Many players may look at the term “skill” when regarding poker in a very partial and extremely uncooperative way as they don’t think further than hand-playing skills exist, when in fact there is an array of other skills at the players’ disposal when partaking in the game of poker.

Poker is almost always played for money and this is how the score is kept.  However accurate play is not moderated by who raises the most money, instead correct play is a matter of constructive and optimistic anticipation on the players’ actions. These actions include an array of elements other than just the wagers placed.  Skilled players are also consistent players, where as some who partake will achieve winnings only now and then, with wins and loses never following a regular pattern.

Poker is all about making strategic decisions and not losing choices. Skills should be applied at the correct time in order to achieve winnings. Of course random luck comes into this particular game but a lot is down to strategy, decision making and method of play as well as exploring all of the available boundaries.

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If you have downloaded a few poker rooms software, you may be keeping an eye on your systems capacity. But with no download poker there is no clogging up your system as the software always sits on the poker rooms server. Its not taking up space on your computer and is still safe and reliable.

You get into the action quicker as there is no software to download and launch. No updates to perform. Online poker with no downloads is also compatible with all operating systems, including Mac and Linux. It can also run on computers that use 56k dial up connections.

You can also use the no download feature as a taster to see if the site is for you, you could then go on and download the full software.

So which sites offer online poker with no download…?

Titan Poker
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Ladbrokes Poker
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Absolute Poker
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The first thing a player should do is to make sure they read all of the information on the bingo site that has to do with the rules and requirements. Players want to make sure they understand the chat rules so they don’t accidentally break them. The bingo site will have these rules in place for a reason and breaking them can interfere with the way the site is ran and cause the player to risk being banned from the site. It will only take a few minutes for players to read through this information and it will take them a long way.

Players will want to practice being considerate when they are chatting in the online bingo sites chat area. It is never a good idea to be rude, use a lot of curse words, or insult the other players. Not only will the player make a bad name for themselves, but they will cause the atmosphere of the chat area to be uncomfortable for all of the players who are involved in the chat. Players should treat each other with respect and how they would want to be treated.

Another thing those involved in the chat will want to do is to make sure they aren’t sore losers. It’s always nice to congratulate the winners rather than complain about the fact that they didn’t win. This can make the winners feel bad and it makes the complainers look bad. On the other hand, it’s also a good idea to be a good winner. Players shouldn’t brag about their win and shove it in other peoples face trying to make them feel bad about the fact that they didn’t win. As long as players treat each other with common decency and respect, and use good old fashioned common sense, they should have a great time in the chat area. This can add to their online bingo enjoyment.

Site			US	Rating	Bonus	Review	Visit
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3.		Bingo Day			£100	Review	Play Now

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How old do I have to be in order to join and play on an online bingo site?

Although each online bingo site will have its own age requirements, most of them require their players to be 18 or 21 years of age if they want to play real money bingo games.

How do I know if an online bingo site is a good one to join?

A good online bingo site will have a good reputation, run on trusted software, have an abundance of active players on it, offer a variety of bingo games, have exciting bonuses and promotions, and have a design you are comfortable with.

Is it easy to get started at an online bingo site?

Yes, when it comes to getting started at an online bingo site it is very simple. You will register for an account, download any necessary software onto your computer, deposit your funds using one of the accepted deposit methods, and be able to get in on all of the great bingo sites you want. The entire process can be done in a very short amount of time.

What kind of a budget do I have to have to play online bingo?

There are online bingo games to fit in anyone’s budget. You will find that the bingo games offered online range from free to costing upwards of $5.00 a card or more. This means that everyone will be able to enjoy online bingo, no matter what kind of a budget they are working with.

What types of bingo can I play at an online bingo site?

You will be able to enjoy many types of bingo at an online bingo site. Many of the bingo sites offer 75, 80, and 90 ball bingo games. They also offer many different pattern games so you can always find an exciting one to enjoy.

How can I find a good online bingo site?

You can find an online bingo site by simply searching for one online. Then, you can read through reviews in order to check a site out that has grabbed your attention. You want to make sure you take a look at the important features of the bingo site so you will make the right decision for yourself.

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One thing many online players like about the online bingo sites is the fact that they can play bingo any time they want. Traditional bingo halls will only offer bingo games at certain times on certain days of the week. If a player isn’t able to get to the bingo hall at that time on that date, then they will have to wait and play on another day. Online players can log in any time and enjoy as much bingo as they want. There are always bingo games going on and players will be able to get in on one immediately with no waiting.

Online bingo sites also offer their players a variety of bonuses and promotions which give the players even more chances to get more cash into their accounts. The bonuses come in many types and each site will offer the bonuses they want to their players. Some of these bonuses are very lucrative and players can get quite a bit of extra money put into their bingo account. New players will usually be offered an initial deposit bonus so can get a bonus for making their initial deposit into their account at the online bingo site. The promotions also come in many varieties and offer players the chance to get in on some fun competition and win great prizes. Some prizes will consist of cash and others will come in the form of things like event tickets, shopping sprees, all expense paid vacations, and much more. Traditional bingo halls can’t compete with this.

Traditional bingo halls allow players to play in a social environment, but they are generally expected to keep their voices down during the games. Also, players in a traditional bingo hall will need to pay more attention to the game. Online bingo sites still offer their players a social environment thanks to the chat area, and they can feel free to chat as much as they want. The online bingo sites also have an autoplay feature which will have the computer checking the numbers for them. This means they can enjoy participating in the chat without worrying about missing the numbers as they appear.

Site			US	Rating	Bonus	Review	Visit
1.		Foxy Bingo			£150	Review	Play Now
2.		Titan Bingo			£100	Review	Play Now
3.		Bingo Day			£100	Review	Play Now

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Players need to make sure the bingo site they are thinking about registering on is powered by good solid software. The software will create the gaming environment the players will be playing in. It will offer certain features and other options which allow players to have more control of their bingo playing atmosphere. The software is extremely important ad should be taken serious when it comes to choosing a bingo site.

A good online bingo site to consider will also be one that has a lot of bingo games for its players to choose from. Some of the bingo sites will even offer their players the chance to enjoy 75, 80, and 90 ball bingo. They also offer a wide range of pattern games and this can help to keep players excited about the game because it spices things up a bit and gives bingo a little variety and excitement.

The design of the bingo site should be comfortable; players should be able to navigate their way around it with ease. There should be a lot of helpful information so players can make educated decisions about the features and options offered at that online bingo site. The various sections of the bingo site should be clearly defined so players can get to the sections they want easily and hassle free.

Customer support should leave the online bingo players feeling as if they are an important part of the site, because they are. Players want to make sure they choose an online bingo site that has great customer support they will be able to count on to get back with them in a prompt and professional manner.

Online bingo sites will offer certain banking options for their players to use in order to deposit and withdraw funds in and out of their online bingo account. Players need to check the available banking options and make sure there are options that will work for them and that they feel comfortable with. Some of the deposit methods will be different than the withdraw methods. Players need to check both of these.

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Initial Deposit Bonus:

Many of the online bingo sites will offer their players a welcome bonus which is often referred to as an initial deposit bonus. This bonus will be good for a certain percentage of the player’s first deposit and up to a certain amount of money. Some of the online bingo sites can offer such a generous initial deposit bonus that players can end up with literally hundreds of extra money in their account. Players will need to clear this bonus before they will have access to it, but this should be simple to do. However, a player will want to read the requirements so they have a clear understanding of what is required of them.

Refer-a-Friend Bonus:

A lot of the online bingo sites also offer bonuses to their players for referring their friends and family. The great thing about these bonuses is most players actually like t talk about the great bingo site they have been playing on. This means that they will be able to get a bonus just for doing something they naturally would have done to begin with. The online bingo sites will generally want the new friend to play a certain amount of games, or deposit a certain amount of money into their account before the player will be able to get their bonus. However, they generally don’t have requirements that are very hard to meet and players can get the bonus fairly easy.

Loyalty Bonus:

Online bingo sites are also known for offering a loyalty program to their players which will give them bonuses as they earn points, or climb the VIP ladder. These bonuses can be ongoing and give players something to look forward to for the entire time they are a player at a specific online bingo site. These bonuses are great because players can earn them for doing something they were planning on doing in the first place, enjoying a lot of great online bingo games.

Promotions:

Online bingo sites will also offer players a lot of different promotions in which they can win a variety of prizes. These promotions come in all different shapes and sizes, so do the prizes that players can win. Many times the promotions will offer prizes to the winner of a tournament.

Site			US	Rating	Bonus	Review	Visit
1.		Foxy Bingo			£150	Review	Play Now
2.		Titan Bingo			£100	Review	Play Now
3.		Bingo Day			£100	Review	Play Now

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“I would like to congratulate everyone who was nominated for an award, and thank all of those people who took their time and thoughts to make the nominations.” said Maryann Morrison, Managing Editor of Woman Poker Player Magazine. “Its interesting to note that the comments on the nominations for the most appealing marketing campaign to women were that the majority felt many poker marketing campaigns were derogatory and condescending to women. I hope that the Maven Awards will help in turning that around.”

Each category of the Maven Awards has three official nominees named. These nominees were chosen based on number of nominations received in each category. There were over 3,000 nominations received. Voting starts June 1 and can be made at mavenawards.com until September 30th, 2010. Further details on the presentations of the awards will be made public once they are available.

“I am very excited about the potential of the awards to heighten the profile of women in poker, as well as having the industry start thinking about what a smart move it is to cater more than they do to the women who enjoy poker. As we have seen already this year, more women are winning major tournaments then ever before. I hope we get everyone in poker out to vote and show their support for the accomplishments of the nominees.”

Many of the categories were based on answers that were female only, other categories were for mixed venues, portals, or people with the goal of recognizing those who went out of their way to make women feel comfortable in poker, or that helped women to excel in poker.

Gary Wise, who is the only male nominee this year, had this to say about his Maven Award nomination. “”It’s such a privilege to be nominated. I’ve always felt that women have a more prominent place at the table awaiting them in the future and I’m hopeful that this nomination is a reflection of that attitude coming through in my work. Thanks to everyone who nominated me!”

Maven Awards 2010 Official Nominee List in no particular order

Best Role Model for Women in Poker Award

• Jennifer Harman
• Kathy Liebert
• Annie Duke

Woman in the Poker Industry Who Has Excelled in Encouraging or Promoting Women in Poker Award

• Linda Johnson
• Kathy Raymond
• Lupe Soto

Most Female Friendly Online Poker Room Award

• Full Tilt Poker
• PokerStars
• Maria Poker

Most Female Friendly Poker Room Award

• The Venetian, Las Vegas
• The Borgata, Atlantic City
• The Bicycle, California

Overall Best Tournament Series Award

• World Series of Poker
• PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
• The Borgata Open

Best Ladies Only Poker Tournament or Series Award

• High Heels PokerTour
• WSOP Ladies Tournament
• Pokerstars EPT Ladies Events

Most Appealing Poker Marketing Campaign to Women Award

• Australian Poker League
• Vanessa Rousso Bootcamps
• Pokerica Ladies Team

Most Encouraging Poker Forum Award

• Twoplustwo.com
• Cardrunners.com
• LuvinPoker.com

Favorite Blogger or Author Award

• Kate Dozier
• Gary Wise
• Jennifer Newell

Humanitarian Award

• Liz Lieu
• Annie Duke
• Linda Johnson

Most Notable Performance of 2009 Award

• Annette Obrestad
• Kathy Liebert
• Vanessa Rousso

Top Female Media Personality Award

• Kara Scott
• Michelle Orpe
• Linda Johnson

Notable Upcoming Female Poker Player of 2009 Award

• Annette Obrestad
• Amanda de Cesare
• Vanessa Selbst

Outstanding Professional Player of 2009 Award

• Vanessa Rousso
• Kathy Liebert
• Liz Lieu

For more information, please see http://www.womanpokerplayer.com or http://www.mavenawards.com.  Sponsorship opportunities are available.

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Whilst you are there you can also enter their FREE sweepstake and could even win £5 bonus money. You can also play their weekly free game. This week it is Treasure Map with an estimated £20,000 will be won each week.

If it is your first time playing they are still giving away £25 free. Just deposit your first £25 and they will match it for you. They will match your first deposit as long as it’s over £10 and up to £25.

Get your FREE £25 now at Tombola Bingo.

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When I first tried online bingo for Pink Poker I thought I would play a few games and that would be that. Little did I know I would be logging in daily to play? I can play as little or as many tickets as I want and experience the gradual rise in anticipation as the numbers get called out. The excitement you experience as your tickets reach one to go gets you screaming at the screen for your wanted number.

Site			US	Rating	Bonus	Review	Visit
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2.		Titan Bingo			£100	Review	Play Now
3.		Bingo Day			£100	Review	Play Now

I do get wins which is of course is brilliant but even when I don’t get the line or full house it’s not that much of a letdown as its quiet often someone I have been chatting too. The chat and community spirit is what gets me logging in each day. A catch up with friends, a natter about what happened in the soaps with a bingo game is brilliant. My computer or my online friends don’t care if I am not dressed in my Sunday best or if I am dashing in and out whilst doing the housework. My computer is ready and waiting whenever I want to log in and buy a bingo ticket.

At the moment my favourite place to play is Titan Bingo because they gave me 500% first deposit bonus (up to £100) . Get your first deposit bonus now at Titan Bingo.

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Another thing that can contribute towards good value is the entertainment value of the game. A game that has bonus features that are entertaining could be considered more entertaining and thus better value than a game that has not bonus features.

Bonus features are normally triggered by certain symbols showing on certain reels. For example a game might say that if a star symbol shows on reels 1 and 5 then the bonus feature is triggered, or if three star symbols form on the first three reels in a winning line. Each game will have its own rules and will tell you what needs to be achieved to trigger the bonus features.

The actual bonus features vary from game to game. Some offer just extra free spins. Some might have a small game where you pick symbols to determine the number of free spins and multiply value. These bonus features draw out the game; they are usually highly coloured and animated but can reward you with good bonuses.

There is another factor is the leader board scheme like Quicksilver Games offer. This is where you play certain predetermined games the acquire points. The more you play the more points you accumulate. Your points are then entered onto a leader board where the top players receive a bonus. On Quicksilver this can be worth £250.

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On a regular slot game the jackpot stays the same no matter how many people play it. So whatever you pay into the slot game, the ultimate reward of the jackpot will always stay at the same amount. In contrast the progressive slot games the reward grows the more you play the slot game.

Are Progressive Jackpots Rigged?

Winning a jackpot is down to luck. There are no special tricks that you can do to increase your chances. Slot machines, online and live, have to be set to be fair and are checked regularly. The only thing you can do to increase your chances of winning progressive jackpots is to make sure you are playing the correct number of lines to qualify. It’s not the bet amount that increases your chances as the machines are set fairly. The game rules on each slot game will specify if a winning line has to be achieved or if the jackpot is random. To win on a specified win line you would need to play all the lines to qualify.

Once the progressive jackpot is won, it is reset to a predetermined lower point ready for it to climb again.

Choosing between progressive jackpots and regular machines is a matter of preference. The odds of winning are fairly similar on both.

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 I think one of the major factors is that it is no longer restricts a player to just playing in one of the bingo halls available up and down the country. Now, thanks to the wonders of modern life and the internet, Bingo can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home. This means you’re not stuck playing at the same bingo hall time after time.

Get your bingo bonus now at Tombola and start playing today.

With internet bingo you can log on and access several bingo rooms at any time of the day but more importantly at a time that suits you.

Another big side of Bingo Online is the chat community. In an bingo hall you can only chat to those sitting close to you, whilst keeping up with the numbers being called. Bingo online is automated. After selecting how many card you want to play you can literally sit back and watch the computer do the work. This leaves you free to chat in the chat room to as many friends as you want. Visit any Bingo room online and you will see aunts, uncles, mums and daughters all nattering away as they are playing bingo.

One other thing that makes bingo so popular on the internet is the bigger prizes they offer. Online bingo rooms can be backed by the big names in the gambling industry and with so many bingo players taking part, the online bingo rooms can offer bigger prizes. Bigger and more Jackpots make playing bingo more worthwhile.

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The poker rooms that provide them are either being blinkered and not actually asking if we actually do want them and presuming it’s what we want or they are being extremely clever in cashing in on the forever ongoing debate about them. As long as there are men, women and a deck of cards there will always be the debate about women at the poker tables. Particularly when it has always been a male orientated game and women are still seen as a minority and a rather novel addition. Whilst we are allowing ourselves as women to be treated differently at the poker tables,we always will be treated differently.

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The Ladies Weekend is new addition to the schedule and your chance to join other female poker players for a weekend full of relaxation, pampering and poker.

There are regular online qualifiers starting at $2.20 and play for one of the prize package worth $3,500. The package includes 3 nights’ accommodation and $900 towards travel expenses and $250 spa voucher too. You will also receive entry to a Ladies Poker Boot camp worth $250 plus buy in to the PokerStars PCA Ladies Weekend $1,000 main event.

You can buy in direct to the PokerStars PCA Ladies Weekend for $1,250 + $100 or qualify via one of the PokerStars qualifiers.

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There are many styles to choose from and start with basic ones where you simply scratch the panels to more complicated ones that take on a game with in themselves.

Scratch cards online are proving more and more popular and there increasingly big jackpots like £1 million being won. Compared to a typical scratch card costing 50p this is can be a lucrative game to play.

With so many bonuses and free money available in scratch card land I would recommend you checking out Scratch Cards Online where they list and review over ten different sites to play at.

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If your not currently a Tombola player they will match your first deposit up to £25.100% Money Match up to £25

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Hand selection

One of the most important aspects of playing Texas Holdem (or any poker game for that matter, including Omaha hi, seven card stud and razz) is choosing the correct starting hands to play. Now, there are no concrete rules for this, as it will depend on the game structure you are playing, what the stakes are, how many players are left and if the table is loose or tight.

But, it is important to be conscientious of your beginning hand selection.

More often than not, new players at poker rooms play almost every hand. They will even play 7 -2 off suit! This is a sure way to loose your money. Make sure you are playing quality starting hands.

Post Flop Play

This is the one area that many players have trouble when they play poker online. You may not know it, but this is what separates the winning players from the losing players. Post flop decisions can be very difficult, as there is no standard way to play a hand, and every situation will be different. Do yourself a favor and do some research on post flop play. Many players read about pre flop play and stop reading before they get to the section on post flop play.

If you do excel in this area, you will be able to make a lot of money and make the other players at the table look like fish.

And, as always, the best way to improve is to continue practicing. Why not sign up at Littlewoods poker and play at their tables for a while. It is a perfect environment to test out new strategies and become a better player!

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Many online bingo websites require that players deposit no less than £20 when they first deposit. However, some players simply can’t afford to spend that much on bingo. Many players set aside a budget, which is subtracted from their monthly or weekly income.Frugal players also rely on earning bonus money, so a £5 deposit could easily turn into £10 or £15, a fact which discourages them from depositing any more than their set budget.

Now, online bingo operators have taken note of this trend, and have started to decrease the amount of money that they require new players to deposit.   Some UK bingo sites have a minimum deposit requirement is only £5, some of the lowest in the industry. Players can easily live off of that amount each month, especially with the amount of bonuses they offer their players.

Rather than encouraging players to bet more in order to win more, it is becoming more popular to adhere to player needs by offering more bonuses with less requirements. This way, players are given a much more rewarding online bingo experience!

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The freerolls that are open to new players typically have small prize pools but occasionally you’ll find special promotions where new players can compete for some pretty hefty prizes. In fact, some of today’s biggest winners built their bankrolls from scratch simply by playing in freeroll poker tournaments.

Some freeroll tournaments offer much larger prize pools but there’s usually something you have to do to gain entry to that type of freeroll. The requirements could include anything from having to play X number of hands in a month to making your first deposit.

Sometimes you’ll also find freeroll satellite tournaments that you can use to turn your $0 entry fee into a mega win at an even bigger tournament. Instead of giving away cash prizes, freeroll satellite tournaments give away entries into bigger tournaments.

Some poker sites even hold freeroll satellite tournaments that can get you sent to the World Series of Poker free of charge. It usually works so that the winner of the freeroll satellite gets free entry to a bigger satellite that feeds directly to the final event.

All you have to do is check in with your poker site from time to time to get the latest freeroll satellite information. If you’re looking for quick action, you can always fire up the software, log in and visit the tournaments section. If there’s not a freeroll getting started right away, there’s usually one not far away.

How to Participate in Freerolls

Every poker site holds freeroll tournaments every day so you shouldn’t have any problems finding freerolls. Once you find an online poker site that you like, all you have to do is download the software and create an account. You don’t have to make a deposit, register your banking information or anything else of the sort.

To download the poker software, just visit the website of whatever poker site you decide to go with. You’ll see big “download now” or “play now” links all over the place. Just click on one of those and follow the instructions. Once you have the software downloaded and installed, it only takes a few seconds to create your player account.

After that you can play in freerolls any time by opening your poker software and going to the “tournaments” tab. Look for the tournaments that either have the word “freeroll” or have entry fees of $0. Some freerolls are private but most of them will be open for you to join.

Once you find a freeroll that looks good, double click on it and you’ll be taken to the tournament lobby screen. Inside that screen, you can register for the tournament, check out the prize pool information and see who else is playing. When it’s time for the tournament to begin, you’ll automatically be taken to your seat. The rest is up to you.

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So don’t fall into the same trap. Don’t fall in love with the big slick, remember it is just a drawing hand and needs to improve and continue to improve to make it playable.

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 Straight Flush ( Royal Flush) – The holy grail of hand ranks but did you know there is actually 40 combinations and even if your sitting there highly excited that you have got a royal flush a tie is all possible.

Probability of being dealt this hand straight from the deck is 0.0015% or 1 in 64,974.

Four of a Kind – this has 624 possible combinations and cannot be tied.

Probability of being dealt this hand straight from the deck is 0.0024% or 1 in 4165

Straight – there are 10,200 combinations of this and ties are possible.

Probability of being dealt this hand straight form the deck is 0.3925% or 1 in 255

Three of a Kind –  Has 54,912 possible combinations and no ties possible.

Probability of being dealt this hand straight from the deck is 2.1129% or 1 in 47

Two Pairs – With a staggering 123,552 possible combinations. Ties are possible but between similar hands the one with the highest – ranking pair wins. If equal the highest ranking second pair wins, if still equal the highest ranking odd card decides the matter.

Probability of being dealt this hand straight from the deck 4.7539% or 1 in 21

 One Pair – 1,098,240 combinations available. Between similar hands the highest ranking pair wins. If equal, the highest ranking odd card wins; if still equal the next highest ranking odd card decides matters and so on. Ties are possible

Probability of being dealt this hand straight from the deck 42.2569% or 1 in 2.3665

Nothing! (Or high card)- 1,302,540 combinations possible. Ties possible and decided on who has the highest ranked card, if equal then by the second highest and so on.

Probability of being dealt this hand straight from the deck is 50.1177% or 1 in 1.9953

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Analyze Yourself – What sort of poker style do you play? What sort of poker player do you want to be? Do you try and play safe by only playing low-risk but try and constantly cash? Knowing your own poker style and skill is vital to a development strategy for becoming the poker player you need to be.

Which Hands Constantly Cash? – It happens to us all, you have a monster hand and someone will limp into the pot, calling your every bet and then beat you on the river. You can’t change that but what you can change is your knowledge of hand strength and drawing odds.

Learn to Shift Gear – learning when to alternate between aggressive and passive play is vital. Some players only act strong when in fact they are week. In contrast some act weak when they are strong. Don’t fall into routine betting patterns. A good player will pick up on your trends and take advantage of it.

You should play strong when you are strong and plat unpredictably when you are unbeatable. Changing gears is knowing when you back is against the wall. If you are small stack don’t wait till you are almost busted to go all in.

Chat with the Other Players at the Table – most sites have chat boxes that also show who own the last hand and the amount they won. Although you shouldn’t trust fellow players as far as you can throw them, some will want to flaunt their alleged poker knowledge or offer their advice. Listen to their advice but choose if you wish to apply it.

Watch Tournaments on TV – if you serious about playing poker then keep up to speed on what is happening in the world of poker. Professional poker players are professional for a reason, they are good at poker. Watch their styles, how they play certain hands. See what hands they don’t play and fold.

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Playing too big too soon – Multi table tournaments average anywhere from five hundred to thousand players. With entry fee’s being anything from $10 to $50. So you will always have at least 9 other players at the table until your down to the last table. This can create a few problems to new players. First that hand that was strong against 3 or 4 players might not be so strong now you faced with more players drawing. Secondly some of the players will play with reckless abandonment to try and get into early chip lead. $10 maybe your weeks worth of money you have set aside to play to others it’s a drop in the ocean. Unless you have the skills to contently be in the final table where the money is these tournaments can be costly and return nothing but experience. Although they are a lot more poker for your dollar, you will need to learn to play this type of format to be successful and not in early stages of learning to play poker.

Low Limit Cash Games are not Tournaments – Obvious statement I know but there is a huge difference between the styles of play. On $1 $2 cash tables there can be typically 4 to 5 players. They could be all friends and be talking to each other on the phone and basically ganging up to get your money out of you. In a cash games you can choose your table in a tournament the seating is random.

Don’t be Put off in the chat box – there will be players who are out to distract you form your game and you will see them tormenting players in the chat box. Don’t take any notice as whilst you’re getting frustrated over their comments and bust replying your not watching the game.

Tournament Tilt – far worse then a string of bad hands. Tournament tilt is where you rush to play tournament after tournament to recoup lost earnings. Loosing a tournament from time to time is ok, if you fining your loosing all of them then accept today isn’t your day to play tournaments and stop throwing more money after lost money.

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There are no guarantees – you have to keep reminding your self that. No matter how monster your hand is, there is a chance it can be beaten. Let it go, the next hand is a whole new opportunity but don’t go on tilt trying to regain your lost chips.

It happens both ways – we are often quick to remember the bad beats that we forget our lucky times. Ever called a large raise to hit your flush on the river or similar? Your opponent just got bad beaten by you.

Realise there will be good and bad – in a more generalisation of the game you will have to accept that over a length of play you will encounter good as well as bad hands/days. Learning when to stop and walk away for the day is what will help eliminate more bad days.

Your last chip still counts – a bad beat may take most if not all your of your chip stack. If though you have chips left you still have a chance to get back into the game if you apply a level head and chose an aggressive style at the appropriate times. Use position and hand strength to either steal a blind or double up at the appropriate moment.

Watch others reactions to bad beats – you will soon realise it doesn’t happen just to you. Notice their reactions in the comment box and ask yourself if you want to be viewed like this. Be professional especially when others are not – keep your focus.

Surviving a bad beat is about maintaining focus. If you have suffered a bad beat and having trouble remaining calm then step away from the computer, it will still be there when you have calmed down.

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After a bit of digging around and a lot of watching it seems that the younger female player is prone to getting flirted with more than the other generations. This is probably no surprise. The younger generation also seem to get away with asking questions about opponent’s hands and actually being given answers on occasion. It also seems that it is assumed that the younger and more attractive players are novices. The men also seem to play softer towards this generation. So if you’re of the younger generation use all that and use your sex appeal.

The middle aged women can seem to get ignored at the poker table unless they are naturally talkative and fun. It seems they are also viewed as that they have arrived in life and so is self confident and will act like this at the poker table. So the key to the middle aged is to use your poker knowledge and your self confidence.

The older women seems to get the most benefit from playing poker out of the three generations as most players will underestimate a mature women player. They just see a grandma or mother figure and the younger men assume they are easy pray. A mature player can get away with acting weak even though they are secretly as tough as nails.

Being a Women player does have its benefits like FREE 5 Euros from Fortune for just being a lady . Can read the conditions here to qualify

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Before getting gooey eyed over a fellow player, first check out his poker. If his chips are a mess at the table then you might spend your time picking up after him in the relationship. Messy chips could mean messy in real life. Same too if his poker chips are neatly stacked then he might be tidy in real life. Dress code, is he smart or casual? This can mirror his dress code in everyday life. How does he deal with bad beats etc? If he gets angry easily then he might easily get angry in real life. Most the actions at a poker table can be small hints of what he is like in real lif.

As for living with or marrying a poker player, well you will have to be prepared to hear every single bad beat he ever gets. There will be the mood swings that will follow his poker swings. This all may be tolerable if he is willing to sit and listen to your bad beats and understand your mood swings. It would probably be a good idea to keep to very separate bankrolls for your poker. His and yours.  

Then there is the sticky situation of playing against each other. If you both enter the same tournament how would you feel if it ended up heads up and was down to just you and him? Could you stand being beaten by him or worse still would he get over it if you beat him? I dated a poker player and although we understood each others mood swings and listened to the bad beats, it was a disaster if we ended up on the same table. We knew each other so well and with one of us being highly competitive it just turned very messy to say the least (in case you were wondering yes I won all his chips and no he wasn’t very happy) 

So I would say proceed with caution. Every person and relationship is different.

Being a Women player does have its benefits like FREE 5 Euros from Fortune for just being a lady . Can read the conditions here to qualify

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Tournament Details -
Name – Ladybrokes Freeroll
Date – Sunday 21st June 2009
Time – 18:00 BST
Location – Tournaments/Special
Registration – Email your username to ladybrokes@ladbrokes.co.uk

If you are not already a member you can sign up and also get Upto 500 Welcome Bonus too.

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3. Fortune Poker Goes Pink

Foxy Bingo FREE match of deposit to find out more  amzing offers

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1.  Players must be New Accounts to Fortune Poker, and can only have 1 Account per player.

2.  This promotion is open to Ladies Only.

3.  Players are not allowed to cash out until they have accumulated 50 Euros in Rake.

4.  To receive this bonus, once you have created an account through Pink Poker, email jen@fortunepoker.com quoting Ladies Free.  Please expect the payment within 24 hours.

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3. Ladbrokes have added exciting new features.

• First they have they have added Auto Top Up. This lets you automatically top up your table balance as soon as it drops below a predetermined level. Only applicable to cash games though.
• They have improved their waiting list. It now offers as many seats as are available to players who are waiting. So if three seats become available then those three seats are offered to three players on the waiting list. Also if they are enough players waiting with similar criteria then the system will create a new table.
• They have introduced a 5 minute sit out. You can sit out of the action on full tables for five minutes and replaces the previous system that was based on the big blinds.
• They have a new bet slider too. It can now be personlised to suit your own playing style.
• They have added Deepstack cash tables from 0.25/0.50 up to 5/10. They have a minimum buy in of 100 x big blind and maximum of 200x big blind.
• Survivor Tournaments are a new type of tournament. This is a faced paced game with the smallest chip stacks being removed from the tournament at set times. It also has a fixed duration so ideal for those who want to play and go.

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There is something about Jennifer Harman that just makes her the best. She started playing poker at the age of 8 back in 1972 ad turned professional when she was 21. Maybe it’s the fact that she is the only female poker player to hold two WSOP bracelets in WSOP open events. Or maybe it’s the fact she won one of those bracelets in a No Limit Deuce to Seven Low Ball event, a game she had never played before and only received 5 minutes of tuition before the game from Howard Lederer.

She is also manages to be a wife and mother and is married to Marco Traniello with whom she has twin boys. But this isn’t all there is to her. With a troubled history in her health she also is the founder of the charity Creating Organ Donation Awareness after receiving two kidney transplants herself.

When she is at the poker tables it shows that this 5ft 2 woman is a force to be reckoned with. She isn’t the typical female player that can be bluffed. She has far too much skill and experience for that to happen.  No other woman regularly plays the Big Game, the high stakes game at the Bellagio.

You can play against the stars of poker at PokerStars and claim your free $600 too.

More poker questions answered about Jennifer Harman

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Here is how it works.

1. Open an account with Victor Chandler and they will match your first bet stake up to a maximum of £50.
2. Place 5 more bets of £10 or more and they will give you another £25 free bet.
3. Then place a further 5 bets of £10 or more and they will give you another £25 free bet and a free £25 Casino Chip*.

*The free casino chip is only for GBP accounts only though.

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Will you be going or entering any of the WSOP or following it on TV?

 Will definitely watch every single second if I don’t get to go. I’m trying my best right now to win a seat on PokerStars. They have some really good satellites running for as little as $2. That’s how I won my PCA seat, so will keep trying to win a cheap seat. I will budget $150 or so to try to win a seat. If I don’t win one, I will have to be content to watch it on TV.

What’s your preference and why. No limit, limit or pot limit. Do you prefer sit and go’s or big tournaments?

 My specialty is cheap satellites ($10 or less) to get me into bigger satellites. I like to play $3 rebuys on PokerStars to get into their Sunday Million tournament. I’ve gotten into the money several times that way, by only spending $9 or less (for a tournament that normally costs $215.) My biggest cash so far in that tournament is $1600. I made it to 158 out of 7446 players. I once made it to the money in their $250,000 Sunday tournament and had to beat 21,348 people to get there. That’s the biggest field I’ve ever played. (That was crazy, but just had to see if I could do it.)

I play mostly NL, since that’s what is available 90% of the time. I play limit when I go to live casinos and NL online. I don’t care much for PL. It’s even crazier than NL. Seems to be all about the macho, and not much else.

In your recent article you talk about how you played in Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure. You refer to the lack of women players, what do you think puts them off playing?

I’m guessing here, but I think women like to play limit cash tables and sit-n-gos more. The only rational reason can be that they just don’t enter the satellites as much, because from what we know, women are definitely good players.  I thought there would be at least 100 women or so at the PCA. I was very surprised to be one of only 7 women who qualified. (There were 7 or 8 women pros, but they were sponsored.)

I think women see satellites as long shots and figure they are a waste of money. But when you look at the return on investment, if you qualify, you are getting an amazing overlay. You just have to understand the strategy for satellites and be patient. You also have to be willing to enter quite a few. You will be doing good to place in 10% of them. My “cash rate” is currently at 17%, but I play mostly cheap tournaments. I’m sure it would be lower if I played higher stakes tournaments.

What do you think a female poker player has to have beside poker skill to stand a chance against the men?

Women often have better skills than the men. It’s mostly emotional fortitude that differentiates the good female players. But that is mainly for live play at casinos. Online it doesn’t make that much difference. But for live play here are my thoughts:

Be stubborn and not afraid to lose. Be willing to take bat beats and then turn right around and do it again. Be able to take it when men snicker and make insulting remarks that they wouldn’t make to another man. (Men hate to lose to women, especially at poker, since some of them resent us for being there in the first place.) Be willing to be the only woman at the table.

The forever disputed question is should there be women only tournaments. What are your views on this?

 I think women only tournaments are good for new players. Men could do the same thing if they wanted, so who’s to say it’s discriminatory? I would definitely play the ladies tournament at the WSOP if I could. It would be great to win it and I certainly would not make any excuses for doing so. I think it would be just as hard, if not harder than the open events to win. Women play differently so it would just be fun to play against some of the best women in the world, instead of mostly men.

If you could pick your ideal final table who would be on it?

 Just for sheer entertainment value: Mike Matasow, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreneau, Tiffany Michelle, Dennis Phillips, Scotty Nguyen, Kristi Gazes, Annette Oberstaad, and me, of course. For a final table that I would be thrilled to play at in a big tournament, it would include no-name players (non pros) who have read all the classic poker books that tell you to fold just about everything except KK and AA. I would run all over them!

What’s your favourite hand?

 Pocket aces, of course. They work out great for me most of the time.

Do you have any pre-game rituals?

 Get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy light meal beforehand, have a nice pep talk with myself and go over some of my previous accomplishments, have something to drink nearby (non-alcoholic of course) , and do everything I can to minimize distractions. (Turn off the phone, try not to “chat” online too much, or talk to other players at the table too much.)

What is it you love about poker?

 The challenge, the competition, the fact that it’s always changing and your game has to keep constantly evolving. It’s a game that you can never totally master. And of course the main thing is the big rush you get when you win a big tournament or a big pot.

When I won the PCA tournament I just sat in front of my computer for a couple of minutes practically hyperventilating (it was 1:30 in the morning when it was over). I keep saying aloud, “Oh, my god! I can’t believe it. I actually won! I just won a $14,000 package. Totally ******* amazing!” Then I went to wake my husband up and tell him we were going to the Bahamas. He didn’t believe me at first. I had to show him the money sitting in my account at PokerStars. When he realized it was true he was almost excited as I was. For the first week I had trouble concentrating on anything else. It was so much fun!

If you could describe your perfect day what would it be?

 Sleep until 9 or so, get up and read poker books and drink my coffee until around 11. Have a nice lunch before playing a big money tournament starting at around 2 p.m. Then when it’s over and I won a lot of money, I would go spend some of it on a nice dinner and a show for me and my husband. We would discuss at dinner how we were going to spend/invest the $1 million or so I just won. A new house, a great vacation, or maybe just sock it all away? Then we would go to the hot tub for a nice soak and a glass of wine or two before bed. Then go to bed thinking about doing it all over again the next day. Hedonism rules!

Which three male poker players would you enter into a  good looking competition?

 Ivan Demidov, Joe Hachem, and Chad Brown.

How often do you play online if not playing live?

 I play online 90 percent of the time because the payouts are so much better for a smaller investment. I will play satellites at casinos to enter big tournaments occasionally. There’s a local casino I like to play at, where I know the players pretty well. I like to play their weekend tournaments sometimes just for fun and for the social aspect of it.

Is it better to date another poker play or a non player?

 I think it would be great to have a partner who plays poker. My husband watches it on TV and understands the game, but doesn’t play much. He hates losing too much. I think it would be wonderful to have someone to talk poker strategy with and who could commiserate with your bad beats. My husband does that, but since he doesn’t play that much, I think he get a little tired of hearing about it. But on the other hand, if we both played, we might get sick of the whole thing. So who knows?
Maybe it’s better to just have friends who play, or a website like yours, or somewhere else to “talk poker.”

Do you use your femme fatal at all at poker table?

 I try to dress reasonably well when I play live (but still be comfortable) , and am not opposed to showing a little cleavage on occasion. But for the most part, I keep to myself and don’t say a lot. If they talk to me, I will listen and be friendly, but I don’t say much myself. You will be surprised how much men like to chat with women at the table and tell you all about what they played, how they played it, what they thought the other guy had, etc. It can be very beneficial.

What advise would you give a new female poker player?

1) Read all the books and be a student of the game. That is where women really excel, I think. Women are generally better students than men and you can learn a lot from reading about other players’ experiences. I have read about 25 books, I think.
2) Start out small so you can have some success early. I started in a free poker league that played at local bars. All we had to pay for was a drink or two. We had a blast, but it was very competitive.
3) Don’t dwell on being a woman. You are probably thinking about it much more than they are. Just play a tight aggressive game and you will win more often than you lose.

You can read more of Rebekah’s take on the female poker scene plus what it was like to play the Poker Stars Caribean Adventure in her column at the Examiner.

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She claims she has never had to deposit any money at an online poker site as she started her bankroll off by winning a freeroll tournament. She then built up her bankroll to several hundred thousand dollars. In 2007 she won a $4 buy in beating the other 179 players by claiming she played the whole tournament with out looking at her cards. She claims she did look once when faced with an all in bet. Apparently she did this to prove the power of playing your position and paying attention to the other players at the table.

 Although not of legal age to set foot in a casino this hasn’t put her off and has proved to be one of the internet poker’s biggest earners in less than 6 months.

You can catch her on her blog.

You can play against the stars of poker at PokerStars and claim your free $600 too.

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Although her career is now poker she still invests in the stock market and has a blue belt in karate to add to her triumphs.

She has her own website under her poker nickname of PokerKat .She is know to blog occasionally.

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So if you find your self holding four aces as your hole cards you only actually have a pair as you can only use two of your hole cards. At the flop you need to be looking out for full houses, flushes and straights as they will be a lot more common than in Texas Holdem.

If you get a good hand in Omaha you should bet aggressively. You need to get more opponents to fold and pick up the pots . Checking and letting other players stay in for free allows them the chance to pick up better hands than you.

Omaha High-low is played the same but at the showdown the highest hand wins half the pot and the lowest hand wins half the pot. You don’t have to specify if your going for high or low.

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When they made the transformation they added bingo along with a whole host of new games. They did keep the familiar favourites of cyberslotz though that regularly pays out above £1000. Just looking at the recent winners shows you how often the winners are winning. It has games from 9p right up to £20+ a spin so all wallets are catered for.

To go with the new launch the promotions have been increased to. They are giving away £5 free on bingo as well as there 100% welcome bonus. They are also giving away free bingo on Sundays. If you play the slots on a Tuesday they will give you £10 bonus and Wednesday is 10% cash back day on losses. More reasons to play this brilliant lesser known site.

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Only those that have a sure probability. Check out Starting Hands for more information

Which hands loose in the long run?

Below average, average and slightly above average.

Why should you raise with your better hands?

Not to limit your field but to improve your overall probability

On which betting rounds do top pair hands make lots of money?

On early betting rounds, pre flop and the flop

If you got two suited whole cards, how often will three more cards of your suit appear by the river ?

Under 6% of the time

What is slow playing?

Playing a strong hand weekly, checking or calling instead of betting or raising to deceive opponents.

What hands will calling stations call on the river with?

Any pair or even ace high

What do they mean when they say they drew a blank card?

It means that the card is not of any value to a players hand

If someone is drawing dead what does this mean?

It means that no matter what cards are drawn you can not improve your hand as your opponent has a better hand . For example if you are drawing to make a flush but your opponent already has a full house then you are drawing dead

What are monster hands and how do you play them pre flop?

AA and KK are the monsters and you should almost always raise and re raise , no matter what the action is.

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Top Hands: With any of these raise. If you are re-raised, raise again. Don’t pussy foot around as it is essential you play these hands aggressively. You’re doing this because you want money in the pot and to scare as many of the other players into folding so that they don’t draw a better hand than you. At the point of pre-flop you are probably holding the best hand. But if you let other players into the hand because you weren’t betting high enough then, they might draw a better hand than you.

Don’t try to slow play these hands thinking you will build the pot. You are giving the other players more chances of hitting a better hand than you. The more in the hand the more chances one of them will hit a better hand.

Good Hands: Call and wait to see what others do. If someone raises then you should fold. Before you hit the fold button though consider why the player is raising. Are they normally a tight player? If they are then fold but if its the player type that calls anything then call the bet. If the pot is raised again though, it is probably best to get out of the hand and fold.

Average and Marginal Hands: I early position these hands will get you into a heap of trouble. Folding and be patient is the only wise thing to do.

Middle Positions – Middle position are the three seats to the left of the early position. This is half way as you know some of the table situation bit not all of it.

Top Hands: Play these just as you would in early position. Make the most of them when they come along as they wont come along very often.

Good Hands: Playing these is dependent on whether you are facing a raise. If not then you can raise with these hands. But if there is a raise after you have played , you should call but if two players make a raise it likely one of them has you beat so fold an don’t get pulled into a raising war.

Average Hands: these hands including medium ranked connectors. This makes them ideal drawing hands with which to make a flush or a straight. Hitting one of these is probably the only way to win with these hands as if you do hit a pair it’s unlikely to be the highest pair. The odds against making a flush or a straight are high and the attempt to do so will probably to be expensive.  Though luck might be on your side and you get the three cars you need on the flop, there is also the chance you won’t and it couldn’t be expensive to follow it through.

Marginal Hands: The low pairs and gapped connectors. These don’t offer much of a realistic chance of making a good hand. Best thing to do with these hands is fold them.

Late Position: The last three places at the table. Being in late position gives you many advantages as you have seen your opponent’s moves and have a much better idea if which hands are playable and which aren’t. Your decisions are easier to make and you have more options regarding the hands you choose to play.

Top Hands - Raise, raise and raise. That’s all there is to it.

Good Hands - If someone has already raised, just call the bet. Otherwise, raise and then see what others do. Most will probably fold, if they call throw in another raise and try to narrow down the field even more. If someone re-raises just call. You defiantly want to see the flop with these cards but you don’t want to pay too high a price.

Average Cards: Straights, flushes and sets are what you are looking for with these cards. But remember you need value in terms of the size if the pot to make them worth playing. If someone raises, you should generally fold as these hands are speculative so you want to see the flop as cheaply as possible.

Marginal Cards: One of the advantages of being in late position is that you can play marginal hands that in any other position you would fold. Again they are speculative hands and should only be played if you can see the flop without too much expensive.

You should also learn what the most common mistakes are at Pre-Flop so that you can avoid them

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Time Limit: If playing cash games it could be worth while setting a time limit at the beginning of play. This way it will stop losers pushing play into an unreasonable hour. The host should announce near time up that playing will stop in 3 or 4 hands. This gives everyone a chance to adjust their play accordingly.

Food and Drink: What you eat and drink will depend on what your friends and you like. The boys normally manage to muster up crisps, dips, nuts and pizza with of course the customary beer. Keep things simple, you don’t want to end up in the kitchen all evening. Also get friends to bring food too so that the cost is shared.

Poker chips: If you don’t know if you will make it a regular thing, try borrowing a case of chips from one of the lads. If you decide to purchase chips for your self there are many sets around including pink poker sets if you decide to make it truly girly.

Real Money and costs: Poker doesn’t have to be big league to have fun. The aim of the night is to have a good fun social evening, not gamble the housekeeping bills away. There are two ways you can do it. A simple tournament or cash game for small amounts.

Tournament. This is where you all put a set amount into the pot as a buy in. All the players get a set amount of chips, normally about 2000 or 3000. The money pot can then be divided into 1^st and 2^nd (more if you have more playing) this gives nervous new players a chance to relax from parting with money on regular bases as they just buy in at the beginning. Once you have lost all your chips your out of the tournament. But does mean the first person, and subsequent players, are left watching till the end of the game. Being a girly night this might fit the bill for those who want to natter too.

Cash. This is where you buy in and receive a set amount of chips. If you loose all your chips you then can decide to re-buy another stack of chips. You can use your own ruling to whether players are allowed to buy more chips whilst in play as well. At the end of play you cash out your chips to the value. So the one with a huge chip stack would cash in the most.

Etiquette: You can read more in depth about poker etiquette but the basics are:-

Be honest, don’t short change the pot or cheat in any way.

Play quickly. No one like slow play

Be polite and courteous

Be a good winner

Be a good loser

Play in sequence

Don’t look at other players cards

Don’t give advice to other players.

What to play. There is the most well known Texas Holdem but also Seven Card Stud, Omaha High, Five Card Draw and Five Card Stud.

Seven Card Stud – is very popular. It can be played high only or high low. Two down cards are and one up card is first dealt to each player. Four more cards are dealt, three up and one down with betting intervals following each card. From the seven cards played, the best 5 cards win.

If you want to try out Seven Card Stud it can be found on Poker Stars, Full Tilt , Absolute, Titan, Carbon, Mansion, Ladbrokes and VC Poker

Omaha High. Each player gets four cards face down and then a bet occurs. Three cards are dealt face up all at once on the table as common cards with a round of betting. Then the fourth common card is dealt face up followed with a round of betting. Then the firth common card is dealt face up with a round of betting. A player must use two cards (and only two) from their hand with three on the common cards. Hands in Omaha tend to be higher than those in seven card stud of Holdem due to the greater number of cards and possibilities.

If you wan to try out Omaha High it can be found on Poker Stars, Full Tilt, Absolute, Titan, Carbon, Mansion, Ladbrokes and VC Poker

Five Card Draw. Each player is dealt five cards face down. After the deal a round of betting takes place. A player may discard one or more of his cards and the dealer deals replacement cards. A player doesn’t have to draw but can stay pat (if they already have a straight, flush or full house) after the draw another round of betting followed by the show of hands. Some play this with a limit to in the number cards drawn. Another variation is when a play can only bet if that have a pair of jacks or better.

Five Card Draw can be played on Ladbrokes and Carbon

Five Card Stud. Each player gets dealt one card down and one card up followed by a bet. Then each player gets a second up card followed by a bet. Third and fourth cards face up is dealt to each player, each followed by a bet. The best hand at the ends wins. A high pair can often win the hand. 

You can play Five Card Stud on Poker Stars, Mansion, Ladbrokes, Carbon and VC Poker

Related posts:

1. Position at Poker Game
2. Poker Playing Attributes
3. Mathematics and Poker

Good attributes to have are

Patience

Know your numbers

Self control and discipline

Controlling the ego

Aggression

Ruthlessness

Patience. For most poker is played at night. The bigger live tournaments can span several days with games extending into the small hours. The single most important skill is to be able to sit through hours of gamming with out loosing concentration or giving in to the urge to do something rash or reckless. This requires endurance. Impatience, irritation, tiredness and boredom have lost more hands and money than any other failings.

Know your numbers. You might not be the world’s best mathematician but this is certainly a skill which can be improved. With only 52 cards in a deck, the odds and chances of winning a hand can be calculated pretty well. Using mental arithmetic is what the best players do to reduce or manage the effect of luck.

Self control and discipline. A successful player will wait, and wait, and wait. Playing the occasional week hand to disguise the patten of his play but still waiting for a strong starting hand to put their chips to work. Whilst watching he will see the bad players become bored and risk their on poor hands and end up loosing. All this waiting takes discipline and immense resources if self control.

Controlling the ego. John Gollehan once said “Big egos and big losses go hand in hand” When a game is being played, many personality habits and traits are accentuated once the cards have been dealt. This means any psychological issues that a player may have will be exaggerated when a playing and may possibly prove very costly. He key is to spot a player with no understanding or control over theirs and then target them.

Aggression. In poker aggression should be regarded as a technique, a means of intimidating the opposition, not be showing your teeth and growling but by developing a style of play which is disconcertingly strong or unpredictable.

Ruthlessness. An inability to follow through and destroy your opponent’s confidence as you win their chipstack could prove a fatal weakness. Don’t think of opponents in a personal manner but develop the ability to view what you are doing for what it is – playing a game, a game you must win.

Related posts:

1. Playing Poker at Home
2. Poker Questions & Answers
3. Live Poker Tells and Bluffing

Poker is a game that is perfect for liars. Could this be why it has a male dominated following? A poker player lie’s in one of two ways.

By hiding their true feelings. This tends to happen throughout the game and normally referred to as keeping a poker face. To give nothing away at all.

By acting in the opposite way to their feelings. This is the bluffing bit.

Bluffing can’t be played on every hand. If you play low skill players they will be too busy worrying about their game to even notice. But the more skilled players will be watching your every move and will be noting your behaviour and patterns.

These are the most common giveaways.

Face Touching - When people lie they tend to want to want to touch their face. This is subconsciously trying to mask the lie. But also note face touching can also be provoked by boredom, shyness and anxiety.

False Smiling - There is the smile you give your husband when he gives you a toaster for Christmas. The smile is slow, lopsided and doesn’t reach your eyes. Then there is the smile when he buys you diamonds. It’s instant, symmetrical and reaches your eyes. Get my drift?

Foot Tapping – The rhythmical action shows your opponent’s favoured pace of play. This could be read as impatience to end the lie. It also could be eagerness to win if they are trapping. So watch for when they tap their foot, if it’s while others are playing.

Hesitation - If players pause too long before speaking or betting they may be preparing a lie or bluff. But they also could be new and nervous.

Crossed arms and legs – Folded arms can signal defensiveness if they are folded high across the chest this can mean aggression and challenge. Hence this is the normal pose when a couple argues.

Sweating – As adrenaline pumps faster around the body excess sweat can be produced. It could be prompted anxiety but also could mean they are just plain hot.

Direction of gaze - The eyes can give away intention. Where we look is normally where we want to be. Are they looking at the door as they want to escape or did a leggy blonde just come through the door?

This next bit is right up us girlies street. We are famous for noticing what people wear. Ask you hubby what you were wearing the night you first met and he will glaze over. If you were asked what he was wearing that same night you could probably name his outfit down to the colour of socks. (And if you can even name the colour of his underwear, keep it quiet) What people wear gives away huge clues to their personality. Not all people fall into categories and some don’t dress like their character but as general guidance this can help back up your other notes.

Power Dressers – Think designer suits and dresses. Lavish and expensive watches. Designer accessories (sunglasses) just ooze wealth.

As a player – these types are extremely competitive and are driven by the need to win. They will want to win every hand. They are already assuming a mask of sorts so bluffing wont be a challenge to them. They will probably take risks and not even flinch when they loose.

Attention Seekers - You know the ones, no taste. Bright colours, patterns and designs. Strange hair styles and colours that shout look at me. The males might wear designer and expensive trainers whilst the females sport killer heels.

As a player - They are flash and competitive but more interested with the image. Probably staying in until the end to gain maximum attention. More likely to bluff and take big risks as to them its more than the pot. If they feel they are not getting enough attention the more dramatic their routine will be.

Casual Scuff- No sense of style and look like they pulled their stained clothes straight from the wash bin on the way out of the door.

As a player – they are often impulsive and erratic in play as they work from gut reaction rather than memory or skill. They don’t posses a game plan and have a lack of planning and focus. It will be difficult to find a pattern in their pattern.

Smart Scruff - They sort of wear a suit but only half make the effort. The half hearted suit is shiny form wear. The shoes have never seen a polish.

As a player they are already trying to be something that they are not. They try to be the high flyer but at heart they are just all scruff. As they have no self control their play will be the same. They seldom learn from the game either. They will bluff but not with a poker face and their dramatics are not thought out so you will spot signs of leakage.

Casually smart - They look immaculate with maybe their tie loosened.

As a player they will be ruthless. Just as they can adapt to circumstances with their clothes so to will their game. They will have a focus like a hawk with concentration and perception. They can shift a gear in their game effortlessly. More likely to have the poker face and keep the poker face for long periods.

Casual Obsessive - Don’t get these types muddled with the scruffier. This lot have a logical and a mind and an eye for detail. They can remember cards and play in a logical but successful way. Probably excelled on the online poker so moved to live. Student style trousers with baggy t shirts. Non designer trainers and the occasional friendship band.

As a player they have highly developed logic and as well as having the ability to remember the cards but can bluff brilliantly too. Underestimate nothing and trust nothing.

Inappropriate dressers – They just don’t fit in. Smart outfit to casual occasion and vice versa. Also completely out of season.

As a player they dislike rules. Dislike their opponents or even both. Probably play an emotionally charged game because for them it’s about knowing better than anyone else. They wont follow any game plan as they of course know better and out to prove that a daring amateur can win every time.

Careful Style – You wouldn’t look twice at them as they are bland. Not fashionable and not a hint of sexiness. Everything about their dress sense will shout safe. Comfy sensible shoes. Boring colours.

As a player they will be stubborn  and will avoid risk taking. They won’t do anything dramatic or impetuous. They will play their game quietly and just be boring and text book predictable

Related posts:

1. Online Poker Tells
2. Position at Poker Game
3. Playing Poker at Home

Playing the bingo caller. This happens in live games too but with the amount of traffic between tables with online poker it happens more online. A player who plays virtually every hand is classed as a bingo caller. They will call the blinds virtually every hand if not all, these players are hoping to hit something with their rubbish. If the board comes down middle, low with straight or even flush options then be very careful and watch them like a hawk. The best way to get these people off hands is to raise pre-flop. A rule of the thumb when playing poker is, you’re either in the hand or not! Once you raise pre-flop you then ask them the question “have you really got a hand or are you that stupid you’re waiting to hit four corners?” These people will lose most of the time. However some of them really are stupid and lucky so be aware and make sure you’re not bluffing. Don’t be afraid to ask the question by raising the flop or re-raising them if they make a continuation bet. You’ll know where you are then.

The chat box.As a general rule of thumb, the more a person chats the worse they are at poker. Also those who abuse other players through the chat box tend to be very poor players. Why would a good player abuse a fish as all this will achieve is getting the fish to leave the table? Often these players are so poor they actually tell you what they have in the chat box.

Time between actions .This is probably one of the best tells you can get online. Just like live poker, the time it takes another player to act may reveal something about the strength of their hand. A long pause and a bet is usually a sign of strength. Whereas a long pause, then a check tends to show a sign of weakness.

Online poker has the feature that you can click what your next action is to be before it’s your turn. You can choose to check, fold, bet or bet raise then when it comes to your turn the computer automatically does it for you. From this you can deduce a considerable amount of information concerning the strength of their hand, by observing if they used the advanced click option. If someone checks instantly they probably have a poor hand and you betting in a future hand will probably get them to fold more often than not. Equally if you bet and someone raises instantly, then they are trying to steal a pot by insinuating their hand is that big that they will raise anyone and commit to an all-in in an instant. Please also take into consideration that there are players who will always use most of the time bar to act, this could mean several things like, they are playing several games, otherwise engaged (surfing the net) or acting at the exact same time so as to conceal their tells.

Though the above main three tells are generally true, more advanced players will vary their game in order to help conceal their online tells.

Also don’t forget, just as you make constant notes on other players, you will be playing someone who has notes on you.

Related posts:

1. Live Poker Tells and Bluffing
2. Poker Questions & Answers
3. Position at Poker Game

This is also a key question that you should also consider whilst you play, yet it is something that is often overlooked. Knowing how your opponents view you as a player is just as important as having an idea of how they are playing themselves. This is especially true in the game of no limit Texas Holdem where psychology plays an important role. But why exactly is this important? And what effect should this have on your game?

Depending on the way you play, your opponents will be considering how to categorize you just like you do to them according to different playing styles. If you find yourself getting involved in numerous pots and regularly making continuation bets and bluffing, they may well be categorizing you as a loose and aggressive player in their minds. Similarly, if you are only getting involved with a minimal number of pots and only calling and betting when you have the best of it, your opponents will be noting down that you are a tight player that they should probably avoid having too many confrontations with.

If you feel that it is quite obvious that your opponents consider you to be a certain type of player, you can use it to your advantage by playing differently in future hands. For example, if your opponents think you are tight and only get involved when you have the best of it, you will find that you will have a higher success rate when it comes to bluffing because they will have a good reason to believe that you have a strong hand because of the way you have been playing earlier in the session. Conversely, if you have been playing loosely and have been entering a number of pots, your ability to pull off successful bluffs will be reduced because your opponents are less inclined to think you have a strong hand when you bet.

As a general rule, you should try and play the opposite to the way that your opponents think you are playing. So if they see you as a loose player, you should play tight, and if they see you as a tight player, it will be profitable to loosen up your starting hand requirements. It is never a good idea to fall into patterns when you play poker, so you should always try and change gears from time to time to keep your opponents guessing. If your opponents are unsure of the way you play, you will find that you can make more profit from them than if they know how you play and you continue to play the same way throughout each session.

So the next time you sit down at the poker table, make sure that you are always aware of the way you play and how your opponents will view you as a poker player. Having a good knowledge of your table image at all times is a valuable piece of holdem strategy that can save you a lot of money as well as help you to win money. But be aware that these kinds of impressions are built up over time, and so you should not expect players to have a concrete opinion on your style of play after only a few hands. Whenever you reach a showdown, try and consider the implications of your cards being shown to the table, whether you win or lose. This could help stimulate players to form opinions of your style of play that you can later exploit later on in the session.

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1. Position at Poker Game
2. What is Omaha
3. Poker Questions & Answers

Mathematics can be used in poker to work out the probability of certain cards being dealt at any point during the hand. If we are able to work out the probabilities, we can then determine whether or not it is worth calling a bet to chase after a draw. So obviously if we can work out that a certain draw is unlikely to be completed by the river, we will be less inclined to call big bets to try and catch those cards. Using the probability of completing a draw along with the amount you have to call in relation to the pot to figure out whether it is profitable to chase after a draw is called pot odds.

Pot odds can be worked out calculating the number of outs in relation to the number of cards left in the deck as well as the bet amount we have to call in relation to the size of the pot, then these number are compared to work out if a call is profitable. For example, if we are on the flop and we have a flush draw, there are 9 cards left in the deck to complete our hand. There are 47 cards in total left in the deck, 38 of which will not make our draw, so by putting these numbers together we get a ratio of 38:9, or put more simply, 4:1 odds of making our flush by the next card. Therefore, for every 4 cards that will not make our hand, the other 1 card will. If you find this method difficult, you can use poker odds charts to help you quickly figure the odds out.

The next step is to work out the ratio between the size of the bet we have to call and the total amount in the pot. So if the size of the pot is $50 and we have to call $10 to try and hit our flush, the odds we are being given are 50:10, or put more simply, 5:1. Now when comparing the two ratios, we have 4:1 odds of completing our hand with 5:1 odds to try and hit our hand. This means that the odds are in our favour because the odds we are getting from the pot are greater than the odds we are getting from the cards. Therefore if we make the call, this will be a profitable call in the long run.

As mentioned, mathematics is all about poker in the long run. Just because you are able to work out the pot odds for each individual hand, it does not mean that you are more likely to win the hand. You may lose many hands in a row, but as long as you have the correct pot odds to call each time, in the long run you will come out on top as a winner. Poker mathematics is a great weapon to add to your poker arsenal, and it is good to know when you should and should not call bets for each drawing situation.

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1. Poker Questions & Answers
2. Poker Playing Attributes
3. Playing Poker at Home

Don’t Play Every Hand – Do Fold More

Almost certainly the first mistake a new poker player makes is that they play far too many hands. When you first start playing poker you want to be in the action and play the game, and this means that just to be part of the action you end up staying in hands that aren’t very good. The drawback being that playing more hands doesn’t mean winning more, it usually means losing more. If you find you’re staying in half or more the hands you’re dealt and wondering where your chips or money is going, you need to reevaluate the starting hands that you are playing.

Drunk and Poker Don’t Make a Good Cocktail.

I have played several evenings with friends and come away having won easily, not because I had good hands all night but because the other players have been drinking. If it’s a fun light hearted evening amongst friends and the money is low then its all part of the fun but while you may be more relaxed after 2 drinks, it may lead to you playing looser and less sharply, even if you consider yourself not drunk.

Don’t Bluff Just For Bluffing Sake

Although bluffing is all part and parcel of poker its not wise to bluff all the time. Bluffs only work in certain situations & against certain people, and if you know a player always calls to the showdown, it is literally impossible to bluff that player. It’s better never to bluff than to bluff “just to bluff.”

Don’t Stay Loyal to a Hand Just Because You’re Already In It

Another familiar mistake new players make is to think that because they have put money in the pot they have to stay in till the end. This isn’t true, you’re just throwing more money at bad money. There may be cases when pot odds warrant a call, but if you’re sure you’re beaten, and there’s no way your hand can improve to be the best hand, you should fold right away. The money you’ve already put in the pot isn’t yours anymore, and you can’t get it back, so fold and learn by it.

Don’t Call at the End of a Hand to “Keep Someone Honest”

This one follows the last tip. A lot of players look at another player’s final bet, look at the hand, and think they know they are beat but want to keep he other player honest as they throw in a final call. Sometimes it may be worth it to see if a player really has the hand if you’re not sure and you’re gaining information that will help you later on, but if you really feel a player has the hand he’s representing and you’re beat, why give them another pile of your money? Those bets will add up over an evening.

Don’t Play When Mad, Sad, or in a Generally Bad Mood

If your not in the best mood and sit down to play when your sad or in a bad mood you will be playing emotionally, not rationally — and you won’t play your best. Also, if during a poker game, you lose a big hand or get sucked out on and feel yourself going on tilt, stand up and take a break until you feel calm later on. Other players will sense your mood and take advantage of it. 

Pay Attention to the Cards on the Table

I remember when I first started playing, I found it hard enough to remember how to play and pay attention to my own hand. But once I got that down, it was incredibly important to learn also to look at what’s going on at the table. To figure out what the best possible hand would be to fit the flop and to notice flush & straight possibilities.

Pay Attention to the Other Players

As you play, one of the best things you can do is to watch the other players and then watch some more. Even when you’re not playing in a hand. If you know if one player always raises in a certain position, and another has a poker tell when he bluffs, and a 3rd folds to every re-raise, you can use that information to help you decide how to play against them. Once you know that player 3 always folds to a re-raise on a river, that’s when you can bluff & steal a pot.

Don’t Play at Too High Limits

When you first start out although tempting to jump on the big tables as you think you might get lucky or that you will win a few hands and walk away with doubling your money. You wont. Start low and work up the game instead of jumping in at the top and falling to the bottom very quickly. Don’t even consider moving up from the low levels until you have been winning consistently. Just one evening having a good night on a low table doesn’t mean its time to move up the ranks. Not only do the stakes rise when you move up the game but the skill does of fellow poker players. Its better to be the best on a low table than to be eaten alive on a higher game. Ponder on one thing, if you are winning lots at a low level why move when your making money.?

Separate Credit Card

This has two advantages. By keeping your bankroll separate you can monitor easier how well you are doing (or not doing). Secondly if someone does manage to steel access to your card they only get access to your bankroll not your income and other money.

Cashout

As tempting as it is to keep your money in your poker site account, it only takes a moment of weakness or a run of bad cards with bad play to leave you with nothing. A profit isn’t a profit unless you cash it out.

Keep taking the notes

When your not in a hand instead o your mind wondering, keep watching the players. You should take notes on the players all the time, not just when they play against you.

Track your results.

How do you know how well you are doing if you don’t track your results. The poker sites have stats on how many flops you have seen etc but how about you taking notes on what tournaments you have played, how you faired etc .

Investigate new sites. 

Not only does a new site have bonuses to give away, it will also give you the opportunity to play the game you want when you want. They all have different tournaments schedules but also run different specials at different times.

Related posts:

1. Single Table Tournaments
2. Pre Flop Play
3. Pre Flop Mistakes

So you’ve written your notes on her, she comes to the table and beside her avatar is a little post-it note. You read it, “that’s the one that got me last week, I knew I’d come across her sooner or later, I’ve got you this time. Your cards are marked!”

It’s as simple as that, most sites all you need to do is right click on their avatar and your knew fold knowledge pad has sprung up beside her for you to note those important comments. It doesn’t need to be War and Peace volume 2, any simple one-word phrases that remind you of how she plays. Is she strong, average or weak; tight or loose; a bluffer or a rock; a fish or a respecter of raises?

The more and more you write notes on your players the more and more you come across them. Now with your ultimate arsenal of post-it note weaponry your ready to bluff, fish, play tight, fold or the best………… take their money and cheer. Get writing, they’ve already got their notes on you, you don’t want them getting your money……… do you? No.

Related posts:

1. Playing Sit and Gos
2. Playing Freerolls
3. Playing Styles

Loose-Aggressive - these players are known as maniacs as they play most hands and call most bets. They have no grasp of good poker strategy, no conception of the percentages and go all in at a drop of a hat. They rely totally on luck and in the short term can be successful. Though their chips run out when their luck runs out. You’re guaranteed to go broke very quickly by playing this way.

Loose-Passive - Slightly better than the maniac but do play most hands. This type of player rarely raises, instead just calls or checks no matter how good their hands might be. They are never in control of the betting and don’t take advantage of good hands so are certain to be losers. They might not lose as quickly as the maniac but still a loser in the long run.

Tight-Passive - Known as “rocks” these players don’t take any risks at all. Continuously folding and playing only the top hands. Though when they do get the elusive top hands it’s not their style to play aggressively. Instead they call and check. This type of play is very unsurprising and then these players do raise, everyone knows they have a good hand and fold immediately. They usually win only very small pots.

Tight-Aggressive - The best playing style to have. They only play good start cards and then play them aggressively by raising at every opportunity. When they have a good hand they go for the kill. They know the bad hands and fold them.

Related posts:

1. Playing Freerolls
2. Pre Flop Play
3. Single Table Tournaments

Poor Start Card Selection – This is the mistake that most make. Quite simply only play the hands in the table on Pre-Flop Play . Straying from this and you are destined to continuously lose. It takes patience and discipline but that’s the difference between a good poker player and bad poker player.

Slow-Playing- Trying to build the pot with slow play shouldn’t be done on at the pre-flop stage. Slow-play should only be done after the flop when you know your hand can’t be beaten. By slow playing early you are giving other opponents the chance to stay in cheaply and hitting their hand which might be bigger than yours.

Not Paying Attention to your Opponents – Every action your opponents make will tell you something. If they are raising they usually have a good hand, checking id they have a weak hand and check-raising when they are trying to deceive. If a slow player takes an age then to raise they are trying to trick you into thinking they have a weaker hand than they have. Paying attention to what they are doing and act accordingly.

Playing Hands Out of Position - If you play some hands out of position then your just lining yourself up to get into serious trouble in the following rounds. Again its patience and self discipline but position really is relevant.

Late Table Position Not Being Used to its Full Advantage - Last to act puts you in such strong position. You can see what everyone else has done and you can play hands you wouldn’t normally play in other positions. You can steal the blinds and it’s the best position to increase the pot by raising. Take advantage of being in late position.

Related posts:

1. Pre Flop Play
2. Common Mistakes in Poker
3. Playing Sit and Gos

Having a pro name is probably as near as they will ever get to being a pro or playing like a pro. They hope to intimidate their opponents but  this generally has the opposite effect . These players are generally small time fans of poker not serious big stakes players.
Female Names

Unfairly women are often perceived as inferior at the poker table. This is only based on numbers and percentage as other wise the greats such as Annie Duke, Anette Obrestad and Liz Lieu would be a minority and not at the top of their game.  Male players who take on a feminine handle are likely to be banking on these perceptions; many players are less aggressive or get distracted against a woman.

Fish and Shark Names
The most famous example is probably Dave “DevilFish” Ulliot. Players advertising themselves as fish are employing similar tactics as those who take women’s names. Likewise Shark related names are most often from the same School as the “Pro Name” Players.

If you are a shark you do not advertise the fact!

Pop Culture and Counter Culture References
It is a good rule of thumb to avoid political, sexual or potentially offensive references. It may seem funny at the time but if you are to go on and play regular poker you do not want to me perceived as a trashy and put off the sensitive fish.
Fictional Characters and celebrity names are becoming more popular. The validity of this depends on the character. A James Bond ref, is probably a new player who will play “Movie Poker” hands, probably easy to draw into a few All ins. However comedy or classic refs are generally names that have some meaning to the player stemming from their real life such as nicknames or profession.

Jumbled Names
A mixture of words and numbers that seemingly have no reference are the smart choice for players who do not wish to present and perceived “Poker Personality” playing behaviour.

Poker References
Poker Terminology: Some players use cool poker phrases as their screen name: RiverBeat, FloppedQuads, and JacksUp. Although a few of them are cheesy, the majority of them are some of the more creative names out there. The word “Stud” doesn’t always signify a stud player, but Omaha references are almost always on target. Mousing over an “Omaha” player’s icon to make sure they’re not actually from Omaha, Nebraska is a good idea. If they’re not, chances are they know their game. Clever people tend to be more intelligent. Watch out for these players. An opponent who intentionally misspells suited as “Sooted” might be someone to watch out for. These players are making fun of the fish that like to play a pot with any two suited cards regardless of rank. “But it was soooooooted” is a common way to poke fun at this tendency

Personal References
Online Poker Players are no more imaginative than your average Internet user so you will see a number of players with personal references in the Screen names. Years – often indicate their age or graduation year. Players may use a year that is older or younger than they really are to give a perceptual advantage. If you think a player is only 18 or 80yrs old you may play against them differently than if they are 30 years old. Essentially an 18/ 8o yr old has more time and so could be playing recreationally. A 30yr old in the middle of the day is more likely to be a professional player.
Locations also feature quite often. Could be residence, college campus or country of origin. If you see the same location a few times, do a bit of research on the average population -is it mainly retired people; does it have a large university population?
So what name should you use? It’s probably best to keep it generic. Online, nobody cares that you’re a doctor, beautiful, or like the number 69 (or 963217, for that matter). However none of this is an exact science and for every typical player you will get a tactical player who wants to give a different perception.

So what do the pro’s call themselves online? Well here are a few but bare in mind that their online names can be changed and they probably do change them to keep their anonymity and to keep one step ahead.

Over at Poker Stars Gus Hansen is known to use Brokski , Isabelle Mercier uses NoMercy, Howard Lederer goes by the shrike . Vanessa Rousso is known as LadyMaverick and Phil Ivey is Joe Buttons just to name a few.

Over at Full Tilt the stars are less secretive and as the brand is built on having famous names playing the pros use their own names.

Next time your online playing poker, pay some attention to the names. Does the name fit the playing style? Do you feel intimidated by some of the names ?

Related posts:

1. Player Notes
2. Poker Freeroll Tournaments
3. Types of Poker Tables

Bankroll management basically involves playing at a certain levels and buy-ins to help prevent yourself from going broke at the poker table. You have to set yourself limits to where you can play poker due to the variance found in every poker game. There are always going to be times where you have runs of bad luck that you cannot control, and you will lose money due to the bad runs of cards, and not necessarily due to any bad play. Therefore there is no use in putting all of your poker money on one table, because there is a good chance that you will lose it all and not be able to continue playing poker.

As a result, it is important that we have a large enough bankroll to absorb the effects of this variance so that we can continue to play poker even when we have very bad runs of cards. In addition, we don’t want to go over the top and play at micro levels with a huge bankroll because it is unlikely that we will go broke, and we want to give ourselves the opportunity to win a decent amount of money from our poker sessions. Therefore there are useful rules that you can follow to make sure that you give yourself the best opportunity to make money from poker without going broke.

In cash games, you should never put more than 5% of your bankroll onto the table at any time. So if you want to play in $1/$2 cash games and intend to buy in for the full amount, you should have a bankroll of at least $4000. This will then give you enough room to take a few bad beats and losing sessions, but still be able to continue playing poker without the fear of going broke. Another way of looking at the 5% rule is to remember that you should have 20 times the maximum buy in of the level you wish to play at in your bankroll. Most online poker rooms offer a wide range of limits, so it is perfectly possible to keep your bankroll under control, no matter how large or small it might be. Alternatively, if you are a tournament player, you should have around 40 buy-ins minimum for the level of tournaments you wish to play in.

It is important to remember however that bankroll management is only useful if you intend to play poker regularly, and that you are a winning player. If you only play poker casually then it is not as important to have a set bankroll, but to just be careful with your money instead. In addition, bankroll management will have no effect on your moneymaking endeavours if you are a losing poker player. However, bankroll management will slow down the time it takes for you to lose the money if you are used to playing at higher stakes.

Related posts:

1. Playing Styles
2. Assets and Saving Them
3. Poker Tips

So you sit there for the entire tournament folding everything until you finally get your pocket aces. You heart skips a beat, your hands perspire and you know this is the one you’ve been waiting for. Finally, revenge to those stupid men that have all been staring at your cleavage all game whilst talking to them both. So you raise the pot pre-flop and bam, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold. What happened, why did they all fold? “yeah nice cleavage…… I mean hand, babe, I’ll fold. The only hand you play and they know you’ve got a monster.

So yes you have to bluff and you have to lose the odd small pot, however this then leads to you winning the big pots when it matters!

According to the scientists, those brainy people who mostly don’t have fun, it is harder for women to conceal emotion. On the other hand, lying requires using three parts of the brain and telling the truth uses only one. And, of course, women are better at “multi-tasking” because men’s thinking is compartmentalized–they have a harder time using multiple parts of their brains at once. So lets all abuse this and benefit from it!

So we know we need to bluff now and again to win, great, but how?

Imagine for a moment, it’s Monday morning and you’re suffering really badly from all your girlfriends coming around and forcing you to drink that wine. If you were going to lie to your boss about why you called in sick, you’d have a well-thought out plan. You’d pick the right moment the next day even wear the right clothes etc. The same simple concepts apply to poker bluffing.

The science to bluffing and not giving off those horrible tells is to make sure you firstly believe in yourself. In my experience I will tell myself I am going to win the next pot regardless of my hand. I’ve calculated this through me being in late position, the boys are all tired with their heads slightly down and I haven’t played a hand for ages. Straight away with those odds I’ve almost won the hand.

You don’t have to wait for the perfect hand, you have to make people believe you have the perfect hand by betting when something comes in right on the table. So ten of you at the table and four of you call the blinds, one in middle position, you with the dealer button (last to act after the flop) and the small and big blinds. The flop comes down 10, 7 and 2 rainbow flop. Check, check, check around to you. You put in half the pot (to see who’s got what). Fold, fold, call, only you and him in it now. The turn brings a 7. He checks, now this is where you win the pot. Bet, not too much so it looks like your stealing, big enough though so he’s not valued into calling you. You bet 75% of the pot, he thinks, he looks at your cleavage and asks, “got the 7 have you?” don’t move, don’t answer remain motionless and tell yourself you have the 7. He toys with his chips looks you up and down, ok looks at your cleavage again, waits for the Oscar and then folds reluctantly. You collect your chips, yes, well done your three 7’s won! Who cares what you had, they all put you on three 7’s so that’s what you had.

When you play poker, whatever actions you do when betting, calling or raising do them all the same all the time. This then restricts people getting those tells off you.

Another factor in strategic bluffing is based on your read of the players at the table. Certain players can be bluffed more easily than others. A common poker rule is that “bad,” unskilled players can’t and shouldn’t be bluffed. In her book Outplaying the Boys, Cat Hulbert recommends that women players try to take advantage of three typical male player types:

Neanderthal/Macho Man: He wants to control women players and is uncomfortable competing against a woman. He has a big ego and hates losing to a woman. -

Daddykins: He wants to be your father figure. He wants to take you under his wing and make you his protégée.

Mr. Nice Guy: He is sweet and supportive, welcoming you to the table.

So now you know how to and when to bluff, go and try it on a small tourney. Make your mistakes there ready for the big one.

Related posts:

1. Poker Tips
2. Single Table Tournaments
3. Pre Flop Play

Start Cards

One of the first things to be aware of is that you should and must play a much greater range of start cards. Hands such as T-8, Q-5 and K-4 which you would normally fold in a normal game, are raising hands that will win more often than not. Pairs, aces and high suited cards are monster hands in head-up poker.

Hands that you shouldn’t play are those containing two middle or low cards, even if they are suited, connected or both.

High cards win pots in heads up, low cards lose pots.

Style of play

In regards to your playing style, aggressive is far the best. It is more successful in heads up to win lots of small pots rather than the occasional huge one. The best way to do this is to keep your opponent under constant pressure. Calling is a defensive option and not really something you should be doing much of.

Position

In heads up you are either first or second to act. If your first you should always bet, even on rubbish hands. By doing this you are putting the pressure on your opponent and most of the time they will probably have a rubbish hand and will fold. It won’t work all the time and if you hand is truly bad you will have to be prepared to fold if your bet is called but least you are keeping the pressure on.

Stack size

The further ahead you are, the more aggressive you should be playing. The more short stacked your opponent becomes, the less inclined they will become to bet and this lets you win many uncontested pots.

If you are the well behind, then all-in bet is your way back into the game. Go all in with any hand better than J-7.

Related posts:

1. Playing Freerolls
2. Playing Styles
3. Surviving Bad Beats

Just about everyone has a go at the many Freeroll poker tournaments that are out there. They are free (doh).Plus you can get a lot of play out of them and good practise ground for the money tournaments. The no-risk element of freerolls attracts thousands of players and more than a few fish. Playing massive freerolls usually takes a considerable amount of time. Do you have the stamina to sit at a computer screen for all these hours? I played a Limit Freeroll which on starting had just over 6400 players. 3 hours and 58 minutes later it was just me and one other player. The blinds were so big I couldn’t even count the 0’s. But I walked away the winner, or should that be slowly got out of my chair wincing at the pins and needles that was by then in both legs after wading through the empty crisp packets.

Early Freeroll Tournament Strategy

When playing in a regular online poker tournament you are always recommended to play as tight as possible and not risk being busted in the early stages. In a money tournament you wish to progress as slowly as possible and not risk blowing your investment early in the game. Freeroll tournaments on the other hand are completely different. The key is to play smart and loose. Do not play any cards your get and fold when you get garbage but try limping into several pots with a small pocket pair or even suited connecting cards. If you lose the damage is insubstantial and you might get lucky with the board on more than one occasion. In this occasion do not be afraid to double and even triple up. Be careful if you try bluffing. Remember its free and your opponents will call just because it’s not costing them anything and there is always another freeroll around the corner.

If your dealt a high pair (AA, KK and sometimes QQ) try to max on it. You will surprised to see how many people will call your all-in. Players will be much more ready to risk their chips before the flop with only a K8 in their hand than after they will see the board and get disappointed. If you have a solid hand max your profits on it. Remember if you do get beat, go find the next free tournament!. Your goal in this stage is to either accumulate a large stack or move on to the next game. Hundreds of players are going to be knocked out early and most due to beginners mistakes.

Middle Freeroll Tournament Strategy

Assuming you used the above strategy for the first parts of the tournament you should be in a relatively good position by now. Try and get into every pot you think you can win. This does not mean you should play garbage cards or try to draw on the river unlikely hands but play smart and always take into account the position your in. In this part of the tournament you should stick only to raising or folding. There is no sense in just calling other bets. You should be either folding or raising and being prepared to get all your chips in if need be. Only play strong hands and try to either steal the blinds or double up on tight players. Raise aggressively for most of the time but do use judgment and do not bluff unless you see a cert. If a short stacked player gets in the pot and you hold a dominating hand raise him for an all-in. Although knocking players by yourself is not a great idea it might help you in creating an image of a bully. Make weaker players fear and fear being targeted.

Do not get in the middle of others confrontations, let them knock each other out. When players are raising and re-raising each other to the point that one of them is bound to bust out you should get out the way and leave them to it. Generally if there are more than a couple of all-ins and similar large bets you should stay away and fold.

Position is everything on choosing which hands to play. In late positions stick to the top cards (AA, KK, AK) and raise and re-raise constantly, though you should consider folding to all-in re-raises with the AK. From mid positions diversify your play and raise with hands such as AJ, AQ and QQ suited or not. Again, if you are being re-raised, fold. From the early positions limp in to as many pots as possible. Add connecting suited cards all the way down to 98 and consider using suited cards with a one card gap (i.e. QT).

End Freeroll Tournament Strategy

When you have reached the final table, the only thing that determines your strategy – stack size. This is the time to start gaining chips as fast and as much as possible.

Very short stacked

If your going to be all-in by the next round of blinds or near bet. Your down to two options – folding or going all-in. Fold if you see that the remaining players are battling among themselves. Fold if there are more than two or three people on the table and try to wait for a more favourable hand. Go all-in with every pocket pair or high face card and if no one has gone all-in before you. At this point you have nothing to lose so bet aggressively as you can.

Short stacked

You have a couple of new options with this relatively higher stack. In this position you can afford yourself to be a bit pickier with the hands you play. Remember that any move you make will require a big raise or going all-in. Before raising see who already called the hand, the bigger stacks or the short stacks. Remember that it is easier to raise a hand in an early position than call it from a later position. With AA or KK feel free to raise with about a half of your stack or even more. If there is more than one all-in or even one and a call, fold. Limp into the fold with suited connectors but fold if faced with an all-in or a substantial raise fold without a question. Generally limp into pots only if you are trying to squeeze someone for his last chips or if there are two or more other limpers.

Medium stack

This is quite a comfortable position. You can afford yourself to either play like a maniac or play tight as a rock. If you are choosing to play tight you can use the same basic strategy for a short stack but with bigger raises and more aggression. Raise or call every hand you play without hesitation. In conclusion fold with every hand that has very few possible outs but otherwise play with aggression and bully shorter stacks. Playing like a maniac is a less favourable path but it can be very useful under one condition – an extremely tight table. If all other players play tight go wild. Play with any face card, any pair or any connecting cards (even with 1-2 gap). Stop with this strategy as soon as someone will confront you.

Large stack

Bully the shorter stacks without a shame. If you manage to get them all-in then strive to get to a Heads Up position even with bad cards. If someone limps into the flop raise with more than three times the big blind. Do not call big raises of this sort unless you have strong cards. Suited face cards, an Ace with a small kicker and any pocket pair starting with 88 or above should do. It is ideal to be either the first or the last to act and try to selectively avoid raising from the middle. You might be raised and re-raised before you notice. Either set the pace or dominate the hand.

Final 2-5 players

If the other players or attacking each other, let them bust each other out. Do not get into major confrontations without an extremely strong hand (AA or KK). If there are no other aggressive players, attack without shame. You need to have a strong playing image at this time. If there is one thing you cannot afford at this point is being bullied. Play any pocket pair and even face card with raises of more than half your stack.

Related posts:

1. Pre Flop Play
2. Playing Heads Up
3. Playing Styles

Yes it’s that simple and that easy, if you want to win at the poker table and you’re not ready for the world series then this is for you.

Whether it’s one table two or three table sit and go, these tourney’s are the best way to make money. Yes ok your not going to retire from playing them tomorrow, however if you want to start winning and boost your bank balance then read on.

The true secret of sit and go tables is patience, that’s it, no more, no less, patience is the answer. I can’t make it any simpler than that for you to win money, there is no secret formula, no secret code, it’s patience. I will reiterate that several times to you throughout this page because it’s as simple as that.

Don’t expect to increase your bank balance quickly or over night this is a fantastic way of getting your poker game to a higher level and building your chip count at the same time.

“So how, stop teasing me and tell me”, I hear you say. Ok ok, start with either a $2 to $3 one table sit and go. This is approximately £1.50 to £2.50, yes that’s all, so even if you get it wrong and fall over, you can pick yourself back up and start again.

To win take your big bucket of patience a_nd sit there and wait and wait and wait. Do not get drawn in to those players wanting to double or triple up. Let them have their glory and knock one or two players out. You only have to get to third to get paid. Therefore play your hands very tight and do not get drawn in to half-hearted hands. Only play the best hands and stack the rest even if you think they’re bluffing you. Because these are low stake tables and slow blind tables you will be able to survive a lot longer into the game than in other styles.

So to summarise how to win money, patience, then patience and then even more patience and then get third or second and get you get paid. When you progress and get more confident then you can aim for first. Remember all three positions get paid increasing as you go up, however by coming third every time, will triple your buy in every time. So go get-em girls and get paid to beat the boys and let them fight in the playground while you pick up their pocket money.

Related posts:

1. Playing Heads Up
2. Playing Freerolls
3. Playing Styles

The main difference between them is that the single table can take about an hour to complete so everything will happen a lot quicker. You can’t just sit there and wait for the top hands as they might never come.

Because of this bluffing is an essential part of these tournaments. In the length of the single handed tourney you might only get one or two really good hands and if you want to stand a chance you are going to have to make something of the lesser hands to survive.

You should be observing your opponents play so that you can choose the right player(s) when making a bluff. Look for those that fold when faced by a large bet as these are the players that you can bluff with a marginal hand.

To make it worth its money and to break even you need to finish third in every other STT that you play.

STT’s are considered to be probably the easiest, least risky way to win money at poker. The reasoning behind this is.

Good strategy and just 9 opponents to beat your odds are higher that you will finish in the money enough times to make it profitable. This is more typical at low buy-in tournaments where the standard of play is generally not too good.

Related posts:

1. Playing Freerolls
2. Poker Freeroll Tournaments
3. Poker Tips

• Heads Up
• One table
• Sit n go
• MTT, Multi Table Tournament
• Cash table
• Tournament
• Hellcat
• All-in or out

Heads Up:

In a heads up tournament, players are pitched against single opponents. Winners advance to the next stage of the tournament where they face another single opponent. At no time are there more than two players.
One table:
Simply as it says, you will sit at one table, there could be two, four, six, eight or even up to ten people sitting in total. Generally you will have either a six or ten seat table, these are the most popular. They are also called Sit n Go’s. You can read more about playing these types.

Sit n go:
This style is normally where you will have either six or ten players in total and you all play until one player is left and they win. You would then have the top two (six person table) or three (ten person table) players being paid out in a sliding scale relative to the buy in. On a six seat table, the percentage pay outs are generally; 60% of the pot will go to the winner and 40% to second place. On a ten seat table, the percentage pay outs are generally 50% of the total pot will go to the winner, 30% to second place and 20% to third place.

MTT, Multi Table Tournament:
This is where you would play as above, however there is more than one table. As people are eliminated everyone is then evenly distributed amongst the remaining tables, trying to fill them up to maximum spread evenly as possible throughout. As above you will play and people will get eliminated. The winnings are higher due to more money in the pot at the start. Depending on the MTT there could be a larger number of people getting paid or even their buy-in to the next level tournament. E.g. the WSOP have satellite tournaments which start from as little as $1 buy-ins. You could progress through the tournaments and then win your way to a seat at the most famous, biggest, winner prized sport in the world, wow, we hope to see you get there

Cash table:
This style of table is where you can sit down play for as long as you want or as little as you want and then stand up and cash out when you like. These tables can blow all your bank role in one sitting, even one hand, so don’t rush to these and jump in at the high stakes tables please. Yes certainly play them, however stick to the really small tables to get your feet stable. You play like normal, however it’s real money going into the pot every single time. You win that hand, you win that pot!

Tournament:
Tourneys are very similar to MTT’s however generally have lots and lots of players entering them. They are a fantastic way to learn the game. You can enter into tourneys with very little money or even for free. Look out for the “Free rolls”. These are great, no monetary outlay to you and you can practise taking out those players who think of themselves as being great…..men huh! For the women poker players out there, Carbon Poker schedules 4 weekly women only tournaments.

Hellcat:
This is the same as a one table, however it is unique to Party Poker. You have a time limit to play this game where whoever has the most chips at the end of that time is the winner.

All-in or out:
This is again the same as a one table, however it is unique to Ladbrokes. You either call all-in or you sit out of that hand. Eventually people are eliminated and one winner remains. The skill here is to know when to go all-in before you are forced to go all-in by the big and small blind coming around to you.

Related posts:

1. Single Table Tournaments
2. Assets and Saving Them
3. Poker Freeroll Tournaments

Kickers – these are the left-over cards after the hand is declared. They determine who wins if two or more players have the same hand. They are only relevant though in hands that don’t require five cards like two pairs, one pair and high card situations.

So if player A had a king hearts and a queen of diamonds and player B had King of clubs and jack of diamonds. The community cards drawn were King Diamonds, King spades, 4 diamonds, 10 clubs and 7 spades.

Both players have a set (three kings) Player A has a queen kicker and Player B has a Jack kicker. So player A wins.

(If the left over community cards were higher than the players kickers then it is a split pot and out weighs the players kickers)

Kickers are chiefly relevant when you are attempting to win the hand with a pair as at a full ten seat table  it is not unusual for two players to be holding the same pair. The higher your kicker, the higher the chance of winning.

An overcard is where your cards are higher than any of the community cards. I.e. if your cards are an ace and a king and the flop is ten, six and two. Your cards are two over cards than the flop.

As a general rule in this situation, advice to beginners is that it is less profitable to continue and should fold as at best your going to hit is likely to be just a pair. Even if it’s top pair is not going to win enough hands to justify the expense. The times you hit and loose will out weigh the times you hit and win. More advance players will know when the conditions are right to profitably play overcards and win.

Related posts:

1. Hand Ranks
2. Starting Hands
3. Bare Basics Poker

Don’t Play Out of Turn

While you may be so excited about how good your hand is you can hardly wait to raise the pot, you have to wait until it’s your turn to do so. Same goes for folding hands you can’t wait to get away from. If you jump the gun, it gives other players information they shouldn’t have before they make their own decision and can confuse the action.

Don’t Talk About Your Cards While the Hand is Still Going On

Once you’ve folded, it’s tempting to chat about what would have happened if you had stayed in, but if anyone who’s still in the hand hears, it’ll give them information that they might use to their advantage. For instance, if you had a 7-2 as your pocket cards in a game and the flop comes 7-7-2, if you blurt out that you would have had a full house, everyone will know that it’s unlikely that any player still in the hand has the full house, making it hard to bluff and represent that hand.

Don’t Show Your Cards (Until the Showdown)

When you fold, make sure you don’t flash or flip over your cards as you toss them into the muck. Again, if players know what you fold, it’ll give them information that may change how the rest of the hand plays out. Unless you are all-in and heads up, there is no reason to show or expose your cards until the showdown.

Don’t Splash the Pot

There are two bad betting habits that you see a lot in the movies which are no-nos in real life. The first is when a player tosses his bet in a big mess in the centre of the pot. That’s called Splashing the Pot, and it makes it hard to tell how much you’ve bet. A better way is just to stack your chips neatly in front of you to bet.

Don’t Make String Bets

The second bad habit from movies is the string bet, which is when a player goes “I’ll call your 500…. and raise another 1000!” You have to declare whether you’re simply calling or raising right away — once you say “call,” that’s all you can do. If you’re going to raise, say raise and the amount right away. This is especially important in casinos.

Don’t Be Rude or Mean

Even if you’re having a bad losing streak, it doesn’t give you the right to curse other players or be rude to the dealer. It will win you neither pots nor friends.

If You Show One, Show All

If you win a hand before the showdown but want to show your cards anyway, you can’t just show them to the one player to your left or right, you have to turn them up for the whole table to see. After all, why should only the lucky players next to you get to know what you were holding?

Do Pay Attention

If you’re in a hand, don’t make everyone remind you that it’s your turn — keep up with the action so the game keeps moving. Talking on mobile phones or filing your nails is a bad idea.

Related posts:

1. Bare Basics Poker
2. Starting Online Poker
3. Starting Hands

This is the big hand the best hand you can get, if you’ve got it you can not be beaten. It is a straight starting with the top card of the pack, the ace, then the king, queen, jack and ten all in the same suit.

Straight Flush:

This is a very strong hand yet again, very rarely not able to be beaten. It is the same as above, it could start from as high a the king, then the queen, jack, ten and nine all in the same suit. Or it could start as low as the five, then the four, three, two and finally the ace, yes, the ace can either be used as the highest card or in this case the lowest card. In this written example you would call it a straight flush five high

Four of a Kind:

This is a rare, however lovely hand to beat all those full houses and flushes betting against you. Obviously this hand would consist of four cards out of the five which are all the same rank, four aces or four tens etc.

Full House:

If you have your pocket pair (two cards in your hand that are the same rank) and then the same rank appears on the flop and any pair comes out throughout the community cards, you’ve now got your full house which is very hard to spot by your opposing players, now take down the pot and win. The full house consists of three of one rank and two of another rank, e.g. three tens and two sevens or combinations thereof.

Flush:

A good hand to catch on the river (the last card to be dealt) most players will hang on to the very end in hope they catch their flush. Always watch out for these, they will come and bite you if your not watching. The flush is any five cards of the same suit. E.g. all hearts, with the ace of hearts being the nuts (the top flush available) and then four other hearts.     

Straight:

A nice hand, however don’t put your life savings on this one unless you have the nuts (the top straight available). This consists of any suit and any five cards that are consecutive with no number break. E.g. six, seven, eight, nine and then the ten.

Three of a Kind:

Trips or a set generally referred to. To get this hand you need three of the same rank, e.g. three fives.

Two Pair:

Two of one rank and two of another, as simple as that. In this case you still need a fifth card to make your hand, this will be the highest card not used in the two pairs.

One Pair:

Two of one rank, again as simple as that. Also in this case you will still need a further three cards to make your hand, these will be the highest cards not in the pair.

High Card:

Not the best hand in the world I’m afraid, if you’ve made it to the river and this is all you have, then be afraid, very afraid. No really you haven’t got a lot and any pair, even two’s will beat you. Any bets against you with this hand then run and keep running. A high card is simple the highest card and the other four cards will be the next highest then the next highest etc etc.

Related posts:

1. Hand Elements
2. Starting Hands
3. Poker Etiquette

Computer/laptop , Money, No distractions, Knowledge of how to play poker, Bonus

Computer/laptop – Using a PC is recommended over Mac due to poker sites leaning towards being more PC compatible than Mac. Out of all the rooms I know and play at they all are compatible with a PC but only a few support Mac. At the moment the poker sites that are compatible with MAC are Full Tilt and Poker stars with their version downloadable. Absolute Poker has a version that’s MAC compatible but only on a Instant Play version.

Minimum requirements that your PC should have to ensure smooth playing, reliable connections and a more enjoyable game.

Windows 9 or above

100 MHz Pentium or faster

32MB Ram at least

Screen resolution of 800 by 600 pixels, 256 colours

6 MB of free disc space.

Money – All poker rooms offer more several different options to deposit money. Be it credit/debit cards, money bookers, click2pay, Ukash being some of the more well known methods to some of the lesser known options.

No distractions – A desk in a quiet area with no distractions is the ultimate if you’re serious about your poker. My preference is with my laptop and in bed but each to its own and that is where I get the most peace and quiet. Distractions will not allow you to focus on what you are doing, can make you play rash actions and generally niggle away at you leaving you wondering why you lost all your money.

Knowledge of how to play poker. May be a bit obvious but there’s knowing how to play poker and actually knowing how to play poker. If you at all a bit iffy on certain aspects keep reading up on how to play before you part with your cash or at the very least start at the very micro games.

Bonus. If they are giving away free money you would be a fool to say no. Most bonus conditions are that you collect so many points to release the bonus.

Once you have chosen the poker site that suits you downloading is simple and easy. I won’t talk you through this bit as it really is simple and the individual poker site will give you step by step instructions and talk you through each step of the way.

At some point you will be requested to choose your onscreen name. There is more about the effects of screen names but in general it is recommended that you use something that doesn’t give anything about you away like your age, experience or location.

Once your chosen poker site has downloaded the bits it needs to, the best piece of advice is to check out the free money tables. Not to brush up on your poker skills as free money tables are full of reckless and no respect poker play. But more to familiarise yourself with the set up and what is where. Even if you have played at other poker sites it is still worth doing this as all sites are different and you wouldn’t want to click the raise button when your use to that being the call button . When I started playing poker online, I played on the free money tables for several weeks till I was confident that I knew where all the buttons were , what they all did and what to expect in tournaments when they start and readjust tables and move people around. Also it was a way to also check that my laptop was up to the job and to see if I had any disconnections or frozen screens.

Related posts:

1. Online Poker but with NO Download
2. Starting Online Poker
3. Australian Online Poker

First, you need to know how the game is played before you delve into the skill of the game.

Texas Holdem is fast becoming one of the most popular poker games thanks to the Internet boom. Now that it is so widely available on the Internet, player’s skills are being pushed higher and higher. Pot levels are increasing along with it. You can sit at a table where the blinds start at 5 cents up to the dizzy heights of $500 and more.

The bear basics are that the deal rotates clockwise around the table, the two players to the left of the dealer place specified blinds, these being small blind and big blind. If it’s a competition then these blinds will increase, generally at time intervals thus aiming to force people to play.

Each player at the table receives two cards face down. These are called pockets cards. Then there is a round of betting (going clockwise). Players choose between folding (put down their hand and take no further action in that round), check (staying in the game but not betting or raising) or to make a bet (if no other bet has been made in this round). Once everyone has finished betting, checking or calling then three cards are dealt face up in the middle, these are called community cards. These three cards are known as the flop. Players then have a round of betting. Once finished then a fourth community card is dealt known as the turn. Another round of betting then the fifth and final community cards is dealt, called the river. A final round of betting takes place. If there is more than one player left at the end of all this betting then the player who has the best hand utilising their pocket card/s and others from the community cards (using five cards maximum) then wins the pot of chips for that game.

 Though this may be the basic of the game, it’s vital to learn which hands are valuable, worth betting and raising on and just as important to understand the importance of knowing when to bet, raise or fold.

 These skills are needed as early on as possible but can take years to perfect and master.

Related posts:

1. Hand Ranks
2. Poker Etiquette
3. Hand Elements

1. Ace-Ace

This is the best poker hand you can hope to have. It’s the best of the best, and will win more than any other hand. Also known as American Airlines, pocket rockets, and bullets.

2. King-King

This 2nd-best poker hand is still incredibly strong and will win you a good chunk of change. Two kings, or “cowboys” are only dominated by aces.

3. Queen-Queen

Two queens, or “ladies” are a very good hand. Sure, kings and aces will beat you, but you’ve got the upper hand on jacks and below.

4. Ace-King

Ace-king is a strong but tricky hand. It is the strongest of the drawing hands, but the flop needs to work with you to give you a pair of aces or kings for it to really pay off. Suited it is slightly stronger than unsuited, as then you can also make the nut flush much more easily.

5. Jack-Jack

A pair of jacks, ten-handed, will win almost 20% of the time. If the flop shows a queen, king, or ace, watch out, but otherwise, it’s smooth sailing.

6. Ace-Queen

Ace-queen is the second best drawing hand and when suited, will win about 20% of the time as well.

7. King-Queen

King-queen, especially suited, is a great drawing hand that is only afraid of an Ace falling on the board.

8. Ace-Jack

Ace-jack is another great drawing hand. Suited is always better here, but unsuited is still playable.

9. King-Jack

King-jack, especially in later positions, is a fine hand to play, but can be beat by any of the hands listed above and should be folded to big raises. Statistically, suited it will win just under 19% of the time, but unsuited that drops to just 15%.

10. Ace-Ten

Ace-ten is still a good hand — you’ve got the ace, and can make a straight if the miracle J-Q-K falls on the board. But be wary of playing it too strong, especially unsuited, as if all you end up with is a pair of aces, you may be out-kicked.

And Ten starting hands you shouldn’t be playing with.

1. 2-7

7-2 off suit is considered the worst hand in Poker. They are the lowest two cards you can have that cannot make a straight (there’s 4 cards between 2 and 7). Even if they are suited, they will make you a very low flush, and if either pairs, it’s an awfully low hand. Because it is the worst, some players will play it for fun and in online games, it is known as “the hammer.”

2. 2-8

This is the same basic problem as above, only you’ve got an 8 instead of a 7. Still pretty bad for a high card. Suited or not, this is a fold ‘em poker hand.

3. Tie: 3-8 and 3-7

The 3 makes this hand able to beat the two above it, but with the 3-8 you still can’t make a straight and the 3-7 still, well, just sucks.

4. 2-6

While if the board gives you a miracle flop of 3-4-5, you will have a straight, someone with a 6-7 will have a higher straight. If you get a flush, someone will probably have a higher flush. Against even 4 players, this hand will lose about 90% of the time. Not good odds.

5. Tie: 2-9, 3-9, & 4-9

The only thing these three hands have going for them over the hands above is the 9. If the 9 pairs, you’ll have a middle pair that could still be beat by anyone holding pocket 10s, jacks, queens, kings, or aces, yet you might be fooled by a board filled with low cards into thinking you have the best hand and losing a lot of money. No straight can fill the gap between these cards, either. Beware.

6. 2-10

This hand has a legendary quality because Doyle Brunson captured two World Series of Poker Bracelets with it. But it’s not a good hand — Doyle Brunson is one of the all-time best in the game and unless you’re a Texas road gambler who’s logged thousands of hours at the table, you shouldn’t try and win with the Doyle Brunson.

7. 5-9

Another hand people play because it’s fun is the old 9 to 5, the “Dolly Parton.” If you’re playing to win, it’s not a good idea to play hands because they have a funny name. That may be how you pick the winning horse in a race, but poker’s a marathon, not a sprint, and over the long term there’s no doubt this hand is a statistical loser.

8. Tie: 4-7, 4-8, 5-8, 3-6…

All these hands will rarely win, especially unsuited. Toss ‘em. Just toss ‘em. Yes, even in the little blind. If you see two low cards in the hole, unless you’re in the big blind and you can see the flop for free, fold.

9. Face card + low card, unsuited

One of the most common mistakes beginners make is that when they see any picture in their hand, they play it. J-2, Q-3, K-4 whatever — and most of these hands are losers. They’re junk that may win a few pots, but more often will lose you huge cash when you find the other player has a higher kicker and the winning hand.

10. Ace + low card, unsuited

This is another common beginner mistake, playing any ace. Again, it may win occasionally, and heads-up it’s a fine hand, but at a table of 4 or more, this hand shouldn’t be played if there’s a raise in front of you. You’re going to be out kicked a lot with Ace-little, and it’s going to feel like a kick in the junk when the other player shows their higher ace.

Related posts:

1. Hand Ranks
2. Hand Elements
3. Starting Online Poker

Next learn the bases of online poker. Online poker you have to make decisions in a set amount of time. This was one of the things I had trouble with when I first started. I found it muddling to take it all in, think about the game and all the things I had read and oh actually play my hand too. All whilst the little timer was ticking telling me how many seconds I had left. I would get zzzzzzz comments in the chat box. Don’t let these comments affect your play but do consider the other players and try and keep up. You will find some tables really chat and some deadly silent. Remember though they are real players and keep your manners. You will see nh and ty comments which mean nice hand and thank you. Refrain from advertising the fact you’re new at the game, as nice and chatty as they are some still might take advantage and take all your chips leaving you dazed to how it happened. Never, also, talk about your whole cards or comment on others whilst the hand is in play. You can read more about poker etiquette or even the poker tips can help.

Faced with choosing a poker site can be daunting. There are so many to choose from but they all have several things in common. Most important is that they all play poker (doh). They will have cash games, tournaments and sit and go’s. They will all offer No Limit Holdem, Pot Limit Holdem and Limit Holdem. Their structures might differ slightly as in how many tournaments are scheduled to the amount of starting chip stack. Carbon Poker, is at the moment, the best for women only tournaments.

The poker rooms even come in different colours. On Full Tilt you can change the back drops and make you avatar happy or sad.  The lobbies will vary in their set out to but all will have a help section and most have live chat if you have difficulties on deposits. Not all offer a bonus either and their playing offers differ slightly too. Most common are earning points as you play so that you can ‘cash’ them in to play a tournament or to collect so many to release a bonus. The poker reviews have notes in a quick format so you easily pick which site would suit you.

On my start out I was concerned with the security and fairness of playing poker online. The poker industry is a big and continually growing business. It’s in their own interest to make sure that their security is top notch to keep your money safe. All poker sites are and have to be continuously independently analysed and tested. So your money is perfectly safe and if you loosing its not the poker site, you need to read up some more. (More on all that later)

You will have noticed  there a few poker sites that we have reviewed on this web site. The choice is yours as to which one you choose to play.Once you have fathomed out your preferred poker site, the best thing is to practise on the ‘play’ tables. These are cash games, tournaments and sit and go’s but all used with fake/pretend bankroll. You will be able to get a feel of the game. Figure out where all the buttons are and what they all do. You will notice you blinds are posted for you. When it’s your turn you will have buttons presented to you for you to fold, call or raise. If you’re playing no limit you will also have a slider to raise the amount too. You won’t, though, get a true valuation of what it is like to play poker online. The currency is all pretend so most players are reckless as at a click of a button they can reload as many chips as they want. People will play hands that they wouldn’t if the chips were real. I played for several months on the ‘play’ tables. Don’t get me wrong I did play a few tables that were really good. But it wasn’t until I took the plunge and went to a real account and played with real money that I really learnt and experienced poker.

Related posts:

1. Mechanics of Online Poker
2. Starting Hands
3. Online Poker but with NO Download

 Your position in each hand is determined by the placement of the ‘button’. The ‘button’ is the dealer’s seat and all actions must take place one after another in an anticlockwise motion from player to player, starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer. The group of players that will be the first few to act on each betting round are known as players in ‘early position’, and therefore the players that will be the last few to act on each round are known as the players in ‘late position’. As you might have already guessed, the players in between these two groups are known as players in ‘middle position’. The button is the best seat in the hand because that player will be acting last on every round of the hand, except only for pre-flop.

The players that are in late position have an advantage over the other players at the table because they will be the last to act on every betting round. This means that they are able to see how their opponents act and play their hand before they have to decide how to play their own hand. For example, if a player in late position sees an opponent check before them, they can infer that there opponent has a weak hand, and so they may decide to make a bluff to try and take down the pot. If the positions had been switched around however, the player now in early position will have a harder time trying to run a successful bluff, because they no longer have any information on the strength of their opponent’s hand. Being out of position in any hand can cause many problems, and hinder any good Texas Holdem strategy you might posses.

When deciding whether or not to enter a pot you should always be considering your position at the table. If you are one of the first to act you have to remember that your opponents will have access to more information about your hand on each betting round, and so will be able to have the greater ability to bluff you off of your hand if you show any weakness. Knowing how to bluff in poker is important, but even more important is knowing when to bluff. If you intend to play a hand from early position, you should make sure it is a premium hand to give yourself the best chance of winning. Consequently, you can loosen up your starting hand requirements in the later positions because you will have the advantage of acting last on each round.

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1. Poker Questions & Answers
2. Using Your Poker Image
3. Playing Poker at Home

Position. No it’s not how you should sit in your chair when you’re playing poker or if a laptop on your lap is better then a desk. Position is where you are on the table in relation to the dealer button. This of course changes every hand as the dealer button moves around the table. Early position is the first three players to the left dealer button. (Assuming it’s a full table) In this position I wouldn’t recommend playing anything apart from AA, KK, QQ or AK. Middle position is the next 3 or 4 places and I would now include playing the lower pairs and two face cards as well as the AA’s etc. The prime positions are the late positions which are the last 3 places including the dealer button. When I say I would play, I mean I would play if the pot hadn’t been raised before it got to me. In the early positions you don’t know what any one else yet to act after you might do. You might call and then someone goes all in and you have to fold and you wasted some of your chips. On the dealer button you have seen what everyone else has bet and can decide accordingly. If there are fewer players at the table you can lower your hand level a notch as there are more cards to come out so more chances of getting the best hand. You would also be getting better odds for your bet. This is the bare basic of pot odds.

One of the things I did when I first started playing poker and I think every new player goes through it, was I just wanted to play poker. I would stay in a hand far too long and of course be beaten. It was a case of hoping I might get the miracle card if I stayed there long enough and just to have some action. The only person who benefited form this was my bank manager. The fold button is there for a reason, its not just there to make up the button numbers. If you playing on the hope a card certain card will come out – fold. If you’re playing but think the other players might have better cards – fold. If you’re playing because you can’t believe the other players are always getting better cards then you and surely it must be your turn soon – fold. The other players will be watching how you’re playing, they will be making notes, they will be using all this to their advantage and that’s why all your chips are going in their direction.

Don’t be afraid to bet. If you have a strong hand, make the other players pay to see what you have got. Don’t make it easy for them to land a better hand than you. Just to confuse you. If you have the nuts hand (means no other hand can beat yours) then it can be to your advantage to slow play your hand.

Related posts:

1. Pre Flop Mistakes
2. Pre Flop Play
3. Poker Bluffing Basics for Women

Well women should play poker because its there, its accessible 24/7 and not as daunting as going into a casino or similar when your first learning to play.

There is no reason why women can’t play poker due to any biological or bodily reason.

Poker is about patience. Women are renowned for having more patience then men. A good poker player knows it takes patience as the top hands don’t come along every hand. So women are quiet apt at using their natural patience to make a killing on the poker tables.

Women can take advantage of women only poker tournaments or women only bonuses like the ones Carbon are offering Pink Poker readers at the moment. You don’t see men only tournaments or men only bonuses.

There is a famous joke where the comedian asks what the definition of a lie detector is? The answer and punch line being his wife. If us wives have been labelled with this title then we might as well make use of our lie detecting skills at the poker tables.

Women players are perceived as being easily beaten –that we are pushovers and easily intimidated. Though this may be true for some I don’t think it is a too accurate description of most women. When a women poker player has taken the time to read up and learn the game and then puts all of that into practise, they are very aware of this and can even use that perception to their advantage

Get your Carbon Poker Bonus of 200% up to $600 . The only site that does 4 weekly women only tournaments

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1. Poker Skills
2. Starting Online Poker
3. Mechanics of Online Poker