Guidelines to no limit texas holdem poker

Ever since Chris Moneymaker’ miraculous win in the WSOP in 2003, poker became a household name. Millions of people watching the telecast on television could not but help think of making a career playing poker. Today it is no longer a whim but an accepted form of Sport, which has made a permanent place for itself in our society. Several poker sites have shot up from everywhere, ruling almost all the Sport satellites across the world. Every day there are thousands of people joining in the poker league making it one of the most enjoyed recreation activity. Here we shall discuss the basics of No Limit Texas Holdem to help you get a better grasp of this favorite poker game and find your way to success.

Position of various Hand

The basis of poker relies on formulating the five finest hands possible, but first you must know which hands are good and can beat the others. The Royal Flush is the finest hand in holdem poker and consists of a king, a queen, an ace, a jack and a ten with all four cards being of a similar suit. In case you have hit upon a royal flush, go easy on it as you are a sure winner but try to get your opponents to put in a good amount of chips into the pot. The next good hand is the Straight Flush, which is a row of five suited cards, for example 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of clubs. This is followed by the Quads, which as its name suggests is four cards of the same kind. It is a very good hand and will always win you the pot. Following the quads is a Full House, which consists of three cards of the same kind and two cards of a similar kind. For example you have three cards of ten and two cards of four, you have a full house, so do not be afraid to play it. Next is the Flush, which has five cards of a similar suit, say five cards of diamonds. When you have a flush one thing you must keep in mind is that the greater flush will ultimately win the hand, for instance an Ace flush will defeat a King flush. If your hand consists of 5 cards in a straight row, say 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 you have a hand called the Straight. The position of Aces in a straight and can fluctuate both ways, towards the lower side as well as the high.

Another hand in Texas Holdem is three cards of the same kind, say three five’s or three six’s, however, remember that they can be beaten by a straight or a flush. Two aces or two kings make two pairs, but this is not a good hand as it can be beaten by a number of hands. Pairs of deuces and aces are the greatest pairs and can easily defeat pairs of queens and kings. It is common in holdem to find at least one pair, which can many a time help you win the pot. Also a high card can often win you the pot if none of the other players have a pair.

Let us look at the best hands once again in order of their ranking starting from the first to the last, the royal flush, straight flush, quads, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs, one pair and finally a high card.

Fundamentals of the Game

You must be aware of the fundamentals of the game while attempting Texas Holdem. The foremost thing to know is about the blinds, which is an obligatory bet made at the beginning of every hand. The player seated on the left hand side of the dealer button gets the small blind while the player positioned on the left hand side of the small blind gets the large blind. These mandatory bets ensure that a pot is available for each hand that is distributed.

Holdem itself is very easy to play. The game begins with each players being dealt out two cards facing down and once the hole cards are available, betting begins allowing you to fold or raise when calling the big blind. As soon as the players are through with the betting round, 3 community cards are placed facing up known as the flop after which a second round of bets takes place. Another card is turned facing up, known as the turn or the fourth street and again there is betting, which is then followed by a fifth card being turned face up known as the river or the fifth street and a final round of betting takes place. After the betting is through with, you can reveal the hole cards you have and decide who the winner is. You must also bear in mind that you can check, fold, raise and go all in at any of the streets if you wish to do so.

Common Technique

Although no limit hold'em poker is a game of strategy, it has some very simple rules. As you continue to play the poker you will understand its techniques much better. The best starting hands and the ones that are ideal for playing are the pocket pairs. An excellent starting hand is the pocket aces while seven and two off suit are considered the worst starting hands in poker. This is because they can in no way be conjoined by a straight and being an off suit they cannot form a reasonable flush either. The best position to have at the table is that of the dealer as he is the last one to act and has already watched the moves of his opponents. It is the most appropriate position to use a bluff and therefore easier to play even with weaker cards.

This is a basic guide to Texas Holdem and enough to give you a good start but you can excel in the game only with regular practice and playing a lot of games. This will help you learn the tactics of the game as well as give you the experience of facing your opponents at the table. You can begin by playing for either free or smaller stakes and gradually step up the ladder to success.

Don’t suck at poker

As a beginner, your first goal at the only poker is to stop sucking at the game. That’s right, if you’re a beginner, you probably suck, even if you do happen to feel like you’re the next Phil Hellmuth or whoever (insert favorite poker pro name here). The good thing about sucking at poker is that it takes less than you’d think to stop sucking.

In order to get to the root of the problem and to stop sucking at poker as fast as possible, you need to go through the following thought-process: recognize the fact that you do in fact suck. Muster a willingness to learn and to read in order to improve. Pick yourself up and get to it. There are but a few basic concepts separating rookie suckers from about 95% of online poker players out there, which means it’s easy to catch up with these guys. You’ll realize that simply by reading and by keeping yourself informed about the game, you’ll already improve. Take rakeback for instance. Few rookies know how the poker rake works (they do know what it’s supposed to be but they haven’t the vaguest idea about how it’s collected and how it affects them) and even fewer know about rakeback. Finding out about rakeback and signing up to a rakeback deal like the Full Tilt rakeback or the ongame rakeback only takes some reading though and a few insignificant minutes of your time.

Like rakeback, most of the strategy concepts that have the power to shape you into a reasonable player are extremely simple.

Playing fewer hands (exercising proper starting hand selection), playing from position, learning the significance of poker position, learning to count your outs and to calculate basic pot odds are all such simple but extremely powerful concepts.

