Online Casinos,Poker and how to make money with them.

Poker - Table image

2009-07-04T10:39:00.005+03:00

Knowing how your opponents see you is crucial in poker. l explain how you can identify, manipulate and exploit your table image.

One of the most damning assessments of my play came from my first poker mentor: ‘You have absolutely no idea how the other players perceive you.’ He was an older guy who’d been playing forever and his main point was that the other players thought butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth. I was younger than them, had clean-cut looks and was British (we were in Vegas). They saw me as being tight and incapable of bluffing and I wasn’t exploiting it. That was my first introduction to table image.

The truth is, most of us fall into the same trap. We spend all our time thinking about our opponents and how they’re playing and very little time thinking about our own image at the table. By failing to see yourself through your opponents’ eyes you risk making critical mistakes in your play.

ONLY ONE FIRST IMPRESSION

The old saying that ‘you only get one chance to make a first impression’ is even more true in poker. Players make assumptions about you very quickly. Playing live poker, they will judge you on your age, appearance, what you say and how you act. Online they’ll judge you on your screen name, your avatar, how much money you buy in for, how many tables you play at once and so on.

The first few hands and rounds of play will really shape their image of you. Of course the accuracy of their impression will depend on how much attention they’re paying. For instance if you’re young and wear a cap and sunglasses, a lot of older players will view you in a certain way based on their experiences of other players, regardless of how you actually play.

The first impression that perceptive players have of you will be more closely based on how you play. Critically, they’ll look for how many hands you play, how aggressively you play them and – of course – what cards you show down (if any). You should be acutely aware of what hands you’ve shown and how you’ve played them, as players will generalise a lot about your overall game. Also, you should be aware if you’ve created a false impression with your early play. For example, let’s say you usually play a solid, tight pre-flop game but this time you sit down and pick up Aces, Kings and A-K in the first round of play. You re-raise all three times and win the pots without a showdown. You know you were just playing the hands on their merits, but to the other players at the table you’ll look like a manic re- raising machine.

FIRST IS FOREMOST

You should bear in mind the power of these assumptions. Early impressions of you, once formed, will stick with players for a long time. CardRunners pro Brian Townsend is on record as saying the impression your opponents have of you can last up to 10,000 hands online. Therefore it’s very important to be aware of your early impact on the game. It follows that it’s more than possible to manipulate your image – particularly in the eyes of opponents who haven’t played with you before.

With this in mind, it’s worth knowing that players remember unusual acts much more than a general whole. Recently a player who plays in the same game as me reminded me of a hand where I’d check-raised him on the river. It had happened six months – and who knows how many thousands of hands ago – but it’s such an unusual betting pattern that he’d remembered it and it had given me a much wilder image in his eyes than was correct.

AN IMAGE IN YOUR OWN MAKING

Consciously manipulating your own image is not something you need to do to win at poker, and to do it perfectly may take years to master. But in some ways it can be relatively easy.

You can do it on a grand scale by projecting a different image from the way you intend to play. For instance, if you’re a winning player joining an unfamiliar live game, you might give off the image of an enthusiastic casual player – being talkative, openly questioning the etiquette and so on. If you plan on running some big bluffs, dress conservatively and stack your chips neatly – anything to throw the other players off your scent.

Some of this kind of mini-hustle has disappeared with online play, but you can still manipulate your image through the way you play. Start out by playing in one fashion to establish an image, then switch your style. One simple way to do this is by cultivating a very loose image early on, preferably showing down one or two bluffs with junky starting hands then playing very tightly to get paid off on some quality hands.

Perhaps the easiest and cheapest way to manipulate your table image is to show cards to your opponents when you don’t have to. Generally this is not a great idea; after all, poker is a game of information so giving it away freely isn’t usually the best strategy. However, it can be a good tactic, especially if you think they’ll show you cards in return and that you will make better use of the information than they will. For instance, if you’re not getting paid on your hands because your image is too tight and then you steal the blinds with a junky hand, showing your cards might increase your chances of getting action on your real hands. Even better, if you’re beating up on an opponent and you sense he’s getting frustrated, make sure you show him that bluff after he thinks for a while before folding the winning hand. Now he ‘knows’ you never have anything and will pay you off like a slot machine next time you do.

Hopefully it’s clear by now that whatever style you play, your image isn’t fixed. It constantly changes based on your individual opponents and the flow of the game. The key is not only to be aware of your table image but also to exploit it to your benefit.

Put simply, you should try to play counter to the other players’ perceptions of you. So for instance, if you haven’t had a playable hand or situation for two or three orbits of play, the next time you open a pot you’ll get more respect. A player that might have contested the pot with a hand will suddenly feel sceptical about whether his pocket Eights have any value against such a ‘tight’ foe. Of course the opposite holds too. If you’ve been playing fast and loose, there’s often a lot of profit in tightening up and getting players to pay off your good hands more than they normally would.

