99 Poker Tips

Tip #8 – Surviving a Bad Beat

Texas Holdem Poker is a great form of gambling because you can control most of the facets of the game, unlike many casino games that are out there. You can give yourself every advantage to come out on top and dominate the players without the skill set to play poker online.

But, Texas Holdem is still a game of probabilities and probabilities are driven by odds. Your odds of winning a particular hand are governed by the luck of the draw. This means that inevitable you will run into situations where you had no business losing to an inferior opponent.

People say that Texas Hold’em poker is game of skill, but even if you are the master of skill and strategy, you can’t be assured of winning each and every game you throw your money at. You will inevitably have a rock solid read on a player and do everything right, just to see the lucky donk catch a 10% chance on the river.

Learning how to emotionally deal with these bad beats will often mean the difference between being just another online poker player and being a skilled poker professional that can move on and still win some money.

Surviving the Bad Beat

What is a bad beat? That depends on who’s defining this. An online poker website will usually consider a hand a “bad beat hand” if a player loses a particular hand with a full house or better.

Personally, I think that a bad beat is any hand where you go in with a significant tactical advantage over your opponent, say anything higher that a 75% probability of you winning the hand.

Here’s an example: Let’s say that you and your opponent are sharing a hole card and you have a higher kicker. If you were to both pair the shared card after the flop, you have a significant advantage. A bad beat would occur if your opponent pairs their second card on the turn or the river.

This is on the lower end of receiving a bad beat. Unless one of the two of you were all-in, the betting action on the turn or river should alert you to this possibility.

On the other hand, if anyone every gets runner-runner to win the hand. This is always considered a bad beat since statistically they will have had less than a 10% chance of winning on most occasions.

How are you supposed to deal with the frustration of losing a big hand in this fashion? The biggest mistake that most players make is to get really aggressive after losing to a bad beat.

More than half of the time I see this scenario take place online. The person either makes a big move to try to recoup some of their loses or will go all-in. This can work if there is only a couple of players left at the table. But the good players will recognize a move of desperation and will go for the jugular to take you out.

The best move is to be patient and wait to make your next move. If you opponent made such a reckless call in the first place, you will want to set them up again in the same situation. Lucky players are only lucky for so long before they go broke.

This means don’t get frustrated by these players when they eventually win one. You want to put yourself in these situations as often as possible because this is how you build your chipstack.

How to Survive when You Don’t Receive Good Card

There will be bad games and there will be bad days when you will be dealt bad cards one after the other and you will not be able to do anything about it. However, you strategic skills can help you losing the minimum possible amount.

When things are not going right and you keep getting cards in your hand, you tend to hurry into making your decisions. You think about getting over with the game fast. You should try to maintain the same attitude towards getting any two cards in your hand.

If a player knows you aren’t getting any cards, they will try to push on you and get you to fold more often, especially on your blinds. This means that you should participate in a hand occasionally even if you are getting rags.

The word which can best describe the best strategy in case you get the bad cards is ‘patience’. When you get the cards and realize that they too weak to pull off even a small win, you should avoid letting it show on your face. Instead, look at the positive side.

You probably aren’t the only player who is being dealt bad cards at a table with 9 or 10 players; there must be other players on the table who are not in such a strong position themselves. You should focus on what is happening on the table, recognize the game plans of each of the players and try to make most of their weaknesses.

The best way to try a stick it out for the long run in this scenario is to try and steal blinds and the occasional hand in order to make sure your don’t get blinded out and end up having to make a weak decision to have to go all-in.

Try to keep your game tight. Don’t chase the bad cards, don’t make too many bets. Keep a lid on things and don’t let you weakness show. You don’t want to loose portions of your beloved chip stack in an effort to try your luck. There may be another player on the table who will play loose and bet on the bad cards, but don’t be tempted, you are not that strong either.

Think of strategy. The thinking should be done with the cards and the size of your chip stack in mind. Normally, the larger the size of your chip-stack, them more risks you can take. But in case you have a weak hand, you will not want to lose your chips why taking too many unnecessary risks.

This makes the strategy all the more important. Act normal, keep your emotions inside. In case the other players get an idea of you weakness, they will not waste a second before trying to exploit it.

If you think that with progress of the game, better cards are going to come to you and improve you hand, hang on in there. And don’t only think about the strength of your hand. While you are sticking in there, playing it tight, keeping an eye on the cards that others are being dealt is essential.

