Category: Gambling and Casinos

We cover the 10 best starting hands, or pairs of pocket cards, to be holding in your game of Texas Holdem so it is only fitting t cover the 5 worst starting hands you could be holding. The general rule of thumb if you are holding any of these 5 losing combinations? Fold and walk away!

1) 2-7 (offsuit)
By Far the worst start you could have for your game. You have no chance at a straight draw or flush draw and chances are you would be beaten with a pair of 7s. There is the remote chance at a full house with this hand but it is clearly not taking the risk waiting for this to occur. FOLD!

2) 2-8 (offsuit)
Only slightly better than the 2-7 draw, this combination cried out for you to fold from the start. Why is it slightly better? A pair of 8s will beat the poor soul with a pair of 7s! The straight draw or flush is once again out of the question with this combination and the cards are screaming at you to fold!

3) 3-8 (offsuit)
Once again you are left without the chance of a straight draw or flush draw and left with hoping for a pair of 8s. At this point you may be hoping for the chance at a full house, don’t do it! It is time to fold and wait on a better hand, like one of the 10 best outlined in another article.

4) 2-9 (offsuit)
A pair of 9s may beat out the 8s above but this is still a combination crying out to be folded.

5) 2-6 (offsuit)
You are left with a chance at the low straight draw and not much else with this combination. You are best served folding from the offset and waiting for a hand that will give you a fighting chance.

There are the five pairs of pocket cards that should have you folding as soon as you can. For those brave enough to continue on with your play after drawing any of these killer combinations, may luck be on your side! Being aware of the best and worst combinations will help strengthen your overall game and help make your stay at the table more successful. Long shots do come in on occasion but the disciplined player usually walks away from the table happy.

For those serious about their online poker experience, the following tips are designed to help the novice avoid the traps used by more experienced online poker players.

1. Online Poker Chat

The online poker chat can be a valuable tool to shake the novice player. Experienced players use the chat feature to take the novice player off their game by providing a distraction. If you feel the need to trash talk or make friends you are better off finding a sports chat room or playing free online poker.

The online chat feature is a psychological tool used by the experienced player and can be effective in many ways. They may try to anger you, or “trash talk” you in order to get you into making bets out of spite, they can attempt to befriend you in order to make your betting more passive or they may even use it to gain extra information concerning your last bet. When asked about your last hand you should always lie! Do not give your fellow players any sort of edge and always keep them guessing. You are here to make money, not friends, keep that in mind when you are playing online poker.

Your best bet is to turn the chat off and focus on your winning strategy until you feel you can use the chat feature to take other players off their game.

2. Betting Help Software

All online poker rooms use random number generators to choose the cards presented to you. Right there you should see that any software that may be offered to you does not help.

There are sites all over the internet offering you their “winning software” or their mathematical formula to beat the odds, none of which work! In most cases they are selling you a random number generator of their own, making their odds and plays less reliable than your own. There is no such thing as an online card counter, the best way to win a game is to follow your strategy and play the hands you feel you have a chance at winning. There are no shortcuts that will make you a better player, spend your time building your understanding of the game through practice and reading.

Making yourself familiar with winning combinations and what are the best first draw cards will take you further than any software offered ever could. Play smart and play to win!

This article is all about online poker. I have been enjoying playing poker on the internet for a couple of years now and in this article, I give free tips on how to become a successful online poker player.

For me playing poker is not just about attempting to win money, it is also fun. I love the fact that you can interact with other players from different countries. You have to be quite careful however as some of them attempt to wind you up. This is a well known tactic which some online players use, to entice you into betting to try to knock them out of the game. My advice in this situation is to ignore these people and to not even reply to their comments.

The turnaround of hands is a lot quicker than when you play in a casino or with your friends and it is wise to pick and choose carefully which hands you play and which hands you fold. I have played on some days when I think that I will never be dealt a decent hand. It is very tempting to try to make something happen by betting on a hand which in reality I know I should throw away. This is a risky strategy and you need to be patient as your time will come.

