Free Poker

This article gives you some key free online poker tips that I have found build winning foundations. We’ll look at different player styles and how to counter them and the importance of table position and how to play each position.

Categories of Players

Call Stations
These players likes to see a flop doesn’t bet or raise he only calls or checks until the river that is why they are labelled as Call Station. You can extract money on this player as long as you play your normal game but be careful not too bluff at this player because it won’t work. Also known as Loose-Passive.

Rocks.
These players do not want to get involved with more hands and thus only plays with strong or premium hands.

The rock is easy to bluff as he believes everyone else is as honest as he is! This players favorite action is folding or calling if he has a premium hand. If a risk calls your bluff respect the call as he won’t be counter bluffing you. Also known as Tight-Passive.

Maniacs.
The maniac loves to bet, raise and bluff all the time almost regardless of the hand. They will often go all in pre-flop without hesitation. This is a common free poker online player. Only call these players if you have the best hand. Don’t bluff them as they’ll counter you right back with no hesitation. Maniacs are also called as Loose-Aggressive.

Solid Players.
The better players you will find, can be regarded as pro players in the context of the free poker online site or game you are in. They understand poker inside out and know a lot of tactics for all occasions and will be trying as hard as you to identify your play style. They know when to fold and when to go all in if sense a bluff. They don’t play on luck or for fun, they play strategically and understand probability. Also known as Tight-Aggressive.

Position
Position is really the answer to getting the most of poker. If you don’t know how to play by position then you’re playing poker blindly. An QK might look nice to call however its really not too good if you’re the first to act and the other players are awaiting your action.

Early Position.
This position refers to the first player to act ahead of the flop. This position follows the blinds.

There 2 early positions in a table of 10 players. In this position you are at a great disadvantage to other players due to not enough information on the table. It’s always best to be tight in this position and raise with only good hands such as AA, KK, QQ, AK and fold anything else. Why? As you lack information on the other players and calling a lot of hands would risk you putting all your chips into the pot. Always raise.

Middle Position.
There are 3 middle positions in a 10 player table. In middle position you will have some knowledge on the other players.

It’s always best to play at least semi loose but still be cautious as there are still other players waiting in line. Hands that can be played in this position are 88 to AA and suited connector cards like 89 diamonds. Be sure to know when you’re beat at the flop and fold your hand. Re-raise only if you think you have the best hand.

Late Position.
Usually this position is the most advantageous. Why? As you have maximum information on the other players. It is possible to play many cards in this position if the pot hasn’t been raised.

Call with unsuited or suited connectors, suited cards, small pairs like 22, 33, 44 and practically any card as long as you know what the other players are like. This is where bluffs are likely to be successful.

For a great free poker lesson on playable cards and position see the D M Vadnais series, “Building Your Bankroll” also on NoPayPOKER, it’s brilliant.

Unsure how to apply these skills? Don’t lose money learning, practice and learn first on micro or free poker online sites such as…NoPayPOKER!

And what better place to play free poker that at http://www.NoPayPOKER.com where you don’t have the fear of taking a loss like you do at on money sites or live tables yet you can still win actual money.

This free poker online article looks at the tricky area of split pots.

A split pot is a pot where two (or more) players have identical five-card hands at the showdown. For example, in a board with 8-9-10-Q-2 both players have a Jack meaning both have a Queen-high straight, therefore, they split.

Or if both players use the board cards as their 5 card hands, for example, if the board is A,K,Q,J,10 where one player has 9,9 and the other Q,J.

Which ones will win? Both. They use the board cards as their hand; both of them have a Broadway Straight, so they split the pot.

The majority of players think they have to use at least 1 card from their hand to make their final hand. In the above example, the player with 9-9 might think that his straight is King-high, when actually it is Ace-high.

The other player, assuming no flush possibilities, might go all in. This action could scare player 1 into folding. Don’t do it! You both have nuts hands.

Some Straights on the Board are a little bit more suspicious. Like 4-5-6-7-8. Someone bets substantially and now it’s up to you whether you call or not, or even raise. Just keep in mind that a Nine can finish you or your opponent.

