Poker Discipline - The key to success in online Texas holdem
Poker discipline is something that all players should have as one of their main assets. If your discipline is poor, you should make it your highest priority to improve it. As a poker player, you will know that there are few things in life as exciting as landing a great looking starting hand in
Texas Holdem. Being dealt a good starting hand puts you in command right away and you feel excited about the possibility that you will go on and win the pot.
But unfortunately this excitement is probably responsible for more losing hands and leaving players with empty chip stacks than almost anything else in the game of poker.
Excitement at a poker table is normally a bad thing. When people get excited - and when I say people I mean poker players in this case - they usually make bad decisions. They allow their normal level of poker discipline to drop and make crazy, irrational moves that can cost a big pot or, worse still, their whole chip stack.
Discipline is all about making decisions and sticking to them. If you are a tight player, you need to decide what hands you will play and have the self discipline not to waver from your decision.
The most important part of that is knowing when to lay your cards down, especially when they look very tempting and you are itching to stay in the hand to see what happens.
It's as old as the hills but it's still as true today as it ever was; you need to know when to fold 'em.
Even if you have a hand that looks like a monster, it can always be beaten and the bigger and better the starting hand, the harder it is to fold.
Dangerous starting hands that cause a lot of people to lose their poker discipline and cost them money are those such as A-10, A-9 or worse, Q-J, K-10. If you catch one of those in early position (that is when you are at the start of the betting) you should almost always fold them, there are just too many hands that can beat you.
Although it's probably about the hardest to master, poker discipline is one of the key skills that marks out great poker players and sets them apart from the rest of the pack, so decide on your strategy and stick to it. © 2007 Love-Texas-Holdem.com - Poker Discipline
Friday, May 30, 2008
Poker Rebuy Strategy
The main question on poker rebuys that you will probably want answered is should you rebuy? Quickly followed by if so – how often should you rebuy?
Firstly what is a rebuy? It’s a stage in a poker tournament where players are allowed to buy more chips to add to their stack. They don’t necessarily need to be low on chips or out of chips, anyone can choose to rebuy if they want to.
The good thing about a rebuy period for all players is the tremendous increase in pot size that you see taking place. If you are in a good position and don't need to rebuy, the fact that so many players have bought their way back into the game should not bother you too much. You were good enough to be in front of them before the rebuy period so the chances are that you will be good enough to stay in front of them.
Normally for any particular tournament they will come in the form of single or limited rebuys, or unlimited rebuys and can be used either to buy your way back into a tournament that you’ve dropped out of, or simply to bolster your chip count.
When deciding whether it’s worthwhile rebuying into a tournament you need to consider several factors.
1. The quality of your oppositionWere you among the better players in the game? Could you look at the way your opponents played and see that it should have been them who went out early and not you? In that case you should buy your way back in and get on with the game. However if you have seen that the standard of opposition is better than you, there is probably little point in carrying on.
2. Were you unlucky to be knocked out?Were you knocked out of the poker tournament by a bad beat where you held the best cards and used the right betting strategy only to find you lost out to a lucky break your opponent got on the river? A rebuy is certainly in order here too.
Poker Rebuy Strategy Continued... © 2007 Love-Texas-Holdem.com - Poker Rebuy Strategy 1
Firstly what is a rebuy? It’s a stage in a poker tournament where players are allowed to buy more chips to add to their stack. They don’t necessarily need to be low on chips or out of chips, anyone can choose to rebuy if they want to.
The good thing about a rebuy period for all players is the tremendous increase in pot size that you see taking place. If you are in a good position and don't need to rebuy, the fact that so many players have bought their way back into the game should not bother you too much. You were good enough to be in front of them before the rebuy period so the chances are that you will be good enough to stay in front of them.
Normally for any particular tournament they will come in the form of single or limited rebuys, or unlimited rebuys and can be used either to buy your way back into a tournament that you’ve dropped out of, or simply to bolster your chip count.
