Online Poker Tells: What To Look For

When we refer to tells we actually mean words, emotions, acts, gestures and any other manner of behavior that a poker player does or executes while player and trying to cover the strong hand they are holding. Tells are usually done without the will of the one that acts them out, but no matter if they are consciously executed or not, the other player can interpret the meaning behind them. Many players have the same gesture or emotion whenever they try to hide their hand, but if you want to know exactly what they want to hide you have to learn to tell the exact signification of the gesture from one person to the other. When we are talking about live poker rooms, players can look strangely at you, can throw chips around, can act as if they are weak, can say things to confuse you and many other actions that can betray their hand. But all of these actions are meaningless when playing online because online you can’t actually see the opponents. But, there are a few online tells that can be helpful and that can and usually are done by online poker players: 100% Deposit Bonus at Ultimate Bet.com -A player that calls within a split second of your bet. Usually when a player calls immediately it means they are trying to hide the fact that their hand is actually weak. If they call without thinking at all there are trying to bluff and make you think that they are holding a clearly strong hand. -They check after some hesitation. If a player check after quite some time of thinking before checking it does not usually mean that they have a weak hand. It means they want to see the next card and you shouldn’t bet anymore. -They bet after a long thinking period. When a player does a delayed bet, it usually means that they have a strong hand and they are trying to hide t by betting late, making you think they are unsure of their hand and trying to determine you to raise or at least call. 100% Deposit Bonus at Ultimate Bet.com -When instantly calling or raising on the river. Theses players what you to think they bluff. But actually they are indeed holding a strong hand and they are betting so obviously so you will have doubts and decide they are bluffing. -When a player checks instantly. When a player checks instantly he is usually a player that plays at multiple tables and he is holding a weak hand. He tries to save some time by using the check buttons quickly. -When he bets on the turn after checking before. When a player first bests on the turn it means he is weak. They either have a draw or they are buffing or semi-bluffing so you should raise them usually even if you don’t have the hand for it and you might be yourself bluffing if you do that. 100% Deposit Bonus at Ultimate Bet.com About the Author: To read up on your favorite professional poker players including Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth, visit http://www.poker-player-profiles.com/ today. Read more articles by: J Finney Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Site Review: Ultimate Bet Standing Strong for American Players

UltimateBet.com overall rating 8.8/10 Review Endorsed by top pros like Phil Hellmuth Jr, Annie Duke and Antonio “the magician” Esfandiari UltimateBet is one of the world's leading and most innovative poker rooms. If you live in the United States you’ll be pleased to know that Ultimate Bet is one of the few large well established and financially stable on-line poker rooms who is still welcoming American players, which is why I put my playing dollars into ultimate bet. Overview and Ratings Fast payouts (often in 3 hours or less) Email response often less than 10 min Top-notch software with Windows and Mac Software & Graphics 8 Ring Game Traffic 8 Tournament traffic 8 Game variety 8 Rake 6 Soft competition 6.5 Sign up bonus 8 Promotions & Bonuses 9 Support 9 Financial security 9.5 Deposit & withdrawal options 8 Promotions 100% first time deposit bonus for new players $2,000,000 Guranteed in the UltimateBet.com Online Championship WPT Boot Camp Prize Package Daily Guaranteed Minimun Tournaments $5,000 cash Freeroll Reload Bonuses Ultimate Points Player Rewards And much more Traffic Being one of the top 5 online poker rooms, UltimateBet Poker has between 4000 and 6000 ring game players playing during peak hours, with about 17,000 players online at the time of writing this review. Limits and Game Variety UltimateBet is geared towards all limit players and has a variety of limits and games. From low stakes games as low as $ .01/.02 and high stakes games as high as $300/600. In addition to the usual Hold’em, 7 card stud and Omaha UltimateBet also offers unusual games like pineapple, Triple Draw and Royal Hold’em. UltimateBet also offers blackjack which is good for serious poker players because it brings a lot of gamblers to their site (and loose action to the poker tables). Customer Service Ultimate Bet provides their customers with exceptional customer service, with most emails being answered in less than 20 minutes. The staff is helpful and friendly. On the down side is that UltimateBet only provides email support at this time. Tournaments There are a huge variety of poker tournaments to choose from at UltimateBet . There is almost always a multi-table tournament going on, and even more sit n go tournament opportunities. In addition to the regular tournaments, you will see promotions such as charity tournaments going on. Play On-Line Poker at UltimateBet Now

