Free Poker Games

In this learn how to play poker for beginners lesson you will learn the basic rules of poker. I know that at first look poker seems incredibly complicated but good news, it’s not. We’ll start by using free online poker tournament freerolls as the example, you should start with this type of game so they are the perfect example.

free online poker freeroll tournaments vary from 20 to hundreds of players. A good point with these game is that most of the other players you’ll find on them are no more than average and many are beginners too.

The first step is to fire up your free online poker software and find a game. Each tournament has multiple tables of 10 players each. To figure how many tables there will be look at how many players are registered and divide by 10. If the number is not exactly divisible by 10 as is likely then you round up, so if there are 77 players it means there will be 8 tables to start.

Now the online poker software of the site you play at will seat you at a randomly selected table and seat. On any decent free online poker site games start very regularly, maybe every half-hour; 24-7 so initially, don’t be overly concerned about how successful you are in any one game; there’s always another game that you can enter.

Who Wins and How?
Fundamentally, the winner of any 1 hand will be the player who has the best cards.

The outline of the game process is this:
You are seated and the game begins. The Dealer Button player is selected and the small and large blind players make their bets (all covered below so don’t worry!)

Firstly you are given two cards, known as pocket cards, only you can see these. Next there is a round of blind betting, it’s called blind as there is no way to guess or infer what cards other players have, no more than 3 raises to the first blind bet are allowed which is a rule that remains so in future rounds.

After the first round of betting is done the dealer lays 3 cards on the table for all to see. These are known as community or board cards and can be used in conjunction with pocket cards by all players.

At this point, another round of betting occurs.

Next the dealer adds one more card to the community cards to make four face up cards for all players to use.

This is followed by another round of betting.
Last, the Dealer will add a 5th card to the community cards. Again followed by another round of betting.

Now lets look at this in more detail:
The first two cards you get that only yoiu can see are called Pocket Cards or just Pockets for short. They are dealt out, one at a time, left to right, to everyone at the table. You only see your own pocket cards.

The Dealer then exposes 3 “community cards” to all players on the table. This stage is known as “The Flop”.

When he exposes the 4th “community card”, it’s known as “The Turn” (or, 4th Street).

And, when he exposes the 5th “community card”, it’s known as “The River” (or, 5th Street).

All 3 to 5 “community cards” that are exposed on the poker table at any one time are known as “The Board”.

Every player who is participating in the hand through the process of betting (if you “folded”, you’re no longer in the hand), attempts to make the best possible five-card hand.

They can use any 5 of the 7 cards that are available to them; one, both, or none of their pocket cards, together with 3, 4, or 5 of the “community cards”.
The player with the best 5 card hand wins all of the money that has been bet (The Pot).

The “Dealer Button” is involved in every hand to be played. One of the game’s participants gets the Dealer Button (DB); the selection of the player who first receives the DB is done by the free online poker software.

At a casino, it’s a round disc, about the size of a hockey puck, and the letter D is usually emblazoned on its flat surfaces. At a paid or free online poker site, the software will automatically place a symbol of sorts on your PC screen to identify the DB.

And, the position of the Dealer Button on the poker table is important since the 2 players to the left of the DB are forced to place the blind bets.

The DB is the best position to have and blind the worst, no something to worry about now, the NoPayPOKER.com intermediate level article series Building A Bankroll goes into great depth on this subject. However everyone gets a go as the DB moves to the next player to the left after each hand round so everyone will get the best and worst places during a game.

Blind Bets? What are they?
This is how the game starts.
The player to the immediate left of the Dealer Button (DB) is compelled to put up the Small Blind (SB).
The player to the immediate left of the Small Blind (SB) is compelled to put up the Big Blind (BB).
These “blind bets” are placed in the pot, in front of the dealer. This essentially kickstarts the betting, and, it”s all done before anyone has gotten any cards!

This, for the lack of any other rational reason, means that the winner of the hand that’s about to be played, will, at a minimum, collect the small amount of money that has been “forced” into the pot by the blind bets.

In a multi-table freeroll, or any No Limit free online poker tournament game, the size of the Small Blind (SB) and the size of the Big Blind (BB) are very low at the start of the game. And, every player in the game begins the game with the same amount of free online poker faux-money; or, for practical purposes, poker chips.

Usually, in 15 minute intervals, the size of the “blinds” increase.
As an example, if the beginning “blinds” were $10 (SB) and $20 (BB), within 15 minutes the “blinds” would change to $20 (SB) and $40 (BB).

