So there you are with only a few players left at the poker table. Do you change the way you play? Yes, when the game is “short-handed” you must change the way you play the game. Here are a few tips to succeed when playing Texas Hold’em short-handed.

Don’t wait for premium hands. Hand selection is not as important as it is when the table is full. You can’t afford to fold most hands when the blinds start rapidly increasing. Playing a lot of hands will cause players to think you are “tilting.” If players are convinced that you are tilting they will be inclined to call your hands. When they call chances are you will have a decent hand and take the pot from them.

When you feel that the game is getting out of hand because crazy hands are being played- put on the brakes. Being able to see that the game is getting wild is a strategy in itself. Let the few players left battle it out with weak hands. Participating in this kind of play will only cause your chip stack to dwindle quicker. This is the time to just tighten up your play and observe your opponents.

Another key strategy in shorthanded Texas Hold’em is to lead the betting scene. You are showing your weakness if you are only calling your opponents. The person that bets is in charge. It’s hard to land an unexpected flop when your opponent is forcing to call large bets to see the flop. You will always end up folding in fear and therefore never hit an unexpected hand. If you are holding a mediocre hand you should re-raise before the flop even happens. This will put the ball back in your opponent’s court and make him think you have something strong. If he or she has been betting constantly, you can assume that their hand is mediocre at best.

The last strategy that is the key to being successful in shorthanded Texas Hold’em is avoiding predictability. You have already lost if your opponents can predict your next move. Keep this from happening by switching up the way you play each hand. Slow play good cards one hand but then play the next good hand heavy. If players recognized that you slow played the last hand they will be led to think that you don’t have a hand if you are betting heavy right off the bat. Always challenge your opponents by raising the bet on the river. The chances of them folding are next to none if they have called you all the way to the river. On the other hand, don’t raise on the river if you are bluffing because, like I said before, the chances of them calling the raise are high.

These tips and strategies can increase your chip stack when playing shorthanded Texas Hold’em. Remember, these are only to be used when there are three players left at the table. These strategies are not meant to be used when playing at a full table.

There is no question that playing poker online is very different than playing poker at a live table. There are many different factors that can affect your play online. Players that play online don’t give players that play at the table much respect and vice versa. Table players tend to be more manipulative with their actions and body gestures, whereas online players are far more mathematically inclined. Let’s look at some of the factors that come into play when it comes to playing poker online.

Game Availability

Playing poker at a live gaming facility can become irritating when they don’t have the type of game you want to play available. Either the table is full of the stakes are too high. This can force players to play in tournaments or at tables that they are not comfortable playing at. The lack of available games can potentially skew a player’s skills and confidence in a live gaming facility.

With this in mind, the game availability on the internet is vast. Between the hundreds of online poker sites, there are an endless number of table games and tournaments that can be played at any moment of the day. This is one of the advantages of playing poker online.

Speed of Play

If you have played poker online and at a casino table then you know how much faster the play is online. Because the dealer is a computer in online poker, there is essentially no waiting for a person to deal or chop pots. Consistent flow of the game is important to players because interruptions and delays break concentration. Sometimes players don’t like the fast pace of online play because they need more time to think and evaluate their hand.

Distractions

Distractions are a large part of poker. The more the player is distracted during a game the less they will be on their game. This is where playing at a live table is an advantage to all players because it is almost free from distraction. There are an endless number of distractions when playing online poker in your home like the phone, the kids and the significant other. Being distracted can force a player to make a move that is not well thought out and commonly ends up being a disaster.

Playing Multiple Tables

Playing on multiple tables at once is far more common in online poker. This can be considered both an advantage and a disadvantage to players. You can either win double or lose double when playing at two tables. One of the downfalls of playing multiple tables at once is the fact that your full concentration is not on one table. You can’t watch each player at each table so you lose insight about who you are playing with and how they play.

The bottom line is that there are huge differences between playing live table poker and playing poker online. The key is knowing where you are playing and how to adjust to the differences.

Seven card stud is one of the oldest variations of poker. While poker variations like Tex Hold’em have become far more popular, seven card stud is still commonly played by skilled veteran players. Stud is considered to be a more lucrative game for beginners, when compared to Hold’em, because the chances are better with speculative hands the variance in hands in minimized.

One of the biggest differences between seven card stud and Texas Hold’em is the fact that the cards speak for themselves in seven card stud. In other words, Hold’em is more about punishing the chases, whereas seven card supports chasers some of the time.  This is not to say that chasing cards should be a habit in seven card stud, but rather that you are not punished as harshly when you do.

