5 Tips To Improve Your Online Poker Game

Online poker is a very dynamic game, with lots of people having different strategies and game plans. There is no 'right' way to play, there are just different preferences that people have, however some techniques are used as standard with good poker players. This article will cover 5 techniques which are commonplace in high standard poker, but not so common in low stakes (which means you can gain an advantage over other players at low levels). 1. Don't slow play big pairs. After studying thousands of hands involving big pairs (Queens / Kings / Aces) it has been proven that the best way to play the hand is aggressively. There are 3 outcomes to playing aggressively pre-flop; your opponents fold and you win the hand, your opponents call/raise and you have the best hand or your opponents call/raise and you do not have the best hand. If you're holding Queens / Kings / Aces the chances of your opponent having a better hand are negligible. If you slow played the hand there are countless opportunities for your opponents to outdraw you, and make you lose the hand. 2. Don't overplay medium pairs. A medium pair is normally considered 5 - Jack. A medium pair isn't great unless you hit trips on the flop (which is about 15% of the time), otherwise you can't have much confidence in the hand. 10s and Jacks can be played aggressively if there are low cards on flop, but it's not worth calling a raise with these cards pre-flop (however you can bet if no one has raised before you). 3. Always use bonuses. There's no point sticking to one poker room if all the other poker sites are offering sign-up bonuses. Many poker rooms offer 200% deposit bonuses, so if you wanted to sign up to a $50 tournament, you would only need to deposit $25. There are currently hundreds of poker rooms to take advantage from by using this strategy. 4. Play at the right level. If you are new to poker then you should play at low stakes. Once you have confidence that your poker game is solid, you can start to move to higher stakes. Many poker players start too high, thinking the low stakes don't give enough reward for winning. Use these staked games to practise, build your bankroll and perfect your game. 5. Don't show your hand. Whenever you show another poker player your cards (when you don't have to) they learn more about the way you play. You don't want other players being able to read you - so don't give them any information unnecessarily. These 5 gems are fundamental for playing a solid poker game, use these online poker tips along with the best poker bonuses to kick start your online poker adventure. You don't just want to play poker, you want to profit from poker!

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5 Tips To Improve Your Online Poker Game

Online poker is a very dynamic game, with lots of people having different strategies and game plans. There is no 'right' way to play, there are just different preferences that people have, however some techniques are used as standard with good poker players. This article will cover 5 techniques which are commonplace in high standard poker, but not so common in low stakes (which means you can gain an advantage over other players at low levels). 1. Don't slow play big pairs. After studying thousands of hands involving big pairs (Queens / Kings / Aces) it has been proven that the best way to play the hand is aggressively. There are 3 outcomes to playing aggressively pre-flop; your opponents fold and you win the hand, your opponents call/raise and you have the best hand or your opponents call/raise and you do not have the best hand. If you're holding Queens / Kings / Aces the chances of your opponent having a better hand are negligible. If you slow played the hand there are countless opportunities for your opponents to outdraw you, and make you lose the hand. 2. Don't overplay medium pairs. A medium pair is normally considered 5 - Jack. A medium pair isn't great unless you hit trips on the flop (which is about 15% of the time), otherwise you can't have much confidence in the hand. 10s and Jacks can be played aggressively if there are low cards on flop, but it's not worth calling a raise with these cards pre-flop (however you can bet if no one has raised before you). 3. Always use bonuses. There's no point sticking to one poker room if all the other poker sites are offering sign-up bonuses. Many poker rooms offer 200% deposit bonuses, so if you wanted to sign up to a $50 tournament, you would only need to deposit $25. There are currently hundreds of poker rooms to take advantage from by using this strategy. 4. Play at the right level. If you are new to poker then you should play at low stakes. Once you have confidence that your poker game is solid, you can start to move to higher stakes. Many poker players start too high, thinking the low stakes don't give enough reward for winning. Use these staked games to practise, build your bankroll and perfect your game. 5. Don't show your hand. Whenever you show another poker player your cards (when you don't have to) they learn more about the way you play. You don't want other players being able to read you - so don't give them any information unnecessarily. These 5 gems are fundamental for playing a solid poker game, use these online poker tips along with the best poker bonuses to kick start your online poker adventure. You don't just want to play poker, you want to profit from poker!