When deciding whether it’s worthwhile rebuying into a tournament you need to consider several factors.
1. The quality of your oppositionWere you among the better players in the game? Could you look at the way your opponents played and see that it should have been them who went out early and not you? In that case you should buy your way back in and get on with the game. However if you have seen that the standard of opposition is better than you, there is probably little point in carrying on.
2. Were you unlucky to be knocked out?Were you knocked out of the poker tournament by a bad beat where you held the best cards and used the right betting strategy only to find you lost out to a lucky break your opponent got on the river? A rebuy is certainly in order here too.
Poker Rebuy Strategy Continued... © 2007 Love-Texas-Holdem.com - Poker Rebuy Strategy 1
Play Poker For Free and Win
Play Poker Free: Poker is just about the most exciting game on TV right now. You might be one of the many thousands who have been following Texas Holdem eagerly on the television and have caught the bug. It is the most natural thing in the world to want to get involved with actually playing poker after seeing the thrills and spills as the world’s great poker professionals battle it out in front of you on the small screen.
So you want to play poker! You have two basic options in front of you as it stands, play “real” poker with some friends or play on the internet against the millions of other online poker players who are out there.
Playing real live poker in your house is great, there’s nothing like getting a bunch of friends together and breaking out the beers (or waters!) and playing a couple of hours of poker. But people are busy, it’s hard to get everyone available at the same time and it’s just as hard to play a game to suit everybody. Some of your friends might just want to risk a couple of dollars whilst others will be prepared to play for tens or even hundreds. How do you find a happy medium? Not everyone will want to play poker free and not have a chance of winning cash.
On the other hand internet poker is live and instant and you can always find a game that suits your pocket with people ready to play against you. You can even play poker free until you get your confidence up and you’ve learned the basics of doing it for yourself, rather than watching on TV.
So if you have decided to play poker online, what are the options you now have? Well these are split into three basic categories, money games where you play for cash, play money games where you can practise for free, and a third type of game – the poker freeroll. A freeroll is a sort of hybrid between cash games and play money games and in fact is the best of both worlds.
In freerolls, your entry to the game is literally free, you do not have to pay anything (although you will be required to complete a simple form to become a member of the poker room). The big bonus however is that if you win the tournament or are placed highly, you will win an actual cash prize.
These freeroll tournaments are of course very popular, anywhere offering something for nothing usually is. But if you get in early you will be able to sign up for the freeroll tournament and play for real money – without risking a penny of your own money.
Play poker free! © 2007 Love-Texas-Holdem.com - Play Poker Free
So you want to play poker! You have two basic options in front of you as it stands, play “real” poker with some friends or play on the internet against the millions of other online poker players who are out there.
Playing real live poker in your house is great, there’s nothing like getting a bunch of friends together and breaking out the beers (or waters!) and playing a couple of hours of poker. But people are busy, it’s hard to get everyone available at the same time and it’s just as hard to play a game to suit everybody. Some of your friends might just want to risk a couple of dollars whilst others will be prepared to play for tens or even hundreds. How do you find a happy medium? Not everyone will want to play poker free and not have a chance of winning cash.
On the other hand internet poker is live and instant and you can always find a game that suits your pocket with people ready to play against you. You can even play poker free until you get your confidence up and you’ve learned the basics of doing it for yourself, rather than watching on TV.
So if you have decided to play poker online, what are the options you now have? Well these are split into three basic categories, money games where you play for cash, play money games where you can practise for free, and a third type of game – the poker freeroll. A freeroll is a sort of hybrid between cash games and play money games and in fact is the best of both worlds.
In freerolls, your entry to the game is literally free, you do not have to pay anything (although you will be required to complete a simple form to become a member of the poker room). The big bonus however is that if you win the tournament or are placed highly, you will win an actual cash prize.
