Poker Essentials

Hold Em Genius Review

2008-03-03T03:50:00.000-08:00

Holdem Genius Review

There is a vast amount of money up for grabs in the world of online poker; all you have to do is know how to get it. One tool that can help you gain a competitive advantage over your opponents and help you label the fish in online poker is Hold Em Genius. This particular tool is a Poker Odds Calculator and features advanced odds calculation, including pot odds, immediate outs, and up to the minute instant betting advice. If you are a dedicated online poker player than you will know that we are always looking for ways to improve our game strategies, and gain a competitive edge over our competition, HoldEm Genius could prove to be a very useful tool; hence I am going to write a detailed review and let you judge for yourself if this tool could help improve your game.

HoldEm Genius is a comprehensive, easy to use poker odds calculator which analyses pot odds, hand odds and other factors to instantly determine whether a hand is worth playing. Along with offering Odds it also offers advice on what the player should do in the hand e.g. check or bet, this can be a great way for a complete novice to learn the game. With an easy to understand interface and varying scale depending on your style of play, HoldEm genius is both adaptive and can be extremely useful for any online poker player.

To be quite honest Holdem Genius isn’t the best poker odds calculator on the market, in my opinion it does fall behind Holdem Indicator, however not many online calculators can be compared to Hold Em Indicator as it is probably significantly ahead of the competition (Hold Em Indicator Review). Nonetheless Holdem Genius is a great piece of software in its own regards, it has a few unique features such as the ‘Top Hands’ and the ‘Next Card’ Feature. This software is also great for the complete novice; as this software can be used to inform the player exactly how to play the hand right up to the showdown. Advanced players will benefit no doubt as, the software is useful in providing instant pot odds and percentages of making your draws and the chance of success with your current hand, thus saving the time and stress of calculating these yourself.

HoldEm genius automatically attaches itself to any open poker room and begins to calculate as soon as you are dealt a hand. A great feature available to Hold Em Genius is that you can play multiple tables while having the program running, I have used it on as many as four different tables at once and I'm sure it can be used on many more simultaneously, however, I would recommend to use it on a maximum of three as it can get pretty confusing.

As previously stated, HoldEm Genius is very easy to use because the program attaches itself to border of the window of the poker room you are using. Therefore, all the information you need is accessible in one window without the need to toggle between the software and the poker room. The information is laid out in easy to read tables and the recommended action (i.e fold, check or bet/raise) is placed in the centre of the screen making it as easy as possible to use the software without obscuring the view or interfering with the poker room.

The "Game Info" window summarizes all the relevant data needed for you. Aside from your current hand and the software's latest advice, you can see your hand rank, position in relation to the button, and the number of opponents in (and folded).

Additionally, you can see the latest calculated odds for winning at the river, the current pot size, and call amount, if any. If the current state of the hand is pre-flop, you will also see the % chance you will flop the best hand. If the game is post-flop, you will see your % chance of drawing out (drawing cards that will give you the best hand). Note that if you already hold a very good hand, your % chance of drawing out may be very low (because you won't need to draw to win).

Finally, this window will give you pot odds. Pre-flop, the pot odds are shown in comparison to your odds of having the "top flop" (best hand on the flop). Post-flop, pot odds are compared to your odds of drawing out, and after the river, they are compared to your odds of holding the best hand. In each case, you will either see a color coded "Favorable", "Even", or "Not Good".

A few features unique and exclusive to HoldEm Genius are the 'Next Card...' window and the 'Top Hands' window. The "Next Card" window gives your "simple outs" at a quick glance. If you are one card away from a straight, for example, you can see this instantly. The Top Hands feature displays the top 25 hole cards for the hand being played. The display updates as the hand continues. Thus - if two threes flop, the top hole hand is '3,3'. Useful? In practice the 'Top Hand' window is most useful when a robust flop occurs and you think you've got the nuts, and you’re not quite sure.

Some of the other capabilities that Holdem Genius comprises are that, the program has the ability to advise the player if they are holding the nuts, along with what hands might beat this hand and what the odds are of making a hand such as a straight or a flush at the river. Hold Em Genius is also capable of being customized to a player’s style. This means it can be adjusted for aggressive, loose or tight play as many poker players use different types of play depending on how the other players at the table are playing.

Although Hold Em Genius is a great piece of software there are a few disadvantages, and as a fellow poker player I feel obligated to inform you. Firstly concerning the advice factor of the program, you should not 100% strictly adhere to the advice this program offers, although it may make you a consistent profit in the long run, it will considerably take the fun and enjoyment out of the game and before you know it you will be a robot just clicking buttons. However I am not saying ignore the advice completely, only take it into consideration, and take advantage of using the other invaluable data available such as pot odds and % of drawing out to make your decisions. The second disappointment is that Hold Em genius isn’t an empirical odds calculator. In this department, it loses out significantly to Hold Em Indicator, I’d love to see a player tracking tool integrated with Hold Em Genius, but it’s not happening. That would really cause Hold Em Indicator to have some significant competition.

In conclusion Hold Em Genius is a great piece of software that can benefit any poker player, whether they may be a novice or a seasoned pro. It earns high regards for covering the essentials of online poker odds calculators and it offers some unique extras. If you’re interested in - top hands or drawing out odds than Holdem Genius is for you, it is the only Odds Calculator I am aware of that offers these metrics. In addition - Holdem Genius places hand probability right on the poker table and you can play multiple tables at once while using the software. The best thing about Hold Em Genius is that you can get it for FREE, all you have to do is to sign-up to an online poker room of your choice through their website , seems like a good deal when playing poker is the whole purpose of using the tool. Try it, and if you don’t like it you haven’t lost anything.

Click Here to Claim Your FREE License

How to Play Poker Sit-N-Gos - Taking Advantage of Players Trying to Reach The Money

2008-03-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

When many players come into Sit-N-Go’s, they just have one thing in mind which is making the money. Many players will just sit there and play hardly any hands, until they actually are in the money. They avoid the action early on unless they have a monster hand. If you notice one of these players, take notes on them and think about what they may be holding before you commit almost all your chips against them.

Players that play solely for any place in the money typically sit back and watch others knock each other out. Once they get in the money they will start to loosen up, constantly trying to double up often or they will continue to play tight and hope that the other two in the money will knock each other out before their blinds are ate up.

A lot of people ask, “What is the best strategy to use if you’re just trying to make the money?” The answer to this question is to play very tight throughout the Sit-N-Go tournament. In most Sit-N-Go’s you will enter, you will play and win just enough hands early on to give you a chip stack to last you throughout the tournament. So it’s wise to play tight until the money and then once you reach the money you should GREATLY loosen up your game. Understand that you are already in the money, so if you can double up once or twice and even knock out a person, then it’s smooth sailing from here to win. Obviously, you can’t be guaranteed first every time. It just isn’t gonna happen. Bad beats are a part of poker, being able to not tilt is another.

Here are some more great tips in securing first place in a Sit-N-Go. When you play for first place you must remember that to become a winning Sit-N-Go player, you will have to shoot for first place every time rather than just worrying about making the money. Trying to just hold on to make 3rd place and into the money will not cut it if that’s your general outlook on the situation. Clearly, sometimes you will have a huge chip lead over the other players and you have nothing other than first in mind, but what I am talking about is when you’re sitting at the lower to middle end of tournament chips. You must always remember that the house usually takes a pretty big portion of every Sit-N-Go buy in, 10% which is kind of ridiculous. If you try making 3rd and that is it, your profits won’t be very much and you will not be able to make a living playing Sit-N-Go’s with this mindset. You have to mentally prepare yourself for first every time! A first place finish usually pays 2-3 times more than third so just because you make it into the money you CAN’T LET UP!

To win first, you’re going to have to mix in a tight game plan with aggressive play, but still play smart at all times. You need to play tight in the early stages, while still taking chances as well. Since the blinds during this time will be minute, you can take more chances and if you happen to lose a large part of your stack then the blinds still will not threaten your stack. When I say CHANCES, I mean favorable chances, such as a flush draw with over cards, open ended, etc…I see this a lot on Full Tilt Poker or Paradise Poker.

Remember, your goal is to build your chips in the middle stage to prepare for the final stage. Once you develop a comfortable stack, you can boss around the table and force people out when you’re normally couldn’t. It will be better to go out early than to bubble by trying to hold on until third place. There is nothing wrong with third place, I mean you are still making money; it just takes 3 third place wins to equal the profit of one first place win. Just remember, poker is unpredictable the way the cars fall, and sometimes the hands go your way and they don’t. You may have to wait until the middle round before you even get a hand to start building your stack for the late stages.

To win first, you’re going to have to mix in a tight game plan with aggressive play, but still play smart at all times. Punish your opponent for bluffing and show them who is boss. Practice, Practice, Practice…you CAN’T get enough of this. Learn poker, every aspect of it. Online Texas Holdem provides lots of excitement for a passionate poker player especially if you’re winning time after time. Knowing your poker odds heads up will also cause you lots of success.

Keep The Right Mindset

2008-02-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

Poker can be an exciting game. Because it is played against other players and not against the house, it is also possible for a player to win at it in the long run.

However, always remember to keep your poker ego in check. First, the vast majority of people who play poker lose. For someone to win at poker, someone else has to lose. Also, the house takes a rake. If everyone at the table were of equal skill, everyone would expect to lose in the long run because of the amount of money paid in rake (of course, this doesn't apply to home games). So to win at poker, you need to be more skilled than your opponents, and you need to be skilled enough to beat the rake.

Furthermore, don't be naive and think you can be a guaranteed winner overnight. Poker is a tough game. Some people have played poker for years and still cannot become winning players. You are not going to just read a few articles and become a dominating poker player right off the bat. It takes skill, practice, and patience to become a good poker player.

Also, just because you do well at one type of poker does not necessarily mean you will do well at other forms of poker. For example: someone who dominates his home poker game may very well lose in a more competitive setting such as a casino or online. Another example: many ring game players are horrible tournament players and vice versa. Keep track of your poker statistics so you can analyze which form of poker you play the best. If your statistics have shown that over a fair amount of time you have consistently lost a fair amount of money at a certain poker game, you need to be mindful of the fact that your poker skills are not good enough to beat that game over the long run.

Poker can be fun, relaxing, and potentially even profitable. However, always have the right mindset when you are playing at the table.

Bursting the SNG Bubble

2008-02-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

Peter Feldman, February 21st 2008

One of the keys to becoming a successful Sit & Go player is learning to master bubble play. The last thing anybody wants is to be the Bubble Boy, which means you need to get the most out of every hand you play during this critical stage. If you make solid moves from good positions and manage your chip stack wisely, you’ll find yourself in the money before you know it.

Let’s say that you’re short-stacked with just five or six big blinds. How you play your hand in this situation depends less on your cards and more on your position and the size of the other short stacks at the table. For example, you’re in the small blind and the hand is folded around to you. If the big blind doesn’t have you covered by very much, it’s time to jam. This play makes it really hard for him to call because he’s risking his tournament in a very tenuous spot. You put him in a position where he’s the one who has to call you, and that’s a big advantage.

Now let’s change things up a little. Say you’re sitting on about eight big bets on the button and the chip leader is in the big blind. If the action is folded to you in this situation, you can be much more selective about the hands you play. You still have plenty of chips to work with before the blinds come back around, which means you can afford to try and pick your spots. Personally, I’d fold hands worse than Q-10 here, but I’d probably play KJ, KQ, any Ace, and all pocket pairs.

If you’re sitting on just four or five big blinds in this same situation, you’ll have to open up your game a little and play more hands. You’ve got to take some chances here and get your chips in, even if you may be no better than 50-50. Waiting isn’t an option because the blinds will eat you alive if you let them.

If you’re playing a medium-size stack, you have more room to play, but still have to be careful about when – and from where – you put your chips in the middle. Making a standard 3x or 4x raise with 15 or 16 blinds can still be risky because there’s a good chance a bigger stack will re-raise and try to force you all-in before the flop. You really can’t afford to make that call without a premium hand like Aces or Kings.

You definitely don’t want to call with something like AK or AQ because you’re just a coin-flip against any pair and are dominated by pocket Aces or Kings. Folding here is a smarter move, especially if there’s a short stack left to play behind you who is likely to call with a much wider range of hands and give you a better shot of making the money.

Of course, nothing is more comforting than having the big stack when you’re sitting on the bubble. As the chip leader, you can practice selective aggression and apply pressure to the smaller stacks. You especially want to focus on the players in second and third place, as they aren’t going to want to put their chips at unnecessary risk.

Because the shorter stacks are going to try to double up through you, you need to be careful about making loose calls just because you think you can afford them. For example, let’s say the small stack raises 5x the big blind from the button and the small blind folds. You’re in the big blind and it’s only four more bets for you to call, which means your odds are slightly less than 2-1. While calling here may in fact be the right decision, it’s not automatic as far as I’m concerned.

I recommend taking a few seconds to really think through the situation, even if you’re holding a pretty strong hand like A-8 or up, KQ, KJ, or any pocket pair. Think about your opponent and how he’s been playing. If he raises every time he’s in that spot, widen your calling range. But if he’s a particularly good Sit & Go player or playing tight, he may not play many hands and you shouldn’t call as frequently.

More often than not when I’m the big stack in this situation, I’m not just flat calling here. Instead, I’m moving all-in. This is particularly effective because it puts all of the other players at the table to a tough decision. Again, the players in second and third aren’t likely to get involved without huge hands, which lets me isolate the smaller stack.

In the end, winning a SNG is about using whatever edge you’ve got. When you’re down to the final four, take advantage of position and play your stack aggressively. Know when to back off and when to go for it. You’ll still be at the table – and in the money – when the bubble bursts.

Sit N Go Poker Made Easy

2008-02-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

The Sit N Go (SNG) is online poker's great gift to the aspiring tournament player. Prior to the Sit And Go SNG, final table experience was hard to come by. You could enter a dozen multi-table tournaments and never find yourself at a final table. Or you could make one or two, only to get knocked out in 8th or 9th place. Adapting to an ever-diminishing number of players at a single table is a crucial skill in tournament poker, and it's a hard experience to find offline without investing a lot of time and money. Online, this experience is a mouse-click away. The SNG's advantages are many. For starters, it's low-cost, or even free. It's also fun, and convenient: You don't need to schedule it -- a SNG starts every time the table fills up -- and it's usually over in less than an hour. It is the flight simulator of Final Table play, and mastering it should be considered mandatory homework for the serious student.

Now that you know why you should play, let's look at how:

The most obvious difference between a SNG and a multi-table tournament is that when someone goes broke in a SNG, there isn't someone waiting to fill their spot. Multi-table play consists mostly of full-table, ring game poker. But as players get eliminated from a SNG, the table gets shorter- and shorter-handed. This reduction in players basically serves to artificially raise the antes. For instance, say you are playing five-handed and the blinds are 100-200: You are paying 300 in blinds for every five hands, or 60 per hand. As soon as someone gets knocked out, you're four-handed. Now you're paying 75 per hand -- a 25% increase -- despite the fact that the blinds have remained the same. Accordingly, you're forced to gamble more, or risk getting blinded out.

Since the size of the blinds relative to your stack size should always play a major role in you hand selection, I recommend starting out with pretty conservative starting hand requirements. This serves two functions: First, the blinds dictate that you play fairly tight early; the blinds are small and you are nine-handed, so they don't come around as often. Second, this helps you establish a tight image, which you hope will pay off later when the blinds are high and you might really need a timely ante steal.

But there is another not-so-obvious reason to play tighter earlier and looser later: The payout structure rewards tight play. Most SNG's pay 50% to first, 30% to second, and 20% to third. This payout structure dictates that you play for third. Why? Looking at the payout structure another way might help. Basically, the payout means that 60% gets awarded once you are down to three players, 20% gets awarded when you get down to two players, and the final 20% gets awarded to the winner. If you can just get to third, you get at least one-third of 60% of the prize pool, or 20%. You've locked up a profit, and you have a chance to win up to 30% more. It's only now that you're in the top three that your strategy should take an abrupt turn. Now it pays to gamble for the win. Let's look at the numbers again: 60% of the prize pool is off the table, and moving up one spot is worth only another 10%. But move up just one more spot and it's worth a whopping 30% extra -- that's three times more for first than it is for second. And with the blinds going up, gambling for the win is even more clearly the correct play.

