Poker Playing Tips - Killer Poker Tips For Beginners

Poker can bring you riches but it is so easy to throw away large chunks of your winnings by failing to heed some simple poker playing tips and losing your patience. These tips won't make you a millionaire but they will be very useful for the beginner. My poker playing tips have come from the experience of playing many hands so sharing the mistakes in my early days and the resultant killer poker tips will mean that you will never make these mistakes as a beginner! Mix it up -- don't be predictable. Poker is not simply about having the best hand. You can even win with a very poor hand if you bluff well enough. Don't always dump your hand if it is not a good one and don't immediately raise if you have a good one. Your opponents will see this as predictable and easy to identify behaviour and eventually will have you worked out. Watch poker on TV -- this is perhaps the easiest of my poker playing tips. There are many tournaments that you can find on TV and even some internet channels. Typically, they will show you the hole cards owned by each player which are face down on a transparent table with a camera positioned below. These pros can give you killer poker playing tips on all aspects of the game, but especially bluffing which is perhaps the hardest aspect to perfect. Play the free money tables -- all online poker rooms have free tables, also known as freeroll tables. If you are just starting out, this is the best of the poker playing tips to follow. In fact, if you are confused about the basic mechanics of the game such as raising, checking, calling etc., then free poker rooms are the best way to learn. Just learn the winning hands and forget the rest because you can learn the remainder of the game from free money tables. Play the low money tables -- once you have mastered the basic mechanics of the game, you should consider playing the low money tables. Even if you have much to learn still about poker, playing the the low money tables is one of the best poker playing tips because only here will you start to observe the unique behaviour of players when they can win or lose real money. The free tables are fun but the player behaviour is not that of true poker because players have nothing to lose and nothing to gain! Even if you are playing only very low stakes, you will see the real game and you will not be risking more than a few cents each game. Are your hole cards burning a hole in your pocket? Discover the exact breakthrough strategies an underground poker pro uses to earn over $1200.00 per night effortlessly at online poker.

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If You Laugh People Will Think You Have Money and They Will Treat You Better!

The Jesuit priests look for God in everything. That is their philosophy. I look for humor in everything. Of course everything is not funny. My Father was tough love, my Mother was soft love. I am soft love and my wife Marie is tough love. They say you marry one of your parents. I think I married my Father. Marie does not smoke cigars. When you laugh, people think you have money and they treat you better. If they find out you do not have money, they know you are up to something. Laughter and crying are forms of forgiveness. Laughter and forgiveness is of the spirit. That is why we must find ways to nurture our spirit to let go 490 times a day. The spirit loves to laugh, cry, and dance! I mean think about it! What else would the sprit do all day while we are sometimes just going about? We are not just to go about doing. We are to go about doing well for ourselves, families, professions, and our community in that order. When Vice President Cheney accidentally shot his hunting partner, I could not stop laughing. Of course I knew his hunting partner was not dead or seriously wounded. My wife Marie, said, "That is not funny; he could have been dead or hurt badly!" I said, you are right it is not funny, it is hilarious. When Jay Leno was on TV that evening, Jay said, "Who would you rather go hunting with, Vice President Cheney or Stevie Wonder?" I told my wife Marie, "You see Jay Leno thinks like me." If I did not laugh, they would lock me in a rubber room with no clothes on, so that I could not hurt myself! Practice laughing or crying. Some people cry so people will think they do not have money. Sometimes it is just a poker face. They are really holding a Royal Flush! The real secret is Laughter! I do not laugh to keep from crying. I laugh because it is funny.

