Poker

The isolation raise is a preflop bet that takes place when a player raises after someone has limped in before them. The idea behind this bet is to force the pot into a head-up situation against the player who limped in by raising a large enough amount to force other ...

Burnout in poker is an ugly thing and it can manifest itself in a couple of different ways. There's the bigger, most flamboyant form, where a couple of bad beats in a row in a tournament flips a switch and the player suddenly turns into the third act of Terminator ...

Unlike almost every other game that involves betting, poker rewards strategy and good play because it involves competition against other players. There are three core skills that every player should be aware of before they even pick up their first card. Let's break down each one and explain why they're ...

Let’s discuss the art and science of playing blind poker. When we talk about playing blind poker, we're not referring to playing poker from the blinds. We mean quite literally, playing poker without once looking at your cards. Playing blind poker is a great way to learn how there are ...

Checking is one of the most undervalued (and underutilized) moves that a player can make during a poker game, and that's why it's one of the most important actions you can take. In the era of online poker, which is conducive to aggressive play, almost every player will automatically dismiss ...

If you've ever looked in the poker section of your local bookstore, you've seen chart after chart telling you which hands should be played from which position, and the expected value of playing them. The problem with these charts is that they use strict math and ignore factors beyond showdown ...

Mistakes happen; we all know and accept that as part of our day-to-day lives. That said, when they consistently appear in your poker game, be it online or in a live card room, they can cost you a lot of money. Here are three mistakes that I've observed cropping up ...

If you ever played online poker or even logged into Facebook to play the game against your friends from high school, then you know that "play money" online games are very, very popular. These are, of course, poker games where no real money is wagered by any players and they ...

We've talked about tells plenty of times, but what about the tell that isn't what it appears to be? The reverse tell is, simply put, a form of misinformation that is designed to make your opponents believe they've got a grasp on what your hand is when, in fact, you've ...

Bluffing is often overlooked by online poker players who are transitioning to live games and this means that they've got a major leak in their game when they bring it to the real world. It’s an easy enough problem to understand: there is no face-to-face contact in online games and ...

As a beginning poker player, the two things that should be foremost in your mind at all times are the very, very basics: good starting hands and using position well. These are the core principles that will serve you well no matter how or where you play and you should ...

It's happened. You've raised before the flop while holding a really great pocket pair. Your opponent called you. The flop is about to hit — what do you do after that? You could make a continuation bet, but you'll want to make sure you're doing it for the right reasons ...

It can be difficult to know what to do when you're holding small pocket pairs at the poker table. They're immediately ahead of every hand that's not a higher pair (7 or above) but they can be easily run down at the end of a five-card board. Let's look at ...

As any player can tell you, poker is more than just luck and money: there's a heavy psychological factor involved in the game. This makes it more than just another casino game and transforms it into a vital, thrilling sport. It's not uncommon for many players to do well in ...

In various situations, you can be so far ahead in your hand that your opponent will be drawing slim (or dead) or the opposite, you're so far behind that you'll be the player facing a slim draw. You'll know that you're facing a way ahead/way behind situation when your hand ...

The time has come. You're tired of free poker games and you want to play against people who take the game seriously. Congratulations — you've taken your first step towards "really" playing the game. Now what? First of all, you need to determine how much you're willing to invest in ...

Poker and the idea of bluffing go hand in hand. It's one of those things that help separate it from other card games — it's about psychology and never quite knowing exactly what the other player has in their hand. With all of that said, it should be noted that ...

What amateur players often do with hands like 10-8 suited is make one of two mistakes. First, they'll choose to check/call, call, or fold. They play the hand passively, hitting a draw and calling bets on the flop and turn only to fold on the river. If they do improve ...

It's a term that's seen a lot in poker articles and in books, but never defined to our satisfaction, so let's take a few minutes and help you understand what initiative is at the poker table and how it can help you win more often. The dictionary defines initiative as ...

This isn't a comprehensive guide to terms used in poker, but it can help you read and understand articles on sites like this that much more easily. You'll often see a bit of crossover between these terms and others, but with poker's rich history, that shouldn't be much of a ...

It’s a term that you see frequently in online poker forums and in articles like this, but now it’s time to explain expected value and what it means to poker players, no matter how experienced they are at the game. So, what is expected value? It’s the amount of money ...

Compared to live poker, online games have far fewer tells for a player to pick up on and figure out if their opponent actually has the cards they're presenting. This is, of course, because you can't actually see the other person. This is, however, not the end of the world ...

Not every poker table you sit down to play at is going to be packed, especially if you play at non-peak hours. If you want to be a winning poker player, you'll definitely want to learn how to play in these shorthanded tables, and a lot of online poker rooms ...