The people who are making the money in online poker rooms are the ones who have this patience. A lot of people can easily get bored and can soon see their money or chips dwindle away.

In the periods of gloom where you are not being dealt the good cards, keep yourself amused by watching the television, listening to the radio or by chatting to the other players. Again the law of averages states, the luck has to change eventually.

On some tables there are over aggressive players who will bet on anything and also raise to stupid levels. These players may win a lot of chips in a short period of time, however in the long run will always lose. You have to stick to your game plan and not get frustrated by these type of players. See it as an easy way to make money as eventually they will come unstuck, hopefully to you.

Poker can become quite addictive, therefore only bet what you can afford to lose. Play the game as a hobby and enjoy it, you are more likely to win with this attitude. I know people who attempt to win a certain amount of money per night and then go chasing this figure if they start to struggle. This in my opinion is not a good idea. I accept that I will win on some nights and lose on others. With the right approach and as the last two years have shown me, I should win in the long term.

Good luck with your online poker experience, I hope to chat to you someday on the tables.

Online poker playing has become a favorite past time for many people around the world. The game of online poker is rapidly gaining popularity, and there are thousands of players on most of the major websites at any given time during the day and night. Becoming successful at online poker can also be financially rewarding for many players. To do this, you have to have a good strategy for the game. Several players run into games with no real plan in their head, and not really focused, and many will end up losing their shirts. There are several known errors that online poker players make that could easily be avoided by a good strategy before the game is begun.

One common mistake many online poker players make is that they are afraid to switch tables when needed. If you constantly play at the same table with the same opponents, they are going to learn to read your hands, your bluffs, and will be much harder for you to defeat. Experienced poker players will observe their opponents and pick up on their habits and quirks, giving them a winning advantage. They will also learn your betting habits and be better able to counter you. Staying at one table does give you the advantage of knowing your opponents better, but it is important to keep in mind that while you are learning other players, they are doing the same to you.

One of the most important things to keep in mind in any poker game is that you need to manage your money. Before you ever play, you should have a budgeted amount of disposable income that you can afford to wager, and not allow yourself to go beyond that amount during the game. Disposable income is any money that is left over once all of your other obligations have been met, food, mortgage, utilities, etc. You should also consider your poker playing ability as well when you are setting your betting limit. If you are a fairly new player, you should probably set lower limits, because you are more likely to lose your money than more experienced players. You also have to consider how much risk you want to take, playing in low limit games is pretty safe, but the higher limit games are very risky as these are usually more experienced players and play more aggressively because they place large bets. The best players are always aware of their bankroll and their limits.

Many online poker players are leery of poker tournaments. Players who regularly participate in tournaments however, will tell you that they can be the most fun and a lot of times, the most profitable for the winners. As with any poker game, luck does factor into your success, but luck does not account for skill. If you are considering playing in online poker tournaments, you need to be aware of the buy-in amount, and keep in mind that is money that you may well lose. New players to online poker tournaments will often lose their money quickly, so keep this in mind when you are playing the game and placing your bets. There are also numerous resources that can give you tips and tricks for being successful in online poker tournaments, a little research often will go a long way.

If you are going to be a serious online poker player, it is important that you know when to quit. It is hard for many players to understand this concept. Many players will play and play until they run so far into the red, they create financial problems for themselves and their families. They start to lose, and think they will play one more game to get the money back they lost, and they just continue to lose. By this point, their game is affected, because they are losing their focus, and usually will end up going on tilt, which will make the losing cycle that much harder to break. It is important to recognize that even the best players are human and have good days and bad days at the tables. Great players understand this, and when they see themselves begin a losing streak, or having a bad day, they know it is time to call it quits and come back to play another day. Learning to walk away at the right times, can save you quite a bit of financial hardship. You will find that you are better able to enjoy the game once you learn this valuable skill.

Playing online poker can be a very enjoyable experience, and also can be very profitable. The most important thing that players need to remember is just to play smart. Stay focused on the game, know what your limits are and stay within those. Learn how to manage your money wisely, and know when it is time to walk away. Keeping these things in mind, should help you become a better player.