Playing Big Stack Poker

Having a big stack of chips at the beginning of the poker game is a great advantage. But sometimes if you don't know how to play the big stack it could be disastrous. If you are playing in a tournament you might find yourself quickly out of chips and out of the tournament. If you are playing at a regular table or online your chips may suddenly disappear without you realizing your stack has suddenly dwindled away. Big stack advantages You can be a bully. You can scare off other players with big bets and have a chance of stealing the blinds and really big pots. The other players won't have the chance to bet against you when you put up big bets that they can't afford. When you have the big stack at the table you are the boss. Watch Your Strategy When Playing Big Stack Poker Keep in mind that even if you have a big stack don't be tempted to gamble more or take more risks than if you had a small stack, your game could go down the tubes quickly so you need to be very careful. You start out with a feeling of security knowing that the other players can't beat your chips. And what happens, you become careless. You start out seeing more flops which you think you can afford because you have that big stack. Then when you play you forget to watch the cards and you play mediocre hands. You don't watch the other players bets and raises or how they respond to your big bets. You think you can afford all this and your stack goes down. Reckless playing because you have a big stack may lead to a small stack. Being aggressive and playing loosely will dwindle your precious chips. Remember you can run out of chips so you need to use good strategy whether you are a big chip stack or a small chip stack. Always remember when you have a middle pair and someone raises before the flop that you are most likely beat, so don't throw you chips away fold. If you raise and someone raises back beware you are most likely beat. Keep your cool and sit back and watch the other players so you are aware how they are playing. Don't get sucked in and play their game, play your own game. Play the game to win.

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How To Play Short Stack Poker

Playing the short stack is a common issue that all poker players face in almost every tournament at some point. Small stack poker requires a lot of discipline and patience to wait for the right moment and situation to make your move to try to get the double up to get you back in the game. The first thing that needs to be tracked at all times is how big your chip stack is compared to the players at your table, your chip stack relative to the blinds and your stack compared to the average chip stack in the tournament. All of these factors dictate how much leniency you have with making plays or attempting a variety of strategies and the smaller the stack the smaller the amount of moves you can make become. A very general guideline is that from 20x the big blind and up you can typically play your normal game, having enough chips to take a few risks and/or play your normal game. For example, the blinds are 100-200 and you have 4,500 chips. This is over 20x the big blind so you have a lot of flexibility in terms of your play. Once you get around 15x the big blind with your chips your moves become increasingly limited. At this point attempting an extravagant buff or calling raises with less-than-stellar hands is out of the question. A lot of players at this point enter a mode of play I like to call "jam-or-fold." Simply put, this means that you either go all-in with your hand or fold. The logic behind this is that each limp or call takes an increasing percentage of your chips and your move and all-in need to remain threatening enough so that when you make your all-in move that bet isn't too low for most of the table to call without much harm done to their stacks if they lose. I highly suggest jam-or-fold mode for your play once you are at 10x the big blind or lower. At this point, you can enter 10 pots and each pot you enter decreases your chip stack by 10%. Its not worth it to limp and try to catch when your chips need to enter the pot. So when you enter this danger zone sit back and wait for a good hand to make your move with. Choosing this hand isn't too difficult, of course you are looking for a high pair or a premium hand like A-K but pushing with J-10, Q-9, K-9 are also acceptable if there are a lot of folds before you. Another theory that is a bit more advanced is the theory of receiving first-in rights. This theory states that if you are on a small stack later in a tournament and action folds around to you that you can move all in with just about any two cards, leaving out only the worst possible hands. This is a risky theory and works best at a tighter table but is extremely helpful. I once made this move with 10-6 off suit to test this theory and ended up getting lucky and tripling up after both blinds called. If you get called, just hope you have live cards that hit.

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Poker Tips: Winning Online

Poker is the most popular card game in the world, meaning the traffic and opportunities available are almost limitless. If you utilise these online poker tips, you give yourself the advantage over casual players, allowing you to make a profit from poker. Find the best bonuses. To boost-start your bankroll, initial sign up bonuses should be used. Many poker websites offer fantastic one off deals for new players, giving up to thousands of pounds away as bonuses. Most online poker rooms often provide holiday bonuses throughout the year, so once you've signed up you're eligible for more bonuses. If you have no starting money, no deposit bonuses can be used to give you an initial bankroll. Choose the right tournament structure for you. Different poker games suit different people, Sit and Goes provide a steady, safe return on money, Multi Table Tournaments give massive winnings but with many runners for each tournament, and cash games provide the largest single hand return in profit. Play for Free. If, even after reading a review, you are unsure if a poker site is suited for you, you can use the 'free play' facilities on the majority of major poker websites. You can practise the online poker tips you have learnt in this environment risk free. Read terms and conditions of the website. It's worth spending the time going over some of the information on the poker site, before you deposit your investment. Some poker sites have a few days wait before you can withdraw winnings, other sites are instant. This is one of many variables found across poker websites, ensure you know what to expect when you have deposited. Choose your poker room. If you're going to invest (if you're playing seriously it is an investment, not just money to spend having fun) money in poker, you want to make sure that the platform (website) on which you do it is the best you can possibly get. The best way to ensure this happens it to find unique, independent poker reviews which you can trust, giving the pros and cons for each of the major poker sites. There are countless poker websites available to play, all having their pros and cons. To make a profit from these online poker websites, you must research which website you want to use (using independent, unique poker reviews) and use the best online poker tips available on the web.

