goes in the pot on later streets. So if someone re-raises you on the turn or river with scary community cards, you may want to think about folding your high pair. When you play a hand in poker it is important to plan the hand in advance. Why are you playing that hand and how are you going to play it? Too many players just play the hand because they like the look of it. They have succumbed to the "calling reflex" which is the idea that people have a tendency to want to call, even often without thinking about it beforehand. People don't come down to the local casino or play online to just sit there and fold all day. Small pairs and suited connected cards can be very profitable in no-limit hold 'em. Hitting sets and making flushes and straights have the potential to win big pots. They are often quite deceptive, especially straights like double gut shots, which are very hard to see and put people on sometimes.

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Starting Hand Selection in Texas Hold'em Poker

One of the first and most important things to learn when playing Texas Hold'em is which starting hands are worth staying in with -- and which you should fold. Deciding whether or not those two down cards you're first dealt are playable is the most important decision in every hand, because while you have to be in it to win it, you also can't lose money you haven't bet. Since the two hole or pocket cards are the only thing that will make your hand better or worse than any other players, it's important that they are good strong cards. And play only the cards in the 10 best list and always fold the hands in the worst hands list. Doing this alone will improve your results. But to really succeed as a good Hold'em player, you need to vary your starting hand selection standards depending on your poker position. Read more about understanding poker position if it's a new concept to you. It's important because you need to tighten up your standards in early position (such as the blinds) and can loosen up your standards in late postion (such as sitting on the button).

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How to Win at Video Poker

Learn how to maximize your odds of winning -- and how much you win -- at Jacks-or-better video poker. The most important thing in video poker is learning which of your original five cards to keep or hold and which to discard. You should have a basic knowledge of what beats what and how to play five-card draw before getting into the nitty-gritty of strategy. By far, the most common question and situation I encounter is: What should you do when you are dealt a low pair (10s or lower)? While sometimes it may look tempting to draw to a straight or just try your luck with 5 entirely new cards, the answer is almost always to keep the low pair. The general exception to this rule is when you have 4 cards to a flush, straight flush, or a royal straight flush. In these cases you always want to draw to the flush or straight flush because your odds of getting at least the flush are very good and the payout is so much higher. If you can remember this one single strategy, you will be in better shape than many players. For more precise and even better odds, below is a table telling you exactly which cards to keep and which to throw away depending on your starting 5 cards. To read the table, start at the top and match your hand to the highest one on the list and follow the number listed there. In other words, while you may have both a pair and four cards to a flush, such as having the Ace of hearts and the Ace, King, Queen, and Jack of spades (AAKQJ) you will discard the Ace or hearts and try to hit the royal straight flush, since "four-card royal straight flush" is higher on the chart than "High pair."

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How to Read Poker Tells

One skills most good poker players have is the ability to read their opponents at the table. That is why you hear so much about “poker tells.” A “tell” is any physical reaction, kind of behavior, or habit that gives (or tells) the other players information about your hand. If you learn the most common tells, you can not only watch your own behavior to make sure your body language isn’t telling all your secrets, but also watch for the habits and tics in the poker players you’re at the table with. If you can accurately read your opponent’s tells, you’ll make the right decisions against them more often and win more money. Anyone has their own unique tics and tells, and it’s great to watch individuals and pick up on their unique tells. Luckily, there are also a few involuntary and common tells that you can watch for even the first time you sit down with someone. As a general rule, remember that when a player acts strong, he’s probably weak, and when a player acts weak, he's probably got a really strong hand. Poker Tells that Say "I Have a Good Hand!" Acting Uninterested in a Hand While Still in It This is usually a sign of a strong hand. The player is pretending that he’s not excited about his cards – but he is. Shaking Hands During a hand, if you notice a player’s hands are shaking as she places her bet, she probably has gotten a really, really good hand. Perhaps the nuts. Rapid Breathing Some players can control the shakes, but it's harder to control the automatic heart-racing that comes when you see pocket aces or hit the flop really hard. If you can see a player's chest visibly rising and falling, they have an excellent hand Sighing and Shrugging If a player makes a show of sighing or shrugging, and says things like “Oh, I guess I’ll call,” or even “Why am I calling?” he probably is overacting and is trying to hide a big hand. Glancing at Chips After Looking at Hole Cards When a player looks down and sees strong hole or pocket cards, she may glance over at her chips to see just how much she can bet. Poker Tells that Say "I Have a Weak Hand!" Staring Down Other Players If an opponent is staring you down, he’s trying to represent strength. Usually though, he has a weak hand – he might have something, but it’s something that can be beaten or drawn out on. Holding Breath Often, inexperienced players will hold their breath if they are bluffing. Poker Tells that Say "I Have a Drawing Hand." Checking Hole Cards After a Flop If the flop shows the possibility of giving someone a flush or straight draw, watch for people re-checking their hole cards. They’re checking to see if they have a piece of it – whether that black Ace was a spade or a club. The player doesn’t have the flush or straight at that point, because if they did, they wouldn’t have to check, but she is seeing if she has a draw to it. Taking a Long Time Before Calling a Bet If a player looks into the pot and seems to be doing some calculating in his head, he probably is. He’s most likely figuring out the pot odds to see if it’s worth it to try and catch the cards he needs to complete his drawing hand.

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The Best Heads Up Poker Strategy Exposed!

