Poker Bliss

4 Mistakes A New Poker Player Will make

2012-01-28T13:26:00.001-08:00

Poker is a game of chance, but there is still a large amount of skill involved when playing. Many new poker players make gambling mistakes that cost them a lot of money and get them out of tournaments. Some novices play free poker online and never win because of terrible gambling techniques. However, by knowing four common gambling mistakes that are made by new players, you can greatly increase your chances of winning games and tournaments.

1. Going all-in too often or in obvious desperation. In many tournaments with play money, some players go all-in the first hand. It may work for a few times, but after a while, someone will call you. In that case, you better hope that you have actually good cards. All-in can be used to get players to fold, but it should really only be used if you have a solid hand and could possibly double your stack. People should bluff very infrequently with an all-in. Going all-in with a bad hand is what many people call “bad poker.” Sometimes you can get lucky, but the best players bet carefully.

2. Under betting. If you have a good starting hand, don’t be afraid to raise pre-flop, or bet high after the flop. If you have a great hand, then slow playing can work very well. However, when you do start placing bets in a no-limit game, they should not be too small. One reason is that you won’t end up winning as much money if you bet small. Another reason is that you are giving incentives for many other players to stay in the hand. Therefore, you are giving other players chances to hit a hand that is better than yours. The best players bet just the right amount to get it where only one or two players call. In that case, your odds for winning are a lot better.

3. Over betting. Some players get very excited when they have a good hand. They may go all-in, or lay down outrageous bets. Not only is it a waste of a good hand, but also people can start to read you. If you constantly over bet only when you have something, then people will always fold and you won’t win money. However, if you don’t have anything, then people will also know because you aren’t laying down monstrous bets.

4. Finally, it is important to know when to fold. The best poker players are constantly watching other players, and guessing who could have better hands than they have. If someone bets high, and you know you have the best possible hand (which occurs rarely), then you can call. However, you need to know the odds of the other person having a better hand. Additionally, many new poker players call large bets when they don’t have anything, they just need a draw card. This is the worst type of gamble. Seldom will a person get that final card they need for a straight or a three-of-a-kind. Knowing the odds is key to playing good poker.

New poker players are often very easy targets for experienced players. Many new poker players make gambling mistakes that can be capitalized on. In order to avoid those mistakes, it is important to study the odds in poker, analyze what other players could have, and bet intelligently. If you do that, then you will have a fairly successful poker playing experience.

3 Tips For Poker Player Beginners

2012-01-27T00:15:00.001-08:00

So you want to be a poker player? Poker is a very challenging game although gameplay is relatively simple. Before you start throwing money around familiarize yourself with the rules of betting, calling, raising, and folding. Also, it is important to know the rank of each hand, because you do not want to bet on a hand that YOU think is a winner. Below are 3 other tips on helping you get started as a poker player.

1. Start by playing with play money- This is probably the best way to get started. You do not have to worry about blowing your whole savings account trying to become a good poker player. Start out playing for fun with friends or go online and play with play money. Numerous sites offer this service and you should take advantage of it.

2. Experiment with different strategies- Find the poker style that suits you best. Perhaps you don’t have what it takes to be an aggressive player, so don’t try this strategy if it doesn’t work for you. Don’t stick to one strategy in the beginning. You’ll get read like a book by better players and you will end up getting very frustrated after getting bullied around the table by these people.

3. Don’t get a big head- You may get lucky and win a few big hands when you start out. Don't get cocky though. Keep a level head when you are up and also when you are down. This will help you to concentrate better and, in turn, play better poker.

Hopefully these things will help you as you are learning the game of poker. Poker takes a little bit of luck, but this will eventually run out and the skillful players will rise to the top. By following these rules, you can be the last one standing at your poker table.

3 Card Casino Poker

2012-01-26T00:08:00.001-08:00

When you break out the 52-card deck and deal a hand of 3-card poker, the first strategy you need is a firm understanding of the rules. Rather than competing against other players, you are competing against the dealer. You need a better hand than the dealer (and at least a pair) to win. Each of you is dealt three cards, and the cards are shuffled after each hand. Because there are fewer ways to make a straight with 3 cards than a flush, straights rank higher. Aces are high or ..

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When you break out the 52-card deck and deal a hand of 3-card poker, the first strategy you need is a firm understanding of the rules. Rather than competing against other players, you are competing against the dealer. You need a better hand than the dealer (and at least a pair) to win. Each of you is dealt three cards, and the cards are shuffled after each hand. Because there are fewer ways to make a straight with 3 cards than a flush, straights rank higher. Aces are high or low.

