A popular choice of style is tight-aggressive. As the name suggests, the style is based around being selective with your starting hands and being aggressive when you do enter a pot. Tight-aggressive players, or TAGs, are usually at an advantage when they enter a pot as they play mainly premium and strong hands and they will bet, raise and check-raise in order to win the pot. They are usually positionally aware and will play tight in early position and loosen their requirements when they are seated closer to the button.

Players who try to play a TAG style often finish up being tight-passive instead. Tight-passive players usually play too tightly and when they do have a hand. They rarely bet or raise it in fear of someone having a better hand. Often dubbed “calling stations” a tight-passive player is very profitable to play against as they will call your bets on every street and only raise if they have the absolute nuts, allowing you to fold.

A popular and dangerous style to play and face is the loose-aggressive or LAG. A true LAG is a formidable opponent as they play a wide array of hands, from any position and put constant pressure on their opponents. The best LAG in the business is probably Phil Ivey, a player who observes everyone at the table and acts accordingly. His cards do not actually matter to him. To beat a good LAG you need to set a trap and let them bet into you or be prepared to call them down lightly.

Similarly to players wanting to play a TAG style, wannabe LAGs often end up playing a loose-passive style. This is the worst and least profitable style of poker you can play. As the name suggests this type of player generally plays a lot of hands but prefers to call rather than show any aggression. They key to beating these players is to value bet hands even as weak as top pair and expect to be called all the way. Again, these players are very profitable to play against but the variance can be higher as they will showdown all sorts of crazy holdings.

Position is your place at the table in relation to the dealer button, which in turn dictates when you have to act during a hand. At a ten-handed table the three players to the left of the blinds would be counted as being in early position, the three next to those would be middle position and the last two would be in late position.

So why is position so important? Ten-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, Doyle Brunson once famously said he could beat the majority of his opponents heads-up, even if they were dealt a pair of aces every hand as long as he had position on them.

Poker is a game played with incomplete information, meaning players have to make their decisions based what they know at any one time. The more information they have, the easier it is to make the correct decision and one of the ways information is gathered is to observe whether a player calls or raises.

Being seated in one of the latter positions at the table allows you to win pots you probably would not have if you were seated anywhere else. If you are sat on the button and everyone folds their hand around to you, you stand a large chance of stealing the blinds by raising with a wide range of poker hands. You can also make a bet or raise when the community cards have been dealt if your opponents have shown weakness. You can even represent a hand stronger than the one you actually hold as you get to act after everyone else has.

Conversely, you can also save yourself chips by folding out hands you would otherwise have played. Imagine for example you are seated immediately to the left of the blinds, known as being under-the-gun and are dealt a pair of fours. You decide to limp but by the time the action gets back to you there has been a call, a raise and a re-raise. You now fold you small pair, without seeing a flop and after investing money into the pot.

Now imagine the same scenario but this time you find yourself in late position. Again, there is a call under-the-gun, another call, a raise and a re-raise. Now you can safely fold your lowly pair of fours, knowing you are almost certainly a massive underdog. This time you have not put any money into the pot. Saving the odd bet here and there can be the difference between a winning session and a losing one.

In the last couple of decades, a lot of players have turned to professionals and strategists like David Sklansky. He has given us what is widely known as the fundamental theorem for the game. This is general knowledge, available in all of Sklansky’s books.

Basically, this theorem states that you gain if you play your hand as if you could see the opponent’s cards and you also gain if the opponent plays the cards differently than he would if he could see your hand. The bottom line here is that a player should not only play his hand based on all the information available on the table, such as up cards, but should also make an effort to determine what the opponent has, based on how he plays his hand.
A few basics of strategy are possible here, though we have to tie some of them to particular games to make them clear. Every player should understand the concept of card odds, no matter what the game. For instance, in Texas Holdem Poker – if you have two hearts in the hole and the flop (first three cards on the board) contain two more hearts you need only one more to make a flush.

Your playing strategy should be based on the chances of you getting another heart. The odds in this case are about 2 to 1. How do we determine that?

