The game rules in Omaha confuse many a novice player and this can be easily highlighted for example with the following hand. Let us say that in four card Omaha you get dealt the Kc-Jd-10h-8s and the final board is 9s-9d-8c-4h-8h. In hold’em then you would have a full house of nines over eights because you can play one card from your hand. However in Omaha then the rules state that you must play two cards and so you only have one eight from your hand plus one other card! For you to be able to make a full house here then you need to have a four in your hand or a nine or possibly a pair of fours.

Another example could be if the final board is 9-9-4-4-9, taking your previous hand then you still do not have a full house. Remember that you must use only three cards from the middle and so the three nines must combine with two cards from your starting hand. Seeing as you do not hold a pair then you cannot have a full house. You would be amazed at just how many players I have seen commit huge errors in this area and even experienced players who should know better often misread their hand in Omaha. Just like in any form of poker then not knowing the rules of the game can really hurt you where it hurts the most…….in your pocket.

However the more that I studied poker then the more that I was drawn to other areas like psychology and electronic trading! This then developed into an interest in game theory as well. So to really evolve as an online poker player means having in depth knowledge of other areas and it is important for any online poker player not to get bogged down by using strategies that are no longer working or to be stuck on sites and networks with very little liquidity and therefore action.

In my mind then players struggle to make money in online poker in several key areas. Firstly they are too eager to move up to higher levels and this isn’t always the Holy Grail that they think it is. Secondly many players in my opinion simply stay on the same site for far too long. This in my mind has a detrimental effect on a players earn rate. I think that there is a delicate balance between the value of your tracker data and player notes and the fact that other players are using the same data against you.

In my opinion then it becomes very important to be able to change sites or at least have the chance to do so and be able to move to sites with good player numbers. This serves two distinct functions, firstly it freshens up your operation by basically making redundant all of the notes that your opponents have on you. There is another way and that is to play on the site under another account name but that is neither ethical nor allowed by the sites rules and regulations. The second one is that it also allows you to take advantage of the sign up bonuses of other promising sites as well.

On the other hand ask any poker player or those looking at Blackberry casinos what creates the biggest adrenaline rush at the tables and most, if not all will reply with an anecdote about how they managed to pull off a huge bluff. There is more to the bluff than first meets the eye though. It is almost never a random play forced through out of a macho sense of bravado (these bluffs tend to be the unsuccessful ones).

A bluff, when done properly, is actually not as risky as most people would assume. There are factors which you can use to your advantage to increase the chances of your bluff being successful.

To state the obvious, the best time to bluff is when you believe the entire table has weak hands. Position is important when considering a bluff. If you are under the gun (first to act after the blinds) then it is generally not considered a good move to bluff.

There are too many players who are yet to act; therefore you have no information on them. Therefore a later position will more often be a better one to try a bluff. But be warned; as this is common poker strategy, players may see straight through your play and your bluff might be snuffed out.

The style of the players on your table should factor into your attempted bluff. A tight player who has played a small number of pots will be easier to bluff than a player who is loose and free with his chips. But if you attempt a bluff on a tighter player and they come back at you with a re-raise, you can be fairly sure that they have you beat. Or that they are good enough to have picked up on your bluff.

For a bluff to be successful, you need to have picked up a good read on your opponent’s range of hands. If you have no idea what you are facing, a bluff is virtually impossible, but if you are confident that you can narrow down your opponent’s hand then you are in with a shot.

The professional Texas Holdem poker player has a variety of different goals and many of them are money orientated, but there is still a drive to be the very best in the business. Daniel Negreanu starts each year by setting a series of ten poker related goals and 2012 has been no exception. Goal number three on the Canadian’s wish list is to regain the top spot as the all-time money earner – a spot currently being kept warm by Erik Seidel. Maybe the all-time money list is an accurate portrayal of who the best in the business are? Maybe or maybe not but the list is deemed important enough to be turned into a goal for Kid Poker.

Goal number eight simply reads: to have a better year than Jason Mercier. This is an indication from Negreanu that he believes Mercier is the standard bearer in live tournament poker. Interestingly, Mercier will move to the top of the Epic Poker League (EPL) rankings in the next few weeks, so maybe the EPL is the latest way of keeping score in the world of poker? You would think so except Mr. Negreanu doesn’t count a listing on there as one of his ten goals for 2012!

So who is the very best in the business? That’s a tough one, but you can certainly count Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier and Kid Poker himself as three of the elite.

Most starting players, even those at Mansion Casino Online, will play too many hands because they want to be involved in the game – and that’s perfectly understandable. The thing about this is that it will cost you a lot of money at a time in your game where you are at most risk from more experienced players.

By playing too many hands you open yourself up to take a battering from better players. You must know that the majority of starting hands will need to be folded. It doesn’t sound like much fun, but it will stop you losing your whole bankroll in an evening.

Tilt is the mother of all poker mistakes as it can only lead to one thing; losing a wad of cash. The desperation of trying to recoup the losses of the day by either playing more aggressively or at a higher level where you are inexperienced is a major problem for so many poker players.

A lack of patience is a problem on so many levels because ultimately, poker is about patience. So, if you don’t have the necessary patience for poker, I would go so far as to say don’t even bother with it. Try a different game!

Twinned with a lack of patience is a lack of concentration. Without the ability to concentrate fully on the game, you may as well be handing chips to your opponents. It is issues like these which you can control, so make sure you control them well.

There are some more strategic mistakes that lots of amateurs, perhaps focusing on Online Slots and Other Casino Games, make. Over betting/under betting the pot are mistakes that will only be solved once you have understood pot odds (if you don’t, spend some time researching the basic theory either online or in any of the major poker books).

Amateurs will often fall in love with pretty hands and not be able to let go of them, no matter what the flop is. You must learn to adapt your play to the situation – even those aces might not be worth a huge call on the flop when it’s obvious someone has the flush. Being able to fold monsters is a skill even some more advanced players cannot master.