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Early History of Poker and Gambling

Playing Cards have had a major role in the livelihood of professional gamblers and card sharks from the Mississippi to the mining towns of California. They have comprised a list of some of the most colorful and skillful individuals in the past few hundred years. The riverboat on the mighty Mississippi became a haven for card games of every variety. Poker was the king on the riverboats and in wild west towns. But other games of luck like Three-Card-Monte, Faro, and Roulette were played by gamblers and dealers determined to make fast money. There were the famous card players like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Bat Masterson. And there were those who made a very good living as card sharks (or sharps). One of the greatest card sharks in history was a riverboat and railroad gambler names William "Canada Bill" Jones. Canada Bill mastered a game called Three-Card-Monte. Similar to the shell game Monte was played with three cards, the first of which the dealer showed the "mark". He then turned it face down with the other two, rearranged them, and asks the "mark" to find his card. Well, of course, Canada Bill would palm the first card and replace it with another card. The "mark" would select what he thought was his card, lose, and be none the wiser. Canada Bill was a card shark at poker, too, but he died in 1880 penniless and was buried by the City of Reading, Pennsylvania at the city's expense. Unlike the top best poker players of today who play the game like a science, the gamblers of old sat in the saloons with their backs to the wall and guns at their sides while watching the dealers very carefully. The dealers were very good at sleight-of-hand moves that came after long hours of practice, patience, and discipline. Of course, it never hurt to have food, liquor and painted ladies close at hand. Many professional gamblers and card sharks would hang around mining towns and waterfronts. They preyed on unsuspecting travelers and pioneers who had their life savings in their pockets. These con artists would station themselves where local magistrates and police avoided, and a person who was lucky enough to win any kind of money stood a pretty good chance of being "greeted" by thieves when he left the saloon. Gambling migrated and spread from the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to the West in covered wagons and railroads. One early author, Jonathan Greer in 1834 referred to the activity as the "cheating game". Dishonest card sharks ran confidence games, and companies cropped up specializing in the manufacture and sales of card cheating devices. The professional gamblers had a very high opinion of themselves and took advantage of the growing obsession for card games in America. To be successful, they maintained a very fancy wardrobe and had an irresistible gift for conversation. These attributes often provided the introduction to the unwary card player. One story occurred in 1832 on a Mississippi steamboat. Three professional gamblers had lured a traveler from Natchez into a poker game. The young naïve man lost all of his money in the rigged game and planned to throw himself into the river. An Observer stopped him from committing suicide and, upon hearing the man's plight, decided to join the poker game still in progress. When the stranger caught one of the gamblers cheating he pulled out his knife yelling, "Show me your hand". When he twisted the cheater's wrist six cards fell to the floor. The stranger took the $70,000 pot, returned the $50,000 to the Natchez man, and kept $20,000 for his trouble. When the Natchez man ask his name the stranger replied, "James Bowie". Unfortunately, these unscrupulous gamblers and card sharks multiplied quickly and continued to thrive. After the Civil War, America spread West as did the gamblers infiltrating every mining camp and frontier prairie town. And the miners, cowboys, railroad workers, soldiers and outlaws continued to chance an opportunity for making their fortune.

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Maximizing Your Bankroll With Poker Rakeback and Referrals

Like most players, when I first started playing online poker several years ago I knew nothing about rakeback. I saw an ad for a poker room, clicked the link, liked what I saw and signed up. Several months later I stumble across an article on rakeback and found out that I was missing out on hundreds of dollars each month. As you can imagine, I wasn't too happy. So why didn't my poker room tell me about rakeback? The simple reason is profit. Paying rakeback reduces the profit margin of the house. With that being the case, you might ask why they bother offering rakeback at all, especially if they aren't going to be upfront about it? It's because rakeback is a marketing tool. You see, poker rooms get their members from two main sources. The first is direct referrals. These members find the site by word of mouth, through merchandising material or via marketing campaigns created by the poker room itself. This is how the majority of people first find a poker site, the unfortunate masses who eventually learn about rakeback the hard way after many months of playing. Alternatively, members can be generated by affiliates of the poker room. Affiliates are people the site has enlisted to send internet traffic to them. Affiliates for their part, come in two flavours. There are affiliates who simply send traffic to the site without offering any out-of-pocket incentives to get people to join. They simply promote whatever the room itself may offer. Then there are affiliates who provide prospective members with extra benefits for signing up through their account. These benefits can include free tournaments, merchandise, free bankrolls and/or rakeback. All of these incentive are paid for directly by the affiliate. Poker rooms in turn compensate affiliates by paying them a commission for each new player they send. This commission is either a straight money value payment for the each new member joining the site or an ongoing percentage of the rake generated by the player. This of course reduces the profit margin of the room and as such they would greatly prefer it if every player came directly to their site. So basically, rakeback is a marketing tool that the more generous affiliates employ to generate players for the poker room. These affiliates make less as paying rakeback reduces their profit significantly, the same way that paying an affiliate reduces the poker room's profit. But it does make for happy poker players and the smarter affiliates know that people who receive rakeback generally play more often and are more profitable, which in turn benefits the affiliate in the long run. But even among rakeback providers, there are things you need to look for to ensure you are receiving the best possible deal. Yes, most affiliates will offer you the maximum level of rakeback allowed by the poker room but there are other areas that can further increase your bankroll, one of these being referrals. For those who don't know, a referral is a friend or associate who signs up to a poker room under your account. As such, you are basically performing the same service as the affiliate does for the poker room - you are finding new players and directing them to the site. Except, in this case, you are sending them to the affiliates site rather than directly to the poker room. If used wisely, referrals can generate more money for you than rakeback. A lot more money. Imagine you know just 5 people who are playing online poker without rakeback and you get them to sign up under your rakeback account. On average, all these friends play poker as much as you do. Or, alternatively, you could know just one or two players who play a greater volume of games than you or at a higher limit. Now put a 4% commission, paid to you, against each of those players. That's 4% of the rake they generate in your pocket, for life. Then add a further.5% commission, paid to you, for every player that those second tier players refer. Then a further.2% of the rake for players that the third tier players refer. As you can see, there is the potential for a lot of extra money to be made using this system. Most affiliates offer referral payments in the range of 2-4% in the top tier,.5% in the second tier and.2% for the third tier of referrals. Their are however rakeback sites that offer significantly more than these commission rates. You should also be wary of sites that offer a flat payment for each player referred - eg. send us a friend, get $125. NEVER use a rakeback provider who is offering you flat payment referrals. It may seem attractive to get a lump sum all at once, but in the long run you will lose out on significant commissions - perhaps thousands of dollars. You should also note that some poker affiliates use underhanded tactics or tricky wording to sound like they are giving you a great deal - like offering you 10% of your friend's "rakeback" rather than his actual "rake". Remember that a player's rakeback will only be around 27-40% of his actual rake, so these sites are only offering you the same 2-4% as their competition. Another trick rakeback providers use is their offer of "exclusive" monthly promotions. 99% of the time this is false advertising - the promotion is usually exclusive to the poker room, NOT the rakeback provider. For example, a rakeback site might offer $600,000 in promotions per month. Out of this total, they run $500 worth of exclusive freerolls themselves. The other $599,500 consists of the rake races, rake chases and freerolls that the poker rooms run themselves - you would be enrolled in these regardless of whether you signed up through the rakeback provider. Alternatively, a smaller rakeback provider could offer only $200,000 in promotions because they offer less poker rooms, but they could have several thousand dollars worth truly exclusive promotions on offer. If you are interested in joining a site that offers more value, the more true exclusive promotions on offer, the better. So it is definitely a good idea to shop around when looking for your rakeback provider. Don't just jump onto the first sites you find in a search result. Yes, these are generally the larger sites but they only rely on their search engine position for new members - i.e. they generally don't offer much added value as they don't need to compete as much.