While you may laugh at the idea of tight passive poker players, they're more common than you know. If you, somehow, don't know what one is, a tight passive player maintains a tight starting hand selection, but their play is weak after the flop. This means they may flop winning ...

To play winning poker, you have to play aggressive poker, especially in no limit Texas Hold 'Em. Just like it sounds, being aggressive in poker is the opposite of being passive in the game, where you make the bests and raises more frequently instead of acting as a calling station ...

It's a fundamental piece of any poker strategy that every player should know, but it's always a good idea to review position in poker and how it affects your betting and card selection. For those who are completely new to the game, your position in table is determined by its ...

It’s easy enough to define, a bit harder to get right. A free card in poker is when you or your opponent is able to see the next card in a hand without having to call a bet. For instance, if your opponent is the first to act on a ...

It's easy to spot beginner mistakes — they play too aggressively, they play not aggressively enough, they don't understand betting — but intermediate players can often be just successful enough to nor realize what they're doing wrong. Let's take a look at three common mistakes that even decent poker players ...

A very nice pair indeed, QQ is the third most powerful pre-flop poker hand and some players have claimed that they've played it more successful than AA or KK because they underplayed it and not scared off their opponents. However, there is no guarantee that you'll win with two ladies: ...

Every online poker player understands the idea behind a freeroll poker tournament — after all, they're one of the things that online poker sites do better than any brick and mortar facility — but there's more to these free poker tournaments than just throwing your chips into the ring and ...

Poker is not as simple as having "the winning hand," even if the winning hand, well, always wins. You need to instantly be able to understand the type of hand you're holding and the type of hands that you have the potential to make in order to create workable poker ...

New poker players tend to focus on hands, and it's really easy to understand why: those are things you can control immediately. However, it's important that you take the time to understand position as well. These two things, in combination, will make up 80% of your decisions before the flop ...

Before you even sit down to play online poker, much less a game at a casino, you need to understand that you understand three basic things: math, discipline, and psychology. Let's take a look at each of these and how they help make you a complete poker player. On its ...

When you sign up to play online poker for real money you're going to be given a deposit bonus - that's just the way it works. Now, how do you make sure you get the most out of your bankroll and the additional money you earn while playing? Through proper ...

If you want to make the most money from other players at the online poker tables, you need to make sure that you work to pick the right tables at which to play. While there's no shortage in the number of tables to sit down and play at, how do ...

Every player makes mistakes, but some are more common than others. When you're first learning the game of poker, it's the big mistakes that stick with you - the ones that cost you a stack. The thing is, however, that there's an array of smaller mistakes that players make that ...

People say you can't bluff in online poker, but it is proven than you can. In the "real world," bluffing is probably the thing that poker is most famous for, and it's definitely one of the biggest factors in how much fun you have at the table. If players only ...

Creating "poker sense" can be difficult, but it's not impossible. Here's four ways to get better. Math and psychology are important components in the game of poker, to be sure, but there's also pure instinct, that ineffable quality that helps separate good poker players from the truly great. Some say ...

Every lost hand is an opportunity to learn something at the poker table. Yes, it stinks when you lose at poker. While losing at anything is pretty awful, in poker it can be a particularly annoying pain because you're losing money and that's a lot more personal, even if you're ...

Keeping your poker decisions simple can help reinvigorate your game. Yes, poker is a game where in-depth strategy can reward the player, but there's something to be said for revisiting the basics and embracing the philosophy of KISS. No, we're not talking about rocking and/or rolling all night and partying ...

The button is revered among new poker players but you can maximize its play and defend against it more easily than you think. It's common knowledge that in poker games like Texas Hold 'Em and Omaha, being on the button is the best table position, since you'll get to act ...

You might believe that online poker lacks in the basic psychology that the "real world" game has, but people are still people, even if they’re using a mouse and keyboard instead of their hands. In general, current breed of online poker players are more aggressive, more math-savvy and harder to ...

“If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability.” Vannevar Bush Vannevar Bush was a ...

If you want your piece of the online multi-table poker tournament pie you have to learn some skills first. Playing in tournaments is a lot different than playing against your buddies on Friday night. Tournament strategy is a vast area of poker that could never be explained in one article, ...

Playing single table poker tournaments requires tight play in the early going. Stay out of the action for the most part unless you've been dealt premium hands like Q-Q, K-K, A-A, and A-K. Look to maximize what you make off those hands and wait for blinds to elevate before getting ...

Things are not always as they appear, especially in online poker. Just like strong means weak and weak means strong regarding physical tells at a live poker table, the opposite also applies online. Oversized, fast bets in online poker usually mean weakness, while small, sheepish bets after a long pause ...