In this case, you want to represent the Nine. When? If the Board is 6-7-5-4-8, in the order in which they fell? What if it is 4-5-7-6-8? 8-7-5-6-4 or 4-5-8-7-6? On which Board do you think your opponent will be most inclined to represent the Nine so you can fold without remorse? It’s important to be as analytic as possible here.

If a board is say 9-9-8-8-8, what then? It’s a Full House. Both players already have the Full House. Say you have Q-10 and you follow to the river. Then in a jolt your opponent bets enough to put you all-in. Do you call?

It’s possible that he’s bluffing you with, say, J-10; you both still have the same hand. He may just have the last 8, but if so then he really should have folded since you bet the Flop and the Turn.

Then, with unmistakable confidence, (easy in free poker online maybe) you overtly declare, “I play the Board, I call.” If you did, then you?re the 1997 World Series of Poker runner-up, Kevin McBride, who lost to J-9. The winner? Scotty Nguyen (baby, baby, baby). You have Eights full, baby. Scotty had Nines full (9-9-9-8-8).

With the Broadway Straight (with no flush) it is appropriate to call the all-in, and it is a sign of a smart player to do so. (Don?t call yourself smart if you held the 9-9 and you folded.)

But with the above Full House on the board just determine all possible hands that can beat you: a lone Nine or the last Eight. Surely if you have many more chips, just stack them and wait for some more hands.

But read the board well, don’t be psyched out by the chatter of the other player. During the interview after the heads-up match, McBride admitted that he called because of what Scotty said to him after Scotty pushed him all-in: “If you call it’ll be over baby”.

In some boards, such as A-K-2-2-7, if you have an Ace and your opponent bets substantially on the river, you can well put him on the Ace (but not A-K or A-2) and call him, even though you know you can’t win. You just split the pot.

If he bets heavily, forcing you to make the hard decision, you might as well fold. Why hope for a tie when you can win later?

Split pots is a tricky area no doubt about it, I hope this made sense! If it seems hard then my best suggestion to you is to go and practice lots and play poker online for free then when you play for money all that free poker games experience will allow you to play with a greater degree of confidence.

In this free online poker guide you’ll learn about applying the KISS concept in poker. Normally this means “keep It Simple Stupid” but in poker there are 2 more very relevant meanings.

First, how about Keeping It Simple (Against) Stupid Players? Secondly, Keep It Simple and Straightforward if you’re up against not so stupid players!

On free poker games sites such as NoPayPOKER you’ll come up against both types though maybe a few more of the less clever ones than you’ll find at say a $500 buy in table in Vegas!

For example, with A-10 in hand would you have the courage to play against a clearly good player with the flop showing A-8-3? No problem if it’s a free poker game but what if it’s a really big game with a lot of money on the table?

Your options are to simply call again and again or you might bet and pray he does not play strong. Why? Since he is a good player, you might put him on A-K, or an Ace with a better kicker. Then should he go all-in, you will know what to do. Scamper, and wait until you have the A-K, or maybe a Set.

Here you will have to consider the following. Has he really got A-K? Or just J-J with which he is willing to take to showdown but is not so willing to call a large raise with? Or maybe it is 8-7, since he reckons my bet on the Flop is simply a continuation bet so he will call?

The biggets problem is that 5 or 6 weak or dumb players, you might have to ask these questions for each one of them! Does he really have ?-? (for Player 1). Does he really have ?-? (for Player two) ? Or just ?-? (for Player three)? and on and on until your brain is fried and you get nailed by someone holding A-8.

Let us look at another situation now, with a Board of 5-6-J-Q-8.
You have K-Q. A strong player probably has A-Q or K-K, or J-10, or something special, like 7-4 (usually suited). You might as well fold your K-Q at the end, or just call a small bet at the river. But at least you can put your strong opponent into a hand or into a few hands.

But with 5 or 6 poorer players you must be careful. They may have the hands above, but because they’re weak, there will be more add-ons, like 8-5, J-5, Q-8, or even Q-5, all of which will add to the possibility of your K-Q being beaten.

In such a case why not call a small bet at the river (because with many callers you are getting good pot odds to make the call). Then if one of them goes all-in, it’s a strong signal. Fold that K-Q. What hand might they be moving all-in with? With a strong player you may have an idea. But with a weak player, you don’t.

Why go to war if you don’t know what you are trying to beat?