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Detecting and Setting Traps

One of the less understood poker strategies is that of trapping. When playing poker, how many times have you been trapped by a more experienced or tricky player? We all fall into these traps from time to time... but why? How can we detect traps and avoid them? This article delves into poker strategy keys for setting traps, and detecting them. First, what is a trap? A trap play is where an opponent with a strong hand represents weakness, luring their opponent into overplaying their hand. For example, I hit a nut flush (Ace-high flush) on the flop. I have the best hand at the table now, unless the board pairs (such that someone could pull a boat or four of a kind - not likely). So, instead of betting it big, I might throw out a smaller bet or even check it (slowplay). Another player holding big slick (A-K) pairs up with an Ace on the flop, thinking he's got the best hand so far. Another player has a small pair (e.g., 4's) and picks up a set on the flop (assuming flop was something like 4-A-J). Now, had I bet really big or raised back too early, the player holding the Ace would realize he's trouble and the small pair would've likely folded pre-flop. Since I just checked it down, no reason to be afraid of me, since I'm obviously on some kind of a draw... The person with the three of a kind (the 4's) tosses out a bet of 4 times the blind. The guy with Aces calls it. After delaying slightly, I go ahead and also call it (why not, I'm getting decent enough pot odds). So, I'm trapping them both at this point, letting them bet into me and just calling their bets. The same thing happens again on the turn, except the player with Aces drops out. Now it's just me and the set of 4's. They bet big again, this time the size of the pot. Again, after a slight pause, I just call them "reluctantly". Then comes the river, and they go all-in. I immediately call them...oops! They're sunk! What happened here? These players never asked themselves two simple questions: 1) Why is he calling that raised pot (on the flop and turn)? 2) What hands might he be holding? What could he be up to by calling my bets like that? Trapping? On a draw? It's crucially important to THINK before you ACT by understanding what the other players are actually doing. It's also very important not to underestimate your competition, as there are some very wily players out there... There's a potential flush showing on this flop, and since I'm kind of "lurking" in this hand, it's very suspicious behavior, and unlikely I'm on a draw calling those kind of big bets. Unless you're playing against a beginner or a drunk, there's no reason to believe someone will likely call a raise that's 4 times the big blind on a draw. That's the first mistake - assuming another player has no hand and not realizing why they're behaving as they are. Second, the board is showing a possible flush - and both of these players aren't holding it! Just because I didn't bet on the flop does not mean I don't have it! Had either of these players slowed down and considered my betting (calling) behavior, and asked themselves these questions, they'd probably have realized what was going on. Whether the player with the set of 4's could fold them is another story :) Aside from a trap, what else could have kept me in this hand? Traps aren't easy to detect. When a good player calls a big bet, there's a better than average chance they are trapping! You'll also often see them delay for an unusually long time, as if they're struggling to make a decision about calling your hand, then either call you, raise or go all-in. If this is indeed a good player, you now know almost for certain you're being trapped (call) or warned (raise/all-in). If you don't have the top hand at this point, you're probably beaten. This lengthy delay can be a great "tell" for traps and detecting strong hands, and is one you should learn to recognize. The delay is an attempt to make you believe they're "struggling" to make their decision - do the opposite of what your opponents want you to do when there's an obvious tell like this one. Good players don't usually call bets - they usually raise/re-raise with strength or fold. They don't often waste their money on draws, so if they're lurking in there with you, it almost certian it's not out of curiosity... If you aren't spending twice as much time thinking about what your opponent's hand might be, based upon their betting (calling) pattern and position and play history, you should be. Your own hand strength is quickly and easily determined. Spend more time on your opponents, learning to read their normal betting patterns and skill level, then when they do something that doesn't match their normal pattern, slow down and ask yourself why.