In this article, I’m going to detail another such – apparently insignificant – yet extremely powerful concept: that of the proper bankroll.

In order to make money, you need money in most every vertical in life. The same goes for poker: if you’re aiming to squeeze money out of the time you spend at the online tables, you need to have a healthy bankroll. I’ll give you one example in this sense: you know your odds well and you know how to exploit them too. At a cash table, you suffer a bad beat, despite the fact that you get your entire stack in with excellent EV+. You lose your stack. If you do not have a bankroll from which to replenish, to sit back to the table and to hammer home those edges (which only really yield revenue in the long-run), you’re done. If you reload though, and you get your opponent all-in repeatedly on the same hand, you’ll show a profit at the end of the day, and that’s a mathematical certainty.

Most people however are unable to commit money to poker. The truth is that most people in life are extremely attached to money. Not only do they see a means to acquire worldly goods in it, they view it as safety, as a weapon which can be used for a variety of useful things. It is natural to be attached to money, but I’m telling you that if you’re too attached to it, you won’t really make money at poker.

The reason is that you’ll be playing on “scared money” most of the time and that will prevent you from playing your optimal game. To sum it all up: if you play on scared money, you suck at poker.

What’s the best way to avoid playing on scared money? Set aside a chunk of cash you’ll only use for poker purposes. When I say set it aside, I don’t just mean to physically set it aside: you’ll need to set it aside mentally too. That money is for poker and nothing else. You have to forget to look at it as something that can buy you a bike, pay you three months of rent or whatever. Poker money can’t do that. It can only be wagered at the poker table.

In conclusion, have a bankroll that’s big enough to allow you to play at your preferred limit while never having more than 5% of it tied up at one table.

LANGUAGE USED IN TEXAS HOLDEM

You may have come across various terms and phrases while playing Texas Holdem and you may have even checked out their meanings. But probably there were terms you could not find explanations to in the Poker glossary. Learning these terms can help you play better at the table and prove your worth to your opponents. So here we shall take a look at some of the terms and explain what they mean.

Slow Play:

After you have made a hand, you choose to ‘lay the weeds’, in order to make your opponents put in money into the pots even though they might have lower hands, you are slow playing the hand. You may sometimes profit from the move. However, it also holds the risk of your rival getting close to you and beating you to it. Slow Playing is a standard No Texas Limit Poker
strategy, which is feasible when you check in with a big hand.

Slow Rolling:

By prolonging the flipping over of the hole cards after your hand is over, you are slow rolling the game. Slow Rolling is not considered a very wise decision as it lowers your impression at the table. There is no point in igniting the ire of your fellow contestants by slow playing the hand when you know perfectly well that you have a winning hand. It is advisable to flip over your cards to show your opponents that you have won the hand instead of ridiculing them by slow playing.

The Nuts:

Having the Nuts means that you have the most excellent hand of the moment. What exactly is Nuts? If you happen to have a King-Jack of Diamonds for a Royal Flush, you are said to have the nuts. Nuts are inconsistent as they have a tendency to alter at every street, you may have it at the flop but it could turn out that someone else has a more favorable hand.

Card Rush:

A Card Rush is a perfect hand that can last you for consecutive hands and if you are lucky enough, it could last you for several hours too. Try to make the best possible profits out of these card rushes but be aware that they cannot last you forever. You may even encounter a negative card rush, which is when you have large hands before the flop but are still unable to make a good hand. A good example of a negative card rush is when you raise with pocket kings and an ace beats you at the flop.

Family Pot:

If all contenders at the table play for the same hand, it is referred to as a Family Pot.

Limping In:

Limping in is when you call before a flop in place of raising or folding the big blind.

Rail Bird:

A person casually watching the game is known as a Rail Bird. The term is actually considered a negative remark because a Rail Bird may often make irrelevant comments that could affect the proceeding of the game.

Sharks and Fish:

A weak player is generally referred to as a Fish and a Shark as the name suggests refers to a strong experienced player. The sharks commonly pick at the vulnerable fish, so be cautious that you are not termed as Fish. If you have been referred to as Fish, play the game to your benefit and make the best of it.

Under the Gun:

A player under the gun is the first one to act before a flop and is positioned to the left of the big blind. It is the most awful position at the table and can be very risky. However if you raise, you can still get command of the pot.

Coolers and Cold Decks:

Cooler and Cold Decks are terms used to describe your frustration over the cards. In case you strike a Cooler, it would be as though the Gods were being unfavorable to you because you may have big hands and yet be losing or starting well and still not getting anywhere. For instance, you begin with pocket aces and the flop arrives Ac-10c-Jh, you flop your set, stake out and are called. You make your wager and get a call again but when the river arrives Kc, you are beat as your opponent may have either got a flush or a straight. The only options here are for you to slow play with a good hand or just be compelled to make a choice at the showdown when your opponent has made the hand.

Tilt Control:

How could he have called? You had a set on the flop, bet out the flop, he called, and check raised your opponent all-in on the turn. He called, showing only a flush draw, which he hit on the river. Bye-bye tournament. “Why? I got him where I wanted him, and why is he rewarded for that?” A strange feeling is boiling up toward your head. And before you know what it is, your mouse dies when it collided with the solid wall, falling in pieces on the ground. Tilt!