A strong player is willing to play more stronger hands than weaker ones. He is willing to play A-K more often than A-8 in his life, although frequency of play is no clue to how he plays specific hands. He remains unpredictable. But you will expect him to fold A-8 more often than A-K.

But weak players don’t know what hands they are playing. They will play J-5 as readily as A-K. So, when playing with them, because you can’t put them into a hand because they don’t even know theirs, just show them a good enough hand. A Two-Pair or higher, more desirably. In the A-10 example above, you’ll be happy with 3-3. In the second, I wish you have the 7-4 or the 10-9 before you act rashly.

And, unless you are just messing about in a free poker games don’t attempt any fancy manoeuvres like all-in bluffs.

In the 5-6-J-Q-8 Board, don’t move all-in with A-K. Even with just two weak opponents, they will just readily call you with K-Q as much as with 6-4, J-9, or even 3-3. They don’t know the difference between them.

If they have something, they will be willing to take it along to death. So make your something stronger than their something, and take it to their death instead. No bluffs. No calling of suspected bluffs.

So remember to KISS! Keep it Simple or Straightforward against good players and Keep it Simple against Stupid Players!

And what better place to play poker online for free than at http://www.NoPayPOKER.com where you don’t have the fear of losing money like you do at on money sites or live tables yet you can still win real cash.

Plus the NoPayPOKER blog contains a huge pro written free poker games training series, with lessons from basic how to play poker for beginners courses to masters level. Complete the intermediate level course at least and you will find yourself in the top 10% of online poker players worldwide.

One fact the majority of free online poker at NoPayPOKER.com and low stakes players do not realize is that there are different poker strategies for each type of game. In this free online poker article a successful free online poker player who started as a beginner, reveals how he figured how to win both small stakes and free online poker consistently by recognizing and taking advantage of these factors.

To start. On free online poker sites you’ll soon realize that there are more aggressive players than in money stakes games. You will also see many more moves all in pre-flop and crazy bluffs in free online poker.

It’s no mystery why this is. At the start of a free online poker freeroll, a player has no time or money at risk. The thinking is simple. If you can hit a big pot early, it gives you leverage later on as your chip stack gets larger.

If I lose, no problem. There’s another free game around the corner. So the player has no time or money invested so can afford to play silly in the hope of grabbing a pot early on.

The key to winning in this type of game is to survive the feeding frenzy at the beginning. If you can get through to the middle part and beyond then skill and strategy can come into play and make the difference.

Quite simply aim to preserve your stack and fold unless you have a very (very) good hand.

When everyone left has time invested in the tournament most settle into a more sane approach. Things like position at the table, reading the players, and exploiting hand strength become easier to manage. It’s also a great time for beginners to learn how to play poker better and start to really learn the nuances of the game.

Once you’ve learned a little bit about poker in free poker games and you are consistent but frustrated at having to wade through the craziness in the beginning of free online poker games and freerolls then its time to take the plunge into cash tournaments.

When you make the choice to go to cash tournaments, start small. Never go into a cash tournament that you can’t afford to lose. If you start small in cash tournaments you’ll find a lot more players closer to your level of play. You will also find players with more advanced skills than you currently have.

This is good because playing against them, if you approach it the right way, helps you learn things to improve your play that books and articles don’t or can’t always teach you.

But here’s the biggie.
You’ll learn a lot more about how to play the beginning of a tournament in cash tournaments.

You learn how to build your chip stack through methods that you learn and start to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses.

Don’t get me wrong, there are always players, even in cash games, that do those crazy things at the start of the tournament like all in before the flop and so on. But, in my opinion, they are fewer and farther between. The good thing is you can usually isolate them and let them burn themselves out.

Finally, I will always play free poker. It’s fun and a little more laid back. But I also like playing cash tournaments because it presents a different challenge. As long as people play within themselves, there is no reason why you can’t enjoy both.

To practice your mental game or indeed any aspect of your poker game and new poker ideas though no pressure or danger of money loss go play free online poker games at http://www.NoPayPOKER.com

The poker at US legal NoPayPOKER is truly free and you get a bankroll full of the Dollar convertible site currency when you join so you can start to play poker online for free right away.