MOVING IMAGES

Your image is in a constant state of flux. For a lot of your time at the table it may remain constant, but then one play can completely change it. Let’s say you’ve been playing relatively tight and then see an opportunity to steal the blinds with 7-4 offsuit. You’re called by one of the blinds and then hit an unlikely straight with your junk cards. Showing that one hand will completely change how you’re perceived by the other players – at a stroke you’ve gone from being seen as a solid, tight player to someone capable of having any two cards.

Because players will view your bets and raises in the context of your table image, it’s often important to play in a way that’s internally consistent with your image. Let’s take an example of a game in which you’ve been playing a reasonably loose and aggressive game, betting and raising regardless of your hand. Now a hand comes up where you’re the pre-flop raiser and you flop a monster. In this case it’s absolutely vital that you play the hand fast. Slow- playing in such a spot would usually be a big mistake. Your image is as an aggressive player, so opponents will pay you off with much weaker holdings – give them an opportunity to do so and play your image.

Another point to note is that your table image isn’t a single entity. You might have a general image at the table but you’re also likely to be perceived differently by each player. However hard we try to be completely objective, most of us will place far more emphasis on hands we’ve actually been involved in than we do on our general observations.

PERSON TO PERSON

For instance, I’m sure you can remember the individuals who have made big bluffs against you then shown you when you’ve laid down the winning hand? Or the player who always re-raises you before the flop and you never seem to have enough of a hand to play back at him? When you play key hands, big pots, bluffs or whatever with a player, he will remember you and this will influence his decisions in the future. More than that, players remember what has happened between you recently, so if you’re constantly putting pressure on a player in position and forcing him to lay hands down, eventually he’ll fight back. As such, you should be willing to go to war with him with a lesser hand than you usually would.

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One of the most important notes you can make on a player is his view of you. Whether you’ve had to make a lot of laydowns to someone or have stolen a lot of their blinds, make a note of it as it is sure to affect how they play you. Ultimately, your table image is not always yours to control as the cards may define it for you, but how you exploit it is up to you. Next time you’re at the tables, as well as trying to figure out what your opponents are doing, make sure you know what they think you’re doing and use it against them.

Poker Draws

2009-05-31T20:03:00.002+03:00

Playing Your Draws

The key word to keep in mind to play your draws successfully is moderation. Draws are not made hands and they miss more often than they hit. Don't overdo it when it comes to playing your draws.

One of the biggest mistakes fish make besides playing too many hands is putting too much emphasis on their draws. When you chase draws against the odds, you are losing money. It may not look like you're losing money when you get lucky and hit a couple of draws in a row but the reality is that the odds are stacked against you. Any money you spend chasing a draw against the odds is money thrown right down the drain.

When deciding whether or not to play a draw, there are several things you want to consider:

Your pot odds

Other cards that could help you win the pot

The likelihood that your draw will win the pot

The visibility of your draw

Your position

The potential size of the pot

As you can see, playing draws properly requires a little more consideration than one would think. All of these factors contribute to how favorable of a drawing environment you are playing in. Let's take a quick look at each one of these factors:

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Your pot odds

The most important factor by a long shot is your pot odds. If you are getting the proper pot odds to chase a nut draw, none of the other factors matter. When you are getting the proper pot odds on a draw, it means you will make enough money the few times you complete your draw that it will more than make up for the rest of the times you miss your draw. I'll explain this in greater detail in the section titled "Pot Odds."

Other cards that could help you win the pot

Other cards that can help you win the pot are called "additional outs." Your chance of winning the hand increases with every additional out you have.

For example, say you have a spade flush draw with the AsKs in your hand. The board is showing 2sQs8d and you suspect your opponent has a hand like AQ or KQ for top pair. In this example you have a flush draw that has 9 outs. Additionally, you can catch any A or K to possibly make the best hand. There are 3 aces and 3 kings out there somewhere for a total of 6 additional outs and a grand total of 15 outs for the hand.

But wait, are you sure those additional Aces and Kings are outs that can win the hand for you? If your opponent has AQ for top pair, any ace is going to give you top pair but it will give him two pair. If your opponent does indeed have AQ, those Ace outs you counted were actually counterfeit outs and are very dangerous to you.

The same thing goes for your King outs if your opponent has KQ in his hand. A king on that board would give you TPTK which would look like a great hand but it would in reality be losing to your opponent's two pair.

On top of all that, you can't really be sure that your opponent only has top pair. You might suspect it but you won't know it until the showdown. If your opponent already has two pair, your additional outs won't help you.

If your opponent already has a set, you're in even more trouble than before. In this example, not only would your ace and king outs be worthless but any spade that pairs the board would give your opponent a full house while giving you a flush - a potentially very expensive situation.

All of this isn't to say you don't want additional outs, it just means you should be cautious when taking them into consideration. The fact is additional outs only increase your chances of winning the hand. The only problems come when we put too much faith in them.

