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Bluffing your way through Online Poker

online poker

online poker

Laymen usually think that bluffing is a vital part of the game of online poker, but only the real online poker players know that it isn’t really as common as that or as much used as it is believed.

It’s true that bluffing adds spice to the online poker game, and adds an element of fun; it would be dull indeed and a different game altogether if no-one ever bluffed. Everyone would know how you play your hand and you would never win a decent amount. All good online poker players are always skilled in the fine art of bluffing.

A online poker player bluffs when he is otherwise unlikely to win a particular hand, or when he wants to force other people off the hand. A skilful player figures out the profitability of a bluff by weighing up the odds of a winning bluff against risk resulting from the sizes of the bet that he has to commit into the pot. His chances improve if he can more accurately predict whether or not his opponents will give up, believing his bluff.

Some important points you should bear in mind before making a bluff are:

  1. The type and number of people you are playing against
  2. The image you have at that particular table
  3. Your ability to predict your opponents’ behavior, the board, and your current position.

Let us consider these points. If your opponents are weak and will call anything blindly, avoid bluffing. Your rival should have the sense to fold! And if you are playing against more than three online poker players; your bluff is less likely to work.

Your table image is relevant too. If you have been bluffing unsuccessfully, and your opponents have seen your previous bluffs, then any further attempt at bluffing is more likely to be called. The reverse psychology here also works though – if you have a tight table image, and your opponents haven’t seen you try to bluff, then you will get a lot more respect for your bets and will be able to introduce a number of bluffs to table and have a better chance of getting away with them.

If you’re a skilful, experienced online poker player, you’ll know when and how to bluff – not an easy thing to learn. Try to bluff when there aren’t many draws or chances of your opponents improving their hand. Uncoordinated boards where there is a single scare card that you may represent have a good likelihood of helping you carry off a successful bluff. Be wary of big pots – your fellow online poker players will be more likely to call your bluff in these cases – even though you will win more in such pots. Judge well!

A online poker player in late position will have more information about his rivals’ hands as they are acting after everybody else and thus be able to better judge whether the situation offers an opportunity to bluff.
There are other techniques you can use while bluffing. Sometimes you can use a half-way bluff or sometimes known as a semi-bluff, when your hand still has possibilities or outs to win the hand, but you also give yourself a second chance to take the hand down there and then with a bluff. This is also a good way to mix up your play as it will confuse the others about your bluffing behavior, too.

Never try to out-bluff a bluffer and don’t try to fool a whole lot of people at once. Remember, it is impossible to fool all the people all the time, as the old adage says! Learn how others play; and use it to your advantage to pick your spots.

Think carefully about all these points before making a decision about bluffing while playing online poker and you will find yourself picking better spots and enjoying more success with your bluffs.

08.05.2012 Online Poker No Comments

Poker Strategy to select a Perfect Poker Table

A Poker strategy explains how to play a particular poker game at any instance. But many players don’t pay attention to some small but important aspects of poker strategy. There are times when a player opens up lobby and select any cash game with pre-decided buy-in without considering type of table. Choosing a right table is a poker strategy which can fetch one huge pots on cash games.

Poker Strategy

Poker Strategy

Sometimes there are myths or superstitions associated with choosing a poker table. A technique should be devised which lets one know which factors should be considered that are appropriate enough for selecting any poker table accurately within your buyins.

One poker strategy can be applied which all poker players worldwide should use while selecting any poker table at any poker room.

Select table with more activity

Selecting a table with enormous activity is quite a good poker strategy. This does not mean if you are not a professional player you won’t be able to play on such table. Table with more activity itself says there are many players with high risk taking ability. Continue playing your normal game. Here the poker strategy is to bet more when you have excellent cards. There are most chances at such tables that 25% of the players will call your bet. So, always select a table with more Average Pot Size.

Players per flop percent

One poker strategy is to find a poker table with high players per flop percent. It is a tendency for fishes to call or bet more. Good poker players take advantage of this activity of fishes. Whenever you see a particular table with more players per flop percent this is a better table to take a seat. This poker strategy is being followed by many good poker players regularly.

