Common mistakes made in online poker

Category: Poker
There are some common online poker mistakes that novices as well as experienced poker players make. If you want to be successful in this game, you have to practice certain strategies so that more pits can be won. You should learn to avoid these common mistakes and get an advantage over your opponents.

Distraction: Winning a poker game is all about skills, but you also need to have some attention span. You need to concentrate on the details of this game. In case of distraction, players don’t use their skills and leave everything to luck. If you are a novice, then you should learn handling more than 3-4 games at a time. Playing at home can ruin your attention to a great extent due to the phone, radio or TV; so make sure that you avoid all these distracting elements as far as possible.

Use of auto-play functions: The main function of the auto-play button is to speed up the game. When you use this button you must know that it is being used at the cost of your poker chips. In online poker, players are very far from each other and the only tells in this game is the duration taken by a player to act on his hand.

Delay in check: weakness
Instantaneous check: weakness
Instantaneous call: strength
Quick bet: strength

The first tell is all about understanding of the psychology of this game, but other three are based on auto play buttons. Clicking on the automatic check button when you have a weak hand will convey your weakness.

Too much talking: There are many online poker players who talk a lot because according to them this will not serve as tell. They fail to realize that besides the use of the auto-play button, talking can be the biggest online poker “tell”. So never waste time in talking to your opponents.

Never make enemies in poker: Try to avoid making enemies in this game because it is not a good idea. Avoid saying anything to your opponents when you win a pot, instead just drag the chips in a gracious manner. Don’t whine when you lose a game because making enemies will mean-they will gun for you.

To show cards: This is another mistake made by players in online poker. It is not a good thing to show your cards because according to some players this puts others on tilt and makes them less confident. So it is better to avoid hurting your opponents because it can hurt and place you out of a good game.

Discipline In Poker

Category: Poker

I was speaking to a friend of mine who was told me that after he plays for about an hour he is able to doule his bankroll going into the game. After another hou or so he says that he ends up losing all of his winnings and the money he came in with oiginally. He also explained how he was losing his money because he could not keep could not keep focus and he was losing his consintation.

This is a very easy problem to overcome. One the has plagued even the bes of poker players. I myself used to play and lose money money after winning a few hands but that all ended as time passed, I read strategies and books, and really began to focus and learn about poker.

One of the first things I did was stop playing after I won money. This way I would not begin to lose money. I got rid of the habbit of playing loose after I won money and I also stoped betting when I had weak hands. When you leave after you win money, you will only know hoq to win and you will remove the actions that cause you to lose money Of course if you are not making money there are other strategies

This is another strategy used to help you anylize how you win and how you lose. If you print out the games you win, you can study them and use them as a reference in the future. This is a great way to learn what wins and what loses. When many people start out, they beleive that pocket aces are the best hand in the game. Statistics will tell you that they are, but proffessionals will tell you that this hand is not as good as it may seem. That is a topic for another day…

If you are winning and then start losing, Leave the table and do something else. This way, you will keep your money and you will be happy.

One huge mistake my friend made was to play 2 tables at once. This is not a good move. This causes you to lose money in actuality because you can not concentrate on either one now.

Emotions In Poker

Category: Poker
One of the things I love most about poker is the psychological and emotional aspect of it.

And I’m not talking about outplaying your opponents. I’m talking about the emotional effect the game has on you when you win or lose, or go on that great winning streak or horrible losing streak.

Most players play this game with their hearts on their sleeves. What I mean by that is that they live and die by the hands that they play. They are absolutely elated when their pocket aces hold up, or they turn that flush and take down a huge pot. On the other hand, they are devastated when someone hits their 3 outer on the river to take a pot away from them, or when someone calls preflop with 72o and beats their high pocket pair with trip 7s on the river.

So what is it about these emotional swings that I like?

A key, often overlooked attribute of a good poker player is that they stay in control of their emotions at the table. Regardless of how happy or upset they feel about that win or loss, they maintain an even keel and stay in control. This allows them to be at their best at all times without being ruled by their emotions. Emotional poker is usually bad poker.

When I see a player at my table who is overly emotional at the table, I see dollar signs.

You’ll find that a lot of bad players tend to be the ones that get too emotionally invested in the game. Because of this, I’m hoping they win as many pots as possible through bad play. Not only because it means I have a better chance of winning that money myself (since it is now in the possession of a bad player), but also because of the affect it has on their psyche.

And what do bad, excitable players think after they’ve had a really good winning streak, or after they’ve scooped a huge pot off of an obviously good player? They think that THEY are good! I want them to believe that when they lose it’s just bad luck, and when they win it’s because of their skills.

I’m cheering for them to win all of the pots I’m not involved in!

In short – don’t let your emotions rule your game. Both the incredible high, and lowest of the low feelings can have a negative affect on your game by either a) making you feel invincible, or b) putting you on tilt.

Stay on an even keel, and let your poker skills and knowledge do the talking.

History of poker

Category: Poker
There are a lot of different opinions as far as the origin or poker is concerned. However, there is no evidence or data about the origin of this game. But the name and present form of poker is more likely to be derived from elements of various games. Based on the consensus, poker due to its basic principles is definitely a very old game.

Birthplace of poker: When it comes to the possible poker birthplace, there are several suggestions, just like the variations in the game itself. Based on a very popular belief, poker is a game invented by Chinese in the 900 AD. There are possibilities of this belief being derived from Chinese dominoes. According to other people, the Persian game “as nas” is the origin of poker. It is a Persian game involving 5 players and a special deck of 25 cards with 5 suits. However, this is a game that can be recorded back to 19th century.

Based on another theory related to the birth of poker, French “poque” can also be taken into consideration. Around 1480, the French settled in New Orleans and used to play “poque” which was basically a game that involved cards, betting and bluffing. This game played by the French can be considered to be the first to include a deck that consisted of diamonds, spades, hearts and clubs. Many are of the belief that the origin of modern cards can be found in the Indian card game of Ganjifa. Due to various claims, it is not very easy to narrow down on the right birthplace of poker.

Poker and its earliest reference: in the year 1834, Jonathan H.Green made the earliest written poker reference. In this poker reference, certain rules were mentioned by him for the “cheating game” that used to be played on the riverboats of Mississippi. According to him, this was a game to be played with 20 cards and by using kings, aces, jacks, tens and queens. Either two or four players play this game and each player is dealt five cards. By the time it was written by Jonathan, this had become a popular cheating game. According to the people who had taken to Three-Card Monte, the 20 card poker game seemed to be more legitimate. There is a lot of debate about the origin of the word “poker” as well. According to game historians and dictionaries, this came from 18th century French game “poque”. However, other references point to pochspiel, a German game. There are many websites where you can be a part of a poker forum to know more about this game.