For the full free online poker lesson series on how to play free online poker and for a great how to play poker for beginners course see the lesson series by D M Vadnais on the NoPayPOKER blog. His “Building a Bankroll” series specifically discusses how to dominate free poker games kill off the lunatic players! Go to the NoPayPOKER.com blog at http://www.nopaypoker.com/articles and learn today.

This online poker free article is about a technique I call the Shuffle and Breathe that is a superb method that you can use immediately to win more at poker. This technique isn’t a game tactic as such, instead it is a mental approach based on Tai Chi and meditation.

The Shuffle Up and Breathe technique is not designed to teach you the game of poker, the strategies or its etiquette. It’s designed to help you realize the poker skills you already have and develop the discipline to use them wisely.

Let’s start with what the technique does:

First , it’s important to note that having the greatest poker skills in the world will do you very little good if you don’t have access to them. When the mind or emotions take over, you’re locked out – you become purely a reactionary player.

The technique, described later, is used for balancing and controlling thought and emotion.

The connection of mind, body and breath.
It is a fact that the mind always follows the breath. When you have a busy mind, you’re breath is laboured. When your thoughts begin to slow, you regain control of your emotions and most importantly, your game.

That’s why you can use the “Shuffle up and breathe” technique to:

- Focus on the breath
- Calm the mind
- You do it before, during and after every game.

The technique will help you practice being in the present moment.
Not the past or future, but right now! That’s really truly being in the zone.

Use it to reduce stress
A lot of life is stressful, but add to it having thousands of dollars at stake and you can end up tired and ill. You can reduce that stress to a level you can always handle by using this technique. You’ll feel better and you’ll play better.

Self observation equals self control. By using this simple breathing technique, you’ll become better at discovering your tells and those of others, controlling emotions, developing discipline and time and money management

All of these skills can be used at the poker table, in the office or in any meeting. Learning to stay balanced is the key to success in all areas of life, especially in poker. Consistent use of this breathing technique will result in a clearer mind that makes clearer choices and better math and moves with a great reduction in error.

So what is this amazing technique?
It’s simple. Focus on the tip of your nose and follow your breath with all your attention. All the way in and all the way out again. You will even feel the friction of the air as it goes in and out.

It’s that easy. Your mind will follow the breath and begin to instantly calm. Use this technique before, during and after every game.

Personally, I use it every time I am dealt a hand. If you practice this technique every day and you will find a dramatic increase in your skills and in the quality of your like.

Good players define Luck as the point at which skill meets opportunity. Be ready for it! Just remember to Shuffle up and Breathe.

To practice your mental game or indeed any aspect of your poker game and new poker ideas though no pressure or danger of cash loss go play online poker free games at http://www.NoPayPOKER.com

Plus the NoPayPOKER blog contains a huge poker training series, pro written lessons from basic how to play poker for beginners courses to master. Join today and you will get a free bankroll and can get playing online poker free immediately.

The poker at US legal NoPayPOKER is truly free and you get a bankroll full of the Dollar convertible site currency when you join so you can start to play online poker free right away.

Most poker players, free poker games in particular, don’t like the “technical” parts of poker like odds. After all doing odds means doing math and many of us prefer not to go there!

Sadly it’s a fact that to succeed in poker this is a key part of the game that you need to master, especially if you have any aspirations to play live money games.

The biggest problem is that the formula for doing odds is pretty complex and to do it in your head on the fly under pressure you do need to be pretty hot at math.

As an example ,:

Lets say you hold 8-7 and the Flop is 5-6-A. You want to know your odds on hitting a Straight later.

Should you use a rigorous mathematical solution, you will construct this horror:

You need certain cards to help you do this – Known as “outs” In this case for a straight you need 4 and 9. There are upto 8 such cards left in the deck. The probability of your hitting them later is P (1-P)Q, where P is the probability of hitting your hand on the Turn, and Q is the probability you will hit on the river. It is P (1-P)Q because (1-P)Q is the probability that you will hit on the river if you don’t complete your hand on the Turn.

Now here are the values for P and Q.

- P = 8 cards still on the deck that will help you divided by 52-5 = 47 remaining cards = 8/47.
- Q = 8 cards still on the deck that will help you, as you didn’t complete on the Turn divided by 52-6 (because there are six cards already out, your hole cards and the Board) = 8/46.

