Win More Games By Developing Your Own Poker Playing Style

If you new to No Limit Texas Hold’em poker and have watched the WSOP you are probably amazed at the brilliant play of some of the professionals. Most likely you find yourself saying, “Wow! How did he know to raise in that situation” or “How in the world did he know that he was bluffing?” Well, sometimes it is luck but more often than not it is skill and knowing their opponents tendencies. When you are staking out your next opponent you may want to keep in mind that most players fall into four distinct categories, loose passive, loose aggressive, tight passive and tight aggressive. The term loose and tight describes a poker player’s frequency of played hands. A loose poker player will play many hands and mix their play up. They don’t necessarily wait on what would be thought of as a good starting hand. A tight player will play hands less frequently usually waiting on a good starting hand or at least to be in good position. The term passive and aggressive describe a poker player’s betting tendencies. A passive poker player will normally check or call many times even if they have top pair or over cards. An aggressive player, on the other hand, has a tendency to bet or raise and put your ability to read them to the test. Loose Passive A loose passive player is generally new to No Limit Texas Hold’em. They will start with almost any hand not fully understanding which hands are strong and which hands are marginal. When the flop and turn are shown and they catch middle or bottom pair they will generally check or call giving the opponent an opportunity to catch cards. This type of opponent may scare easily with a large bet on the river. Loose Aggressive An experienced loose aggressive player is a very dangerous player and you always want them on your right. This type of poker player will play various types of hands and also bet very aggressively, as if he/she always has a great hand or is catching a great flop. Watch out for this type of player because it is extremely difficult to put them on a hand. Tight Passive A tight passive player is one of the most respected players at a poker table but that can be a good and bad thing. A tight passive player will only play a limited number of hands. They generally wait on good cards and will call or bet only when they have made their hand. Generally a poker table will recognize a tight passive player and when they represent a hand the table will respectfully fold their cards resulting in smaller pot sizes. Tight Aggressive A tight aggressive poker player will sit back and wait on a good hand or good position and then bet aggressively. It is thought that this style of play fits extremely well with No Limit Texas Hold’em. This type of player will frequently raise pre flop. If he/she is on a draw or thinks the hand is good, you better believe there will be a strong bet or raise following as well. If you’re new to the game then you may not have a strategy down yet. Remember, there is no right answer to what type of style you choose or fall under but with practice you will probably be able spot what type or poker style suits you the best. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: Nigel B. is a poker consultant for Signature Poker. For you next home game check out great Poker Chips for at http://www.signaturepoker.com Read more articles by: Nigel B. Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Winning Online Poker Strategy: Improving Your Tournament Play

Online poker tournament play can be a daunting experience for even the most seasoned veteran so when you are ready to get started in tournament play it is best to have a solid strategy and that you have taken the time to get comfortable with tournament play. There is a philosophy used by many musicians that can be applied to preparing for tournament play. Musicians may spend hours in their rehearsal space pretending they are on stage at Madison Square Garden or Carnegie Hall, preparing themselves for the experience by imaging themselves in it. The same philosophy can be used in preparing for tournament play. Start with single table tournaments and pretend you are at the final table at the World Championship. Every chip is precious as is ever move you make, apply this simple philosophy to your early single table tournament play and it will help you develop the skills needed later on when you make the move to multi table tournaments. A smart strategy to use when beginning at single table tournaments is to play only premium hands in the first three rounds. Slowly open up and play more hands and get more aggressive as the tournaments continues and as shorter handed the tournament becomes. By slowly building your bankroll and getting within one or two spots from the money it is easier to rob the more desperate players trying to make their money back. Play aggressive at this stage and jump on the chance at taking more of their chips! As with your standard online poker play, you should always stick to your strategy. Fold often, use you bluff sparingly and always be aware of the habits and tells of the other players involved in your game. Be prepared and aware of what types of players are playing at your table and use their habits against them. Studying the other players early in the game will arm you with valuable information that will help you deep into the game. Playing a few early bluffs may be an effective tool in your strategy as can early folds. Your aggressive play should increase deeper into the game but, at the same time, you should be playing a smart disciplined game. It is easier to get aggressive when you feel in control of the game, so study, study, study! Finally, never get yourself into a tournament you are not prepared for! Build your skills and get comfortable with the experience before jumping in. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: Check our poker room reviews, our Poker.com bonus code, and our Poker Room deposit code. Read more articles by: J Finney Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Poker Bankroll Requirements

