Online Casino | Poker | Online Poker | Poker Blog

The concept of learning and playing online poker has caused the game of poker to experience such mainstream popularity that it is here to stay. In fact, poker is now considered a sport where skill is recognized as a necessity for a consistently good player, regardless of the luck factor involved. Live television broadcasts of various poker tournaments around the world are garnering huge television audiences as well as spectator galleries. Online poker is for those who have never played the game and want to learn poker as well as those who are already skilled at the game.

When Chris Moneymaker, a young amateur online player, catapulted into fame by winning the World Series of Poker Main Event the imagination of millions of ordinary people was captured. Poker has become a game for the masses. Remember that every professional had to start somewhere. Before poker became so popular, live games were the main venue to make money. However, many players who have turned professional today, actually began their poker playing careers online and still continue to play actively online.

There are two types of online play to choose from. Play money, where you are putting none of your own money at risk is the traditional way that people totally unfamiliar with the game usually start. The other way is real money play. Playing poker online is like playing many traditional sports. The more often you play(practice), the better you should get. If you are ready to play online, you don't have to worry about what time of the day or night it is. Just login to one of your favorite sites and you will find players from around the world.

Online poker sites offer different incentives and varieties of games on their sites. Texas Holdem, both limit and no limit are the most popular games played on most sites. Each site is cleverly crafted to be entertaining, allow you to view statistics, make notes on players, offer various freerolls, rewards, and numerous types of tournaments. One very savvy marketing strategy on some sites is to offer you information on where and how to improve your game.

If you love poker you can be in your element by playing online since you can play whenever you want. Can you make money doing so? Absolutely, if you develop the skill sets necessary and know when to "break" if your luck is running bad.

Online poker has taken the internet by storm in the past few years. More and more people are learning to love to play poker, especially online. This is now easy and convenient to do from the comfort of your home. This also makes it easy to lose quite a bit of money from the comfort of your home also. There are some common mistakes to avoid when playing online poker and in poker tournaments. It takes time to really learn how to play poker and poker strategy but the following tips are definitely a place to start.

Playing too many starting hands is a common mistake among players just starting to learn how to play poker. They cannot wait to play and play whatever hand they get. You really have to go through and analyze your cards. Calling too many hands is also a mistake of new players. When you have urges to call a hand think about the money that you are throwing away. Never ever use the auto play function; the machine cannot consider the amount being bet, speed of play or the money in the pot. Do not rely too much on odds. Relying on odds calculators can be useful but there are other things to take into consideration so compare both things before betting.

Always use caution when bluffing. Do not play cautiously and bet on the river to try and get the pot, it never works, another player will call. The very highly experienced players know how to set up a bluff. Watch and learn but do not do it until you have had lots of practice yourself.

Do not play too many hands in ; this can hold true even in low limit Texas Hold em games. You will see players in low limit games playing many hands. This can actually work for you because they have to analyze every hand and think of every situation that could happen. That takes time, a lot. You will have the luxury of really analyzing your hand. Make sure you pay attention also. Much time in low limit games, the people are just there for a little entertainment. Pay attention and you will win, many times the other players will be distracted, watching TV between hands etc. All the better for you.

Perhaps the most important piece of advice is to never play the game without understanding it. Practice makes perfect though. There are many online poker sites that are free to play (of course you do not win anything), but they are great for practice and to get a real grasp of a game in action. Do not play at tables that have limits set too high or too low. Exceptionally low limit tables (and there are sites with $.0.01 starting bets), will give you a "so what" kind attitude. It is better to play at a free table and go in planning to really concentrate and learn. On the other hand playing at a table with higher limits means better players that are harder to beat.

And lastly, always think about the "long run". This can vary but you have to see the whole picture. Look at what you truly profit after a few months or even a year. If you have more money than when you started, you did well in the "long run". After all poker is fun but you want to make some money too.

The world of online poker is special because it not only provides players with a place to play, but it also provides bonuses in the form of free money. When you walk into a Las Vegas casino, they are not going to hand you any money. When you sign up with a poker site, they are more than happy to give you lots of free cash. There has to be a catch to this online poker phenomenon, right? The truth of the matter is that the "catch" is a very small one. Though it is true that you can't just your hands on the money right away, "clearing" your poker bonus is easier than you might think.