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Balance Your Fixed Limit Poker Strategy

There are a lot of different ideas about how to play or fold hands when you are playing fixed limit poker. There are also even more different ideas about low limit betting. Many players believe that you should rarely fold any of your cards, when playing fixed limit, based on the idea that the odds are in your favor to stay in the hand and see the flop in most cases. There are other people on the other hand that say fixed limit poker should be played with only the premium hands, except in case where your position allows for the playing of medium strength hands. With people giving different strategies on the subject it can be difficult to know the right strategies to use. When it comes to position, it should always play a role in the hands that you decide to play. Even in the cases where it does not change the final outcome of the hand, it is a good habit to get into and will help your overall fixed limit strategy. It may seem weird at first, but both of the strategies written about are right. It is often true that the pot odds in a hand make it a good idea to call to see the flop. At the same time playing premium hands in the right position will help increase your overall odds of winning the pot. It is a good idea to use both of these strategies. By playing premium hands it will increase your odds of winning, but playing more hands can at times also increase your profit. This will all depend on the table that you are playing on and the players you are playing against. Finding the right balance is what makes players profitable in the long run. Including these to basic strategies there are other more advanced ideas as well about position and pot odds. Learning the basics and practice playing different hands in different positions always keep in mind who you are playing and the pot odds that are given to you. You will learn what style of play works at different tables. In the long run it is a good idea to understand percentages of hands, and the odds of winning based on different flops. Finding a good fixed limit strategy can be difficult, but with practice you will be able to find the right balance of these different strategies.

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10 Tips for a Successful Poker All-in Strategy

All-in is a betting strategy used in today's most popular poker game, No limit Texas Holdem. When you declare that you're going "All-in", you are putting all your chips into the pot on that hand. This could be a do or die move by you, depending on whether you have more or less chips than an opponent who calls your bet. If you have less starting chips and lose the all-in, you are out of the game. This is what makes all-in such a powerful strategy in Texas Holdem poker, but also what makes it such a dangerous one. Go all-in and you can be finished on one turn of a card. Some poker players however miss the point a bit with their all in bets and lose out on opportunities to take advantage of a strategically placed bet. Here are 10 tips that should help you to decide when the right time is to go all-in. 1. Don't just wait until you've got the "nuts". If you do this you will be very predictable and opponents will simply fold to your all-in. 2. Remember that it is much easier to make an all-in bet than to call one. All you need to do to win the hand is bet when you're sure your opponent will fold. 3. If you are a strong chip leader you can bully your opponents into folding. You will lose some of your chips if you lose an all-in, they will lose them all and be out of the game. 4. Don't go all-in on a stone cold bluff. Always make sure that even though you might not have the best hand, you have a chance of making it with the cards that are still to be dealt. Put another way, leave yourself with "outs". 5. Beware of going all-in with a short stack of chips. You are far more likely to get called by a big stack because if you lose, you will be out of the tournament. You need to have an almost unbeatable hand in these circumstances. 6. If you are low on chips, use the all-in to your advantage if you get a monster hand. You will almost certainly get called and you might even get more than one caller so instead of doubling your money you can triple it or even better. 7. You can't bluff if you're short stacked, you do not have enough chips and nobody is going to be afraid to bet against you. You can only go all-in if you get a good hand. 8. If you're short stacked, don't let your chips drain away with the blinds. Make a stand with an all-in while you still have a chance to steal the blinds. If you get called you can still win the pot and be back in the game. 9. If a short stacked player goes all-in, it is usually better for you to re-raise all in. This will scare off any other callers after you in the betting who might have also called just because of the value they were getting for their bet. 10. If somebody goes all in against you, use the previous tips above to decide why he did. Does he only go all-in with the nuts? Is short stacked? Is he trying to bully you to get you to fold? Weigh up the situation very carefully before deciding whether to call.

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One Secret Poker Strategy

Although there are plenty of books, poker tips, guides and videos that proclaim they can teach you secret strategies to winning at poker, there is one BIG secret that most of them fail to impart. You could spend years learning poker strategy, jumping from book to book to gain insight and experience from professional players, however, the one big secret you will never see in these books is about to be revealed to you. If you have the basic knowledge of poker, and a complete understanding of how the game is played, then the one thing you are missing is what many professionals today are turning toward. That one thing is confidence in your decision-making process! In a nutshell, after you have spent hours and hours learning the game, reading poker strategy books and practicing at your online poker or live game, the only poker tool you need to propel your game is self-confidence. Do you have a tendency to freeze up? As you already know, Poker is a game of skill that requires you making the right decision at the right time. However, many times we get stumped and hesitate as to what decision we should make and how to proceed. Is this what causes many of your anxieties in the game? Do you ever have regrets about not taking action? Have you ever folded a hand, even when your instinct told you to play, only to find out that you would have won it? Why did you fold? Lack of self-confidence, fear of losing or that little voice told you it's the right thing to do? Does your mind draw a blank when you have to react quickly? In Poker, you have to make decisions quickly, and they HAVE to be the right decision! You need self confidence in decision making to know that you made the right decision, to plunge forward and win at poker. The way to get this boost of confidence is to become self assured and build your level of confidence in the game. Many professional poker players use the services of life coaching, zen masters, mindset coaches and mind power to excel their game. Does your self-confidence lack when you need to make decisions? As a matter of fact players such as Gavin Smith and Antonio Esfandairi utilized life coaching this past year and their games improved dramatically. In fact, Gavin won his first ever gold bracelet in the 2010 WSOP event #44. After Gavin won his bracelet he said, "I'm just an older guy from Guelph, Ontario, who used to drive a taxi and cut greens. Now I play poker for a living, and I just won hundreds of thousands of dollars. There is nothing in my life that can be considered a curse. Every single minute of it is a blessing." Take the message from many professional poker players and improve your game with the one big secret that is helping poker players improve their careers. Build your self confidence, get your mindset right and get rid of those moments of indecision and fear that will kill your poker game.