Starting Hands

Your starting hand is just important in seven card stud as it is in any other variation of poker. In most types of poker your hand loses strength as cards are flopped on to the board, but your starting hand in seven card stud often gets stronger as more cards are shown. The ideal starting hand in seven card stud is trips of any kind. With this being said, trips will only be dealt in seven card stud about .24% of the time. You can see that you cannot wait for trips to play, but you also must take great caution in what hands you do play. A good seven card stud player will fold his hand far more than he will play.

The next best starting hand you can be dealt is considered to be a hidden pair that is QQ or greater. These must be hidden so that your opponents are not aware of the strength of your hand. If you have a high hidden pair it is recommended that you raise- and raise well!

Another starting hand you would raise with would be a high pair where one of the cards is exposed to your opponents and the other is hidden. Play it the same as the hidden pair but be sure to be cautious. Your opponent can potentially have their good cards hidden as well.

The last type of starting hand you should raise with in seven card stud is a small hidden pair. Raising can be risky here but you might be able to fool your opponents into thinking you have something a lot stronger hidden. If you have a high card, like a king, for your door card then you should raise big. Your opponents will put you on having a pair that matches your door card.

Remember, chasing is not the way to go but do it if it is necessary. One card combination that you should not chase is a small pair when playing heads up. The odds of you seeing the card you need is slim. It is not worth the money you will bet to see the cards.

Good luck! Seven card stud can be a fun and lucrative game if you play with strategy.

No matter how many of us want to believe it is not true, we all eventually lose something at some point in time when taking part in online gambling.  The online casino or land-based casino house does have an edge over the players in every single game within the casino; therefore, it means we will lose at some point in time.  Gamblers can take the time to learn strategies and tips that will help them tilt the odds in their favor and lower the house edge; however, it is likely that you will still lose here and there.  It is possible to hit a winning streak or hit a huge jackpot, but on average, someone always loses.

Normally when someone takes part on online gambling, it is for the pure fun of it.  Then, of course, if you play enough, you win eventually.  If you can’t keep playing until you do hit big, then it can make it difficult if you lose too much.  You need to learn how to gamble responsibly and manage your bankroll efficiently so that you don’t lose your money and find yourself completely broke.  If you do this, it could have been during that time that you would have won the huge jackpot or a huge amount.  You need to make sure that you are able to stay in the game as much as possible as the more you play the more chances you have of winning.  If you aren’t playing, you can’t win!

When it comes to online gaming, you want to play at all times.  You want to have the money to be able to play when you want.  You need to be in the game in order to win so you need to figure out how to make it possible.  You also never want to use money that you can’t afford to lose.  Figure out how much money you can use is the first thing that you should do.  Next, determine how long of sessions you can play and how many in a specific amount of time. Say, you want this money to hold you for a week.  Figure out how many sessions you will have the time to play and how long each session will be.  Remember, you have a set amount of money…so the next thing you will want to do is to figure out how much money you can spend in each session, or each hour.  Make sure you only use the amount of money that you can afford to lose over the course of this playing week. 

After doing this, you will know how much money you can lose each hour or session that you play.  This allows you to set a limit for while you play.  It is best if you manage your bankroll limit per hour.  This way if you are able to go play for two hours, you can figure up your limit and don’t take any more than that with you so that you don’t have the temptation to use it and possibly lose it.  Leave early if you use it all before the two hours is up.  It may not seem so fun at the time leaving the game, but you’ll be glad you did late on when you realize that you still have the rest of your bankroll.

Many have never heard of slow playing.  It is a very widely used strategy that poker players use when they have a strong hand.  They simply wager low or make flat calls.  Slow playing is also known as passive play and is used in order to decoy opponents to check, bet, or raise, when they otherwise would not.

This can be very profitable for the player that uses this poker tactic properly as the pot can significantly raise from the temptation that the opponents feel.  They put more into the pot because they feel that you have a weak hand.  However, one should know that this poker tactic is just as unsafe as it is profitable.  You lose your hand security during slow playing.  If your opponent realizes what you are doing, you may actually come out on the bottom side of the deal rather than the top where you had anticipated from this move.

Slow Playing Guidelines

So, since this can be just as risky as profitable, let’s take a look at a few basic guidelines that will help you know when the slow playing tactic should be used so that it is more profitable instead of perilous.