1. Play only premium hands while in early positions if the table has had a lot of late position raisers in previous hands. Don't waste a bet trying to limp in to an aggressive game. 2. Play medium strength hands in early positions only when you think you'll be successful ...

Starting hand selection is one of the first things most poker players learn to practice strategically. Proper hand selection involves adjusting which hands you play based on your position and the number of players at the table. The closer to the button you’re sitting the weaker the hand you could ...

One often hears the big name professional poker players talking about a session of Chinese poker that they recently played. The game has been popular with Asian players for many years, and is responsible for some heavy action amongst the game's biggest bankrolls. This particular version of poker is so ...

When it comes to action players there's no easier prey than a drunk. Live casinos and online poker rooms always seem to have a few drunks floating around. They give off such a big edge to their opponents that's it's like a feeding frenzy at the table when a drunk ...

Playing online poker for a living is no easy task. Poker media is filled with players that are doing just that, but most of these players do a lot more than the average player is prepared to do to become a professional. Playing poker online for a living is possible, ...

The game of poker is a microcosm of life in many ways. We calculate risk before taking any chances, and we face adversity to the extreme. I don't care what sort of beats you've suffered, we have all had our share of 5%ers that rip out our calm and test ...

When you sit down at the poker table, the first thing you should be thinking about is your competition. Knowing the playing styles of your opponents gives you an edge when it comes to making decisions. If you can predict a player’s actions, you can use the information against them, ...

In poker you’ll sometimes find yourself in a situation you just shouldn’t be in, and you’ll need to find a way out of it. That almost always means betting your way out of it with smart bets that can convince your opponent that you have the best hand. Trouble spots ...

Starting hand selection is a basic strategy that every player should know. David Sklansky was the first to lay out a proper starting hand selection based on your position at the table. Other books have taken the theory a bit further; Phil Hellmuth coined his phrase “top 10 hands” in ...

Any poker player who wants to improve their game reads poker strategy articles and books. There’s certainly no shortage of it out there, just about every poker topic imaginable has been addressed over and over again. There must be a selection of 50 or more poker-related books at any quality ...

The last thing you want to be doing at a poker table is giving away free information about yourself. Skilled players can figure out lots of information about you if you say the wrong thing during a game. That information can be used against you in future hands, and will ...

There are three groups of serious poker players. There’s the mathematical player who knows all the odds and has a specific formula for every situation they find themselves in during a hand. The second type is the experienced player that goes with their gut when they have to make a ...

Best Time for Online Poker There will be certain times when you will have a much better chance of winning in an online poker room. Playing extremely late will increase the number of tired and even drunk players in an online poker room. As they say, a fool and his ...

No. 1 - Watching TV Being a winning poker player always comes down to how effectively you gather information about your opponents. For example, let’s say it’s down to heads-up on a single table Sit and Go tournament. You get dealt A-10 offsuit while on the button and your opponent ...

As you are probably well aware, there are few things more dangerous than being on tilt while playing poker or online poker. Tilt is death. Remember that poker people. When you go on tilt (and you will occasionally go on tilt… even Buddha would go on tilt after enough bad ...

Playing the Wrong Limit While there is no absolute formula for deciding what percentage of your bankroll you should use to buy into a given tournament, Sit and Go or cash game, there are a few guidelines that you’d do well to heed to make sure you don’t go bust ...

Looking for a little clarity when it comes to poker terminology? The Basics We’ll start things off easy with a few key terms you've likely heard while strapped to an armchair in front of the TV. Ante: A small amount of money contributed by each player to seed the pot ...

Trends in poker strategies have changed much faster since the world of online poker became more popular: Smooth calling with A-A pre-flop vs. reraising; fast-playing your flopped set rather than slow-playing; being more aggressive with a flush or straight draw, etc. With the ultra aggressive style of many of today's ...

The problem is that most poker tip articles don't break down specifically what it is they mean when they talk about "ranges" and "betting patterns." I often follow these patterns in live tournaments by pure habit and have developed a poker instinct for when a bet or fold means "pattern." ...

The coolest thing about those 3D glasses we used to get out of cereal boxes as kids was that the 3D image on the back of the box always led us to see something that we had never seen before. How does this relate to poker? Well, poker isn't the ...

There have been countless articles written on proper poker bankrolls. You ask any professional player the top-five questions that he or she is asked most frequently, and the bankroll management question is bound to be on everyone's list. However, I think that the reason people struggle so much with answering ...

Poker at its core is about extracting the largest amount of value out of the smallest statistical edges. Every time you, as a player, let that small advantage pass you by because you fear being wrong, you are giving up large profits and, more importantly, are allowing your poker game ...