It would be quite hard to win a poker tournament if you don't have a good heads up poker strategy in place. Once you learn the secrets of good heads up poker strategy, then your chances of becoming one of the best poker players out there is likely to increase. What is one of the key things that a poker player has to remember throughout the game? That is to keep in mind that the hand you started with can change over the course of the game. In fact, it can change so much that even if you started with a bad hand, once you play your strategies well, you can end up with one of the best hands if not the best out of them all. Basically, you would be able to play more starting hands during heads up play when compared to playing at a full table. The strength of the hand you started with also increases by a huge percent because of the limited number of dealt cards. Another bonus is the fact that the chances of your opponent having a really strong hand decreases thus giving you more chances of winning. The number of people playing Texas Holdem heads up has actually increased in the recent years. The popularity of the game is largely attributed to the fact that it is both a fast and aggressive game and people feed off this adrenaline rush. It is also logical that many people have developed their own heads up poker strategy to get ahead of the competition. Lucky for newbies to the game, this heads up poker strategy or strategies are also being generously shared by the more seasoned players. Among the more popular strategies that many players use is referred to as Blind Stealing which is said to be the best for those who are at the beginner's level. Basically, the beginner is taught to loosen up because unlike the typical round table games, heads up would require the player to be quick and should be able to steal the most number of blinds. Furthermore, the more time you take when it comes to thinking about your next action, the lower your chances are of reaching the top. There are some significant changes that one has to make to his or her strategies as well as a lot more calls than one would ever do in a conventional round table game. Another crucial thing that one must remember during a heads up game is to judge your opponent wisely. This is considered to be an ace heads up poker strategy and judging your opponent is probably even more significant during a heads up game in comparison to a conventional round table game. There are times wherein you would find yourself with a hand that's not so great but if you are able to judge both body language and strategy of your opponent, you still have a great chance of winning. Though this is often over looked by many players, it is still among the most vital heads up poker strategy.

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Basic Poker Strategy For Beginners

Poker isn't just a game of chance and luck. While it's absolutely true these things do come into play, there's a level of skill involved in becoming a good poker player. With this in mind, it doesn't matter whether the game is Black Jack, Texas Hold 'Em or 7-Card Stud, some simple poker strategy can go along way toward helping a player become a winner. It won't guarantee a win every time, but it can up the odds in a player's favor. There are some basic poker strategy tips that extend to just about any game being played. From 5-Card Stud to High-Lo and beyond, these things combine to make a good poker player: Focus: Perhaps the number one poker strategy employed by a good player is the use of focus and discipline. Good players are patient and they wait for the right hands and restrain themselves from making foolish moves. Discipline and focus can be a hard poker strategy to employ, but it can pay off in the long run. Watching, waiting: The next big poker strategy good players use is to do nothing more than employ the powers of observation. They pay attention to what's going on, watch the behaviors of their opponents and gain a feel for the game and the table. This can be harder in online poker, but this poker strategy extends to that arena, as well. Understanding: The most basic poker strategy of all, and one of the most vital, is understanding the game being played. Players that use this poker strategy will begin to intuitively understand that odds involved in making particular moves. This poker strategy goes beyond know the cards in a good hand, it extends to the ins and outs of each game being played. Improvisation: Another good poker strategy to employ is making sure your actions are not consistent. When other players are watching, this particular poker strategy can make it very difficult for them to read you. In turn, this poker strategy can pay off with wins when the cards might say otherwise. Money matters: This is the poker strategy tip that can make the most difference in the long run. Don't bet it all on one pot and don't bring to the table more than you can afford to lose. Players that follow this poker strategy tend to be able to play it close to the vest because they aren't as concerned about individual hands as those who bring their milk money to the table. It takes a while to master basic poker strategy, but doing so can help increase wins and decrease losses. While no poker strategy in the world can guarantee a win every time, the idea is to increase the odds in your favor.

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Picking Up the Best Rush Poker Strategy For Your Game

If you have yet to try rush poker, you are in for a fast paced, action packed poker game that will keep you jumping and can get you to win pot after pot once you pick up on the game and form your own rush poker strategy. Because this is so different than any other type of poker game and is played on full tilt poker, you are going to want to get the hang of the game before you hit on the right strategy for you. You have a lot of advantages when it comes to playing this new poker game. You can be seated at a 6 or 9 person table and get moved quickly from table to table each time you fold. This gives you a new hand in which to play right away, instead of having to wait for the rest of the action to take place. Those who enjoy playing a fast paced poker game are starting to enjoy the action of this game. One of the advantages is that because it is so new, even the experienced players are working out different strategies that work for them. One rush poker strategy that may work for you is a conservative poker game with an occasional bluff. You can move quickly from table to table this way without incurring any high stakes. This is a no limit game but with very low stakes, so folding a hand is not a big deal, as it is with other larger stake games. If you get two high cards in the pocket, you stay in and wait for the flop. If not, you fold and move on, this can be a very conservative approach and give you a rush poker strategy. Another rush poker strategy is the bluff. This works well on occasion in most poker games but has to be used sparingly. If a player bluffs all the time, others will soon catch on and call. However, because players are not risking big stakes in this game and can quickly move on and draw another hand, they are more inclined to fold in this type of game than in any other. Get to know the game before you come up with your own rush poker strategy and you will soon start to be comfortable with the fast paced action of the game. The more you continue to play, the more you will see how other players are working the game and you can also pick up on them. Everyone who plays poker has a different style when it comes to this game. Rush employs the same concept as regular poker when it comes to rules of the game, but a player can fold at any time, move quickly to another table and before they know it, have another hand dealt to them. Players can get about 300 hands in an hour playing this way. Play the streaks and know when to fold, those are the basic rules of playing poker. Once you start to play this game, you will see that it is no different than any other poker game out there, with the exception of the speed, that you will soon get used to playing.