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Tips On How To Get An Online Poker Bonus

Online poker is a craze that has swept throughout the world in recent years, attracting many new players every day. There are numerous online poker rooms, many of which offer a poker bonus as an incentive to attract new members. This offers a good opportunity for new players to learn online poker without much financial risk. However, the problem is that for those who have never played the game before, online poker can be confusing. Aside from learning the basic poker rules, players also have to contend with a whole new language of terms and jargon. This can put some new players off and spoil what should be an enjoyable experience. Furthermore, although the poker bonus offers are available, it is not always clear what a new player must do in order to qualify for these bonuses especially when they are not familiar with poker terminology. To help newcomers get started playing online poker, I'd like to explain exactly how most poker bonus offers work, and then describe the steps required for new players to qualify for these offers. Most online poker rooms do not award their bonus immediately after the player has opened a new account, or even after a first deposit has been made. Instead, poker bonuses are generally awarded in stages as a reward for player loyalty. In other words, the more you play, the more free chips you get. Here's how it works. When you play in hands of poker, the money in the middle of the table, which is won by the player who wins each hand, is called the "rake". Most poker rooms will award a player with reward points depending on their contribution to each rake. These bonus points are awarded irrespective of whether a player wins or loses the hand. In essence, the online gaming room wants to see players getting involved in the game and making a contribution to the gameplay, both for the benefit of the poker room itself and also the other players. This is why the bonus is awarded based upon player participation. So, when a player's accumulated bonus points reach a certain threshold, a portion of the total available poker bonus is released into the player's account. This continues as the player earns more points and reaches fuhrer milestones, until the total available bonus amount has been earned. After the total bonus has been earned, the reward points will often continue to be aware to the player on the same basis. These can often be exchanged for different rewards, or maybe free merchandise depending on the individual promotions available at the online poker room. On some occasions it will be necessary to enter a poker bonus code when registering with the online poker website, in order to qualify for the bonus. These codes are not always displayed on the website itself, however they can be obtained from special poker bonus websites.

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10 Common Opponent Errors To Start Exploiting Today

Single table online poker tournaments, popularly known as 'Sit N Go' tournaments are an increasingly popular form of online poker. Usually lasting around 1 hour and playing 3 places these tournaments are available at buy-in levels ranging from just $1 up to $1000! This article focuses on the lower buy-in Sit N Go poker tournaments and examines common errors made by the players you will find there. Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #1 - Playing Too Loose Early Many opponents will play far to many hands at the start of a Sit N Go - when the blinds are low. The most common error is to play 'easily dominated' hands such as an Ace with a small kicker. Playing only the best starting hands early conserves chips for the more important later stages. If your opponents are playing too loose early make sure you raise strongly when dealt a premium hand - they will be a great source of chips. Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #2 - Multi-Way Pots and Position Many opponents will enter a multi-way pot by calling a raise pre-flop with a medium strength hand during the early blind levels. This is a dangerous play with a medium pair (for example), these players will have no idea where they stand after the flop and may be out of position relative to the original raiser. Playing for set-value for a small pre-flop investment is one thing - but calling raises in multi-way pots is usually asking to lose a lot of chips. Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #3 - Adjusting to Increasing Blinds As the blinds increase and the number of players go down then adjustments to your starting hands are required. In the middle stages of a Sit N Go Poker Tournament your raising requirements need to go down the hands with which you can call a raise need to tighten up considerably. A common error would be calling a raise with a small pair - when the blinds reach 10% of your stack implied odds for this play disappear! Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #4 - Bad Play From The Blinds If you never defend your big blind your will quickly become short stacked in Sit N Go Poker. Conversely always defending will lead to being 'trapped' for a large pot sooner or later. Watch for opponents making errors at the extremes and balance your own play from the blinds - you need to put enough doubt in opponents minds as to whether they can steal from you without going over the top. Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #5 - Understanding the Bubble Many opponents will not understand the dynamic of bubble play in Sit N Go poker strategy. Errors come in various forms and include not being aware of stack size adjustments and calling all-in bets without premium holdings. Most of the profit in Sit N Go tournaments comes from correct bubble strategy. Make sure you check out resources such as the comprehensive strategy articles at 'Sit and Go Planet' to get a profitable edge in this area. Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #6 - Understanding Chip Equity Models The Independent Chip Model (ICM) is a key component of good Sit N Go poker strategy. This converts your chip stack into a dollar 'prize pool equity' figure. This figure is then used to compare your risk against reward for all-in confrontations at the bubble. Understanding ICM and adjusting correctly will give you a huge advantage in Sit N Go poker tournaments. Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #7 - Playing 'In The Money' Once the bubble is burst in a Sit N Go poker tournament your opponents raising and calling ranges will also change dramatically. This in turn will affect how many hands you raise yourself. Correctly understanding the 'In the Money' strategy change will allow you to exploit your opponents weaknesses and move up the payout ladder. Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #8 - Heads Up Battles Once the blinds are more than 10% of your stack it is possible to play in such a way as to become 'mathematically unexploitable'. Of course it is still possible to adjust to your opponents play, but using 'Nash Equilibrium' models will ensure you can not lose more than your share over time. Readers interested in this can search for the freely available Sit N Go strategy eBook 'A Comedy of Errors'. Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #9 - Playing Trap Hands There are many adjustments in Sit N Go poker strategy that do not seem obvious to inexperienced players. One such area is 'trap hands'. As the blinds increase and the number of players shrinks some hands become more or less playable. Examples include AK, Suited Connectors and Small Pairs. Make sure you understand the correct strategy adjustments for various levels and see those results improve. Sit N Go Poker Strategy - Opponent Error #1 - Never Stop Learning! Many of your opponents will get into routine of playing Sit N Go poker using the same old ideas and strategies. The real winners in these games are people who take the time to study, find the weakest sites and opponents and look for their own 'leaks' in addition to those of opponents. Sit and Go Planet is regularly updated with strategy articles for everyone from beginners to advanced players. Make sure you do not get left behind!