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Poker Strategy - Taking Shots

Taking a shot is different than moving up in stakes because the term "taking a shot" implies a temporary, one-time attempt at moving up in stakes before having the proper bankroll to do so permanently. Taking a shot is like taking a shortcut through a dark alley - you'll get to where you want to go faster but you better go in with your eyes wide open. Wandering around without a plan is just as dangerous in shot-taking as it is when walking through dark alleys. You need to have a specific objective and a set plan before making the journey or else you could end up in trouble. Set Aside a Small "Shot Roll" I have a pretty simple road map you can follow to stay out of trouble. If you stick with the plan in this article, your shots will never be a complete disaster. All you have to do is set aside a certain amount of money from your regular bankroll and consider that money gone. Pretend it doesn't exist any more. Make sure you leave yourself enough of a bankroll to come back to if your shot doesn't work out. I suggest setting aside about 2-4 buyins for the stakes you want to move up to. If you normally play 50NL and want to move up to 100NL, you can set aside $200 - $400 and count that money gone. When you set that money aside, it's more of a mental thing than actually moving any money anywhere. You have to be good at this mental separation because the only time shots go wrong is when people keep trying to play at those higher stakes after burning through all the shot money. The easiest way to keep track of your money is to just set a low-level mark for your bankroll and return back to your normal stakes when your bankroll dips below that level. So if you have $1800 in your bankroll and want to spend $300 trying to play at 100NL, you can do so until your bankroll falls to $1500. Stick to Your Rules I cannot stress enough how important it is that you follow these shot-taking rules. Don't even attempt the shot if you think you'll have problems moving back down if the shot doesn't work out. With only a few buyins to work with, shots are not going to go well as often as you would hope. It only takes a little bad luck to kill your shot. That's fine. That's why you set aside a small amount of money you don't need. I've had more shots than I can remember go bad for me. For some reason, moving up from 100NL to 200NL was the worst run I ever had with shots during my poker career. It must have taken me 10 different attempts before finally being able to move up for good. It wasn't even as hard moving up from 600NL to 1000NL. Persevere Sometimes shots just don't work out - that's life. If your shot lasts for any decent length of time before going bad, the temptation to continue playing higher stakes will be great. You'll join the smaller tables again and feel like the money just isn't enough to get your blood stirring. Don't worry; that feeling will go away soon enough. Don't let it keep you from making the right choice. When the shot does work out, all the hard work will be well worth it. You'll suddenly get to play bigger stakes on a regular basis, you'll feel proud of your new stakes and you'll get an immediate pay raise. It's one of the best feelings you will get from poker.

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Texas Hold'Em Poker Strategy for 90 Player Sit N Go

As I was playing a 90-player SnG on Full Tilt earlier, I noticed about 95% of the players playing these tournaments make floundering plays that they really have no idea why they are making them. These tournaments start out with small blinds and you have a fairly deep stack of $3k in chips. Because of this format, there has to be specific reasons for the plays you are making. First of all, I see a ton of players making position plays. Trying to steal blinds from the button, trying a squeeze play, etc. There is no need AT ALL for these types of plays early in the tournament. Why would you want to steal $90 worth of blinds when you have a $3k chip stack? The answer is that you wouldn't, but many players think they are supposed to make these types of plays because they have read somewhere that they should. However, most of the time they just end up getting themselves into trouble. If you want a simple strategy for playing tournaments such as a 90-player, it is this: simply see as many hands as you can and try to catch a monster. The way I build my chip stack in these games is not to make big plays with A-K or A-Q, but to play suited connectors and pocket pairs. In this way, you can trap a player who cannot lay down face cards or big slick when you hit your flush, straight draw or hit trips. You don't have to raise a ton and get carried away and you shouldn't be playing hands like Q-9 off suit, that is not what I am saying. But, if you can catch a big flop with cards like 5-6 suited, you can end up doubling up off a player you plays K-Q way too strong.