You can make two bets: the Ante and the Pair Plus. The Ante is the fee charged to you for playing the hand. The Pair Plus is your bet that you will get a hand with a pair or higher. You don’t have to make both bets, but you do at least have to bet the Ante to stay in the game.

You ante when you put your bet on the game table’s Ante spot. Both you and the dealer are dealt three cards face down. Your next decision? Are these cards good enough for you to bet or should you fold? Fold and lose the ante. Bet and you place your bet that equals the ante in the game table’s Play spot. Win and you get the Ante and the Pair Plus payouts.

The dealer has to have a Queen or better to stay in the game. If not, you get payment on their ante only if it pays even money (1 to 1) – and as long as you didn’t fold.

Ante Payout

- A straight gets a 1 to 1 payout.
- A three of a kind gets a 4 to 1 payout.
- A straight flush gets a 5 to 1 payout.

Pair Plus Payout

- A pair gets a 1 to 1 payout.
- A flush gets a 4 to 1 payout.
- A straight gets a 6 to 1 payout.
- A three of a kind gets a 30 to 1 payout.
- A straight flush gets a 40 to 1 payout.

Remember these tips to help your strategy:

- If you have a Queen or better, bet the Pair Plus. If not, fold.
- A dealer will get a Queen about 66% of the time.
- The house has a 3.4% advantage.

Online Poker Overview

2012-01-25T12:14:00.001-08:00

The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you'll find that the subject of internet poker is certainly no exception.

Oline poker has become one of the most popular games played on the Internet today. With the increase of the number of people who are signing up and logging on, comes an even broader interest in the game. Whether you are a novice player wishing to learn more about the game, thereby, gaining experience through online rooms and opinions and advice of other players, or a seasoned player wishing to improve your game and gain perspective on your strategy, your options are almost limitless when playing over the World Wide Web.

Along with growing prizes at mainland tournaments, and increasing television coverage devoted to these tournaments, online poker rooms are now fueling more interest in the game as a whole.

As the popularity of poker increases, the number of online rooms increases as well.

Online poker rooms provide secure payment methods, a feature that is important when conducting any business online, random card dealing, a safe playing environment, and a realistic gaming experience.

So far, we've uncovered some interesting facts about internet poker. You may decide that the following information is even more interesting.

They also provide a large number of people to get to know online, discuss opinions and strategies, and the opportunity for more players to take part in games from across the world without having to meet in one place.

Some online rooms are more detailed than others, but most feature very vivid graphics, thrilling promotional opportunities, and extremely generous bonuses.

Many available online poker rooms offer a great deal of options that will help enhance your gaming experience. One of these options is software available for download in multiple languages, again, broadening the opportunities for players from across the globe to join in the game. Other options offered by some of the online poker rooms include free rolls, referral bonuses, and traditional loyalty with new account bonus offers.

Many of the features offered for online gaming make playing over the Internet more appealing, and can also help to expand the user volume of the site.

Also, another feature offered by many online sites is a variety of available games. This allows players to choose which poker variant they would like to play, and allows them to switch from one to another if they so desire.

Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.

Why Body Launguage Is So Important In Poker

2012-01-24T18:32:00.000-08:00

If you have ever played poker before you know that you can obviously see all the players around you since you play in a circle (unless you’re playing online poker). You just figured out the most important part of poker. You may be thinking that that’s impossible.

You probably think that the most important part is the cards; what cards you get how to use them, ECT... These are very important, you are correct, but it all starts with your ability to use your body language to your advantage. The cards are going to be relatively the same for all the players. Luck usually doesn’t factor in well in poker since everyone has the same chance to get the same cards.

In case luck begins to play a large role in your game then what can you does? A player always has 4 basic choices; you can check, bet or call, raise, or fold. If you are not getting good cards you can always fold right?
This is not always a good idea. You may be leaving large amounts of money on the table in the long run after a few initial folds. Sure you seemingly get away with losing less but you give up the chance to even try. Bluffing is the art of misguidance. You want them to think you have a bad hand one second and the next a great hand with all the best cards that are sure to win you the pot.

How do you accomplish such a thing? Simply with your body language this can be done. If you have good cards act happy. You may not want them to know that you have good cards but it’s a way to change there thinking; now every time you act "happy" they will think you have good cards and may fold.
If you have bad cards and you act happy they might fold because now they are afraid.

What you want to do is create a complicated pattern of sad, happy, indifferent, ecstatic, angry, ECT. Actions for certain hands. You want to throw them off but try and lure them into a safe zone where they think they understand your bluffing pattern and then hit them with the reality. As long as they are trying to keep up with whatever pattern you have, you will have them all under your control.

