Beginner Poker Advice and Tips

New poker players start playing the game on a daily basis and many of them don't even take the time to read over the basics before they begin playing with their own money. There are a few things that every single poker player needs to understand before they start playing with real money and I'm going to share them with you right now.
A� Learn the starting hands that you should play and try sticking close to the charts initially while you learn the game. You may miss a few big hands, but you'll also save yourself a ton of money.
A� The best players use tools like poker calculators to gain an advantage over the rest of the competition. Some poker sites don't allow these tools, but if you're playing with a site that allows poker calculators then you need to make sure you're also using one.
A� You should focus on either cash games or tournaments because both of them require a different strategy and it's very hard to try and learn both strategies at the same time let alone trying to implement both. You should also try focusing on a single poker game rather then trying to master multiple poker games at the same time. Most poker sites allow you to play lots of poker games, but trying to play more then one poker game is difficult for everyone.
A� You should always take a look at several different tables before starting a session so that you can try identifying the best table based on your playing style. You should watch a few rounds around the table and find out if the playing style is suitable for how you want to play that session. Picking the right poker table is one of the most important skills that is often overlooked by even the best poker players.

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How to Play Small Poker Tournaments

Do you think you're ready to join an online no-limit holdem tournament? Small tournaments are a great way of testing and sharpening your skills, as well as bringing home hundreds, even thousands of dollars in just a few hours. Small tournaments are very popular because many of them have an affordable buy in fee (about $5 to $30 range). For such a small investment you can earn a lot, and you have to admit, it's more fun than getting a lottery ticket!
But what's it like to play small tournaments, and how do they differ from the larger tournaments?
Small tournaments are generally shorter than larger tournaments. Just to give you an idea, those huge competitions have betting levels raised every half-hour to two hours. But in a smaller buy-in tournament, the blinds may go up on the average of five minutes to 20 minutes, each round lasting around 10 to 15. So how does this affect gameplay? It puts the pressure to play very aggressively from he very start of the game, so you can prepare a sizable amount of chips for the time when the blinds get high. But once this safety net dwindles, and you realize you're not going anywhere near a million dollars (not even a hundred), don't beat yourself up. Even great players have off days.
Small tournaments also mean easier competitors, as they attract weaker players. This doesn't mean they're bad, only that you're more likely to find average players or newbies. Only the very good, and very experienced would dare to risk huge amounts of money in the higher buy in events, so joining those naturally implies that competition will be tougher there. You will also notice that in the smaller tournaments, players are much less aggressive and tend to call. Of course there is the requisite bunch of madmen who call on longshots regardless of the price, or alternatively, bet big every time it is their turn to act.
In small tournaments managing your money is a very important skill. You have to know how to handle a short stack, especially since the blinds get raised so quickly. The rule of thumb is to go down fighting, and play till you don't even have the money for a decent preflop raise. You're better off standing on a wobbly hand than to just fall down.
When you have nine or less times the big blind, you no longer have the option to raise a portion of your stack. You can call the blind, but if you raise, you have to go all-in. If you have 7 to 9 times the big blind, you should have either a good hand, or have only a few players left to act after you.
When you get down to six times the big blind or less in your stack, you are desperate. Don't fence sit. Either fold or bet all your money. If you are in the late position, put in all your money and pray! If you have a lousy hand, you will have to make a stand in a good situation. When you have a crapper like T-7 offsuit, you may win if everyone folds, and you'll probably be about a 2 to 1 dog unless you run into a good-sized pair.

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Bluffing - Poker Tips

Bluffing is as important as any other aspect in no limit Texas holdem tournaments. There are a few points I want to highlight that you should be paying attention to when applying your poker bluffs. In this post I will go over:
Reading your opponents
Avoid over/under betting
C-betting
Semi-bluffing
Table image
Calling stations
Reading Your Opponents
Since it is impossible to know exactly what your opponent has at all times, you have to be able to read them and judge how strong they are in the hand. Often times, it is crucial to bluff if your opponent shows weakness. Being able to read your opponent's weakness is extremely important. Sometimes you can win a hand by betting as if you have your opponent beat even if they are the one who truly had the best hand. The trick is to make your opponent think you have a better hand than them. Bluffing is an important aspect of any successful poker player's game. Neither you nor your opponent will flop the "nuts" every hand. You will need to take chances and try to win pots even when you know your beat.
Avoid Over/Under Betting
If your goal is to get your opponent to fold then you have to make sure you don't bet too low. Doing so may give your opponent odds to call based on the fact that calling your bet will not affect his chip stack. If you bet too many chips it may look like you are trying to buy the pot by over betting and your opponent might sense something is up (weakness). When deciding to bluff you can raise with almost anything and bet it out like you hit the flop if you get called. This is known as c-betting the flop. This is a good way to steal blinds late in the tournament. Sometimes it will backfire and you will lose chips when your opponent actually has a hand.
If you flop a draw or something like bottom pair you can semi-bluff. A semi-bluff is also a good way to build a pot with a drawing hand such as a flush or straight draw. If you bet the draws instead of check-calling them, you may be able to take the pot down on the river with a nice sized bluff regardless of if you hit your draw or not.
Table Image
Don't get frustrated if you get caught bluffing. Every poker player gets caught bluffing and if you don't then you aren't bluffing enough. After getting caught in bluff, go back to playing solid hands unless you want to appear reckless at the table. If you keep trying to bluff opponents will eventually pick up on it and you will get called more often. Try to pay attention to "calling stations" at the table. These "calling stations" are the players at the table who never fold no matter how much you bet. Do not try to bluff them if you notice they are calling a lot of other bets from your opponents.