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Sit and Go Poker Strategy

The majority of online poker players are moving from ring games into playing poker sit n go's. The reason: LOW RISK, HIGH REWARD! What do I mean by that? Well to play sit n go's you pay a flat fee for the sit n go tournaments and you can only lose that amount and NO MORE. That is key right there. Poker bad beats are everywhere and on any site you play on. You can't avoid them and they are part of poker. You can have the best hand 90% of the time going into the flop, and wind up losing nearly every single time. The payout for sit and go tournament's is great to, the breakdown is below: 1st place = A nice 50% of the total prize pool 2nd place = 30% of the total prize pool 3rd place = Last but not least, 3rd place is 20% of the overall total prize pool Here is what many poker players do not know. Playing for first is a must if you want any chance of making a stable living playing sit and go's. One first place victory is just like finishing 3rd place 3 times. Many players only play to make the money, that means playing tight nearly throughout the whole tournament, taking no risks. If you have this poker strategy in place, that may be why you are winning some first place games but not enough. Here is what you need to do. Go out and buy a pocket book if you do not know the rules yet. Study the game, strategies, and types of players and hands sit n go poker has to offer. Once you know the rules you should follow this strategy in a 9 seater sit n go. On average when you start the sit n go, about the first 20 hands will be folded. After about 20 hands the tournament should be down to about 6 or 7 players. Your game needs to remain tight, playing premium hands and building your chip stack as much as possible if you are catching the right cards. Once you are down to around 5 people your game needs to switch from tight to passive aggressive. You need to keep building your chip stack to prepare yourself for a first place finish, you WON'T BE SEDLING FOR 3rd! Once there is 4 players left, this is where it gets good. Many players will just sit there and fold every poker hand they see. You need to take advantage of these players and steal as much blinds as possible to cushion your stack for first place. It is wise to bully people around when 4 players left, raising all the time, and stealing the small blind and big blinds chips. The only way a player will call a raise is with a premium hand that they just can't let go. Once you steal these blinds, you will be sailing into first place once player number 4 is knocked out of the sit and go poker tournament. You will definitely feel the sit and go power! You will be saying, "First place has never tasted so good".

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Heads Up Poker Strategy

What is the point of playing a huge multi-table poker tournament just to get knocked out once you reach the final table. You may have had a few 2nd place finishes, but the 1st place finishes pay the most. Knowing how to play heads up poker is the key to maximizing your success in online poker. First you need to be aggressive. However, it should be a smart aggressive. Do not let your opponent see any cards for cheap. Make your opponent pay to see the flop. This will keep him from catching cards when he has a marginal poker hand. Throwing out some good bets is a sure fire way to steal some blinds when playing against a weak player. Pay attention to your opponents style. Does he just call or does he re-raise? Does he check more often than raise? These are all signs you should be reading when analyzing your opponent. Take note of what hand he shows in a showdown, and break down how he played that hand from the flop. Did he even hit the flop? When did his card come? These are all questions you should be asking yourself, and you should keep a mental note of how he played out his hand. Be aware that as you analyze and read your opponent he is doing the same unto you. Avoid obvious tells like playing the same style hand after hand. In order to keep him guessing you need to change gears. Play tight for 10 minutes then loose for the rest of the match. Vary your style any way you can. Noticing their betting patterns is another good way to help you win. Ask yourself questions about how they bet when they have a strong hand, a weak hand, or a drawing hand.

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Early Stage MTT Strategy

Early stage MTT strategy has a contradiction, while there will never be more inexperienced opponents at the tables - these same opponent's 'crazy' plays can increase your risk and variance considerably. You also have deep chip stacks in relation to the size of the blinds, affecting your hand selection as well as post-flop play. This article examines each of these factors in turn to help you get the most from the early stages of online poker tournaments. Inexperienced opponents make poker a dangerous game. They will not see your cleverly constructed bluff, will chase against the odds and play hands which a knowledgeable player would laugh at! It will do you no good to complain when your chips are gone, instead you need to adjust your own strategy to maximize your gains. Firstly you should play more hands which can hit well disguised strong hands on the flop. These include small pairs and suited connectors. A good way of looking at this is that a hidden set (3-of a kind) is more valuable if there are inexperienced players willing to give you their entire stack with one-pair type hands than against more savvy opponents. Position is key in all forms of poker. In the early stages of MTTs, playing last after the flop is extremely powerful. Since many players will play loose pre-flop and then 'fit or fold' after the flop, you can often win a pot with a small bet after everyone checks the flop. Acting last also gives you the opportunity to build a big pot those times you are strong and to semi-bluff the flop with your draws. Play premium hands strongly against inexperienced opponents, every time they chase with weak holdings you gain in the long run. There is no need to get tricky with aces, bet them and expect to get called rather than scaring off your opponents with a scary check-raise. Conversely, unpaired high cards go down in value in the early stages of these games - fold the weakest of these to action and wait for a hand which will give you the opportunity to take someone's entire stack. Key to the early stages is to build your stack. While the risks are large, taking chips from inexperienced players is going to be far easier than taking them from skillful opponents later in the game!