The likelihood that your draw will win the pot

Drawing to a second best hand is an enormously expensive mistake so make sure the draws you're chasing are to the nuts. The last thing you want to do is spend money chasing a draw that wouldn't even have won the pot.

If the board has three cards of the same suit showing, you wouldn't want to chase a straight draw because someone could already have a flush. You also wouldn't want to chase a flush on a paired board because someone could already have a full house.

You should only chase draws when you're getting the right odds to do so and you're sure that the draw will win the pot for you.

The visibility of your draw

The visibility of your draw refers to how obvious it is. Draws that are somewhat hidden are more likely to be paid off than obvious draws. Flush draws tend to be the most obvious because everyone can see how many cards of each suit are on board.
Hands like double gutshot straight draws are a little harder to detect. A double gutshot straight is basically like having two inside straight draws at the same time. An example of a double gutshot straight would be holding 68 on a T74 board. Here any 5 or 9 would complete your straight.
Your position

It's much easier to play draws from late position than it is from early position. If you want a free card all you have to do is check behind if your opponents check first - which they will do often because they are out of position.
If you want a free card and are in early position, you just have to check and hope your opponents check behind you. If you check and they bet, you're usually going to have to throw away your draw. Sometimes you can bet from early position as a semi-bluff but that puts more money at risk and when done from early position you won't know if you're betting into a made hand or not.

The potential size of the pot
Your draws increase in value as the potential size of the pot increases. Estimating the potential size of the pot requires a little judgment so take extra care in being realistic. Taking the potential size of the pot into consideration is called estimating your implied pot odds and there is an entire section devoted to this topic coming up.
Pot Odds

The topic of pot odds isn't as complicated as it sounds so give this section a chance. It's an important thing to know because by using pot odds you can quickly determine whether or not it's profitable to chase a draw.
All pot odds are used for is to compare the size of a bet to the size of the pot. For example, say you're playing a no limit game and the pot is $9. If your opponent bets $1, the pot is now $10 and it costs you $1 to stay in. The pot odds in this situation would be expressed as 10:1.
If the pot is $20 and your opponent bets $10, your pot odds are 30:10 or more simply, 3:1. That's all there is to finding your pot odds.
Now that you know what your pot odds are, all you have to do is compare them to the odds of your draw completing.
Let's use another example to explain how we compare our pot odds to our drawing odds. Say you're playing in a $100 pot and you have a flush draw. Your opponent bets exactly $100 and you know that your pot odds are 200:100 or 2:1.
Now all you have to do is compare the odds of a flush draw to the pot odds you're getting. The odds of completing a flush draw are roughly 4:1. By comparing the 4:1 of your flush draw to the 2:1 of your pot odds, you see that your pot odds are worse than your drawing odds. If you're only getting 2:1 on a 4:1 draw, you can't call and expect to make a profit over the long run.
I'm going to use a long term example to show why you shouldn't call when the pot odds are against you. If you got into this exact same situation 100 times and called that $100 bet 100 times, you'd spend a total of $10,000 chasing. Out of those 100 times chasing, you would complete the flush draw and win the $200 pot 20 times for a total of $4,000 in wins. That works out to a loss of $6,000 over the course of those 100 situations.
If you didn't notice earlier, I just told you the odds of that flush draw earlier without telling you how I came up with that. Well, there are two ways to calculate the odds of your draws completing. One of them is very difficult; one of them is very simple and can be done at the table.
The difficult way to do this is to count your outs and use a long, complicated equation to find your odds. If you want to do it this way, you're going to have to look elsewhere because I don't even know what that equation looks like.
The easy way to calculate your drawing odds at the table is to just memorize the odds of a few of the more common draws and then memorize more over time. Here are the odds of some of the more common draws:

Flush Draw 4:1
Open Ended Straight Draw 5:1
Set to Full House 6:1
Gutshot Straight Draw 11:1
Two Pair to a Full House 11:1

Before we end this section, let's take a quick quiz to make sure you have this concept down. You can find the answers on the next page.
You have an open ended straight draw in a $200 pot and your opponent bets $100.

1. What are your pot odds?
2. What are your drawing odds?
3. Should you chase this draw?

1. After the opponent's bet, the pot is $300 and you have to call $100 to stay in. The pot odds are 300:100 which reduces down to 3:1.
2. A quick look at the odds chart above will tell you that the odds of an open ended straight draw completing are 5:1.
3. Since 3:1 pot odds are worse than 5:1 drawing odds, you should not chase this draw.