Hands Per Hour

More the activity from a table more benefits you have. So, a table with more number of hands per hour is much better to play. More number of hands will mean the game is fast and involves a mix of fishes and regular players. It’s a good poker strategy to choose such tables.

Waiting List

Once or other time you might have thought why many players want to join a particular table when there are already similar stack games available. The answer is more activity on that table and it is for sure two or more fishes are helping others to build their bankroll. You are always advised to take a seat on such table as early as you can. If such fishes get ousted then there is no meaning in joining such table later. So, better you be within first 3 players on such table.

Short or Mini Stakes best time to play

Players intend to play when they have time. Many play for fun while some play for income. Most numbers of short and mini stake players can be seen online only after working hours in their respective countries. So be it any continent or any country, number of players drastically increase during evening and is at good strength till prior to midnight. This poker strategy should always be followed to increase your chances of hitting numerous pots.

22.04.2012 Poker News, Poker Strategy No Comments

The Keys To Successful Multi-Tabling Online Poker

The advent of online poker brought with it the ability to find a game at any time of day without having to leave your own home.

  • Suddenly gone were the days of having to travel hours to find a online poker game.
  • Gone with them was having to put up with getting 20 hands an hour from an incompetent dealer.
  • Now we can play as many games as we want at the same time, limited only by our reaction time and our stamina.
online poker

online poker

Multi-Tabling Online Poker Has Changed the Game Forever:

  • Multi-tabling online poker has changed the way online poker is played.
  • Never before could someone make a living playing $10/$25, but you can bet your bottom dollar there are more than a few people 20-tabling “the quarter” now for a tidy monthly sum.
  • Many people – mostly live poker nits – believe that multi-tabling is a waste of time.
  • Their rationale is that when playing multiple tables, it’s impossible to give each decision the required amount of thought.
  • To a certain extent these naysayers are right.
  • Playing more online poker tables tables does cut back on the time you have to make crucial strategic decisions.
  • So, yes: when multi-tabling online poker, you generally won’t be able to play your absolute A++ game.
  • However, because you’re playing so many more hands, your A game on four tables is going to net you more money in the long run than your super A++ game on one table.

This is why people multi-table.

  • They give up a small edge in their decision-making ability to gain a large edge in sheer volume of hands and, in the end, profitability.

Start Small:

  • If you’re just learning to play online poker, multi-tabling is not for you.
  • Before you start adding more tables, you should master playing just one.
  • Seeing more hands per hour means you’ll have to make more decisions. Having to make decisions in a number of pots at the same time can overwhelm new players.
  • The last situation you want to face is to be contemplating a large river raise on one table and then time out with aces on another.
  • Start out slowly. Nobody runs before they walk.
  • If you are having trouble following the action on one or two tables, don’t add more. Slowly ease your way into playing more than one game.
  • Once you’re comfortable playing one game, add another. If that makes you feel too pressured, drop back to one game.
  • Otherwise, you’ll make bad decisions.
  • Bad decisions lead to losing money in online poker, which, clearly, is the opposite of what you want to accomplish by adding more tables.
  • If you feel overwhelmed when in the middle of a session, just relax and play some ABC online poker.
  • There’s no need to get fancy. With the extra tables you’re on, you’re going to be getting many more hands an hour.
  • You can pass up those marginal situations because another, more profitable situation is just around the corner.

Recognize Your Tough Spot in Online Poker:

  • It doesn’t matter if you’re playing four tables or 14: when the decisions start piling up, you have to be able to prioritize.
  • You need to be able to quickly recognize which decisions are easy and which decisions require more thought while playing online poker.
  • In the heat of battle, you’ll rarely come up against multiple deep-thinking decisions all at once.
  • Often you’re going to be faced with one tough decision and several easy decisions.
  • What you should do is recognize your tough spot, take a good look at the situation and give that decision all of your brain power.
  • Then go around to your other tables and make the easy pre-flop raise/fold/call decisions on autopilot.
  • A good multi-tabler can give a setup on one table deep thought while simultaneously acting on completely different situations on other tables.