I see many players employ a nearly opposite strategy. They figure they have nothing to lose, so they go for the quick double-up early. They take chances too soon when, in their view, there's "nothing on the line". Then, once they're in the money, they tighten up, thinking about that extra payout for moving up a spot. If you start to rethink your SNG approach and adopt a "slow early, fast late" strategy, you will see an almost immediate improvement in your results.

Howard Lederer

"An Awesome Read in Australia"

2008-02-21T09:16:00.001-08:00

Poker article written by Daniel Negreanu and published in Card Player Magazine

My second major stop on the tournament circuit for 2006 was the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, home of World Champion Joe Hachem.

I flew in the day before the main event, the Aussie Millions, from the Bahamas, which is quite the trip. The flight overseas was as smooth as any I've ever taken, as they offer what they call "sky beds," whereby your seat fully reclines so that you can sleep comfortably. Seriously, I'd prefer taking that 15-hour flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne over a four-hour flight in the United States in which I'd be crammed into a middle seat in coach!

So, anyway, I was extremely impressed with the place. The staff there took great care of the players who came from the U.S., understanding how much of a sacrifice it is for the U.S. players to come down there during such a hectic tournament month. Things were first-class all the way, from the accommodations to the food. I loved the food! There were all kinds of healthy options, which is right up my alley.

My first table was full of players who were new to me, outside of Tony Bloom, about whom I've written, and Kenna James. Both of them were conveniently located on my immediate left.

I was rarin' to go, refreshed, and totally focused on starting off 2006 with a bang. But there was one problem: Someone forgot to mention to the cards that I was playing very well and could use some help! The cards spit in my face and kicked me in my privates repeatedly.

We started with $20,000 in chips, and while I was already down to $4,150 by the $100-$200 (with a $25 ante) level, I still felt poised to make a comeback. The following hand would play a key role in whether or not I'd be able to recoup:
In first position, I limped in with 2-2. Everyone folded to the player in the cutoff seat, whom I'd been studying rather closely. He had some very distinct patterns that I'd picked up in a rather short period of time.

When he was in early position, he simply never raised. Whether he had A-K, A-A, or even 7-6 suited, he would just limp in.

From late position, though, it was a very different story. He would raise and reraise with rather weak holdings. From what I had noticed, he was playing aggressively with hands like A-J, A-10, and A-9, whether players ahead of him had limped in or even raised. However, if he had a middle pair, he chose to limp in.

So, when the action got to him, he made it $800 to go. Everyone folded back to me, and I decided to call the $600 raise, getting more than 2.5-1 on the call and believing my deuces were the best hand at the moment. I chose not to reraise because I was pretty confident that my opponent would call with a holding as weak as A-10.

The flop came 9-8-5 rainbow. I checked to my opponent, hoping to get a read on him. He fired out $1,200 rather quickly and sloppily, and it screamed to me of A-K or A-Q. The dilemma I now faced was whether to risk my whole tournament on a hunch. I thought long and hard, and finally decided to smooth-call.

You might ask, why not move all in? Well, this player was obviously a novice, and I was pretty confident that if I raised my measly $2,150 more, he would say, "Oh well, I guess I have to call," and throw in the call. By just calling, I could accomplish one of two things: (1) If an ace hit the turn, I could escape going broke, or (2) If a blank rolled off, I could possibly force him to fold on the turn for my last $2,150.

The turn card was a 6, which seemed like a great card for me. Chances were that it didn't change anything. If I was in front, I was still in front. It also gave me another hand to represent, hoping that he would fold the ace high. Why would I want him to fold if I had him beat? Well, because it was a tournament, and I would much rather avoid the risk of going broke and lock up a nice pot than try to earn an additional $2,150 with my life on the line.

Before making my move, I wanted to be sure that my read was accurate. Before making my bet, I studied him for what seemed like two minutes. The vibe I got from him certainly wasn't strength. He looked almost disinterested, and it reconfirmed for me that I should go with my initial read and push.

Finally, I took my shot and went all in. He looked at me and said, "I don't think you've got it." Normally, if someone said that to me, I'd be very worried that I was dead. However, remember that this was a novice, so anything was possible.

He took some time and finally called me with A-J! Yikes, I would have preferred a fold, but his call wasn't so bad after all. I now had a chance to double up if I could fade an ace or a jack.

Well, the river wasn't an ace or a jack, but it was almost just as bad. A 7 rolled off, making it a split pot! It was extremely disheartening, because I read the hand perfectly and felt like I gave myself every chance to win while at the same time giving myself maximum protection from going broke.

I combined a good read that I got from being focused with caution, aggression, and patience. Unfortunately, despite the fact that I thought it was one of my best-played hands ever, I busted out shortly thereafter when my top pair was run down by a flush.

The good news was that Tunica was right around the corner. The bad news was that I'd be going from a place with a bevy of healthy food options to a city where I generally starve myself each and every year. I'm simply not a fan of lard-soaked veggies, grits, bacon, and fried everything!

PokerRoom.com Review

2008-02-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

PokerRoom.com Review

Overall – 8.2/10

PokerRoom.com has made great progress in the past few years and has now ingrained itself as one of the best online poker rooms. Poker Room has by far the best no-download poker software in the industry. The graphics in both the download and non-download version in my opinion is one of the best i have seen. I would also recommend PokerRoom.com to novice poker players. The reason I say this is that they have some cool structured promotions aimed at new players, and some really good beginner tournaments. They cater for all types of players, up to professional levels. Poker Room has also just launched a mobile poker room. PokerRoom is one of the most innovative sites out there, it is one of the best sites out there for middle no-limit cash games and tournaments as they have a huge variety. The action at PokerRoom is smooth and fast. The graphical layout is one of the best in the industry, and the user interface is top notch. The PokerRoom software is also one of the best choices for Mac users, who can play the Java version without any special installs.

Player Traffic – 7.5/10

Real-money player statistics as of February 2008 show 9,000 ring-game players at peak hours and 45,000 tournament players at peak hours. You can usually find tables full of players of any game at most of the common stakes. I’ve rarely had trouble quickly getting on $0.50-1.00 tables simultaneously or .25-.50 Tables. Also Getting into sit-n-go tourneys is a breeze and you usually don’t have to wait long for a table to fill up and the game to start.

Fish Factor – 8/10

The players at PokerRoom com can be of all types, it really depends on the stakes that you play at these days. Overall Though they are not as fishy as Pacific poker or Party Poker, however you will still find plenty of calling stations loose-passive, and maniancs playing mediocre and disgusting hands. I think because PokerRoom com shares their network with many other online poker rooms and casinos their player skill levels are random. The sit-n-gos I played were similar to those at Pacific, with a third or half the table busting out within 2 or 3 blind levels, making it very easy to consistently beat sit n gos. Overall PokerRoom.com is a pretty soft site, While the bigger no limit games do get tough, a solid, conservative player should feel comfortable at almost every table on this site, especially at the lower to mid stakes. On a more personal note, I have cashed out quite a bit from PokerRoom's mid stakes no limit Texas Holdem games, not as fishy as pacific but you can defiantly make good money from this site.

Software – 9.5/10

At first I was simply overwhelmed by the number of options and amount of information available from PokerRoom.com. However after getting used to the software and adapting to the information I was extremely pleased with the features available on this site. The rooms interface is very attractive and unique. The highlight of the PokerRoom.com software is that there is a perfectly acceptable No Download version of the room. This makes it one of the more convenient rooms online for people who want to play from somewhere other than their home PC. Also for Mac and Linux users, Pokerooms no-download web-based Java applet is really the only choice for online poker. From the lobby to the game table, all options are clear, intuitive and user-friendly.

The Poker Room lobby is also very informative, probably one of the best designs out there. The Pokerroom lobby offers you valuable information, before having to take a seat at a table. You can see player names, chip stacks, and internet delays. You can also see the table's pre-flop percentages, average pot sizes, and number of hands per hour. This is great information to have when applying your table selection strategy.

Another great feature unique to PokerRoom.com is that You can edit six different symbols, classifying players as loose passive, tight aggressive, etc. PokerRoom also has one of the best Statistics tracking tools – You can track your winnings for a single session or for the entire day. It gives you your flop percentage, average big bets per hand, your hourly rate, and much more.

Play progresses quickly, more quickly than any site I have ever played. There are shortcut keys which make it possible to play without using the mouse. It is obvious someone spent some time analyzing game play and making it simple to quickly choose your options.

Overall PokerRoom offers one of the most innovative and user friendly interfaces of software in the online poker market, all new players must check out this room.

Bonuses – 7/10

PokerRoom com has a loyalty program like none other. Players can earn points by participating in raked hands. After earning points, they can be cashed in for cash using PokerRoom com's special "player point retribution program" or they can be used as buy ins for online poker freerolls. Loyal players receive $1 per 100 points. PokerRoom Also offers a 40% sign-up bonus up to $200. Click Here To Receive A 40% First Deposit Sign Up Bonus

Customer Support – 9/10

I personally have not had any problems with Poker Room, so I haven’t needed to contact Poker Room’s support, but they do offer 24-hour support via a message sent through their website or by emailing them directly at support@pokerroom.com. They do not offer Phone Support. The customer support agents provide instant answers with good quality as I have heard. A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section is available at the PokerRoom website. PokerRoom is one of the few online poker rooms that actually cares about its players, they send out surveys regularly to see and take into consideration what the players want from their website. No other online poker room does this to my knowledge.

Visit www.PokerRoom.com

Rating Summary

Player Traffic	7.5	/	10
Fish Factor	8.0	/	10
Software	9.5	/	10
Bonuses and Promotions	7.0	/	10
Customer Support and Payouts	9.0	/	10

Overall Rating: 8.2/10 - 82%

Click Here To Join PokerRoom.com And Get A 40% Deposit Bonus

Tips On Playing (& Winning) Online Poker

2008-02-21T04:27:00.001-08:00

Online Tells. The "in turn" buttons lead to one of the most obvious of tells unique to online poker. If the blinking light representing a player acts immediately, it's likely this person has clicked the box of an "in turn" action. It is usually easy to determine when a player has a no-brainer hand. The immediate "check" is often incredibly revealing. If you are first to act, and take a moment before checking, and your three opponents immediately check behind you like rifle fire, this is a tell as big as Texas. They ain't got nuthin'.

Another common situation... the first player takes a moment, and then finally checks. You have the "bet/raise in turn" button checked, so your bet appears, but instantly the player next to you raises. Uh-oh, he had the bet/raise button checked also, and didn't care what you or the first player did. That tells a lot more than a just normal raise would -- an awful lot more.

Besides the speed of action resulting from using the buttons, other online tells can be discerned from how slow a player commonly acts on their hand. Players who are consistently super-slow (rude human speedbumps) are very likely not paying attention to the game, either because they are playing two games and are not competent at it, or because they are doing other work at home. Either way, if all of a sudden this person plays a hand crisply and promptly and aggressively... well, they got somethin'.

"The Stall" is a common tell among average or slightly below average players. When the last card in Holdem or Omaha makes a coordinated board (making a nut hand like a flush), the mediocre player pauses as if thinking, and then finally bets. This pause almost always means "powerhouse" or at least that the bettor thinks he has a powerhouse. It's a comically inept tell in its obviousness.

The Lobby. Working the lobby is almost as important as working the game you play. In casino poker you can walk around the room, briefly look at all the games and limits being played, and study what type of game each one is. Much more accurately and quickly, the online lobby offers a wealth of information just by clicking buttons: average pot size, number of players seeing the flop, how many hands played per hour, names of the players in each game, who is on the waiting list, how many games of a particular limit are underway, and which players are playing two games.

Each one of these bits of information is something we can use to choose the right game and limit. Some people prefer a wild game. Some prefer a more passive one. Some like full games; some like short-handed. Players who are nearly equally competent in all games can choose between twenty or more games at the limit they want to play. Game and table selection is a critical part of casino poker, but it is even more fundamentally important online. At first glance it might seem that table selection is less important online because it is extremely easy to move from one game to another. I think that really is just an argument for why table selection is more important. The tools are available for players to be constantly aware of where the good games are. Constant vigilance is a price of winning online.

When signing up for games, never choose the "any game" at this limit option. This hamstrings your ability to independently manipulate your position on each sign-up list. For instance, if you've signed up for any $15/30 Holdem game, and your name comes to the top of the list in a game filled with players you don't want to play with, if you pass this game, you are removed from all the $15/30 lists. Likewise, if you rise to the top of the list on a game that doesn't look good now, but has potential because of others behind you on the waiting list, you may want to unjoin that list and then rejoin again at the bottom -- perhaps when your name, now seventh, rises to the top, the game will be good. If you've signed up for "any game," that option is not available to you. You simply will be put at the bottom of every single list you are on.

At the busy online cardrooms, you have many options to choose from, and a lot of information to use in choosing. Don't restrict yourself. Look for the games that fit with your style of play. When your game texture changes from favorable to mediocre or worse, cruise the lobby for greener pastures. Keep constantly vigilant. Knowledge is power. Playing winning online poker is the science, craft and art of mastering things most players don't even think about.

by Steve Badger

Deciding Which Online Poker Room is Best for You

2008-02-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

With so many new online poker rooms springing up these days, just the decision of where to play can be overwhelming. Should you just go and sign up at Party Poker because so many people play there and all of your friends do? Not necessarily. Should you go with the brand new poker room because they're offering a 100% signup bonus? Not always. You need to decide which online poker room is best for you individually.

How?

First, you should decide what your priorities are. Is playing at the most popular poker room most important to you? Then go ahead and register at Party. Do you want to play at a site with more consistent games? Then check out Full Tilt or Ultimate Bet. Deciding which site to play at has to be about what is important to you, whether it's which site has the best graphics, has the fastest gameplay, or whatever it is that you desire with your poker experience.

If you are choosing a poker site based on the size of their signup bonus, always read the small print. It might take a lot more play than you think to earn that bonus. Rarely will you find a poker site that will give you instant cash for signing up. If they do, it's not usually very much.

Think about visiting a review site, i have written a few reviews of online poker rooms on this blog, that profiles each poker room. A good review site should profile each aspect of a poker room for you to quickly view. ALWAYS look for an original review from the website. Many site owners haven't actually played at the site in question and are providing you with stock information found from the poker room homepage. You can find that out yourself.

You might also try the play money option at the site you're looking at. All poker room offer play money games, and it's a good way to try out the software before you deposit money. Something else to try is depositing a small amount of money at a few sites until you decide which one is your favorite. You can stick to the microlimits while you're testing the waters.

There are a ton of online poker rooms out there who want your money. Do your homework and decide what's important to you before giving it to them.

Check Out www.collegepokertips.com for more Great Articles

Ways To Tell If A Player Is Bluffing

2008-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some good ways to tell if a player is bluffing. Hopefully they will enable you to pick off a couple of bluffs, and make some extra cash.

1) The player slams his chips into the pot. - Players who have strong hands rarely try to make themselves even more forceful. They usually just slip their chips gently into the pot. Weak players are the ones who slam the chips into the pot, hoping that their action will intimidate you into folding.

2) The player acts almost immediatly when it is his turn. - This tell isn't 100% accurate, because it could also mean that they player has a very good hand, so it should be used in conjunction with other tells. However what you can know from this is that if a player wait a fair amount of time before acting, then they probably aren't bluffing, they probably have a relatively strong hand and are deciding just how strong it is, and how to milk the most money out of it. The hands that can act immediately are the ones that it doesn't matter what the other player does, the hands that are either so strong they can't be beat, or so weak that they have to get the other player to fold.

3) The player stares you down after he puts his chips into the pot. - This is another variation on the 'I'm acting like I have a strong hand, but really i'm very weak theme. ' Players who are really very strong don't go out of their way to antagonize other players and try to get them to fold. It is the players who are bluffing who try to add a physical intimidation to their play and get the person to fold.