Expected Value In Holdem Poker

A successful Texas hold em player is one who maximizes his return or minimizes his loss with each decision he makes. Expected value (EV) is essentially the amount one would expect to win or lose if this decision were to be repeated millions of times. (remember your precalculus "limit as n goes to infinity"??? didn't think so!) Every poker decision, whether it be to bet, raise, check/call, check/fold, check/raise has an expectation of success or failure. Those that will lose you money in the long run are said to have negative expected value (-EV). Folding always has an expected value of zero. You will never gain or lose money by folding. Folding, though it has an EV of zero, may often be your best decision from an EV perspective. AD: Texas Hold'em Secrets Revealed Let's look at a few examples. Expected value is not always easily calculable, even in limit texas holdem, but every time you play you should try to analyze your decisionmaking with EV in your mind. For instance, you're playing 1/2 and in the small blind with 84o on a flop of K96 rainbow. The small blind checks and only you and a tight player are left. There is three dollars in the pot. Should you bet? You are risking one dollar. Betting has a positive expectation if you can expect the other two to fold more than one in four times. If you try it four times and it succeeds once, you win a three dollar pot and lose your one dollar bet the three other times, making it a 0 EV play. (We're discounting the chance that you are called and catch runner runner or win in some other very unlikely way) Remember, we analyze each decision on its own Expected Value merits. If you are called and catch an 8 on the turn, you must again analyze your decisions based on their likelihood of success or failure in the long run. Poker, and Texas Holdem in particular, is a game of short term variations, but you must continue to make the correct EV decisions and you will be a winner in the long term. Another example: You are holding A8 of spades, again playing 1/2. There are 3 limpers ahead of you and one behind you. The flop comes K96 with two spades. The first player bets and the other two in front of you call...you should raise! As we've seen in the Poker Odds section, you have about a 35 percent chance of hitting your flush. You will not win each time you hit it...perhaps someone has flopped a set or two pair and will hit a full house, etc. You may even occasionally win if you spike an Ace. Anyway, it is pretty clear that your odds of winning the hand are better than 25 percent, and with 3 players in the pot ahead of you, you want to get more money in the pot while you have an advantage from an expected value standpoint. Now, there are other factors that will enter your head and should be taken into account. If the original bettor reraises you and the other two fold, you've now put 2 dollars in and gotten the others to put 6 in. Now we may or may not be in positive EV territory, depending on what our opponent has. Also, we must consider the fact that our raise may have bought us a free card or may have gotten someone with an Ace and a better kicker or paired side card to fold. As you can see, there are many factors influencing the expected value of our decisions. We may not always be sure we've made the correct poker play, but it's extremely important that our thinking process runs along these lines. Even preflop you must think along expected value lines. You may be holding AJs in the small blind. Six players, most of them very loose, limp before you. A raise is in order. Think in terms of expected value or pot equity. Your hand figures to win more than one in every seven times against the starting hands held by the others, so a raise is in order. Again, evaluate each decision on its own merits. If you miss the flop in this instance, checking and folding may be your best option from an expected value standpoint. Or, it may not...you may have an overcard, gutshot and back door flush draw...again, do the math in your head and arrive at the correct decision. AD: Earn Six Figures Play Poker On-Line Finally, remember this...in general, a bet has a higher expected value than a check/call. You will sometimes win by forcing people to fold. Now, there are times when this is not correct due to the threat of a raise (if you're planning on calling), but always bear it in mind. In Texas Holdem, aggressive poker is winning poker. About the Author: Gregg Dwyer is a professional online poker player. His Texas Holdem Poker tips, hints and lessons can be found at http://www.hittheflop.com Read more articles by: Greg Dwyer Article Source: www.iSnare.com Poker sites supporting US players: Doyles Room Full Tilt Poker Ultimate Bet