These freeroll tournaments are of course very popular, anywhere offering something for nothing usually is. But if you get in early you will be able to sign up for the freeroll tournament and play for real money – without risking a penny of your own money.
Play poker free! © 2007 Love-Texas-Holdem.com - Play Poker Free
Clearing an Online Poker Bonus
You know how to get online poker bonuses -- they’re available all over the Internet. However, what’s the best way to clear it? How do you optimize the task of getting that extra money out of the bonus account and into your real money bankroll?
Step 1: Learn the Conditions
In the early days of poker room bonuses , players could only clear the funds through cash game play. Play the required number of raked hands and get the bonus. Tournament players were out of luck.
Currently, many sites do allow you to clear your bonus by playing poker in tournaments. These sites calculate bonus clearing the same way they calculate player points, so both cash games and tournaments count towards the total. Before you start trying to earn credit toward your bonus through playing tournaments, find out if the site allows this practice.
Step 2: Don’t Raise the Stakes
Some players see bonus clearing as an opportunity to move up in limits. They figure even if they go on a losing streak that the bonus will make up for it. However, you really should only move up in limits if you are ready to do so.
You can clear the bonus just as quickly by playing your current limit. What you don’t want is to deplete your bankroll at a higher limit before you clear the bonus. If this happens, you will have to deposit more money so that you can release the bonus in the time allotted.
Step 3: Getting the Money
Once the bonus money is finally in your account, be sensible with it. It is not “House money,” it is your money and should be defended with the same care and skill which you apply to your regular bankroll.
© 2008 Love-Texas-Holdem.com - Clearing an Online Poker Bonus
Step 1: Learn the Conditions
In the early days of poker room bonuses , players could only clear the funds through cash game play. Play the required number of raked hands and get the bonus. Tournament players were out of luck.
Currently, many sites do allow you to clear your bonus by playing poker in tournaments. These sites calculate bonus clearing the same way they calculate player points, so both cash games and tournaments count towards the total. Before you start trying to earn credit toward your bonus through playing tournaments, find out if the site allows this practice.
Step 2: Don’t Raise the Stakes
Some players see bonus clearing as an opportunity to move up in limits. They figure even if they go on a losing streak that the bonus will make up for it. However, you really should only move up in limits if you are ready to do so.
You can clear the bonus just as quickly by playing your current limit. What you don’t want is to deplete your bankroll at a higher limit before you clear the bonus. If this happens, you will have to deposit more money so that you can release the bonus in the time allotted.
Step 3: Getting the Money
Once the bonus money is finally in your account, be sensible with it. It is not “House money,” it is your money and should be defended with the same care and skill which you apply to your regular bankroll.
© 2008 Love-Texas-Holdem.com - Clearing an Online Poker Bonus
Playing Texas Holdem
If you are a reasonably skilled online Texas Holdem player, you will probably face a mix of opponents, some less skilled than you, some perhaps a bit more. However, circumstances may arise when you are facing much tougher opposition than you are used to facing. This may be because you have decided to move up in limits at your preferred poker sites or because the only table that is available happens to be one filled with pros that you recognize. Either way, you may want to adjust your strategy when this happens.
Tactics for Handling Skilled Players: Confidence
You should have confidence in your ability to play Texas Holdem online Many pros have become pros because they can play a very tight aggressive, reasoned style of play. Just because someone is a pro doesn’t mean he is going to blow you out of every pot with huge raises or see right through to your soul when you try to bluff. A pro is simply someone who makes more correct decisions than the average player does. If you are a skilled player and play your best game, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to win, at least in the short term.
Tactics for Handling Skilled Players: Short Stacking
If you’re worried about getting run over by your opponents in a no-limit game, you may consider short stacking. Short stacking is buying in to the game for a small amount, often the minimum. The sharks in the game are looking for whales, bad players that will throw money at them. When they see your small stack, they may forget about you and look for tastier prey.