Don’t Get Complacent on Table Selection:

  • Once you start playing six or more tables, things can get pretty hectic.
  • Since you’re making decisions every few seconds, it can be easy to get complacent on table selection.
  • This is a mistake.
  • Just because you are playing more tables does not mean you should stay at a table with a LAG who’s three-betting all of your openings.
  • If the table is too tight for your tastes, or you have an aggressive player on your left, seek out better games.
  • There’s no reason to subject yourself to those conditions when there are hundreds of games available at any given time.

Know Your Limit, Play Within It:

  • This lottery commission slogan rings true for multi-tabling as well.
  • Don’t ever play more tables than you are comfortable with.
  • This applies to old salts as much as it does to those new to multi-tabling.
  • Everyone has a critical mass of tables they can manage/pay attention to the action on and still be profitable.
  • When you find that point, stick with it.
  • Once you start playing too many tables and going on autopilot for your big decisions, the law of diminishing returns sets in.
  • Your game, and ultimately your profits, will suffer.
  • Don”t let this happen to you.
  • Autopilot is a necessary evil to a degree when multi-tabling, but letting it take over completely will cost you money. Online Poker requires thought.

 

Online Poker Requires Thought:

  • Online Poker is a game that requires thought; there’s no way around it.
  • So find that magic number of tables that you can pay attention to and stick with that.
  • Playing online is all about maximizing your expectation. Good players do this by playing more tables.
  • It may seem difficult at first, but it will come to you with time.
  • If you’re only playing one table at a time online, you’re leaving money on the table.
  • If you’re a winning player multi table online poker you should have no trouble, with a little adjustment, adding a few more tables.

 

05.04.2012 Online Poker, Poker Tips No Comments

Making The Jump To High Stakes Online Poker

Making the jump from small stakes to high stakes online poker tables can be a daunting prospect for many players. There are many factors to consider when attempting this transition including skill differences, bankroll criteria and psychological issues such as confidence with large sums of money. This article will look at making the jump to high stakes online poker in terms of ensuring you are ready for the move, and discuss how to make this jump a profitable one.

Online Poker

Online Poker

Bankroll

We start by looking at the key factor of bankroll management – how to decide when your bankroll is big enough to take a shot at the high stakes tables. Next some of the skill differences between high and low stakes are outlined. Finally the psychological aspects, including dissociating yourself from the money involved are covered.

While bankroll management is not the most glamorous of online poker subjects, it is a key skill for any profitable player. Moving up to the high stakes online poker tables without sufficient funds to do so will usually end in going broke – even if you are skilled enough to play well at the higher levels the natural variance in the game is difficult to overcome in the short-term.

Bankroll management guidelines suggest having 20 buy-ins as a minimum for the level at which you play. This acts as insurance against a bad-beat or cold run of cards taking away too much of your online poker bankroll. Holding 20 buy-ins at the high stakes tables you have a good enough bankroll to move up. Having the discipline to move back down if your bankroll shrinks to 12 or 15 buy-ins will provide an extra safety net. Moving back down temporarily to rebuild at the level you are already profitable at will allow you to take multiple shots at the high stakes tables over time – sweating it out with a diminished roll can lead to going broke.

Skills

As a rule, the higher you go in stakes the lower the number of ‘unforced errors’ your opponents will make. This means that the high stakes tables rely more on your superior online poker skills than the lower stakes tables. Skills such as hand reading, bet sizing strategy and thinking one level above your opponent become critical to your high stakes online poker success. Before moving up you will need to objectively analyze your abilities in these areas and spend some time working on any areas identified as requiring this.