In one game of poker tournament I was playing in I decided to create very complex poker faces. They where not good they where not bad. I scrunched my face, grabbed my lip and scratched my leg; I did the craziest thing that nobody understood. They had no idea what my faces meant so they assumed that when I didn’t raise that my cards where not good and they would raise and raise. When it came time to show, guess who took home the pot.

The moral of this little story is that you have to be creative. This is step two of poker (after learning the basics and learning them by heart), body language is very important. If you are known as a newbie and you come in they will expect you to show your cards loud and clear through your body language. You can mislead and kill your competition with a good poker face.

2011-09-26T00:22:00.000-07:00

Sit-And-Go Online Poker Strategy

Sit-And-Go Online Poker Strategy

Sit-and-go poker tournemants are very popular, at any given time there are thousands of sit-and-go's being played online, for a wide range of stakes. They are great fun and prove to be very profitable, if played the correct way. These posts will outline everything the average poker player must consider if he is to go from sit-and-go rookie to steady, profitable sit-and-go winner.
Part one will focus on low-blind play.

Sit-and-go play is a completely different than cash-game play.

It's more similar to multi-table tournaments There are no re-buys and once your chips are gone, you are gone.

So you need to protect the chips you're given at the start.
When the blinds are low you should employ a very conservative strategy.

There's no need to get over involved and risk tons of chips when the blinds are low.

When the blinds are low, tight is right.

Avoid Confrontation Early

In the early stages of a sit-and-go you'd like to avoid large-scale confrontations.

There's no need to run up large bluffs or overplay marginal hands. There will be plenty of time for being ultra-aggressive later, so don't worry.

What we're trying to do is stay out of the action early. While I advise you to play very tight, you should still be playing strong hands aggressively.

If you have a premium hand, by all means bring it in for a raise.

For Example:

Effective stacks $1,500. You have 9? 9? in the big blind. The blinds are $20/$40. There are four limpers to you.

In a cash game, this is a very easy raise. In a sit-and-go I would argue this is a check.

If you want to raise this hand, you'll have to make it at least 5 or 6x the big blind. You'll be out of position for the rest of the hand and there are four limpers in front of you.

For the sake of the example, you raise the pot to $240. The first two limpers fold and both the cut-off and the button call.

The flop comes Q? 4? 2?.

Now what?

This flop is fairly decent for your hand. Only one overcard and you took the lead pre-flop so you'll have to continuation-bet this flop.

You bet 2/3 the pot or about $500. The cut-off folds and the button calls.

Now What?

Now look at the spot you're in. You've just put half of your stack into the pot.

What are you going to do on the turn? The pot is now $1,800. If you fire again on the turn it will be for all your chips.

How much can you like your hand?

The answer is probably not that much. Checking and folding is also a pretty bad move, as you have half of your stack in the pot.

This is why I advocate the check pre-flop while the blinds are low. It allows you to avoid a sticky situation like this one.
If for example you had only called and hit a 9 on the turn you are in a great position. There are 4 players in the hand and the chances another player connected with the flop are high.

There are lots of situations like this.

With speculative hands try and keep the pot small, small hand small pot, big hand big pot.

Rather than trying to push your small edges now it's better to conserve your chips for the higher blind levels.

Playing Your Position

Just like in cash games, you should play tight from early position.

By playing tight pre-flop you simplify your decisions after the flop. What you want to avoid early on in sit-and-gos is tough situations.

Avoid weak hands out of position.

As you know, tough situations lead to you losing chips, so avoid those tough spots as best you can.

One way to do that is to play even tighter from early position. You have to preserve those chips you have because when they're gone, you're gone.

So avoid playing weak hands out of position - you'll just be burning money.

Fold All Dominated Hands in Early Position

If you're in early position you should fold all dominated hands. Hands like A-T, A-J, K-Q and worse should hit the muck.

They may look like decent hands but believe me they can get you in all kinds of difficult situations.

You should still bring in your premium hands for raises. Remember we are playing tight, not at all.

If the table has been playing passive, you can also try to limp decent pocket pairs (TT-66).

Add Hands to Your Raising List in Middle Position

From middle position you should play a similar tight game.

You can also add hands like AJo, AJs and KQs to your raising list.

You can start opening up your game a little bit more by limping pocket pairs and good suited connectors, but you don't want to to put yourself in situations where you're playing large pots with marginal hands.

Add Hands to Your Limping List in Late Position

From late position and the button you don't need to open your game much more than you already have in middle position.

You have a little more freedom, but you shouldn't be raising up your ace-rag hands or J-Ts just yet.

You can however start adding some hands to your limping range.

If you can get in cheap to a multi-way pot with a good suited connector or a pocket pair, that is a fantastic move.