4) The player overbets the pot on the river - When the river comes, there are obviously no more cards to come, and no more drawing hands. Thus players with strong hands aren't looking to push out draws, they are looking to get paid off by weaker hands. Thus a player with a strong hand usually doesn't make more than a pot sized bet. In fact they often make a bet that is 1/3 or so of the pot size in order to induce calls from people thinking that they have to call since they put so much money into the pot already. So when you see a player, especially a late position player, make a bet that is 1.5, 2 times or more the size of the pot, they most likely have a weak holding that would not survive a showdown, thus they are trying to get the other players to fold.

5) They player is sitting upright in his chair, near the table - Players with strong hands tend to sit back in their chair, they are relaxed and confident that they are going to win. Additionally they don't want to sit up and be all the more intimidating. Players with weak hands are the ones who generally sit up. They are anxious to see if their bluff worked, and could not relax if their life depended on it.

6) If a player is sloppy with stacking his chips - Generally, conservative players tend to make their chips into nice organized stacks. These players are more likely to only bet when they have something of a hand. Loose, aggressive players are more sloppy with their chips and tend to leave them in disorganized piles. They players with loose piles are more likely to throw those chips around in an attempt at a bluff. What you often see is a set of nice organized chip stacked up, with sloppy ones on top. What this means is that they player is currently winning. The organized chips are the initial buy in, the sloppy ones are the profit. He is much more likely to play loose with the profit, but if it bites into his buy in he will only put the chips up with a solid hand.

Check Out www.collegepokertips.com For More Great Articles

"Should I Slow Play These Kings?"

2008-02-20T08:14:00.001-08:00

Whenever you are dealt a good hand, the question you always ask yourself is, should I slow play this or not. Obviously the factors that you are weighing over in your head are the fact that by slow playing you have a chance to win lots more money, but you also have a much larger chance of getting sucked out on.

So lets go over when you should slow play and when you shouldn’t

Times you shouldn’t slow play
- When your hand isn’t that good. A bad hand to slow play would be top pair or even an over pair. These hands are good, but they aren’t that good. They are very vulnerable to lots of cards that could come on later streets. Generally betting to thin the crowd is advisable.

- When there are lots of draws. You never want to give free cards to someone on a draw. Make them pay to chase their flush or their straight. If they do call, they might win, making it more expensive for you, but any time they call when you have a higher percentage of winning it is +EV for you. That is often how much money is made and as long as you aren’t playing above your bankroll you shouldn’t mind people calling down with crap hands. In fact that is what you should look for in table selection.

Times that you should slow play
- When you have a great hand that is unlikely to be beat. Lets say you flopped a full house when there is a flush draw out there, or flopped a nut flush. These times you should slow play. Give people a chance to hit their losing hand and lose their whole stack to you. You hit the nut flush? Someone probably has a lone K or Q of the suit. If they hit they will pay you off.

Other things to consider are the size of a pot. It is generally more advisable to slow play when there is a small pot, because the implied odds are large in comparison to the pot size. If there is a large pot you want to win the pot right then. Forget about milking it to the last dime.

Full Tilt Poker Room Review

2008-02-19T10:43:00.000-08:00

Play Online Poker

Full Tilt Poker Review

Accepts US Players

Overall: 8.5/10

Full Tilt Poker opened for business in July 2004 and with an insistent marketing campaign, and allowing US players at the tables, has gradually grown to be one of the leading online poker rooms. Many players choose to play at Full Tilt Poker because they have great player traffic, likeable fun software, and they offer a huge variety of tournaments. I really like their original software, which is an interesting mix of professional features and cartooney graphics. Full Tilt also sponsors so many top professional players; this is probably the only site where you can regularly play with the pros. You can test your skills against the best in the game with the likes of Mike Matusow, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Gus Hansen, and Erick Lindgren. The room’s pros and high stakes action add to the fun factor of Full Tilt, usually after I am done playing a session, I find it interesting to watch top players compete against each other for High Stakes. Overall, I think that Full Tilt Poker provides a good package for the new player with a huge deposit bonus while still offering some high stakes games and a user-friendly interface.

Player Traffic: 8.5/10

Player Traffic at Full Tilt Poker used to be pretty average and consistent, however due to their recent marketing explosions and allowing US players at their site Full Tilt’s Traffic has really expanded. During peak times there can be up to 60,000 tournament and 13,000 cash game players found at the Full Tilt Poker real money tables. There are a lot of players at Full Tilt, so there are plenty of tables to choose from. You aren't locked into deciding between Table A and Table B, so if you take a moment, you can find a table that will fit your style and level of play to allow you to maximize your winnings.

Fish Factor: 6.0/10

I don’t Know Why, but the cash games at Full Tilt Poker tend to be a lot tighter than other Poker Rooms. Even at lower limits the players at Full Tilt Poker tend to be quite a bit tighter. Although these tight players may not necessarily be good players it does make it much more difficulty to win than rooms with looser players. The flop percentages are typically less than 35%, even at the lower limits. One point that I significantly stress is the fact that tighter play doesn't necessarily mean better play. These players are a different kind of fish - the ones that you can slowplay and win a big pot from. You could also with the right timing, and in late position, steal blinds and bluff a lot more. You will encounter a lot of weak-tight players at Full Tilt who will allow you to turn in some nice profits. I should also mention that the no limit tables are noticeably softer than the limit tables. Don't be scared away by the tighter play at this site - I do well here and so can you with the right adjustments.

Software: 9.5/10

Full Tilt’s software is one of my favorite aspects of this poker room and also one of the reason why I continue playing at Full Tilt. The software at Full Tilt Poker is excellent with no discernable bugs or problems. Available for both MacIntosh and Windows platforms the software runs smoothly, quickly and is easy to navigate. It has a carton – fun like feel to it, It’s also a fun and refreshing change after playing at the same sites with the same tedious software year after year. Statistics are provided in the lobby to assist with table selection these are, average pot size, percent of players seeing the flop and hands per hour. There are a variety of player avatars that you can choose from which vary from the “Mafia Boss” to a “Pro Boxer.” You can also change their facial expressions at the click of a button. Tired of viewing the same background for hours at a time? Then change it. Full Tilt Poker offers a variety of game backgrounds to choose from that include everything from the Vegas skylights to the inside of an alpine ski lodge. Another positive is their hand history feature, which displays the entire table graphic instead of making you wade through lines of text. Game speed is also very fast, and I appreciate fast action. One thing I really like is that you can choose exactly where at the table you wish to sit. The table will re-adjust itself so that you can view the table, and your seating position from the angle that you desire. So if you are superstitious about your Poker and always want to sit in your lucky seat then you can at Full Tilt.

Whenever I try out a new online poker room for the first time it always takes me time to adjust to the new software. However with Full Tilt I can honestly say that it took me the shortest time yet to make this adjustment, and I’ve played at a lot of online poker rooms. The graphics and uncluttered user interface is great for the new online poker player.

Bonuses: 9.5/10

Full Tilt Poker has one of the best sign-up bonuses found at online poker rooms - 100% up to $600 and you can claim this bonus by visiting from this site. Every few months there are additional 50% deposit bonuses offered. Players can also earn Full Tilt Points through real money play which can be redeemed for special point’s, tournaments or nifty merchandise.

Customer Support: 9.0/10

Full Tilt Poker offers 24 hour support via e-mail only. The response time is fast, usually within half an hour, and the quality of responses is very high. I have been very impressed with their support system, which has responded to e-mails within 10-20 minutes.

Rating Summary

Player Traffic	8.5	/	10
Fish Factor	6.0	/	10
Software	9.5	/	10
Bonuses and Promotions	9.5	/	10
Customer Support and Payouts	9.0	/	10

Overall Rating: 8.5/10 - 85%

Play Online Poker

Click Here To Join Full Tilt Poker And Get A 100% Deposit Bonus

Ultimate Bet Poker Room Review

2008-02-19T10:17:00.000-08:00

Ultimate Bet Review

Overall – 6.9/10

Ultimate Bet is one of the largest poker rooms on the internet. It regularly has 15,000+ players online at peak times. With a generous rake back scheme and frequent reloads that clear concurrently (at a reduced rate), Ultimate Bet is the home site for many regular poker players. Recently I have myself switched over to Ultimate bet and I have been enjoying there fishy games and refreshing software. Ultimate Bet makes sure they advertise enough so that there are plenty of fish at the tables to keep the games nice and juicy. Their software interface is functional and convenient, with the exception of the lack of ability to store hand histories on the hard drive. A recent software update added HORSE into the mix of games offered, and UB is unique in that they offer elimination blackjack tournaments. Ultimate Bet is one of the older poker rooms online, so they are very reliable, they also have a host of poker room pros, and it is the home of the well known Poker Pro commonly known as the “Poker Brat”, Phil Hellmuth.

Player Traffic – 7.5/10

With between 10,000 and 20,000 players online at nearly all times, Ultimate Bet is one of the most popular places to play poker online. You really shouldn't have any troubles finding a table at whatever limits fit your fancy. Being marketed as a "poker player's poker room", you should find some skilled players at the tables. But, having attractions like Roshambo and Elimination Blackjack, don't be surprised to find a less serious player at your table either. The Great Thing about UB is that it offers super micro limits of $.01/.02 for several of their games, so you can learn how to play them without risking a lot of money, but without the lack of significance that play money gives to the game.

Fish Factor – 7/10

Many very good players play at UB regularly, due to their solid rakeback program and generous reload bonuses. They also attract a lot of fish with their strong advertising and bonuses. You really have to pay attention to the players at the table to find out who the sharks and the fish are, and programs such as Hold Em Indicator and Poker Office will help you do that. There are a lot of short handed tables and it is not uncommon to see tables with 60%+ of people seeing the flop, this is usually at the lower limits ($0.50/1.00) Just remember, if you can't spot who the fish are within the first 10 minutes, you are the fish!

Software – 7/10

Ultimate Bet has appealing, quick and reliable software with many special features. The Mini View function, for example, is very popular among multiple table players. The statistics presented are very detailed and valuable. Also when you sit at a table you will automatically be seated at the bottom, this is a convenient feature when playing multiple tables so you don't have to figure out where your seat is at all the time. Ultimate Bet also has a “buddy program” which will tell you when and where your friends are playing in the room. Overall the software is very solid. The lobby is almost always up to date and provides plenty of information on the games such as the % of players seeing the flop, average pot, and the number of hands per hour. All tables have unique names so if you want to play with a friend it is easy to find them. The software is regularly updated with new features and games, but it remains easy to navigate and clean.

Bonuses – 9/10

Ultimate Bet offers a welcome Bonus of 100% up to $650. Also Players receive “Ultimate Points” for each raked hand and tournament they take part in. These points can be used to purchase merchandise or enter tournaments. Ultimate Bet has a great refer-a-friend program and many other promotions like free rolls and special tournaments for frequent players. Ultimate Bet is a room that offers bonuses on a regular basis. Between the welcome bonus, and the reloads, regular players can expect a steady stream of cash from the poker room.

Customer Support – 4/10

This is one area where Ultimate Bet is really lacking, and far behind the competition. Ultimate Bet only offers email support, although it is available 24/7. Many people have difficulty getting a response, let alone a decent response, from Ultimate Bet. They do not have phone support or live chat at all and this can be really frustrating if you have encountered a major problem. Cash outs also take several days, however they are very reliable and the financial security is very good. So all in all this is one area where UB could greatly improve.

Start Playing At Ultimate Bet Today And Receive A 100% First Deposit Bonus Upto $650!

Rating Summary

Player Traffic	7.5	/	10
Fish Factor	7.0	/	10
Software	7.0	/	10
Bonuses and Promotions	9.0	/	10
Customer Support and Payouts	4.0	/	10

Overall Rating: 6.9/10 - 69%

Pacific Poker Room Review

2008-02-19T08:24:00.000-08:00

Pacific Poker Review

Overall - 7.5/10

Pacific Poker is part of the 888 Holdings group, the company behind the world's largest online casino, Casino-on-Net. Pacific Poker is well known for its loose juicy games, as you can imagine, this means many wild casino customers can be found at the poker tables. Combined with lots of regular promotions, a lot of Texas Hold'em players come to Pacific Poker for juicy high-action tables and good bonuses. Tournaments and cash games are all quite loose and most players quickly find a game they like - particularly if they're skilled and looking to make a profit. Add the newly upgraded software - with great graphics, improved search functions and a nice layout - to the juiciness of the games, and you have a poker room that's never short of players. This room is a must for disciplined players who are looking to make easy money.

Player Traffic – 7/10

The Player traffic has grown significantly in the past few years, usually there are over 15,000 players online playing. So you will never have trouble finding a game at pacific poker.

Fish Factor – 9.5/10

This is the official gathering place for the biggest poker fish in the world. These guys love to give money away. A pro can make his living here, for sure, and just good old solid recreational players can do quite well for that matter. Soft competition is the main reason to play at Pacific Poker. The players are the worse you will have ever seen before. There are a lot of calling stations and some maniacs exist. However, this may skyrocket the frustration level if your premium hands are cracked. So you will need a bankroll that can handle large downswings. The reason there are so many bad players is probably due to the fact that there are many casino players that are looking for a quick bet, but who’s worried, as long as we are raking in the money it makes no difference why the competition is so loose.

Software – 6/10

Their software is available in both Java and downloadable form. If you use a Mac, this is one of the few poker rooms you can play without getting a program like Virtual PC.

The software interface itself is decent. It used to be fairly poor, but Pacific Poker has improved it a lot lately. Now 3-D avatars enhance the visual appeal of the gameplay. The lobby was recently upgraded to feature an improved game filter and easier access to account balance information. Historically people have complained about their software and have had problems being disconnected, however Pacific poker has revamped their software and it is now more reliable and better looking than ever. The clunkiness and unreliability of the software has always been the primary knock against Pacific, but I believe it is truly a great time to take another look at this site and give them credit where credit is due.

Bonuses: 8/10

Average deposit bonus, fairly easy to clear, 25% up to $100. The bonus is an instant bonus, so you can play with the chips immediately after depositing. You have to play a certain number of hands before being able to withdraw bonus money, just like other poker rooms with instant bonuses.

Customer Support – 7/10

Pacific Poker offers both phone and email customer service. They do a decent job at answering basic questions, but they are pretty slow and bad at helping out with more complicated matters. Just hope you do not have any major problems because you will not be dealing with the most knowledgeable or helpful support staff out there if you do. However in the end they are very helpful.

Start playing at Pacific Poker today and receive a 25% first deposit bonus, up to $100!

Rating Summary

Player Traffic	7.0	/	10
Fish Factor	9.5	/	10
Software	6.0	/	10
Bonuses and Promotions	8.0	/	10
Customer Support and Payouts	7.0	/	10

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - 75%

Calculatem Pro Review

2008-02-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

Calculatem Pro Review

The recent increase of poker popularity has led to a flood of fish, which are just waiting for you to take their money. These fish are untalented, undisciplined, and lack the fundamental skills to succeed in No Limit Texas Holdem. These players think that since they have seen a few episodes of the World Poker Tour, they are seasoned poker pros. If you want to make money playing Texas Holdem, then you need to learn to take all the money from these novices before they give it to someone else. One way you can take advantage of these novices is by using a poker odds calculator, if you are not using such a program, chances are someone is surely using it on you! Recent estimates indicate that more than 40% of online poker players have some sort of 3rd party program aid while playing online Texas Hold'em poker. Since people believe they are so critical to playing online poker, I am going to review a new product entitled Calculatem Pro. This piece of software is from the same people that brought you Texas Calculatem.

Calculatem Pro is one of the latest poker odds calculators to hit the market; it sets the bar a bit higher, and outperforms most of its competitors. I have played with several online calculators in the past several years, and this one is by far the most advanced. It has more sophisticated calculations and new features, that the competition is seriously lacking, plus Calculatem Pro is the only poker odds calculator endorsed by card player magazine.