The complete answer is 8/47 (1 – 8/47)(8/46) = .170 (.829)(.174) = .170 .144 = .314 = 31%. You’ve got a 31% chance of hitting your Straight later.

Ouch, that’s fun and beyond most of us! However, in a table you usually do not have a calculator (and even if you do you still need to know what to input into it .

And many poker players just understand the outs, but not really much of basic probability theory. How is this? An out by the way is any unseen card that, if drawn, will help your hand win chances.

Here then is a much simpler, easy way to work out odds

Let’s try an approximation formula:

- You divide 8 by 50, because 47 is close to 50, and get 16.

- Double it again and you get .32.

- It is a reliable estimate.

- After all, poker players, in games, do not need exact solutions; they need only a hint as to where they’re standing.

- In this case “about 32%” is an efficient enough answer.

So, in the Flop, here is the approximation:

- Get the amount of your outs, then multiply it by 4, then affix a percent sign.

- This is a reliable approximation percentage of your hitting the hand.

- During the Turn, if you still have outs, multiply it by 2, then affix a percent sign.

- Preflop, when you decide to push all-in, you typically need not do this as you will rely mainly on pure hand strength.

To practice your odds calculations there can be no better way than to play poker online free on http://www.NoPayPOKER.com, at least here you can get it wrong and not lose money as a result! Yes, you can always use odds calculators and many are available for online poker but if you want to play live you need to learn to do it the hard way, so get learning if you have any ambition to move beyond free poker games and win serious cash!

Position is your seat in a poker table relative to other players. Be it free poker games or a cash event, your position defines when you make your move in the hand being played. In normal game of 9-12 players, in any given hand round of betting, it works like this:

(1) Early position consists of the first 3 or 4 players to act.

(2) Middle position includes the following player after early position to the player before late position.

(3) Late position consists of the last three or four players to act. Preflop, the dealer, the small blind, and the big blind are last to act, in that order.

Postflop, the small blind and the big blind are first to act, and the dealer is last to act.

How does position matter?

There are some very definite advantages and disadvantages. The majority of players prefer playing late position. Briefly, it is because you are given more information to work with in late position.

If you are in late position, the actions of the players in early position are added information to you. But the player in early position do not have the benefit of information derived from your actions.

Because of this most players (especially good players) do not like letting go of their button (dealer button) unless they have absolute trash. They call a little raise with any decent hand like 9-7 or A-5 (but not extremely big raises, of course).

In early position, in a nine-handed game, suppose you have got Q-J, a marginal hand, under the gun (the first person to act preflop).

Do you raise? There are still eight players after you to act, and you will see a better chance that they’ll have better hands than you. (A-x will have you beat). So fold.

In middle position, you may call one raise, or you can raise; you’re indifferent.

With the button, you raise if no one has acted prior to you (you can steal the blinds this way). Or call if someone else raised small (since you have position).

With the blinds, you call (since it is discounted) but you should be careful with postflop play since you are out of position postflop. Or you can also reraise a raise if you believe the raiser was weak (raising with junk is prevalent in good players in late position who want to steal the blinds habitually).

Position also matters a lot when playing with players who have a fixed style.

- It is a good idea to act before a rock in order to bluff him easier.

- It is preferable to act after a loose-aggressive chip flinger so you can raise him if you hit the Flop hard or if you have A-A, then expect a rereaise and then you can move all-in.

- Against a calling station, it does not matter where you sit – just bet if you have a hand and then expect a call.

As for the really good players, your ideal position should be outside the poker table. Don’t tangle with them. If you do get caught in a game with better players try to play unpredictably and make the best of your times in late position.

This isn’t so much about table position now, it’s more to do with your entire poker strategy approach so I won’t go into depth on it here. Don’t play above your skill level except when deliberately practising with money you have set aside to lose or better still on free poker games tables such as the NoPayPOKER ones.

Have a look at the free poker games tactics series from D M Vadnais for a whole lot more depth on the areas such as choosing your battles and climbing skill levels. If you are a beginner start with the how to play poker for beginners 101 course and if ready to move on check out Building a Bankroll which aims to propel to to advanced intermediate level (where you will start to win a ton of cash should you wish)

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.

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!