You should be looking for spots where you can see a cheap flop and maybe hit a monster and double up as described earlier with the pocket 9's.

If you can do that early, it will make the later stages of a sit-and-go much easier for you.

Starting Hands In Texas Hold'em Poker

2011-09-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

I think it is safe to say we have all seen a Texas Holdem starting hand chart, some memorise it, some take it to bed and some throw in the bin. Although a Texas Hold'em starting hand chart as an important aspect in poker, you will still need to include many factors on weather you are going to play a hand

Even with a top ten starting hand you will still need to play your poker hands tactically, which means that you still need to observe your opponents, take notes, watch out for traps and calculate your odds. Any poker player can be dealt a great hand, it's maximising it's value or getting away from it that's the tricky part.

Position Affects Your Hand Value

One of the most important aspects to focus on is the value of position when it comes to your hand, and also what has happened in the hand previously. In Texas Hold'em, position is a huge advantage. Being in late position and one of the last players to act is a huge advantage, and occupying the dealer position or button is the best place to be at the table.

When you are in positions like the SB (Small Blind) and BB (Big Blind), you can see that your starting hand slection will drop significantly in Texas Hold'em. This is due to the fact that you often end up betting or calling in these positions with hands that are much weaker than you would normally play due to getting the right pot odds to make a call. In addition, people behind you get to see your actions, so they are in better position to perform tricky moves or steal the pot if necessary.

This is why many Texas Hold'em experts say that if you observe a game, that money tends to flow toward the direction of the Button.

This means that you want to tighten up your starting hand selection early in the game and drop questionable hands like [KT], [QT], [JT], [T9] - and possibly even [KJ] or [QJ] again this will depend on your style of play and if the game is loose or tight. You can see for yourself on the EV chart that these hands will lose you money in the long run in Hold'em.

Starting hands are the key to success in Texas Hold'em

You might think that starting hand strategy in poker is all about getting big cards and winning with them, but that's only half the story. The other half of the story is avoiding getting yourself into situations where you call down with weak cards.
Ever Been In This Kind Of Situation?

You're in the Big Blind and you catch top pair on the flop with a weak kicker. A player bets, and you call the flop with your top pair. The player bets both the turn and river, and you call again (even when you really don't want to). When you turn your cards over, you find to your dismay that your opponent has a bigger kicker and wins the pot.

You've just been out-kicked! This happens all the time and the key is to let it happen to your opponents - not you! Always remember this fundamental principle to poker: "A bet saved is a bet earned!"

Thoughts and comments below please!

Top 10 Best Starting Hands for Texas Hold 'Em Poker

2011-09-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

One of the keys to being a winning Texas Holdem Poker player is to know which hands are playable and which are not.

The following is a list of my top 10 starting hands in Texas Holdem. I have placed them in the order that I value them, number 1 being the best.

This is sure to be a great topic for debate. Indeed many of you will value these starting hands differently based on your skill level and style of play.
Remember, any poker player can be dealt a great starting hand, its how you play the hand which seperates the good from the bad.

1. Ace-Ace
A pair of aces, also known as "pocket rockets" (and sometimes "American Airlines") is the best starting hand for Texas Hold 'Em. Think we will all be agreed on this one.

2. King-King
Second on the list is a pair of kings, also known as "cowboys" or "King Kong."

3. Queen-Queen
A pair of queens, also known as "ladies," rounds out the top three best starting hands for Texas Holdem Poker. Don't think there can be any arguements with my selection so far.

4. Ace-King (suited)
A suited ace-king, also known as "big slick," is my pick as the fourth best starting hand for Texas Hold 'Em.

5. Ace-Queen (suited)
The suited "big chick," or "little slick," the nicknames given to a pocket ace-queen, is fifth on the list.

6. Jack-Jack
A pair of jacks, also known as "hooks" or "fishhooks".

7. King-Queen (suited)
A suited royal couple, king-queen, is next in the list of Texas Hold 'Em Poker's most powerful starting hands.

8. Ace-Jack (suited)
Nicknamed "blackjack" for obvious reasons, and sometimes called "ajax,".

9. Ace-King (offsuit)
Only one offsuit non-pair makes it into my list of at number 9, the "big slick," an ace-king.

10. 10-10
This is the only starting hand in the top 10 without a face card: a pair of tens (aka "dimes").

So, there you have it. I think the arguements will start at selection 4. Please feel free to leave your comments below.

Position Position Position!

2011-09-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

As a general rule the average poker player in today's game is much more skilled, or at least more knowledgeable, than they were as little as three years ago.