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Novice Poker Mistakes

If you've been playing online poker for a while, it is very easy to spot beginners or "fish" at the table by some of their mistakes. Some players don't let go of the habit of making some of these mistakes even when getting more experienced. That is because almost all of them are due to temptation, the poker player's biggest enemy. Here are by far the most frequent novice mistakes in poker: Playing bad hands It seems that some beginners haven't had a chance to check out poker rooms that well. That's why most of them often play as many hands as possible. This is maybe because they have a "feeling" that their bad hand is going to do well, but most likely is because they believe a poker player is supposed to win with whatever hands he/she has. It takes about a month for these guys to figure out they're not in a James Bond movie, and until then they're easy prey for just any type of online poker player out there. Choosing the wrong limits On some poker rooms it's actually easier to get a good boost in your bankroll by playing at higher limits than micro stakes. That's because novice players, just as everyone else, want to get the best out of their time spent on a poker site. And they think limits like one or two dollars are low enough for them to make a profit from their very first hands. This is the reason most of the new online poker players go bankrupt very rapidly and quit. Overcoming this mistake will prove to be a very harsh and costly process, but once poker players know their potential and choose their limits wisely, their bankroll will start rising exponentially. Being overwhelmed with emotion The chat box on online poker sites is one of the simplest tools that give you a clue of whether a player is novice or not. Most poker rooms have them, and usually only beginners use them regularly. Most of the time this is the place in which players display their frustration. As beginners don't know how to control their emotions in front of a bad beat, a good starting hand, an attractive bet and so forth, they will express them here. However, even when the chat box isn't used, you can still get a hint of emotion coming from one player or another. Observe a player's actions after losing a big bet. If he/she continues to bet high in the very next hand, chances are he/she wants to make up for the previous loss by risking more chips. And most of the time they do this with horrible starting hands. Bluffing excessively It's a fact that bluffing is a very attractive and commonly used strategy in online poker. Nobody can see behind you table avatar, so why not go for it? Well, there are limits to bluffing, limits that novice poker players don't seem to understand. It's ok to bluff once, maybe twice, but you shouldn't base you whole game or most of it on bluffing. Especially after you get caught several times. Beginners don't care that much about credibility and so they'll bluff even if they had been caught doing it several times before. And once you notice this, they're easy prey. Of course, there are many other typical mistakes that novice players do. The best way to find them is to start playing on your usual poker room and be careful in spotting them. Which mistake in the list above you think is most common? There's only one way to find out!

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Anger Management - Poker Style

Your should not have said that moments may be momentarily satisfying (it's OK to admit it) but they are always counterproductive and must be avoided. Here's how. Be angry, but don't act angrily It is OK to be angry. Anger is just a feeling, a spontaneous response to external stimuli. Because feelings are spontaneous, they are pre-will. If they are pre-will or involuntary, anger, or any other feeling, is not right or wrong. While how we feel is not right or wrong, what we decide to say or do when angry can be very, very wrong. In my experience, the best leaders in a firm are those who are able to control their anger by not reacting to it. Sure they become angry, but they don't give into it and allow that anger to take over. How do they do that? They carefully, deliberately, and purposely don't react. Play your cards right It's like playing poker. There's the tradition of keeping a poker face -- don't telegraph whether you have a great hand or poor hand. At work, take the information in, don't telegraph your response, don't react. Think and then think again. That old saw of counting to ten before responding, the grand-daddy of all anger management advice, really does help, as does taking deep breathes. Isn't it impressive when co-workers or members of management receive bad news and are able to maintain their composure and begin to work on addressing the issue? Who would you rather work with, someone who bangs on the table and screams when upset or someone who can rationally address the problem? Which side of that ledger do co-workers and bosses place you? Easy does it To control your anger, think about your hot buttons; what starts the anger launch sequence for you? Prepare for or avoid those situations. If you are going to a meeting that you expect to be difficult, promise yourself you won't react immediately to anything upsetting. During my career, I have never regretted keeping a poker face when angry, and I guarantee you won't either.

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How to Crush an Opponent Who Calls Too Many 3 Bets

Online poker has gone 3 bet mad lately, and what I am finding is a lot of loose players will start to call a lot of your 3bets when they are in position. So how do you play against these type of players when they will not fold to a continuation bet on the flop. Firstly, you need some form of poker tracking software with a heads up display which will inform you of their stats in 3 bet pots. This is probably not as important if you are playing less than 4 tables as you should be able to spot their tendencies through simple observations and note taking. However once you go over 4 tables I definitely recommend using Holdem Manager to help you spot the habitually 3 bet callers. It's also good to track your own 3 bet stats as you may be 3 betting a bit too frequently and therefore giving your opponent ample reason to start playing back at you either through flat calling or 4 betting light. So if you have notes or stats on your opponent that he is calling 3 bets light and rarely folding to any aggression on the following streets, this simple means you must tighten your 3 betting range to value hands only. Check out his 4 bet stats. If his 4 bet stats are 2% or lower we can safely say that when he only calls he is doing so with hands like AQ, AJ, maybe ATss and 22-JJ, 87ss+. He will 4 bet QQ+, AK the majority of times which accounts for the 2% 4 bet range. Therefore if we can narrow his calling range to this we can start to 3 bet value hands from KJ+,JJ+ up as when he calls we will nearly always be ahead of his range. If he is calling with pocket pairs, we will at least have 2 overcards when we 3 bet Broadway cards and when we do hit top pair we can safely get it all in as we are more than likely going to have our opponent dominated. Also keep an eye out for bet sizing tells. One of my regulars has a pretty bad bet sizing tell. He only raises preflop to 2 big blinds with small pocket pairs and suited connectors and raises 3.5 big blinds with big Broadway cards when he plays from the Cut off or the Button. He folds to all 3bets when I 3 bet his bigger pre - flop raise but he 4 bet shoves AKss, KK+. He always calls when I 3 bet his smaller preflop raise and will min - reraise when he connects with the flop, and when he connects he connects hard as its either a set, a flopped straight or an open ended straight & flush draw. This is a great tell to have on an opponent and I urge all of you to keep track of weird bet sizing as people get into a habit and you can take advantage of it. However getting back to the original issue, of a player who will also not fold to post flop aggression. You have to determine your perceived strength caused by the flop texture before you decide your plan for post flop when you actually miss the flop. If the flop comes dry with one high card, then you must at least double barrel. There is no point just continuation bet the flop then check fold the turn as that is how he wants you to play and he will exploit this until the cows come home. If the flop is low and wet then sometimes it is in your best interest to just check the flop and hope for a cheap showdown and fold to his steal. By doing this every once in a while, it will also add a lot more weight to your continuation bets in later encounters. The main piece of advice to take from this article is to plan your hand before you play it based on your opponents tendencies. The more you do this the more natural it will become and before you know it you will be swiftly moving up the stakes in the online poker world.