And, thereafter, as the game progresses, the “blinds” continue to go up every 15 minutes.

In the end, at the final table in a tournament (the last remaining 10 players), the “blinds” could easily reach the point of being $2,000 (SB) and $4,000 (BB).

Now don’t be alarmed, the dollar amounts tied to the Small Blinds (SB) and Big Blinds (BB) in the preceding paragraph, during all freeroll games played on free online poker sites are “fictional” amounts of money. It’s not real money. It’s merely a “tournament representation” of money; it’s free online poker faux-money, they’re poker chips, not real dollars.

This is one reason why it is a very good idea to learn to play poker as a beginner on free poker sites, it can get very expensive very quickly if you start on a real money site!

Winning and Money

The good news with a poker tournament is that the 1st place player doesn’t take all the money. Yes, the absolute winner does get a lions share but other players do get a cut too. How many players and how much is determined by the number of players who enter and the size of the pot. You an find out this information before the game starts.

As the game progresses players are knocked out and tables amalgamate. At some point only those who will share the money are left. If you are still in at this stage then you are now “in the money” or “in the bubble” as it is also commonly called.

When just 10 players are left you will be on the “Final Table”, typically to win any decent amount you need to be here even in very large poker tournament though places lower than this can often at least pay back your cost of joining the game if it is a buy in game.

Right at the end with just 2 players left you will be “head to head”…but that is a story for another day!

Summing up How To Play Poker For Beginners Part 1
In this stage we looked at basic game processes. In part 2 we’ll get into more detail on the stages described and look at what you actually physically do and consider some essential basic free online poker strategy.

Nick runs marketing for leading free online poker site NoPayPOKER.com. NoPayPOKER.com uses a virtual currency, FreeD which makes the poker games totally risk free, this makes NoPay the ideal place to learn how to play poker for beginners. More experienced players also like it as it’s a great place to try new ideas and stategies out, plus the fact that the FreeD can be swapped for real Dollars is a nice touch too!

When you play both play free poker sites and any size cash poker Three-bets mean good hands (or bluffs). 4-bets mean even better hands (or even better bluffs). I dare you!

But despite even for the most skilled players in the world, the best hands still come from luck! Here is a perfect example:

BLINDS 50k/100k, ante 10k

PREFLOP:

A has K-K, raises to 290k

A great start for A but he holds temptation at bay with the measured raise. He certainly plays K-K shrewdly. A lot of players might play A A or K K weak pre-flop in preparation for trapping later. A plays K-K as if it were any other hand.

B has A-Q, raises to 650k
A to call 360k

B’s reraise is to try and find out if A has a decent hand or is just trying to steal. With suited connectors, A can call, but with K-K, A does better:

A reraises to 1.49m
B to call 840k

Now A plays K-K conventionally. He is making the pot bigger. Basically he is saying “I Dare You!” If his reraise was small (like only reraise to 720k) it would be “I Want a Call” not “I dare” and B moght well call, but A has nothing to worry about if B calls unless an Ace drops.

But he does not want a call. It is OK if B folds (which is just expected if B had no hand, but he wants B to put him on a bluff and push him.

B, meanwhile, is thinking something. Because A’s raises are from the cutoff, B may think that the second is a bluff (and good for A if he knows this is what B is thinking). So what does B do?

B moves all in
A to call 3.76m

Now B is the one daring A!

A could have thought any of these:

(1) Was B trying to bluff me out? (He can’t, if he is. In fact, I want him to do that.)

(2) Did B trap me with a four-bet with the A-A? or K-K? (There is a small possibility.)

(3) How much will I invest? I had 10.7 million at the start and I am going to invest 5.3 million. About half my stack. But I am going to try to knock him out, anyway.

(4) Did B have A-x? (Most probably. They do it all the time. However, I’m quite uneasy if it’s worth half my stack.)

But A didn’t, because he instantly called. Moreover, A could have thought instead, “My ploys were successful. I trapped him. Now he’s finished.”

A calls 3.76m (Pot about 12 million)

Three-bets and four-bets almost always signify A-A, K-K or with some brave players, A-K or Q-Q. B had A-Q, which is not so good for a call (A may have figured out that B held A-Q, so he reraised instead of trapped; if he just called, then an Ace may fall and he may not continue with his K-K) but even worse for staying in a hand with plenty of raises and reraises.

However, luck has the last word in this hand.

The board ended up Js-7h-3s-Ad-Qd, which clinched B’s win.

Summing up
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated “chip flinging” seen at many tables.