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Ten Memorable Poker Moments

Poker has now become the game that everyone wants to learn to play. Poker itself has a long history but, only recently, and since the increase in availability of online games, has poker become more acceptable in main stream culture. Gone are the days when poker was seen as played by those with a shady character; when cowboys frequented saloons, looking to hustle and use their guile to win money from anyone brave enough to enter a game against them! Then poker, gun-slinging and hustling used to go hand in hand. Now things are slightly different. Around 2 million people play poker online every month across some 250 online poker sites. Around $2.8 billion is spent on online gambling itself in America alone; though this figure will soon drop drastically as the new laws prohibiting banks and credit card companies from making payments to online gambling sites is now in place. The Poker World Series is now riding high amongst other sporting events, with prize money to equal that of the biggest sporting occasions. With the many TV poker channels that are available in America and Europe, it seems that poker is now becoming more acceptable in main stream society. Perhaps this is because poker is seen more as a skill game and not so much the gambling game of old. Attempting to read an opponents play and strategy is all part of the game and an element that makes poker great to play and watch. Poker has also been a great subject for films to centre a plot or character around. Many a scene has graced our TVs and cinemas where poker has been the backdrop of a murder scene, scheming criminals, or introduction to an on-screen hero. Poker requires a cool head, a controlling of emotions and expressions, and the ability to understand the same traits in the opponents. Perhaps this is why poker has been a great catalyst to help characterise an on-screen actor. The list of films or TV programs where poker was played and how it was used to define a character is way too long to list in an article. However, below is a list of my top ten great TV or film moments that have involved the game of poker. Not everyone will remember or agree with the order of the list, but I am sure you will all agree they are all worth a mention. 1. Cool Hand Luke (1965). Luke beating an inmate at poker with a hand of nothing typifies the cool head required for a game of poker. 2. The poker scene from The Sting (1973). Still one of the best acted and directed poker games ever filmed - even if the two main players were cheating. 3. The opening card game in David Mamet's House of Games (1987). The whole film itself is a sequence of bluffs, tells and cons and has the audience hooked from start to finish. 4. Casino (1995). When Joe Pesci's character Tommy shoots Spider during a poker game. A violent scene, but worth mentioning for the comedy element. 5. "The" poker game in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (2000). A slick and direct approach to the filming of a game of brag. The dialogue as Eddie goes from smelling victory to tasting defeat is worth a mention in any poker list. 6. Maverick (1994). Maverick losing for an hour and then proceeding to win every game with his ability to read poker tells. Not the greatest poker film but a good adage to poker nonetheless. 7. Big Hand for a Little Lady (1966). When the Mary takes her winning hand to ask the bank manager for a loan... excellent. 8. The final showdown in Cincinnati Kid (1965). Well directed filming of a poker game and renowned for that famous line... "making the wrong move at the right time". 9. Rounders (1998). This film is noted for its many goofs and gaffs, but also worth a mention for re-introducing viewers to the world of poker in its many forms and, how the main character is drawn in and out of the world of poker gambling. The final poker game is true Holywood. 10. Stephen Hawking's cameo role during a poker game in episode "Second Chances" of Star Trek next Generation.

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Poker Strategy - Positioning

When you play Texas Hold'em, it's very important to know the strategy of positioning. In the poker game, the position of the dealer gains more benefit because the dealer can see who is still in the hand. The dealer position also gains more advantages on knowing how the players feel about their hands As you already knew, Texas Hold'em is played in a clockwise and this cause the players to the right of the dealer gain less information. The players to the right of the dealer will get less advantage due to the lack of information to make a good decision. The other players will raise the bet of the early betting position. If you can get the dealer position, which you will have multiple callers and good starting hand, then you can put a minimum bet. This will make the other players call. You will end up increasing the pot size of the game If you truly understand how to play with the "blind" position then you have more chance to win the game. If you are in "blind" position or "early" position then you have no feedback from other poker players. In the blind position, raise, call, fish or take any chance only if you have good starting cards Don't let the temptation of the high stakes make you gamble when you don't really have a good hand. This is not the way to win the game. You may have an idea that you have half of the ante in the pot and the blind stakes are high, even then don't gamble with that risk. Therefore you have to say no to this temptation and save your chips until you have a good hand and need to use the chips. A good player knows that to win the poker game he needs a good plan and a good poker strategy. A good poker player doesn't rely on luck or chance. One of the poker positioning strategies is the art of "bluffing". You can use a bluffing technique to bluff one player easier than bluffing all the other players. This is why positioning for bluffing in a poker game is one of a critical poker factors. The reason why the blind position is the best poker position to bluff is there will be no cards on the table. This makes your opponents, who may have really good cards, have no idea if you have good cards too. Anyway when you are bluffing you should know that if you get more than one caller, then there's a chance that one of the callers is having a good hand. In this case, you should fold. Don't playing on your ego.