There are 13 cards of each suit. You can see four hearts, which means there are 9 more somewhere in the deck. In our simple example, you subtract the five cards you can see from the 52 cards in the deck. This leaves you 47 cards unseen. Nine of these will help you and 38 won’t. The card odds are 38 to 9 or about 4 to 1. You have two chances to get another heart so you divide 4 by two and get 2 to 1 card odds we originally mentioned.

Your decision to stay in the hand should compare these odds with the pot odds you have in front of you. Again, this is just a simple example but if it will cost you $10 to stay in and the pot will contain $20 that is 2 to 1 and you should stay. If you have 2 to 1 card odds there will be few times when you shouldn’t give it a try. Of course, if the pot has $40 in it, that’s 4 to 1 for your money. Stay in.
That is poker strategy, in its simplest form.

Other key elements of poker strategy include raising instead of calling if you are the first player to act in a round. If you have good cards, such as A-K or a pair, your strategy should probably be a raise. This can eliminate a player or two and give you a better chance to win. It also signals others that you are serious about staying in the hand.

Other elements of poker strategy include bluffing, which is the subject of books and classes. This strategy is intended to get opponents to fold a hand that might be better than yours. Good poker players also consider position at the table in their strategy. If you will act last in a hand, you have a lot of information about what other players are doing before you have to make a decision.

There is much, much more to poker strategy, some of it specific to certain types of poker. Learn as much as you can about the game you choose and develop a solid strategy. The best way to practice poker strategy is to play on Poker Sites.

Why this does not work is because of the odds that are present in limit poker that you can eliminate in no limit.  For instance, if you make a pre-flop raise in limit, there are few draws that will not have odds in a multi-way pot.  Once the flop hits and that flush, straight or over card draw is present, you can only make a single bet. If the same thing were to happen in no limit, you could bet 3 times the pot and virtually take away any odds that a player was looking for.

That being the case, you are going to get called.  While you will want to keep the hammer down if the draw does not hit, you have to take a second look at how you are going to play when the board blanks you or the draw pops. If you bet, you are going to get called.  If you are behind the player, you may very well get check raised.

The issue with all of this is if you get check raised on the river, you pretty much still have to call because of the money that is in the pot.  If you are playing in a $20/$40 limit game and bet $40 into a $500 pot and then get raised, it is costing you $40 to see a pot that is worth $620 at that point.  Regardless of what you have, you are forced to make the call because of the 15:1 odds.

The entire thought process in limit needs to be straight forward.  When you don’t hit, play very cautiously and try to keep the pot to a minimum.  If you are the raiser, stay aggressive if nothing hits the board and you think you are still ahead.  If you hit, continue to pound the pot and give no mercy to anyone.  If the board hits a draw, you are better to back off and give up the pot if that is the hand that you put your opponent on.  You do this before you get into the 2 bets and you are forced to call and waste money on the river.

Limit is not a place for fancy moves.  Plain and simple, it is about crunching numbers and playing the odds.  The ONLY time that you can get away with a move is when you have the absolute nuts.  In that case, you can try a check-raise that may set up one bluff down the road, but for the most part, you need to play ABC poker and take the odds when they are there.

For the sake of argument, we will assume that you are on the button and have a middle position raiser in front of you.  The flop comes out and it is all you.  There is no other draw or card that can hurt you unless the board was to pair and give someone a boat.  As your opponent will probably throw out a continuation bet regardless of whether or not he hit, you know there is going to be more money in the pot.

This is where most poker players will make an error.  They get a little excited and decide to throw out a raise.  If your opponent does not have a hand, they are going to get out cheap at this point.  Just make the call and see what the turn brings before you make a move.  Now the turn hits and you are still in no danger or getting beat regardless of the river (except of course if the board were to pair and the danger of the boat is brought in).  If your opponent throws out a check, this is the one time that you may want to give him the free card and let him think that you are on a draw.

What this does is induce him to make a bet on the river regardless of what card hits. He will more than likely put you on some type of a draw and throw out a decent bet in order to take down the pot.  If you are lucky, the river card will improve his hand just a bit and then you can drop the hammer.