Yes it is mad that so many players play with so little skill, but it is also very good news for you as a player who is learning to play correctly.

That’s because once you learn to play poker at an above average level and combat the “all-in-all the time” maniacs then you can take them apart in coldly calculated genocide anytime you like in low stakes money games and when you play free online poker that pays real cash such as that found at NoPayPOKER.com.

To make this work first, play free poker online to learn to play holdem where you can learn while you lose but without losing real money, then once ready to can move up to low stakes and start to make some serious poker cash!

In this free poker sites guide we’re going to reconstruct a hand, specifically in this article the poker hand know as the big hand.

The point of poker hand reconstruction is to learn how to play poker better by understanding how the hand works.

This can then be related to the context of play. You can start to get meaningful insight the motives of your opponents based on the cards, betting patterns, player profile types, stack sizes, pot size and other relevant factors.

The result I hope is that you can play that type of hand better in the future and win more money!

For this poker hand analysis we will examine the “Big Hand”

BLINDS 1,000/2,000 – (Pot 5,400)

PREFLOP:

A has Js-9s, calls 2,000

B has Ks-Kc, raises to 14,000

A calls 12,000 (Pot 33,400)

A just initially calls, hoping that there will also be many callers because he has suited connectors and wants to get sufficient pot odds.

B, meanwhile, may interpret the call from early position as A-A or Q-Q, and because he has a big stack (the two are the biggest stacks in the table) he can afford to raise a little bit, because if the other player reraises and he thinks the other one has A-A, he can fold.

Plus, K-K is a little bit more shaky if an Ace falls on the flop, so this can work as a tester raise. A calls, he has a larger stack so he can afford the risk.

FLOP: Kh-9d-Kd

A checks

B checks (Pot 33,400)

Suddenly B has Quad Kings! A checks, because he has only a Nine, and can proceed carefully if B bets. B, hoping to conceal his unbeatable hand, checks too.

Paired boards are typically good bluffing situations. For instance, a 8-8-3 board will work for bluffing because on a, say, J-7-3 board, there are three cards which can pair one of them, and a bluff will be less effective.

But on the 8-8-3 board, bluffing has big benefits as there are only two cards which can conceivably help anyone, and also anyone there with a Three will be not as likely to call. (Only an Eight will do.)

But with a board with bigger cards like our Flop, B could have bet, but after that, A will be less likely to put him on a bluff (and more likely on a made hand) because he may have, say, K-10, and we play big cards more than small ones.

B doesn’t want A to back out of the pot. So B just checks.

Also, with two Diamonds B will want to check in the hope that A will put him on a flush draw so that if the flush doesn’t come, A will bet or raise to push B away, and B can gain extra chips.

TURN: Kh-9d-Kd-5h

A checks

B bets 20,000

A raises to 70,000

B calls 50,000 (Pot 173,400)

B still has invincible Quads, A still has Two-Pair. B could have now put A on the Nine or a draw, so B bets 20,000 so that A will call.

But since during the flop B may have represented a Diamond flush draw in A’s perspective, A raised to 70,000 so that B will move away.

B just calls, as there are two draws already, and B may want to represent one of them again so that A will try another bluff on the river.

RIVER: Kh-9d-Kd-5h-9h

A checks

B moves all-in 106,000 (Pot 279,300)

A folds

B still has Quads, but A is now in trouble because he has a bottom Full House. A King can kill him.

What A is hoping, though, is that B back-doored a Heart Flush and just check it along with him.

But B moves all-in. That is a very intriguing move by B. A powerful player would value-bet this (sat, 40,000 on a pot of 173,400) and A can just call it.

It is OK to represent a Flush here, as the board is double-paired, which can destroy Flushes as the board is just one card off a Full House.

So what I am thinking is: B moved all-in because (1) he wanted A to think they may have the same hand or that his hand is weaker, like a Flush. B’s play on the Flop and the Turn was weak, so A may not have put B on a King but likely on the Flush draw we are talking about.

B wants a call. B now hopes that A backdoored a Flush too and also that he thinks his all-in is just a bluff, but A is in trouble because of the sudden strong play.

It was psychologically jarring.

Did B hide that King or not? A might imagine that better hands could come later, so he folds.

Also (2) B may not want a showdown; he did not want to show the two Kings; he wanted to trouble the minds of A and other opponents.

If they saw how he played K-K it will be added information. He wants to keep them guessing.

You should play more unpredictably so you can gain chips later than to gain chips now, but be unable to get some later. I believe this is a brilliant reason.

