Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Sunday Mar 29th, 2009
Category: Gratis Poker
www.pkr.com – For players who are new to the game, their is a vast archive of information out there to help you improve your game.
Many of the top names in online poker rooms now offer a ‘Poker school’ section. This should give you hand rankings, information on position, and all the other strategic basics to get you started.
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This is in the interests of the site of course because they want new players to discover poker and spend their time playing onsite, but it benfits the new players a great deal too. Despite this, if you are a new player who has read through all the poker schooling, I would be cautious with the amounts you play for. It can take a short while to learn the basics of poker, but some players who have been playing several years will find it more easy to make good calls and folds. With this in mind, I would look to supplement your poker schooling with books, but also video lessons. You can find these easily online and Daniel negreanu in particular covers some very helpful points indeed.
Try and incorporate these points in your play as you learn, but I would never advise simply trying to copy a professional players style. Some people are suited to a more careful and patient style of play, and some will like to get involved in pots and test themselves more often. this style should develop with time, and cannot be taught I feel. pkr.com
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Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Monday Mar 16th, 2009
Category: Gratis Poker
Titanpoker.com – This hand was crucial to me finishing 4th place in a recent live event and says a great deal about tells and picking up on clues during a hand. I had been dealt (9c,2d) in the small blind, and as the action was folded around to me, I felt that should perhaps make an attempt to pick up the big blind. I raised the big blind (600) up to 2,000, which was called by the big blind.
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The flop came down (Qs,10s,3s) and I decided to make another strong bet, feeling that if my opponent did not have a reasonable sized spade or at least top pair, he was likely to fold. My 3,000 bet gave my opponent cause for thought, and I was beginning to narrow down his range of hands as he took longer to consider his options. I felt if he had an Ace or even King of spades, he would have either called or raised without needing too long to think about it. He eventually called, and the turn card came down (5s). At this point I would have really had a problem on my hands as I couldnt be sure if he had a Queen, a two pair, or had been drawing to a reasonable sized flush. Luckily for me, as the card turned over, my opponent who was seated next to me let out a sudden exhalation of breath which was audible to me. My immediate instinct was that this was an exasperated reaction to a card falling that he really did not want to see. This made my mind up for me, and I fired out 5,000 chips, to which he quickly folded.
I showed him my (9c,2d) and explained to him in the next break what had made my mind up to bet again on the turn.
Showing the good will and friendly atmosphere that is prevalent at our live game, he promptly bought me a pint, despite having lost about a third of his stack to me in that hand.www.titanpoker.com
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Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Wednesday Mar 11th, 2009
Category: Gratis Poker
www.amsterdamnspoker.nl – When it comes to the hi/lo version of Omaha, I feel there is certainly a case to be made for not raising too many players out of the pot preflop when you have cards which can easily make you the nut low. This is because you want to build a big pot to split, or even potentially win all of, and if you miss the flop horribly, you have not commited many chips to the pot.
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When it comes to the high variants of these games though, there really aren’t too many instances where you will make a strong hand and want to portray weakness by allowing another card to fall. Some might say that if you make a nut flush on the turn with a board that does not look in the slightest bit dangerous, you could check to an opponent to try and show fear of the third suited card. this can diguise your flush and be beneficial in leading your opponents read astray, but I usually find that players do not bluff at pots as often as they would in a game such as Holdem anyway.
Added to this is the fact that unless you have flopped a monster hand such as the top full house, even the most tame looking boards can still turn on you when you allow a card to fall for free. Consider the possibility that your opponent has two pair when the third suited card falls to make your flush. If the board pairs on the river, you could have just played yourself into a complete disaster by allowing your opponent to make a full house. Even if they have not made that hand, the weakness you showed on the turn could cause them to try and represent it, and you will have difficulty persuading yourself that you are still in front in the hand. Amsterdamnspoker.nl
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Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Wednesday Mar 4th, 2009
Category: Gratis Poker
www.pkr.com – After spending some time reading through some poker literature this evening, I found myself inspired to log in and play a tournament of some sort. Although I usually go for MTT’s I do not usually play the tournaments with a limit on tables. This time though, I found myself drawn to a 50 player, 5 table tournament, and bought in.
We all started with 1,500 chips, and I found myself hovering between 1,500 and 2,000 for the first 30 hands or so.
The blinds had moved up to 150/300 though and so I was happy to find (K,K) in middle position. I raised it up to a mere 600, mostly due to the fact that the blinds were already thinning the players out well anyway as it was a speed tournament.
One player called and the flop came (Q,5,5). I checked hoping to induce a raise, which worked very well, as my opponent raised 600. I moved all in, and was quickly called by a player with Ace high who clearly felt I was bluffing. After doubling up from this encounter, a short time later I managed to make (10,10) stand up against two short stacks who were all in with (Q,9), and (8,8).
I don’t think I ever got over 6,000 chips in this tournament, and the final hand eliminated me in a respectable 7th place after my (9,9) was sadly crushed by a (K,J) when the flop brought a Jack.
Overall though I feel I played quite tight (which isn’t my normal style), and well enough, and so I cannot be overly upset that I didn’t get to fight it out short handed on the final table. Pkr.com
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Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Thursday Feb 19th, 2009
Category: Gratis Poker
www.pkr.com – Raising has traditionally been a sign of strength in poker, with the reraise, being even more of an impact bet. Sometimes though, the check raise can say much more about the strength of your hand. Also when you consider the frequency with which players in late position put out a raise to try and win the pot on flops, you can often win yourself a larger one by check-raising, even if you have no hand either.
With some sort of big draw, I probably wouldn’t feel
check-raising was the best way forward, as you invite a potentially large reraise from your opponent, and the following decision will not be an easy one.
As a general rule, I do not like to check-raise with a strong hand, as it does have the impact of causing your opponent to immediately assume you may have a very strong hand, and that should not be your aim. An initial small bet though would be far more likely to be interpreted as a tester bet, and as such, is far more likely to be reraised by your opponent.
You should always remember that it is not a singular bet, check, or raise, that determines an opponents assumption of your hand strength, it is also the interlinked actions that precede, and follow it.
So whilst the raise does show strength, I would conclude by saying that the check-raise shows considerably more strength, it does however also mean that your opponent already has chips invested by making the initial bet, and so, has more reason to call in some ways. www.pkr.com
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Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Monday Feb 9th, 2009
Category: Gratis Poker
www.pkr.com – With a hand of (6d,7d) you have seen a flop of (Ad,4c,5c). Your single opponent min raises, and you decide to flat call. Next off is exactly what you want to see, the (3d). Having completed your straight and given yourself a flush draw too, how do you react when faced with another min raise?
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Considering your opponent hasn’t commited too much to the pot yet, it would be good to try and build the pot in some way, but then again, you do not want to give away the true strength of your hand. If you decide to flat call, you might be raised again on the river, thus letting your opponent build the pot for you, but this holds it’s own dangers too. It’s possible your opponent is min raising with four clubs, not commiting too much, but hoping to get some chips into the middle in case a club hits. In this case, you could end up losing a big pot by giving a free river.
There is also an outside chance that your opponent has some sort of hand containing two bigger diamonds, but then even the board pairing could spell disaster for you too if your opponent has a set or two pair. For this reason, I would feel compelled to reraise when the straight hits, although I wouldn’t make the bet all that big. It is still unlikely that you will lose the pot at this point, so you cannot blame yourself for not moving all in to potect your hand if the worst does happen.
Reraising at least a little, does give you the chance to win the pot outright though, as well as building a bigger pot. Also in your opponents mind, your reraise does not entirely give away your hand, because this is the sort of turn card a player could feasibly use to represent a hand. www.pkr.com
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Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Thursday Jan 15th, 2009
Category: Gratis Poker
Learning whilst you play poker is something which should always be an active process, as there are too many players who feel that they know how to play poker perfectly and refuse to examine how they might have played hands differently. Personally, I think for a serious poker player to continue improving, they must be self critical, and they must strive to understand how their play can change for the better.
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As well as literature and online outlets of knowledge, spending time talking to other players can often give you an important insight into other points of view. You may not think that other players are as skilled as yourself sometimes, but everyone has a different approach to aspects of the game. It’s the selection of the best words of wisdom, and the assimilation of these, that can help you grow as a player.
To me, it doesn’t really matter if you have been playing poker for 10 days or 10 years, there is always another type of play you can add to your arsenal, or way in which to exploit the weakness of other plays. this learning curve can, and should, be a never ending progression, provided you have the right attitude towards the game.
You must have the confidence in yourself to grow as a player, but then you must be humble enough to try and find the wrongs in your play too. The balance of these two things are very important in learning the game of poker.
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Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Friday Jan 9th, 2009
Category: Gratis Poker
www.pkr.com – As we all know, poker is partly comprised of signals given off, whether they show strength or weakness. these are not just physical tells of course, as there are betting pattern signs too which often can give you more to act upon.
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Many players wear sunglasses at the poker table in order to not allow their opponent to see their eyes, but in reality, I don’t think the eyes give much information away. In terms of physical tells, I am always put off by the fact that these can be faked by a person and lead to bad decisions, and in general, can be misinterpreted too. When it comes to betting patterns and previous behaviour in pots though, players can only try and partially cover their tracks.
If you are betting for any logical reason in poker, your opponent can see through your reasonings for that bet if they are skilled enough. You can try and lead your opponents judgement away from the truth sometimes with betting patterns, but where there is reason, there is an opportunity for a player to understand what you are doing and why.
When you lean back and look relaxed, or indeed, look nervous, this can all be carefully choreographed to lead someones judgement entirely awry, so you cannot base your judgements on this aspect I feel.
Online players base much of their judgements on past history and betting patterns, and I think this is the best way forward if you want to make the right decisions in poker.
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Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Thursday Jan 1st, 2009
Category: Gratis Poker
www.pkr.nl – In some ways you could say that when you play with the same group of people regularly, you do not want them to get an idea of the way you play. If they do, and they begin to play successfully against you because they understand your style of play, you will begin to lose any edge you previously had over them.
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If for instance you become well known for bluffing, putting out tester bets, and sometimes slow playing big hands, as I have at my game, you might be concerned that you cannot bluff anymore. This is not entirely the case, but for the most part, you need to adapt your game and change some aspects of it.
Most of the time, profit in a poker game comes from people making the wrong choices, and so you need to use their expectations to your advantage. If they expect you are going to bluff, tighten up and wait for a hand. If they think you will put out tester bets on a flop even if you miss it, start checking. When you find a big hand, raise with it, because they will be more likely to call because they have you down as that sort of player that will bluff frequently.
It sounds simple enough, but it can be difficult to switch your play around in this way. Players who play online will not encounter this type of situation on the same scale, and that is one of the reasons I feel they sometimes struggle in live games.
Through trial and error, regular opponents will begin to make the right choices with regards to playing pots against you, and it is up to you to make sure they consistently get it wrong.
Posted by Trix @ 12:00 AM, Thursday Dec 25th, 2008
Category: Gratis Poker
www.pkr.com - This is a phenomenon which has only become possible with internet poker, as it would not be possible to play numerous live games on different tables at the same time.
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Most sites offer the option to play multiple tables, and players who are skilled at the game seem to feel that they can maximise their profits in this way, provided they turn a profit playing one table at a time.
In some ways I can see how this could be the case, as you are playing profitable poker in multiple rooms. Having said this though, there are a few obvious problems with this I feel. Playing profitable poker requires great concentration and awareness of what is going on around you, and why.
I can only speak for myself of course, but I feel that when trying to skip from one table to another quickly to fold or play your cards, you would lose most of the things that make your play profitable in the first place.
I would certainly have difficulty believing that you could play just as well on six tables as you would if you concentrated fully on a single game. For this reason, multi tableing is not something I do very often, and when I have done so, my results have not been as positive as usual.
Everybody is different though, and perhaps some are more adept at this than others because they have had more practice. Either way, my belief remains that people will play worse poker when trying to play many tables at once.