I’ve found that Calculatem Pro is perfect for everybody: from brand new players to seasoned pros. It offers advice for new players and teaches them game, while offering extensive amounts information for regular players. This makes Calculatem Pro perfect for anyone interested in improving their game.

You simply attach the software to the poker room (compatible with over 100 poker rooms) that you entered and select the place where you are currently sitting. From then on the software will keep track of your cards and give information like pot odds, hand rank, chance to win, outs and also, the thing I like about Calculatem pro is that it offers a suggestion on what you should do (check, raise, fold etc). The software has two modes, the first one is a compact mode which is a long bar that fits nicely under the poker room, and the second one is a larger one that has to be placed on either side of the poker room.

The mini toolbar of Calculatem Pro is great; it displays all the information needed to play professional poker without the need to calculate the odds and outs by yourself. You could easily let the program guide you through poker tournaments without doing much work on your own. It is of course necessary to interpret the given values and make decisions based on your judgments, you will obviously want to play some hands sometimes where Calculatem pro suggests a fold or fold hands were it suggests a raise.

The sleek and easy to read layout of Calculatem Pro in Full Mode gives you access to every aspect of the game you are playing. The top portion of the interface display gives you an easy to read layout of the cards in your hand and the cards in play.

The center portion of the interface displays Calculatem Pro's advice on how to play your hand. This advice is shown in a convenient "meter" style graphic indicating how you should play. There is information on odds you'll draw to win, total outs, pot vs. call, odds you hold a winner, as well as additional odds information about your hand.

Toward the bottom of the full mode interface is where you can find specific odds information about the game you're playing: Odds on the River, Odds on the Next Card, the Table, and the Deck.

Calculatem Pro offers a wide variety of enhanced features in a user-friendly software. It calculates both hand and pot odds and delivers advice all in real time. It’s like having your own personal poker pro giving you advice as you play every hand.

In addition, the software is from the company that created Texas Calculatem, the original odds calculator now used by over 25,000 online poker players. It has earned great respect, and Calculatem Pro has even more features to satisfy players’ needs.

Finally, this calculator should increase your chances of winning. It will give you a distinct advantage over your opponents by eliminating the guess work in your play. In online poker, time equals money; let the software calculate odds for you, allowing you to keep your mind on the game and winning.

The Other Great thing about Calculatem Pro is that you can get the software for Free by opening a real money account at any of their partner poker rooms. All you have to do is open a new account with one of their partner poker rooms, and they’ll give you a FREE license of Calculatem Pro.

While Calculatem Pro is a great piece of software and does offer a wide variety of features, there are a few things that are lacking in Calculatem Pro. There are Two things that stick out for me.

First, the manual offline mode doesn’t allow you to calculate odds for multiple players. A lot of the calculators posted on the web do this, but these guys apparently spent more time focusing on the calculations that matter, the ones that happen while you’re actually playing. Second, Calculatem Pro doesn't give any Player stats. In this department, it loses out significantly to Hold Em Indicator, I’d love to see a player tracking tool integrated with Calculatem Pro, but it’s not happening. That would really make it unbeatable.

Overall, though, it's another great calculator. One feature I especially like is the hand ranking that is given. This is the rank of a particular hand in relation to the others, and is a useful indicator. Another feature unique to Calculatem pro is that it offers Next Card Odd Probabilities as well as River Probabilities. Calculatem Pro's robust feature set, most competitive free offer, and aesthetically pleasing presentation earn it top marks in the Odds Calculator Category. On top of that Calculatem Pro is the second generation of a proven product and thus should be considered very reliable in terms of service, poker room coverage and updates. Calculatem Pro has helped me win plenty of money in tournaments and cash games playing with tight values and I am sure it can do the same for you. I would personally recommend Calculatem Pro as one of the great online Poker odds calculators, along with Hold Em Indicator.

If you haven’t tried it, get your free license on their website at www.CalculatemPro.com

Click Here To Claim Your FREE License

Free Online Poker is a Waste of Time

2008-02-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

By Al O’Harra of AllOnlinePokerSites.com

New players often play free online poker. We believe this is a very poor first toe in the water to a hobby as competitive as poker. Why, because playing poker well is a learning process, it takes time, it takes effort, it takes investment. Unfortunately, Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson are not going to show up at your house to give you private tutorials, too bad though, that would be great. So like everything else in life, you are forced to decipher information based on the successes, and failures, of those you see, as well as your own. The information we have provided on this website is excellent- but it is preparation, it is strategy. None of it gives you a visual replication of how it is done. None of it gives you EXPERIENCE.

To gain experience, you need to play against players that are better than you, or at least serious about playing poker. The players at play money table are playing poker that is so off the charts bad, we do not believe a new player’s first experiences should come from that game. Many play money players just play for fun; in contrast, you want to play to learn. To get better you need to learn how to make the proper choices. You need to learn how to control your emotions, how to make better choices, how to muck that big pocket pair. The play money games have no rake and absurdly poor play because they are free. There is little to learn in that forum.

We recommend you play low stakes limit poker. Some of the sites have limit games as low as $.01-$.02 and almost all of them have limit games at $.10-.20

You want to know the primary difference between free poker and low stakes limit poker. Here it is: One is a game, and the other is gambling. One has risk, even if it is only nickels and dimes, and the other has no risk. New players often lose, and you may lose initially, learn how to avoid losing. When you win, let your bankroll reflect your solid play. It is difficult to learn bankroll management if you cannot remember if you clicked the “More Play Money” button. Simply playing should not be your end goal. Learn to play to win, and develop the strategies to play to win in a forum that provides opposition that is serious about playing winning poker.

Lastly, and most importantly, learn discipline at the poker table. Low limit games are not the best forum for that, but they are still much better than free games. The best players at low stakes are playing tight games and mucking a lot of hands; begin by learning to play a tight game. All of the poker tools on AllOnlinePokerSites.com, all of the poker room reviews, all of the poker articles, are all provided to assist you in making better choices and play better poker. We are not going to take all of that background, and then tell you to begin by playing against opposition who, in many cases, could care less.

"The Biggest Pot I Ever Lost"

2008-02-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

Poker article written by Daniel Negreanu and published in Card Player Magazine

Members of the media who don’t really understand poker often ask me, “What’s the biggest pot you’ve ever lost?” They’ll usually ask this question after they have asked, “What’s the biggest pot you’ve ever won?” For some reason, it seems to be an important question from the public’s standpoint, but it used to be a question I had trouble answering, because … well, I didn’t know.

But now, I do! I took a seat in a game on a Wednesday night at Bellagio. The lineup was as follows:

Seat 1: Doyle Brunson
Seat 2: Lyle Berman
Seat 3: Johnny Chan
Seat 4: Chip Reese
Seat 5: Me
Seat 6: Phil Ivey
Seat 7: Chao Xiang

As you can see, my game selection is impeccable these days. Let’s not dwell on that, though, and get straight to the details.

It was a mixed game, $2,000-$4,000 limit. It was a mixture of stud, Omaha eight-or-better, hold’em, deuce-to-seven triple draw, stud eight-or-better, and pot-limit Omaha, with a $75,000 cap. The cap simply meant that no player could lose more than $75,000 on any given hand. It actually creates more action than it kills, because players are more willing to enter a pot when they know they can lose “only” $75,000.

Well, I’d played $2,000-$4,000 on a few occasions and had done quite well. However, I’d never played it with the added element of a $75,000 cap. As you can probably guess, the pot I got involved in was one of those capped pots, in pot-limit Omaha.

Phil Ivey limped in from first position for $2,000, as did Chao, Doyle from the button, and Chip from the small blind.

I looked down at my hand and found the 3clubs 4clubs 5spades 6diamonds. It wasn’t a bad big blind hand if I caught the right flop, and the price was right. The flop came 8clubs 3hearts 2clubs.

This looked like an excellent flop for my hand. Of course, I could be in big trouble if someone else had a bigger flush draw. Nonetheless, this hand had to be played for something, so after Chip checked, I decided to bet $8,000 into a $10,000 pot. Both Phil and Chao folded, so it was up to Doyle.

Doyle called my $8,000 and raised me a “pancake.” A pancake is the nickname for a $25,000 chip ($5,000 chips are called flags, due to their colors: red, white, and blue). Chip folded, and it was back to me.

If I called that bet, I would have an additional $40,000 to play with on the turn and river. However, after running through all the possible hands Doyle could have, I finally decided that I wasn’t going to fold, so I wanted to play for it all on the flop. “I raise 40 more,” I said, knowing Doyle would be forced to call.

With Doyle raising me here, I thought there was a good chance he’d flopped a set. However, provided he didn’t have any extra outs (a flush draw or straight draw), my hand was actually favored over even top set!

So, I got the whole $75,000 in there and Doyle said, “Well, I think you got me in really bad shape.” Not knowing what he had, I said, “I dunno, you might have me crushed.”

We decided to turn our hands face-up, which is customary in pot-limit Omaha. Oftentimes, players will make deals to lessen their swings. Considering the fact that I was playing a little out of my comfort zone, I was happy to reduce my risk. “Wanna run it twice?” I asked, hoping Doyle would say yes.

“Oh, I don’t know; I don’t see how I could win it twice!” Doyle quickly understood that despite the fact that he had the best hand at the moment, my draw was a significant favorite to win the pot.

Doyle’s hand was the Kspades Khearts 8spades 3diamonds, giving him top two pair. All I had at the moment was a pair of threes with a 6 kicker, but I was still close to a 2-1 favorite to win the pot. Doyle finally agreed to run it twice, which suited me just fine. I was thinking to myself, “Winning both would be awesome, but breaking even wouldn’t be such a horrible result.”

Now, when I say “run it twice,” I mean the dealer would burn and turn as usual. Whoever had the best hand after all five community cards were face-up would be up one leg.

Then, both the turn and river cards would be thrown into the muck and the dealer would once again burn and turn, revealing a new turn card as well as a new river card. If you win both legs, you win the whole pot. If you win just one leg, you split the middle. If you lose both legs — well, you cry about your bad luck!

So, we proceeded. The first card off was the Jdiamonds — a good card for Doyle. Before the river came, Doyle yelled, “Keep it high, dealer!” Doyle’s prayers were answered when the 9diamonds hit the river, ensuring him of at least a chop.

“Oh, well,” I thought, “as long as I don’t lose both of ‘em.” Then, the dealer burned and turned again. An 8! Oh, no! I had been in a glorious situation, had hedged my bets, and still lost the whole enchilada. That 8 sealed my fate, as I was drawing dead. My monster draw was totally worthless. I looked at the river card anyway, just for fun, and nope … the Qhearts didn’t help me, either.

Suddenly, I felt some gas pains deep down in my stomach. No, wait, those weren’t gas pains at all; it was my Adam’s apple that I was belching up. I must have swallowed it when that 8 fell.

So, now I have a story to tell people when they ask the question, “What’s the biggest pot you’ve ever lost?” The next time I’m asked that question, however, my answer will be, “I don’t want to talk about it! Go to fullcontactpoker.net and find out for yourself!” By the way, the pot was officially $156,000.

While that really sucks, I guess I’m forced to look on the bright side (sigh) … at least I have material for a column. Unfortunately, I’ll have to write lots of columns to get me even for that pot!

Online Poker Room Reviews

2008-02-04T06:41:00.000-08:00

Coming Soon...

"How To Use An Odds Calculator To Win More Money At Online Poker..."

2008-02-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

Do you use a poker odds calculator?

I sure hope so. Odds calculators are a CRUCIAL part of winning money at online poker. Here are a just a few ways an odds calculator can QUICKLY and EASILY improve your game:

UNDERSTAND YOUR STARTING HAND STRENGTH...

The biggest mistake made by most card players is playing TOO MANY HANDS. For example, tell me if this thought has ever crossed your mind...

"It's worth calling the flop even though I have bad cards-- because who knows, I might catch three-of-a-kind... or two pair... or something really good!" Every poker player has had this thought from time to time, Even the pros.

But the problem is, thinking like this will cause you to LOSE MONEY in the long run. And the reason is because of the ODDS. Even though you might make a "great hand" once in every twenty flops, those other nineteen hands will cause you to lose MORE money than you won.

But here's the thing:

The right odds calculator will show you EXACTLY how strong or weak your starting hand is... based on a PERCENTAGE and will show you the appropriate "Sklansky Starting Hand Group". What this means is you will IMMEDIATELY know how good your hand is, as soon as the cards come out.

For example, at a 10-man table pocket Aces has a hand rank of 100% and is GROUP 1. Pocket two's has a hand rank of 63.3%, which is in GROUP 7. (This is for hands to the river.)

But let's be honest... understanding how "good" those hands are is EASY. You don't need an odds calculator for that. But let me ask you, which of THESE hands do you think has the highest "Hand Rank"?

a.) Queen-9 suited
b.) Ace-5 suited
c.) Jack-10 suited
d.) Ace-Queen offsuit

(Here's a hint... the strongest hand is NOT options "b" or "d"...)

Give up? Are you surprised that A-Q wasn't the strongest? Well, that's just ONE of the ways an odds calculator can be incredibly useful... you'll know the exact hand strength right away and can make a more educated (translation = MORE PROFITABLE) decision before the flop.

KNOW YOUR CHANCES OF HITTING AN "OUT"...

As you probably know, "outs" are cards that will help you improve your existing hand. For example, let's say you're holding 5-6 and the flop comes out 3-4-Q. That means you need either a two or a seven to make a straight. Since there are four two's and four seven's in the deck, you have EIGHT OUTS.

Odds calculators will show you how many outs you have at any given time... and also give you the PERCENTAGE chance you have of getting them. In addition, a REALLY good odds calculator will "break it down" by each hand...

For example, in the scenario above with the straight draw, let's say you ALSO had a spade flush draw. That means you have more than eight outs, since one more spade will help you.

Premium odds calculators will show you the exact percentage chance you have of making the straight, the exact percentage chance of making the flush, and the TOTAL percentage for the two...

This is a huge time-saver for you. Online poker is fast-paced... and it's not practical to sit there and do advanced calculations and long division while you're trying to make a decision.

PLAY YOUR POSITION MORE EFFECTIVELY...

In Texas Holdem poker, positioning is everything. You want to play MORE hands with good positioning and FEWER hands with bad positioning. It's that simple.

The odds calculator I recommend allows you to ADJUST your starting hand settings depending on where you're sitting at the table. For instance, if you're on the button (the dealer position, which is the best position to be), the program will automatically set the "Hand Rank Requirement" to 50%. So if you pick up a hand that has a Hand Rank LOWER than 50%, it will recommend that you fold.

But if you're UNDER THE GUN (the player to the left of the big blind, which is the worst position to be), the program will automatically set the "Hand Rank Requirement" to 85%... so the software will make "tighter" recommendations while you're in this position. Make sense?

Now here's the real beauty of this:

IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS MORE QUICKLY...

Most poker players improve their skills over YEARS of hard work, practice, and study. This is the slow and painful way. Using an odds calculator ACCELERATES the learning process dramatically.

Here's why:
As you're playing online poker, the odds calculator will automatically compute the odds, hand strength, percentage chance on outs, and so on. You'll use this information, make better decisions, and win more money.

Then here's what will happen...

In a matter of months, you'll find yourself "knowing" the odds and hand strength WITHOUT looking at the software! It will become "natural" to you... because you'll be seeing the same types of hands so frequently. Of course, you'll still want to use the odds software for the more advanced calculations. But you'll be AMAZED when you sit down at the poker table with your buddies, see the flop, and then blurt out:

"He has an 19% chance of making the flush on the river."

Your friends will think you're a poker genius! Because the truth is, learning the odds ISN'T about learning the MATH... it's about SEEING and PLAYING with the numbers in front of you frequently enough.

This is how the pros do it... and this is how YOU can do it with the right tool.

GET "ODDS-BASED" RECOMMENDATIONS...

Ultimately, the point is to reach a conclusion about WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IN A GIVEN SITUATION... BASED ON THE ODDS. We all know that "odds" are only a PART of the game. They may be a BIG part, but they're still just a part. There's bluffing strategies, betting patterns, and many other factors that will affect your decisions...