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Never Hide Your Poker Mistakes

Not hiding your mistakes and failures is a critical part of playing professional-level, winning poker. You can never overlook mistakes. You can never put aside losses. You can never hide from failure. You absolutely must acknowledge, embrace and proclaim your disasters. Losing players "forget" losing sessions, "ignore" bad plays that cost them money, and "overlook" the tilty, emotional play that is the foundation of their failure. They don't acknowledge losses, errors and problems because they're scared people will know that they are bad players. Maybe their wife, maybe their friends, maybe other players will realize that this guy is full of baloney. But the main reason they ignore, hide and overlook is because THEY don't want to face the realization that they are the cause of their own failure. Basically, if they are losing players, then logically they should Stop Playing. But they don't want to stop playing. They want to keep playing because they like to play. So instead of facing their inadequacy and getting better, they hide it and stay bad - or even get worse. So your goal should always to be to downplay your successes - they are expected, after all - and to highlight your failures. Learn to focus on them without judgment or getting down on yourself. Learn to get very curious about them, like a young boy with an interesting bug. Poke it, flip it, pick it up and let it crawl on your fingers. In other words, examine it and ask it some questions. Questions to ask your little red failure bug (mine is red): - Where did you come from, little failure bug? - Why did I invite you into my house? - Are you part of my approved game, or did I vary from what I consider to be optimal play? - Are you really a failure, or are you just bad luck in an interesting form? - Did I play you to make myself feel better? - What other forms has this bug/mistake taken in my game? Look for variations of the same mistake and find a pattern. Find out how much this type of mistake has cost you in the past. Think about it; put a DOLLAR figure to it. Now, project into the future how much that mistake will cost you. If your goal is to play twice as often at twice the stakes for the next decade, and this mistake cost you $100 last month, then you can safely say that if you don't correct this mistake, it will cost you $48,000!!! Now that little failure is not such a small thing, is it? If this is the one mistake that keeps you from being a winning player, then it could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your poker career - a career that may never exist. Now, make a new rule - or revise an existing rule - to eliminate this mistake and drill it into your game. Use the rule writing formula. Write your new rule 100 times, put it in your journal, tape it to your screen. The point here is to never ignore mistakes. They are the Most Powerful tool you have for making money in poker. Make them known, talk about them with others and let them out. When you keep these issues inside yourself, they will fester and cause emotional constipation in your game. You want to keep you poker mentality fresh and ventilated. The only way to do that is to keep it transparent. Any parts that you hide will rot from lack of oxygen and create dead areas in your poker psyche. Remember any failure is a window through which you can see future, greater success. If you open it, explore it, and go through it you'll find new, sunny vistas. If you close the curtain on it and try to ignore, it will become a cold draft that annoys you forever and steals life from your game.

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Important Winning Poker Book