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Poker Strategy - 5 Tips For No Limit Cash Games

1. Practice patience
No limit cash games don't have increasing blinds like tournaments do so there's no rush to "make something happen" in cash games. You low stakes players have it the easiest because your opponents won't notice if you have to sit tight for a few orbits - they'll still call when you start betting.
Even in high stakes games you have to practice patience. You don't want to play like a rock but if there's nothing happening, you can't force it. The occasional late position blind steal is enough to keep people from thinking you're a complete rock. When you finally do hit a hand, you'll still have a good chance of getting some action.
Patience is a big problem for me in no limit cash games. If I go a few orbits without getting a strong hand, I start to get pretty antsy. I'll try to stir up some action by raising too many hands, bluffing too much and generally pissing money away.
2. Play musical chairs
Ever heard the term "table selection"? Table selection is one of the key skills that big winners use to their advantage. The term gets thrown around all the time that it seems like it has lost its meaning. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you practice good table selection.
Don't become complacent sitting at the same cash game tables all night. You have hundreds of tables to choose from when playing online poker so don't let great opportunities pass you by. A little table selection can easily double the amount of money you take home every month.
3. Use aggression to your advantage
When I tell you to play aggressively, I don't mean you should play like a trigger happy maniac. In poker, aggression means raising with your strong hands and folding your weak hands. Sounds simple, right?
The problem is most poker players veer away from this strategy by simply calling with their weak hands, calling with their strong hands and only folding when their hands are hopelessly doomed.
An aggressive poker player will either raise or fold his hands. If it's not strong enough to raise, it's not strong enough to call. Sure, there are perfectly acceptable times to call in poker but for the most part you want to play a strong, aggressive game.
Aggression gets money in the pot when you have strong hands (which is how you make money) and it charges your opponents to draw against you. Aggression wins money in poker.
4. Pay attention to position
Pay attention to your position and the position of your opponents. Every single poker hand you watch or take part in should be analyzed with position taken into consideration. Which hands you play and how you play those hands will always be affected by your position at the poker table.
When in early position, you need to be playing far fewer hands. When in late position, you can open up your game a bit. If you use Holdem Manager or Poker Tracker, you can look up your stats and you'll see that the vast majority of your money is won in late position. You'll also see that out of all your losses, the majority of those take place in early position.
You should also pay attention to the position of your opponents. Take note of which opponents play differently in different positions. These opponents have probably read at least a little bit of basic strategy.
A preflop raise from an opponent in early position is much different than a raise from that same opponent in late position. Always note position and use it to learn as much as you can about your opponents' hands.
5. Take breaks!
Taking a break might sound counterproductive but poker isn't the same as a regular job. If you don't take frequent breaks, you can easily cost yourself a lot of money. I've sometimes had to take week long breaks during particularly brutal downswings.
You should never, ever play poker when in a bad state of mind. The times you feel like you need to play poker the most are usually the worst times to play poker. If you play poker with a stressed out mindset, you're going to play horribly.
One of the worst times to play poker is when you were supposed to quit for the day but want to stick around for a little bit longer to win back any money you might have lost. Set yourself a time limit and stick to it. Trust me.

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5 Poker Tips on Heads Up Play