Now let me show you an odds calculator that top players use when they play online poker. It's called Texas Calculatem One of the great things is that it gives you "odds-based" recommendations...

In other words, it take the outs, percentages, ratios, number of players, starting hand strength, and everything else... compile it all together... and then spit out a "decision" about what you should do. So while you're playing online poker, this program will run near the bottom of your screen and say something like, "Check" or "Fold" or "Call Unraised Only" or "Raise and Re-Raise"... and so on.

And here's another reason why Texas Calculatem is highly regarded:

ADJUST YOUR PLAYING STYLE AUTOMATICALLY...

Texas Calculatem lets you adjust your "style" according to your preferences and table strategy. For instance, let's say you're playing a 10-player Sit and Go. Well, at the beginning you want to play extremely tight because you just want to SURVIVE as the other players start knocking themselves out (after all, Sit and Go's pay out for the top three finishers, so there's no need to risk many chips in the beginning).

So what you can do is set the "Pre-Flop Slider" to a very tight setting.

BUT... when you DO play a hand in the early stages of a Sit and Go, you want to play it AGGRESSIVELY. Especially if it's a really good hand like a high pocket pair. Because the reality is, there are a lot of "loose manics" at the Sit and Go's who will call anything... so you want to increase your chip stack by taking advantage of them.

So in that situation, You set the "Post-Flop Slider" to a more aggressive setting.

You see, with Texas Calculatem you can adjust each of these settings without affecting the other. And you can adjust them mid-game or any time you want (I adjust mine back to more normal levels when it gets down to six players in the Sit and Go).

AND... get this...

Texas Calculatem instantly adjusts all of the odds and recommendations based on HOW MANY PLAYERS are at the table. In ring games people are constantly getting up, sitting out, coming in, etc... and in Sit and Go's players are continuously being eliminated. All of this makes it confusing to figure out which hands to play and how to play them. Calculatem adjusts everything AUTOMATICALLY. You don't have to input anything, either. It "detects" everything by itself.

Speaking of detection... that's something else you need to be aware of:

DON'T BUY AN ODDS CALCULATOR WITHOUT THESE FEATURES...

There are some KEY FEATURES that make an odds calculator a very effective tool. But ironically, MOST ODDS CALCULATORS don't have these features! For instance, most odds calculators make you "manually" type in what your cards are... what the flop cards are... and so on. This makes no sense. After all, you can do the math faster than that!

Texas Calculatem was designed in a way that requires NONE of your time or effort. It automatically "attaches" to your poker game and detects your cards and the cards on the table (from the flop, turn, and river). You just sit back and focus on the game.

Obviously Texas Calculatem doesn't read your OPPONENTS cards, though... since that information is completely secured by the casino. (That sure would make things easier, huh?)

Another great feature that Calculatem has is called "Fold Depth". This basically uses "human logic" to make the odds computations more accurate. For instance, let's say the flop came out 7-7-3 and two players folded.

Texas Calculatem "knows" that neither of those two players folded the seven. (Duh!)

The reason this is important is because it affects all of the ADVANCED calculations from that point forward. Using the "human logic", Texas Calculatem knows a more accurate percentage of WHERE the other two sevens are... as well as all the other cards in the deck.

The result is a program that is far superior and more useful than any other on the market. In fact, I've really only "scratched the surface" of all the features that Texas Calculatem has... and all the ways it can help you win more money at online poker.

Honestly, the question isn't whether or not you need an odds calculator...

The question is: How can you afford NOT to use one?

The cold hard truth is that many of your opponents WILL be using Texas Calculatem... which gives them the IMMEDIATE ADVANTAGE at the tables.

If you're only going to play poker for "play money", then I guess it's OK. But if you're playing for REAL MONEY, then you need to download Texas Calculatem to your computer TODAY. Without it, you're just another fish.

The best part is, Texas Calculatem is FREE when you setup a new account at one of the partner poker rooms...

So click this link, setup your account, and download Texas Calculatem for FREE. You'll be winning more money at online poker within the next five minutes...

Click Here To Download Your FREE License Instantly

Stack Sizes and Implied Odds

2008-01-31T23:18:00.000-08:00

One of the most important factors in a no-limit hold'em game is the amount of chips people have at the table. A person's stack size affects the strategy at the table in numerous ways. For example, the amount a person buys in for is often indicative of how well that person plays. Someone may buy in for a small amount because he is not very confident in his skills and does not want to risk much money.

However, the most important thing about stack sizes is how they affect implied odds. Implied odds is a fancy word for saying "how much you can expect to win in the future if you make a good hand, taking into account the chance of hitting that strong hand."

Let's say you hold 7 8 preflop. Your hand is not very strong. It is also doubtful that you will hit a strong hand at the flop, like a straight or trips. However, you have a good chance of hitting a draw, such as a flush draw or a straight draw. To win a lot of money on this draw, you will probably need to call a bet on the flop and see the turn and river to get the card you need to make a strong hand. If you hit a strong hand, you will want to bet a lot when you have the strong hand.

If the stack sizes are small, you cannot expect to win much if you chase a flush or straight draw. Speculative hands like suited connectors do well when people have large stack sizes, and they perform poorly when people have small stack sizes.

To be precise, here is what I consider to be small, medium, and large stack sizes:

Small stacks	40 big blinds or fewer
Medium stacks	41 to 99 big blinds
Large stacks	100 big blinds or more

You will see different buy-ins for different types of games. For most home games, people buy in for small stacks. A home game with $0.25-$0.50 blinds will typically have $10 to $20 buy-ins (20 to 40 big blinds). These are small stacks.

Brick-and mortar games have varying stack sizes. Nowadays, it seems that most places in Vegas restrict the buy-ins to about 40 big blinds, so people tend to have short or medium stacks. However, there are B&M games that do not cap the buy-ins, and people with 200-big-blind stacks are common. The games at online poker rooms tend to restrict buy-ins to 100 big blinds, so many people have fairly large stacks.

Stack sizes do more than just increase the value of speculative hands. They also tend to make the game fancier. Bluffing becomes a more valuable tool when people have larger stacks. You can threaten a much larger amount of money in relation to the pot when people have a lot of chips.

No-Limit Cash Game Advice

2008-01-30T06:39:00.000-08:00

What's the goal of playing No-Limit cash games? To make money? Yes, but that's too broad. To play the best poker possible? You're getting warmer since that's always your main goal at a table, but go further. In a cash game, you always want to put your money in on the best hands possible.

The secret to playing No-Limit Hold'em cash games at a full table is to wait a long time before striking. Wait, wait, wait to put your money in until you've got the best pre-flop hand possible - AA, KK, QQ and A-K.

What makes this technique particularly effective is that most new players in the poker world love action and practically throw their money away on every hand as a result. They're used to watching WSOP tournaments on television where the action seems constant, so they force action in cash games. However, the circumstances are different in tournament play as opposed to cash games so the same techniques can't always be applied.

In tournaments, you have the possibility of getting blinded out of the game. That's why you'll see the top pros going all-in on A-x and mid pairs. The televised events are also deceptive because all they show is the action. Showing the other 72 hours of players folding, folding, folding isn't going to keep the audience watching, so they only play the highlights and the final table where the blinds are incredibly high and force players to act.

So, new players come into a game expecting a lot of action and end up forcing it, which is something you never want to do in a cash game. Let the action come to you. When you play a full-table cash game, the only hands worth raising are the top four pre-flop hands. I would even limp in on jacks unless I was on the button and everyone had folded.

On occasion you'll end up with a few people in the pot after you've hit the flop hard. You'll need to make a big pot-sized bet in these multi-way pots to weed them out and punish them for drawing.

The absolute best way to play No-Limit Hold'em cash games, at any size table, is to have the patience to wait for straights, flushes or trips before putting your money in. If you can consistently wait for the best hands, you'll win in the long run.

Knowing When To Quit

2008-01-30T06:24:00.000-08:00

When you sit down at your favorite game you should really have only one thing on your mind - playing the best poker you can. If you're going to be successful you have to bring your Best Game to the table every time. The question is, how long can you play at peak performance?

Becoming a winning poker player means knowing when to quit. You have to know your own limitations and recognize when you're on a bad streak so you can get out of a game before you break your bankroll.

A general rule is that as long as you're playing good poker, there's no need to quit the game. There is no need to set limits on how much to win or lose and use that to determine when you should quit playing.

If you're on a rush in poker, the game is good and you're making good money, you should always continue playing. Poker has a lot to do with confidence, and if you're on a winning streak your confidence is definitely high. You'll tend to make more aggressive decisions and punish people for drawing. In a nutshell, you'll own the table.

It can also be a mistake to quit a losing game if you're playing well because it can easily turn into a winning one with time. I've played in games where I lost $500 before turning it around to win $3500. If I had set a guideline for myself to get out after a $350 loss, I never would have made the money.

One of the only times I recommend leaving is if your bankroll can't handle any more hits. If your bankroll has taken a huge, once-in-a-blue-moon hit, then it's probably best to take a break.

Then there are those times when your bankroll can handle a losing streak but you can't. Although it's easier said than done, you should quit right away if you're emotionally affected in any way by a losing session.

A losing streak isn't the only thing that can affect your mental state and sabotage your game. If you're tired and need rest, you need to stop playing. Research has shown that when people take any type of test, they do much better when they're alert and have eaten. This relates to poker as well. I've noticed that when I'm tired, I tend to call more marginal hands and rush decisions.

If you want to play your best, you must always feel good physically and be mentally alert so you can focus on the game. Take breaks when you need to because the game will always be there when you're ready to come back to it.

Running Bad

2008-01-30T06:12:00.000-08:00

A Great Article By Chris Ferguson about having a bad run at the Poker Tables

In 1964, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart tried to define what may or may not be considered obscene under US law. In the end, he determined that no definition existed, but that when it comes to obscenity, “I know it when I see it.”

The same holds true when you’re talking about running badly at the poker table. You may not be able to identify what’s going wrong, but you know its happening. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no single definition or criteria for “running bad” because it means something different to everyone. For some players, it’s posting 10 or 12 losing sessions in a row. For others, it’s losing a dozen coin-flips during a single session. “Running badly” depends on the individual and on the metrics they’re using to judge their performance.

Whatever the definition is, the fact remains that everyone runs bad at one time or another. What separates successful players from those who go bust is how they handle themselves and their bankrolls when their cards go dead. For me, running bad doesn’t mean having a few losing nights or taking a few bad beats over the course of a session. That’s variance and it’s an inevitable part of the game. In my mind, running bad is something bigger that happens over the long term.

If you’re not sure whether you’re really running bad or not, start by stepping back and analyzing your results over a statistically significant timeframe. If you see a consistent pattern of losing sessions over a matter of weeks or months, then it’s likely that you’re having some real problems with your game. The key to getting back on track is figure out what’s actually going wrong.

For many players, running badly is a vicious circle; they suffer a few losing sessions and begin to tilt, which leads them to alter their playing styles in order to change things up. Soon, they do actually start playing badly, which leads to more losing sessions, and a continuation of their downward spiral. They lose because they’re running badly and they’re running badly because they’re losing.

If you look at your game and believe that you’re actually playing well but are just getting unlucky, then maybe you are. Aces get cracked by lower pairs. Sets get beaten by flushes, and hands get drowned on the river more often than you might think. My advice in these situations is to walk away from the game for a while. Take a break, regroup, and come back when you’re mentally refreshed and are ready to start playing again. Don’t, however, begin changing your game to compensate for bad luck. Focus on the fundamentals, look for good starting hands, and try to play the most solid poker you can. In time, your luck will change.

Whatever you do, however, don’t try to step up in levels in order to try and recoup your losses. I’ve seen many players go bust at times like these because they’re too focused on trying to rebuild their bankrolls by gambling rather than by playing smart poker and moving down to play at a lower level. Think about it; if you’ve been losing, chances are that you’re playing on a smaller bankroll than normal, which means that you’ll be risking a higher percentage of your remaining funds by playing at higher stakes. With a smaller cushion behind you and more of your bankroll at risk, it doesn’t take long for things to go from bad to worse and for you to lose everything you had left.

On the other hand, by moving down a level or two, you’ll be risking less in the short term while you try to rebuild your bankroll. Sure, the pots you win may not be as big as those you win at higher levels, but weighed against the odds of going broke, it’s a trade-off I’m willing to make. What’s more, by moving down, I may only have to play at a lower level for a month or two to recover my losses whereas if I go broke after moving up, it could take me a year or more until I’ve recovered. That’s a pretty persuasive argument if you really value your time.

While I can’t tell you whether you’re really running badly or not, I can tell you that your mental state does impact your game. If you’re feeling good, chances are you’ll play well and, if you’re not, chances are you won’t. Rough patches are part of the game and learning how to handle short-term adversity without losing your confidence or your bankroll will make you a better player in the long run.

Selecting The Juiciest Table

2008-01-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

Good table selection is important if you want to maximize your profits from each poker session you play. It should be obvious that if you want to make money from your poker, you should play against opponents that are not as good as yourself. So if the players and table A are playing better than the players on table B, a wise poker player would choose table B every time. In B&M Casinos you would usually have very little or no choice about which table you sit at, so table selection is a little trickier when playing live poker. However, when playing online you have the opportunity to choose from a long list of tables, and you should use this freedom of choice to your advantage.

Lobby Figures
Due to the outburst in popularity in Internet poker over the years, there has been little shortage of tables for you to choose from online. So how can you determine which tables may be more profitable than others? Firstly, most poker rooms online will give you figures in the lobby based on how the table is playing. The figures that we should be most interested in are the average pot sizes and average number of players per flop.

Average Pot Size - This figure should give us an indication of how much action the players at the table are giving. The higher this figure is, the greater the amount of money we can expect to win when we make a good hand. Therefore as a wise poker player, we should look for these tables with high Average Pot Size figures.

Average Number of Players Per Flop - This figure tells us how loose the players at the table are playing. If this figure is high, then we can assume that the players have low starting hand requirements and are probable poor poker players. On the other hand if the figure is low, we can assume that the players are tight, and will only see flops with a good starting hand.

The Average Number of Players Per Flop figure should influence our table selection depending on our own style of play. If you are a tight player it may be more beneficial for you to choose the tables with a higher number of players per flop and pick up the occasional big pots, whereas if you are a loose player you may find it beneficial to play at the tables with low numbers of players per flop to pick up many of the small uncontested pots.

Be sure to take into account the number of players at each table in relation to the number of players per flop, as the shorthanded tables will have a lower number of players per flop than the full tables.

Time Of Play
A second factor, which can influence the profitability of the tables, is the time at which you are play poker. Many Internet players will play poker for the entertainment factor, and will not be playing solely for the money. This means that if we time our play in conjunction with the time the casual players participate, then we can avoid more of the sharks and sit down with the fish.

The average working timetable for a person that plays online poker is likely to be 9AM to 5PM on weekdays. Therefore if we want to maximize our chances of playing with these recreational players then we should sit down at the tables after 6PM on weekdays, and at any time during the weekends. In addition people will often play poker after having a drink, which will alter their play for the worse. The time at which the drunken players are likely to be sitting down at the tables is during the evenings.

Obviously these theories best apply to the countries with the highest volume of internet players, so if you live in the UK you may want to play poker during the times that correlate with the times mentioned above for the USA.

Player Search
Many poker rooms offer you the ability to search for specific players. These means that you should use this feature to your advantage and take a note of every bad player you come across, and search for him or her before you sit down at the tables. This way you can guarantee yourself to be playing against at least one bad player, instead of taking a chance on a table of unknowns.

Conclusion
Many players will not actively choose the tables that may give them the greatest opportunities to make the most money out of their poker sessions. If you are going to sit down at a poker table for a decent period of time with your money, it is in your best interest to sit down at the tables that will give you the greatest return on your investment in the long run. The advice given above on good table selection is simple to employ, so it is worth spending a minute or two looking for a good table, especially if you intend to sit at the one table for a long period of time.