As poker players we try to follow betting patterns to figure out what an opponent may be holding. We mentally create a range of possible hands they could be on, and then eliminate hand possibilities based on the betting patterns that transpire during the hand. But many players fail to ...

A common misconception in poker is that it’s the proper play to fold small pocket pairs in the face of a raise that looks to be a bigger pocket pair. In this spot your smaller pocket pair will surely be dominated, but this situation provides bigger opportunities than many understand ...

Small ball poker betting techniques allow you to play more hands while limiting the risk that you’ll face during a hand. These strategies are best utilized in deep stack tournaments that afford you more chips with smaller blinds. It’s an aggressive style where you bet and raise minimum amounts in ...

At some time during your poker playing life you’ll find yourself in a situation where someone will want to make a deal at a final table. First off, you should realize that under no circumstances should you make a deal if you don’t want to. Never let the coaxing of ...

Over betting is an advanced tactic that a player can use to get action on a hand when no other action is likely. There are two situations where the bet will work well. The first is against a novice player who doesn’t really have a concept of the value of ...

As you become more advanced in your poker game you need to start to feed your opponent false information about yourself during the game. You know that good players are watching your every move, and that they’re remembering all the plays that you make and what situations you make them ...

Many new players don’t value their kicker card enough as they play poker. Kickers come into play often because most players like to play big cards, especially aces. So many players don’t realize how vulnerable they can be when paired up with a lousy card. Hands like A-3 and A-6 ...

With the uncertainty that poker throws at us, it’s difficult to set goals and see them through with consistency. Luck has so much to do with your outcomes, and planning can really only get you ready to make good decisions. But without some sort of goal to push for it ...

One of the tougher situations you’ll find yourself in at the poker table is facing a raise with a smaller pocket pair. Until the raise your hand was strong, but against a raise it becomes very vulnerable. How you play in this situation will depend on the setting of the ...

Most players like to play suited aces whenever they can. These hands can give you the nut flush, which is often a very strong hand. Holding a hand like this against another flush can be a very profitable situation. It also provides the opportunity to hit two pair when another ...

Tilt is a difficult thing to try and control. When bad luck comes your way and you’re suffering bad beats, it’s tough to hold your emotions in check. Even some of the most experienced players in the world still tilt out and steam too hot to play a proper game ...

If there’s one situation you want to be in at a poker table it’s sitting there with a bunch of weak players. You know that your superior knowledge of the game should provide you with easy money. All you have to do is take it from the suckers, right? That’s ...

It’s no secret that having a positive attitude will bring more positive results than a negative outlook will. The power of positive thinking has been growing in the developed parts of the world for decades, and recently has had a real surge in popularity. People are discovering that their lives ...

A percentage of poker players are adrenalin junkies who can’t be out of the action for any length of time. Many well-known poker professionals win millions of dollars on the poker tables, only to turn around and dump it all on casino tables or sports betting. These types of activities ...

One of the best situations you can be in at a Texas holdem table is holding the nuts while your opponent, or opponents, are sitting on a big hand. This spot would seem to be cut and dry, get your chips in there and win as much as you can ...

Poker is more than just a game we play. It’s a test of our will and how well you can adjust to adversity. When faced with bad luck many players will go off on rants about how poorly someone is playing, or how bad their luck is, etc. Everyone must ...

One aspect of poker that many novice and intermediate players often play poorly is value betting the river when they’re last to act. This play is a no-brainer when you have the nut hand, but that’s usually not the situation that you’re in. Making a river bet after it’s been ...

Anyone that’s been involved in gaming of any kind knows that it’s important to try and gain every edge that you can. The more small edges you get for yourself, the better your chances to make more money. Poker is no different than any other form of gaming in this ...

Beating a poker game is a difficult task for the best players out there. Luck plays a big factor, and we all know how that can run sometimes. One way to improve your chances in a game is to select the right table for you. This will require that you ...

The poker industry has lots of different teaching tools that promise to make you a better player. Some will do just that, teaching you odds and giving sound advice that will make you better. But some tools just make you a lazy poker player. They do all the thinking for ...

When you’re in a poker hand your odds to win will always be better if the number of players is smaller. It’s always better to be head-to-head against an opponent. It’s not always possible to be head-to-head, but there are tactics you can use to try and attain that. Isolating ...

There are always some people out there that try and cheat at poker. They’re too lazy to try and improve their skill level, and instead they spend their time trying to win money dishonestly. The most common form of cheating online is collusion. It’s performed by two or more players ...

