Knowing how to take advantage of the poker position you find yourself in is one of the things a rookie poker player needs to learn. It is all too tempting to automatically think that being in last position will always be best, after all everyone else has played so surely you can’t fail to make the correct choice in your betting option? Well, let’s just see what options might open up to you – according to the seating position you find yourself in at the poker table.

First or last?

The received wisdom is always that being in last position has to be best as, even with a fairly modest hand – if the first player bets then you can always call without being worried about a raise hitting you from behind. Meanwhile, you can watch the players before you sit and squirm trying to decide whether to throw away their hand or pay heavily to continue with the possibility of a raise behind them. However, being in last position does carry a risk – that of a check-raise. But, in a game where check-raising isn’t allowed, being in last position is ideal if a player in front of you checks, as then you can be confident they’re not trying to sandbag you with a big hand. So, and conversely, being in first position could actually be advantageous to you – if you do want to check-raise. Also, if you want to drive players out early on then being first puts you in the driving seat to raise early before they can call the first bet.

The other players positions

Any thoughts on what her favorite poker position is?

Of course the seating position of any player can affect your playing, regardless of where you are sat at the poker table. Depending on whether you like to play loose or tight or you might prefer to have other loose players on your left, playing and betting before you – with the tight poker players on your right making their conservative bets after you’ve played. The advantage here is that you can read the aggressive tight players move and make your play being fairly confident that the tight players on your right are unlikely to challenge you.

No point playing poker when you’re about to fall asleep!

Here at pokertipsbook.com we’re aware of an article, emanating from the UK, about their perceived unfairness over the transatlantic time difference when it comes to playing online poker tournaments. Now before we all jump up and down shouting “whingeing limeys” and other such good humored insults – what about a west coast poker tournament and east coast poker players participating in it?

So, with regard to things like the recent Spring Championship of Online Poker, where a buy-in of just $22 could have net you $55k – can anything be done to equalize things out time wise.

Time just doesn’t stand still

First of all you need to remember that regardless of where you are in the USA, let alone the world, the fact that online poker tournaments are open to anyone and anywhere – inevitably means that somewhere someone will feel aggrieved by the time difference. This is true for say a Las Vegas online tournament starting at 8pm local time when it will be 11 pm in New York, 4am in London (UK) and even 1pm the next day in Sydney (Australia). You can extrapolate those times backwards and forwards for a tournament based in London, New York etc – but the same is always true, someone somewhere will shout foul, especially if they’re losing at poker. Add into this equation the confusion caused by various time zones adopting daylight saving schemes and you could easily completely miss out on tournament.

The simple answer

There is, of course, a simple answer. If you truly want to play for serious money in an online poker tournament do some homework. Find out in advance what the local start time will be and what the time will be that you’ll need to sit at your computer to play the poker game. Presuming you have a day-job and can’t lead the life of a poker pro, rising when most folk are just getting home form work and then playing cards ‘til dawn the next day … If it is something like a 4am start for you sitting at home, then you can’t expect to have worked all day, stay awake and still stand any sort of chance of making any money playing poker before falling asleep by 5am. So prepare yourself! Get home early from work, have a meal and get some seep for a few hours then, on getting up, shower and change your clothes and then you’ll feel ready to hit those poker tables.

Feeling tired? Feeling old? Think you’re losing your memory? If any of those things describe you then perhaps it’s time you took to playing more poker, rather than just sitting in front of the fire with your slippers on and watching TV. Whilst the TV adverts would have us think that the only way to stave off dementia is to rush out and buy a Nintendo DS or whatever, think again as most surely all the skills required for such a device – little more than a bit of math and logic, are also what is required for playing poker.

Exercising your brain at poker

Hey Grandpa - looking good and ready to play some poker?

Unless you’ve actually never played poker at all – you’ll already know that poker really is far more of a game of skill, than the chance one that some US gambling regulators would have the population believe. I guess you could sit there, receiving cards and innocently and blindly play a few poker hands without understanding what’s really going on. However, the chances of you actually winning at poker are probably as remote as the ‘infinite monkey theorem’ – that a monkey sat at a typewriter could, by chance hitting of the keys, type a Shakespearean play! No, to stand any sort of chance of winning you actually need to have the skill and ability to understand and calculate the poker odds and know the poker bets worth making, not to mention the ability to concentrate possibly for hours on end, to keep your wits about you and, don’t ever forget, keep your sense of humour.