However, if the table has changed significantly due to original players leaving and new players arriving, it may be a good idea to leave the table if you feel it is no longer profitable. There are literally thousands of other tables out there, and you are under no obligation to stay if the particular table no longer suits your style of play.

Playing Your Postion

2008-01-27T15:48:00.001-08:00

Before dealing with the cards dealt a good understanding of what position you hold at the table is required, your position is of vital importance as to how you will play your hand. The later your position the better off you generally are.

The worst position is the blinds, they have committed money to the pot without even seeing their cards. They are not completely powerless however as they can raise when the betting gets around to them.

If there are some callers and no raisers it is not automatic for the Small Blind to bet the extra to see the flop. If he has terrible cards he is only throwing good money after bad and he is not the last player to act , the Big Blind can still raise.

The Big Blind, if there were no raises and the bet gets back to him has nothing to lose by staying in the hand even if he is playing poor cards, he gets a free look at the flop.

The other positions at the table are described by where they sit in relation to the big blind. Assuming a full 10 handed game the first three positions to the Big Blinds left can be called early position. In early position you need stronger cards than you do in the later or middle positions. In the middle position, which is the next 3 players after the three early position players, you can play somewhat weaker cards. The last two players are in the ideal position, the late position with the button the very best and they need the weakest of all cards and can make the most moves at the table.

Your Position is vital in determining your play at the table.

Pre-Flop Strategy - General Ranking of Pocket Card Strength

Premium Cards - these are the very best 2 pocket cards you can be dealt and can be played from any position in order

Ace-Ace
King-King
Ace-King suited
Queen-Queen
Jack-Jack

You should be prepared to raise with these cards in any position, with the first 3 you can reraise a raiser. With Queens or Jacks they can be raised in middle or late positions, if there have been no raises before you bet.

Other Strong Playable Hands - good hands but not quite as good as premium cards

Ace-Queen, Ace-Jack, Ace-10 all suited
Ace-King
King-Queen suited
10-10
Ace-10, King-Jack, Queen-Jack, Jack-10 all suited
Ace-Queen, Ace-Jack
9-9
King-Queen
King-10, Queen-10 suited

Playable Hands - somewhat strong but not as good as the hands above

8-8
Jack-9 10-9 both suited
7-7
9-8,8-7 both suited
Ace with any other suited card
King-Jack, Queen-Jack, Jack-10

Playable Hands - Not so great

Any low pair (e.g. pairs below 7)
Connected suited card, such as 8-7,5-4,4-3
Ace-10, King-10, Queen-10
King-9, Jack-8 both suited

All other hands not described above are weak hands and should be played with caution.

General Strategy

You should raise with Premium Cards no matter what position your in, with exception of Queens and Jacks which should be raised only if no one has raised before you.

With the other strong Playable Cards you are looking to raise in the middle to late position if no one betting before you has raised.

With Playable hands you can raise in mid to late position if everyone betting before you has folded.

You do not want mediocre hands to stay in the game hoping for a miracle board that will save their hand, and you do not want to be tagged as a rock who only plays the best hands. The only way to really gain a feel for poker strategy is by playing, but these basic strategies are meant to give some general ideas about the strength of your pocket cards and how to play them.

If you are new to Texas Hold'em Poker , online poker sites offer great opportunities to play the game for play money or at very low stakes.

Bluffing

2008-01-27T15:35:00.001-08:00

Without the bluff, poker would not be poker; it is the ultimate deception. One of the greatest feelings you can get from poker derives from taking down a huge pot that your opponent should have won. Bluffing has been greatly glamorized by the media, televising huge bluffs being put on other players and taking down huge pots in the WSOP and in movies. If you ask an amateur player or any person new to poker what the fundamental aspects of the game are, you can be very sure that they will describe how bluffing your opponents is key to beating the game. However, this is actually far from the truth. It is possible to beat poker games without ever needing to bluff. The over estimation of the importance of bluffing by amateur players is what helps them lose money to the more experienced.

The aim of poker is to win money, simple as that. So if you were to never bluff, you can still make money. Think of it this way; If you are sitting at a 6 seater table, each player has an equal chance on getting good or bad cards. Each player according to simple math should have the best hand 1 in every 6 hands, therefore if all the players were of the exact same standard, in the long run nobody would lose, and nobody would win. But if one player was able to win more money from their opponents when they had the best hand than their opponents won from them when they had the best hand, that player would be making more money than their opponents in the long run. It stands to reason that if you play your cards better than the other players play their cards, you will end up a winner.

So does this mean that players lose more money trying to run bluffs on one another? Not necessarily. An experienced player can pick their spots and take down a few pots that should have been taken down by someone else, adding a little more to their stack. But it is not easy for a beginner or even intermediate players to pick the right spots, it takes a lot of experience of situations and knowledge of your opponent to know when a bluff will be successful. Therefore if you are unsure of whether you can take down a pot, then you shouldn’t try, as you are unnecessarily risking chips by trying to take down a pot that is not essential anyway.

As you play more poker, you will have a greater understanding of when you can bluff. However there are more advantages to bluffing than simply winning one pot.

Giving Yourself a Loose Image. If you continually try to run bluffs against your opponents, they will try and catch you out when you bet into them. They will start to overplay their mediocre hands when you bet and pay you off when you do have a good hand.

Put Your Opponents on Tilt. People do not like to be deceived out of their money. If you make a successful bluff against a player and show them, they may become frustrated and play worse in an attempt to get their money back. This is known as 'playing on tilt' However it is not advised to do this often as your opponent and others at the table may be out to get you, which will make the game trickier to play.

As you can see, bluffing has its extra benefits. The most important one mentioned above is giving yourself a looset table image, as you potentially can take a lot of money off your opponents because they will not believe you when you do have a good hand.

When Should You Bluff?
Now that you know the theory of bluffing, when you should you bluff? The answer is simple; you should bluff when you think your opponent will fold. Knowing when your opponent will fold can only come through practice, and the more you practice the better you will become. Reading poker books will also help you to understand the game, and where bluffs can be employed successfully. Here are a few situations when it is more likely to run a successful bluff:

When in last position. If you are in last position, you have the ability the make more successful bluffs than anywhere else on the table. If you are last to act, and your opponents have checked to you, it is a sign of weakness. This is a perfect opportunity to bet and win the pot.

If you raised pre-flop. If you raise pre-flop and then missed on the flop, you can still win the pot. If you make a continuation bet , your opponent is unlikely to call unless they have hit top pair or middle pair at least.

Against small stacks. If your opponent has a small stack, they are unlikely to call a raise unless they have hit the flop hard. But you have to be careful, as it will be rare for a short stack to simply call when bet into, they will either fold or push. Again this is where practice makes perfect, and you will know when the short stack is more likely to fold than push.

When on a draw. If you do not have a made hand, but are on a draw such as a straight or a flush, you can launch what is called a semi-bluff. You hope to take the pot down right there, but if you do get called you still have a chance to win the hand if the next cards improve your hand. But if you get re-raised be prepared to let the hand go, unless you are receiving correct Pot Odds to call.

Evaluation
It is important to remember that you do not need to bluff to win money at poker, especially if you are new to the game. It is far better to play your good hands well rather than try and make your opponents fold when you have no idea whether or not they will call. As you play more you can expand your game and try new things in different situations and find out times when it is best to bluff. It could be said that bluff are more beneficial for what they do for the future, rather than what they do for the present. In the present you will be taking down a small pot, but in the future you could be taking down a large pot because your opponent did not believe that you had the best hand when you bet.

How To Consistently Beat Sit And Go's

2008-01-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

It's so simple...

And so obvious...

Yet no one seems to get it!

What's this easy-to-use secret for beating Sit and Go tournaments online?

The answer is this:

PATIENCE.

I know... I know... you were expecting something more, um... "secretive".

But the truth is, winning at Sit and Go's is pretty damn easy. I find them easier than "real" poker games, actually. And that's why every time I turn on the computer these days I feel like a kid in a candy store... ready to clean out the amateurs at the poker room of my choosing.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. What I want to discuss here is why PATIENCE is so critical for Sit and Go success. First, let's get back to some basics. There are four types of poker playing styles:

1. Tight-Passive
2. Tight-Aggressive
3. Loose-Passive
4. Loose-Aggressive

Your style should be tight-aggressive.

Don't confuse "styles" with "preferences". If you want to be a good card player, you DON'T get to DECIDE to be tight-aggressive. You MUST be tight-aggressive in order to be good, Period.

Of course there are DEGREES of each playing style, and that's what accounts for the differences between one pro and another... the DIFFERENT DEGREES of tight-aggressive.

OK, now let me ask you:

What does "tight-aggressive" really MEAN?

Here's the answer:

It means that you play TIGHT in terms of hand selection, but AGGRESSIVE when you enter a pot. Be careful... "tight" and "aggressive" are not opposites. "Tight" and "loose" are opposites. And so are "aggressive" and "passive".

TIGHT refers to hand selection. AGGRESSIVE refers to betting.

OK... so this is how playing styles relate to Sit and Go's...

The NATURE of Sit and Go's makes them OVERRUN by LOOSE-AGGRESSIVE style players.

The reasons are simple:

1. You can play a Sit and Go virtually anytime, anywhere, and with anyone.

This means there's very low risk in LOSING, since you can easily just move on to the next game. It's not like in "offline" poker when once you get knocked out you're DONE.

2. The money seems less "real".

Let's be honest... We all know the feeling of making a deposit into an online poker account and thinking to ourselves how it doesn't quite feel like REAL MONEY. Am I right?

3. There's no "embarrassment".

Online poker is virtually 100% anonymous. If you make a stupid move, you're not worried about what the other players THINK of you. Who cares?

After all, the other "players" are really just silly little avatars on an animated screen.

OK, so those are three (there are many more) of the reasons why Sit and Go's (and pretty much all of online poker) are dominated by the playing style LOOSE-AGGRESSIVE.

Loose-aggressive is also known as the "manic" playing style. And what's the FASTEST way to beat a manic?

Yep, you guessed it...

PATIENCE.

The reason is because MANICS are constantly playing many hands (loose) and doing so aggressively.

What happens is that it's difficult to get a READ on them because you never know whether they're bluffing or not... unless you call their bets... which you can't do because you don't have that great a hand.

Has this ever happened to you?

Have you ever been up against a player who seemed to be playing VERY aggressively and you just couldn't figure out if they were bluffing or holding great cards?

And then when you got FED UP with it and DID make a call, he had you beat?

My guess is that it HAS happened to you... just as it's happened for me.

The key thing to know is that THERE ARE certain steps you can take to defend this. (I even wrote an entire chapter about this topic in my book.)

But fortunately in Sit and Go's, this isn't really much of a problem. Because you're usually not up against just one or two manics. You're up against an ENTIRE TABLE of them.

That means you shouldn't be CALLING anyone's bets.

Instead, YOU should push the action when you have a monster hand... and ONLY when you have a monster hand. And that, of course, requires...

PATIENCE!

It's actually much easier this way. Because with a table full of manics, you can rely on getting action with all your great hands.

(I should point out here that I'm generally referring to Sit and Go's where the entry fee is less than $50. When the stakes are higher the quality of play is usually more intelligent.)

OK, so what I'm about to tell you might take some of the "fun" out of Sit and Go's. But it will increase your profits dramatically...

Here's what your Sit and Go "experience" should look like when the field is from 8 or 10 players down to 4 or 5 players.

**************************************************

If your hole cards are...

A-A, K-K - Go all in pre-flop if you're in early position. If in late position and there was a raise, go all-in. If people were just trying to limp in, make a raise... and then bet very aggressively after the flop.

Q-Q, A-K - If you're in an early position, bet big (but not all-in). If you're in a late position, use your read on the other players to determine whether or not you think you have the best hand. If so, bet huge or go all-in.

All other pocket pairs - Limp-in. If you spike trips, go all-in. If not, fold.

Suited connectors - Limp-in if the blinds are reasonably low. Fold suited connectors under 7-6.

Ace-X suited - Limp-in if possible. Only bet if you hit the flush.

All other hands - Fold.

**************************************************

What you've just seen will be completely different than most "starting hand strategies" out there.

And that chart is NOT for all types of no limit Texas Holdem. We're ONLY talking about games that match these three criteria:

1. Online poker Sit and Go tournaments 2. Low stakes (under $50 entry) 3. While there are more than 4 or 5 players at the table (in an 8-man or 10-man Sit and Go)

DO NOT use that starting hand advice for any other poker games... because that's NOT how you should play your starting hands in general.

So why would Sit and Go's be so much different than "normal" poker play?

Like I said before, the reason is because Sit and Go's are heavily dominated by loose-aggressive players... and THIS is how you beat those guys.

Why exactly does this strategy work?

It works because you're only playing monsters.

Now... if the players at Sit and Go's were SMART, they'd OBSERVE that you're only playing monster hands... and they'd FOLD as soon as you went all-in.

I mean... it only makes logical sense, right?

Indeed, this is how it works in live games. But not online. Because for online poker there's another important factor working to your advantage...

NO ONE'S PAYING ATTENTION!

The truth is, many players are either drunk, hungover, stupid, or playing multiple tables at once. Or all of the above!

They're not paying attention to your betting patterns. They're just playing the CARDS, not the PLAYERS.

I call my strategy for patiently waiting for monster hands and then going all-in:

"Tight-Aggressive Squared"

The reason is because my strategy is like the playing style tight-aggressive... but on STEROIDS.

Why go all-in so much?

It's like I said... you WILL get action. Maybe not every single time, but enough times to make it well worth your while.

For Sit and Go's, all you need to do is double-up ONCE before the field gets to 4 or 5 players.

THEN you can start playing aggressively. What will happen is that the 4 or 5 players LEFT IN THE GAME will usually be the smarter ones. And some of them WILL notice by now that you're playing tight.

SO THEN what you do is steal blinds. It's easy.

Everyone tightens up when there are four or five players in a hand because they want to make the money... and they want to be VERY CAREFUL to make it into the top three.

That is when you steal some blinds and add to your chip stack.

Then, after that point you'll be in third place and will be in the money.

I have a ton of strategies for getting you into FIRST place too (after you get down to three players), but I'll have to save those for a different day.

You know, when I first discovered this strategy of "Tight-Aggressive Squared" I wasn't COMPLETELY convinced it was the best way to win at Sit and Go's.

At the time, I had been trying a lot of things. The idea of just being EXTREMELY PATIENT and then going all-in with monster hands seemed a little TOO SIMPLE.

Right?

Then one night, I was at a 10-man Sit and Go. I went all-in with a big hand early and doubled up. It was the only hand I got really involved with.

Then... with 9 players still at the table... my Internet shut off. I didn't know what happened. All I know is that the Internet just plain STOPPED WORKING.

I would have called someone... but it was past two in the morning.

I messed with it for like fifteen minutes and then just gave up. Oh well... it's just one Sit and Go.

Anyway... I started working on something else on my computer for awhile until all of the sudden the Internet came BACK on.

I logged into my poker room to see what had happened with the game. Immediately the screen POPPED-UP and the action was to me...

I was still in the game, it wasn't over yet!

Not only that...

But there were only three players left! I was in third, but still had some remaining chips to play around with. I immediately went all-in and everyone folded. Then I did it again and everyone folded. And a few hands later I did it AGAIN.

I picked up three enormous sets of blinds and was right back in the game. The reason everyone was folding was because I hadn't played a hand in 25 minutes. They were probably wondering what the hell was going on!

Anyway, as it turned out, I actually WON 1ST for this Sit and Go. First place baby... and my Internet only worked for about 1/5 of the game!

After I was done I started thinking about what had just happened. I realized that by PLAYING in a Sit and Go you can often do MORE DAMAGE THAN GOOD when there are lots of players at the table.

And of course, I became 100% convinced that the "magic equation" for success is:

PATIENCE + AGGRESSION

Your goal for these games should be to place in the money as much as possible. Period. So why risk chips on silly hands early on?

They're just not worth it...