Concluding the Big Hand

It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated “chip flinging” seen at many tables.

Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this dumb donk zone is great news for you. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well play free poker games sites that pay out real money like NoPayPOKER and happily build your skills and bankroll!

To make this work first, learn to play poker for free on free online poker tables where you can learn while you lose but without losing real money, then once ready to can move up to low stakes and start to get rich!

In poker be it free poker sites or big stakes you do not just play the cards. You also play the player, or to put it another way, you aim to manipulate other players so that they do what you want them to do. The desired end result of course is that they give you money!

Playing the player has 2 sides. On your side you are trying to read your opponent, classify their style, of play, motivations and actions and play your cards in accordance with your conclusions.

In regard to the other players you aim to play them in order to misdirect their attempts to play you, to have them make incorrect conclusions about your style, motivations and drivers.

To learn how to do this lets look at an example of playing the player in action from a WSOP event.

BLINDS 50k/100k

1) A has Ac-Qh raises 350k
2) B is on big blind, has Kc-Js, calls 230k (Pot 880k)

K-J is usually a bit weak to call a raise. Moreover, B doesn’t have position over A, but he calls because he wants A to guess.

From the big blind, generally we just call because we are on a discount, so we might have 6-5, 10-8, and a bunch of other indeterminate hands which require guessing.

FLOP 4d-5h-3d

B bets 535k

Because small cards fell, B now wants A to think that his call from the big blind hit the Flop, and that his hand may well include those indeterminate hands like 5-4, 8-5, or even 6-7, or two Diamonds. But what did A think?

A raises to 1.8m (Pot 3.215m)
B needs 1.265m to call

Here, A thought that B’s bet was just a continuation bet, and with small cards falling A’s belief is reinforced that B is just trying to finish the hand. How would small cards likely hit B?

Additionally, B has been playing aggressively all night (stealing pots, etc.) so B could be betting with something (which is not likely with small cards falling) or with nothing. B could be playing just about anything, especially from the big blind.

At this point A made a gamble that B had nothing. He could also have assessed that if B had something and goes all in later then he can move out fast. So he raised to try B’s strength.

B folds

B folds, because, indeed, he has nothing, and if he calls, he will be committed to continue. (Had B moved all-in then it will be a good all-in, for A could still be guessing at this point what B’s hand was. But B’s cards were not strong enough.)

Also, he folds, because A raised from late position, which allows for a wider range of hands, like even 5-4 or two Diamonds.

Poker, indeed, is not simply a game of good hands versus good hands. Experienced poker players will win with bad hands under the right conditions.

We give credit to B for first trying to win with a bad hand, a good effort to play he player. Unfortunately for B, A did the playing the player task superbly too, having noted previous actions and motivations and related that to current con text and probability and so played out to win well.

Conclusion
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated “chip flinging” seen at many tables.

Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this dumb donk zone is great news for you. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well play free poker games sites that pay out real money like NoPayPOKER and happily build your skills and bankroll!

To make this work first, learn to play poker for free on free online poker tables where you can learn while you lose but without losing real money, then once ready to can move up to low stakes and start to get rich!

In this free online poker tips guide you will learn how to recognize and play the poker hand known as the “Big Hand”.

The reason why you need to know this is you will simply learn to play poker so much better when you understand the way different hands can play out.

This can then be related to the context of play. From here you can begin to determine the motives of the other players for their actions, based on the cards that fell, your betting patterns, their player types, their chip stacks, the pot size, and many other factors.

The result I hope is that you can play that type of hand better in the future and win more money!

For this poker hand analysis we will examine the “Big Hand”

BLINDS 1,000/2,000 – (Pot 5,400)

PREFLOP:

A has Js-9s, calls 2,000

B has Ks-Kc, raises to 14,000

A calls 12,000 (Pot 33,400)

A just initially calls, hoping that there will also be many callers because he has suited connectors and wants to get sufficient pot odds.

B, though might interpret the call from early position as A-A or Q-Q, and because he has a large stack (the two are the largest on the table) he can afford to raise a bit more, because if the other player reraises and he thinks the other one has A-A, he can fold.

Plus, K-K is a little bit more shaky if an Ace falls on the flop, so this can work as a tester raise. A calls, because he has a big stack and can afford it.

FLOP: Kh-9d-Kd

A checks

B checks (Pot 33,400)

Suddenly B has Quad Kings! A checks, because he has only a Nine, and can proceed carefully if B bets. B, hoping to conceal his unbeatable hand, checks too.