Psychology

Psychology comes into play when moving up. Winning online poker players tend to play positive and aggressive online poker when the situation warrants this. Ask yourself the question whether the higher betting limits could affect your decision making processes. For example if you would have called a pot-sized bet at the low stakes would you still call a pot sized bet many times larger under the same circumstances? It is easy to answer ‘yes’ to this question while away from the tables. If you find that the high stakes do affect your natural game then moving back down to build your bankroll further before taking the next shot may be the most profitable move.

Conclusion

To summarize, every high stakes online poker player started somewhere and the jump between levels is a natural part of any player’s online poker development. To ensure your move up is successful first make sure your bankroll is big enough to sustain variance at the high stakes. Secondly objectively assess your online poker skills and work on any areas that

22.03.2012 Online Poker No Comments

Satellite Tournament Strategy

Satellite poker tournaments are often organized by online poker rooms and offer seats to prestigious events, such as the World Series of Poker, as prizes. Many players consider satellite poker tournaments as their only chance to actually make it to the big stage since buying in to a major event usually requires a hefty financial investment.

Satellite Tournament Strategy

Satellite Tournament Strategy

There are three kinds of satellites typically hosted by online poker destinations:

1. Winner-take all satellite poker tournaments -

A tournament in which only the ultimate winner will collect the one and only prize, a tournament seat.

2. Low buy-in events -

This kind of competition usually has very low buy-ins. The catch is that very few seats are actually awarded. For every 80 people entering, there will be only or two major event seats offered.

3. High buy-in satellite -

The odds of a player actually nabbing a seat to the WSOP or other event through a high buy-in satellite has the best odds. For every twenty people entering such a tournament one fortunate player will receive a coveted seat to a land-based event. Although these satellite poker tournaments give better odds for a seat, they are often very pricey and the buy-in is quite expensive and often scares off poker beginners.

Winner-Take All Poker Satellite Tournament Strategy:

Your main goal when you play in winner-take all poker satellite tournaments is to win all the chips. You need to play fairly aggressively and it is often smart to go all-in. Don’t give up without a fight. This kind of tournament typically attracts people with little or average poker skills . Participants will often make mistakes because they feel they have nothing to lose. On the other hand, luck plays a huge role in such events, so beginners who somehow happen to play their cards right actually have a certain chance at finding themselves competing against WSOP pros.

Low Buy-In Satellite Tournament Strategy:

As we have already mentioned such events imply lots of players with relatively few WSOP seats to be awarded. You need to pick a good strategy and stick to it. Remember, your goal is not to beat all your opponents and win the tournament, but to finish in a WSOP package place.

Small stack thinking:

In most satellite poker tournaments you need to avoid having the smallest stack at the table. This is because players with the smallest stacks typically tend to become targets for elimination. Players with larger stacks often attack small-stacked opponents because they figure that even if they lose against such opponents they would still continue playing in the tournament.

There is no potential gain from going after a someone with a large chip stack because he is unlikely to be pushed out of the game. Furthermore, such a move can risk your own participation in the event. The best strategy in such cases is to try and keep an average-sized stack. To blend in, so to speak. Be aggressive, don’t hesitate.

However, if you do ultimately find yourself in a situation in which you happen to have the smallest stack at the table, you need to regain some power really quickly. Stealing blinds is the most efficient strategy in such cases. If your stack is small, but not hopelessly small, steal as many blinds as you possibly can. Additionally, if you see your opponents attacking each other without any sense to it, we advise you to apply selective aggression. Despite the fact that your position is the weakest, you may still benefit from others foolishly raising one another.

High Buy-In Satellite Tournament Strategy:

High buy-in satellite poker tournaments offer more major seats for winning players. For every 800 entrants there will typically be 40 major event seats offered for instance. This facilitates the way for players with winning aspirations. Basically, you can apply the same strategy as in low buy-in satellites. Don’t act impulsively so you don’t squander your chips. Having medium-sized chips stack is the most perfect condition. Be very attentive, especially towards the end of the Satellite Tournament game and try to steal blinds.