Implied Pot Odds

"Implied pot odds" builds upon the pot odds concept by taking future betting rounds into consideration when determining the profitability of a call. Implied odds are an estimate of how much money you think you can win if you complete your draw.
Say you're on a flush draw and your opponent has bet but you aren't quite getting the pot odds you need to chase it profitably. Let's also say that you somehow know that your opponent will bet a million dollars on the river no matter what card comes. It would be crazy not to call on the flop because you're getting massive implied odds on the call.
For a more realistic example let's pretend that you have a flush draw in a $100 pot. If your opponent bets $50, you'd be getting 3:1 on a 4:1 draw which isn't good enough to call. But let's say you estimate that if you complete your draw, you can get your opponent to call a $100 bet on the river.
This is where your implied odds come into play. To calculate your implied odds, all you do is add your estimated future bet to the size of the pot. After your opponent's $50 bet, the current pot size is $150. If you add that $100 river bet that you're planning on making, the final size of the pot you stand to win is $250.
Your implied odds in this example are 250:50 or more simply 5:1. Since your implied odds are greater than 4:1 you can now profitably chase this draw.
The one major weakness of the implied odds concept is that it's based on an estimate. Poker players, being the positive bunch that we are, tend to get a little overoptimistic when estimating our implied odds.
What you absolutely do not want to do is use exaggerated implied odds as justification for making bad calls. Before you make a call based on your implied odds, make sure you have a strong reason to believe your opponent will call a big bet on the river if you hit your draw.
People make bets with all types hands so don't assume they'll call your bets every time you hit your draw. You really need to have a good reason to believe your opponent has a strong hand and will call your bet.

Reverse Implied Odds

Reverse implied odds is a term used to describe the situation in poker where completing your draw is the worst possible outcome. Completing a draw can be a terrible thing if you're drawing to a second best hand.
Let's say you have Ah Kh and are drawing to a flush on a board of 4h4sQh. If your opponent has pocket queens for the flopped full house, the worst thing that can happen is you hit a third heart. By drawing to second best hands not only are you wasting money chasing for no reason but when you do hit you're going to lose even more money.
The lesson in this section is to never chase draws that aren't to the nuts. Don't chase draws to straights if there could already be a flush out there and don't draw to anything if the board is paired. You lose in every possible way when you chase draws that aren't to the nuts.
The problem with chasing non-nut draws even extends to the few times you get lucky enough to hit your draw and your opponent doesn't already have you beat. If you catch a flush on a paired board, do you think your opponent is going to put much money in the pot with something that will pay you off? Not a chance. Your opponent will be too worried about the full house and flush possibilities out there to put any money in with something like top pair.
Reverse implied odds also come into play when the one card you need to complete your draw is the same card your opponent needs to complete a better draw. For example, if you're holding 89 on a 3TJ board a queen will complete your straight but if your opponent has AK, that same queen would give him a better straight. The same thing goes for flush draws. If you're chasing a low flush at the same time an opponent is chasing a higher flush, you're going to be in big trouble if you hit the card you want.
It's easy to avoid the reverse implied odds situation if you only chase draws to the nuts. As you get started in poker, I highly recommend you stick to that strategy. Eventually you'll be able to use your hand reading skills to chase weaker draws when you know your opponent has a big pair or whatever.
But for now, the lesson remains the same: never chase draws that aren't to the nuts.

Poker-The TAG Style

2009-05-26T07:37:00.006+03:00

Even though every poker player has his or her own style, there are some general categories we can use to describe them. The major categories are the fish, rock, lag and tag. I'll talk about the others later, but for now let's talk about the TAG style.

The word TAG stands for tight-aggressive and it is the style you should strive to have. Being tight-aggressive means you are tight in picking which hands you play but you are aggressive with the hands you do play.

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The tag doesn't play weak starting hands and he certainly doesn't play hands after the flop with that passive, check and call style that the fish use. The tag plays with aggression. If a tag's hand isn't strong enough to bet or raise with, he'll fold it before it costs him any money.

The tag style is so powerful because it leaves no room for weak hands and it uses aggression to get money in the pot with strong hands. The tag style also makes your decisions after the flop easier than they would be with any other style.

If you check and call with a medium-strength hand all the way down like a fish, you're going to have no idea what your opponent has. He could be bluffing, betting with a monster or anything else in between.

If instead you bet your hands aggressively, you put all the pressure on your opponents. They don't have a clue of what you're betting with but they do know you just might have a huge hand. It is because of this uncertainty that they're going to have to play their hands in a more straightforward manner.

By putting that pressure on your opponents, they are going to have a hard time playing weak hands against you. It also makes it more expensive for them to bluff when you are the aggressor. If you check and call, all your opponents have to do to bluff is make a bet. But if you're betting and they want to bluff, they have to risk more money on a big raise.

Tags also know how to make the occasional bluff but they don't overdo it like the maniacs do. Tags are aware of their table image and they can judge the best times to make the occasional, well-timed bluff.

As a tag, your decisions become easier because you are playing strong hands that are likely to hit the flop hard. You are putting pressure on your opponents by betting and raising, not checking and calling. If you miss the flop, you can simply throw your hand away and wait for a better spot to put your money in.

The basic idea of the tag style is to play only strong starting hands before the flop and only continue after the flop with strong hands. If you don't hit a strong hand on the flop, you are quick to fold it.