Reading your opponent is the key to the success here as it is going to dictate how much of a raise that you put in.  If you want to get called, the raise is going to have to be perfect.  Some players will come right back at you when you simply double the bet and others will wait for an overly aggressive raise, such as 6 or 7 times the last bet, that evokes a feeling of you trying to be a bully.  Pay attention to how they are playing and you may just end up getting all of your chips in with the nuts.

Flopping the nuts and making money on poker sites is not an easy thing to do.  You sometimes have to be very patient and let things develop before you can try and get some money from playing poker on poker sites.  Evaluating your opponents and patience will be the key to your success when you are building a pot with the nuts.

Details: Country of Origin : United Kingdom License : Gibraltar Year of Foundation : 2004 Software : Microgaming Currencies Used : EUR, GBP, USD Audited By : PWC Language : English, French, Danish, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, Portuguese, Norwegian, Finnish. Italian and Greek Accepts USA Players : No Bonus : Sign up Bonus of Up To $500

Available Games	:	Texas Holdem, Omaha, 5 Card Stud, 5 Card Draw, 7 Card Stud
Deposit Methods	:	MasterCard, VISA, PayPal, Solo, Delta, Switch, Cheque and Bank Transfers
Withdrawal Methods	:	MasterCard, VISA, PayPal, Cheque and Wire Transfer
Promotion	:	Player Points, Rake Race Leaderboard
Telephone Support	:	UK: 0800 032 1133 and Rest of the World: 00 350 200 43003
Email Support		care@ladbrokespoker.com

Summary:

Ladbrokes is a well-known name in the field of gambling and now it has also ventured into the world of online betting with a bang. Ladbrokes Poker came into existence in 2004, wherein it planned to offer players not only the joys of playing their favorite game but also to indulge in some of the hottest casino games too. Ladbrokes is one of the very popular online room among all poker sites. These action packed games combined with the various promotional offers make it lucrative enough to draw a considerable amount of traffic. Traffic has noted to be a good 1,400 players at the cash tables and more than 5,000 players playing tournaments during the European peak hours. The services offered are exceptional as is common to the Ladbrokes efficiency.

US players are however not allowed to wager at Ladbrokes any more because of their country’s legislation that has put a ban on online gambling.

Software:

Ladbrokes uses the software of the Microgaming network though it has been customized especially for Ladbrokes and operated by it too. The graphics are clean and straightforward with a touch of 3D effects. The lobby is clear-cut and easy to navigate, giving access to all details such as hand histories, player notes, live table stats and many other useful features. An event organizer in the form of a calendar is available for players to mark their favorite upcoming events. Three table size options are offered to suit the needs of different players.

Bonus:

Every new player who signs up at Ladbrokes Poker along with making a first time deposit is offered a generous bonus of 100% up to $500. This bonus can be availed by them by betting thirty times the deposit amount in the form of raked hands and tournaments. Players have 30 days in which to wager for this bonus amount.

Games Offered:

Texas Holdem in fixed limit, no limit and pot limit versions, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, 5 Card Draw, 5 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud. The games move at a fast pace and players are not made to wait for new games to begin. The turbo tables offer some really fast hands and experienced players can have a good time here. There are various stake limits available that allow players with different budgets to indulge in games of their choice that fit their pocket too. Most of the action as usual is seen at the Texas Holdem tables but the other games also draw a fairly good amount of traffic.

Tournaments:

Tournaments are the most favored at Ladbrokes Poker and there are several tournaments on offer. These include single table and multi-table tournaments. Also available are various satellite tournaments with some of them having buy-ins to larger poker tournaments such as the European Poker Tour and Monte Carlo Millions. Buy-ins to tournaments can start as little as $1 and these are quite popular among the players. Tournaments begin at intervals of every fifteen minutes so that you have several tournaments taking place in a day, as games are available around the clock.

Promotions:

Ladbrokes pampers its players with a lot of promotions but the prevalent promotion are the player points that are awarded to players every time they play with real money. These points can be accumulated and exchanged for the bonus amount and thereafter for cash deposits to your account or for buy-ins to live tournaments.