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Tips To Win With A Loose Aggressive Strategy

It's quite common knowledge that the most lucrative advanced poker strategy is a loose aggressive strategy. When you can play this strategy effectively it opens up many doors for you. It enables you to sit down at practically any poker table and start winning, and win lots. There are many ways to play this strategy and all the different methods have their ups and downs. These tips will support you no matter which way you decide to take yourself. Advanced Poker Strategy - Loose Aggressive Strategy Tip #1 Always know or have an idea of each of your opponents starting hands, or starting hand range. This will give you an idea of who you can take on easily and who you should back down from if the time comes. Advanced Poker Strategy - Loose Aggressive Strategy Tip #2 Don't get all hyped-up about hitting a premium hand. This is just another hand when you are playing loose aggressive. You might hit the flop or you might not. It's sometimes fun to take this to the showdown and show it though, people get so mad when you play loose and beat them with pure power. Advanced Poker Strategy - Loose Aggressive Strategy Tip #3 Likewise, don't worry about being check raised. You could go to the flop with a premium hand and not hit it. Or you could go with poor cards and make a set or something. If someone is checking generally I put them on not being sure about their cards Advanced Poker Strategy - Loose Aggressive Strategy Tip #4 And the final tip. If there are other good players at the table you will need to mix up your own style. If you play loose aggressive for too long they might catch on and start targeting you. So mix it up and change gears every so often. You are probably becoming aware of how you can incorporate these tips into your own game to enable you to win more pots more easily. And you surely realizing that the reason you can now do this is because you took the time to read and learn this information. So how much could you improve your game if you regularly took the time to research and learn tips like these? What would that do to your overall bottom line? Can I suggest that the truly successful players - the ones that are making many thousands of dollars playing poker - took quite a lot of time to read and learn and figure out how to win so easily? If you want to be successful I think you should do the same. It is a tried and proven method.

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Online Poker With a Tropical Fruit

Poker is a century old game and the wonderful thing about it is people's interest in it is only increasing and intensifying! Today's online poker game websites stand as a living witness of this whole playful theory. It is no longer just casinos on Las Vegas streets or poker rooms in Atlantic City packed with bustle of players. Now, poker players and even novices of the game are highly indulging in playing poker online. Internet has turned out to be the biggest venue for playing and winning poker! Amateurs of the poker game can start playing it free and slowly push for real money with a stack of cards. It is no wonder now that there are well over 500 websites offering a virtual opportunity to play poker games for real money. It is one of the most popular online games in the world and can be played for fun and wealth. Moreover, now there are various types of poker games, which can be played online like Texas holdem and more instantly! Anyone who is interested can just take a few minutes to make the payments online in various international currencies and get an exclusive sign up bonus with such poker websites. Especially, for beginners, Texas holdem can be an amazing way to start understanding the variations and betting strategies for winning big games. Some other games, which are well famous, are the Omaha Poker, Seven-card stud, Razz and more. Online poker is a wonderful platform to make money quickly and it is a multibillion-dollar industry with attractive gambling options. Every poker game has its own individual rake structure and people can make good money by participating in such raked games. Some of the special tournaments conducted will charge some entry fees to play and can turn out to be a real adventure for money! The biggest difference is that players won't be facing each other while playing virtually and this means that there will be no more assessments of body language and vital expressions. People interested in playing poker online opt for it more than the real tables, as it can be played at anytime. In addition, the cost involved in playing online is far affordable and the age range is younger when compared to online table players. It is of course, vital for one to understand the rules and guidelines before placing their bets on the cards for real money. The author of this article has expertise in Online poker. The articles on Texas holdem reveals the author's knowledge on the same. The author has written many articles on Poker games as well.

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HOSE Poker Strategy

H.O.S.E. Poker is not just a poker game, but 4 popular poker variants jammed into one; commonly known as a mixed game. For this reason, developing a winning H.O.S.E. Poker strategy is more complex than a normal poker game. H.O.S.E. Is made up of the following poker variants: H = Texas Hold'em O = Omaha Hi-Lo (Eight or Better) S = Seven Card Stud E = Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight or Better) Playing H.O.S.E. Poker is not recommended unless you are capably familiar with each of these poker variants. However, there are specific H.O.S.E. Poker strategies and tips that can be applied, related to the entire mixed game, rather than the individual poker variants within. We have listed these below. H.O.S.E. Poker Strategy - Understanding the Sequence/Rotation A player should quickly familiarize themselves with the way H.O.S.E. Poker is played, both in sequence and rotation. The game sequence is found in the acronym of the name - H.O.S.E = Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven card Stud and Seven card Stud Hi-Lo. These are the games and the sequence in which they will be played. Once the sequence of Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo is completed, Texas Hold'em will begin once more. The mixed game continues in this fashion until the ring game session or tournament is completed. The Rotation of poker variants in H.O.S.E. Poker can be handled in one of three ways; by Hand, by Time or by Blind Levels. Rotation by Hand is a very fast paced game where players must pay close attention to each hand and its current poker variant. Rotation by time means the game changes after a preset amount of time (i.e. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.). Rotation by blind Levels means the current game will change when the Blind Levels increase. Make sure you are aware of the Rotation being used so that you are never confused as to which game is being played. Confusion equals mistakes, and mistakes equal losses. Practicing H.O.S.E. Poker for play money is a great way to get accustomed to the frequent change-ups in the game. H.O.S.E. Poker Strategy - Playing Your Opponents Poker is not just a game of playing cards, but playing your opponents. Keep a keen eye on your opponents and try to pick up on any behavioral patterns, betting patterns and other observable traits. Determine whether a player is tight or loose, if they always bluff on the Button to steal Blinds/Antes, and that sort of thing. Is a player only moving on with premium starting hands? Do they only raise with a monster hand? Do they slow play the nuts, but bet aggressively with marginal hands? If you can figure out your opponents', you can siphon their chips into your stack regardless of your own holdings. H.O.S.E. Poker Strategy - Changing Up Your Game Play Just as you are trying to read your opponents, you must realize that they are doing the same thing to you. Most poker strategies will tell you to pick a specific strategy and stick to it, keeping a strict course of situational actions. When playing against very experienced players, as are often found in mixed games like H.O.S.E. Poker, you should change up your strategy from time to time. Do not let yourself become predictable. Switch between a tight and loose game, be aggressive on occasion and keep your opponents guessing.