As I said before, games are meant to be driven by luck and there are times when you cannot do anything but loose. But presence of mind and an intelligent strategy can make you loose the minimum and keep you fit (financially) for the coming games.

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From the moment a new player goes to the Party Poker site they will see that it is a very busy and popular online poker site where players from all over meet up to enjoy playing poker in a great environment that can be counted on to entertain them and offer them a lot of opportunities for as long as they remained logged in and want to play.

Games: Party Poker is most known for its ability to offer online poker players some of the best Texas Holdem games online. The Texas Holdem games here are always in full swing. Some of the other games available for player to enjoy at Party Poker include Omaha, 7 card stud, and many other poker variations. One thing a player can count on with the games here is that there is always going to be some great competition and plenty of table choices which have various numbers of players.

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One great promotion is the Bad Beat Jackpot. This promotion will allow players to have the chance to not feel so bad when they lose. Any player interested in this or other great promotions will want to read all of the information on the promotions section of the site so they make sure they understand the rules and conditions of the promotions. Also for new players, you can receive a 100% Welcome Bonus worth up to $/£/€100.

Software: Party Poker also makes sure its players can enjoy an error free gaming environment so they can concentrate on playing poker and having a great time rather than dealing with problems and issues. The graphics at Party Poker are also great and leave players feeling like they are sitting at a real table.

Party Poker also offers their players the ability to download the software on to their computers, or choose the instant play feature which will allow them to play directly in their web browser.

Customer Support: Party Poker also offers players all of the customer support they could want from the online poker site they play on. The customer support team can be reached by email and by telephone. They are available to assist their players 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is also a helpful FAQ section that can answer many of the players more commonly asked questions.

Site Navigation: Party Poker is a very user friendly poker site that makes it a point to include a lot of helpful information on their site so players can stay well informed of how things work on the site.

Deposit Methods: Party Poker provides players with many ways to deposit their funds into their online poker account so each player will be able to find the best one for them. The accepted deposit methods which are available at Party Poker include credit cards, NETeller, FirePay, Western Union, eChecksby, wire transfers, IGMPay, bank drafts, money orders, cashier’s checks, and checks. This gives players all of the choices they should need in order to make their deposits in a way that will work the best for them.

Online poker rooms have become very popular with almost all of the average poker players. They are now able to go online and enjoy play just about any type of poker game at whatever rate they want to play. The benefit is that you don’t have to make a particular schedule in order to play poker.

However, players want to make sure they find the best online poker room possible so they will be able to get everything they can out of the entire experience. Bodog Poker is one of the very respected and popular online poker sites that have a lot to offer online poker players.

Not only is Bodog’s poker room one of the most popular poker site you’ll find, they are also one of the most helpful. They have a section for beginners that teaches them how to play with several helpful articles.

When you play online at bodog, you can learn valuable skills that can give you an edge at you home game against your friends. Playing online will help you break some of the bad habits you might have developed in your poker game.

They also have tournaments taking place all day every day. These range from smaller entry fee tournaments for beginners with lots of players to some of the best high stakes poker tournaments you’ll find. Best of all, you can get an entry into the 2010 WSOP main event. If you enter the satellites and win the free entry into the larger satellites, you could potentially win a seat for less than $50.

Games: The games available to players at the Bodog poker room allows them to enjoy the poker they want in an environment they feel comfortable with. They make sure they offer the popular types of poker for their players to choose from. Players can get in on such poker games as Texas Holdem, Omaha, stud, and variations of those games. Bodog also has other gaming sections where players can enjoy casino games, as well as place wagers on sports and horses. This allows players to take care of all of their gaming and wagering needs at one place.

Promotions: The Bodog poker room also realizes the importance of keeping their players feeling as if they are appreciated. This is why they make sure they offer their players many great bonuses and promotions for them to enjoy. One of the bonuses new players will appreciate is the 110% deposit bonus. Another great thing about Bodog is that they also offer a lot of exciting freerolls and tournaments for players to really get into.

Software: Bodog offers its players the ability to enjoy online poker stress free. The games run fast which is one thing any online poker player will appreciate. They also have great graphics and a lot of customization options so players can be more in control of the way they play poker. The software also provides players with a secure environment. Bodog wants to make sure their players don’t have to worry about anything except having a great time while they are playing poker on their site, so they make sure to provide all the security measures players will need.