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How to Avoid the Trap of Losing Your Bankroll

One of the most important aspects of playing poker is to build your poker bankroll. The primary reason any serious poker player plays the game is to make a profit. Avoiding losing your bankroll will ensure that you have the opportunity to continue to play. After all, if you lose your bankroll, you will have to find ways to make more money to continue to play poker. Moreover, if you do not carefully protect your bankroll, you may become desperate and take money that you can not afford to lose to supplement your poker bankroll. Building for Profit There are many theories as to how you can successfully build a poker bankroll and continue to play so that you have the opportunity to make poker a profitable and potentially full time income. However, utilizing solid poker strategy and common sense is the best way to build and add to your poker profits. If you continue to throw money at your poker career and fail to build a bankroll, you will eventually find yourself in a desperate financial situation that will inevitably cause you to play even worse, in an effort to recoup your losses. This is why it is important to adapt a poker strategy that you commit yourself to sticking to and avoid certain financial ruin. Many good poker players are merely one or two hands away from great wins, if they would use discipline and control. Disciplined Timing Sometimes, it is not the hand you are playing right now, but the next hand or the one after that which can catapult your poker career. Therefore, you want to play solid enough that you can reach that next hand, instead of committing yourself too much to any single hand too early in any game. In many cases, learning to fold a monster and learning how the table is playing is the peak of a professional poker player's career. Protect your bankroll and focus on the fact that your next hand may just be the one you need to take down a huge pot. Learning the disciplines of poker is the key to success, along with protecting your bankroll. If you are able to slowly build your bankroll over time, you will find that the discipline and good pokier strategy you learn along the way will help to propel your poker career into the next higher level. In addition, learning key poker strategies in online poker can add more to your bankroll and potentially give you the opportunity to play in larger live tournaments. Take time to learn good poker strategy and methods to protect your bankroll. After all, that is the only way to stay in the 'poker business'

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A Couch Potato's Guide to Poker on TV!

