Poker Strategy

Avoid the Fancy Moves in Limit Poker

This is something that you see new player try quite a bit when they are first starting out in limit.  There really is nothing but television to blame for this one as the only poker that is televised is no limit.  Limit tournaments are few and far between because producers tend to think it is much less interesting, and the result is that newcomers try and make the same moves in limit as they do in no limit.

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.

Tags:
ABC Poker, Limit Poker, Online Poker, Poker, Poker Tips, Pre Flop

Making the Most out of the ‘Nuts’

There is nothing like flopping the absolute nuts in poker.  Your eyes pop out of your head and all you can think of is how to get the most money out of the hand.  This is not often very easy to do, but when you are in late position, you can make some more sophisticated plays that will allow you to get a little more money out of your opponent.

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.

Tags:
Chips, Flop, Nuts, Online Poker, Poker Game, Poker Sites, Poker Tips

Ladbrokes Poker Review

	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

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.

Tags:
5 Card Draw, 5 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud, LADBROKES POKER, MicroGaming software, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Online Poker, Poker Game, Poker Room

You want me to fold AA pre-flop?

While it may sound like a crazy and unorthodox thing to do, there is a time when you need to fold AA. While you are never likely to fold it in any situation in a cash game, there is a time when you have to let the hand go in either a SNG or a MTT. It is a rare time, but sometimes surviving is better than risking your stack.

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.

Tags:
MTT, Online Poker, Poker, Poker Games, Pre Flop, SNG

When to put your chips in on a draw in a tournament

This is something you see quite a bit in tournament play, especially poker online. However, there are good times to do this and bad times. Remember, just because you won the hand does not mean that it was the right play. There are several situations when it is okay to get in there on a draw, you just need to know what they are.

Let’s get the time that it is not good to throw your chips in on a draw. Let’s say you see a flop that has 2 cards to a flush and your hole cards are suited. You fire out a bet and someone comes right back over top of you to put you all in on a call. What do you do here? Odds aside, you have to let the hand go. You are going to see arguments for both sides of this, but the bottom line is that this is not a cash game. You cannot re-buy and you are risking everything pretty much knowing that you must improve or you are gone.

On the flip side of that, you get the same flop but hold position on the other player. He fires out and you are short stacked and decide to come over the top of him and go all in on a draw. This is actually a good play. You have two ways to win this hand. Your opponent could fold thinking you already have the made hand and of course if he calls, you are still alive with a 35% draw. The difference in the two situations is that you are being the aggressor and putting someone else on a decision.

Finally, you can also make this call when you are stacked and not in danger of putting yourself at risk by covering the bet for the all in. In most cases, you don’t want to risk any more than about 25% of your stack and you have to make sure you are getting odds for the play. You are going to need to see about 2:1 to make the call off of the flop and about 5:1 to make the play on the river. If the odds are there, make the play.

Draws are great when you catch them, but they are way to overrated and lead to a lot of early deaths in tournaments. A good way to keep your head straight about it is to remember that you can always push on a draw, but you should never call on one. You only need a chip and a chair to stay alive. Putting your money in on a hope and a prayer will more than likely get you to the rail rather than to the final table.

Tags:
Chips, Online Poker, Poker Tips

Online Poker – Bonuses and other tips

Signing up for an online poker venue is an easy task; but one that often leaves you with many unanswered questions. This is especially new for those players not yet comfortable with the idea of playing poker online.

Here is a small collection of questions and answers that will hopefully help solve that problem.

What are these “sign up bonuses” that all the venues offer?

Every online venue has some collection of promo codes for sign up that ensure new user accounts get a small bonus. The majority of these promo codes are percentage match deals; meaning they will add in an additional percentage of your original deposit up to a certain amount. For example; let’s say Bob deposits $1000 in his account to start with; Bob uses an active promo code that gives him an additional 200% up to $1500 extra. When Bob finishes all his account information and enters his credit card info; the venue will then charge his form of payment and finally transfer money into his poker account. Bob will get his own $1000 dollars deposited and then get the extra percentage which would be $2,000 (200% X $1,000) but since the promo is only up to $1500 that is what Bob will get extra. So, instead of just the $1,000 Bob originally deposited; his account now has a $2,500 total limit to play poker with. We can conclude extra money is always good; thus ultimately showing us that using the poker bonus promo codes when making a deposit will be very advantageous.

Is it safe to deposit money into a poker account through an online venue?

These days with many different types of thievery in existence including internet fraud; it’s tough to be certain what is safe. Rest assured; these online poker venues can be considered just as safe as withdrawing and depositing money from one’s own bank. The data information transferred over the internet electronically is quick and safe; specifically due to the fact that the information is both secure and encrypted. There is little to no possibility of an individual viewing or collecting your personal information. In fact; as a general statement you are probably safer handling money through your poker account than using your credit card for other amenities; such as eating out at a restaurant, paying for gas, or shopping at a local store. It should also be noted that your account balance will never expire or change under any circumstances without the obvious withdrawal’s or deposits made by you personally.

Do I have to deposit money in order to play poker online?

No. In fact all online poker venues offer account creation for free and deposits in what is known as “play money”. Play money can also be renewed as much as needed for free whenever users run out. So, in other words if you just want to waste some free time playing online you never even have to spend a cent in order to do so.

What is the deal with these “free” buy-in tournaments?