Sounds familiar? Everybody has felt it someday, the annoyance when losing a big pot or several pots in a row. The feeling where you like to smash things up, or try to win the lost pots back by moving up in limits, taking high risks. The huge amount of negative energy rushes through your vanes, and you need to lose that, otherwise you’re losing money. Tilts are always losing you money in the long run. Sure you might win your losses back a few times when tilted, but believe me, this won’t happen most of the times. Your mind is clouded and your analysis blurred. Tilt is a negative emotion, and therefore it has a negative expectation of your winnings. Tilt control is essential to be a winning poker player
.

As said, tilt is an emotion and emotions can be controlled in one way or another. One proved tilt control method is to take a break. Just shut down all your tables, quite the poker client, and start doing something else. Doing physical exercises is good way to lose the negative energy fairly quickly. Putting your mind on completely other matters. How long those brakes must be is difficult to determine. It depends on the nature of the person who is tilting, but also the conditions of the pots where the player experienced bad luck. It’s possible you’re experiencing an intense streak of bad luck over a period of days, weeks even months. Therefore, a brake of a few days or a few weeks is appropriate. This tilt control method is quite drastic, and is inconvenient when you got a bad beat when playing tournaments and you’re still in play after the hand. Another tilt control method is to do breathing exercises. Because breathing is something you can control and regulate, it’s a useful method for achieving a relaxed and clear state of mind. And by doing that you can focus and make the correct analysis again, in short, play your A-game again.

Although those tilt control methods are proven to work, they’re counter methods. By having a good mindset may avoid tilting in the first place. When you recognize that poker is a game where luck is a short-term aspect, because in the long run skill will overcome all luck, you shouldn’t be bothered when losing a pot due to bad luck. A good bankroll management will help here too, because it takes away the pressure of not losing too much of your bankroll at once. All in all, a good bankroll management and tilt control will pave the way where poker skills can walk freely to victories.

Issues to take care of in poker

In any game, there will be a few things that you should not do for sure, because they might land you in trouble later. Same is the case with poker. A single wrong move or the use of a wrong strategy might become the reason for your loss later. Many different problem arise while playing and you should know how and when to avoid them. The most deadly of these situations or ideals is when a player’s mind is tempted to think short term. It often happens that players look at the current hand instead of looking at the big picture and think about the game as a whole.

In poker, the fact remains that if you win the pot you have won the hand. After that, it hardly matters how you did it. You can say that a win is nothing but a reel in of money. Any good player needs a consistent number of wins over time, whether big or small. This also means that there will be a considerable number of losses. What the novices should take care of here is that not to send much on the first two rounds and whenever possible, pull in wins.

The game of poker can get very frustrating sometimes, but you should learn to keep your calm. Hence, another trap that players should not fall into is expressing their feelings and emotions in the game. Every move in poker must be taken very carefully and with a clear and stable mind. You should never let your emotions take control of your decisions. When you lose a couple of hands and let your anger loose, it will do nothing good to you. In fact, you’ll lose some more money. Making your decisions both carefully and in time is very important. Keep check on your emotions and it will help you become a good poker player.

Another emotion that players should keep away from is feeling their hand’s strength. This is something you should never do. Every hand in poker should be plated considering its odds of it being the best on the table. Following your emotions and gut feel will take you nowhere in poker. Any good poker player will tell you that you should not play a hand unless the odds of its winning are very good. Asses the odds of your hand correctly and then decide to call or bet accordingly.

Another thing that players should keep in mind is not to back too many hands than required before the flop. Players often make this mistake; they keep on playing a weak hand. They hold on with it too long and lose a lot of their chips. As a novice, you should learn to fold most hands pre-flop. Even if the bet is small, a lot of such small bets will eventually yield to be a big part of the stack. The maximum any player should play is around 25% of the hands.

Many players think they have a strong hand just because they have face cards. You should realize that every time a face card is present, it doesn’t mean you have the strongest hand. You should not keep playing when you have nothing. Also remember that losing any money is bad in a sense. So, you need to be careful about your bets and calls.

So, you should have understood by now that all I want to say is that all poker players should eliminate some situations and problems in their games. Above mentioned are only some of these things. There might be some of these that apply to you and if that’s true, you should work to eliminate that. You should not let your game be affected by these problems.

Mistakes in poker??......there is no room for them here.

Poker is a long term game, in a sense that a single round can’t decide whether you won or lost. The way you played the previous round always is a deciding factor in how well you would fare in this round. If you played one round well, that doesn’t mean you’ll do well in the final table. It’s important to be focused while playing poker. You must be able to concentrate on the round and your move at hand.

You do not know whether you are going to have any next round or not. So, just concentrate on the round you are playing right now. This is because any small mistake you do now might be the reason for your loss later. In poker, mistakes are deadly, especially if they are compounded.

Mistakes in poker work in the same way as lies do. You might have started with a small lie, but with time, it goes on becoming bigger and bigger and then it is compounded with more lies as you try to cover the first one. Eventually, you’ll be caught up in a situation which find difficult to get out of. This is how mistakes in your game work too. They keep aggregating until you get knocked out.

But, you don’t have to fear making mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, even poker pros and veterans do. After all, mistakes make poker more profitable, be it online poker or table poker. Though everyone is bound to make mistakes and you’ll have made your share of mistakes too, you should learn to play on others’ mistakes and weaknesses.

The catch here is that you should not let you mistakes get bigger and bigger. You should know when to fold and when not to. You should also understand that sometimes, even losing a few chips can be a deadly mistake. You should learn to evaluate such situations. You need to pick carefully the rounds that you want to play and how you want to play them. You must be able to differentiate the hands that you should back with you chips and the ones that you should sit out of. It is not always necessary that you remain in the game. Sometimes if you notice that you have given away some chips and are not getting back any, it would be wise to opt out.