Playing the Flop

A big part of the tag strategy we talked about in the last section is knowing when to fold your hands and when to stay in with them. It is the ultimate key to winning at poker. If you want to make a lot of money at poker, you're going to need to be very picky when choosing which hands you stay in with and which hands you fold.

It's tempting to take hands too far on the flop - especially if you've been folding a lot of your hands before the flop. When you finally do pick up a hand strong enough to play it can be frustrating to just fold it when the flop misses you.

The types of hands you're looking for on the flop are the ones that really stick out and make you go "oh great!" not the hands that make you think "well, I have a little bit of something and my opponent might be bluffing..."

Hands like top pair top kicker (TPTK from now on), two-pairs, sets, straights and flushes are what you want to see. Hands like top pair weak kicker and second pair are just asking for trouble.

The problem with weak hands like top pair weak kicker is that you are unlikely to get action from worse hands. For the most part the only hands that will call you down are hands that have you beat. People with hands worse than top pair weak kicker will usually fold them to any decent-sized bet.

You want to stay in the hand when you're the aggressor and you're sure your hand is the best one. It takes a little experience to get this feeling but it comes quickly enough. If someone else is doing all the betting and you're just calling down, hoping your hand is good, it's probably a good time to get out of the hand.

A big part of knowing when your hand is good is knowing your opponents. If you're playing a hand like AA and some fish is calling your bets all the way down, you're probably good. If you're betting with AA and the rock of Gibraltar suddenly puts in a huge checkraise on the turn, however, you will want to realize your AA is only a pair and he probably has you beat.

Playing those big pair hands is similar to playing hands like TPTK. If you raise AQ preflop and the flop comes 2Q7, you probably have the best hand but it's far from invincible. A pair is only a pair so although you should bet this hand for value, you will want to proceed with caution. You will want to play this hand like it's the best hand until someone proves you otherwise.

That brings me to another major part of the tag style: aggression. When you hit strong hands on the flop, the best way to play them is to bet them. By betting your strong hands on the flop, you are accomplishing two separate objectives: you are getting money in the middle with a strong hand and you are protecting your hand from draws.

Almost every hand is susceptible to draws so you want to bet your hands from the beginning. If you have a hand like TPTK, it's vulnerable to all sorts of draws - people can be drawing to two-pair, flushes, straights and all kinds of junk. You can't stop people from drawing against you but can make it expensive to draw against you.

By betting your strong hands on the flop you are cutting your opponents' pot odds which makes it unprofitable for them to chase their draws against you. Since you can't realistically guess which draws your opponents are on and calculate the odds of those hitting while sitting at the table, a good rule of thumb for betting your strong hands is to bet somewhere between 3/4ths the size of the pot to the full size of the pot.

If you are making proper bets with strong hands, you actually want your opponents to draw because you profit when your opponents chase draws against the odds. I'll get more into pot odds later but for now suffice it to say that if you bet big and your opponents still chase, they won't hit their draws often enough to make a profit off you. Sometimes it might seem like everyone is hitting their draws against you but in the long term drawing against the odds is as unprofitable as playing slot machines in a casino.

Continuation Bets

A continuation bet is a bet you place on the flop after having raised preflop. It doesn't matter if you've hit the flop or completely whiffed it, it's a continuation bet. It is called a continuation bet because it is a continuation of the aggression you showed preflop by raising.

Here's an example of a continuation bet: You raise $4 preflop with AK and get one caller. The board comes J34, totally missing you. Your opponent checks to you and you bet $8. That $8 bet is your continuation bet.

A good size for continuation bets is somewhere around 3/4ths the size of the pot to the full size of the pot. If you're playing in a $10 pot, a good continuation bet would be around $7 to $10. If your continuation bets always follow the "3/4 to full pot sized" rule, your opponents won't be able to guess the strength of your hand based on the size of your bet.

Continuation bets are useful because they can often win the pot for you on the flop without you ever having to go to a showdown. In the example above, you started out with a great hand but it didn't really pan out for you on the flop. Instead of giving up and potentially losing to something like a pair of 4's, you've thrown out a continuation bet that will most likely win the pot for you.

Another good time to use continuation bets is with made hands. This works especially well if your opponents have seen you make continuation bets somewhat frequently. Sometimes the best play to make after raising preflop and hitting something nice on the flop is a normal continuation bet. First of all, it gets money in the pot early which means the bets on the turn and river will be bigger. Second, your opponents are likely to think you're just placing another continuation bet with some kind of weak hand.

Continuation bets put your opponents in a difficult spot because they have no idea what you have. You've raised preflop and you've carried that momentum over to the flop with a continuation bet. Even though your opponent might suspect his pocket 9s are good, it's going to be difficult for him to play that hand on a TQ2 board if you're throwing a big continuation bet his direction.

Even though continuation bets are strong plays, there are times when you will want to consider not placing them. One of the worst times to place a continuation bet is when there are multiple opponents in the pot with you. The more opponents there are in a hand, the more likely it is that one of them hit something and won't fold to your bet.