The other promotional offer is the rake race leaderboard program that rewards the top players on the leaderboard every month, with cash amounts that total a whooping $1,000,000. So the more raked hands you play, the higher you go up on the leaderboard.

SNG’s

When you are looking at SNG’s, you are taking a much larger risk to play in the 9 man tourneys than you are in the 6 man tourneys. It takes you longer to fight your way to the money and you also are adding an additional 3 players to get through. Together this means that your cards are going to have to hold up longer in order for you to cash and you are going to have to have much better hands early on in order to stay alive.

When you are playing a 6 man table, you only have to get past 4 players as compared to 6 in order to make the money. The main concern here is that you are creating the extra traffic to merely get your entry fee back in a 9 man tourney. The payoff for making the money in a 6 man tourney is usually significantly higher than it is in the 9 man tourneys.

Ring

This is much more difficult that SNG’s. This truly comes down to playing style. A lot of players are not comfortable playing a lot of hands. When you are in a 9 man game, you can use all of your live skills at the table. You can be very selective in your starting hands and not mix it up so much unless you are playing a monster. This is the style of a lot of players as they do not like to get in there with small starting hands and take a shot. You may have one or two players on the table that are like this, but for the most part they are going to play very tight.

A 6 man table is the total opposite of that. You are already starting out short-handed and when someone gets up from the table, the game really opens up. Your starting strength goes way up on hands that you would not even consider playing were you on a 9 man table.

Another factor that scares a lot of people when they are playing a 6 man table is that the blinds come around much more frequently. This means that there is the potential to go through a lot more money when you go card dead as you are facing 3 rounds of blinds to every 2 at a 9 man table. When you do the math, you can see how quickly this can add up.

In all, you would have to think that playing 6 man SNG’s is a much more reasonable move. You have to fight through less people and the payouts are more rewarding. For a cash games, it is a matter of preference. If you are a tight player, stay away from the smaller tables. If you like to mix it up and play a wide variety of starting hands, you are the ideal player for a 6 man game.

Sooner or later you are going to be in a SNG tournament or a MTT and you are going to be sitting somewhere from the button to the BB and you are going to have multiple players that are pushed all in ahead of you. If you are looking at a stack where you are covered by most or all of the players that have already pushed, you are going to have to let this hand go. The time to do this of course is when you are on the bubble. It may be difficult to do, but if you want to make the money, this is a golden opportunity to slide right in there with absolutely no risk.

Let’s say that there are 6 people left in the tourney (of a SNG) or there are only 2 positions left to go for the money in a MTT and you are on the button. Everyone has started the tournament with $2,000 in chips and you are sitting at $1,200 and you are in the BB. Under the gun pushes with a short stack of $1,000 and next position immediately pushes all in with $4,000 in chips. The next player also pushes in and has $2,100 and the button also pushes and has $2,400 in chips. If you double up, you would be looking at $5,800 in chips, but you have to get through 4 hands to survive.

Before you rush and just throw those chips in there, start to break down the hand and really figure out where you stand. In most cases, the short stack is going to be sitting on some type of pair. The big stack will more than likely be looking for isolation and would have two high cards or a pocket pair. The third and fourth players in almost certainly have a pocket pair. Best case scenario, you are looking at three pocket pairs and AK or AQs.

While you are still the favorite on the poker table, your percentages go dramatically down every time someone else puts in their chips. You are not going up against only one hand here, you have to beat all of them in order to be alive. For arguments sake, let’s assume that they all have a pocket pair. At pre-flop, you now have 8 cards that can beat you in the deck. That means that you are actually a severe underdog to the rest of table as any one of those 8 cards can beat you and send you to the rail.

While the ‘technical odds’ have you much higher, AA will really only hold up about 70-80% of the time. In this situation, you are better off dropping the hand and letting other players get eliminated. You can actually make the money right there if the big stack wins, but either way, you are going to be a lot closer to the money and in no risk of being eliminated.

This is not an easy play to make as most people will rush to get their chips in the pot here. However, if you have the discipline, you are must better laying down the hand and letting everyone else go to war. We all know you will get sick to your stomach if the AA holds up, but you can be assured that in most scenarios, it is more likely to go down that it is to win that hand. Take solace in knowing that you made the right call.