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How To Achieve Your Dreams With Poker

You can achieve all your dreams with poker, and this Texas Poker strategy is going to reveal exactly how, step by step. Don't miss out on it. Texas Poker Strategy Step #1 - Define Your Dreams What do you want to achieve from poker. How much cash do you want. You can choose to have a few hundred dollars a month, or a few hundred dollars a day. Or you can take it all the way and become a multi-multi-mega-millionaire all from poker. It's up to you Texas Poker Strategy Step #2 - Accept What You'll Need To Get There If you just want to make some extra cash on the side and have fun doing it you may be able to get there for practically nothing - or maybe just a $30 book and a few weekend of practice. On the other hand, if you want to win the World Poker Tour you'll probably have to spend maybe a couple of thousand on books and courses and spend one or two years really practicing. Texas Poker Strategy Step #3 - Make A Plan Fail to plan and you plan to fail. This plan doesn't have to be extravagant, just a bit of an outline of where you want to be. For example, it could be something like this. Week 1: buy a book, read the book. Weekend 1: find some online poker rooms to play on. Week 2: play at lower limits and test some strategies from the book. Weekend 2: choose one strategy and make some/any money from it. Week 3: practice and perfect that one strategy. Weekend 3: move up stakes one level and make some more money. Week 4: by end of week four I want to be able to make $50 in a couple of hours sitting. Week 8: after 2 months I want to increase that to be able to make $150 in a Saturday sitting. This is a very achievable plan and would only take maybe one or two hours a night and then four or six hours on each weekend. Texas Poker Strategy Step #4 - Do It! This is the most critical part, obviously. All you have to do is stick to the plan and actually do it. Each of us come up against our own roadblocks and you need to fight through them. For some, it may be the reading part. For others, it may be confusion with the betting. For others it may be finding the spare time - if so maybe you could extend the plan out to be longer or free up some prior commitments. In any event, you need to do it. And when you do it you will achieve whatever your dream is for poker. One more secret little thing. As you are reading this article I'm sure you are becoming aware that there may be some things that could get in the way of you achieving your dreams that you currently don't even know about, and you are realizing that the only real way to understand these is to find out about them, or learn them. For some of you, you are experiencing a keen feeling of curiosity and excitement because you aren't afraid of learning and becoming better - in poker or in life. And I truly want you to harness that feeling of curiosity, and the feeling of intent to really act on and go out and get the information because it is this essence of a person that turns them into a great poker player. Anyone can do it, all you need to do is find new information, get it, learn it, and repeat. Every time you see an opportunity right in front of you and you act on it you become a better poker player. And every time you do seek to acquire new information and learn something new about poker you will become a worse poker player.

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Online Poker Conspiracy Theories

Although playing casino games online is rising in popularity, plenty of interested players are still on the fence whether they should try it too or not. There are a variety of reasons for this and one of them is the fact that many online casino players are spreading the word that online games are rigged. The reality though is that casinos are built with the odds stacked against the players but some online players have concocted some conspiracy theories and although there could be some truth to them, there are also logical explanations. That said let us look at the most common conspiracy theories being thrown around the internet. It is believed by some that good players get bad beats. There are plenty of cases when a good player with a good hand is called by a bad player with a weak hand and sometimes, the bad player edges out the good one. The reasoning provided by conspiracy theorists is that casinos would make more money from bad players the longer they play so they tend to make them win early on. A logical explanation for this is that online games are usually played loose and in that nature of a game, good hands hold up less. Also, the fast-paced nature of online gaming doubles the chance of a good hand being beaten. It is very possible that a good hand can be beaten through sheer luck and it is even more pronounced in the online world where more games are being played by the hour. The cash-out course is another conspiracy theory that many people believe in. Basically, it involves someone cashing out some of their winnings and once they started playing again, they run into a string of bad lucks. The explanation by conspiracy theorist is that people cashing out are flagged by the casinos because they are taking out some of the money that could be made by the company. Thus, once they return to play, the money they have is distributed to other people who are more likely to lose it all. Strictly speaking, the cash out curse is real. With less money for cushion you could bust sooner than later. Poker, although a game of skills is also dependent on luck which means you could have a string of bad luck, then a string of good ones. With more money in the bank, you can weather that string of bad luck without busting. The cash-out curse is therefore a statistical law and not something that online casinos are switching on and off.