The way that it works when you play poker at any of the major sites is that they throw you a bone for depositing your bones into their site. You want to start playing poker tournaments, so they give you a little bit of extra coin to augment your bankroll. Usually, this comes with some sort of play requirement. How they handle this play requirement depends upon which online poker site you are using. Some of them will give you immediate access to the money, so that you can play poker and learn poker without having to wait on your bonus to fill in. Other sites will release your bonus incrementally after it has "cleared".

One of the first bits of poker strategy that you need to learn is that clearing that bonus is a must. Often times, the poker site will not let you withdraw your bankroll until you have met the requirements for the bonus. This might mean playing 100 cash hands or something to that effect. It is always best to know exactly what the requirements are for any bonus that you accept, and you need to know how long they can tie up your money if you don't meet these requirements. Likewise, you will want to figure out what the deal is for online poker sites that release your bonus in increments. If they are doing it based upon tournament play or cash play, then you have to get in there and start playing.

If the play requirement is simply a hands played mark, then you should go to the lowest limit possible and play as many hands there as you can. Most poker sites will use an amount raked standard, so you will have to play in decent sized limits to get ahold of their bonus money. What you should know is that most bonus goals are attainable, so you will probably see that money after a while of playing on the site.

There comes a time in a poker player’s career when they know they’ve risen to the next level. Believe it or not, a lot of it has to do with either making an amazing call or pulling off a big-time bluff. These two types of plays let your opponents know that you shouldn’t be messed with and should be taken seriously at all times. Your table image will skyrocket. Whether it’s online poker, live poker, a cash game, or a poker tournament, increasing your table image will pay dividends. Opponents will be more fearful of getting involved with you, which will allow you to steal more pots with simple raises.

A great call is something you go with when you trust your read. How good does it feel to call an all-in with A-high and win? It’s up there with hitting a walk-off home run. It’s also a good poker strategy to let others know you will call in that spot. It’s advertising for future play.

That said, if you play poker, you know there is one play that really sends your table image into the stratosphere. That play is none other than the check raise bluff. When other players see you pull this off, you know you have officially made it to the poker major leagues.

There are good and bad times to use the check raise bluff. You don’t want to use it when there are a lot of people in the hand. Regardless of what types of players they are, you will probably get called or raised. There’s a good chance someone out there was trapping.

The best time to use the check raise bluff is when you’re against one or two players (preferably one) and the opponent is someone you know is at least relatively easy to scare out of a pot. You also want to use it when your opponent bets out strong at the flop. Why? Because if your opponent is betting strong on the flop it means he’s either bluffing or trying to protect a weak to marginal hand. When you check raise, you’re representing a monster. The odds of your opponent calling are slim.

Follow the rules above and check raise bluff your way to more winnings and an improved table image. If you pull it off successfully, you well end up controlling the table. When you play poker, that’s the ultimate goal.

A good poker player has a wide range of skills put together. In order to learn poker you must have the self discipline and motivation to adapt. Never let arrogance take over and always remember to study hard. In order for someone to reach their full potential and compete in poker tournaments or on online poker sites, you must learn to play poker effectively.

When it comes to a poker tournament, the one quality you will find in someone who truly understands how to successfully play poker is self discipline. Good quality players have the self discipline to wait for a good hand and not play a bad one, just because they are fed up, or impatient. Whether you are looking to learn poker strategies for online poker or to compete in poker tournaments, self discipline is the number one key to success.

Successful poker players have enough self discipline to learn from mistakes and improve with each poker tournament. They have also worked extremely hard to obtain the knowledge of how to put on a good poker face. Aside from self discipline, in order for you to learn poker, it’s quite important that you study every move. When you are going to play poker, keep in mind there is always going to be room for improvement and this means you must analyze every little past move you have made. This will certainly help you learn poker strategies as you go along and improve with each poker tournament. When it comes to online poker, this is extremely convenient, as all websites will keep your hand history to review. So, if your goal is to play poker at a real poker tournament, playing online poker is a great way to start out. Once you truly learn how to play poker, you will find that your memory becomes stronger and this is mainly due to the fact that you have gone back and studied each hand in the past.