Does brain training work?

However, the fact of the matter is that none of these so called ‘brain trainers’; be it a Nintendo electronic gadget, cross-word puzzles, Scrabble or even playing the  poker table – can actually have any impact in protecting us from Alzheimer’s disease – if it’s in your genes, it’s in your genes! So, bearing that in mind what are you going to do? Cosy up in front of the TV after all or get yourself down to the local casino or hooked up to an online poker website and start having some fun? Even if you’re not actually exercising your brain by playing poker – you’ll surely be keeping it active, trying to both outwit your opponents and having a laugh with them too.

You know how sometimes, when you’re out and about you really feel that ‘lady luck’ is with you and you suddenly get the urge to have a quick poker game – well if that describes you, then its time you started looking for some of the video poker games that you can play on your smart-phone. Particularly if you’re on the move – playing a video poker game will be ideal in terms of satisfying your curiosity as to whether or not the luck is with you, without distracting you from the task that you’re actually going about.
 

Jacks or Better – is always best

I don’t know about Royal Flush - but she’s giving me a hot flush!

Watch that bankroll

We started out by saying how satisfying it can be playing video poker when you’re out and about; and it can be – but your chances of hitting a jackpot Royal Flush on the move are slim. If you really want to chase that poker jackpot then you’ll need to put some serious playing into your video poker. Playing one machine regularly you can only reasonably expect to hit the Royal Flush jackpot once in every 80 hours or so of play. Now then let’s do the math – that’s 80 hours at a minimum of 50 hands an hour, even for a 25 cent game that’s over $1000. Sure you’ll pick up some poker winnings in that time, but you’ll really need to recycle them back into the video game. 

For any rookie poker player deciding what play to make pre-flop, especially in a Texas Hold ‘em game, will more than often determine whether or not you get off to a winning start in a poker game, or simply look destined to play the whole hand as a complete flop! Deciding what to do pre-flop isn’t just a question of considering what your hole cards are; instead you need to take into account various factors to do with the other players at the poker table.

Things you are in total control of

Sorry, this article is about pre-flop flops, not flip-flop mops!

Whilst with a big stack you can afford to be ambitious with some of the pre-flop hands you play a small stack puts you in an entirely different position. However, don’t automatically fold just because you’ve got a small stack as you might need to speculate in order to get enough chips for the next blind you have to make. Finally, concentrate on the game, even if you do fold pre-flop; you’ll learn from what you see going on and your patience will pay dividends later on.

The other players

Whilst you can’t exactly control the other poker players, you can take them into account when deciding what to do pre-flop. Remember to be at your most cautious when there are a large number of players in the poker game – as there’s more chance of a good hand being dealt and more players simply equal more competition. Their playing style may or may not help you, but as a rookie you might not yet have picked up the skill set to read their poker plays. However, playing against someone who raises pre-flop they could well be sitting on a great hand already.

Here at pokertipsbook we’re all for explaining beginners can learn to play and enjoy poker. Whilst we’ve loads of great articles and items about the various aspects of playing poker, before you can get started actually playing poker you really need a short and simple basic poker introduction. So, based on playing a version of poker called Texas Hold ‘em – here is that basic introduction that anyone should be able to follow.

Poker terms

OK, first of all poker has a language all of its own, which until you understand some of the really basic stuff – you’ll just sit there mystified as to what all the other players are talking about. Before any cards are dealt two players have to place what are called blind bets. There’s a small and a big blind, with the big blind being twice the value of the small one. Everyone then gets two cards dealt to them, which you don’t let other players see, called hole cards. Players can now either fold – throw their hand in, call – place a bet that matches the big blind  or raise – increase the amount being bet. All the money or chips on the table are called the pot. With that round of betting done there comes the flop, three cards are dealt face up for all to see on the table – community cards. Another round of betting follows, then another community card is dealt, commonly known as the turn. There’s another round of betting followed by the final, fifth, community card known as the river. You’re now at the showdown - the final round of betting. The winner is the person that can make up the best combination of cards using their two hole cards and any three from the community cards. We’ve got another easy to follow article you can read about the winning poker hand rankings.