When there is a large pot to be won, the most common thing a novice close to the river will think is that he has already bet so much and he has to be in at any cost. This shows one of the common series of mistakes that drives a player out of the game. Obviously you should be looking for ways not to add money to your opponents’ accounts because this will help you move further in the game. Keep concentrating at the move at hand. When you realize that you have made a mistake, just back out whenever possible. Do not let them aggregate and get you in a situation which you can’t get out of.

Poker tactics and poker strategies

If you start looking for information on playing poker effectively, you will find a lot of free advice, especially on the internet. And more often than not, you will be reading articles by people who are not very good at the game. These people usually tend to stress more on poker tactics than poker strategies. In poker, a strategy is a thorough plan of action which will help you in the long run whereas tactics are just parts of some strategy.

Tactics are actually used as a part of the bigger strategy and the tactic itself can’t be used to reach the goal. Most of the novices do this mistake of concentrating more on tactics without seeing the big picture. In this way they make some moves that they feel will help the reach the immediate goal, but will not do any good to their game as a whole. And at this point, even if they realize that there is a need for a good strategy, it isn’t going to help them in any way. In fact they will do more harm to themselves by introducing themselves to some more tactics.

In poker, your winning or losing depends on the decisions that you make on the spur of the moment and this leads to people using more tactics than concentrating on the strategy as a whole. Short term decisions will hinder your gaming strategy. Poker isn’t as complex a game as seems to be, but the lack of a proper strategy will make very complicate for sure. For, players who mostly rely on tactics, it will be very difficult to get through the game. What you should understand here is that having a good strategy for yourself will simplify your decision making process.

Implementing a good poker strategy might seem to be a very difficult task, but actually, it isn’t. It’s just as difficult as your goal is. In fact, playing a strategy just for fun or to test yourself will be very easy, but playing a strategy to win will be quite difficult. This is because you will have to have good skill at that game and also implement a lot of tactics too. So, the difficulty of playing a strategy will increase with increasing level the goal you set for yourself.

A good and effective strategy can be compared to a road map. It tells you where to go, what are the roadblocks and it shows you where you are going. Not having a proper strategy is like knowing your destination but not knowing how to make it to it. We know that studying a map properly will help us get to our destination with minimum amount of fuss. Similar is the case with poker and poker strategies. So, if you want to make it big in online poker or table poker, set up a strategy that best suits you, study it thoroughly and stick to it, you should follow it religiously.

No single strategy to play poker

Everyone gives advice on playing poker. There are a lot of books, magazines, websites, blogs, videos, tutorials, podcasts and what not to feed you with poker advices. Poker advice is everywhere! Novices’ can also get into the game easily; learn from all the material that is available and even hire coaches to teach them. Online poker had made it so easy that it doesn’t take long for a person to become comfortable with the game.

Having said all this, one thing that should be kept in mind is that there no single strategy that rules the game. There is no rule that will always help you in poker.

Card games like poker have been played since the 15th century. And since then, many players have invented many ways of playing this single game. Each player has his own way of playing it. As you grow as a player and become better and better, you start making your own rules and strategies. So, this obviously means that there is no single way or strategy to play poker.

Usually, good poker players try to classify their opponents into certain categories. They place these players or opponents into different categories depending on their skill at the game. For example, we have the scared fish. This person hardly calls or bets. Also, as soon as they anticipate danger, they fold. And in most cases, it turns out that there was no danger at all. Another category is that of a novice. Players usually underrate novices. But, it might so happen that this one is very good at the game and might pull a good play form under his sleeve. Another category is the bragger or slimy loud-mouth. Now, this one’s interesting, because these are players who think that they are poker pros and actually act as if they are one, but actually, they don’t have enough skill at the game…..if we continue discussing like this, the list will go on and on. In fact, you can set up your own categories. But you should understand that these classifications and categories and very broad. You might find some players who fall exactly into you predefined categories and always play similarly, but there might be some others who come in combination of different types….and don’t fall into any one of your categories in particular. Here, you should understand that no two players are exactly the same.

One thing is for sure that strategies that work for one player, might not work so well for another player. Every player has his own strengths and weaknesses and plays in his own way to be successful. The way they play also depends on their experience. As they start playing more and more poker, they get to understand the game better and design their own strategies to win. Because players keep changing and adapting, they never actually fall into these pre-defined categories. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use this strategy of classifying your opponents. It does work, but it just means that you should know that all players can’t be the same.

Well, I had said all this just to inform you that the people writing poker columns and giving poker advices are biased. They are just giving the strategies that worked for them in the game. But you should know that the same strategies might not work for you. As the players and he game evolves, so do the strategies. They change and new strategies are developed by players every now and then.

If you look at the differences between casino poker and online poker, you will understand what exactly I am saying about the game “evolving” and the strategies changing. There are many things we can do while playing online poker but not during table poker.

So, you must take these poker advices in moderation, particularly when you are happy with the strategy you are using right now. It might cause as much harm as good. So, you need to careful while switching strategies.

For more such information on poker, check out these sites to the right side of this page.

Good luck!!!!

Taking notes in Online Poker

The feature of taking notes on the other players is a real advantage of online poker when compared to casino poker. This is feature available to you by playing poker online can be very useful but is not actually recognized and used by many online poker players.