Online Gambling Bill Co-sponsors Are Vulnerable for Re-election

This from our friends over at PokerNews.com "Millions of online gamers were outraged by the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. Will their discontent make a difference this election year? There are a number of co-sponsors of HR 4411 and HR 4777, two related internet gaming bills, that are looking vulnerable this year and the online gaming vote could make the difference. While technically HR 4411 was the precursor to the UIGEA, HR 4777, called the Internet Prohibition Act, would have amended the narrowly defined 1961 Wire Act to specifically prohibit the use of the internet for placing bets or wagers." Read the full article here.

Poker: A game of skill?

The Poker Player's Alliance has written this great article on why poker is a game of skill. Click here to read. Poker sites supporting US players: Doyles Room Full Tilt Poker Ultimate Bet

The Importance Of Poker Position And How To Bet.

Texas Holdem is all about people and position. All rounded holdem players agree that position in no limit texas holdem is fundamentally important. Playing your hole cards in late position can be much more profitable than in early poker position. The reason because much more information is gathered before acting. For example, I was playing a $1-$2 no limit cash game at a local spot. I limped in with 2 , 9 unsuited (a terrible hand) on the dealer button, just to see some action. Flop came down A -A -4 . A player in early position made a $15 bet. Two players fold and it was my turn to act. I should have folded, but his play seemed a bit off. I identified this player as a weak-tight player earlier, and typically if he had the best hand he would just check. I thought, ‘if he held trips, why would he raise so early instead of checking and try to trap other players.’ I didn’t put him on an Ace this time, so I called. The turn came down with a 7 , making it A -A -4 -7 . My opponent made another bet of $20. I hesitated a bit, but made a split decision to reraise another $30 on top of his $20. He folds and I take the pot down. Ad: "Earn Six Figures Play Poker On-Line" Playing late position gives you an idea where you stand by observing how players react and bet. On the other hand, players at early position may us their poker position to check-raise the late positioned aggressors and trap them later at the end. In Texas Holdem, both ends, late and early should be played cautiously regardless. Texas Holdem is all about people and position. All rounded holdem players agree that position in no limit texas holdem is fundamentally important. Playing your hole cards in late position can be much more profitable than in early poker position. The reason because much more information is gathered before acting. For example, I was playing a $1-$2 no limit cash game at a local spot. I limped in with 2 , 9 unsuited (a terrible hand) on the dealer button, just to see some action. Flop came down A -A -4 . A player in early position made a $15 bet. Two players fold and it was my turn to act. I should have folded, but his play seemed a bit off. I identified this player as a weak-tight player earlier, and typically if he had the best hand he would just check. I thought, ‘if he held trips, why would he raise so early instead of checking and try to trap other players.’ I didn’t put him on an Ace this time, so I called. The turn came down with a 7 , making it A -A -4 -7 . My opponent made another bet of $20. I hesitated a bit, but made a split decision to reraise another $30 on top of his $20. He folds and I take the pot down. Playing late position gives you an idea where you stand by observing how players react and bet. On the other hand, players at early position may us their poker position to check-raise the late positioned aggressors and trap them later at the end. In Texas Holdem, both ends, late and early should be played cautiously regardless. How to Bet A bet is a declaration that you have a good hand. When a player raises, they are proclaiming they have the best hand and they’ll wager money on it. Typically, players are supposed to raise when they have a good hand and those who have a bad hand are suppose to fold. If everyone stuck to this policy, there would be no need for any strategy. However, most players play contrary to this idea and attempt to be cunning and deceptive. The following descriptions are strategic plays: Blind-Stealing: When you are on the dealer button and only you have the blinds are left, a raise is often called blind-stealing. This may cause the blinds to fold, stead of simply checking. This strategy will