First of all, you should never embark down the journey of slow playing unless you have a strong hand.  In addition, the current size of the pot should be small rather than large.  Since slow playing is a passive tactic play, you should believe that if you were to play aggressively that your opponent would back out and not play at all; hence, the reason to slow play passively.

You also want to ensure that you have a safe board.  If there is potential that your opponent could receive a card that could enhance his or her hand to a better one, then you should back off and not slow play.  It wouldn’t be very profitable in this case and you should concentrate more on protecting your hand rather than risking it.  If you know you can win, then go for it; otherwise, sit back and wait for a better opportunity.

In addition, you should also make sure that prior to this hand, your opponent has not been bluffing a significant amount, as slow playing may not be a lucrative move.  It actually is probably better to throw an aggressive play rather than a passive one as your bluff may be called.

Two Common Slow Plays

Check Raising – This is a very powerful slow play if you can get your opponent to call your raise when there is a marginal hand at play.  Moreover, it’s not a bluffing tactic as your raise may just be called and the pot simply may not be large enough for your play.  Unless you are certain you have the upper hand, a check raise is not recommended.

Flat Call – This is a simple slow play and one that is used pretty often during play.  A flat call simply means that the player will check and call all bets to make it seem as if they have a weak hand or possibly even behind.  They make it seem as if they are not paying full attention to the game.  The flat call is also used when players feel that their opponent may possibly be bluffing their way through the game.

Imagine playing Texas Hold’em poker in a live environment, but online from your bedroom or, for those of you a bit more professional about things, your Poker Studio. Although I am unsure whether this would ever happen, I am sure the fact I had a dream about playing this sort of poker online tells me I either play too much or I am a genius. See whether you think I am crazy or genius at the end of the article!

A quirk of online poker is that you can make a bluff, contort into a variety of shapes shouting at the screen for your opponent to fold and not give anything away whilst the hand is in progress because your opponent cannot see you. I must admit I have done this many times. This is possible thanks to the anonymity of online poker. Top professional Allen Cunningham admitted in an interview recently he is very animated and emotional when playing online poker which is completely the opposite of how he is known at the live tables. My new concept was to use a video peer-to-peer platform like Skype to personalise the players and make it possible for tells to be practised whilst playing online poker and to integrate live poker concepts into the online poker game.

The positives of such an idea would be the ability to watch opponents whilst at the table thus giving you more time to practise not giving out tells but also spotting tells which would suit the skilled player. I imagined logging into a site like bwin.com, activating your webcam and starting to play with your poker sunglasses on! For larger buy-in online tournaments it would be an innovation I think would be welcomed by players. Unfortunately my attempts to change the world of online poker have a few obstacles.

In dreams, we can fly around without wings like birds but the constraints of real life make that impossible (unfortunately). My poker idea suffers such constraints as well. Whilst players would probably embrace the concept in one off special tournaments there would not be much use in using a camera against a player that is playing twelve to fourteen tables at once! How would you know the tell is for table one where you are or for their table ten?

Other problems would occur in players not fully exposing their face, using funky lighting to hide their emotions and not fully embracing the reason why the interpersonal webcam was used. This would be the death knell for my idea I feel. I do think that rather than use the cam purely for the gameplay, it would be fun that instead of an avatar you could use your web cam on specific tables where you could chat and talk to players interactively. That would be fun and I think profitable because people would enjoy talking to others and forget to play properly!

Perhaps I have stumbled upon the next cool idea for online poker. Perhaps it has already been thought of and discounted by the leading poker rooms like bwin.com. I would love to see this innovation added to the online poker experiences we all enjoy. Innovation is important because it keeps things fresh and we all wonder how the increased capability of technology will impact on the game as time moves forward.

I would love to hear reader’s ideas on what innovations you would like to see in poker rooms aside from the aesthetic improvements that sites like bwin.com regularly update anyway. Full Tilt introduced the Rush tables, which are interesting but not necessarily universally received; surely there will be more to follow as other sites look to differentiate their product and attract new players. It would be an interesting discussion to hear what big changes you think you could make to improve the online poker experience. Can you beat my idea of Live from home poker?

By Malcolm Clarke

Essentially, betting makes poker the game that it is.  It is what ultimately maximizes your gains when you have a good poker hand and what minimizes your losses when you have a poor one.

In order to start the poker game, the first player must either check or make a bet.  The same goes for each additional player in the game starting to the left of the first player.

Different kinds of betting are required based upon the type of poker game being played.  This article will explain a few of these betting habits in specific type of games.