Each time you play, if you would write tips and strategies, it would definitely add to your success in online poker. Most online poker sites provide this feature. If you leave yourself a note whenever you want to remember something, it will increase your chances of winning and will give you an advantage over others.

During a game you might have noticed that an opponent bluffs regularly, or a player who is too ambitious with his chips, or someone who Is a good player. After each game you will have made many observations about the players. And would this information not be useful when you play the same opponent some time later. Of course it will be useful. But could you remember all that if you played against him after a few months or even years?.......you might be a very good player and might remember every bit during the game. But what happens after the game? And what after few months later?...will you remember?.....the answer is inevitably NO.

This is where the notes come in handy. If you have this habit of making notes whenever you encounter anything that you would like to remember for future, you will have an advantage when such situations arise. After every game, your mind will be full of thoughts. You will have so many conceptions about your opponents. Just make notes of them. After every big move, notes should be taken based on your observations about the opponents at the table. They will be useful when you play the same opponent some time later. And when I am giving you this advice, I have it in mind that online poker is full of regular players who play day and night and there is every chance that you will encounter the same player again.

These notes can be edited or deleted later, in case you feel that those observations don’t hold good anymore. When you start playing regularly, you will notice that you come across some regular players again and again, may be at different tables. So, keeping notes about the player’s habits, strengths and weaknesses will help you whenever you meet him again.

Suppose you are playing a person who you had played months ago and those notes show that this person is very good at bluffing. So, when you check your notes, they will tell you how to go about the pot.

You will be relieved to find this kind of information precisely when you are in need of it. You will be happy to find clearly stated information in your notes about the opponent that you are going to encounter. It can save you hand, and may be even you bankroll.

Having said all this, there are some things that you should keep in mind while making notes. The first one being that your notes should be clear enough for you to understand them later. Make sure while taking notes that you should be able to understand these notes when you look at them later. You should be able to understand completely what you have written. You can use any number of acronyms or abbreviations, the only condition being that you should be able to comprehend it later.

The second thing is that these notes should be short and concise. You must be knowing that in online poker, the hands are timed to keep the game going at a steady speed. So, if you want to use your notes while playing, you should have enough time to read and understand the note and then, decide what you want to do with it. It’s always better to keep it as short as possible, but at the same time it should be long enough to contain all the required information clearly.

You can also write self-addressed notes. These will help you in case you are going to commit the same mistake again. If you had noted it down the first time, you are sure to remember it and take care that doesn’t happen again.

Here you need not worry about your opponent observing you while you take notes. In fact there is no way they can do that. They are not even notified that you are writing notes or looking into your notes. No one can access your notes, so just write your notes for yourself.

This notes feature is there for our good and do not ignore it as many other players do. Use it for your advantage, considering the extra edge it might give you over your opponents.

Good luck!!

Irish players dominate Poker Million semi-finals

paddypowerpoker.com launches Poker Million betting market

Paddy Power Poker today launches the Outright Winner betting market for the 2008 Poker Million, after four of the six final table seats were claimed by Irishmen following stunning performances in the semi-finals.

Paddy Power Poker pro Ciaran ‘Big C’ O’Leary goes into Friday’s final holding the joint chip lead alongside Eoghan O’Dea, who won $315,000 and captured the European Championship of Online Poker III Main Event crown earlier in the week while playing on Paddy Power Poker. They are joined by compatriots Liam ‘The Gentleman’ Flood and the reigning WSOP Pot Limit Omaha World Champion and former Irish Open winner Marty Smyth. The final two seats are taken by two internet qualifiers, Kevin Allen and Sven Peter Neilsen.

All eyes are now on the $1,000,000 first prize on offer to the outright winner of the tournament, while the other five players will make do with prizes ranging from $75,000 for sixth place to $260,000 for second. The final table will be shown live on Sky Sports 3 from 7pm.

Poker Million – Outright Winner*

Marty Smyth (282,000) 3/1

Ciaran O’Leary (339.000) 7/2

Eoghan O’Dea (339,000) 7/2

Liam Flood (237,000) 4/1

Kevin Allen (224,000) 5/1

Sven Peter Neilsen (179,000) 8/1

*Odds are subject to change. The Poker Million betting market can be found at paddypowerpoker.com. Click on poker on the left hand side of the page.

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7 Card Stud in 7 Steps

In the early days of poker, 7 Card Stud used to be the most popular variant of all poker games, and it was only the increasing popularity of Texas Hold’em in televised games that costed 7 Card Stud its throne. Nevertheless, 7 Card Stud is still a fun game to learn, and playing it can only add to your skills and experience.

Placing Your Antes

Similar to 5 Card Draw, 7 Card Stud requires every player on the table to place his ante or initial bet in the pot. How much you’ll be required to put down is pre-determined by table or house rules.

Dealing of Cards

If everyone’s done placing their ante, the dealer will then give each player three cards. Two of them will be dealt face-down while the last card will be revealed to the entire table. This is one of the several dissimilarities that 7 Card Stud has with other poker variants.

Bring-In Bets

The player with the lowest face-up card will have the responsibility of calling a bring-in bet. Again, similar to antes, rates for bring-in bets have already been pre-determined. But in contrast with antes, you are given the choice to bet the minimum amount required or you can bet up to the maximum amount allowed.

Even though it’s still early in the game, many players are already using the amounts of their bring-in bets for strategies. It is up to you to determine how much you’d want your bring-in bet to be.