You will also want to take into consideration the board texture. Some board textures are better than others for continuation bets. If you have one opponent and the board looks something like 3d7sKh, you have a better chance at winning the pot than if the board was something like ThJhQh.

A board like ThJhQh is especially bad for continuation betting because it hits so many potential hands. If you think about the types of hands people like to play, it could have easily given someone a flush, a straight, a two pair or a strong draw. Boards with aces are also dangerous for continuation bets because weak players love to play any hand with an ace in it. If you're up against tight opponents, aces become good cards because your opponents will think you raised with an ace.

Other times you'll land a decent draw on the flop and have to decide if you want to semi-bluff with it or check to get a free card. The semi-bluff works well because it gives you two chances to win the pot: your opponents might fold or you might hit your draw. The only problem with this is you risk getting raised out of the pot. If your opponent checks to you and you check behind, you get to see the turn card for free. But if your opponent checks and you place a bet, you open yourself up to the risk of a big checkraise.

Checkraises in general pose a significant threat to continuation bets because your opponents know that people usually bet after raising preflop whether or not the flop helped. If your opponents notice that you place continuation bets very frequently, they will start checkraising you more often.

When deciding whether or not to place a continuation bet, you want to base your decision on the likelihood of your opponents folding. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself when trying to decide if a continuation bet is a good idea:

Is there more than one opponent in the hand against you?

Are you up against calling stations or opponents who checkraise often?

Does the board texture look like it could have hit hands that your opponents are likely to play?

Have you taken down several pots with continuation bets recently?

If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, you may just want to play it safe and check instead of bet.

Poker Preflop Strategy

2009-05-24T17:26:00.012+03:00

Preflop is where every hand begins so it's important you get it right. The cards you play and the way you play those cards preflop affects the way the rest of the hand goes down. If you make mistakes before the flop, the rest of the hand will reflect those mistakes. If you play a strong preflop game, the rest of the hand becomes easier to play.

Starting Hands

Choosing the correct starting hands is where a solid strategy begins. The biggest mistake new players make is playing too many starting hands. You must be very tight in picking your starting hands. A good poker player folds at least 75% of his starting hands.

There is a preflop starting hand chart at the end of this book that goes into great detail about which hands you should play preflop. The point of this chapter isn't to list every single hand; it's to explain the purpose behind playing a tight preflop game and how it helps you win money.

It may not sound exciting having to play a game of poker where you fold all the time, but that's how you win at poker. If you want to play poker for fun and play every starting hand you get, that's totally fine but you're not going to win any meaningful money that way. I find it much more exciting to win lots of money than to play every starting hand.

You want to limit yourself to playing only the strongest starting hands because those are the ones that win the most pots. Hands like AA, AK and AQ don't win every pot but they do win more pots than other starting hands. If you consistently put money in with strong hands while your opponents put money in with weak hands, you will gain in the long run.

If you're playing poker at a 6-handed table, the random dealing of cards dictates that each player should win, on average, 1 pot out of 6. Now hands like AA and AK won't win every pot but they will win about 4 or 5 pots out of 6. Of course you can't pick which hands you are dealt but you can pick which hands you put money in with. If you stick to the hands that win more than their fair share of pots, you will profit over the long run.

It's a simple concept but it takes discipline to apply it at the poker tables. It's easy to get bored during a dry stretch of cards and start playing non-premium hands but you have to avoid that temptation. Everyone hits dry runs of cards; the difference between the winners and losers is how they deal with those dry runs.

Position

Position is one of the most important concepts in poker. Being out of position is a huge disadvantage because it means you have to act first - before you get to see what your opponents do. What's even worse is your opponents get to see your actions before they must make theirs.

Being out of position is a difficult place to be in, so you want to have the strongest cards possible before playing a hand from out of position. That's why you should play extra tight from early position. In early position you should stick to the following hands:

22-AA

AK, AQ

AJs, KQs

Now with these hands, if you're the first person in the pot, you should come in with a raise. If several people have already limped in to the pot, you can limp in behind them with 22-99, AJs and KQs but you should put in a raise with TT-AA, AK and AQ.

With hands like AA-TT, AK and AQ, your best bet is to build a big pot preflop by raising. AA and KK are the absolute best hands so you should try to get these as close to all-in as you can without making your opponents fold. What you don't want to do is play those hands passively and let a bunch of people see the flop for free. You need to make your opponents pay to suck out on you. By doing so, you are trapping more money in the pot with a hand that will win more than its fair share of pots.

If nobody has entered the pot yet, middle position should be played the same as early position. There are still several people to act behind you so you are at the same positional disadvantage. If a couple people have already limped in, you can limp in behind them with some of the more speculative hands like small pocket pairs or suited connectors.

In late position you can really open up your game. You'll be the one with good position so you can take advantage of it. In late position you can raise with all kinds of hands if nobody has entered the pot yet. If people have entered the pot, you can play more hands too since you won't have to worry about the pot being raised after you limp in.