I love Poker. I love to play it. I love to read about it. I love to watch other people play it, especially on TV. It's an inexpensive way to learn from the pros. You can see what they do in real-world situations, not just what they say they would do in their books. Watching Poker helps improve your game. You can learn pot odds, combinations, order of hands and many other basics as well as advanced, psychological strategy such as tells. I watch a lot of Poker on TV. Yes, I do. Apparently, the networks are taking notice of the TV-viewing public. A lot of us are crazy for Poker. In this article, I'm going to discuss several, TV series that are still running now, that I highly recommend and regularly watch. 1) Celebrity Poker Showdown. This is on Bravo, usually on Thursday nights. Poker Pro Phil Gordon and comedian Dave Foley (Kids in The Hall, News Radio) are the moderators for this light, fluffy show featuring celebrities such as Alex Trebek, Ben Affleck, Rosie O'Donnell and Camryn Manheim. Some of the celebs are really very good. Of course, there is also that wonderfully evil moment when you can watch someone on the D-List or above sink on the river. Phil gives expert commentary. There's a short film each week in which the basics of No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em and the betting rules are explained. It's entertaining TV even for newbies, pros and the star-struck alike. 2) The World Series of Poker. ESPN is currently showing episodes of the 2005 WSOP. The other night, I saw Johnny Chan win his record 10th WSOP bracelet in the Pot Limit Hold 'Em event. It was awesome. He beat out Phil 'Unabomber' Laak to take the lead against Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth, who were both present during the match, for the all-time record bracelet wins. Hey, don't feel too bad for Mr. Laak. His girlfriend, the beautiful Hollywood actress, Jennifer Tilly, won the Ladies' Event at the WSOP this year. A week or two prior to that, I got to see Josh Arieh, a very good player who doesn't get too much airtime (yet), play - and win - the Omaha tourney. It was great to see Omaha Hold 'Em played on TV for a change. I loved it. Even if you're not a poker junkie like I am, you can appreciate the epic nature of the World Series of Poker with its international field featuring the best of the best - and a few Cinderella stories thrown in for good measure. 3) World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel. Travel the world from your chair and watch pros play in the World Poker Tour. They play in exotic locales such as Aruba and Paris. Host Mike Sexton is so knowledgeable about the game that he makes up for his co-host Vince Van Patten's shtick. The man tries to give nicknames to any hand combination possible. Some of his groaners include: QQ - Siegfried & Roy or Paris & Nikki (Hilton) 55 - Sammy Hagar (after the song, 'I Can't Drive 55') Rounding out the commentator group is the lovely Shana Hiatt. She interviews the pros and showcases different aspects of the poker-playing lifestyle on each episode. The WPT hosts names like Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer and more. It's a veritable who's who of Poker and it comes fresh and new into your home each week. These aren't the only Poker shows on TV. ESPN has a drama called TILT starring Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs) and Eddie Cibrian (Third Watch) which is a fictionalized version of a poker pro's dirty and dangerous life. E! Entertainment Network, beginning on St. Patty's Day 2005, aired several episodes of E!'s Hollywood Hold 'Em Game. Laura Prepon, of That 70s Show, produced the show and starred in one of the episodes with her live-in love Chris Masterson (Malcolm in the Middle) and some friends, including Chris' brother and That 70's show star, Danny Masterson (Hyde). Other episodes had Mila Kunis (Family Guy, That 70s Show), Macauley Culkin - yes, that Macauley Culkin. He's Mila's beau - and Shannon Elizabeth. I haven't seen it on recently; but, I desperately hope that it comes back. It was pretty good poker and Phil Laak was the dealer/mentor/host. The Game Show Network has Poker Royale. This is a 6-person tournament that runs for several weeks. There are several elimination rounds, then a finale. The first had all pros. It was men vs. women. The men won each individual match; but, the ladies, led by Kathy Liebert, Jennifer Harmon and Cyndy Violette took the final - and decisive match. The second installment had Celebrities vs. Poker Pros. I found it to be a watered-down version of Celebrity Poker Showdown. I missed Phil Gordon and Dave Foley, gotta admit. The third installment, which is currently airing, is the Comedians vs. Poker Pros. I didn't find this one too fun or funny; but, I've had other things to do lately. Actually, I dropped watching that because the Fall Season picked up; and, well, I'd rather watch the Poker Superstars Invitational on FSN! This is awesome. It's a turbo tourney - the blinds go up really quick and the play is fast - featuring Johnny Chan, Carlos Mortensen and other luminaries. It's action-packed, high-stakes poker that goes by in the blink of eye. If you can't find a good online or home game, why not sit down and watch one on TV? Chances are - there's one on the television right now. Go. Watch!

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Managing Your Online Poker Bankroll