09.03.2012 Poker Strategy, Poker Tournaments No Comments

What Are The Rules To Telesina Online Poker?

Most of the online poker players know only the most popular poker variant i.e. Texas Hold’em due to its simplicity. There are some other interesting poker variants played by comparatively less number of online poker players. One of them is Telesina.

online poker

online poker

Telesina is known to poker players since a long time. Its origin is in Italy. Gradually this less known poker play dispersed to world. It’s interesting for Texas Hold’em players to know that Telesina is played by using only 32 cards deck unlike 52 cards deck in Texas Hold’em. This makes this game very distinct from regular poker games. As the number of cards is just 32, maximum 6 players can play Telesina at one time.

Other interesting fact about Telesina is, it is best enjoyed playing Pot Limit. Most of the players online prefer to play Telesina with Pot Limit format. Telesina can also be played in Limit and No Limit format. In Pot Limit there is no chance for any player to increase bet beyond the Pot. The bet is restricted. This helps players to play at higher stakes with less chances of losing out more money.

Similar to Texas Hold’em, Telesina has strongest and weakest hands. The weakest hand in Telesina is High card. High card is a hand when the hand does not fit into pair, set, straight, flush. Any player having High card has most chances of losing the hand. Players generally fold the High card hand. The strongest hand to win is Straight Flush.

Last but not the least; Telesina has got lots of similarities to 5 Card Stud online poker. Some online poker players consider it to be a variant of 5 card Stud poker. This is because some online poker rules of Telesina are similar to those of 5 Card Stud online poker.

 

Number of players: 2-5 Deck: Stripped deck containing 7-A of each suit.

Limits:   No limit

Blinds/ante:   The game is played with blinds and two blinds are posted, small blind and big blind. The player to the left of the dealer posts small blind and the player to the left of small blind posts big blind.

Initial deal:   One pocket card and one face-up card to each player.

Telesina is a variation of Five Card Stud with the following important exceptions:

  • The deck contains 32 cards. Cards valued 2-6 have been removed,leaving 7-A of each suit in the deck.
  • The highest open combination starts the action in each betting round, including the first. This means that any player – including the dealer, small blind or big blind – could be first to act in the first betting round.
  • Blinds are used instead of antes. A small blind is posted by the first active player to the left of the dealer and a big blind is posted by the second active player to the left of the dealer (identical to Texas Hold’em blind logic). A dealer button is used to indicate the dealer position.
  • Players who fold will not have their cards thrown in the muck. Instead, their face up cards will remain visible on the table until the end of the round. There are four betting rounds in total, followed by the showdown.

Winner:  Highest hand according to the standard online poker hand rules.

26.02.2012 Online Poker No Comments

How To Play 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo

online poker

online poker

7 Card Stud Hi/Lo online poker game is very similar to 7 Card Stud, except the pot is split between a high hand (the same as in 7 Card Stud) and a low hand (which is based on five cards that start at eight or below).

Before a game starts, each player must post an ‘ante’, a mandatory amount that ensures there is some money in the pot. In stud poker games, there are no community cards. Instead, the dealer begins by dealing clockwise until each player has three cards. The first two cards are dealt face down (‘hole’ cards), the third face up (the ‘door’ card).

7 Card Stud is divided into five rounds of betting, and the betting moves clockwise around the table.

If two or more players tie by holding equally-strong winning five-card hands, the pot will be split between the tying players. If there is an odd chip, it will be given to the winner of the high hand.

Betting Structure of 7 Card Stud Hi Low:

Opening the Betting

The player with the lowest-ranking up card starts the game with a token bet called the ‘bring-in’. (If two or more players have the same lowest card, the bring-in is determined by suit in alphabetical order: clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.)

Third Street

Once the bring-in bet has been made, each player (starting with the player to the left of the bring-in) can fold, call, or raise to the betting limit.

Fourth Street

On 4th Street all players have 2 hole cards and 2 board/open cards. The betting action on this round begins with the player with the highest 2-card poker hand. This is the last round of betting at the lower limit.