Also, bear in mind that it is only during bring-in bets are called that the order of suits plays a significant role. Spades are the highest suit. Hearts are next, and they’re followed by diamonds and finally, clubs. Once the player with the lowest face-up card finishes placing his bring-in bet, other players on the table will then be asked whether they choose to call the bet, fold, or raise.

The Fourth Street in 7 Card Stud

Another face-up card is dealt to each player for the second betting round. And in contrast with the previous round, it is now the player with the highest face-up card that’s going to be the first to take action. As usual, he’ll be asked to either bet or check. The rest will be asked whether they wish to fold, bet, or raise.

Now, remember that every player has already two face-up cards on the table. If any of you is lucky enough to get a pair of face-up cards, you’ll be immediately given the option to complete the bet.

The Third Betting Round

Another face-up card is dealt. You now have three face-up cards on the table each and similar to the previous betting round, the player with the highest card will be first to take action. Betting amounts will be increased by this round.

The River

And finally, we reach the seventh street. This time, you’ll each be dealt with a face-down card. You now have seven cards in your disposal and you can start creating the best hand possible. You have three face-down cards so it’s still possible for you to make a surprise attack on your opponents.

The player with the best hand wins. And that signals the end of your introduction to 7 Card Stud. Hope you enjoy playing the game!

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Poker Freerolls - How free they are?

Poker freerolls are games or even tournaments that you’re free to join and play. There may even be times when you can win real cash from them. Admittedly, prizes from poker freerolls are lower than what you commonly see in other games, but hey. does that matter when you get to play for free in the first place?

Benefits of Playing in Poker Freerolls

Endless Entertainment

Poker freerolls are all over the Internet. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a website that doesn’t offer one. And because they are free, you’ll be able to play your favorite poker game for as long as you want. True, you might not be able to play all day long in one website. You’d have to switch websites often, in fact, since most websites don’t run back-to-back poker freerolls. More often than not, they’re held during off-peak hours. It’s best to have a schedule of poker freerolls so you won’t waste a minute of your time.

More Experience

The more you play the more experience you have and in poker, experience counts a lot. By playing as often as you can, and you can do that even with empty pockets thanks to poker freerolls, you get to familiarize yourself with various situations. You learn to cope with them and f course, you’ll be able to use these valuable lessons when real money’s at stake.

Poker freerolls also offer you the chance to encounter different types of players. Admittedly, most of the participants in poker freerolls are novices and on the lookout for experience like you. But it’s not unlikely to find yourself in a table and facing tough competition from time to time. There are instances when even veterans just want to have fun or look for an easy win.

A Chance to Win Money

Websites also use poker freerolls to lure new players to their tables. And to sweeten the deal, they also give away cash prizes for winners. If you’re looking for an easy win yourself, you should definitely try playing poker freerolls. And don’t let it matter to you when you keep on losing. Even if you do, there are no consequences to suffer from but lots of wisdom to obtain from it.

How to Play in Poker Freerolls

Even though you don’t have real money at stake, you should still take this opportunity to hone your skills at the table. Play seriously and try out different strategies to improve and make your gaming style flexible. Build your image. By the time you leave the tables, you could be a feared name, and anything that can intimidate opponents is always good.

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Best Poker Promotions

Top Five Poker Promotions to Consider Taking Up

While all poker promotions are designed to beguile you into signing up and playing in their respective websites, you shouldn’t bite everything that comes your way. If you want your playing time to lengthen and you want to have more fun at the same time, take the time to compare poker promotions and find out which one suits you best.

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Get high with Omaha high

New players of poker are often surprised by the variety of poker games being played at the tables. One version that you should certainly take time to learn is Omaha High.

What is Omaha High?
Unlike other poker versions, Omaha High has a community style of playing. This basically means that certain cards are visible to and shared by all the players. These cards are then combined with a player’s individual cards to form a winning combination.

Betting Limits for Omaha High
Limit Omaha High places betting restrictions on every game and round while No Limit Omaha High allows players to bet whatever amount they want anytime. Pot Limit High, on the other hand, allows players to bet equivalent to pot amount.

Game Procedure for Omaha High
Omaha High is played similar to how other poker games are played. The only difference is that four cards are dealt prior to the first betting round and the flop. Players can only win a pot if all four cards initially dealt are shown. If you only show two and dispense with the other half, you forfeit your right to the pot and get a dead hand as well.

Final Showdown in Omaha High
Your final hand will be made up of three cards from the board and two from the cards dealt to you. It must always be this combination and nothing else. Even if the board cards make up a straight, you’ll still have to replace two of it from your own cards.

Playing Omaha High Low
Omaha High is commonly played with a high / low split. You’ll need two different cards to make a high or low and 3 different cards as well to make a high or low from the board. The rule for eight-or-better for low applies to this version except, of course, when the table or room you’re playing in has a non-standard rule about it.

How to Read a Low Hand in Omaha High
The best possible low hand in Omaha High is 54321. The worst you can get, on the other hand and no pun intended would be 87654. In judging low hands, simply remember that the lower number wins. Between 65432 and 76543, the former wins.

It’s What the Cards Say that Matters in Omaha High
The rule for Cards Speak definitely applies in Omaha High. Even though a player makes an error in declaring the cards he’s holding, the dealer should still proceed on the basis of what the cards reveal.

Dealer Buttons for Single Table Omaha High Tournaments
For tournaments of this ilk, players are dealt one card each. The one with the highest card gets the dealer button first. If there are two or more players with cards of the same value, ranking is made according to suit. Spades go first, followed by hearts then diamonds and finally clubs.

