Free Poker

The following play involves an additional 3 community cards being dealt out by the dealer in the middle of the table face up- also known as the “flop”. These cards are an essential part of the players “hand” and will be used alongside the original 2 cards in hand. After the flop the next round of betting takes place, although there is now an opportunity to “pass” due to the pot previously commencing.

Then two more cards are dealt face up in the center, one at a time, with a betting interval after each card.

When I play I make it good practice to ‘throw away’ the top cards at every turn: throw one away then turn another. The min theory behind this method is to stop swindling. I will explain; in nearly all cases of marked card deception the top cards are used as marking points, but by throwing away the top card(s) breaks this cycle.

We’re not accusing anybody of being a cheater: Burning the top card is just a traditional thing in professional and in many amateur games.

Depending on the game your involved in will determine if there is a cap to the money which be won. However Holdem is an appealing game due to the amount of opportunities you will be presented with to have something to draw at.

If you are new to Hold’em then have a go at playing free poker online where its totally free and you wont lose any of your own cash.

Knowing the in’s and out’s of when and how much to bet is the best way to win big when playing free poker online and casino poker.

It sounds simple, yes? Well, not necessarily when one of the main errors when playing poker is when people over bet. However, there are occasions where you may need to bet big, and hopefully my tips will help you get the most out of these bets.

If you have a good hand and figure you are ahead you want to keep someone else in the pot to build it up. Sometimes this backfires and you get outdrawn. It’s poker after all.

If, on the other hand, the flop is such that you could be outdrawn and you don’t want to take a chance, then bet it accordingly.

For Example:
You are in third position, (three seats after the small blind), with pocket sevens (7 diamonds, 7 hearts). You raise three times the big blind and get two callers, the button and the big blind. The flop comes 7-clubs, 8-clubs, 9-diamonds. This is good and bad. You hit your trips, but there is a flush draw and a straight draw. What to do?

What I would do….
#1. If the blind bets, say minimum or twice the blind, I would raise the minimum to see how the button reacts. If he calls, and the blind calls, I can assume they are on a draw and I have the best hand. For now. If either one re-raises I fold.

#2. If the blind checks I would bet four times the blind amount, again to see where I am. Now if the button calls or raises I can assume he has a strong drawing hand, such as two big clubs, or he has a made hand. If the blind also calls I can assume I am way behind. Still, there should be enough money in the pot to justify a call hoping to fill up on the turn.

I have made my mind up to check, no matter what the turn is. If the turn is a 6 or 10 and the blind makes a big bet, I will fold, if the blind decides to check then I will check. If the button then decides to bet the pot or bigger, then I will fold. This way, I am still in the game even if I have lost some chips.

Whether playing free poker online or pay poker, the over betting I have seen in situations like this is that the trips bet 80% to 100% (all-in) of their stack regardless of the flop or their position. If one of the other players flopped a straight you are in big trouble. You need to be pretty lucky now and get a full house or else your game is over.

Remember, once you are all-in you can’t take it back. The best thing to do if you are new or not finding so much success with your poker is to get a lot of micro or play free poker to practice. There are some great micro and free holdem poker sites out there, go and join and play lots of practice games to test out different ideas and get your skills and confidence up. You’ll come across a lot of all-in loonies at such places but you’ll also find some good games that will really help you improve. Good luck!.

Improving your playing skills will definitely help to increase your poker profits, but so will choosing the right free poker games to play. There is an old poker story about a professional who was the 6th best player in the world, but he never made a penny. The reason for this was because he would only ever play against the top 5 players in the world. The moral of the story is that you make money when you possess a clear edge over your opponents.

Don’t be overconfident:

Everyone wants to be the best and play the best. It’s a matter of pride. However, unless your name is Phil Ivey, you probably won’t have an advantage over every opponent in every game. It’s also important to recognize that even the top poker pros will sometimes step down a level and play lesser competition because it’s more profitable.

Whatever type of game you are playing, whether it is at a live table or playing other players online, don’t try to head for tables with players who are far better than you are. You are just going to throw away your money.

I remember one time when I played for a couple hours in a $1/2 no-limit hold’em game at a small casino in Palm Springs, California. I nearly doubled my money without winning a single big pot. The players were passive and loose, and I ran them over by putting pressure on them with big bets and getting paid off for reasonably strong hands. I knew that I picked the right table.

I also remember one time when I played for five hours in a $1/2 no-limit hold’em game at a five-star hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. I barely broke even. The players were tight and aggressive and played back at me when I tried to put a move on them. I knew afterward that I picked the wrong table.

What kind of game to look for:

When thinking what table to head for you need to think about your bankroll. Never head for a table where you cant afford to play. Head for a more affordable poker table or even some free poker.

The second thing that you must be honest about is your skill level. You should ask: Can I beat the level that I’m playing? If the answer is “no,” then you should move down.

After being brutally honest with yourself about bankroll and your skill level, you then need to think about which table you want to sit at. Ideally, you want to play at a table where you see players making a lot of fundamental errors like playing too many hands or playing too passively. A loose and passive table is probably the most profitable table. A loose game will allow you to win big pots because players will call you down with weak hands, and a passive game affords you the opportunity to hit your draws cheaply and bully your opposition.

You won’t always be able to find a ridiculously loose and passive table. However, with a bit of observation, you can probably figure out how beatable a game is before you sit down. It’s good to be a good player, but being a money-making good player requires skill in the fine art of game selection.

So, whether its pay games or free poker, live games or online games, observation and brutal honesty is what is going to make you profit in the long term.

Have you ever been sitting at a table either free poker online or in a real tournament or perhaps watching a tournament on television and hearing the announcers or players using terms you have never heard of?

This guide is to help decipher some of the more complex terms and hopefully introduce you to some new ones in hopes that they will help not only improve your game but can make poker more enjoyable.