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Life Lessons From Poker

"Whether he likes it or not, a man's character is stripped at the poker table; if the other players read him better than he does, he has only himself to blame. Unless he is both able and prepared to see himself as others do, flaws and all, he will be a loser in cards, as in life. " ~Anthony Holden Poker is a simple game. It is based around 3 actions; checking, raising or folding. Despite its simplicity it takes a lifetime to master. Poker has taught me many things about myself, others and life. Sometimes You Have To Fold. Everyone who has played poker knows the familiar feeling of being 90% sure that their hand is beat but not being able to let go. You may have already invested a lot of money into the hand with what might have been the best hand pre flop; pocket kings. But then an ace comes on the flop pairing your opponent's ace. Now only a miracle will save you. Sometimes we just have to let go of something that isn't working. There are going to be times where relationships and careers realistically aren't going to go anywhere. We must let go of these to free ourselves to move onto better things. Remember that you can't win them all. It's always a mistake to put your chips in when you're second best. You Will Lose Every single poker player has lost money at one time or another. It is how those losses are handled that separates the winners from the losers Sometimes we face a setback in life. It is how we react to this setback that decides our future. A poker player who has just lost a lot of money will often go on tilt and start to make bad decisions in order to try and win it all back. Other poker players on the table love to see this. When a person has lost their head they've already lost their money. Patience Is Key Often when we don't see any short term gains we give up on our endeavours but to have patience is key both in poker and life. In poker impatience costs inexperienced players a lot of money. These players want to make as much money as soon as possible but if the situation isn't right then this won't happen. In life, sometimes we are blinded by short term gains and gratification when the real gains and gratification can only occur in the long term. We have been brought up with the attitude "what's in it for me now" instead of taking the time to make calculated well informed decisions that lead to a higher probability of success. Be The Aggressor My last lessons were talking about how patience is key and how sometimes we have to let go, so when I say be the aggressor, you may think it sounds contradictory. However, winners in poker and life tend to have an aggressive mindset. Winners don't just react to the situation, they change it. Winners like to make sure that the opposition is the one who has to make the tough decisions. In life people who push through the fear and take risks get what they want far more often than people who just wait passively for good things to happen. How can you have a relationship with that man/women if you've never asked them out? How can you get that promotion if you've never asked for it? The truth is that you can't and won't unless you are the aggressor. Bad Beats Happen Sometimes no matter how correctly we do things, there are days where everything seems to go wrong. When your pocket aces are cracked by a player catching a 2 on the river to give them a set you feel annoyed. "I didn't deserve that, I was 95% favourite on the turn, what bad luck," you may cry. But bad luck is part of life. Without the bad luck there can't be any good luck. Bad luck and good luck will both occur but you have to learn to take them both in stride. It is how we react after, that determines the kind of person we are and our future successes or failures.

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Heads Up Poker Strategy

To be a successful winning tournament player you have to have a solid heads up strategy. Thankfully you can train your skills playing heads up SNG's that most populair pokerrooms offer. Also, you can specialise in heads up poker and make profit playing heads up only. Here is a solid heads up poker strategy. The absolute beginner falls quickly in the gamblers mentality; they think that when he gets garbage his opponent will get garbage too and it's a coinflip who is going the win the heads up game. Strategy is no longer on their mind, while this is a huge aspect of heads-up play. The Button Every poker player knows position is important in poker and that's also true in heads up poker. When you are on the button you can act first preflop and act last post-flop. Heads up this is a huge advantage on your opponent. For example: You get Kc 5h on the button. Every King or Ace is worth a raise so you raise 3 or 4 times the big blind. With that preflop raise you take initiative of the hand and your opponent has to be careful and he may be worried with your raise. Also, when he calls you act last on every street postflop. So when he misses he is forced to check (or it's a LAG player) and you can take the pot easily with a continuation-bet. So, having no position is a bad situation for you. The best strategy is to pick good hands to play out of position. I suggest you only call raises preflop with suited connectors, any A, any K and pocket pairs. Fold most hands when your opponent raises from the button. You should make big raises when the button just limps and you wake up with a hand. It's better to pick up the pot preflop out of position so you don't have to play on postflop out of position. Hands you can play heads up A common mistake in heads up poker is that you have to play every hand. It's true your opponent has rags the most of the time, but it's important to play good hands in big pots. Let's take some examples. Everyone who has played heads up knows that you get bad hands like; 93offsuit. Everyone knows 93o is a bad hand but most players call the bb with that hand. What flop would you like? 993 ? 935 ? The statistics shows how bad these kinda hands are. 82o against KQs = 30% chance to win. 82o against 9To = 29% chance to win. 82o again 34o = 48% chance to win (against 34o!) 82o against JJ = 11% chance to win. Lets see what the % are against suited connectors like 67s 67s against KQs = 40% chance to win. 67s against 9To = 38% chance to win. 67s again 34o = 58% chance to win (against 34o!) 67s against JJ = 21% chance to win. You gain 10% with playing suited connectors. The best strategy is to just fold when your opponent raises from the button with hands like; 84 / 73 / J2 / 94 / Q4 etc. Phases of heads up poker You both start with a equal stack, probably 1500 chips. You have won some small pots and now the chip count is 1800 for you, 1200 for your opponent. In this phase you don't want to play big pots since at this stage one hand can turn around everything. In heads up it's all about taking the lead and to keep the lead. The next phase is when you have 2000 chips and your opponent 1000. Your opponent needs to get some chips soon, one mistake of him is almost his end of the game. This is the time where you can steal pots by raising big and preflop aggression. But don't raise too big, you don't want to double up your opponent and give him the lead. The last phase is when you have 2500 chips or more and you opponent has 500 or less. Now the game is in your control. Your opponent has to go all-in with almost any hand. Alot of people have no patience and double up their opponent and move back a phase. The strategy for this is; Fold, fold fold and call with any Ace or a pocket pair. When you think your opponent is pushing with rags you can call with hands like KQ/KJ/KT. Have patience and soon you'll win the heads up match. Folding A player misses a flop 2 out of 3 times. So when you have a hand like 75s and the flop is Q85, min raise you opponent because his bet is 2 out of 3 times a continuation bet. When he's fighting back you should fold your bottom pair. In heads up poker it's very common that bottom pair is the best hand so don't fold them too often. Also, when you play with aggression you can have him fold the best hand. Every hand is a fight for chips, bet and raise for information, don't fold too often with a pair, but don't play big pots with bottom pair. Good luck at the heads up poker tables!