Fifth Street

After the betting action on 4th Street is complete each player is dealt a 5th card, face up. The betting action on this round is the first round of betting at the higher limit. This card and this betting action are called 5th Street.

Sixth Street

Everyone is dealt another up card. The player with the highest combination of up cards starts the betting.

Seventh Street or The River

Everyone is dealt their final down card. The same player who started the last round again starts the betting.

The Showdown

If there is more than one player left in the game, there is a showdown. During the showdown, the players reveal their cards and the highest hand wins half the pot, and the lowest low hand wins the other half. The same player can have both the best high and low hands, or, if none of the online poker players has a low hand, then the highest hand wins the entire pot.

05.02.2012 Poker Rules No Comments

Bluffing in 5 Card Draw Online poker

Five Card Draw Online Poker Bluffing Strategies:

online poker

online poker

Like any game it’s essential to learn how to bluff and more importantly when to bluff. Five Card Draw Online poker is no different although it’s expected that the number of bluffs you’ll be able to pull off successfully will be significantly lower than bluffing in Omaha or Hold’em. If you expect to gain an edge over your opponents and win their money, you’re going to need to know how to bluff in 5 Card Draw.

Five Card Draw online poker is very different from the other games of Online poker. In this game a pair of deuces can take down the pot which is highly rare in the other variations. This is why bluffing can be both optimal and difficult and very much dependant on the right circumstances.

How to Bluff in Five Card Draw Online poker

The game Five Card Draw online poker consists of three draws and four betting rounds. It’s these draws and bets that give you the information you need to make an educated decision as to whether you should bluff the other players or not. Just like bluffing in Hold’em, you want to make sure your able to narrow down the competition as much as possible. Ideally you shouldn’t attempt to bluff more than two of the other players at your table and attention to detail is necessary. Draw gives you three critical pieces of information to help you put your opponents on a range of hands.

Their initial bet, the number of cards they discard and pick up, and the final bet. By the second round you should have a pretty clear indication or where you are in relation to the other players if they are still discarding 2 – 3 cards. In a scenario such as this, you can be fairly certain their hands are weak at best.

Two Types of Bluffs in 5 Card Draw Online Poker– A Made Hand and a Weak Hand

There are essentially two ways to bluff in five card draw online poker. You can choose to represent a made hand by which you would simply stand pat during each of the draws, or choose to represent a weak or fairly marginal hand by checking and calling your way through the game. Be wary of both plays. A made hand should only be represented when you’re absolutely sure your opponents have nothing. More often than not, players will go to showdown with a pair, even if it is a pair of three’s. Your best course of action if you plan on bluffing the made hand is to do so only when you’ve been dealt a pair yourself. This will at least ensure that you have a safety net in case the player does call you down.

Representing a weak hand can also be quite tricky. Suppose you’ve been dealt four of a kind and want to extract the most value from your hand. Your options would be to bet or check-call, however you don’t want to nail a monster and not get paid off at all. The best choice here would be to make one bet equal to the big blind. The bet would be just enough to allow the other players to see another card cheaply, and not too much that they would be tempted to fold. When they do take their draw you would also take a draw using your 5th card. This would show your opponents that you’re probably betting for value assuming you were drawing to a straight or flush. If the opposite were true, and your opponents bet for you, simply check the hand till you’re absolutely positive they’ve made second best at which point raising should pay off nicely.

Last but not least, remember the golden rule to bluffing. If you think it’s going to fail and you’re fairly certain your opponents have you beat, do not toss more chips into the pot. Just fold! Five Card Draw online poker is a very easy game to play. Either you have it or you don’t and if your opponents think they stand a chance they will call you regardless.  If you’re new to the draw games you may want to read our 5 Card Draw Online poker strategy article which will give you a few basic tips and pointers to beating draw games.

 

24.01.2012 Online Poker, Poker Guides No Comments

Qualities Required to Become Online Poker Pro

Online Poker

Online Poker

The following is a list of star qualities that online poker players should possess in order to become world class players and join the ranks of the true online poker stars.