In this day and age, you can play poker 24 hours a day on your computer or cell phone. And there is also a proliferation of legalized casinos in many of America's big cities- and growing. So, how do you choose between playing online in the comfort of your own ...

There are many little things a good poker player will do to increase their chances of a winning cash-game session or a high tournament finish. One thing they can do is use a well-timed show of their cards to let other players know they were either bluffing or had the ...

Changing gears -- it might sound like a skill most needed by someone working for a NASCAR team's pit crew, but it is also an indispensable talent for any poker player. A player's ability to change gears or alter his style of play from one hand to another is necessary ...

When breaking down the difference between good poker players and poor ones, there might be a thousand various reasons why some people make money while others give it away. One technique that goes a long way in determining which players are grouped among the good, bad and the ugly is ...

It's a familiar mindset that we've all experienced. The day is Friday, and the paychecks are in. And as much as we tell ourselves that we're going to do something constructive with the extra cash in our pockets, somehow we justify taking just a little out in order to gamble ...

You will find just as many books about poker as you would for self-help or romance. With so many titles and options available, here is a look at some of the most notable poker books. Doyle Brunson's Super System: A Course in Power Poker - A must-have for any poker player's ...

There's truth to the fact that reading your opponent in poker is one of the most important, if not the most important, part of the game. But what happens when you read your opponent perfectly bet accordingly and still can't get your opponent off his hand? The answer is simple: ...

There is no better sport than poker. What other sport allows its participants to drink beer, smoke cigars and eat hoagies during the action? It's a nice change of pace to play a game and not worry about the problems associated with physical action and sweat. As satisfying as it is ...

The choice in poker could be the first one, and it could set the tone for the rest of the evening. That choice is what level of poker you want to play. There are obviously several, but don't be lulled into a bigger game than you can handle just because ...

There is a major decision you need to make before your next trip to a casino, card room or home game. Will the cup holder in front of you at the poker table be filled with a bottle of Corona or a bottle of Coca-Cola? This question might sound off ...

While playing a big stack is great and makes you feel like a bully, most people are going to be playing a small stack more often than a big one. That's why knowing how to play one is crucial to staying alive and hopefully acquiring a big stack later in ...

Mental toughness and cunning are valuable skills to have when playing poker, especially over a long stretch of time. Whether you are going to sit down for three hours or three days, you have to know your limitations. There are also a couple of common sense things you can do ...

The ability to be less than truthful is the foundation of any quality poker player. That's one reason playing poker is so gratifying. Even if you don't have the winning hand, you can still lie and bluff to victory. Wins will be few and far between if you don't occasionally ...

A low to medium pocket pair often elevates a player to top position prior to the flop. Unfortunately, with so many over-cards floating around that tantalizing hand often goes sour. In order to understand the best way to play this hand, make sure you are well versed in the two ...

With the rising popularity of poker spreading across the globe, thousands of new players begin learning how to play poker every day. As a new student to the game of poker you are probably full of excitement, energy, passion and a craving for everything poker. These mistakes apply to any ...

After watching televised poker where the big hitters and amateurs playing in high-profile tournaments often wear sunglasses, too many viewers think they should do likewise. Many novice players believe that if they wear sunglasses, they will look and play like a professional poker player, but truth is going with the shades ...

It doesn't matter if it's a $5 sit and go or a $50/$100 limit game. You have encountered the scenario numerous times. After failing to cash in on numerous loose calls or a string of folds to the big bettor on your right who always plays garbage, you finally read ...

Home games are fun, but they are definitely a different animal than online or playing at a club. A home poker game is more social, usually played with friends and family. There is usually liquor and food and your attention is not on the cards a lot of the time ...

Bad beats happen to the best poker players, the worst poker players, and everyone in between. There really isn't a definition of what a bad beat is, but I would say it's any time that you have your money in the pot and have at least a 75 percent chance ...

Table image is a strange thing to talk about when playing online poker, because it just seems like you're playing against whatever icons people are using to represent themselves. Even though I play a ton of hands against Mike, Worm and Teddy, none of that factors into how a player ...

As in life, first impressions are vital when you arrive at a poker table. You are being sized up before you even play a hand, so how you handle yourself is important. A lot of players like to make a statement when they first show up at a table. Some ...

The most important thing to remember when trying to be a successful poker player is to stay within your bankroll limits. It doesn’t matter if you play $2-$4 Limit or $100-$200 No Limit, if you don’t have the funds to enter the game, you can’t win. Poker has great variance, ...

If you ever see an angry poker player carrying on and throwing a fit about a hand, you can generally assume this player has taken a bad beat. “Bad beat” is a poker term referring to having a strong dominating hand lose to a much weaker hand held by another ...