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Online Poker Strategy - Donk Betting

There is a term in poker called the 'Donk' bet. This refers to when a person out of position calls your pre-flop raise and then leads into you with a bet on the flop. The normal routine in all poker games is the flop is checked around to the pre-flop raiser as he has shown strength and the players usually wait for him to act to then decide to continue or not. So a donk bet while not uncommon is a play less used. However different player types use donk betting in different ways. For a weaker player, i.e. a fish, they tend to lead out on the flop for the minimum amount to see where they are in the hand. You can usually raise these players the size of the pot and 8 times out of 10 they will fold. If the weaker player leads out on the flop and calls your re-raise, you should beware as this is often a trapping move by the weaker player If the weaker player donk bets the minimum amount and then re-raises your raise on the flop, I would advise to throw away all hands bar monsters as he always has two pair or better here and wants to play for stacks. For an experienced player, the donk bet should be used in a balanced un-exploitative way. If you only lead the flop with draws, your thinking opponents will quickly pick up on this. You should alternate your play and donk lead with not just draws/weak made hands and air, but also with sets, top pair and overcards. You should have a donk bet percentage of between 15-25% and should now form part of your online poker strategy. So how can we exploit a experienced regular player? Easy, if a regular player raises your cbets a lot, then this inversely affects his donk betting patterns. This means he is more often value raising hands on the flop than leading on the flop for value, so when he donk bets you know it is at the bottom of his value range/air, so you can safely raise his bet and he will fold. And vice versa, if he rarely raises your continuation bets and he now leads on the flop, it is safe to say that his donk betting range is stronger. You may call the donk bet but if he double barrel leads out on the flop and turn the turn, then his range has now narrowed even further to the top of his value betting range and is now in your best interest to fold even top pair hands. As you can see, once you understand the concept of donk betting and how it affects players ranges, it is easier to formulate a plan to combat it. This can be said about any play in online poker. If you spot an opponent is doing too much of a particular play, then it obviously makes sense to exploit this by counteracting it to your benefit. The easiest way to pick up on opponents tendencies is to play 4 tables for a while as this gives you enough time to analyse all the big pots even when you are not in them. Go through the bet sizing and note any weird non ordinary actions a player may take and after time you will see your own hand reading skills improve to a standard where you will crush the games you play.

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Everybody Samba!

Rio de Janeiro is a rocking tourist hot spot in Brazil. It is known for its different tourist attractions and allures which all bring a huge number of travelers each year. Some call it one of the most amazing cities on the planet. Rio de Janeiro is a city situated in Southeastern Brazil. It is a sophisticated, multicultural city with a population over six million people. It is Brazil's second largest city and metropolitan area with 6.2 and 11.8 million people respectively. It's a breathtaking place that promises the experience of a real tropical paradise. But travelers should be cautious of a few things. The city is certainly becoming a substantial and booming economic metropolis yet it isn't free from the issues involving poverty. The largest societal divide between the lower and upper class is found in the favelas throughout the city. The low income rate is high in Rio de Janeiro which fosters police corruption and allows for many potential pick pockets. Just like with many other unique and exotic travel locations, you shouldn't feel the need to bring attention to yourself and act like a high roller. Being cautious and keeping your wits about you might save you from a thieved pocket book. So be practical and keep your cash under wraps. With that in mind, relax and enjoy the weather! Rio has a tropical local climate which is characterized by hot humid summers and moderate dry winters. For a week in late February, Rio de Janeiro becomes full of cheer opening its arms to welcome travelers which will be captivated and full of delight all through Carnival. Carnival is celebrated throughout Brazil - Sao Paulo, Florianopolis, Recife, Manaus, etc., but the two most popular carnivals occur in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, Bahia. Carnival was introduced from Europe by the Portuguese, over 500 years ago, as a pre-Lenten feast and celebration. In the 1800s, the Rio de Janeiro nobility attended masked balls and carried out parades. Carnival performance participants delve into their roles with the aid of colorful and intricate costumes. The commoners partied in the streets in a much more raucous style. Right after slavery was abolished, the African musical tempos permeated the celebration, gradually evolving into the Samba street parties of the mid-1900s. Carnival has numerous parades; however the most elaborate are created specifically to highlight plot-driven, themed samba school routines. Rio's Carnival has grown to be world-famous through the Samba Parade, a show, a display and competition of the Rio samba schools. The two significant days are Carnival Sunday and Monday. Try not to miss it. In the event you really can't afford it, at least go on some other day, which can be significantly less expensive although less grand. Carnival time in Rio is very exciting, but is additionally the most expensive period to visit Rio. Hotel rooms and additional accommodations can be up to 4 times more expensive than the regular rates. There are large crowds at some locations and life is far from ordinary in several parts of town. Join 888poker & enjoy a $10 Samba Bonus + $3,000 Rio Rumble tourney Deposit $30 or more by 21/02/2012 using promo code: SAMBA888

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How to Improve Your Poker Strategy - Texas Hold 'Em