Your bankroll is the amount of money you have set aside to play poker with. Some players can easily add to their bankroll from outside sources while others have no way to add if they lose theirs. If you fall into the latter category, it is very important to not play at limits that exceed your bankroll. One very important point you should know is that until you become a consistent winner it doesn’t matter how big your bankroll is. The only thing that will matter is how much you have to lose. For this reason, the information below is written for you assuming you are a winning player overall. The first rule is to not confuse bankroll and buy-in. A buy-in is the amount you sit down in a game with or the entry fee in a tournament, not the entire amount you have available to play poker with over a period of time. For example, you may have a bankroll of $10,000 to play 15/30-limit holdem. If this were the case you would probably buy-in for between $500 and $1,000. I have seen bankroll size suggestions ranging from 200 times the big bet at the level you are playing at ($800 at 2/4) to 300 times the big bet ($1200 at 2/4). My recommendation, particularly for holdem, is to start with 300 times the big bet. I play much better when I have this cushion. I have played at levels that I had much less than 300 times the big bet in bankroll and it sometimes hurts my play. This is a psychological hurdle but when reduced to facts it makes sense. 50 times the big bet is a common downswing, even for professional players, and nothing to become too concerned about if you are still playing well. However, if you start with only 100 times the big bet, if you are down 50 big bets you have lost 50% of your bankroll. If you had started with 300 big bets and are down 50, you have only lost roughly 17% of your bankroll. If you are a very sound Omaha/8 player, you can play with a 200 big bet bankroll. This is because Omaha/8 is a much more mathematically direct game than holdem, or in other words there is less short-term variance or luck. Because of the short-term variance in holdem, even professional players may see a 200 big bet downswing at times. For this reason, that extra 100 big bets may keep you from being forced to drop down a level before the cards turn in your favor. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: Wes Young runs a poker web site at http://www.pokermonger.com where you can find information about poker strategy, poker room reviews and unique poker articles. He also publishes a weekly poker column. For information visit thepokercolumn.com Read more articles by: Wes Young Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Poker Lingo For Amateurs

The World Series of Poker has sprouted many followers in the last couple of years. Amateur tables are popping up all over the world and friendly cash games are everywhere come Friday night. Whether it is for thrill or profit the so called sport of poker has the attention of many onlookers year round. While Amateurs know the basics of the game they usually get lost in all the poker lingo spoken at the casino poker tables. While some is lingo is made up by experienced players to throw off the amateurs, some are actually well known terms in the poker world that any amateur trying to make it big should know. Below is a guide to all the poker lingo you could ever want to impress your friends or intimidate an experienced opponent. Take a look. Ante: The initial money thrown into the pot to induce betting. This is done before the flop. All In: When a person decides to put all his chips in to bet on a certain hand. No Limit Hold’Em is the most popular game and All Ins are allowed as many times as a player wants. In Limit Hold’Em you cannot bet more then the pot itself. Backdoor: Backdoor is a reference to when players are chasing a card that has not come up yet but has a good chance to. Having 4 cards of the same kind is a backdoor flush draw, having four cards in a row is a backdoor straight draw. Bad Beat: A Bad Beat occurs when a player has a large advantage over the other and the last card beats the big hand by luck. Bad beat is usually used to imply that the player with the weak hand should not have been in the hand at all and it was by mere luck that he won his underdog hand. Blind: In Texas Hold’Em, the game uses blinds instead of antes. The blinds are forced bets to induce some money in the pot by the two people sitting to the left of the dealer. The first person to the left of the dealer is the “small blind” and bets a smaller amount. The second person to the left of the dealer is the “big blind” and bets twice what the small blind has. Bottom Pair: The lowest pair out of the cards out on the table. Check: When a player decides to not bet he calls “Check”. This is the option of betting zero dollars. Check Raise: When a player checks with a strong hand hoping another opponent will raise. The player then re-raises with his strong hand thus getting more money out of his opponent in the pot. Drawing Dead: When a player is trying to make a hand that will still not win the pot. Flop: The first three cards that are “flopped” onto the table. These are also called community cards. Heads Up Play: When there are only two players playing a certain hand they are considered “heads up”. Muck: A pile of unused cards usually in front of the dealer. These come from folded or burned cards. To “much your cards” is to fold them by throwing them into the muck pile. The Nuts: Likely the favorite expression of any poker player. The Nuts indicates a hand that is mathematically unbeatable with the cards on the table. Offsuit: When the two cards you are dealt are of different suits. Pocket: The two cards dealt to you in Texas Hold’Em that only you can see. Rake: The total amount of money that the casino’s dealer takes out of every pot. The River: The last card to be flopped on the board. The 5th card to come out in a Texas Hold’Em game. Short Stack: The short stack is referring to the player with the least amount of chips at the table. Tell: A tell refers to a players action when he or she has a good or bad hand. Some players take off their sun glasses when they have a bad hand. Other players tend to itch their right hand when they have a good hand. The Turn: The fourth card to be flopped onto the table in a Texas Hold’Em game. These are the necessary terms in order to keep up with the pros. There are hundreds of other terms in the world of poker, yet they are much less needed or too experienced for the amateur. Learn this lingo and impress your friends or play at experienced tables and wow the crowd. Lastly, poker is a great game, but the greatest player in poker knows one this: When to know you’re beat. Everyone likes to hold’em, but sometimes you get that feeling and you just have to fold’em. For more poker definitions check out The Modern Grinder Poker Glossary. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: John Harding is a respected poker author. More articles can be found at http://www.poker-prophet.com Poker Prophet Read more articles by: John Harding Article Source: www.iSnare.com