1) Focus while playing online poker:

You must constantly be concentrating on the online poker game you’re in whether or not you’re in a hand. You must always be paying complete attention to everything going on around you. Sometimes when you’re playing, you might find yourself “in the zone”, where your mind is just taking in everything it can get its grasp on. During these surreal times you might find yourself making absolutely poetic plays. Amazing lay downs, perfectly timed bluffs, or just a great call that you think you may have missed if everything hadn’t been just so.

2) Emotional discipline:

You cannot be susceptible to getting rattled or perturbed when playing. If you’re losing you must not allow it to affect your play. Just as important, you can’t allow yourself to get reckless because you’re ahead. You must always play one hand at a time. It’s easy to become bored after folding nine crap hands in a row and decide to play a bad hand out of position just because it’s the best hand you’ve had in awhile. You must resist the temptation. That mediocre A6o doesn’t know it’s the best hand you’ve had all night, and it’s not going to perform any better for you now than if it’d been you’re first hand of the night.

3) Reading skills:

All the really great Online poker players are able to get a good idea of the quality of hand you might be holding by combining what they know about body language and psychology, along with analyzing your betting patterns. Also, using good memorization and deductive reasoning, they play back the all the prior action in the hand (and even in other hands they’ve seen you play) in order to unravel the mystery of your hole cards through the process of elimination.

4) Observance and recall:

You must pay close attention to each online poker player at your table, especially the ones closest to your right and left. Good Online poker players pay a lot of attention to how you play and they pay special attention to what starting hands you will play in what position. Then they are able to use their recall to make decisions during game play based on what they’ve previously learned of you. Some of the truly greats say that they don’t even have to do this consciously anymore. That is definitely something we should all strive for.

5) Creativity:

Sometimes the standard play isn’t the right play. Crafty online poker players have the ability to create traps that have even the best of them scratching their heads wondering how they fell for it.

6) Passion and commitment:

No one can become a world-class online poker player overnight. You must be willing to put the time and energy in. It requires many hours of studying and playing. Mostly it requires a love for the game.

7) Energy:

In order to win a big one, you may sometimes play for hours a day and even several days in a row. It can assuredly become physically and especially mentally taxing. There are more than a few pros who work out at the gym on a regular basis to keep themselves sharp.

8 ) Bankroll management:

There are probably more would-be-pros that washed their hopes and dreams down the drain by not effectively playing within their means than by any other way. You have to learn how to effectively manage your money because anyone can go on a losing streak. You have to budget yourself in a way that your bankroll is able to handle the swings.

9) Table presence:

Some players just have it, some don’t. If you are able to effectively present yourself in a way that gives you an edge, you are automatically starting the game in a favorable position. Some players have spent years manufacturing a table image that projects exactly the ideal of themselves that they want people to believe, all the while playing in a way that is very much the contrary. This is a skill or talent that few online poker players ever master, but it is the hallmark of a true rounder.

10) Humility:

You must be more concerned about your profit margin than what people think of your ability to play. By broadcasting how good you are, you may not only give away too much of your playing style but you also run the risk of turning other online poker players who had been just there to have fun into serious threats by reminding them that this is a game that some take seriously. Humility also allows you to learn from players who are better than you or at least have something to teach you.

11) Meticulous attention for detail:

When you’re in a game and when you’re not, this is a very necessary character trait. If you don’t have it, develop it. Besides making mental notes during a session, actual physical note taking and tracking of results is definitely a star quality that can be learned or developed. I don’t know the exact statistics as to how many professional online poker players track their play and how many don’t, but I can guarantee you the correlation is completely substantial.

12) Energy sensitivity:

I don’t know another way to describe a player’s instinctive ability to bluff and call with expert timing. I would also use energy sensitivity to describe a star online poker player’s ability to fold a hand where all the math and hand history seems to point towards a call. I’ve seen players make incredible lay downs that I could not put into any terms my mind could grasp. Some players just seem to be able to smell strength and weakness in a way that seems almost supernatural.