Tactics for Handling Skilled Players: Moving Down
If you’re really feeling like the game is too tough for you, there’s no shame in getting up and moving to an easier game. In general, it’s much more fun to win a ton of money against weaker players than to get pummeled by all-stars.
© 2008 Love-Texas-Holdem.com - Playing Against Highly Skilled Players
Tactics for Handling Skilled Players: Confidence
You should have confidence in your ability to play Texas Holdem online Many pros have become pros because they can play a very tight aggressive, reasoned style of play. Just because someone is a pro doesn’t mean he is going to blow you out of every pot with huge raises or see right through to your soul when you try to bluff. A pro is simply someone who makes more correct decisions than the average player does. If you are a skilled player and play your best game, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to win, at least in the short term.
Tactics for Handling Skilled Players: Short Stacking
If you’re worried about getting run over by your opponents in a no-limit game, you may consider short stacking. Short stacking is buying in to the game for a small amount, often the minimum. The sharks in the game are looking for whales, bad players that will throw money at them. When they see your small stack, they may forget about you and look for tastier prey.
Tactics for Handling Skilled Players: Moving Down
If you’re really feeling like the game is too tough for you, there’s no shame in getting up and moving to an easier game. In general, it’s much more fun to win a ton of money against weaker players than to get pummeled by all-stars.
© 2008 Love-Texas-Holdem.com - Playing Against Highly Skilled Players
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Three Online BlackJack Tips
While it might only take a few minutes to learn how to play Blackjack, it can take much longer to learn the nuances of the game. Online blackjack is similar to Blackjack at brick and mortar casinos, but there are differences. Here are three great online blackjack tips that will help you play better and win more money. Online Blackjack Tip One The first tip I would give anyone that's going to play online blackjack is to not worry about counting cards. In fact, if you are going to play online blackjack all of the time, don't even waste energy looking into card counting, because it won't help you. Most online blackjack games are dealt from a deck—sometimes more than one deck—that's shuffled before every hand.
Since this is the case, counting cards won't help you. Even if the online blackjack source uses a more traditional approach, you can't effectively count cards if you don't know when the cards are going to be shuffled and how much of the deck is left until that time. Online Blackjack Tip Two Stay away from gimmicks. Since online casinos only take up virtual space, they can experiment with all sorts of game variations.
Most offshoots of traditional Blackjack are just carnival games. They might be fun to look at and play now and again, but you'll be wasting money. Online Blackjack Tip Three Online blackjack games use a RNG (random number generator) to determine what cards to deal. The game is highly random and prone to streaks—good or bad. Never assume that you are "due" to win. You should always bet normally and never give in to bad streaks. They are going to happen in online blackjack, just like in the real world. Either quit playing or play with enough money to weather the storms. Online blackjack can be fun and relaxing. It's close to the real world version, but it does have some subtle differences. Once you recognize this, you're in a better position to win money.
WiseBettor.com has many gambling strategy, tips and informational articles. Here are two gambling pages you might like: [ Craps Field Bet ] [ Sports Betting Parlay Odds ]. Here's another great WiseBlackjack.com article you should check out: [ Blackjack - Counting Cards ]
Get Free Gambling Content at GamblerArticles.com.
Since this is the case, counting cards won't help you. Even if the online blackjack source uses a more traditional approach, you can't effectively count cards if you don't know when the cards are going to be shuffled and how much of the deck is left until that time. Online Blackjack Tip Two Stay away from gimmicks. Since online casinos only take up virtual space, they can experiment with all sorts of game variations.
Most offshoots of traditional Blackjack are just carnival games. They might be fun to look at and play now and again, but you'll be wasting money. Online Blackjack Tip Three Online blackjack games use a RNG (random number generator) to determine what cards to deal. The game is highly random and prone to streaks—good or bad. Never assume that you are "due" to win. You should always bet normally and never give in to bad streaks. They are going to happen in online blackjack, just like in the real world. Either quit playing or play with enough money to weather the storms. Online blackjack can be fun and relaxing. It's close to the real world version, but it does have some subtle differences. Once you recognize this, you're in a better position to win money.