Customer Support: The customer support team at Bodog strives to show players that they are a very important part of the poker room. They make themselves available to the players 24 hours a day so players know they are going to be able to count on getting the answers they need right away. The customer support team can be reached by contact form, live chat, and telephone. The team will get back to them quickly and try to do everything they can to assist them with all of their needs.

Site Navigation: Bodog also excels when it comes to their online poker sites design and layout. It provides players with the ability to access the areas of the site they want to. With simple top link navigation and well written, helpful content, Bodog provides players with all of the simplicity and information they need. This is great for those players that don’t have as much experience and need a little help getting through the process.

Deposit Methods: The Bodog poker room wants to offer players all of the options they need in order to deposit their funds I a way they are comfortable with and a way that works the best for them. The accepted deposit methods are bank cards, credit cards, phone cards, eWalletXpress, and Western Union.

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Tip #7 – The importance of planning out your poker game

Planning is undoubtedly the most important part of any long-term activity. You have to know what you are going to do, what your priorities are, what are you expecting out of the whole event and many things like that.

Poker is no exception to this. Poker is a long-term game, in which you are looking for long-term gains. These gains will not be achieved if you don’t plan carefully. Your goal, you motive your expectations should be well thought of and fixed. Be it pre-flop or post flop, there are always things to plan and strategize.

Planning how you will play during a tournament

You should know exactly how you want to play before you get started in a tournament. The best players always mix up their games, but they go into a tournament knowing exactly how passive or aggressive they want to be.

The place that this is the most important is when you are playing early hands in a tournament. Online, this sets the tone for the other players and they will want to try to classify you as soon as possible. If you are aggressive early in a tournament, players notice.

Playing Aggressive

The one time I suggest being aggressive early in a game is when you are surrounded by tight players who are just trying to survive. Since the blinds aren’t too expensive at first, you can make a probing bet to see the other people reactions.

If you play really loose and someone calls you on your early bluff, you’re going to have a hard time chasing people out later.

Playing Passive

If you are playing very few hands at first, people will take notice about the hands that you do play. This can give you an advantage. You should know that if you play a hand you would normally fold and do this out of position, nobody should call you except the players that have something good.

Then, watch the flop; if nothing comes up (specifically no face cards) raise them. If they just call that, recognize that you may be running into a monster. Players will tend not to raise and will let you bet into them in this situation.

Midway Switch

In every poker tournament that I have won, I have employed a tactic that I call the midway switch. This is the point of the tournament where I have survived where others have been knocked out and have a little bit more chips than I started with.

The plan is to intentionally change the way I am playing. For me, this usually entails going from playing cautious but confident to playing very aggressive seemingly out of no where. This throws most people through a loop for several hands.

From another persons standpoint, I might have pocket Aces or am sitting on the lucky horseshoe. I certainly must have something because I didn’t play that way before.

This tactic does one of two things for me. Either it propels me into the chip lead or it may mean that I give away a lot of my chip stack if someone can’t fold their hand.

I have had players tell me that they were thinking about folding their good flush after they caught me because it completely caught them off guard. I have also gotten people to fold top pair by keeping my foot on the betting pedal. That last bet on the river has chased many people away.

Planning your style of playing the hands you receive

The most important aspect of planning starts when you get your hand. At this point, you have to decide what kind of hand it is. It may be a strong hand, a drawing hand or a weak hand. According to the type of hand, that you have, you have to make your strategy for the rest of the game. The main thing to decide here is whether you want to go ahead with the game or leave it.

In case you want to continue with the game you have to make up your mind about the kind of hand you want to make. This may be a set, a straight or a flush. Once you have reached on the decision about the type of hand that you want to make, you should then observe your opponents for once. Try to make out how skilled they are and whether bluffing will be successful against them. And as it is unlikely that you are the only one strategizing on the table, you should try to work out which player can try to bluff at the flop.

At this stage, there is no way of knowing if you have the best hand and so you have no option but to wait till the flop for that. However, you should try to work out the probabilities. You can have an idea of the kind of hands people possess by the kind of moves they make.

Opponents may be tight or loose, aggressive or passive, according to the hand the hold. The more experienced you get, the better idea you will be able to have about the hands of the players. The less experienced players give away the strength of their hands very easily with their moves and expressions and thus you should try and take advantage of this weakness.

As the game progresses, you get a better idea of the kind of hand you are developing and thus you can be clearer about what you want to do with it. You may want to go passive, build up the pot, and try to take on a player or go straight for the pot. Consider all the possible options that you have at this stage and take the appropriate decision.