Why Have a Poker Journal? Poker is a long-term game. It's really not that different from investing, except you can't have someone else do it for you. You have to make the money yourself. But you wouldn't invest without having a plan, keeping records, tracking results, analyzing new opportunities, and exploring new options. Right? The same is true of poker. Bad players (fish) never record anything. They never track anything. They don't make decisions today based on historic realities. They don't know the difference between playing the site they are on (or the table) and the other sites in the poker world. They just sit down, blind in, and start playing. Fish don't play poker for the long-term. They play for the Right Now! This hand! This moment! This session! If they win they are thrilled. If they lose they are depressed. They are... in a word... VICTIMS! You strive to be more than that, obviously. However, many players who strive to be more miss out on the Most Powerful Tool poker has to offer - HISTORICAL REALITY. Historical reality is what HAPPENED. How it happened. Why it happened. Because, guess what... It'll happen again! If you don't keep records then you can't learn as quickly as you should from your mistakes. Maybe you won't learn from them at all. Maybe you'll learn for a while and then forget about it again. Your poker journal is how you tap the most powerful poker tool that exists. If you don't keep records then you miss out on the Most Powerful Tool poker has to offer - YOUR BRAINPOWER. Your brainpower is what is going to take you into the future. It's what's going to set the path for your future success or failure. Because... As a man thinketh... so is he! The Bible: Proverbs You spend hours staring at a computer screen, playing hands, making reads, learning lessons (good and bad). You read articles and books, talk to other poker players, and observe others who are more skilled than you. Where does all this information go? It can't just go in your head. Your head is a horrible record keeper. It's manipulated by emotions, it has tons of non-poker work to do, and it tends to fail you at the worst times in poker. So, instead of relying on your head, rely on your poker journal. A poker journal never forgets. You should review it often. And the fact that you have recorded things, will prompt you to expand them and think about them more. The how's and why's of keeping a poker journal. Hopefully I've convinced you that a poker journal will really add value and results to your poker game. In essence the HOW is simple. Just start doing it! But, here are some things I've done for years with my poker journal. Hopefully you can use some of them. While you can keep a poker journal electronically on your computer, I don't recommend it. And while any old spiral notebook will do, I would encourage you to get something more substantial. Your next time out, take a shopping trip for a journal. About electronic journals, think of it this way; how many computer files can you find from 3 years ago? Not many. How many pictures do you have from your childhood? Probably quite a few. Physical things are permanent, electronic files are easily lost, forgotten or damaged. So go for the physical thing. I use a refillable leather journal cover I bought at Barnes and Noble. Here's why. Leather is good! It gives your thoughts importance and heft. Leather is permanent and comforting. When you write in this journal it draws you to become better. It's also refillable and it has a place to keep a couple pens. All of this is important for me because I need my journal to be ready to go and hold up to my lifestyle. I go through about 1 refill every 9 months or so and I obviously keep the old journals for reference. I carry my journal with me almost all the time, and I make notes in it often. So, what do you write in your journal? Write down whatever comes to mind. I use my journal for personal notes and goals as well as poker goals - to me they are one in the same; because, poker makes many aspects of my life possible and my life affects my poker. I start every journal with my life goals and concepts that help me succeed at whatever I'm doing. That way I know exactly where to go to get my mind right if I start to waver. After that I just write whatever I think is important as it comes to mind. These include things like: - Starting Hand Charts - Poker Session, SnG, and MTT notes - Poker ideas I read in books, magazines and online - Summaries of what I think helps me accomplish my poker and life goals - Personal Improvement concepts and notes - Repetitive Sentences - This one is important. Poker has a great ability to tie us up in knots when we have bad sessions or make mistakes. The best way to work out the negative energy that gets built up in times like this is to write a sentence 50-100 times. That helps me work out the negative emotions and refocus my efforts. Randomly opening my journal I see a couple pages of "I will follow my rules 100% when I play." That's from a few sessions of breaking my own good advice and playing like a fool. So those are some ideas of what you could keep. I have notes about what poker articles I need to write, time management actions, and even questions I use to approach life in a positive way. It's all good!! Because the act of writing focuses the mind, it makes permanent many things that you would lose if you tried to remember them in your head; it clarifies; and it gives you something to look back on and see your achievements. If you're interested in seeing inside my journal, here's a sample. Many of these things don't seem poker related, but they set the foundations for my poker success. LIFE GOALS: 1. Time, Flexibility, Independence - I am an independent human being who has 100% control of my time and actions without financial restrictions or pressures. 2. Discipline, Desire, Control - I have the discipline and desire to control my own time and activities in a way that brings well-rounded fullness for me and for my family. 3. A Transforming Force - I am a positive force to transform those around me for a better and happier life. 4. Kaizen - I will improve and grow in large or small meaningful and positive ways in some aspect of my life every day until the day I die. "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make our world" The Buddha "Things do not change. We change." Henry David Thoreau Problem Solving Questions: (from Anthony Robbins) 1. What is great about this problem? 2. What is not perfect yet? 3. What am I willing to DO to make it the way I want it? 4. What am I willing to no longer do to make it the way I want it? 5. How can I enjoy the process WHILE I do what is necessary to make it the way I want it? Those are just some snippets from my poker journal. Those don't say "poker", but for me they are vital to continued poker success. Many of my journal entries are the basis for chapters in this book, because they have turned into full articles on the topic in question. Conclusion I hope you're convinced that a poker journal will infuse power, focus, and long-term vision into your poker life. Any fish can post a blind and play a hand. Many players have longer term results without a journal. But giving your ideas, thoughts, frustrations, and observations a DESTINATION will create an entirely new level of calm and balance for your game.

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Poker Limping

In simple words, you can say that the game of poker is all about betting. Players increase their bets when they are more likely to win and when they are losing, they decrease their betting frequency. Bets are not equal when you consider their sizes or importance. In these articles, I want to throw light on the numerous types of bets that a player can make at many points in the game. Part one consists of preFlop action. Preflop Betting Forced bets are the first two bets that are made to go in the pot when you are playing Hold'em game. Hence, these bets are named as "blinds". It is because the players do not even need to take a glimpse of their cards before making this bet. In the first round of betting, the players can either fold or call or raise. One should note that checking in this case is not allowed. The first player who does it "opens" the game. Poker limping: limping is done when a player tries to enter by merely calling big blind. If a player is said to be limping in poker, he is usually trying to see the flop and continue to play accordingly. Many players do not support open limping in poker. Just like bets, a player can easily limp from any point of the game like early, middle or late point. Limping at certain point in the game speaks a lot about the playing skills of any player. For example, a straightforward player is more likely to limp in the middle pair. Limping is just another way for the players to see the flop. Over-limping: in an already open hand, a player decides to limp too. This situation is known as over-limping. This is a cheap way in which one can enter the pot, more importantly if a player wishes to win big pot. Notes for poker limping: Early position limping: there are many players who act behind you. One of them can easily raise and then you will be forced to "prospect" the hands. Limping increases more limping: as players get to enter pot through limping, as the pots builds, more players are encouraged to enter it. Importance of table dynamics: if the players who are behind you are aggressive in nature, it is not a good idea to limp early. If the players are passive, you have lots of opportunity to limp. Flop catching part: the beginners who enter this part are more likely to limp rather than raise because it is more about hand selection rather than bet type.

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