Blind Abuse in Omaha High
To prevent blind abuse, players are asked to post small and big blinds upon re-entering the table. Players however have the right as well to wait for the button to get to their position before entering the game.

For more details on Omaha high games and where to play them online see the list of Online Poker Rooms.

Mystery behind Poker Bonuses

If you think it’s impossible to play poker online with little or no money at all, think again! There are many websites offering different kinds of poker bonuses, some of which allow you to play for free and have a chance to win real money.

Understanding the Different Types of Poker Bonuses
Not all poker bonuses are explained up front by websites. There are some that you can only claim if you know the appropriate code to unlock them. It’s therefore important that you keep yourself updated with the latest bonus news and codes online.

Sign Up Bonuses
Poker websites are always eager to welcome new players to the fold, and one incentive they’re quick to offer is a sign up bonus. By signing up an account in a poker website, you’re usually awarded a certain amount of money or points which you can use for playing.

Sign up bonuses may or may not be matched. A matched sign up bonus will require you to deposit a certain amount of money. Other sign up bonuses will not require you to deposit money, but it will require you to bet a certain amount of money on the table or accumulate a certain number of game points by playing.

Sign up bonuses often have expiration dates so make sure how long you can avail of whatever sign up bonus you receive. If you’re thinking of opening different accounts to get as many sign up bonuses as possible, think again. A lot of websites run a check by using your credit card details. Even if you use a different credit card or account, they’ll still be able to track you down and then you risk having your account suspended.

Last but not the least, sign up bonuses may be released in increments or in one lump sum, depending on the website’s rules and regulations.

Raked Hand Bonuses
Not all websites have this type of bonus. A raked hand is one that you’ve bet real money on. Some websites reward their players on certain dates when they come up with a particular hand or card combination. You need to keep yourself updated with the latest reward news in your poker website to make sure you’re around on the right date and time.

Reload Bonuses
Most websites reward their players whenever they reload their accounts or increase the amount of money they’ve deposited to the site. Deposit and bonus amounts vary. This type of bonus is also often used to lure old or inactive members to resume playing in their website.

Tournament Entry
Poker bonuses may also take the form of tournament entry. A player who performs a certain action could be rewarded with the chance of joining one of the website’s poker tournaments. This is certainly a good offer when seats in the tournament are highly coveted or when the tournament entry fee’s beyond your budget. These are also commonly known as free rolls.

Loyalty Programs
Finally, many websites offer their players other types of bonuses but only if they qualify for their loyalty or frequent player program.

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Get head on with Texas Holdem

If it’s your first time to play poker, be careful of which table you play in because it’s not unusual for one room or website to feature different poker variants. One poker version you should definitely take time to master is Texas Hold’em.


What is Texas Hold’em?
One of the most popular versions of poker, Texas Hold’em is a community poker version that’s played similar to Omaha High. A table playing Texas Hold’em will usually have 9 to 10 players because anything less could make the table "short handed".

Limit holdem, No Limit Holdem, and Pot Limit Holdem are some of the variations of holdem.

The Pre-Flop for Texas Hold’em
Similar to other poker versions, big and small blinds must be paid first. Each player then receives two cards, which are commonly referred to as hole or pocket cards. Unlike in Omaha High, there won’t be any need to share your hole cards with others on the table. Players can then call, raise, or fold, depending on how much they like their cards. Players may also re-raise whenever they wish. If no raises had occurred, the player posting the big blind may simply choose to ‘check’ for the dealer to proceed with the next round.

The Flop for Texas Hold’em
A dealer must first burn a card this means resigning a card out of play before dealing the first three cards that make up the flop. The player that posted the small blind earlier is now "under the gun" or UTG. This simply means that he’s in the position to initiate the betting round for the rest of the game. They can check, bet, or fold. Later on, they also have the option to raise the bet if they so wish.

The Turn for Texas Hold’em
Once the previous betting round has been concluded, the dealer will then burn yet another card before dealing one card to make up the Turn. This is the fourth of five community or board cards and which all players may use in combination with their pocket cards to make the best hand possible.

The River for Texas Hold’em
After one last card is burnt, the dealer proceeds to deal the last of the community cards. The River will initiate yet another round of betting, led as always by the player under the gun. If everyone in the table folds, the remaining player will win the pot by default. If you find yourself in this position, don’t muck your hand by dispensing with your cards without showing the others what your hand was.

The Final Showdown for Texas Hold’em
In the last round of the game, two players or more may be involved, depending on how many active hands still remain. Players will be asked to reveal their cards when the last bet has been placed. At this point, you should again be careful of mucking your hand or folding without meaning to. At times, however, mucking can also be beneficial if it lets you keep your playing style a secret. Upon comparing hands, the dealer will then declare the player with the best hand the winner.

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All about Sit N Go Poker

Sit N Go Poker or SnG (as it is popularly known), is one of the fastest growing poker games played in the online arena. Generally single-table tournaments, Sit N Go Poker require a player to go in for a fixed buy in to partake in a tournament. The buy in price that the participants pay is pooled into the pot and the pot, i.e., the prize money goes to the final three finishers.

Some 6-30 persons can participate in a Sit N Go Poker tournament; however, a game is usually started as soon as some 9 or 10 players join in/sign up. (The number of players per table in a tournament is usually determined by the online poker room organizing the tournament). To begin with, the players are given ‘play chips’; players need to make use of these play chips tactically so that they can survive till the stage when only three players are left and the game comes to an end.