The other thing about this strategy is that it's a HUGE time-saver. Because it doesn't require hardly any work until there are 4-5 players left. It makes it MUCH easier to play multiple tables at once... or do other things while the Sit and Go plays in the background.

OK, so here's your "Tight-Aggressive Squared" Sit and Go strategy:

1. Be patient, be patient, be patient!

Only play the hands I showed you earlier. Only bet before the flop with Aces, Kings, Big Slick, and Queens.

2. When you catch a monster, go all-in. Don't do this if you think someone has you beat (i.e. there's an obvious straight or flush draw on the board).

I'm talking about only playing hands when you know you have the best odds of winning.

3. When the field gets down to four or five players (depending on how high the blinds are and how many all-in showdowns you've won), shift gears completely and STOP using this "Tight-Aggressive Squared" strategy.

That, my friend, is the "secret" to Sit and Go's.

It's obvious... but not-so-obvious.

But it is DEFINITELY simple.

And you can start implementing it IMMEDIATELY...

To get step-by-step advice as you play Sit and Go tournaments online, make sure to download "Sit And Go Shark". This amazing software tool will "take you by the hand" and give you coaching as you play online Sit and Go's.

Free for a limited time. Click this link:

Click Here For FREE Sit N Go Shark

Tilt Control

2008-01-26T21:01:00.000-08:00

Here is a great article on how to control your emotions and conquer "Tilting" it is written By Ben Roberts.

To begin, let me state the obvious: tilt happens to everyone. In fact, it's safe to say that tilt is one of the most feared words - and concepts - in poker. So, what causes tilt? Well, that's different for everyone. For some, it's a bad run of cards or continuously getting unlucky when you're opponents hit their miracle two and three-outers on the river. For others, it's just playing poorly for an extended period of time.

No matter the cause, however, the fact remains that once most players do finally go on tilt, all bets are off and their games suffer. They end up playing the wrong cards in the wrong situations or at the wrong times and losing a lot of chips. For some players, this can be the beginning of a vicious cycle that feeds upon itself and, eventually, destroys their confidence along with their bankrolls.

Knowing what causes tilt is one thing, but the bigger question is, what is tilt? Personally, I believe it's a chemical reaction that takes place in your brain. It's similar to the primal emotion of being in danger, coded into our DNA just as if we're in the forest being hunted so many thousands or years ago. Instead of being chased by some wild animal, we're being hunted by other players looking to gun us down with another bad beat.

The effect of this primal emotion is enormous - your whole chemistry changes and you go into a different frame of mind that will completely change the way you play the game. The key to stopping this from happening and going on tilt is the ability to separate yourself from that emotion. Rather than playing based on that primal instinct, you should continue to play smart, thoughtful poker without worrying about your short-term results.

In order to achieve this, you must train yourself to believe that winning and losing at the poker table, at least over a short period of time, both have the same meaning. This might seem counterintuitive at first, because the object of the game is always to win. But you have to accept the fact that you can't win every hand and that losing is a part of the game.

Look at how you approach a coin flip situation. If you're winning at the time you're faced with a coin flip, you're going to be more hesitant to take that chance because you don't want to risk losing what you've already won (and possibly more). If, on the other hand, you're presented with the same situation when you're losing, then you're probably going to be more willing to take the risk and go for the coin flip because you want to win your money back. Either way, I think both cases are detrimental to your game because in either situation, you're more worried about the short-term outcome rather than about playing solid poker over the long term, which is what being a winning player is really all about.

When you become indifferent to winning or losing over the short term, you won't have to worry about going on tilt because you're focusing simply on playing good poker. That's all that matters at the end of the day - playing well. As poker players, we can do nothing more than to play our best game and let the cards fall as they may. When you adopt this attitude, your long-term results will take a turn for the better, no matter what kind of variance you face over the short term.

Poker Office Review

2008-01-24T10:09:00.001-08:00

Today I am going to review a particular piece of online poker software, Online Poker Tools - Odds Calculator. There seems to be a huge amount of products swarming the market every day - odds calculators, player note takers, hand re-players, statistic producers and even... bots. These days it is hard to find software that actually does what it claims to do, there's been speculation for a while now as to whether these types of software exist or not, and now we have proof. A good online poker software will reliably improve your game, making you a better player, making it more fun, and ultimately - increasing your profits. Well folks I believe the great software that all of you have been searching for has finally been found, Poker Office is the only tool you’ll need for real time analysis for your online poker play. It's everything you could ask for in an Online Poker Tools – Odds Calculator, and online pros are rarely seen without it. It does so much, I've been using it for a week, and I'm wondering how I ever managed to play without it.

Now I am quite sure you would have read my review of Hold Em Indicator and in reality both Hold Em Indicator and Poker Office are great pieces of software and excel in their own regions and while both programs do essentially the same thing, Poker Office 2.0 is just far more user friendly and easier to get the hang of. You don’t have to worry about downloading hand histories and manipulating various add-on programs as you do with Poker Tracker and other software’s. You simply download the software (FREE), install it and you’re ready to go!

A great new feature which is available with Poker Office is the ability to view your opponents mucked hand, imagine if you had this type of information. You could see what your opponent was calling your bet with; this will further help you categorize your opponents; if they are a pro, an amateur or just an easy target (fish), especially at the low limit tables where many players are somewhat predictable. Some sites present the mucked cards in their hand histories; according to standard poker rules, you as a player, have the right to see your opponents mucked cards when there is a showdown (it's the same in a real casino). Poker Office fetches these from the hand history and presents them to you in a nicer format during play.

The main reason I purchased Poker Office is due to the live game tracker with real time statistics. Poker Office is an empirical Calculator, this means that not only will Poker Office show you pot odds, outs, draw odds, and a host of other statistics instantly on the table; it will give you accurate and detailed information about your opponents. With a quick glance at the screen you can view how often your opponent’s raise pre-flop, the percentage of flops they've seen, and even the current pot odds (including many more statistics). It also auto rates your opponents play, adjusting in real time to show how much of a threat they are including providing such statistics as aggression, BB/100 hands, how often they defend their blinds, pre/post flop stats, and much more. Again this will help you categorize your opponents e.g. Fish, Shark, Calling Station etc. The facts above are of course vital to your game play and how you should change your playing style with the same cards but different opponents. If you face a solid player and have JJ as holecards and he/she raise’s or re-raise’s pre-flop you might just want to call so you don’t become an underdog. Remember the key to becoming a successful poker player is to obtain as much information you can about your opponent and your current hand, change your style against different opponents. If a rock-solid player attacks your marginal hand it is not the time to semi-bluff, it’s time to fold as he/she most probably holds the nuts. With Poker Office you have both ingredients for Success, Information and Statistics, so you can’t go wrong.

Another feature with Poker Office is that it has Real Time Heads Up Display it features, a built in HUD that will overlay statistics, player actions and odds on the actual poker table. This way you will always have full control over the present game state in order to exploit weaknesses in your opponents. The in-game overlay is a great help in identifying fish and strong players, your opponent’s statistics and information is displayed right next to them. You can even have it watch a table in order to record the play there before joining yourself. Some people record play at several tables for a half hour before joining in order to find the juiciest tables, in order to increase profits.

Almost everything is possible with Poker Office. You can see how you performed on certain hands, how much you won with them, how you played those hands in certain situations and much more. There is one area for Ring games and one for Tournaments, which is also very useful. The one main disadvantage that has led this software down in the past is that it didn’t have a hand re-player. A feature that many poker players dearly missed, however now with the new version of Poker Office a hand re-player has finally been added; this alleviates any doubts that Poker Office truly offers the whole package in an Online Poker Tools - Odds Calculator.

In conclusion a proper Online Poker Tools - Odds Calculator will provide You additional calculated and memorized information that will enhance your decision making during play. Poker Office accomplishes this with ease as it is packed with features and is also one of the most user-friendly and easy to use Poker Odds Calculators. It features, Live Game Tracking, Real Time Heads Up Display, A Hand Re-player, Extended Statistical graphs, shows mucked hands, and tracks Tourneys and Cash Games. You can also get Poker Office For FREE, if you use the bonus code provided on the site and register with any Poker Room you will receive Poker Office For Free. I did this starting in my second room and I am very glad I made that decision, as I now have access to such a powerful program that has drastically improved my game and elevated my profits.

Click Here To Claim Your FREE License Of Poker Office Today!

Hold Em Indicator Review

2008-01-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

I am quite sure if you are reading this review you would have heard of Poker indicator and Calculatem Pro and, you will know that both of those products have great potential except a few minor drawbacks that kept them from competing with the market leaders in this category. Well Hold Em Indicator now succeeds both Poker Indicator and Calculatem Pro not only that, it has quickly zoomed to the top of the class of empirical poker calculators market wide and is well known as the software that provides the most exhaustive feature set in the highly competitive Online Poker Tools.

Hold Em Indicator is one of the latest poker calculators to have hit the market, it’s not very well known among novice players and most still use Poker Indicator or Texas Calculatem or one of the many other poker calculators available. I think that Holdem Indicator is in many ways superior to the competing calculators. Here are a few quick points why Hold em Indicator leaves its competion in the dust.

When using Holdem Indicator you get a classy design and user friendly software setup that a true poker player can easily adapt to and begin using immediately. You get the distinct notion that the software designers actually play poker and understand layout and design, as much as odds in the game itself. Especially valuable in this software is the odds display that shows two vital things - your odds of winning the pot, and your pot odds when a bet is put to you. If you have ever had trouble laying down hands, this feature alone will save you the cost of this calculator in one buy in at a $0.25/0.50 table at any online poker room. You can actually change the odds display to percentage or ratio whatever your preference, but for poker ratio is the way to go as it easily compares your pot odds. When a bet is put to you, and one of these indicators is significantly larger than the other, take a closer look before your next move. For example if your pot odds are a decent 3 to 1, but your odds to win are 18 to 1, then your juicy pot odds don’t really matter, and you should lay your hand down.

Holdem Inidctaor also has Auto-display of Opponent's mucked hands. Poker Rooms don't always expose mucked cards that your entitled to see. These cards are exposed prominently in Holdem Indicator's text box. The next advantage Hold em Indicator has is that it is an Empirical Poker Calculator, Generally speaking, all poker calculators have the fundamental ability to calculate the bets and pot size while measuring that against your position, hole card strength and drawing potential. However Empirical Poker Calculators can monitor and record the behavior of your opponents. Based on this added information, such a Poker Calculator can help support or contradict your impression of a certain opponent's grid factor, but more likely, set the framework for an hypothesis all on its' own. You can actually monitor a table before you sit at it, or keep track of players while you sit out for a period. The opponent stats window will indicate a player's profile based on several calculations including VPIP, aggression, and show downs wins. After collecting 50 hands of data, Hold'em Indicator will assign a graphic image to you and your opponents. Holdem Indicator will categorize the players at the table into different groups like solid, fish,shark and so on. You will also have a lot of information on every player at the table, how often does he/she raise preflop, how often does he/she win at showdown and much more.

Imagine what you could accomplish with this information; remember to succeed at poker you have to try to obtain the most possible information you can in a particular hand, now this info will give you a distinct advantage over your opponents. Take For example If you face a solid player,( which Holdem Indicator will point out) and you have AJ as holecards and he/she raise’s or re-raise’s preflop you might just want to call so you don’t become an underdog, as your hand could be most likely dominated. That’s one important thing in every poker game, Change your style with different players. If a rock-solid player attacks your marginal hand it is not the time to semi-bluff, it’s time to fold as he/she will most probably hold the nuts.

Hold em Indicator can also be used to spot pros, the calculator will virtually tell you who they are by indicating how many hands they play, how many pre-flop raises they make, and how many hands they win at showdowns all this without ever having to know what they were holding. Consistent pre-flop raising, especially in position is a solid indication you are dealing with a pro. Experienced players generally follow the assumption that aggressiveness, combined with solid post flop play will win a lot of pots whether you hit the flop or not. If you have a look at Holdem Indicator's session stats, the PFR% column shows exactly the amount of raises divided by hands played. The higher this is, the more likely you are up against a pro that knows his odds are better playing heads-up. Again having access to this type of information will put you at huge advantage against your competition, and in turn make you a lot more money.

Holdem Indicator also shows your Expected Value (EV) and of course it should be positive every time you decide to play a hand. You may win a lot of hands with a negative expected value but over time you’ll lose and lose big. Patience is a poker players best friend, If you are playing one table and feel impatient, start another table at the same time or surf the web or whatever, just don’t play hands that should be folded; seeing too many unnecessary flops will cost you a small fortune over time.Holdem Indicator also features a great mini-view and this is a feature that is greatly missed with the other poker calculators. The mini-view fits on the topbar of the poker table-window, allowing you to play up to six games at once without the windows overlapping, giving you full control of every table. So if you are a seasoned pro and play more than one table or If you like to play for bonuses this feature will be very beneficial to your needs.

There is maybe one or two disadvantages that the product has and as this is an unbiased review I will mention them; one of them is that The Software does not actually give you its own recommendation as to what you should do in the hand, (give a recommendation). However if you are unable to digest the vast amount of information you are offered and given and still cannot make a profitable decision then maybe online poker is not for you. The other slight disadvantage is that your hand is not ranked; again if you cannot tell a Full House from a Flush then maybe you are wasting your time and money playing online poker.

In conclusion a proper Online Poker Tools - Odds Calculator will provide You additional calculated and memorized information that will enahnce your decision making during play. Holdem Indicator accomplishes this with the most complete set of features available. Yes, all other features are prevalent with other Poker Tools on the market, Holdem Indicator bundles the most features.Holdem Indicator smoothly connects to almost any poker room so you won’t have any trouble setting it up. Holdem Indicator features instant poker odds, Expected Value, Sklansky groups and how likely you are to draw out or to be drawn out. It categorizes your opponents into groups according to their playing style e.g. sharks, fish, calling stations. This will help you conquer the sharks, take advantage of the maniacs and collect small fortunes from the fish.

Click Here To Get Your FREE License Today!

Pot Odds

2007-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

In poker, Pot Odds are the ratio of the current size of the pot to the cost of a contemplated call. In other words, if the pot contains $100, and a player must call $10 to stay in the hand, then the player has 100-to-10, or 10-to-1 (commonly expressed as 10:1), pot odds. Pot odds are often compared to the probability of winning a hand with a future card in order to estimate the call's expected value.

When you see a flop, you will generally be in one of three situations.

Situation #1: Your hand totally misses the board

e.g. You Have (8, J) - Board is (7, 5, Q)

You have nothing, so you should check and fold. You could bluff if you sense weakness.

Situation #2: You hit the flop well and hold a strong hand

e.g. You Have (A,Q) - Board is ( 10, Q, 5)

In this situation you would generally bet or raise

Situation #3: You have a drawing hand

In this possibility you currently do not hold a strong hand, but it is possible for you to make a strong hand if the turn or river brings you a good card. This situation is known as "drawing."

e.g. You Have (10, 9) - Board is (J, 8, 6)

In this situation, a 7 or a Queen will make you the nut straight and you will make the best hand.

Now if someone has top pair they will bet into ths pot and now you have a decsion to make wether you should call or not, this is where pot odds come into play. Calculating pot odds is fairly simple. First, you must count the number of outs you have. An out is a card that will improve your hand. In this example, your outs are four 7s and four Queens, or 8 outs total. To calculate your percentage of hitting an out on the next card, you take the number of outs times 2, then add 1. In the above situation with 8 outs, you have roughly a 17% chance of hitting on the turn.

Once you figure out your chance of hitting a draw, you multiply it by the pot+bet to determine the maximum bet you can call. For example, if the bet is $16 and the pot is $100, the pot+bet is $116. Now let's say you have 8 outs (8 cards will help you). This means you have about a 17% chance of hitting on the next card. If the pot is $100 and you must call $16, you should call, because you have more than a 13% chance to hit ($16 / $116). However, if the bet to you is $25, you should fold, because that would require a 21.2% chance of hitting ($25 / $116). For more practice with pot odds and other vital information you need about your opponents, check out this poker FREE Pot Odds Calculator.