Another factor which will help you in making the decision is the size of the pot. Is it worth taking the risk? You should consider the loss that you will incur if you go ahead and loose and compare that with the size of the pot.

If your odds of winning are good, your hand is strong enough, your opponent seem to be weak and if the pot is worth it, then take the risks and try to win most of it. Or else, you should settle for the small amounts and stay back without risking too much. Because in poker it’s not about winning every game, it’s about emerging a gainer in the long term.

Tip #6 – How to spot a bluff

If you want to win big in poker, you must know how to analyze your opponents correctly. Knowledge of how to bluff is very important, but the knowledge about how to spot a bluff is even more important.

When you are playing a no limit poker and you do not know how to spot a bluff, then you might be a victim of other opponents to bluff on you. Even worse, if players know they can bluff you out of the pot, they will do it more often. This article includes a few things that will help you know if your opponent is bluffing you out of the pot.

First, remember that if your opponent is showing that he is weak, that means he is probably holding strong cards. If there is any hint of a bet that is put out there with the intentions of getting a call, you should fold your cards unless you have a potential straight or flush draw. In those cases, calling the small bets is worth the risk of getting over on the other player.

If he is showing that he is have a strong hand that means he could be pretending because he doesn’t think you have a great hand. You have to know the correct places to call. People will test and probe you for weakness and you don’t want these other players to be able to classify your style of poker playing. If you can afford it, you should call with a moderate hand in non-vital situations just to let everyone else know that you can’t be pushed around.

This is just a simple human nature. For example, if you have a weak hand and trying to bluff and don’t want your opponent to call, obviously you will act as if you are holding a strong hand and make a large bet so the opponents fold their cards and you win. Don’t do this too often though. You don’t want to become predictable. It’s easy to tell when a predictable player has a winning hand. They will bet the same amount (usually 3x the big blind or 1x the pot early in a hand) in because they want the chips in the pot and want it uncontested.

Some experienced players that are actually holding a strong hand will do things to pretend like they are bluffing in order to misguide you into calling. Not everyone will do this though, and you just have to find out which players will as your playing. In cases that you are playing against this type of player, you have to analyze the whole hand including every check and bet before you make a conclusion that he is lying or not.

If you aren’t sure, the safe bet is to fold. Like I said before, as long as you show the opponent that can’t be pushed around, folding any particular hand you are uncomfortable with is always a great play in the long run.

The critical point of bluffing is that most of the expert players can spot it almost unconsciously. What makes a player an “expert” is the shear amount of hands that they have played. If you’ve played more than 100,000 hands of Texas Hold’em, you’re going to have seen just about every situation imaginable. This doesn’t make you infallible, but it gives you a significant advantage over players who don’t pay attention or who are not very experienced.

Next, be conscious when your opponent stares at you. That means he is trying to read your expression and guessing that what type of cards are you holding. Players do this generally when they are not completely confident of their hand and they want to get a clue from your reaction whether to raise or fold.

Then the situation to be considered is when your opponent sits up erect, leans forward and gets a tone of arrogance in his voice. This reaction is generally when a player feels that he is next to be called, he will certainly show as if he is very strong contender by speaking aggressively and leaning forward so that other opponents may fold their cards. When the opponent throws a large bet into the pot very aggressively that means he is scared and doesn’t want you to complete a hand on him.

The players who talks too much while playing are easy to spot bluff, as such players when get any strong hand stop talking immediately. By this, you can understand that he got a strong hand and be careful. Notice the bets of the opponents very keenly, and see if the present bet matches his previous bets or not. A large bet is often a bluff, as the player want to buy the pot.

A great tell that these players will give when they are strong is playing with there chips prematurely, or before it is there turn. Things like counting how much they have will likely mean they are going to bet and are trying to decide how much to bet. They don’t even have to be physically touching the chips to recognize this if you are paying attention.

In addition, you must every time look for bodily tells the best way is to look your opponent’s eye and try to feel their fear. If they sound or look nervous, it could be a sign of bluffing. In brief if a player does any thing that he don’t do usually like talks much or be quite or leans forward or any such physical reactions show that he is scared and is bluffing in either way.

One last point I need to make. No one ever checks their cards after the flop with a good hand unless they are drunk. Most likely they can’t remember what both of their cards were and their top card didn’t hit. If the person is perfectly wasted, bet cautiously and get him to expose the strength of his hand. If not, raise big and get Mr. Double Check out of the hand.

Keeping all the above points in mind you can save you from being bluffed.

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