If it's been folded around to you in late position, you can raise with the same hands as in early position plus the following hands:

Suited connectors from 67s to KJs

Suited aces from A7s +

By raising these hands in late position, you're putting the blinds in a tough spot. They know there's a chance you're raising with garbage but they'll have to play the entire hand from out of position. If they fold, you win the blinds. If they call, they have to play the entire hand with poor position. It's a very strong place for you to be in if the blinds don't have premium hands.

Play Online Poker

Raising Preflop

The last part of a good preflop game is playing with aggression. The purpose of placing preflop raises is to get money in the pot when you have strong hands. Your raise will also help limit the field, which will make it easier for you to take the pots down after the flop - either by betting or by having the best hand.

A good rule of thumb for the sizing of your preflop raises is the "4BB + 1BB per limper" rule. This mean your preflop raises should be the size of 4 big blinds plus 1 big blind per person who has already limped in to the pot. If you're playing $0.50/$1.00 no limit and one person has limped in already, your preflop raise should be $5.00 (4 big blinds plus 1 for the limper).

If you always raise using this rule, it will be impossible to tell what you have based on your bet sizes. Since you use this rule for all of your hands, your opponents will never know if you have a really strong hand or you are raising with junk. It's an easy way to keep your game unpredictable.

Very rarely is it a good idea to limp in with hands preflop. If a hand isn't strong enough to raise, it isn't strong enough to be played. The only time hands should be limped in is if it's a medium-strength hand but enough people have limped in to the pot in front of you that you're getting the odds to play it.

If several people have limped in and you have a strong hand, go ahead and raise it up. By raising here, one of two things will happen. You'll either thin the field so that it's easier for you to win the pot after the flop or everyone will call and you'll build a bigger pot with your strong hand.

If everyone calls your raise, the odds are you won't win the showdown. That's OK though because you'll still win more than that 1 in 6 pots that I was talking about earlier. Let's use a hypothetical example to explain this point:

Say you are dealt KK preflop, you raise it up and 4 people call your raise. Let's just say that whatever combination of cards your opponents call with, it ends up that your KK will win the showdown 40% of the time and the other four people will each win 15% of the time.

In this example, you have the highest chance out of anyone to win the pot, but there's still a 60% chance that you'll lose the hand. This sounds bad until you think about how much money you're putting in the pot. Everyone has put in the exact same amount of money into the pot up to this point. They all called your preflop raise so right now all bets are even. With five people in the pot that means each of you has supplied 20% of the money.

Now you'll see that you're getting a great deal on your money here. You've only supplied 20% of the money in the pot but you have a 40% chance to win the hand. Your opponents each supplied 20% of the money in the pot but they only have a 15% chance to win the pot.

If you got into this situation over and over again, you would make tons of money over the long run. Even though your odds of winning are only 40%, the large payoffs more than make up for the times you lose the pot.

If you raise it up preflop and only one person calls the pot won't be as big but that's OK too because you'll win the pot a much higher percentage of the time against a single opponent.

Monthly Magic Matrix freeroll with €3.200 prize pool

2009-05-07T15:37:00.003+03:00

Second Tuesday each month there will be a €3.200 freeroll + a special prize.

The special prize is the third best position in the Magic Matrix for the entire next month.

You will keep this position for one month in addition to your own Magic Matrix position.

This will entitle you for Magic Matrix commissions from thousands of players that month.

There are 2 ways to qualify for the monthly Magic Matrix freeroll.

New members must play at least 1 raked hand to qualify.

Existing members must generate at least 50 VIP points to qualify.

Everyone can be a Investor.

2009-04-02T12:58:00.002+03:00

Generally in the investment game people are very scared of making their own decisions. Even after they have seen their decisions work time and time again they still don't want or are too unsure of themselves to make and accept responsibility for the decisions they make.
It is great when you have someone to blame if something goes wrong with a share investment. Unfortunately someone to blame after you have lost money on the basis of what they have said or done is of little financial consolation to you. Your money has gone. Is there anyone that has more vested interest in you making money than you? I don't think so. Shirking your responsibility in this regard and it could well be a serious wealth hazard for you.
You can fix a reluctance to make and decisions or a lack of knowledge by teaching yourself how to make your own share investment decisions. How do you do this? Simple by learning an investment approach that you have seen works over a period of time. Not just when the market is climbing but also when it is in a downward spiral. There's no lack of investment advice or methods on the internet but it's important that you find one that works for your circumstances.
Next make sure that you get plenty of practice at it without risking your funds so that when you do invest your real money you are confident that you will get a much better return then the average.
Unfortunately throughout my investment career I constantly came across people who could or would not seeing brokers, financial advisors, journalists and entertainers for what they are.
And worse still. Believing what they say.

Think about it!