We are all used to the common terms, such as flop, turn, river, raise, etc. but some of those terms also have their own lingo attached. Such as…

4th street – also commonly called the Turn

5th street – the river

But that is not the limit of the terms you can keep in mind while you’re contemplating your next moves. Keep these in mind when you are watching the bets come around to you.

Plays tight – generally means that a player does not play lots of hands

Plays loose – the opposite to playing tight, and the player tends to play lots of hands

Plays “ATC”- they play anything “ATC”= any two cards”.

On tilt- means that a player is being erratic with their bets usually from losing a tough hand earlier.

Now that you have an idea on pre-flop situations now let take a look at board activity terms.

Over pair – A pair in your hand that beats what is on the board.

Top pair – means that you have paired the highest card on the board with one in your hand. Next down is middle pair and bottom pair respectively.

If you manage to survive the flop but have 4th and 5th St. left to endure. Then you have three more terms to keep in mind as you go.

Outs – number of possible cards that can give you the win on a hand.

Drawing dead- this basically means that you have no chance of winning a hand. Some players if they are drawing dead may bluff or go on tilt at the last second to try and steal the pot.

Having the “nuts”- Having the nuts means you have the best possible hand available from the cards on the board and in your hand.

Some good tips when playing

Poker and playing free poker is all about betting, checking and raising, but even the three basic options can be pretty interesting.

Even terms like check and raise can lead to some pretty interesting scenarios and put players in a frenzy.

One example is to check-raise. That term means to check when the bet comes to you but then raise if a bet comes up. This tactic can hide the strength of your hand and can lure a player into losing a lot chips if he is not careful on how he plays it.

Value bet – Is a bet that is not a large bet but is considered small enough to call. Some players may call a value bet in hopes of gauging a player’s game play or to see their hand.

Semi-bluff bet – Is similar to a bluff bet but is enough of a bet to make a player think very carefully about what their next move is.

[b]Pot odds -[b] This term I would say is the most useful term to keep in mind. Pot odds is the ratio of your chips in the pot versus the whole pot. For example if you have $1500 in a $6000 pot your pot odds would be 4:1. Keep this in mind if you are in a tight hand and not sure if you should risk more or not.

Pot committed – Term meaning that a player has a majority of their chips in the pot. This is a very useful term as it can decide to back off on a hand or force them all in if you have the nuts.

These terms can all be used in free poker games as well as other poker situations, but if it’s at your table that you see and hear them, then you will know what is going on and that vital knowledge can give you the edge on your next game and hopefully put more chips on your side of the table.

Free poker or buy in poker – it really doesn’t matter. The point is, you don’t want to lose! Well, here are ten great tips on how to stop losing and start winning!

1. Playing too many hands. Are you playing too many garbage hands? For eg. 2 3 unsuited, 2 7 unsuited? These hands are very likely to lose, if you got them, fold them. For a beginner, it is advisable you play good hands such as a high pair or high card connectors eg QK. They usually have a high chance of winning.

2. Playing your hands wrongly in the wrong position. Position is one of the most important aspect in poker and the most neglected. a 10 pair may be a good starting hand, but do you play them the same way in every position? Late position has an advantage over early position as you can see how your opponents react pre-flop. Rule of thumb – play lesser hands in the early position than in late position.

3. Stop playing if you are not 100%. If you are exhausted from a long day at work or had too many drinks then don’t play. Even if you are in a bad mood, don’t play. You wont play as you normally would and are likely to be wasting your time and cash.

4. Avoid bluffing more than necessary. You can get away with pulling off one or two bluffs, but don’t push your luck. Leave bluffing to the experienced players and avoid them if you are new to poker.

5. Ignoring the pot odds and card odds. These are two of the essential tools that help you decide whether to bet, raise, call or fold. Master them well! If not poker is essentially a gamble when you hope that you will ultimately get the the desired result when the river comes even though you shouldn’t get involved in the first place. Master the odds and make the right mathematical decisions!

6. Failure to read the board. It is important to know what is the best hand you have can make from the community cards. But do you know what is your opponent is probably holding? Is he holding a better hand than you? You may hit the flop when you have 2 pairs but what could your opponents be holding? Straights or flush draws?

7. Poor bankroll management. There is a term in poker called “variance”. It simply means there are times when you have a bad run or you received lousy hands. To cushioned variance, you need to have a certain bankroll before you are playing at a table. Playing at the wrong table with too high limits in contrast with you bankroll will result in one thing- your bankroll being wiped out.

8. Don’t play at high limits. The better players are normally at the high limits tables and if you are new to poker, they will literally wipe the floor with you. Keep your money where you have a chance of winning and stick to the lower limit tables. If you want to try some high limits then have a go at some free poker where you wont lose your own money.

9. Playing poker is not about playing your cards well but also your opponents! You have to adopt a different strategy for different opponents. Some players types are loose passive, loose aggressive, tight passive and tight aggressive.

10. Lastly, Complacence! After few winning rounds, you start to get excited and think that you are the next big thing and you are ready to take on the poker world. No! Don’t ever think of that for now at least. Why? Poker is a game that take minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. Don’t expect you can master it overnight. Try to learn from experienced poker players, books, videos.

I look forward to seeing you at the free poker games tables soon. Good luck with you’re game with these tips!

Have you ever noticed how male and female poker players tend to have different playing styles even in free poker games?

My observation is that female poker players tend to be a little more careful than male players. Women tend to play hands less frequently, and just take down small pots in order to keep above water.

Women tend to avoid the larger pots as I’ve mentioned already but with that said you’ll find super cautious male players and very aggressive women.

See more of this debate at http://freepokergames.ning.com/profiles/blogs/are-men-better-free-poker