Category: Gambling and Casinos

Timing is everything, or so they say. Well, I’ve noticed recently that in poker, virtual or physical, that you can tell a lot about your opponents’ hands by just watching the amount of time it takes them to make a bet; and you know what that means – it means that they can tell the same about you.

We’re not robots, we can’t produce results the same every time, according to the same timing pattern no matter if we have a royal flush or a pair of twos; however, what we can do is try to be a little aware of how quickly we bet, how fast our opponent is acting, and from that be able to portray the image that we want as well as read the hands of those who aren’t aware of the importance of this.

Now of course it’s not foolproof, and if your opponent is a weathered player he may be aware of the importance of betting speeds and over compensate the other way to throw you off your tracks, which is why general rules are good but no substitute for intuition or the reading of body language. None-the-less I think that there are general rules that can be identified even if they are not always to be followed.

If someone is very quick to check it may be sign of weakness; if he has something why wouldn’t he be betting on it, a quick jump to safe ground indicates a whole lot of nothing. A quick bet could also indicate the same; making up for lack of cards by over confidence. An instant call on the other hand, indicates strength and in an interim betting round this is important to remember. A quick call means that the player has no question about staying in the game, but doesn’t raise possibly because he doesn’t want to scare off the other players and thereby diminish what will ultimately be his pot. A pause before betting, in my opinion is usually indicative of strength, not necessarily a royal flush, but certainly good cards; the reason I think this is because it indicates honesty rather than a bluff.

These are just my observations, and for all I know it may be more a reflection of my poker buddies than indicative of what all poker players do. However, the point is, even if you don’t follow my general rules, start paying attention to how quickly people jump in, and try to fit together the pieces of the puzzle in order that you can understand what that timing means. For example a quick bet on the flop followed by a slow call on the turn, followed by a fold, will tell you that that person’s quick bet means nothing; useful information for the next time he jumps in with guns blazing.

Try it; start paying attention to timing and I promise you’ll be shocked at how much information you can pick up.

In the ever growing world of poker, being on tilt can be a poker players’ biggest fear. Poker players are said to be on tilt when they are just not at their best game. They often play many hands, the majority of them being losses, place bets on bad hands, place off the wall high bets on mediocre hands, or out of desperation try wild, obvious bluffs. Players on tilt are often reckless, and make bad decisions and errors uncommon to them. Once a player goes on tilt, it is very hard to break the cycle.

More often than not, by the time a player realizes they are on tilt, it is too late to avoid it. Many players have lost their entire stack before they would admit they were on tilt and walk away. It is important to look for warning signs of possibly going on tilt, so that you can stop before it is too late. Playing when you are tired is one of the most likely causes of tilt. When you are tired, you aren’t at your best no matter what you are doing. Your ability to make good decisions is impacted, and since that is a crucial skill in poker playing, you really should not play when you are overly tired. When you start to get sleepy, and feel your fatigue level rising, it is important to stop playing and rest. You can always come back later, and will probably play better because you will be well rested and wide awake, hence, making better decisions. This is a likely cause of tilt that you have control over and can stop before it starts.

Many players let their tempers get them on tilt as well. They often let comments made by other players get under their skin, which sets them on edge and makes them more likely to make costly mistakes. Mane poker players will do this on purpose to throw their opponents off their games, so it is easier for them to win. These obnoxious players are easier to ignore when you are playing online poker, you can always close off your chat screen, or many websites now have features where you can ignore chat from a particular player. For this reason, players who play online are less likely to go on tilt due to comments from another player.

If you seem to be in a cycle of getting bad cards, making bad bets, or catching yourself making mistakes that are uncommon for you, it should be considered an early warning sign of going on tilt. The more annoyed you become at the situation, the worse your game will be. As your game gets worse, your frustration level will rise even more, which will put you on a fast path to going on tilt. This is one of those crucial moments where you should be the responsible player and realize it is better to walk away than to keep playing and hope things will get better. Chances are that even if you do get better cards, or you do make better bets, you will still lose because you are already to the point of being off your game and on tilt.

During any poker game it is important to keep your attention focused on what you are doing. When you get distracted, you are more likely to make costly mistakes. With every mistake you make, you put yourself one step closer to going on tilt. So, when you catch yourself losing your focus, walk away for a few hands and come back, or try to remove whatever it is that is causing you to lose your concentration.