Sit N Go Poker – Advantages

Unique as Sit N Go Poker is, it has its own set of advantages. Compared to more traditional forms of poker and poker tournaments, Sit N Go poker tournaments are pretty fast. Games proceed and come to and end speedily. Actually, blinds are raised frequently and sometimes even an ante is added into the game. With everyone betting/blinding away, the game progresses at a rapid pace.

This proves helpful in different ways – the rapid progression of Sit N Go Poker brings the players good opportunity to win some quick money and also adds to the thrill/excitement factor. Taking part in a Sit N Go tournament can be a rewarding experience as the adrenaline rush gives you the feeling of playing at the final table of a large tournament. All you need to do is pick up the right strategies and then you can laugh your way up winning consistently.

Sit N Go Poker – Prize Money

Speaking of prize money, the largest share of 50% goes to the first place finisher with the maximum number of chips. The second and third place finishers win 30% and 20% respectively.

Sit N Go Poker – Winning Strategies

Sit N Go Poker holds the promises for earning easy money without taking much pain; however, you will be nowhere near winning or making money unless you learn the strategies and tricks.

The best and easiest way to win in a Sit N Go poker game is to divide it into three different stages – early stage, middle stage and late/last stage – for you need to adopt a different approach in each stage.

Early Stage

It is better that you make a slow start, closely observing your opponents and following their betting patterns. At the initial stage, it is advisable that you hold on to the Queens, Kings and Aces, playing just the monster hands (that too very carefully).

Middle Stage

Arriving at the middle stage, when a few players have already been eliminated, you will need to play a few more hands, but again, very selectively.

Late Stage

As you reach the late stage, when around four players are left, start playing aggressive, making your moves. Push your chips, always taking care to win as many chips as possible so that when only three players are left you have the highest number of chips. This is all it takes to win in Sit N Go Poker.

The day you master all these tricks, you can turn a poker pro and decide to make a living from Sit N Go Poker tournaments.

Poker does not need an Introduction?

Poker

Poker is a popular form of card game involving two or more players. In this card game, players bet on the value of the ‘card combination’ (or hand) that they possess and the jackpot goes to the one who holds the card combination/hand of the highest value.

Although there are many poker variants (which is usually dependent on the cards used to form a hand – a hand may have all hidden cards or all community cards or make use of a combination of both), the game plan is more or less the same. The number of cards dealt to each player is also determined by the poker variant being played.

The game starts after cards have been distributed among the gamers. In between the rounds, players are allowed to improve their hands by adding new cards or replacing old cards.

Initially, one or more players make forced bets (blind or ante bets) and this is followed by several betting rounds. All bets are gathered into the central pot at the end of each round. If during one such betting round a player bets and his/her call is not matched by any of the other players, the hand immediately ends and the pot goes to the bettor. (Since the players do not even need to show the cards, bluffing plays a crucial role in poker.) Thereafter, the next round begins and the game proceeds with players opting to fold their cards at some juncture or the other.

At the end of the last betting round, when just two or three players remain, players are required to make their cards public and their individual hands evaluated. The player with the highest value hand is declared the winner.

Poker Variants

Some popular poker variants are as follows:

Draw Poker – In this poker variant, the players are given hidden cards; players are allowed to replace one or more of these cards a certain number of times. One universally played draw poker game is the 5 card draw, in which each player receives five cards (all face down).

Stud Poker – In this poker variant, mixed cards are dealt to the players – some facing up (so that others can see) and some facing down. Players, however, cannot change or replace cards in this form of poker. 5 card stud and 7 card stud are two of the most frequently played forms of stud poker.

Community Card Poker – The community card poker games require players to combine individually dealt cards with community cards to make up the best poker hand. (The community cards to be shared by players are dealt face up while the players receive face down cards). Omaha hold’em and Texas hold’em are two of the most common community card poker games played worldwide.

These popular variants apart, other poker forms like three card poker, four card poker, Chinese poker are also played in different parts of the world. Casino games including Caribbean stud and Pai Gow poker too follow poker-like rules.

Online Poker

The game of poker, which traces its origin from a variety of betting games (mostly based on bluffing and deception) of the bygone times, is a great craze these days. Although the brick and mortar poker playing venues are still very much there, it is the online version of the game that has gained in popularity. Actually, the online poker websites have brought the poker-fans this great opportunity of playing poker over the Internet from the comfort-zone of their homes. Unlike conventional casino/poker rooms, online poker rooms allow the players the big advantage of playing at more than one table at the same time and increase ones poker-earnings. These things have clicked very well with the poker-enthusiasts and every day multitudes are joining online poker rooms.

This is not all! Online poker rooms offer much more for poker in the form of poker promotions… poker bonuses for signing up with a site or for playing a certain number of raked hands, organizing poker freeroll tournaments and even accepting very low stakes from players to attract beginners and veterans alike. The success-stories of Chris Moneymaker and Greg “Fossilman” Raymer have inspired millions. (Chris Moneymaker was the winner in the 2003 World Series of Poker and Greg “Fossilman” Raymer won the event in 2004. Both Moneymaker and Raymer entered the main events through poker freerolls organized by the PokerStars’ online poker room).

Poker Reviews

If you too are inspired by the success of others and are raring to go online for some poker fun and excitement, paying a visit to an independent online poker review site will be of immense help. Poker reviews featured in these site are unbiased and provides the inexperienced poker-enthusiasts, the greenhorns the right kind of information to enable them take the initial steps.

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