Due to the fact they present each entrant the chance of turning their small, initial outlay into something much more substantial, tournament poker attracts some very weak players. Forums and poker publications from around the world are full of posts and letters from people who keep coming up against these weak players and seem unable to beat them. (more…)
4 comments February 17th, 2011
Whether you have aspirations to become a professional poker player or not, most people that play Texas Holdem poker or Omaha do not play to lose. The winning cash games players have spent years honing their skills at various stakes. The same goes for tournament poker players although most of us tend to be hybrids spending time in both cash games and tournaments. The one thing that good players and successful professional poker players have in common is that they set goals. (more…)
4 comments June 15th, 2010
Bankroll management: it ain’t sexy. But, it’s how you live and die on the poker table. If your eyes are glazing over, grab a cup of coffee. This is critical to your survival as a poker player. When you ask a rookie about their bankroll, they’ll look at you and say something like, “Well, I have $400 to lose.”
That’s not bankroll management. That’s just how much money they pulled from their bank account before hitting the casino.
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11 comments December 31st, 2008
Poker is not a science. It can’t be boiled down to a series of events and reactions. It’s an art. The best players learn to roll with the punches and come back swinging. Things go wrong. Cards land badly. Bankrolls dip desperately low. But, each time, a veteran poker player will consider his odds, keep his cool and sometimes, come back to fight another day. On the other hand, novice poker players make a ton of rookie mistakes. And when they do, the veterans on the table move in for the kill. Below, you’ll find 4 of the most lethal (and common) mistakes that novice players make.
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14 comments May 18th, 2008
Advanced poker is much more about playing one’s opponents than the cards. The psychological aspect of the game gets front seat, and subtle things (like all sorts of poker tells) become much more important. These are the circumstances under which bluffing inevitably rears its head. Whether it’s a blind-stealing semi-bluff, or a full one, bluffing is going to be present in the game, one way or another. Knowing how to read your opponents, the board and the betting patterns can come in extremely handy in this situation. (more…)
5 comments April 3rd, 2008
Playing in the opening stages of STTs requires tight and aggressive play, in its purest form. Everyone knows that and as a player, I have never had any problems dealing with this issue. Short handed play, or heads up was always something I was naturally good at, too. When I have to be crazy aggressive, and play on the edge, for some reason I feel good about the game and manage to make all the right calls time and time again. I know not all online poker players are like that so I’ll devote a different article to the short handed and heads up stage in the future. (more…)
11 comments March 26th, 2008
When talking about the best hand in poker, people immediately think about the Royal Flush. While that is indeed the best possible five-card hand in poker, it is so rare, it can hardly be considered a hand that one shall win a lot of money on. A truly good poker hand is always the one that you win big on, regardless of its value. (more…)
Add comment March 25th, 2008
5 Easy Ways To Improve Your Texas Holdem Game Through Practice
Doyle Brunson has said that the best way to get better at Texas hold’em is to play a lot of Texas Holdem hands, and most poker players would probably agree.
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6 comments January 24th, 2008
While there are many things you can do to improve your play before ever sitting down at a Texas hold’em poker game, there are also things you can do as the game progresses to get better. Poker is a game of observation and of using those observations to your advantage. Since all players should get the same amount of winning and losing hands over time, being more skilled at reading your opponents than others are can make all the difference. Here are five Texas holdem tips you can use to improve your results at the poker table.
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Add comment November 30th, 2007
For a new player playing poker can be overwhelming, there are many factors to consider before betting and most newbies will rely too much on luck… Luck is part of the game but there are ways to calculate odds which over time will make you a winner !
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5 comments October 8th, 2007
Looking for an edge while playing online ? Pay attention to this
Intro
Alot of online poker players giveout tells and most of them dont even know it. Are you one of those players ?
My goal with this blog is to help people become the best poker player they can be, and thus you need to be aware of online tells that you might give away to others that are very well aware of these tells.
Your online behaviour, how you play, when you play, how fast you play and what you say in the chat rooms, even your name can all give away some free “information” about your game, the secret to being a good bluffer is to not let others know when you are bluffing.
Take this information and use it, when you see someone not following these rules, there is a good chance that he is a below average player, and thus you should take advantage of that.
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6 comments April 15th, 2007
You receive your first two cards, you look at them and now you ask yourself, should you play them ? Should you raise on the preflop ? You look around you, and try to find some tells, but still can’t quite decide what to do. Well You’re reading the right article. See I’m going to tell you what to do, it’s easy huh!
Add comment March 30th, 2007
To bluff or not to bluff ?
That is the real question and honestly, I have a long and complicated answer, but just stick around, it might help. Oh and the success of any bluff lies in your capabilitie to observe others. Because when you bluff, you don’t bluff with your cards, you bluff with the cards everyone else think you have.
Bluffing, it is quite complicated to master, yet so simple to use. You simply raise your opponent with confidence, and hope that he will chicken out. This process is entirely psychological, everything you do, every movement, every word you’ll be saying will have a direct impact on someone’s decision. (more…)
3 comments March 19th, 2007
There is no computer that can beat a world class poker player because poker is a people game. A game of poker is a game where “you play the man not the cards”. You must have heard this expression many times before, and I can’t stress enough of how important it is. Of course the cards have a huge impact on the game, but a world class poker player could win against a beginner every time.
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3 comments March 18th, 2007
What distinguishes best poker players? Their courage. It’s one of the characteristics you need to be the best. Doyle Brunson once said: “Timid players don’t win in high-stakes Poker”. Courage means: everything you’ve put in the pot belongs to the pot. It’s not yours. Forget about that money. But never dare to make a bit bet if you feel that it’s the best action at that time.
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Add comment March 18th, 2007
I found an interesting article on the pro’s of playing tight
In my last article we compared two different loose tables to see what kind of player would dominate and what hands would win. Unquestionably the tighter players outperform the looser players. Before you continue reading, jot down how many hands per hundred dealt, you play. If that number is too high for you to work with, count the number of hands you play in a single round with ten seated players at the table. If all else fails just jot down how many hands you play per hour. If the dealer is good you may get 20 to 25 hands per hour. The number for Hold-Em is around 30 and maybe as high as 35/40 per hour with a shuffle machine. Honesty counts. Go write it down. Ok let’s continue. Do not take into account tournament play.
1 comment March 18th, 2007
The first step in becoming a good poker player is to understand who you are playing against. There is mainly two types of poker players.
Tight : Tight is synonym of conservative. A tight player is a player that will be more likely to fold when the odds are against him.
Pros :
- You have more control over how much you win and more importantly, how much you lose
- You can last longer in the first stages of a tournament
- Tight player are fearful chip leaders
2 comments March 18th, 2007
A few good articles that teaches you the basics of deception , how to use it and such …
If there is one thing that separates intermediate players from good players it is definitely the use of psychological plays and maneuvers. An intermediate player, even one that understands the fine mathematical schemes that poker entails, usually plays the board and not the players against him. Most new players do not understand that it is not enough to know your opponents and the style they play (passive, tight…). A good player should know what his opponents think about him and know how to convey a certain table image. There are several principle methods to deceive your opponents and lead them to believe what you want them to.
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2 comments March 17th, 2007
What is the condition of your game? What’s your condition? Your answers to each of those questions were probably similar. There’s a simple reason for that and it boils down to one of the key factors of poker.
Psychology…
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Add comment February 7th, 2007
Traditionally, nicknames aren’t chosen, but conferred by one’s poker peers. However, those of you who are deeply unpopular will need to resort to drastic measures. Here’s a short guide to finding the right nickname
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1 comment January 20th, 2007