Fold, Call or Raise?

Has she seen a raise - or doesn't she know whether to turn or fold?

Excuse the pun but until you’ve got your hand in at the game of poker – caution is always to be recommended when it comes to betting. If you’ve got a rubbish couple of hole cards fold, if the hole cards and the flop cards look weak – fold etc. This may well mean that you’re folding an awful lot initially – but you can still see the community cards and learn what might have been possible with your hand. Conversely, if you get a couple of reasonable, let alone good, hole cards then it’s always worth waiting to see what comes along at the flop etc, and never disgrace an ace! So, with good cards at least call the bet, but unless you are suddenly presented with a royal or straight flush - it’s probably best not to go raising too quickly.

An often overlooked aspect that millions of poker fans enjoy is playing video poker games. For some purist poker players they can only contemplate playing poker at a ‘bricks and mortar’ poker table, yet in the pre-internet/online poker website days of the 1970s, 80s and most of the 90s – video poker games were the only alternative option to actually sitting down at a poker table.

The Video Poker market

Video poker used to only be on machines in casinos and bars - now you can even play it on your cell phone.

 As computer technology developed in the 1970s so too did video poker games, which are essentially reliant on a computer screen and central processing unit; and one company in particular came to dominate the market in computer video games quite early on – International Game Technology. One result of the world wide web development has been the introduction of online video poker games that can be played at home. However, whilst a video poker game can be played at home, in their strictest sense they are not a simple ‘home computer’ game. Video poker games were originally designed and built to be positioned along side other more ‘traditional’ gaming machines in casinos and bars etc. As such they are designed to offer players a variety of pay-outs, alongside the usual winnings by betting against the poker video machine. For example they can offer various bonus poker games as well as the option to play single or multiple poker hand games.

Betting in video poker games

Video poker games are invariably a 5-card draw game, so the payouts are invariably fast and can be big indeed, relevant to the bets placed. Particularly for regular online players; its worth remembering that if you play a video poker gaming machine in a casino or bar, be wary of trying to outplay the machine – it can be all too easy to get carried away when not in your familiar surroundings. Why? Well, the answer is that a video poker game will offer incremental jackpots based on how much you play. In other words, the more you play the more it will offer you for hitting a winning hand. However, don’t ask what you’re your chances are of getting say a Royal flush against one of these machines! Having said that bets can be anything from a quarter to $5 in coins. Given that the more you play/bet – the better winnings you can make; the best tip for betting on video poker games is to chose a machine where you can always bet the maximum amount you can afford. If $5 a bet is too much – simply find a machine with lower bet tariffs to match your pocket.

People play online poker for all sorts of reasons as well as at all sorts of levels; and, just the same as you get talkative players at a ‘bricks and mortar’ poker table, you can also get chatty players at online poker tables. Alternatively, for other some online poker players, it’s as much of a social occasion as one that they will see purely in terms of winning money. Such players are, of course, attracted to poker websites that have particularly good and inter-active chat rooms; and yet how should players behave in a poker chat room?

Vital poker chat etiquette

Some folk linger and some just pay a flying visit to poker chat rooms.

 The first thing to say about online poker chat etiquette is to check for any ‘chat rules’ specific to any of the online poker websites that you use. Other than that there are some basic and largely common sense things you should do to avoid any risk of falling foul of any poker chat room etiquette. I guess the single most important thing not to do is to be in any way inflammatory towards others in the poker chat room or indeed at the websites poker table. If you need that spelling out, don’t threaten or be abusive toward anyone else – if you need a list of what might constitute threatening or abusive comments, then you’re probably not mature enough to be playing online poker! The other major point of etiquette to observe is not to discuss in any way hands that are in play. So, even if you’ve folded, if you were thinking of sharing with others what your hole cards were – don’t. Similarly you mustn’t do things like make ad hoc arrangements to check down hands or even in any way pressure someone else into leaving a table. Also, although it might be well intentioned, don’t offer to exchange funds in the chat room.