As a general rule of thumb, if you are having a bad day, or you feel as though things just aren’t going well, you should not allow yourself to play. Things that happen in our day to day lives affect everything we do, and are sure to impact our focus, concentration, and decision making abilities, therefore making players more likely to go on tilt. When things seem to be going wrong for you, it is hard to take your mind completely off of them no matter what you do. It is better to work out your problems before you play, so that you will have all attention on what you are doing, and can avoid the feared being on tilt.

It is important for every poker player to be aware of what tilt means and how to avoid being impacted by it. Everyone will have a bad game now and then, but when it is more often than not, chances are there is something else going on that is causing you to be off your game. Good players learn to recognize the difference between bad luck and tilt, and they know when to walk away.

Poker has become one the most popular televised spectator casino games in the last few years. The television audience has more than doubled and high stakes competitive poker has generated an excitement that the gaming industry has not seen for quite some time. What makes it exciting for spectators is that the television networks have cameras focused on each player’s cards allowing you to view the hole cards of the competing players.

ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker has made celebrities out of world-class poker champions. The World Series of Poker is unequalled by any other poker event in the world today, and it is considered by all to be the ultimate achievement in any poker players career, to gain that coveted title of World Champion. The World Series of Poker has attracted the interest of these world-class poker players that is making this event so popular. The World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas Hold’em Championship Event is breaking all kinds of with the thousands and thousands of players competing for the largest prize of all time.

What is making this event even more popular is that players are participating in the World Series of Poker over a series of satellite tournaments that is held online. Many online poker players are trying to get into the World Series of Poker through smaller buy in tournaments called Satellites. You can play online and match your gambling skills against players from all over the world, playing live poker games, with real people, right on your computer. You could qualify for the World Series of Poker just by playing poker on your computer. Online poker is lot of fun and not as intimidating as a private game, and there are many free tables you can sit at until you are comfortable enough to play for real money. You can play poker online, and chat with people from all over the world, while enjoying the comfort of playing in your own home, in an atmosphere you are comfortable with.

With the increased popularity in online poker, many young players have the skill and experience to compete against the older land based veterans, however any additional live experience Internet players have will be invaluable as many top online players fail to make the correct adjustments for live play. For online poker players there are some things you need to know that are a bit different than the traditional land based casino poker game. The online poker game is much faster than the land based poker game. In the excitement of a faster pace game, you need to become focused on the object of winning as much money as possible and not on playing as many hands as possible. Playing too many hands when the odds don’t exist is a common mistake that land-based poker players make when they migrate to the online poker version.

The synergy of online poker and land based poker tournaments is what is creating all of the activity in televised poker. You can compete in the event from your computer or you can be competing on TV in front of millions of poker fans. Online poker is the breeding ground of a new generation of poker talent. The new model of using online poker to enhance the land based poker tournaments results in a productive relationship, and that is what makes poker the choice of Best Casinos.

How do you figure out the hand of your opponent? Look closely and you will notice twitches that reveal the strength of his hand. These twitches are called poker tells. And players are having a field day talking about poker tells in their blogs.

Poker tells exist both in the live games and in the online games. If you want to beef up your poker strategy, you will surely be interested in learning the common poker tells.

In a physical card room or in a casino, you will notice a poor player putting a hand over his mouth. Why? Because he is trying to conceal a smile (not a yawn). You can be sure that just as the sun rises in east, he is holding a strong hand. Another physical twitch is when the player reaches for a drink: his mouth is dry because he is nervous. A nervous player is relatively easy to lead.

If an opponent is trying to stare you down, he is trying to intimidate you. What is the reason behind this? Most likely, he is bluffing. If you have a strong hand, call. If you have a great hand and want more action, raise.

Observe the eyes of your opponent when the flop comes. If he takes a quick look at his chips, he probably has a strong hand. He is thinking of how much he will bet and win.

When you play online, will knowing poker tells be useful? Of course. Poker tells will differ slightly from player to player, but your online opponents are still humans. What you need to observe closely is the time or duration that an opponent spends during his turn or chance to bet.

In a limit game, when two flush or straight cards are out, and one of the players makes a quick call, this usually means a draw. On the flop, however, when one player makes an instantaneous raise, you can assume that he has a top pair.

When one of your opponents that you consider a poor player is taking time to think, he is actually debating whether to call or fold. This means that his hand is weak. Now if he took time (but not too long) to think and then raise, you can be sure that he is not bluffing. Poor players generally don’t bluff. He was just both nervous and excited and needs to calm himself enough to use the mouse.

If one of your online opponents raises frequently at the pre-flop and then folds at the flop when another player bets at him, this particular opponent is a tilting player. Tilting players are also relatively easy to read.

Win big with your newfound knowledge.