There are a number of reasons for this, poker forums, training sites and the various strategy books have played a major part in the standard of online Texas Holdem improving.But despite the standard of player being higher than ever before, the concept of being positionally aware seems to be completely lost on some people. This is a weakness which can be exploited and make your poker balance grow.

Having position on an opponent, that is being seated closer to the button than them, is vitally important to consistent and continued success in any form of poker, yet time and time again players play weak hands out of position and fail to take advantage of being in position against their opponents.

One reason is that the strength of a player's hand in position is much stronger than someone who has to act first. Imagine you are in a pot being contested by three or even four players, you would certainly need a premium pair or maybe even a hand that was two-pair or better in order to bet into the field, but being in position you could bet with nothing but a single pair or even less if your opponents had checked to you as they are not likely to have a strong hand themselves, catch my drift?

Being in position in Texas Holdem also allows a player to take advantage of any possible scare cards that may appear on the turn or the river. Again, imagine you are in early position holding Tc9c against two opponents on a flop reading Ts-9s-6d. You bet into your opponents and both call. Now the turn is the 7s, completing a flush and a straight draw what do you do? If you bet 1/2 to 2/3 pot then you are giving either opponents the odds to draw to the flush if they do not have it but they could also raise any bet you make and represent the flush or straight and leave you with a real dilemma.

Another area that having position really comes into its own is being able to control the size of the pot. The general rule here is big hand-big pot, small or marginal hand-small pot For example, if a player in position calls a raise and flops second pair on a Jc-Ts-5h flop and their opponent continuation bets into them, then the player in position can opt to smooth call and see how the hand develops. If they are then checked to on the turn they can choose to check behind, thus keeping the pot small enough to call a bet on the river with a hand that has some showdown value or they can attempt to steal the pot on the turn or river by betting when checked to.

Finally, players who have position on their opponents control who receives a free card and if the hand will get to showdown. Being out of position in Texas Holdem means the player can only receive free cards if the player in position decides to allow them to have one and not give them, which in itself is a huge disadvantage, especially if the player is wanting to keep the pot small (see above also).

Having position on your opponents means that the decisions you will have to make are more straight-forward, that your time at the table will be less stressful and you have more control over how the hand proceeds too.
Positional play is vital to success in all forms of poker but it is magnified in a game such as Texas Holdem. Play tightly in early position and gradually open up your starting hand requirements so that you are playing like a loose-aggressive player when you have the button in your hand.

Introduction to Holdem | Pocket Card Selection | The Flop | The Turn | The River

2011-09-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

Texas Holdem has become the most popular of all poker games online. At any given time 24 hours a day thousands upon thousands of real money Texas Holdem games are being played online.
Although Texas Holdem looks and plays very simply, many poker experts belive it is the most complex of poker games. Many top poker pro's have been quoted as saying "Texas Holdem takes minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master"

The action in Texas Holdem is fast and furious, particulary in No Limit Holdem, where players can bet there entire stack at any time.

This website is intended to give an indepth insight into the strategy of Texas Holdem online. For both beginners and seasoned pro's there will be something for everyone.
So to start off let me give you an insight into the the positions around the table.

The Button
The button represents the dealer. The button moves clockwise around the table after each hand, and the player

The Blinds
To force the action Texas Holdem has a small blind and big blind, players situated to the left of the button. Both of these players are forced to put in a certain amount of chips (ie cash!) before the cards are dealt. The amount these players have to put in depends on the table limits, tournament structure etc etc.

The Deal and Betting Rounds
Starting with the first player to the left of the button, each player is dealt 2 cards, called pocket cards. The first two players to the left of the button posts the blinds. The first action after the deal is taken by the player to the left of the big blind. He and subsequent players can choose to call the big blinds bet, fold or raise.

The Flop
The flop is 3 cards laid face up in the center of the table. These cards serve as common cards. Another round of betting ensues, with the first remaining player to the left of the button starting the action.

The Turn
A single card is laid face up, next to the flop, for a total of 4 cards face up. Another betting round occurs, starting with the first player remaining to the left of the button.
The River
A final card is turned face up, bringing the total number of common cards face up on the board to 5. A final round of betting occurs, starting with the first player remaining to the left of the button.

Showdown
After betting is complete and if more than two players remain, a showdown occurs in which the winner is determined by the best five card hand possible using the 5 common cards and each players' pocket cards. It is entirely possible for the best hand to be completely “on the board,” in which case the remaining players split the pot. It is also possible to have a “tie” in which the players with the same hand strengths split the pot.
After the showdown, the button moves one person clockwise, and the next hand is dealt.

And that's it The basics of texas holdem! Like I said a few minutes to learn- a lifetime to master.