Paired boards are typically good bluffing situations. For instance, a 8-8-3 board will work for bluffing because on a, say, J-7-3 board, you’ll find three cards which can pair one of them, and a bluff will be less effective.

But on the 8-8-3 board, bluffing has big benefits since there are only two cards which will conceivably help anyone, and also anyone there with a Three will be not as likely to call. (Only an Eight will do.)

However with a board with bigger cards like our Flop, B could have bet, but after that, A will be less likely to put him on a bluff (and more likely on a made hand) because he may have, say, K-10, and we play big cards more than small ones.

B doesn’t want A to back out of the pot. So B just checks.

Also, with two Diamonds B will want to check in the hope that A will put him on a flush draw so that if the flush doesn’t come, A will bet or raise to push B away, and B can gain extra chips.

TURN: Kh-9d-Kd-5h

A checks

B bets 20,000

A raises to 70,000

B calls 50,000 (Pot 173,400)

B still has invincible Quads, A still has Two-Pair. B could have now put A on the Nine or a draw, so B bets 20,000 so that A will call.

But since during the flop B may have represented a Diamond flush draw in A’s perspective, A raised to 70,000 so that B will move away.

B just calls, since there are two draws already, and B might want to represent one of them again so that A will try another bluff on the river.

RIVER: Kh-9d-Kd-5h-9h

A checks

B moves all-in 106,000 (Pot 279,300)

A folds

B still has Quads, but A is now in danger because he has a bottom Full House. A King can kill him.

What A is hoping, though, is that B back-doored a Heart Flush and just check it along with him.

But B moves all-in. That is a very intriguing move by B. A solid player would value-bet this (sat, 40,000 on a pot of 173,400) and A can just call it.

It is OK to represent a Flush here, as the board is double-paired, which can destroy Flushes as the board is just one card off a Full House.

So what I am thinking is: B moved all-in because (1) he wanted A to think that they have the same hand or that his hand is weaker, like a Flush. B’s play on the Flop and the Turn was weak, so A might not have put B on a King but likely on the Flush draw we are talking about.

B wants a call. B now hopes that A backdoored a Flush too and also that he thinks his all-in is just a bluff, but A is in trouble due to the sudden strong play.

It was psychologically jarring.

Did B hide that King or not? A might imagine that better hands could come later, so he folds.

Also (2) B might not want a showdown; he did not want to show the two Kings; he wanted to trouble the minds of A and other opponents.

If they saw how he played K-K it will be added information. He wants to have them guessing.

It is essential to play more unpredictably in order to gain chips later than to gain chips now, but be unable to get some later. I believe this is a brilliant reason.

Summing up the Big Hand

It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated “chip flinging” seen at many tables.

Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this dumb donk zone is great news for you. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well play free poker on line sites that pay out real money like NoPayPOKER and happily build your skills and bankroll!

As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn to play poker online free on the free poker games tables to get it nailed.

It is a sad fact, it is not possible to be great at everything. In poker be it the win a lot of pennies free poker type or big cash it is why people become experts or specialists in their particular games.

It is the same as in the “normal” world where in our professions and hobbies and business we aim to find our niche and focus our efforts on becoming as good as we can so that we get promoted and earn more money.

So how does this relate specifically to the world of poker games?

Simply this, some people are great cash game players, while others are great tournament players. There are some players who are very good at both cash games and poker tournaments but this is very rare.

The majority focus on one or the other because they find they are more successful in that sort of poker.

How do you determine whether cash games or tournaments are your speciality? It might not be that clear at first. You obviously need to try your hand at both, but here are a few suggestions that may help you to figure it out.

Should You Focus On Cash Games?
If you’re a patient player who looks to play only in clear +EV situations, then you may prefer cash games. Full-ring games are all about waiting for premium starting hands and extracting the most value from them in the most favourable situation possible. Thus, cash games are good for players who don’t deal with variance very well.

The biggest mistake a beginning cash game player can make is playing too many hands. You don’t want to commit too many chips in marginal situations.

The opposite can seem to be true in the late to middle stages of a tournament.

Should You Focus On Poker Tournaments
It is correct to play tight in the early stages of a tournament, but once the blinds start to escalate you’ll need to loosen up your starting requirements. Once you’re low on chips, you’ll need to look to move all-in to survive. You may also need to put yourself in situations that may –EV in certain occasions. If you’re one of the big stacks, it’s also correct to start playing looser to bully the other players. It’s all about accumulating chips to either survive or thrive in tournaments. It’s not for the faint of heart or those who can’t deal with variance.