My internet poker playing friend was out of town a few weeks ago, and couldn't get his regular site to work well, so knowing I had extra cash in my Party Poker account he asked for a hundred bucks to play there during his visit. Sure fine. A few hours later he lets me know he lost 2, $20+2 SNG tourneys in a row, both by bad beats. His intention at that time was to go into a $30+3 to try and make it back. He is a good player so I wasn't about to lecture him on his bankroll, but herein you will find exactly that. The skills involved in managing your bankroll effectively are basic math, dedication to learning the game, the humility to drop down a level, and anger management. Seriously. The above scenario is no doubt very common. In fact, poker sites love reload players like my friend. The players who know they are good, make that, "too good" to play within their own bankroll are the most profitable. Inevitably, not managing your bankroll, no matter how good you are, will result in failure. By the incontestable laws of probabilities and mathematics, this is undeniable. It doesn't matter if you are playing with a hundred bucks or a million, the result is always the same. It has been widely reported that a certain multiple WPT champion has repeatedly played over his bankroll and blown his WPT winnings. It happens on any level, as the principle is the same. You will need basic math skills to the tune of knowing what 2, 5, and 10 percent of your bankroll is. No matter what your game you should never be playing with more than 10% of your bankroll. For example, if you deposit 100 dollars into your account, you shouldn't take more than $10 to any game. This is going to limit you to .50/1.00 limit hold'em, or $5 to $10 SNG's. You could also play an MTT for that entry, but I don't recommend that because it would be unlikely for you to place in the money. If you think you can lick this game right off and deposit $1000, then you can bring $100 bucks to any table for play. Still, this is not recommended. If you are learning, you should learn to move up to that level, rather than buy yourself into it. Trust me, you will want to avoid the painful strategy of buying yourself into a higher limit. Enter humility. Your humility should allow you to play at a level that forces you to become proficient and earn yourself a bankroll to move up. If that means .25/.50 hold'em, then that is your challenge. If you are going to learn, learn cheap, learn smart, and earn your way up to the next level. You will feel so much more confident when moving up a level in having conquered the level before it. Others will have paid to get in that level, and those opponents will be at your mercy. On the other hand, once you move up a level and find yourself struggling, you need to go back down a level and refocus your efforts and education. When to do this exactly, is a question of math. If your bankroll has not increased at your new game level and comes perilously close to that 10% guideline, it's time to back up. Don't let it get below that level, because once you break the guideline once, it's much easier the next time, and the next, and the next... This will lead to mismanagement, and reloading. Here is an example: You deposited $100 and started with the 5 buck sit and go circuit and skillfully built your bankroll up to $250, where you correctly decided to move up to the $10 SNG tables. You played 7 tournaments at that level and only placed once with a second place showing. This has dropped your bankroll down to $203. Although another $10 entry is well within 10%, it is more than 5%, and since you haven't performed well, you should gather your humility and understand that there is more to learn. In this case, I would go back to the 5 buck SNG tables, and work my bankroll up to $300, before attempting your next move up. Once you reach that goal, and have proven yourself a better player, you will also have more bankroll room at the $10 level. It is an invaluable experience to care for your bankroll in this way. I have done this several times when my bankroll needed it to the point now that when I sit a SNG table, I know that through my dedication of learning the game at each level, I am a favorite to place in that tournament. This may sound of a drastic move, but treating your bankroll with the utmost respect is the key to success. To play is to dedicate. It isn't going to be easy to double your bankroll at this level. Your commitment and dedication to each stage involves learning, patience, and intense observation. and is a supreme test of your core personality. Think this is overboard? I have seen players losing it to the point of me stopping them from punching a wall or tossing a laptop. These are otherwise normal acquaintances. And then there was anger management. This is not a funny movie. This is about battling that desire to make up lost ground by moving up a level, not down. This is where you need to know the value of your cards before you shove an all-in play at that maniacal player who has raised you yet again. By the way, at that point, he is usually holding a monster and has trained you like a monkey to step right in. If you are playing within your bankroll, losing your temper is never really an issue, because losing a game or a hand to a bad beat or poor play is not going to cripple your account. Many of your opponents will play their entire bankroll at a table or a tournament and you can take advantage of this, because in that situation, they will NEVER be able to make optimal decisions. You can surely imagine though how they will be tilting the moment they lose a big hand, because that one hand may represent 75% of their whole bankroll. Tilting after you lose a big hand in such a scenario, is pretty much inescapable. Their mindset is already looking forward to another reload, as they mentally prepare themselves to exit the table with nothing. I have seen this literally thousands of times online. It's in the math. When I say maximum 10%, I really try to play with 5% or less. For example, I usually have between $2,000 and $4,000 in my party poker account. When I have more I withdraw down to about $2,500 because I, personally, never want to be below $2,000 as that will restrict some of the tables/events I play at. Let's say I have $2,500 now and want to play in the Sunday Million which has an entry fee of $215. Therefore, $215 divided into $2,500 = 8.6% which is within the 10% guideline. However, let me tell you why it's STILL the wrong decision to pay for that tournament. If that is how you are investing your bankroll, you need to realize the likelihood of playing that circuit profitably. In other words, you have basically 10 chances to place that tourney. You may very well be able to do that however, it is not unusual to go through 10, 20 or even 40 tournaments without placing - even for the pros. If multi table tournaments are your game, you should be looking to have a bankroll of about 50 buy-ins. That is how dry tournaments can get. Using the 50 buy-in formula, you should have $10,000+ in your account to pay for the Sunday Million. Think of it this way. If you are good enough to profit in this tournament, then you should easily be able to win a qualifier to get in it for about 5% to 10% of the entry fee. If you can't win one of those tourneys, filled with rookies, then you have no justification for paying the big tourney entry fee outright.

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