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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------