Knowing how to play heads up is extremely important because the most money is awarded to the final players at the end of the tournament. One of the most important poker tips to remember when playing heads up is you need to understand that you are going to get dealt crap most of the time but so is your opponent. You're going to miss flops but so is your opponent.
If I was limited to 5 of the most important poker tips on how to play heads up I would have to say these are the most important:
1. Aggression
2. Position
3. Mix Up Your Play
4. Control The Action
5. Playing Too Many Hands
Be Aggressive
The first of the 5 poker tips would definitely be aggression. The aggressive player is usually the one that takes down the pots. The pressure is on when it's just you and the other player. Sometimes just simply holding ace high will take the pot down. The important thing to understand is how important position really is when you're in a heads up battle. When you are playing in position, you can open up your raising range to hands like A2, A3, A4, K10, K9, J10 etc. Hands that you might usually muck at a full table are more valuable heads up.
Position
The second of these poker tips is position. When playing out of position you might want to be re-raising more often then flat calling. Re-raising preflop will take the action away from your opponent on the flop because even though you are first to act after the flop, this gives u the opportunity to be the first one to bluff at the pot. Pushing your opponent out of pots will eat away at their stack and hopefully allow you to walk away with the first place finish.
Mix Up Your Play
The third poker tip is to mix up your game play. Playing heads up is more about going with your gut and being betting at the right time. It is hard to put your opponent on a hand because most of the time they are playing a wide variety of hands as well. You will have to rely on re-raising and bluffing a lot there is only one opponent. That doesn't mean shove your chips all in with nothing. You can't just raise and bet your good hands, you have to mix it up a lot. Since your opponent is going to miss the flop most of the time, pocket pairs are very valuable.
Control The Action
The fourth of these poker tips is to control the action. Don't let your opponent control the action by playing fast. If you're faced with an opponent who makes quick decisions and bets and raises fast, try controlling the action by taking your time on each decision. This will take the ability of the other player to just steamroll you with aggressive raises and put the action back into your hands.
Playing Too Many Hands
The Final of the 5 most important poker tips is not to play every hand. A big mistake that I see a lot of players making is playing too many hands. It's key to open up your raising range but that doesn't justify playing garbage hands every single hand. If you have a chip advantage over your opponent you can pick your spots to raise and bet more carefully. Heads up poker takes a little bit of practice but it is very important in any poker player's game.
Utilize these 5 poker tips and you are on your way to stepping up your game!

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3 Tips I Use To Win at Online Poker

How do you win at online poker? It's the million dollar question that's the Holy Grail for serious poker players. Winning at poker actually isn't that difficult, provided you stick to a very simple set of rules, and realise that 'winning online poker' isn't winning every single hand, tournament and cash game you play - that's just impossible. Winning Texas Hold'em is about the long haul, being able to make a steady profit over time. Of course, if you can win an internet poker tournament and bank yourself a monster prize that's all the better!
Here are the most important poker tips to win at online poker. Every time you're looking at your cards, thinking about your next action, consider these points - you'll be winning online poker tournaments before you know it!
Card Selection- Don't be tempted to play trash cards, just fold them! If you only play premium hands you'll have a much higher success rate than if you play any old cards, the reason most players don't use this 'card selection strategy' is through boredom! If you're playing quality poker you should be throwing away most hands that you are dealt. It's really hard to win internet poker tournaments if you don't learn this very basic foundation of poker.
Tight and Aggressive- Once you've involved yourself in a hand it's time to show some strength. Don't worry if you haven't hit anything on the flop, your opponent probably hasn't either. Lead out with a bet and force the other players to make the decision. Because you've been playing so tightly with your hand selection you'll often get respect and your opponent will fold. Now we're one step closer to winning at online poker!
No Distractions - When you play poker you should only be playing poker. Distractions will lead to bad decisions, bad decisions lead to losing money! If you're serious about winning at Texas Hold'em you need to put yourself in 'the zone', a state of tranquility where only you and the poker table exist! I know it sounds cheesy but it really help with making money from poker.
Remember that to be successful at poker you need to practise, practise and practise some more! There you have it, 3 very actionable tips which have proved to be incredibly effective at UK online poker sites, and poker sites from all over the world! Stay tuned for more tips to improve your game, and increase your bankroll!

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When to Hold and When to Raise in Poker

So first up it would be a good idea to explain what the terms 'raise' and 'call' mean?
Raise - To raise, is to increase the size of the bet required to stay in the game. All following players wishing to remain in the game must bet at least equal (call) to the raise. It is standard that all raises must increase in size. For example if in one round of betting the raise is $3 then in the next round the raise must be equal to or more than $3.
Call - To 'call' is to match a bet or a raise. A round of betting will end when all players have bet an equal amount. If no subsequent player meets a players bet or raise then that player wins the pot.
So what are the reasons to raise?
Firstly raising may cause your opponents to reassess their hand and fold, which is obviously good for you. If you feel you have the best hand then raising will add money to the pot which you will potentially win.
If you have a hand that you feel does not need improving then raising may drive out players with equal hands who may potentially improve their hands with subsequent cards.
Raising is where bluffing comes into play. You may wish to raise your bet in order to make people with better hands think that you are holding better cards than you really do, thus increasing the chances that they will fold.
Raising will always potentially drive out weaker hands, thus preventing them from improving with subsequent cards.
So what are the reasons to call?
Calling will enable you to see more cards and therefore potentially improve your hand - however there is obviously the chance that it might also improve the hands of your opponents, because of this you should always keep track of the cards on the table and who has what.
Calling (and not raising) will also deny the first betting player from re-raising.
Calling can also be used to bluff. If you have a strong hand then by calling in an early round and not raising then you won't give away the strength of this hand. More money will be added to the pot in the later betting rounds, which you can then cash in on with your strong hand.
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