Basic Details Country of Origin : Gibraltar License : Gibraltar Year of Foundation : 2002 Software : 888 Size : Audited By : PWC Language : English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Czech, Lithuanian, Latvian, Russian, Estonian Accepts USA Players : No Bonus : $400

Available Games	:	Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Low, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low
Deposit Methods	:	Visa, Masters Credit Card and Debit Cards, Solo, Maestro, Moneybookers, Paypal, Paypoint, NETeller, Ukash, ClickandBuy, Bank Transfer, EntroPay, Cheque, Wire Transfer, ACTeCASH, Laser, PAY & PLAY Card, Deposit by Phone
Withdrawal Methods	:	Visa & Masters Credit Cards, Solo, NETeller, ClickandBuy, Moneybookers, Wire Transfer, ukash, paySafeCards
E-mail Support	:	support@pacificpoker.com
Telephone Support	:	USA: 1-800-350-43703, UK: 0800-032-4228

Pacific Poker Review

Pacific Poker is among one of the gaming websites of 888.com Group that has also produced one of the world’s largest gaming networks, Casino-on-Net, a popular online casino gaming site. Pacific Poker offers players the common available poker games but what is fascinating about the website is that the games are loose and there is a high possibility of raking in huge amounts of profits from the games, especially those at the Holdem cash tables.

The games are fun, as you will find various kinds of players competing at the table. Since players are allowed to switch over from one website to the other, you will find a huge number of casino players at the poker tables, which makes the games all the more exciting. You can expect to see some outrageous stakes being made with high levels of flop percentages that can end up being highly rewarding.

Software:

The Pacific Poker website has had a refurbishment and so has its software. The main complaint of Poker players earlier was the instability and lack of efficiency of the software but with the modification in effect, these complaints have ceased to exist.

The software is easy to maneuver while the spruced up lobby gives access to the available menus that are now customizable. The graphics are clearer and more specific and the search functions are easy to manage. The use of 3-D avatars has made game play more realistic and the lobby allows easy filtration of the games.

You can view the hand histories, which is an important aspect as it allows you go over the hands you have played. The cashier is clearly visible at all times besides which you can also learn about the flop percentages and the average pot size of the games being played.

A new multi table facility enables you to play at more than one table at the same time. The software is available in eight different languages including French, German, Italian among various others, making the website accessible to players from different countries.

Pacific Poker has also made a recent addition of the non-downloadable software, one that is compatible with users of Linux and Mac. This feature has added to its popularity as no other website provides this facility to its players.

Games:

Pacific Poker offers Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit Texas Holdem, Omaha, Omaha High, Omaha Low, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High and Seven Card Stud Low. The most played games are those of Texas Holdem but there is a fair amount of players playing Omaha too. Stakes at Fixed Limit can start as low as $0.02/$0.04 and can exceed up to $75/$150. At Pot Limit and No Limit stakes start at $0.01/$0.02 and can go up to $10/$20.

Tournaments:

Players can choose from single table tournaments, multi table tournaments and sit and go tournaments. Stakes for single table tournaments can start as low as $0.25 and go up to $750 while that of multi table tournaments start at $0.01 and go as high as $215.

Pacific Poker Bonuses:

There is a 100% sign up bonus of up to $400 offered to players when they open an account with Pacific Poker. This bonus has to be wagered for with at least twenty times the bonus amount within 30 days of the sign up.

Loyalty Programs and Promotions:

Pacific Poker players are entitled to loyalty points for each $10 that they wager for on cash games. Every 100 points give you $1, which would not be a difficult task for high stakers to accumulate but for low budget players it is a difficult feat to gather so many points quickly.

Promotional offers include high hand and bad beat jackpots and in order to win these jackpots, you have to use both the hole cards to make the winning hands. A complete high hand jackpot can be obtained by making a Spade Royal Flush.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods:

Pacific Poker offers a number of deposit options that include Credit Cards, Debit Cards, FirePay, Neteller, Prepaid ATM, Bank Wire and Transfer, PaySafeCard, Cheque and Citadel.

