The 10 Worst Poker Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When playing poker, many players are prone to making the same fatal mistakes. Below, I have attempted to outline these problems in the hopes that the reader may identify any negative tendencies in their game and make the necessary changes. Mistake 1 - Playing Short-Handed with Little Experience - First of all, short-handed play requires more skill. You don’t have the luxury of simply being patient, which forces you to play weaker hands. You’ll be playing more hands per game, and this will put you at a distinct disadvantage when competing against more experienced players. Beginning players also may not have the bankroll needed to weather the high fluctuations of such a game. These fluctuations can lead players to go on tilt, which is always a huge mistake. Playing short-handed requires a whole different mindset. Start by playing in regular games and gain experience. Only then should you start branching out into the deeper water of short-handed games. Mistake 2 - Bluffing Too Much - Bluffing an opponent is a great feeling, but if you do it too much you’re bound to get called. Betting with a weak hand is a surefire way to decrease your chip total. Be careful and don’t get too cute. Feel free to bluff, but do it in moderation. Mistake 3 - Playing Position Wrong - You want to play as many hands as possible from a late position, and these are hands that you’ll want to play aggressively. Going later allows you to see what your opponents are doing. If you’re in the early position, you want to play fewer hands. Mistake 4 - Getting Too Emotional - When players get too emotional, they are bound to make mistakes. At all times, try and remain detached from the game. Stay calm. Bet with your brains, not with your heart. Mistake 5 - Focusing Too Much on the Cards - Play the player, not the cards. Learn the tendencies of your opponents and try to make sure that few hands ever make it to the final card. Instead, you want to use the knowledge of your opponent to force them to fold long before then. Mistake 6 - Thinking You’re the Best - Despite what you think, you are not the best player out there. In any given game, anyone has a chance to beat anyone else. There’s only so much you can do about this. What you can do is realize that you’re going to lose a lot of the time. Practice, however, will ensure that you lose far less than those around you. Mistake 7 - Not Asking for Help - Whether you learn by watching others or asking for advice, you must get help from time to time to improve. And, of course, there’s simply no substitute for actual game experience. Mistake 8 - Playing the Wrong Stakes - The difference between a $5 and $10 game can be huge. It’s always important to play in a game with stakes which you can afford. The higher the stakes, the higher the level of competition. Start small and slowly move up as your skills and bankroll improve. Mistake 9 - Being Predictable - Be aware of your betting patterns. Mix things up. Remember, while you’re studying your opponents, they are studying you. Mistake 10 - Not Knowing When to Quit - Knowing when to quit, either after a big win or big loss, is absolutely vital to poker success. Being hardheaded will only get you deeper in the hole or ensure that your winning streak comes to an eventual halt. Get out while you’re ahead (or at least while you’re not too far behind). The Best Place to Talk About Gambling Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shane_Rivers Poker sites supporting US players: Doyles Room Full Tilt Poker Ultimate Bet

Playing Poker Online For The First Time

With the exposure that poker has received from television and print media in the last few years, thousands of new players are playing online every day. However, if it weren’t for a few things holding some players back, there would be many more new players. A few of the things that are causing fear and/or apprehension are the safety of your hard-earned money at an online room and exactly how to set up accounts not only at a poker room but also to fund the account. These are what this article is about, so if you want to play poker online but haven’t started, read this short tutorial and you’ll be started in no time. The first question I am often asked is about the safety of a player’s money online. Drawing from my personal experience, I have been playing online for about two years and have never had a poker site cheat me or steal the first cent. One of the reasons for this is I have followed these rules, which I recommend to you. When I started, I only played at the larger rooms online. (There are over 250 rooms so even restricting yourself to the top 30 or 40 rooms is safe and gives you plenty of options.) My reasoning was that the rooms with the most players must have players that were receiving cash outs in a timely manner. Also, the larger the room, the more they had to lose by cheating players. The way poker is designed, rooms will make more money by being honest than by stealing from players who will never come back. I also read reviews about the different sites in order to become comfortable with my choice of a site, then downloaded the free software and practiced at the play money tables before depositing. The next question is the best way to get money in and out of an online poker site. Here are a few simple and safe steps to get started. 1. Find a poker room you would like to try on this site and download the free software. 2. Open a checking or savings account with a local bank. (You probably already have one, but some players open a separate account for poker.) 3. Go to www.neteller.com or www.firepay.com and open a free account and link it to the bank account from step 2. I have used Neteller and their service is safe, fast and free. You can transfer money from your bank to Neteller and then into any online poker room for free. Then any money you take out of a poker room will go back to Neteller and then back to your bank if you so choose. By using this method, you don’t have to worry about the safety of a credit card online and most rooms don’t use credit cards anyway. 4. Set up an account at the poker room from step 1. Usually you will click on “register” or “cashier”. You will enter a screen name and password as well as some other information. 5. Either practice at a play money table or make your first deposit and jump into the live action. Good luck! Poker sites supporting US players: Doyles Room Poker Stars Full Tilt Poker Ultimate Bet About the Author: Wes Young runs a poker web site at http://www.pokermonger.comRead more articles by: Wes Young Article Source: www.iSnare.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

3 Quick Tips To Help You Play Online Poker Like A Pro

Online poker has exploded in popularity. More and more players are winning big money in tournaments and other money games. In order to win, you have to play like a pro. The best players are educated on all aspects of poker. These three tips should help your poker game improve vastly. 1. Don’t be afraid to commit to the pot. When you have a very good hand, you should always bet a fairly large amount. You can try to draw players into the hand with slowly increasing bets. If you make a large bet, and a player re-raises you, don’t be afraid to call. Some players attempt to scare others off by re-raising. If you know that you have a solid hand, then don’t be scared off by a re-raise. Committing to the pot is not bad when you know you have a solid hand. Someone who folds a good hand because of a raise is generally just throwing his or her money away. The best players play with a significant amount of confidence. Confidence is shown when you stay in a hand that you know you have a good chance at winning. In the end, poker is still a game of chance. The players who are willing to take chances (when they have a reasonably solid hand, of course) have the most success. 2. Avoid underbetting the pot. This goes along the same lines as “commit to the pot.” If you simply bet a small amount after every turn, then more players will be inclined to stay in. This increases the chances of someone hitting cards and beating you. The ideal betting scenario for someone with a good hand is to bet just enough to keep one person in. Or, if it is one on one, bet high enough to scare people off. This again relates to confidence. The best players are confident in their hands, so they don’t worry about betting too much. Tentative players may last longer than players who bet a lot in the beginning, but the winners are those who know exactly when to be tentative and when to be aggressive. 3. Know what to do with a draw. If you have a draw (you need one more card to have an awesome hand), you have to be very careful. For example, needing only one more card in order to have a flush is very nice, but many players get over excited. Players sometimes bet extremely high in these instances and then end up losing the hand. It is important to know what to do in case of a draw. You should either check or bet small. The only time you should bet high is if you think that the other player does not have anything. It is difficult to win consistently in online poker. There is always new competition, and lady luck will not always be on your side. However, the pros always play smart poker, and make good decisions. These tips should help you make better decisions and have greater success with your poker game. Poker sites supporting US players: Doyles Room Full Tilt Poker Ultimate Bet About the Author: Laura Bastowe writes about a variety of online games but specializes in online poker. Learn more at http://www.whichpoker.com . Read more articles by: Laura Bastowe Article Source: www.iSnare.com

List of Live Poker Events

Here is a list of major poker events. It is by no means all inclusive so by all means if you notice any errors or omissions be sure let us know. We are also interested in creating a list of smaller events so if you know of one be sure to let us know and will add it to our list.

Online Poker Tournaments, A Two Part Primer (Part 2)

Click Here for Part One In the first part of this article we discussed in general terms how an online poker tournament works. In this article we’ll go into detail about the different types of tournaments. Multi-Table Tournaments Multi-Table tournaments are big tournaments; some can have 2,000 players or more. In a multi-table tournament, you compete against the players at your table, the winner of that table moves on to another table. This keep going on until there is only one player left. As you can imagine, multi-tables can last for quite a few hours. Single Table Tournaments Or “Sit and Go” Tournaments These are reasonably small tournaments, usually nine or ten players. You’re only competing against the other players at your table. These types of tournaments usually start when the required number of players has registered. These tournaments tend to be shorter then mult-table tournaments, often lasting around one hour. These tournaments often have only one winner. Free Roll Tournaments These tournaments are free. Pokerrooms periodically hold free rolls. Entry into one of these may be given away as a comp to existing players or as a bonus for making a deposit. In any event, it costs you nothing to enter, and you have a shot at willing real money. Satellite Tournaments Satellite Tournaments are smaller tournaments in which the prize is entry into a bigger tournament. At some pokerrooms, you can “satellite” your way all the way up to free entry into the World Series of Poker held in Vegas. Here’s some additional info Re-buy or Addons: some tournaments allow you to purchase additional chips after the start. There are usually specific rules about how much and when you can purchase. Also, the ability to purchase additional chips usually ends at a certain point in the tournament. Blinds: During most tournaments, blinds increase periodically on a specific schedule. This is to help to shorten the length of the tournament, by making it more costly to simply keep folding. Larger blinds force players to play more aggressively. NL/PL: These stand for No Limit and Pot Limit respectively. No Limit means a player can always bet all of his or her chips. Pot Limit means the maximum bet size can only be equal to the amount of the pot. Well, I hope these two articles have given you a sufficient intro to online poker tournaments. The next step is up to you, if you think you’re ready for it. Good Luck! Poker sites supporting US players: Doyles Room Full Tilt Poker Ultimate Bet About the Author: David Olsen has been writing about online casinos and casino strategy for over five years and is considered an authority in the online gambling world. His latest website is all about poker and video poker. Visit it at: http://www.playvideopoker.us/poker_rooms Read more articles by: David Olsen Article Source: www.iSnare.com