never make you rich, but ends the game fast so you may be dealt a new hand (and adds a few chips to your stack). Blind stealing is a tremendous tactic within a tournament game, especially when the blinds become very high. Steal-Raise: If you are the last to act and all players have checked to you, a simple raise can limit the number of active players or take the pot. This move is only recommended if you’ve hit a piece of the flop and want to see where you stand. Check-Raising: The act of checking to your opponent with the intention of luring them to raise, so that you can reraise them back. Your intention is to lure them to feel secure about their hand and betting so you can reraise back at them. For example, I was in early position and was holding AQ and the flop came down as Q-A-A. I didn’t want to scare anyone out of the pot so I checked and waited for someone to bet. My opponent bets, and I raise him back with a substantial amount that kept him thinking for a minute. The Opener: Raising when you’re first to act. This strategy is used to limit the number of players and is an information bet (usually players with strong hands will call). Many will fold, but the ones remaining will either be equally aggressive or truly have a good hand. Squeezing: Raising when suspecting another player or players may be on a draw (players looking for a straight, flush, etc). Raising discourages players taking a chance on their draws. For example, I was holding a suited hand J10, and the flop came down as 2-A-8 with two clubs on the community. One more club would have gave me a strong flush possibility, but my opponent bet a strong amount that wasn’t worth gambling if I didn’t hit my flush. Ad: "Texas Hold'em Secrets Revealed" How to Bet A bet is a declaration that you have a good hand. When a player raises, they are proclaiming they have the best hand and they’ll wager money on it. Typically, players are supposed to raise when they have a good hand and those who have a bad hand are suppose to fold. If everyone stuck to this policy, there would be no need for any strategy. However, most players play contrary to this idea and attempt to be cunning and deceptive. The following descriptions are strategic plays: Blind-Stealing: When you are on the dealer button and only you have the blinds are left, a raise is often called blind-stealing. This may cause the blinds to fold, stead of simply checking. This strategy will never make you rich, but ends the game fast so you may be dealt a new hand (and adds a few chips to your stack). Blind stealing is a tremendous tactic within a tournament game, especially when the blinds become very high. Steal-Raise: If you are the last to act and all players have checked to you, a simple raise can limit the number of active players or take the pot. This move is only recommended if you’ve hit a piece of the flop and want to see where you stand. Check-Raising: The act of checking to your opponent with the intention of luring them to raise, so that you can reraise them back. Your intention is to lure them to feel secure about their hand and betting so you can reraise back at them. For example, I was in early position and was holding AQ and the flop came down as Q-A-A. I didn’t want to scare anyone out of the pot so I checked and waited for someone to bet. My opponent bets, and I raise him back with a substantial amount that kept him thinking for a minute. The Opener: Raising when you’re first to act. This strategy is used to limit the number of players and is an information bet (usually players with strong hands will call). Many will fold, but the ones remaining will either be equally aggressive or truly have a good hand. Squeezing: Raising when suspecting another player or players may be on a draw (players looking for a straight, flush, etc). Raising discourages players taking a chance on their draws. For example, I was holding a suited hand J10, and the flop came down as 2-A-8 with two clubs on the community. One more club would have gave me a strong flush possibility, but my opponent bet a strong amount that wasn’t worth gambling if I didn’t hit my flush. About the Author: This Article is been published by http://www.PitBullRules.com and written by a poker lover that doesn't like the attention like most poker "GURU'S". He likes to call himself Jake Blue Eyes, anyway the reason we say that is because Jake has asked us to distribute his wonderful poker experiences online as well offline at http://www.pitbullrules.com. Read more articles by: Jake B. Eyes Article Source: www.iSnare.com Poker sites supporting US players: Doyles Room Full Tilt Poker Ultimate Bet