Withdrawal methods include Credit and Debit Cards, FirePay, Bank Transfer, Neteller, Bank Wire and Prepaid ATM.

Customer Support:

Customer Support is a bit of a damper as the staff is slow at corresponding to your problems if you are in a crisis. Emails are responded to very late while the phone lines are also not of great help. However, if the problem is minute they are quick to have answers for it.

Basic Details Country of Origin : United Kingdom License : Malta Year of Foundation : 2005 Software : iPoker Network Language : English Bonus : 100% Upto £100

Available Games	:	Texas Holdem, Omaha, Blackjack, Five Card Draw, Siki, MTT,STT and Stud
Deposit Methods	:	Visa, Delta, Mastercard, Neteller, Solo, Switch, Paysafecard, Bank Transfer, Click2Pay, Bank Draft and Check
Withdrawal Methods	:	Visa, Switch, Neteller, Delta, Bank Transfer, Solo, Click2Pay, Bank Draft

Virgin Poker Review

As we are all aware of the fact that Sir Richard Branson, a man with a vast business acumen, has carved a fine niche for himself in almost all the large businesses in the world, ranging from mobile phones and record companies to huge things as trains and airline companies. Now, it has opened its doors to the world of online poker. What really amazed us was that Virgin Poker, exceeded our expectations, by being one of the most professional gaming sites. It broke all the taboos that we may have had in our minds about it. Today, it has become one of the most visited sites and a favorite of many a people. And it is because of its multi-faceted reasons that it has become so popular.

The home page itself is beautifully laid out in burgundy and maroon colors and has the well known red Virgin logo. When you see the large list on the menu, you can immediately understand why the site has gained so much popularity. To begin with, we have to download the software, which is 3.4 MB in size and takes about a few seconds to download, from the “Download Client Now” box which can be seen on the top center of the screen. The next step is to register and fill in all your personal details such as your name, address, e-mail address and so on. And in case you want to play with cash, you will have to give your credit card details as well. All this takes but a couple of minutes.

Virgin Poker makes sure that it can fulfill the requirements of all kinds of poker players. The list of games includes Texas Holdem, Omaha, 7 Card Stud, 5 Card Draw with a choice of single or multi tournaments. Stakes beginning at 0.05/0.10 US$ may reach up to 500/1000US$ and you have a number of tables available using the currencies, Euros and the Sterling.

The playing techniques are easy and the option buttons clearly tell you what to do, allowing the players to have a smooth game play. The tables are simple in design with the red Virgin logo sitting pretty in the center. The sound effects are also kept low key, but the overall experience of playing is quite pleasant.

Another thing that makes the Virgin Poker site more distinct from the others, is the excellent “Learn The Game” and “Master The Game sections. These sections have an immense variety of information regarding poker, including tutorials for amateurs and advanced skills such as when to bluff safely, how to play your position wisely and to how to use the aggressive “all-in” call correctly. Some of these subjects can be viewed on video tutorials that have experienced player exhibiting these game techniques. And even if you have been playing for a very long time, some of these tutorials can help you perfect your gaming skills.

And this is not the end of its surprises. Virgin Poker offers V-points to players who frequent the site. These V-points can be cashed against Virgin products, such as Virgin vouchers, Virgin mobiles top-up cards including air miles or you have the option of using it to play more poker.

To round up the whole thing, we can say that the Virgin Poker site is just fabulous, thanks to Sir Branson and his efficient team members who have made this gaming experience, a time to remember.

MONEY & SECURITY

You have a wide range of choice for depositing money into your Virgin Poker account, which include payments through credit cards, debit cards, NET Teller, Click2Pay and Bank Transfers. Payments are made through WebDollar, which uses a 128-bit encryption and has its own security procedure and hence is quite safe to use.

CONTACT:

Round the clock customer services are available 7 days a week at support@poker.virgingames.com. You can get a prompt response to your query within the next two hours.

Telephone support is also available on the following numbers:

• From within the UK : 0800 2790 681 (free phone)
• From outside the UK : 0035 040 680 (toll number)

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