In fixed limit games, there is a pre-determined amount of chips that can be bet or raised and no one is permitted to bet higher than this, hence, the reason it is a fixed limit poker game.  This particular pre-determined amount and limit can vary per each poker round.  For example, in some games, such as Stud Poker, when the fifth card is dealt, limits for betting are doubled.  Therefore, if it were a $20-$40 game, the first two rounds of the poker game would be bet in limits and increments of $20 while the last three rounds of the game would be bet in limits and increments of $40.  In the game of fixed limit Texas Hold ‘em, you’ll notice that the betting limits are doubled once the third round comes into play.

Spread limit games are quite similar to fixed limit games; however, the betting limits are a bit different as you can bet between two limits.  For example, if the spread limit is $5 – $15 then you can place bets anywhere within $5 and $15.  If a raise were to occur, the raise would have to equal the previous bet.

When it comes to no limit poker games, there is no limit, obviously, just as the name states.  Players can place bets and raises based on the amount of chips that they have in front of them at the time.

Now, in pot limit games, bets as well as raised are limited by the amount that is within the pot when the bet is being made.  A player that is raising on her turn can include her call as part of the pot.  For example, if there is $20 within the pot and a player bets $20 then a player that wishes to raise can call that particular bet, which would create a pot equaling $40.  This player could then raise the whole pot, which would cause the pot to total $80.

Hope that helps some of you beginners to understand the difference between games and their betting rituals.  Check out bwin.com to get started playing poker.

Sure, poker is primarily a game of skill, odds, math, and strategies; however, sometimes you just have to go with that gut feeling, or that instinct, that you have.  Many poker players won’t do this, though.  They ignore their instincts and only base the game off of their own skill and known strategies in addition to poker odds.  It is important to be able to trust that gut feeling and to have the ability to just go with it.  A great poker player will go with his or her instinct when they feel they need to.

Have you ever had an instinct and went with it?  If so, how did you feel?  Great, right?  Your confidence was skyrocketed.  Well, it is the same way in poker.  When you have a hand that the odds aren’t really in your favor, but you’ve just got that good feeling it will go the way you want it to…so you go with it and it is accurate your confidence receives a huge boost and you feel absolutely great!  This boost of confidence can help you for the rest of the game, or tournament, helping you to focus and truly concentrate.

One of the most important things that a player should consider is not to be afraid to fail.  It’s likely that you will, especially in the game of poker.  Don’t give up in a game of poker, yet keep on pushing and rather than letting your opponent push and bluff you, do it to them. 

In addition, it’s important that you understand that it is okay to fold some hands.  You simply can’t play every single hand.  Sometimes your instincts will tell you that you need to fold.  If you have any reason to assume that your opponents hand is better than yours is, or even if you can see the proof out on the table that their hand is better than yours is, and will win the pot, then just fold the hand.  Minimize your losses by not playing a hand that you know, or are pretty sure, that you are going to lose.  If something inside you is telling you to fold this hand, go with it and fold it.  Trust your gut feeling.

If your opponent is sending out bluffs your way, try to read him and see if they are bluffing because they have a good hand or bluffing because they have a weak hand.  Put the other players at the table to the test and try to properly read them.  Once you do this, go with your instincts in terms of what to do next and how to play your hand.  Yes, you will be wrong sometimes, but there will be those times when your gut feeling was right and you won’t be able to find a more promising confidence booster than that.

Becoming a good or great poker player will not happen overnight – it’s not a get rich get quick scheme.  It takes time and practice.  That means using your instincts takes time and practice.  You’ll have to spend plenty of time practicing the utilization of your instincts in order to understand them properly and know when to go with it and when not to.  Most importantly, you have to learn to trust your instincts and learn to have the ability and control to go with those instincts.

Start playing poker and practicing going with your instincts.  It will probably improve your overall poker game and strategies as well as make you become an entirely better poker player in the long run.

Pot control is the art of maintaining the size of the pot close to the relative size of your hand. There are various ways to achieve this. Part of pokers skill is pot control and making a check in the right place instead of betting and spotting these critical moments of the hand where you think ahead and make the right decision. Professionals utilise pot control extremely well, so if we want to get up to that level of skill then we better take a look at just how to control pots. If you want to win playing Hold’em online this will be time well spent!

Pot control is achieved by taking into account some significant factors in the hand and then implementing the right moves to achieve your desired goal. Let us look at each in turn.