Many of the online venues host tournaments for players in which it is completely free to enter; with a certain high-payout. This is possible due to advertising and sponsorship; so technically they are not giving money away for free. There usually is always a stipulation however, one being that in order for users to enter they must have some amount of “real money” deposited into their account. Some venues however have no requirement to enter; besides the fact that all users play under an active account. By all means this is a great way for any novice to ease their way into the world of professional poker.

What information will I need to disclose in order to create a new account?

In most instances if you are only interested in playing for fun (“free money”), than you will only have to provide a valid e-mail address, a personal account name and a password. Of course if you want to play for real money; than the venue will need a little more information. This is required for pay-outs and withdrawals much like a bank needs your info for the same reason; as mentioned before all information that you give is kept safe, secure and private. To play for “real money” users will have to give their mailing address, full name, a valid e-mail and of course a valid payment source including all the information needed right alongside it (billing info and address).

What is installed on my computer in order to play?

Every online venue has an application or program that must be installed that includes all the necessary files in order to play poker online. Each venue has a different interface and design; so file size varies from venue to venue. For the most part users will have to download the client install file, in the form of an .exe, in order to play. None of the online venues install hidden spyware or adware on your computer, nor any hazardous files or data; so it is completely safe to install the application. Setup is very easy and the interface for each installation will be similar to other programs you have installed on your machine in the past.

Where do I sign-up for a new account and download the poker software from?

It depends on what online venue you choose to play poker with; there are many out there. Of course to download and sign-up you will have to visit each venue’s official website.

What happens if I no longer wish to play poker with the venue I have chosen?

All accounts can be canceled at any time under no obligation. You will of course have to give additional information if there is “real money” on the account for the venue to provide a refund. Keep in mind however that any money you have spent or lost at an online table will not be refunded; consider it as money spent just like that of money you spend at a store with perishable items.

Now that your biggest questions have been answered, get out there into the world of online poker and make yourself an account. The world of online poker offers one of the biggest advantages to learning the ropes of the game, offering everyone the chance to play against real players, without having to spend any money.

Tags:
buy-in tournaments, Online Poker, Poker, Poker Bonus, Real Money, Sign up bonus

One Very Overlooked Advantage in Online Poker

Arguably one of the best features introduced into online poker is the ability to take notes on opponents and other players. This feature is often highly over-looked and rarely used when it should be.

What if you could go back in time and leave yourself a note about opponents? Would it help you increase your bankroll in the future? One way to answer that question is to use the note feature that most online venues offer and write down helpful tips, strategies, and information on opponents that will give you the advantage.

Following every big play there is usually a time where you analyze your opponents in your thoughts. Did you notice they bluff nearly every play? Do they like to check bet quite often? Are they a little too ambitious with their chips? There are many great observations about your opponents to keep in mind throughout the entire game, but what about when the game is over? There is no way for you to remember those observations you made weeks, months or even years later when you play that same opponent again. Because online poker is filled with regular players who are on day and night; chances are you will run across the same player once or twice during your online poker gaming. This is precisely when previously recorded notes come into play.

After every big move you should take clear and concise notes on observations you have made about particular opponents at the table. Notes can always be edited later, or even deleted, if you find out the observation does not necessarily fit anymore. Over time, much like you would find at a casino, you will begin to come across more regular players and bump into them more often at different tables. Jotting down some of the player’s habits, weaknesses, or even strengths will help you in the long run. For instance say you come across a player you met at a table months before who is incredibly skilled at bluffing, you can check your notes on the player and use this information to make a decision on big-pot hands. If your note clearly states the information you need and you are sure you can understand it then you will be patting yourself on the back in the future when it comes in handy.

There is no greater relief than finding concise notes you wrote at an earlier date about an opponent you are currently going head to head with. In many cases it can save your hand, and even you’re bankroll.
Something to keep in mind however about taking notes involves a few simple, but very important aspects. First thing to keep in mind is that the notes should be very clear and that you can fully understand their meaning. There is no problem at all with using acronyms and abbreviations for your wording, just make sure you know what you’re talking about and can understand it later when you read it. Finding a note with strange and alien symbols scrawled all over won’t do you any good at all later. The second thing to keep in mind is that the note should be short, and concise. As is obvious, hands in online poker are timed to move the game along at a steady speed. You’re going to need time after reading the note to decide what to do with the information, so writing a 1200 word note is just going to waste time and make you lose money in the long run. Shorten every phrase and sentence up as much as possible, and don’t write out a paragraph where you can fit in one or two sentences; in other words paraphrase as much as possible.

One additional use of the note feature can relate to your mood, and overall success in any given game. Poker is a tough game to play, and remain focused on especially if you’re in a particularly cross mood. Sometimes it’s great to look at notes and see an amusing or funny comment. This will help lift a bad mood or even generate extra attention to detail where it didn’t exist before. No one else can see or access your personal notes, so there’s no need to worry about opponents seeing personal and sometimes embarrassing comments to yourself. Opponents aren’t even alerted that you are writing a note about them. Use this to your advantage and take some great notes when applicable and don’t even hesitate when you have the chance to jot down a quick, amusing little comment for later.

Finding a self-written note designed to lift up your spirits will almost certainly make any bad-mood get better, and any boring and lengthy poker game seem that much more amusing. The note feature is there for a reason, so use it as much as possible and consider it the advantage that might just give you that extra edge over your opponents in the long run.

Tags:
Bluff, casino, Online Poker, Poker