The biggest mistake a beginning tournament player can make is not pushing all-in enough when they get low on chips. Because the price of blinds increase as the tournament goes on, your chip stack can easily get whittled away.

Tight players can’t win tournaments.

Poker Game Specialization Conclusion
If you like tight then it is best to focus on cash games. However, if you’re an action junkie, you should consider concentrating on tournaments. That being said, a tight style can work for tournaments with a few adjustments and a loose style in cash games can be profitable under certain circumstances.

Ideally do your testing in free poker that way you can learn to play poker for free and find your style while not losing lots of money in the process!

This article brought to you by NoPayPOKER. The world’s only free poker where you win real cash on every game. NoPayPOKER.com is the ideal place for new poker players to learn to play hold em without risking any money at all. Experienced poker players can test out new techniques and rack up lots of free poker cash!

I can imagine a free poker player on http://www.NoPayPOKER.com who, after watching some episodes of the World Series of Poker or the World Poker Tour, suddenly gets ‘inspired’ and tries out one of the big advertised poker sites. As luck would have it he gets dealt 4-4 and, just like a pro he just saw moves all-in early position in the belief that it is a great move. As any experienced poker player will tell you, yes, it could be a good play but not all the time.

As it is, the overenthusiastic free poker player loses a large stack, it costs him hundreds of dollars in real money.

Why not tell him to try the same play on free poker, so that he will recognize his mistakes? He can learn to play poker for free lose lots but learn lots and not lose any money.

Play Free Poker On Line is also a great way to build a bankroll, if you don’t have one, and if you play long enough. And if you play long enough you will learn from your mistakes and from the mistakes of others – and it wouldn’t be so costly. Sure, you can try playing your Q-7 offsuit and then flop a Q-5-3 and then get called by A-Q later or K-K – that is when you realize your Q-7 is trash, and you ought not play it again.

Of course, you can watch someone else play the Q-7. He may flop Q-5-3, as above, or even A-J-7. Now you know you have him, because you have K-K (in the first flop) or A-K, or J-J (in the second). Now you remember the times when you win, and when you recall these times every time a similar situation arises, you will win the pot. If you play free poker long enough you will see what these situations are and then be able to characterize them like this: On the first flop, it may be ‘Playing Overpairs’; on the second, it may be ‘Playing Top Pair’ or ‘Playing a Set’.

There is, however, a downfall if you are not careful: Suppose you play 3-2 off and you win. You might think 3-2 off is a good hand, and then suddenly you rush to play real money poker. You lose. You think, “How would 3-2 be harpooned in this board! This just won last week!”

If you are observant enough for a long time in playing free poker you might notice plenty of players doing the same (playing bad hands) and they win. You can watch if they are winning consistently or not, and oftentimes they don’t. Someone plays 7-2, the wins; someone plays it again later, then loses.When you play free poker on line it may not yet teach you that A-10 is sometimes dangerous to play after a raise because it might be a better Ace, but it teaches you what hands to avoid and what to play.

In free poker you just don’t play any hand. You must play as if it is really big money at stake. Play only good starting hands. If you keep playing bad starting hands without the ability to represent them (and representing hands is not so practical in free poker because many free poker players play just any hand, bet when they hit the Flop and throw when they don’t) you will be a bad player sooner.

Regarding this, here is another point, indeed this is the key point that will win you a lot of money:

Many free poker players are novices and maniacs so if you take your time and master free poker you will know how to beat them.

Next, you will find when you move on to lower stakes real money you will mostly be facing these very same type of novice and maniac who have watched too much TV, and what do you think will happen then?

That’s right, your hard earned free poker skills will trash them and they will “donate” their stacks to you time and time again!. And as for the really good players, it’s so easy – avoid them unless you have the nuts.

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The other day I was having a fun free poker site Sit and Go game when my belief in the strength of sets was severely shaken. If you’re not sure what I mean by set then it’s simple, it’s a hand made of a pocket pair plus a board card of the same rank, for example, you get pocket 6′s (6-6) and the flop comes up 4-6-8

More than this it was a sharp free online poker lesson in poker maturity for me! I know now when a Sets power is diminished.

A set can be really strong, for example, you have 6-6 and the flop comes A-10-6. In this situation, against A-x (excepting A-10), you are 99-1 favorite, and if another player happens to have A-K or A-Q, you will see all the problems he will face later when he goes all in or calls your all-in.

But at this Sit and Go, there were 6 six players (blinds 10-20, average stack 1500), I was first to go. I had 4c-4s. I raised to 50. The button called, as well as the blinds.