Brokers are commission sales people. They make their money from the brokerage they earn from placing trades on the share market. They do not make their money from making you money.
Financial advisors make their money either from fees for consulting to you and/or commissions from placing your money into managed funds. They do not make their money from making you money.
Financial journalists write news stories about financial matters. That's how they make their money. They do not make their money from making you money.
Financial entertainers make their money from being on television and from product endorsement. They do not make their money from making you money.
Again teach yourself how to invest successfully with a method that has been proven over time. Test the method before placing your money at risk and then enjoy the satisfaction that it is all done by you. Not through the aid of brokers, financial advisors, financial journalists or entertainers.

So here are plenty reasons why do all the investings by yourself!

Simple method how to start earning online.

2009-03-19T12:10:00.012+02:00

Here is a golden method what i use to earn money online.
"The Affiliate Program"
As you know or maybe dont know the casino industry and online gaming is a rapidly growing industry.So why dont take piece of it?
Start is hard,but when the "snowball" starts rolling....You can only imagine what incomes that will create for you.

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Roulette Sniper 2.0 - new and updated.

2009-03-11T01:53:00.016+02:00

What do you know about roulette prediction (cheating) software? Nothing much i quess.

Here you find all information you need to start making money by cheating Roulette software at online casinos

Who said you can't consistently win at roulette?

Roulette is probably the easiest game to understand, but one of the hardest to master. Fortunately, you don't need to be a master of the Roulette table because Roulette Sniper does that for you!

I have made it so easy for you to win at roulette, it is like stealing candy from a baby, but in this case, you're taking money from the rich and greedy online casinos!

Win at Roulette faster, smarter, and with super-precise betting using this roulette strategy!

Casino gambling strategy have never been so easy. If you are the kind of person who could use a little extra cash, then Roulette Sniper is definately for you.

here are a videoproof what can be found at youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZkYy-r0KKc&feature=related

Remember,the cost of this software is a very small,compare to this what u can earn!

The price is $30.59 and you can buy it from Click Here!

ENJOY MILKING THE CASINOS!!!

Blackjack Sniper - Card counting Software

2009-03-11T01:43:00.009+02:00

The built in strategy that Blackjack Sniper uses is effective and powerful. It has the ability to recognize a winning opportunity.
You can use Blackjack sniper with your favorite online casino, or the ones I recommend, and the software will assist you to beat the blackjack dealer.
The software is so easy to use, that even if you have never played blackjack, or online blackjack, you can start right away without any previous experience.

Need a proof?
Click Here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib-JxYMoh2U&feature=related
Expanation video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arr5qxC6_Lg

The price is $39.95 and you can buy it from Click Here!

Of course is avaible a demo version,60 minutes of play or 20 raked hands.

So how this thing work.

2009-03-06T00:46:00.021+02:00

Moneymaking was never been easier and i mean it,for real.
Many years ago when i start playing in casinos,there was no free play money or bonus giveaways and was really hard to walk away from a casino as a winner.
But now,look all the casinos whats in the web,-ITS JUST AMAZING!
They just give you starting free money to play and 60 minutes to play+you can keep all the winnigs.Sounds to good to be true? Thats what i think too.But after proper research and testing i found that its a simple as 123 and im gonna teach you how.
So lets go down the business
I can teach you only how to win at Roulette and Blackjack,but the system i explain to you can be used in many games (Slots,VP,Craps,etc).I just dont play this kind of games,for me they are more luck games than a skill games.
As you can see i have all the great links in the right side where casinos offer to play for free and keep your winnings.Simpli just pickn some casino and register real money account and than click promotions and start free play.
Now,you need to place at least 100 bets to keep your winnings and the sum must be over the inital bankroll,like $550(+$50),$600(+$100) and so on.
But where you must bet you ask?
This is where the Roulette Sniper comes in.Just put the $1 bets on red and black and hold them there.While you spin,you tregister every number that comes in Roulette Sniper,and when Roulette Snipers tells you to bet somewhere you just bet.Remember you must follow the tips what Roulette Sniper tells you,by ignoring them you just end up with $0 winnings.
This is a foolproof system,because computer works against computer.Trust me.
Note that some of casinos require to make a deposit,from $20-$50,before you can transfer your winnings.But this is not a problem to deposit $20 and get back $220.Right?
After when you have deposited you have the winnings also in your account.Now you need to wager this 10 to 30 times,which means that if you win $200 you must wager it $2000 to $6000.Pretty scary ah?
Dont worry,if you keep followiong the red and black system,-YOU CANT FAIL.
When you start wager your winnings,dont use the Roulette Sniper.Why?
Because you dont need winnings anymore,you need lower you risks and dont get greedy.
BECAUSE YOU ALREADY HAVE $200 WAITING FOR YOU AND ITS STUPID TO START GAMBLING WITH THIS!!!!
GOOD LUCK AND STICK WITH THE STRATEGY!

And before you can start milking online casinos you need to open one of two account,if you dont want or you dont have a credit card.
So here is the Paypal

And here is the Moneybookers: