Poker: Few Essential Tips

In the twenty first century really there is only one form of poker that counts. No Limit Texas Hold’em is the game that has swept through people’s living rooms, computers and the game of choice in the casinos. The casinos love the amount of hype that the Texas Hold’em craze has brought them since there is zero risk to the casino in facilitating a cash game or a tournament. They can either take a rake of every hand played on one of their tables, or, charge a registration fee for any tournament that they organise

The massive poker tournaments hosted by casinos the world over, from Barcelona to Las Vegas and back again to Montecarlo bring in huge revenues as well as publicity. Not only do visitors flock to the casinos to see the sharks play high stakes poker but they will, inevitably be encouraged to sit down and play.



The most important tip that a pro ever gave me was an incredibly simple one, if you are a budding player sitting down at a big table the rule is simple; don’t bluff! This was not said in jest, a pro sitting on that table in the casino will have the advantage of knowing all the odds, you will not and in a cash game where the blinds never go up you can afford to wait until that good hand comes along. When it does the pro will inevitably think to him or herself that they can bully or bet you out of the hand at which point you can happily take them for all they’ve got!

Position with regards to the dealer is also important, playing it safe is all very well in terms of advice but the real fun of poker lies in bluffing someone off of a huge hand. If you are the big blind and there is a pro player to your left or even a couple of places over to your left it is likely that they will throw in a raise to push you into folding your weak hand, enabling them to take the blinds for low risk. Don’t make the mistake of raising them right there but flat call. Any good player will interpret this call as a sign of weakness and bet into you a second time, regardless of what comes up on the flop. Flat call this raise also and the pro will start to actually look at the cards on the table wondering what you have, now is the time to raise into him/her and make a huge push. Only make this move rarely and only make it when there is only one other player in the hand. Do it right and you will find that 9/10 times the pot is yours.

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How to Master Blackjack

With all the fuss about Texas Hold ‘em of late it is easy to neglect the games that have been a staple of casinos the world over for years. Blackjack is the game that most people look to when coming into a casino for one very simple reason. It gives the gambler the best odds of any game on a casino floor.

It is usually played in a casino with six or eight decks of cards dealt out of a “shoe” or specially designed multi deck card carrier designed specifically for the purpose of dealing out cards.

















Two cards are dealt face up to all the players at the table, the dealer also deals himself two cards but only turns one of them over. The objective of the game is to beat the dealer. If you have a combined score that is better than the dealers and does not go over twenty one then you have doubled your bet. If you make twenty one exactly then you get paid one and a half times your bet. Once your cards are dealt to you you have the option of getting more cards or sticking with what you have.

You will act before the dealer and what you do will depend on the one card that the dealer has opened up for all to see. This is your advantage, the rules of the game dictate that the dealer MUST keep taking cards until he has a combined score of seventeen or over. Meaning that if he displays a six or lower on the table then he will likely have to call more than one more card and end up with a total score of over twenty one, making him bust and allowing all of the players still at the table to win.

If the player busts (has a score of over twenty one) he loses regardless of what happens to the dealer.

This is where many Blackjack players go wrong, they forget that the aim of the game is merely to beat the dealer. It is NOT to actually hit twenty one. This is why many mathematicians have played some very effective Blackjack sessions. If you hold a fifteen and the dealer’s open card is a six then there is no need to risk calling for more cards as the dealer will likely keep calling cards until he is bust. The opposite situation can also occur, if the dealer is showing an Ace (which can be one or eleven) then it is worth the player taking a risk to get a high score as the chances of the dealer needing to pull another card are low. Suits are irrelevent.

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Casino Software Programs and Their Advantages

If you already have gone back and forth to live casinos, you probably have experienced the strict implementation of “no use of computers and other varied electronic facilities”, though not applicable at all casinos as there are few of them allow the use of tablets or PC notebooks while playing casino games such as roulette. However, the scenario is quite distinct at online casinos – as the environment is mainly driven by computers, thus online through world wide web making it very hard to implement restriction on the use of support programs. But what are these support programs anyway and how can it serve a good advantage to players utilizing them?



Tutoring Programs: As the name suggest, this is the kind of casino program where a newbie player will have a chance to practice the casino game and become acquainted of its rules, controls and possibilities. For instance, a Video poker program is mapped out to teach the basic strategy of the game. That said, it’ll provide prompts to the player from time to time when a player makes an unlikely decision that is way to far from the “should-be” decisions. A player can also master card counting with card counting programs available. Tutoring programs can be used for both online and live casino players.

Analytical Programs: These type of programs are basically for better understanding on the calculation of mathematical assumption, distribution and basic strategies of the game – most especially those casino games with wide array of rules and basic strategies (ex. Blackjack). To help you better understand the use of these programs, let me put it this way, you formulate a strategy, the program creates various millions of spins, and then it shows how much you lose. It is much like knowing the possible future scenario after you created your strategy. Thus a very useful tool for you if you like “never lose” strategies.

Agent Programs: These type of programs are most formally known as “Online Casino Game Helpers”. What it usually does is to provide players statistics that they need to help them better understand the current scenario at speed. It’s a no wonder then that most online casinos nowadays provide statistics making these programs less necessary. Though there are complex types of these programs that enable the recalculation of strategy depending on the current statistics of the game. Thus an automated process for card counting. But the shuffle of cards after each deal in online casinos put these programs of little use.

Auto-bots Programs: Also known as Online Casino Bots which are created to fully automate the process of playing casino games. These bots usually read the information presented on the screen and make decisions in line with set program and simulate movements like pressing the mouse button. Though the first three types of programs are quite tolerable, these particular types are restricted. It’s forbidden not because it opens up the possibility of outgaming casinos, but the possibility of washing all the bonuses flat bet day after day. For instance, the rumored $1.2 million huge gain was acquired using a bot.

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Texas Hold ‘Em: Tips And Strategies

Though position in the Texas Hold ‘Em gambling table is advantageous, it may not work effectively for you if you don’t know the rightful betting pattern to take. Take note that by placing bet, you are declaring that you have a good or playable or competitive hand. Raising is otherwise concluding you have the best hand and they should wager money to forward the game. Commonly, a player is supposed to fold when faced a bad hand and raise when awarded a good hand. But if everyone pin to this policy, a need for any strategy won’t be necessary and playing the game would cause you not much excitement. Thus, you should learn how to go beyond the policy and attempt to be cunning and deceptive. But how do you do that? Check on the following strategic plays.



Blind-Stealing

A raise is often called blind-stealing when you are on a dealer button and only have the blinds are left. So, instead of simply checking, this may cause the blinds to fold. Though this is not a get rich quick strategy, but is useful when you want to turn the game fast so you may have a new (better) hand. Not to mention a few chips will be added to your stack. But if the blinds become very high, blind stealing is a fantastic tactic to use.

Steal-Raise

If you have hit a piece of the flop and wanted to see where you stand while taking advantage of the pot, this is recommended. This can be done with a simple raise if all the players have checked and you are the last to respond. This can limit the number of active players and expose who among your opponents seemingly have a good or competitive hand.

Check-Raising

Increasing the pot when you have the edge is the objective of this unique and not so obvious strategy. The act of appearing having a not so good hand and luring opponents to raise so that you can reraise them back. The goal is actually to boast opponents confidence so they may feel more secure and possibly raise. And when they do, you reraise to challenge their hands. For instance, I was the first to place bet and I have AA and there are A -A -K in the flop. A novice would go raising a high amount with this which will hint opponents that you have triple or beyond and would scare and make them fold. But I don’t want to scare them to fold knowing that I have the best hand, so I checked and waited for someone to bet. My opponent bets, and I raise a bit to keep him thinking.

The Opener

Raising when you are the early player. Though this strategy would hint opponents that you have a good hand (or appearing having a good hand), it can limit the players on the table and can also be utilize to get information (a player with a good hand would usually call). Weak, tight and players with bad hand will eventually fold. But the ones remaining are expected aggressive or having a truly competitive hand.

Squeezing

Putting pressure on your opponents especially when they feel incompetent on their cards can help you win the round. You just have to raise when you suspect another player or players may be on a draw. Ex. Players looking for a flush, straight, etc. Raising a good amount halts players especially those tight and weak from taking a chance on their draws. A good example is when you have a suited hand 6,7 and the flop A -3 -K contains two compelling suits. That puts me to wait for the fifth same suited card to form a flush but my opponent bet an impressive amount that wasn’t worth gambling if the fifth same suited card didn’t come to form my flush.

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Online Poker Strategy & Tips

Playing poker is one of my greatest past time hobbies. Since the day I started playing up to now, being dealt with bullets really puts a smile on my face. But, as far as I could recall, not all the time that I have bullets that I won the round. Honestly, most of the time I fold AA.

AA is poker’s highest pair and definitely the greatest starting hand every player always dreamed of having. But the effectiveness of this pair totally depends on how you play it on the poker table. If your poker skill is a bit unstable or you are admittedly inexperience of the game, winning with bullets would depend on how lucky you really are.



We must understand that AA is not typically the kind of hand that would bring you most of the winning. It is just a pair and can be defeated by a three of a kind and beyond. A pair is one of the lowest hand ranks according to the standard poker hand rankings chart. But not all the time a player can achieve a ranking hand such as full house, straight and flush, thus that leaves a pair as the common hand to compete for players on the poker table. And from there, everything depends on hints and actions players take.

What I usually do when served with pocket rockets is to impulsively increase my bet size up to certain times enough to ring every opponent on the table that I have a competitive hand. This I do before the pre-flop. This tactic basically distracts confidence and force each of them to fold. But with a player having a suited, high card, or another pair in hand, will basically call, thus responding he too has a good hand. If in case the surprising bet size pinned all of them to fold, then no worries, at least I did a 50/50 bait.

Okay, so I lost you there with the 50/50 bait mentioned. Well, if another player is very confident with his hand called and would even re-raise my bet, I should start calculating the implied odds. Because, when the flop turns up and none of the cards could improve my current hand, then I am in trouble and folding is my resort to save something for the next round. As mentioned above, AA is just a pair. And as the round continues, the probability of winning with AA shakes down while luck shakes up reversely. Thus, I should know how much I am willing to lose from this point, if in case everything proceeds to the next round.

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