Converting pot odds to percentage values

Pot Odds are a ratio, but having their percentage value will often make them easier to work with. The ratio has two numbers: the Size of the Pot, and the Cost of the Call. To get the percentage value, we add the Size of the Pot and the Cost of the Call numbers together and record their Sum. We then divide the Cost of the Call by the Sum.

E.g.
The pot is $60, and the cost of the call is $20. The pot odds in this situation are 60:20, or 3:1 when reduced. To get the percentage, we add 3 plus 1 get a sum of 4. Now we divide 1 by 4, giving us 0.25, or 25 percent.

When a player holds a drawing hand, or a hand that is behind now but is likely to win if a certain card is drawn, pot odds are used to determine the expected value of that hand when the player is faced with a bet. The expected value of a call is determined by comparing the pot odds to the odds of drawing a card that wins the pot. When the odds of drawing a card that wins the pot are numerically higher than the pot odds, the call has a positive expectation; on average, you win a portion of the pot that is greater than the cost of the call. Conversely, if the odds of drawing a winning card are numerically lower than the pot odds, the call has a negative expectation, and you can expect to win less money on average than it costs to call the bet.

Manipulating pot odds
Often you will have to bet to manipulate the pot odds offered to other players. A common example of manipulating pot odds is make a bet to protect a made hand that discourages opponents from chasing a drawing hand.

E.g
With one card to come, You have a made hand, but the board shows a potential flush draw. You wants to bet enough to make it wrong for an opponent with a flush draw to call, but You don't want to bet more than he has to in the event the opponent already has him beat. How much should You bet?

Assume a $20 pot and one opponent. If You bet $10 (half the pot), when your opponent acts, the pot will be $30 and it will cost $10 to call. The opponent's pot odds will be 3-to-1, or 25 percent. If the opponent is on a flush draw (19 percent with one card to come), the pot is not offering adequate pot odds for the opponent to call unless the opponent thinks he can induce additional final round betting from you if the opponent makes his hand. On the other hand A $6 bet would make your opponent mathematically indifferent to calling.

While pot odds at times can seem a pain to calculate, where one has to keep up with so many cards, rest assured, its well worth the trouble.

Hanging onto unprofitable drawing hands is one of the major leaks in many a player's game. Following strict pot odds to make your draw decisions will help plug this leak! If you are serious about your online Poker Bankroll then Check out this FREE Software which will instantly calculate pot odds for you in the middle of your hand and it also offers many other distinct features which put you at a huge advantage against your opponents. Remember if you have a distinct advantage over your Opponents you are guaranteed to be a consistently profitable poker player, after all we all know that we are after the Fish to make easy money and that is exactly what this software will help you do.

Finally, the most painless way I have found to memorize the common pot odds numbers is to print out or write down your cheat sheet, which can be found on the internet if you cant find please contact me and I will be happy to provide you with one, and refer to it as you play poker online. You will find yourself having to refer to it less and less, and eventually, not at all.
Combine good poker math, solid strategy and a lucrative poker bonus code here and there and you will see some major improvement in your poker bankroll!

Quick Tip

2007-12-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

You can bet with just an ace or two minor overcards on the flop, but you should fold if someone raises your bet in that situation. If someone bets before you on the flop you can call with two overcards, but fold them at the turn unless your hand improves then. You can call with two major overcards (eg A-Q) if someone raises your bet on the flop. You can also check-call a bet on the turn with that kind of hand, unless the board looks threatening. A small pair with an overcard kicker is a strong hand that you can (cold) call a raise with on the flop. Though, you should probably fold it on the next round if it was raised on the flop and you haven't improved the hand and someone bets before you.
If everyone checks on the flop you can bet on the turn even if you have nothing. Your opponents will often fold in such a situation, unless they are too many or too loose. You can sometimes bluff-bet if the flop contains an ace . Your opponents will often fold in such a situation if they don't have any pairs or an open ended straight, because it's impossible for them to have any overcards when the flop contains an ace. Please note that this will only work if your opponents aren't too many or too loose.
If someone suddenly bets into you or raises , and you are considering folding, be sure to first look at the amount of chips that the player has in front of him. If he is out of chips it's likely that he is bluff raising/betting because he knows he will go all-in on that hand anyway.

Bankroll Management

2007-12-26T08:06:00.000-08:00

The ultimate goal of a online poker player is to make as much money as possible and this is only achievable by following strict bankroll management principles.

Apart from the fact that poker is a game of entertainment there are two main goals of a poker player which face each other:

-The player wants to minimze the risk of a bankruptcy. He achieves this aim by playing with small amounts of money.
-The player wants maximize his bankroll and poker winnings. He achieves this aim by playing with big amounts of money.

To balance these two goals and two find a way to maximize the winnings while minimizing the risk of a bankruptcy is the task of the so called bankroll management.

Lets say you start your poker career with $50 which you can get for FREE from PokerStrategy as your starting capital (FREE No Deposit). With these $50 you start playing at NL10 ($0.05/$0.10) Tables.You should play NL $0.05/$0.10 until you have $150 in your account. This means as soon as you have made a profit of $100 on this limit you have a sufficient bankroll to move up. Once you have reached that amount you move up to NL $0.10/$0.25 and you play on this limit until you have $400 in your account. If your account falls below $100 you move back down a level to NL $0.05/$0.10. You move up to NL $0.25/$0.50 when you have surpassed $400 and play on this limit until you have reached $800, move down a limit if your account dips below $200. Move upto to NL $0.50/$1 if you have more than $800 in your account and at this point you should have gained enough experience and knowledge to decide for yourself which limits you can play and what bankroll you need for it.

The principles of a sustainable bankroll management

Maintenance of capital
Maintenance of capital should occupy the top spot in any bankroll management system. Without capital, you cannot play poker (playing poker for play money has the same relationship to playing poker for real money, as being asleep has to being awake). It is not just that you need money to bet in poker. Rather, if you were to compare successful poker to successful chess, then consider the bankroll as equivalent to the king. Success in chess without the king is impossible. Maintenance of capital is an important theme because, in the short term, poker poses a great threat to money. This threat is what is known as a downswing, or a streak of bad luck. If things go poorly, a downswing can cost a large part of your bankroll in a short amount of time. All players, even advanced or pro players, will experience periods when it just doesn't happen for days, or even weeks at a time. They will keep losing in situations where they are actually the favourite to win. To avoid going bankrupt at these times, you need enough padding to sustain yourself at the limit you're playing. If you run out of cushion, you'll have to choose a limit with lower bets.

Sustainability
Before advancing to a higher limit, you need to be winning sustainably on your current limit. This way you are more likely to reach your goals, and avoid unpleasant surprises. For one thing, sustained success confirms your preparedness to attempt the higher limit. Secondly, your experience at succeeding against opponents inferior to yourself will increase your confidence. In the psychological war that is poker, a healthy confidence is the first and foremost requirement. Also, a disciplined adherence to bankroll specific rules will prove that you have the patience that is characteristic of a strong Hold'em player. Here I will say it explicitly: no limit Hold'em is a game of patience! This applies to both bankroll management and strategy.

Flexibility
Your rise through the limits must be flexibly based on your bankroll. If a downswing causes your bankroll to suffer too much loss, it may be necessary to move back to the previous limit. Clearly, this can constitute a psychological barrier, since nobody likes to go backward. Despite this, it will be absolutely required in some cases. It is important to have the proper attitude toward this. Do not view it as a defeat, it is more the result of a streak of bad luck, and luck is a factor outside your control. Moving back in limit does not necessarily mean that you are inferior to the players on the limit you're leaving. It just means that you don't have sufficient capital to play there sustainably right now. Of course, it also means that you are intelligent, and flexible enough to respond swiftly and correctly to crisis situations.

Comfort zone
The choice of limit also has to do with your own comfort zone. Money has a specific value for every individual. If you play on limits that are too low, you might not pay enough attention to individual bets and become sloppy. On the other hand, if you play on a level that is beyond your comfort zone, it's easy to become paralyzed. You may behave too passively when the strategic demands of a position require a certain level of aggression. According to our bankroll management system, a beginner should start on the lowest limit possible, with blinds in the region of a few cents. Now, it may, of course, happen that a beginner is independently wealthy, and cents or even small dollar amounts are of little consequence to them. Does this mean that, according to their financial comfort zone, they should immediately jump to a higher limit? In no way! This would be a huge mistake! They would have little chance, and would almost certainly meet with frustration and defeat. Their poker career might even come to a premature end. They really don’t have a choice: like everybody else, they must work through the individual limits in order to stay continuously motivated by successful experiences. They are welcome to dream of advancing to those lofty limits, and this may even be a kind of financial stimulation for them.

Discipline
Even the best system of bankroll management will not protect you, should it not be followed. Please stick strictly to the prescribed rules, no matter what happens. As well as the downswings mentioned above, you may also experience an upswing, which might also see you winning multiple sessions in a row. This is empowering, but is no reason to lose your grounding. The next streak of bad luck is waiting just around the corner.

Profit
You get the best per table performance when you play at just one table. For the pro, however, it is not the per table performance that counts but the per time performance. Let us assume that I earn 5 big bets/hour (BB/h) when playing at a single table and 3 BB/h, per table, when playing at 2 tables. In the second case, my total earnings per hour are higher at 6 BB/h. So, to maximize profit you should pick the number of tables that returns the maximum per/hour earnings. Making profit is important in order to build up the bankroll necessary to move to the next limit. The higher the limits you play, the higher your earnings will be, and the more your poker playing will pay off. To maximize learning, however, it is important to think carefully during the game. You should review hands played and consider where you made your mistakes. This is not only true for hands you lost, but also for hands you won! Furthermore, you should practice your hand reading (placing your opponent on a probable range of hands) to perfect your skill. This takes time. Multitablers are forced to make decisions quickly. They therefore often have to execute more standard moves, and cannot give the deeper consideration that is required to individual hands. It is recommend to all whose performance is stagnating that they reduce the number of tables they are playing and let more things run consciously through their minds.

The preservation and development of the poker bankroll, to have reserves for times of bad luck, to balance profit maximizing and risk minimizing - all these are tasks of the bankroll management.Not to stick to the rules of a sustainable bankroll management and to play limits where you don't feel comfortable and which are to high for your bankroll is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Mistakes during the game are costly but can be absorbed by a correct bankroll management. Playing on the wrong limits usually leads to bankruptcy.

Think You are ready for the tables?

Play at Party Poker and receive upto $150 Extra On Your First Deposit

Quick Introduction

2007-12-26T07:15:00.000-08:00

Introduction to No-Limit Texas Hold'em

No-Limit Hold'em is game of general strategy, basic tactical skills useful in all forms of poker, and a game of intense psychology. Let's first go over general strategy. There are two things you should quickly figure out when you enter a no-limit game:

1. What types of players are my opponents?
2. How many hands go to a showdown?

Types of opponents
Generally, people speak of four types of players: tight-passive, tight-aggressive, loose-passive, loose-aggressive. The first modifier (tight or loose) characterizes the number of hands the person plays while the second (passive or aggressive) describes the player's betting style. Loose-aggressive could be divided into two parts: maniacs and solid players. Let's go over each of these types of players.
Tight-passive: These people do fine in a fixed-limit game, but they won't win much money in a no-limit game. This is because they do not get full value out of their winning hands. When playing against these players:
1. Bluff at the flop a lot. Put in a raise preflop, and try to take down the pot at the flop.
2. Fold when they represent a hand. If they bet a little, they're probably on a draw or have a weak hand. In this case, you should still stick with your hand if you hold something decent. If they bet a lot, they probably possess a solid hand.
3. Take advantage of your control. Don't go wild with your bluffs, though. You should still fold preflop when you have nothing. If you make a flop bluff, think twice before making another bluff on the turn. Also, you can still win a fair amount of money off of these types of players whene you hold a good hand. Essentially, you can quickly tame these players into calling stations or folding stations. If one of these players is making a lot of money against you while being a calling or folding station, you are doing something seriously wrong. These players are common, and you will certainly play against quite a few.
Loose-passive: These players have to hope that people continually bluff into them, because they frequently call with the second-best hand. Calling with the second-best hand is a recipe for disaster at no-limit games. You won't often see loose-passives playing no-limit hold'em, because they lose money too quickly playing the game. If you are fortunate enough to have a loose-passive player at your table, just win money off of him by making mid-sized bets when you hold a good hand.
Maniac loose-aggressive: These guys will buy a fair share of pots. However, they will often get themselves trapped, and they will lose their stacks in one or two hands. What separates these players from good loose-aggressives is that they lack discipline. They love the action of no-limit so much that they get themselves trapped too easily. These types of players are rare.
Strong loose-aggressive: These guys seem like they are horrible maniacs, but in reality, they are a very dangerous form of player. They will certainly lose a lot of money in pots, but they also will buy a lot of pots and win huge ones. The way these players win is mainly by getting a good read on the opponent, and then making a well-timed bet. One trick that can be used to beat these guys is to take them down in one big pot. Since they will play a lot of hands, especially shorthanded, they'll often play hands that lend themselves to being the second-best hand. Once you catch them in this situation, you just have to make sure you don't let them go too easily. Another tip is to make sure you are playing in a game where the money is not too meaningful to you. You should not let these players scare you financially when they make a large bet or raise. You need to be able to play back at (reraise) these guys or call them down.These players only do well when people have large stacks. If you or the loose-aggressive player has a small stack, you are at an advantage because their ability to bluff is limited.
Tight-aggressive: This in my opnion is the best style and strategy. The tight-aggressive's main problems are that he may get bluffed out too easily and that he may be too easily read. In this style you only play premium hands and when you have a hand you bet aggressivley.

Showdown Percentage
This is a critical concept in no-limit hold'em. Since no-limit lends itself to bluffing, one can make a lot of money simply by stealing pots if your opponents are very tight. However, this strategy obviously fails if everyone shows you down at the river! Generally, before you play in a game, pay attention to the number of hands going to showdowns. This is really easy to do on the internet because you don't even need to watch the game. You just leave the window open, go eat a snack, go to the bathroom, whatever. Come back twenty minutes later and see what sort of game you are about to dive into. All you have to do is scroll through the chat box and see how many hands went to showdowns and how big the pots tend to get. All things being equal, more showdowns are better. While it is impossible to bluff if everyone calls you down, you stand to make a lot more money if people call you with tenuous holdings. The best way to make money at no-limit games is to simply sell your hand when you have it. If people call down a lot, you will be able to extract a lot of money from pot-sized or larger bets when you hit a premium holding (such as a flush or set).

Types of Hands to Play
The types of hands you play in no-limit differ than those in fixed-limit. This is because of implied odds. Hands like KQ go down in value because they cannot withstand much pressure. Even if you hit a King with this type of hand, you still may be losing to a set, two pair, AK, or eventually to a draw. Thus, with big cards, you generally want to take down the pot at the flop. The exception to this is if you think you have someone outkicked (like with AK vs. KJ with a K on the board), or if you hit the flop hard (like KK3 when you hold AK). In these cases, you generally want to extract money from your opponent bit by bit. The types of hands that go up in value or ones that you can bet with confidence: pocket pairs and suited connectors (strong draws in general). Pocket pairs do well because they are sneaky and can often withhold pressure. With pocket pairs, you can bet hard if you have a set or an overpair, which are hands that people generally don't expect. Suited connectors go up in value for several reasons. First, if the flop comes weird, you generally will be paid off as you might hit your straight or flush. Please realize that your stack size greatly affects the types of hands you should play. Big, unpaired cards like AK or KQ do better with smaller stacks, while suited connectors are more effective with larger stacks.

Welcome To My Blog

2007-12-19T06:57:00.000-08:00

Hello,

Welcome to my blog, this blog is dedicated to the great card game that is known as Texas Hold Em Poker. On this blog you will find great tips and essential information you will need in order to succeed at building a huge online no limit poker bankroll. So once again welcome, and i hope you can enjoy and benefit from the information offered on this blog in some way. Thank You