Playing Your Hand - Poker Strategy for Texas Hold'em : Assuming that you know what good starting cards are and have made the decision to 'see the Flop', then it is time to get down to business. This is the most important part of any players poker strategy, and depending on what cards come in the Flop, you will need to assess your hand and which, if any, play you will make. Now three cards hit the board either making your hand better or missing you entirely and the same goes for your opponents' hands too. It is time to play what you have or get out. Here are some of the situations that are most common: You start with a Pair: Usually this hand should be pushed hard to eliminate all the weak hands out. If your pair turns into a Full House or two high pair then you may play slower, unless the board is suited or connected, in which case you should push your hand. You have a Straight or Flush Draw: This is a difficult hand to make with your Pot Odds at about 30% so you should bet aggressively and try to eliminate opponents. You have Top Pair: If you were aggressive prior to the Flop then you should keep it up. Your objective is to get as many players out of the hand as you can before they improve their hands. If You Flop a Small Pair: If there are over-cards on the board and the players ahead of you have checked, then consider betting. This will force someone with a weak hand out, and if someone has a good hand they may come back at you, telling you that this 'baby pair' is not worth pursuing. You get Three of a Kind: Depending on which way you have made Trips, either with a well concealed pair in the Hole, or by having one Hole Card that matches a pair on the board, will determine your strategy. If you have the former and your cards are higher, then you have a strong hand. If you have the latter, then your opponents may have two pair or a good drawing hand. Be careful with this hand, if you push it early and the board has a high card they may fold thinking you have a high pair or better. If however the board looks like a straight or flush draw, then be aggressive and push out the people trying to draw their hand. You get a 'Monster': This is your luck day, if you get a Full House, Straight, or Flush at the flop. This is a time to slow-play and let others build the pot. Late in the hand take control and push it hard. One note of caution would be if the straight or flush you have is make up of lower cards it is possible to get beat by a higher one concealed in the hole, so in this case you should push early to get the ones looking for a draw out. What to do at The Turn: If you think your ahead at this stage your should be aggressive, but watch out for the player who is slow-playing their monster hand. If they some back over the top then you will have to decide if they are bluffing or not. What to do at The River: If you are at this point you should have an idea as to what your opponents could have relative to your hand. By now you have invested a lot in the pot, and the pot odds (what you could win versus the bet) should be pretty good. Exception to this would be if you did not make your drawing hand or if a very tight player who doesn't bluff is pushing. Don't get pushed out of the pot in most cases or you will get a reputation as someone who can bullied.

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How To Play Pineapple Poker

If you have been enjoying Texas Hold Em and Omaha for long, and want to add a bit of spice to get a still more interesting version, you should try pineapple poker. It's already popular in card rooms of California and some online casinos also offer it. Unlike Texas Hold Em where players get two cards, you get three cards in case of Pineapple poker, which surely improves the chances of a player getting a better starting hand. In case of Pineapple Poker, on getting three-hole cards, each player discards one, leaving them with two as in case of Texas Hold Em. Betting proceeds as in Hold Em. However, as you are already spicing up the game by opting to play something different from Hold Em, and getting to learn how to play pineapple poker, you may as well play a still more popular adaptation of Pineapple Poker, known as Crazy Pineapple. Many online poker rooms offer this adaptation. In a game of Crazy Pineapple, players are dealt three cards, but the discard comes after the flop. So, after the hole cards are dealt, the first round of betting precedes the flop, and once the flop is dealt, players will discard one card. In regular Pineapple Poker, the discard is made before the flop. Learning how to discriminate the cards, learning as to which ones to hold and which to discard, needs a lot of practice. It is not always a clear choice. Though this game isn't often found at many online poker sites, it will perhaps show up more in the future, as players require new ways to challenge their poker skills and develop their talents for various types of poker games. After the flop is dealt and the subsequent betting round is finished, players discard their extra hole card. In case of pineapple poker, in both the basic and the crazy versions, the rest of the hand is played precisely like Texas Hold Em. This offshoot of Texas Hold Em provides more action without changing the play. Players can make a hand using several numbers of hole cards, including none. The betting rules remain unchanged and anyone having played Texas Hold Em would know the strategy concerning Pineapple Poker. Nevertheless, that's not all, as there's a still more interesting version of this game, called hi-lo or "8 or better." Here, there's a possibility of the player winning half the pot on presenting the qualified low hand on the table. You must be wondering what qualifies as a low hand! That's a hand of five cards, each with different rank and each less than eight, and thus the name 8 or better. The lowest hand gets half the pot. That doubles the chances of winning for any player. In case of a tie, the low hand is arrived by reading the cards in a very different manner. For instance, a hand which comprises of A, 2, 3, 5, and 7 is read as 75, 321 and a hand with A, 3, 7, 5, and 6 will be read as 65,731 and is thus the winner in case of a tie breaker. You can read on how to play pineapple poker, from the myriads of sites in the Internet. All these interesting games are available at many online poker rooms.

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How to Play Poker Baseball

Poker Baseball is played using the same format as Seven-Card Stud. In this game, 3's and 9's represent wild cards, and any player who is dealt a 4 face up receives an extra card. Instruction: 1. Collect the ante from each player. 2. Begin the game by dealing three cards to each player - the first two face down and the third face up. If a player receives a 4 face up, he or she is dealt another card face down. 3. Follow with a round of betting. Bear in mind that 3's and 9's are wild cards. 4. Deal the fourth, fifth and sixth cards face up to each player, with a round of betting after each card is dealt. Remember the rule for 4's that are dealt face up. 5. Deal the seventh and final card face down to each player. 6. Finish with a round of betting. 7. Determine the winner. Tips & Warning: 1. The three outs, four bases and nine innings of baseball form the basis of this entertaining poker variation. 2. Players will have more than seven cards if they receive 4's face up. 3. Adding wild cards creates stronger winning poker hands, and you'll usually need a full house or better to win. Keep this factor in mind. 4. Your position at the table can often dictate your playing style. For instance, if you're last to play, you might try to bluff and steal the pot when appropriate. If you're first to play while holding a strong hand, you might bet small and allow players after you to drive up the stakes. 5. Don't expect to find Poker Baseball at a casino. Generally, games with wild cards are played strictly for fun. This is a nice game to explore, I love to try this out. May be you can also check and try, let us see the feedback. See you in the table court :)

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