The flop came 4h-6h-7d. Small blind checked; before me, big blind bet 200.

I asked myself, “How could he make such a fat bet (pot-sized)?”. Those players in previous hands always play any hand that drops on their computer screens. They may have A-6 or A-7, but also 8-7 or even 8-5. Or any two Hearts. They never know when to fold or not. And you don’t know when your made Two-Pair will be crushed.

So I figured that the power of my Set was gravely reduced, so I just called in the hope that the Board would pair during the Turn, but the main reason is because there are were dangerous cards that can fall.

A Three, a Five or an Eight will render my Set unplayable, unless everyone checks; a Heart will jeopardize my chances.

Usually, I am inclined to move all-in with a Set, but there might be a stray Five. They are willing to call all-ins, even with draws. Even with gutshot draws. They do it all day.

And I can’t banish them out of a draw by power-play. What if all of them call?

The turn came 3d. There are two Flush draws on the Board and one to a Straight.

Small blind checks; the Big Blind moved all-in (he had 1400 chips, I had 1200).

On already a pot of 2200, although I am getting 2-to-1 on a call all-in (or possibly 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 if the two others call), I folded. The Button called; Small Blind folded.

They showed the hands I guessed they had: an Ad-5c, and Qh-Jh. Either way, I will be smothered if I called too; the chance of the Board pairing is just 25% (10 out of 40) and I would be getting only 3-to-1. Not only I escaped devastating math; I also escaped the onslaught of made hands and big draws.

The point is this, if a hand starts good but then goes sour it is no longer good and won’t EVER get good by magic! Its power is just history and if you keep with it your chip stack is likely to be history too!

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The game of poker, free poker and shows such as the WSOP and World Poker Tour has propelled poker to huge popularity, and much like other high profile games like football and hockey it has developed a whole dictionary of jargon. Many of poker terms have been around for a long time so it seems the core game maybe hasn’t changed so much.

Checks, bets, raises, calls, bluffs, and all-ins are still found and still exist with connotations like: to ‘bet’ is aggressive; to ‘raise’ more aggressive; to ‘call’ is never aggressive; to “check” is still passive, unless you are plotting a raise after it. A bluff is aggressive all the time. And then all in’s in no limit games are the most aggressive of all for most players

But with the development and media frenzy many new terms have been coined to help the game commentators as much as anything! For example, in the 70′s they may have said “he raised after a check” now we’ll just say “check raise”. Calling after checking becomes “check call”. ‘Value bet’ may be ‘betting for value’ or ‘betting because A’s hand is good, and he wants B to call’. Although this does not imply that no one used the shorthand terms before. It may be that they are not clear enough to a general audience before in a time when poker was accessible only to a few.

So let us analyze some compound poker terms, like ‘check-raise’ and ‘check-call’. I shall assume, that, as above, that checks and calls are non-aggressive, and bets, raises, bluffs, and all-ins are aggressive.

#1 Check-raise: To check-raise is to check, then if the opponent bets, you raise. For instance, in a Board with 4-7-J and you have 6-5, if you are the first to act, you can check-raise. You can check because you can hit your Straight for free later if your opponent checks, and if your opponent bets, you can raise, so he will think you are on a bluff or on a made hand, so if you hit your Straight later your hand is disguised.

You can also check-raise if you think your opponent’s weak so that he’s not going to call if you bet, but you want your opponent to think you’re weak so that he can bluff, then you can raise him.

#2 Check-call: To check-call is to check, then if your opponent bets, then you call. Check-calling is standard for the above Board (4-7-J and you have 6-5),p provided you are priced to hit your Straight later. Check-call can also be good if you flopped a monster on the Flop and you want your opponent to represent it so you can trap him.

#3 Value bet: Value is the relative strength of your hand compared to what you think your opponent has. For example, you have A-10 in a Flop of J-10-6-5-2. You can consider your Pair of Tens to be not so strong, but if you put your opponent on 7-7 or weaker, then you can bet a small amount at the river (say, one-third or one-half the pot) so your opponent will pay you off if he, indeed has the 7-7, and if it turns out that he has the Jack, your loss is not so great. The point is you bet the largest amount you think your opponent will call.

#4 Check-raise-bluff: Now we move on to more complex compound terms. You usually check-raise if you have a strong hand or a drawing hand that you want to disguise. If you have none, but want to represent, do this. Check, then if he bets, put pressure on him.