In order to learn poker and become victorious, you must continue to practice. Just like with any sport, if you start slacking off, it will show. A great way to ensure that this won’t happen to you is to find some good free poker sites where you can practice through online poker. To learn strategies through practice is the one thing that will ultimately make you play poker successfully, when it is most important.

Many people become stubborn when they play poker and this can often keep players from reaching their true potential. So, don’t let arrogance get in the way, when you play poker. Instead be persistent and dedicate yourself to obtaining the self discipline you need to succeed.

The opponents you face in poker can be more of a worry than the cards themselves, so therefore it is important to know how to read your opponents as well as your cards. The first thing you should do (obviously) is learn poker ...aside from the game itself, you should learn to PLAY poker...after all there is a difference. To start you should know the coats, nothing says weakness like calling a straight with multiple coats. In order to exploit an opponents weakness, you must remember not to be weak yourself. A good way to improve your skills is to play a friendly game of free poker with your buddies in the neighborhood, this way the stakes are low and you are in a risk free environment to hone your skills. Remember that the stakes are high when playing in poker tournaments so if you plan on getting into playing professionally you need to know how to play your opponents as well as the cards.

A good example of a useful technique is basic physical presence, pay very close attention to a suspected weak players brow, this is because when an opponent is nervous, there can be a small trace of sweat on their forehead and since it is hair it tends to show up better. Another way is to toy with your opponents emotions, pick an emotion and stick with it intentionally...this is to force judgment calls from your opponents, those who act brashly can be labeled weak at the start of the game ( and can be used to draw some quick cash to get you rolling with ). Tips and tricks you use on your regular tournament style poker games are a basic necessity, but be aware should you sign up to play poker online, your best psychological warfare will be nothing more than a waste of time and much needed brainpower.

When playing poker against a player better than you ( this is if you have seen it proven many times and not just "beginners luck, or something along those lines ) that's when you should not bother trying to "psyche" your opponents out as this ( or these ) person will use this as an opening to tear you down and label you as a weaker target, but generally these are for people you are used to playing with as you probably know each others strategies. Remember that poker can be a great sport or a deadly addiction so play sparingly as most players simply appear new to draw weaker opponents out to take their money. Beware of hustlers and if you sense there is one in your game, simply fold until you are sure you have just the right hand to deal with this person.

When someone is an avid online poker player one of the most important concepts to incorporate into their game plan is learning how to master both psychological responses and physiological responses not only in the self, but in their abilities to be able to read other people effectively. The reasons why these concepts are important in the art of being able to play poker efficiently is because it gives the poker player many valuable signals that can help in knowing when to play and when not to play. It also helps prevents them from forming an addiction, which can occur if the player is not able to cope with losing the right way.

During times of arousal as well as stress the body undergoes an array of different functions such as, increase in heart rate, a raise in blood pressure, an increase in adrenaline, mental anguish as well as churning in the stomach. These symptoms can occur doing losing, so in order for someone to be able to counteract these physiological and psychological responses they continue playing to help ease this physical and psychological discomfort.
They do this because they have high hopes of winning, having a better sense of well being and the body is no longer tense and uncomfortable. It is also very important that the person has an incredible amount of patience or learns to be patient because in being able to play poker and be successful at it is a key concept. It is also important to learn how to remain calm and have a positive outlook no matter whether they win or lose. By incorporating these techniques a person can decrease the chances of becoming addicted to this sport.

There are many places online where a serious poker player can play games of free poker to practice and polish their skills, many of which also have poker tournaments available throughout the entire day. Some games you are able to hone your skills by playing alone, or if you are more of a competitor you can play against other players.

So whether you are enjoying a new hobby or are a serious professional poker player learning how to control your psychological and physiological responses are essential in becoming a great poker player. This concept is ideal for not only helping your overall sense of well being but is essential in preventing the game from developing into a harmful addiction where you can lose more then just poker chips.