WiseBettor.com has many gambling strategy, tips and informational articles. Here are two gambling pages you might like: [ Craps Field Bet ] [ Sports Betting Parlay Odds ]. Here's another great WiseBlackjack.com article you should check out: [ Blackjack - Counting Cards ]
Get Free Gambling Content at GamblerArticles.com.
The 9/6 Jacks or Better Guide
Do you love video poker? It sure is popular. I must admit, I've played thousands of hours of Video Poker over the years. Once I worked at a casino where they allowed workers to gambling on any machine during breaks. So, I spent my breaks—including most lunches—hunched in front of a video poker machine. But, what's the point of playing if you don't know what the hands are?
Most machines tell you what hands pay, but they stop just short of telling you what makes up a hand—something many new players are confused with. Here's a quick rundown of all the possible paying hands for a 9/6 Jacks or Better machine. Jacks or Better: When you have two Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces. It pays your money back. Two Pair: Having two cards on one rank and two cards of another rank—such as two 6's and two Kings. Three of a Kind: Three cards of one rank.
Straight: Having five cards in sequential order, such as a 2,3,4,5 and 6. An Ace can be used before the 2 or after the King. Flush: Having five cards all of the same suit, such as five clubs. Full House: Having three cards of one suit and two cards of another suit, like three Kings and two Queens.
Four of a Kind: Having four cards of one rank, such as four Jacks. Straight Flush: Having all five cards of the same suit and in sequential order, such as the 3,4,5,6 and 7 of diamonds. Royal Flush: This is the big payday. I've been lucky enough to hit some. You have a royal flush when all five cards are the same suit and the 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. One tip before I go.
Always play maximum coins. That's the only way the jackpot for a royal flush opens up. When I first started gambling I hit a royal flush with just one coin in the machine and receiving just over $60 when it could have been $1,000 really hurts.
WiseBettor.com has many gambling strategy, tips and informational articles. Here are two gambling pages you might like: [ Sports Betting Football Parlay Bets ] [ Gambling Systems ]. Here's another great CaribbeanStudPokerTips.com article you should check out: [ Caribbean Stud Poker Hand Guide ]
Get Free Gambling Content at GamblerArticles.com.
Most machines tell you what hands pay, but they stop just short of telling you what makes up a hand—something many new players are confused with. Here's a quick rundown of all the possible paying hands for a 9/6 Jacks or Better machine. Jacks or Better: When you have two Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces. It pays your money back. Two Pair: Having two cards on one rank and two cards of another rank—such as two 6's and two Kings. Three of a Kind: Three cards of one rank.
Straight: Having five cards in sequential order, such as a 2,3,4,5 and 6. An Ace can be used before the 2 or after the King. Flush: Having five cards all of the same suit, such as five clubs. Full House: Having three cards of one suit and two cards of another suit, like three Kings and two Queens.
Four of a Kind: Having four cards of one rank, such as four Jacks. Straight Flush: Having all five cards of the same suit and in sequential order, such as the 3,4,5,6 and 7 of diamonds. Royal Flush: This is the big payday. I've been lucky enough to hit some. You have a royal flush when all five cards are the same suit and the 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. One tip before I go.
Always play maximum coins. That's the only way the jackpot for a royal flush opens up. When I first started gambling I hit a royal flush with just one coin in the machine and receiving just over $60 when it could have been $1,000 really hurts.
WiseBettor.com has many gambling strategy, tips and informational articles. Here are two gambling pages you might like: [ Sports Betting Football Parlay Bets ] [ Gambling Systems ]. Here's another great CaribbeanStudPokerTips.com article you should check out: [ Caribbean Stud Poker Hand Guide ]
Get Free Gambling Content at GamblerArticles.com.
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