#5 Value-bet-bluff: A value-bet is generally a fraction of a pot, typically 1/3 to 2/3. A bluff is usually greater than the pot (twice or more to be credible). If you bet 1/3 or 2/3 of the pot and you have nothing then strong players are likely to see the value-bet and fold. In such a case, your bluff works and with less danger than a standard bluff as a standard bluff may involve more than the pot or even an all-in, in contrast the value-bet-bluff involves only a bet that is value-bet sized.

#6 Three-bets and four-bets: A three-bet means this: Someone bets (or raises preflop), then someone reraises, then someone reraises again (possibly the first raiser). This action is the third, hence ‘three-bet’. If anyone moves over the top after this, then this action is the fourth, hence ‘four-bet.’ To reraise a raise requires a very strong hand, then to reraise this requires a far stronger hand, then to reraise this reraise requires a hand far more stronger. Unless one is representing. So we can make terms like ‘three-bet-bluff’ and ‘four-bet-bluff’, meaning ‘a bluff with a three-bet or a four-bet’.

#7 Bluff all-in: An all-in implies a strong hand. If you have nothing and this is what you do, then you ‘bluff all-in’. It is good to bluff all-in in a dangerous board (one off a Straight or a Flush, or a paired Board) but it is more dangerous, because your opponent may have the nuts and call you. In less dangerous boards, you can just bet and your opponent will fold if he has nothing – it has the same effect as the bluff all-in.

#8 Call all-in: Technically, call all-in is non-aggressive. To call is not aggressive; you just moved all in because you have a hand that you will be willing to move all-in if you acted first, and someone just set you up to it (or maybe you slow-played and your opponent became aggressive and pushed you all-in and you called).

#9 Check-raise-all-in: This is very aggressive! You check, another player bets, then you go all in. A lot of players won’t interpret it as a bluff, and will call only if they have a hand. Say, on a board with J-10-Q-7-6, even with A-Q it is difficult to call a check-raise-all-in. You must have, say, A-K or 9-8 to do it, or a Flush.

#10 Check-raise-bluff-all-in: The #9 when you have nothing. Say, in the above board, you have 5-5. You just represent a strong made hand.

You can make some more variants of these poker moves. Enjoy it but don’t go too far! Value-bet bluffs will not be understood by weak players, and weak players will call check-raise-bluff-all-ins just as they will call regularly.

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One of the most persistent discussions in poker is about the role of luck in success, there are those who believe poker is mostly luck and those who think skill is the main factor, today lets lay this one to rest! I have personally been a money and free texas holdem player for some 7 years, I have made some nice cash at times but I have also busted several bankrolls.As such think I can say I’ve got a pretty good understanding of the situation!

First off, lets consider what skill in poker is. In my opinion a skilled player is one who can recognize betting patterns, understand flop odds, and percentages, and have a solid concept of strategy and theory. I have noticed however, not matter how well skilled one may be, you must account for variance, and sometimes aggressive, even poor play from others.

I believe in conclusion it is best to assume that poker is a combination of both skill and luck where the skill level of the player involved has a definite effect on the “luck” component of the equation in the medium and long term.

The assumption would be based on this conclusion that you have to be both pre flop aggressive, as well as post flop smart. Many times a player might find themselves in a position where they made the proper call, yet they find themselves behind due in part to an opponents luck hitting a one or two outer.

It is extremely difficult to combat this situation. This can, in part, be blamed on the speed of online poker hand as opposed to the live game. The action of online poker is much faster, and decisions must come much quicker.

Many players believe there are more bad beats in online poker than in the live game. This is not unreasonable in a math sense due to the far greater number of hands seen and played. There is also, I feel, a tiredness factor in action, players feel pushed or maybe suffer a succession of bad beats.

Consequently decision making may become irrational, and typical hands that might be thrown away are now played, or even pushed pre flop out of anger in looking to win back lost funds.

Others, who are skilled can pick up on such trends and play them to their advantage, which in turn leads to greater loss, and in the eyes of the losing player, more bad beats which he feels was based on luck.

The successful (skilful) poker player is able to manage each aspect of the game. In effect you become able to manage probability (luck) by application of skill and so apply the old phrase beloved of annoying sales managers/gurus everywhere, “make your own luck”. Basically meaning that your skill flattens out the “bad luck” to the extent that you are up consistently in the medium and long run.

But how can you go about doing this? My advice is to start safe and low risk. Go to one of the better free poker online sites like NoPayPOKER.com and practice lots and lots. You will find your confidence (and bankroll) growing and can then take a step up to some low stakes games, and from there…who knows!