Poker chat to be wary of

Certainly in North America, no matter what your ethnic origin, place of birth or how ever many foreign languages you might speak – English will be the only permitted language. The reason for this is quite simple that chat room moderators need to be confident that all is above board – something they cant do if folks suddenly start ‘chatting’ about their poker hand in some obscure language or dialect. Finally, whilst I’m sure the odd “you’re cute” type of comment is OK – don’t try and advertise anything through the chat room. First of all, other folk won’t be interested, they’re relaxing playing poker and secondly, well it’s just cheap!

If you’re a serious poker player – chances are you’re a serious gambler too. That means you won’t just be trying your skill or luck at poker, or even just cards, but will also be found at the roulette tables, betting on sports events and even trying the slot machines. All of which is fine of course, but do you need to think in terms of separate accounts for each of your gaming choices or just have one money-roll that you bet from?

How disciplined are you?

If she keeps her cards there - where's she hidden her poker money roll?

 Everyone’s different of course but basically it comes down to just how disciplined are you about keeping pots of money separate and whether or not you have one game that you’d rather play and bet on above all others. If it is the case that poker is the only game for you, then you’re probably tempted to have just the one money roll, as chances are if you go out to play poker – then any others will be of little interest to you. However, if you do like to bet on other things then keeping separate rolls to bet with could just turn a bad night into a better one. Imagine you’re the absolute poker fanatic, but have a poor night and lose badly. You’re bound to go home licking your wounds – albeit determined to win that money back next time. However, even if you’re an absolute poker fanatic but split some money off from your roll for a few hands of blackjack or a few turns of the roulette wheel … then If you were to have a bad night at the poker tables, you can at least lighten up a bit and just have some fun at another game to hopefully lift your mood. Even better, if you’ve had a good night at the poker table – then you don’t need to raid your poker winnings to play another betting game or have a flutter on a race the day after.

Keep your poker separate – keep your psyche up!

Apart from not being tempted to use your poker money roll for something else, there’s also a psychological reason for keeping them separate. If you have one money roll that you bet from and have a bad run of luck, subconsciously you can carry that ‘losing feeling’ into another game. Simply by having a separate money roll for your poker – subconsciously you’ll be starting afresh, leaving behind that losing streak!

I said "Play bluffs in your poker" - not - "Play poker in your buff"!

 Striking the right balance in poker between getting caught bluffing or not, or deliberately giving away a tell to get your opponents think they’ve got you figured – is a very fine balance indeed. So it seems only appropriate in this blog that’s here to give you some poker tips and advice that we should consider for a moment the art of bluffing.

Be a bluff tease.

The whole art of bluffing in poker can be pretty well summed up as winning that pot with a hand that really doesn’t deserve it. The problem with this of course is that because you’re bluffing – not giving away a ‘tell’ is really hard. The only way to tackle that is to have several false tells up your sleeve and use them sparingly. Tease your opponent into thinking you’re bluffing when you’re not. That way when you’ve got that awful poker hand and do bluff – they’ll be reeled in hook, line and sinker. Why use them sparingly, well there’s a saying in poker that “if you never get caught bluffing – you’re not bluffing enough”; and sure as houses if you keep on bluffing with the same old trick – you will get sussed and probably quite quickly, even with just 4 or 5 other players at a poker table.

If you get caught bluffing.

It is pretty well inevitable that you will get caught bluffing at poker at some time by someone – don’t panic! If this does happen, simply revert back to only playing the poker game – rather than trying to play games with the poker. Get it? In other words just play your hands as they’re dealt. If it’s good enough to raise – then raise; if you need to fold – then fold. Just let them think you’ve given up on bluffing. They’ll sit back all smug thinking you’re beaten down by them – only for you to pull one of those new bluffs from your sleeve. Also remember that poker players hate being sucked in to a bluff. To try and see that it doesn’t happen again they’ll go through a phase of calling down on your bets. If that happens and you are getting the cards then simply bet and raise yourself more often. It’ll get them really confused and concentrating more on your game than theirs – meaning they’ll make mistakes to your benefit.