Considerations

Stack Size – If you are very deep in terms of your stack in a cash game then pot control is of paramount importance as a big pot could mean a lot of chips. You only want to build a pot with a very strong hand. Remember the key concept, small hand small pot, large hand large pot.

Opponent Range – Knowing how your opponent plays their hands and their betting patterns helps you work out their potential range. This pulls you as close as possible to the fundamental part of winning poker which is….fold when you are beat. In a specific situation you can assess what hands your opponent may have and whether your hand ranks well against them. If it does not, get out of the hand quickly!

Opponent Style – Getting into a hand that you would prefer to keep the pot small knowing he is aggressive and bets every street is unwise because you know what will happen. Other players are more passive and you can engage with them knowing showdown is possible. Against this opponent you could play a wider range of hands and expect to reach the river for fewer chips than playing an aggressive opponent.

Implementation

Pot control must be implemented, which means the decision to bet, call, check, raise or fold must be correct no matter how well you consider the above factors whilst deciding what to do.

Increasing the pot size when you believe your opponent is on a draw is a good idea. This aggressive “anti-draw” strategy can be seen in many high stakes cash games on the videos you can view online.

I have received responses to these types of article in the past saying that playing aggressive opponents does not give you the opportunity to execute pot control. This is untrue. Aggressive players will rarely show up on the river with less than top pair. Ultra aggressive players are rare. To an intermediate player it can look like a tight aggressive player just bets all of the time but they usually have something and will fold many hands. You can play small hands against this type of player. Remember to have a hand when you play these players!

All of the techniques used in pot control must coincide with you understanding your own hands value and strength relative to the action. If you simply make plays to make your opponent fold you will not succeed because your opponents will force to you go to showdown. This keeps you honest as a poker player! Think about the pot size in relation to your own hand strength as this is a good way to step away from the hand and realise you are in too deep when the action says fold. Sometimes you just have to give up a hand and not think of creative ways to win.

By Malcolm Clarke

Poker Bots are a constant problem for poker rooms who want everyone playing poker on their site to be honest human players prone to the same errors and learning that every player goes through whilst developing their poker skills. Players using computer programs to play their hands are not only cheating because it is not their skills being used to play, but they are breaching the terms and conditions of the poker room. As online poker is unregulated, the only Policing of such activity is by the poker rooms themselves so a good question for players to ask is, are they doing enough to quash this sort of cheating?

The truth is that it is very difficult to catch poker bot users because the programs themselves can be hard to detect and easily masked as something else running on the player’s computer. The bots also click different pixels of the fold, check or raise buttons which looks human and some of the more sophisticated bots can even type in “nh” for “nice hand” into the chat box if they lose a large pot with a strong hand.

Wherever there is money involved in anything there are people prepared to go to extreme lengths to get it, whether that means breaking the rules or not. Poker bots remove the human emotion element and given the circumstances it faces it will always make the optimum response, providing it is programmed well enough. Any player prone to tilt has a major problem facing a bot who will always mean its best poker. On the other hand I have read poker articles where players were aware they were playing a bot, yet the bot was so bad they did not mind. Only when the poker bot owner saw the losses incurred would they realise their bot was outplayed, but by then it would be too late.

Poker rooms will act if a player plays over four tables for three full days solid or if players report suspicious activity. Many poker bots are discovered through the illogical action of their owner rather than their own failings when they let the bot play for so long a human could not manage that length of poker session thus their cover is blown. Some players have accused poker rooms of not caring providing rake is being generated but this is unfair as that implies they do not care about their players.

There is also the problem of proving that a bot is being used, which is virtually impossible unless the poker bot is flawed in some way. Confiscating players bankrolls on the back of random accusations by players emailing the poker room support is a dangerous situation to get into as once investigations are complete players will cash out and the poker room may lose a regular player. It is a tough balance between being seen to be actively policing their own site to trusting their regular players. I would not like to be in their shoes.

If you suspect you are playing against a bot you should email customer support and give them the reasons why you believe this is the case. Ask for them to get back in touch with their findings and if they believe you may be right. Make sure you have good reason for doing this as another player may believe the same of you and any investigation can be stressful and inconvenient, particularly if you are innocent. Some players are constantly reporting others and losing one session against a player is not a reason to think they may be a bot. They may just be better at poker than you are.

I play poker at bwin.com where I have not read of a single instance of bot related activity and their site is not listed on any of the bot sites as a playable room. That is good enough for me.

By Malcolm Clarke