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Sit and Go Poker Strategy Guide - Heads Up Poker Strategy

While many glamorize heads-up no limit hold'em poker as the ultimate test of skill, the truth is that in a sit and go tournament, heads-up play is usually the simplest and most mathematical poker you can play. The reason for this that usually the stacks are small enough - fifteen big blinds or so - that the only correct poker plays are pushing all-in or folding. Because of this reality of short stack poker, many of your opponents will make big mistakes, so you can still come out ahead in the long run. The Button or Small Blind On the button in a standard heads-up poker match you are first to act preflop and only have to post the smaller blind. In a short stack situation it is actually something of an advantage to act first, and of course it is better to have the poker privilege of putting less money in the pot without looking at your cards. The correct play here is usually to to push all-in most of the time, folding your worst poker hands. With any ace, any pair, and any two face cards, you should push in against all opponents with fifteen times the big blind or less. With twelve big blinds you can add hands like king-medium and suited connectors. With ten or less you should push any face card in addition to these hands. And with eight big blinds or less you should push with any two cards. Some may say this is not "real poker" It seems like you might be risking too much to win too little, but the reality is that you usually will have a 35-40% chance to win when called even when pushing with a truly trashy hand, and it is the correct poker strategy. You aren't "risking your whole stack" when you push, but simply risking playing a pot as an underdog, which will usually only cost you one or two big blinds in expectation while you win 1.5 if you push and win the blinds. Naturally, if you know your opponent is a chronic caller with bad poker hands, you might choose to fold some of the worst hands when your stack is large, but don't take this too far. With many of these hands, you could show your cards to your opponent and pushing would still be highly profitable poker strategy. The Big Blind In the big blind you will often be facing an all-in push from your opponent. Your decision whether to call should be based on what range of hands you think they are pushing, and like all poker strategy, the odds the pot is offering you to call. Quite simply if you are getting 2 to 1 or better pot odds you should always call, and you should just about always call getting 1.5 to 1 or better. There are just few very hands that have you in a poker situation where you aren't going to win at least 30-40% of the time. Above 1.5 to 1 pot odds or so it depends more on your opponents poker hand range. For example if an opponent pushes ten big blinds into you, you will be getting 11 to 9 on your call, meaning you need to win 45% of the time to profit. At this level of pot odds a good default range to call with is any ace, king ten or better, queen jack suited, and any pair. But if your opponent is an extremely aggressive poker player, pushing nearly every hand, you can add more marginal calling hands like the weaker kings and suited face cards. And if your opponent is the type to limp preflop unless he picks up a monster, you should of course be folding without a large pair or ace yourself. Against Players that Limp on the Button Many players will limp in on the button. This is usually bad poker strategy, but you still need to react correctly against it. Usually you should respond by pushing. Push a range similar to what you would push on the button in this situation. Usually an opponent will limp with slightly better than average poker hands, but this is offset by the fact that there is more money in the pot as they have added another half a bet. With trash hands, check and take a flop. One common poker mistake many players make from here is checking too many flops in this situation when they miss. The type of player to limp on the button is usually not very aggressive, and you can steal a lot of pots with small bets. A good poker strategy is to make a minimum bet (half the pot here) each time you hit the flop, plus on about half the flops that you miss. This bluff doesn't cost much, but against most opponents who will automatically fold if they miss the flop, can be very effective. Most sit and go strategy is complex enough that a simple guide like this one will only provide the fundamentals, but for heads up play with small stacks, nearly everything you need to know is right here. Remember, the most common mistake made is folding too much, followed by limping on the button. Your opponents may constantly seem to be getting the better of the luck in the all-in showdowns, but play aggressive poker and you will win more than you will lose in the end.

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Online Poker Strategy Beyond The Basic Rules

Online poker players are likely to find there are very few difference between a face-to-face game and a computerized one. While the feel of the cards won't be present and it will be impossible to see other gamers' faces, online poker strategy is generally the same as on the table playing. There are, however, a few key differences. Knowing them and how to overcome them is the best online poker strategy of them all. To begin learning online poker strategy, it's a good idea to be familiar with the games being played, the sites you're interested in playing on and so on. To get started with online poker strategy, do these things: · Choose a site. Online poker strategy shouldn't even be a concern until a site for playing on has been picked. To do this, it's a good idea to review the options, look at licensing and security considerations and even check out past player comments. This online poker strategy can be a fun one to put into play, because the options of sites is pretty amazing. Once a site has been chosen, check it out on a trial basis. · Study the site. Perhaps the best way to master online poker strategy is to make sure a site is understood and its features make sense. Being a great player in person might not translate when there are buttons to push and keys to be familiar with. The best way to put this online poker strategy into play is to actually run though several games in trial mode before putting money down. · Wait your turn. A lot of online sites allow players to make moves before their turns. While they won't register in their entirety until the appointment time, sometimes clues are given away. Raises, folding and so on, should all be done during the correct round. This online poker strategy can be a hard one to put into action since it's tempting to respond right away. Think of this as the online poker strategy that allows you to bluff and play cards close to the vest and this tip will make sense. · Take care with money. It can be tempting when playing online to throw online poker strategy out of the window. Don't! Make sure you bet as you would in a table game to make this online poker strategy pan out for some won hands in your column. Overzealous play, even online, can tip your hat to your opponents. Following this online poker strategy can save you lost money and help you maintain a good online "poker face." Learning how to play with online poker strategy is mostly the same as playing in person. The games are the same, the style is the same, but the feel might be a little unusual for some to get a handle on. To follow online poker strategy to the letter, it's a good idea to not only understand the game, but also this new way of playing it.

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Strategies to Increase Your Winning Probability in Texas Holdem Poker

Poker is a card game of many complexities, with many difficulties and nuances that take years to breakthrough, dissects and master. The challenges and odds had pooled great number of online poker players in the world today. It is, perhaps, the game creates stimulating challenge on every player. Each game, when a player participated, the demand to know their odds on winning are a rousing situation. Hence, mastery of Texas Holdem Poker game calls to learn strategies and tactics to increase winning odds in each game. Table Position Table position in online Texas Holdem poker game has a great significant on odds of the player. This is often overlooked by novice players not knowing how a position can affect their odds and can lose lots of money. Learning strategy on table position involves recognizing different kind of positions and how to apply it to the game. There are three areas of table positioning - the early position (EP), middle position (MP) and late position (LP). In a table of ten players, the early position is sat on the left and it has a disadvantage. Being the first to act after the first flop, all opponents will benefit on what the EP will do. They will be able to react on the action of EP and disrupt the ploy the EP is making and simply wait and observe EP's actions. EPs need a stronger hand to bet or raise than those on middle and late position. Generally, players on late positions are in great advantage. But on the middle position, there are few advantages and several drawbacks. MP may be able to see the EP's doing, however, there are still other players to react on MP's actions. On the other hand, MPs left open on the squeeze play, where MPs may get trapped on trying to call on EP's bet and it will be raised by the LPs. This squeeze game may pose dangerous to MPs when they are trying to slow down the game or when being watchful on the next other opponents' hand. Even when they had a marginal hand, there are still players will tend to react too aggressive forcing the MP's to shell out more chips or bet to the hand. Late positions are the last few players to act on a round. Being the LPs are of great advantage because of the mechanics of the game. They had a great opportunity to bluff or steal the pot to win. To steal the game is almost impossible for the earliest position players, these includes the early and middle positions. The LP always had a great chance to observe and know the strength of the opponents' hand. When all the earliest positions are on 'checked bet', this proves the chance of the late positions to scare them, of which 'steal the game' by raising bets on the pot knowing 'checked bets' could mean they had a weak hand. On Raise Ploys In Texas Holdem Poker, the raise move is a threat to the opponents and it is a beginning of bluffing or perhaps, winning. In raising, opponents may fold or call, however, the dynamics of this poker game, the opening bet is considered as raise. There are several tactics to increase the odds of winning when raising - good ploys. Money raise. When there is a strong hand, begin a raise to force opponents to do so. Steal raise. When there is a very strong hand, consider raise on the highest and scare them fold, otherwise they will have a chance to improve their hands. Deceptive raise When there is a poor hand, raise to mislead opponents. Players with good hands will be deceived and forced to fold. Hope raise. When there is a drawing hand, raise to get a free card to improve the hand. Check raise. When there is uncertain hand, raise to check strengths of opponents hand and maneuver on the next round by opening a bet if all on 'check' move on the previous round. Elimination raise When there is a second best hand, raise to eliminate or drive out mediocre players to forfeit their chance on improving their hand. Isolation raise Raise when the earlier player has a drawing hand and made a bet to drive away or forced others to fold. There are many strategies in Texas Holdem Poker to increase player's odds of winning and most important is to know and understand the opponent's action and observe when he is only bluffing because in this game, the more the one is great on bluffing, the greater chance of winning. So, happy bluffing game!

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