13) Patience:

Patience may be the single most important quality to learn as an online poker player. In every form of online poker the most fundamentally correct playing style is tight and aggressive. You have to have the patience to wait for great hands to push with. Many online poker players know this and yet lack the discipline required to hold off when they experience a run of bad cards. Maybe if you’ve drawn bad hands ten times in a row, which A9 starts to look pretty good. You can’t manufacture a good hand, so sometimes the best you can do is limit your losses. You have to wait for the correct opportunities. Patience is a characteristic online poker player that sort of melts into a lot of the other “star qualities” we’ve discussed.

14.01.2012 Online Poker, Poker Guides No Comments

5 Card Draw Poker Strategy & Rules

Poker Strategy

Poker Strategy

5 Card Draw – The Game

This 5 card draw beginners guide should give you a basic idea for the concepts and basic poker strategy to one of the oldest formats of poker. Because it is old, does not mean that 5 Card Draw Poker is without merit and indeed, there are many online poker rooms that have now added this classic game to their lobby of tournaments and cash games.

The 5 Card Draw Poker Rules Are Simple

Much like Hold’em, we have the dealer button followed by a small blind (SB) and a big blind (BB). In tournaments or Sit and Go’s, the 5 card draw is usually played at Limit or Pot-Limit stakes with an ascending blind structure, often including an ante (e.g. often a tournament may begin with the SB = 5, BB = 10 with an ante for all players of 1).

1) Each player is dealt 5 cards face down. After looking at your hole cards, there is one round of betting started by the player to the left of the big blind.

2) Once the betting round is complete, we enter the draw phase where players can exchange from 0 to 5 cards (sometimes 0 to 4) with the dealer. This round, as with all the rounds, commences with the player to the left of the big blind.

3) After the draw has been made, there is a final round of betting culminating in a showdown or won pot should all but one player fold.

Basic 5 Card Draw Poker Strategy

Betting Tendencies

Watch the game closely as you play and try to pick up on any of your opponent’s betting tendencies and different poker strategy used by the. Most players have betting tendencies which they might not even notice and if you can pick up on them you’ll be able to make more money. Remember that your opponents will be trying to do the same thing so your poker strategy should also consist of making sure you don’t become predictable at the tables.

Have Patience

In order to win money consistently at 5 card draw you need a lot of patience and you can’t mind waiting through bad hands. A bad habit to pick up is to draw to inside straights or flushes because they don’t hit that often. If you’re going to chase an inside straight or a flush then you should ensure you’re getting good pot odds to chase the draw.

Avoid Chasing: – Most important poker strategy:

The most solid 5 card draw players will rarely play any hands other then when they’re dealt a pair, open ended straight or four card flush with a high kicker. Of course you need to still bluff some pots when you don’t hit a hand, but avoid chasing and try to only play hands you have a good chance of winning.

Try To Hide Monsters

Try to hide when you hit a monster hand so that your opponents are left guessing as to what you have in your hand. For instance, if you have trips you could draw 1 instead of 2 cards and your opponents might think you have two pairs instead of trips. Poker strategy like this can payoff because you could draw potential opponents in the pot through disguising your hand as something weaker than it really is.

Position

Position is vital at the 5 card draw tables and the later you act the better off you’ll be because you’ll get to see how many cards the opponents in front of you draw. This will give you insight as to how strong your hand might be and if it’s worth playing the hand or not.

Conclusion:

5 Card Draw Poker is almost the ultimate bluff game so be sure that you only make worthwhile value calls when you feel you are probably behind.  Try to use these winning tips and poker strategy next time you’re sitting down at the tables and I guarantee you see much more success. The key is to not play to many hands and waste money chasing draws and such hands when you could be saving your money for when you have a real hand.

28.12.2011 Poker Rules, Poker Strategies, Poker Strategy No Comments

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