Poker Profits

Posting blinds is a very important aspect of the betting structure of Texas Holdem poker. It keeps the action in a poker game moving and influences the way people play the game, including whether or not they will fold, check or increase their bets. As the blinds increase, they can also make the game more exciting.

In Texas Holdem there are two types of blind bets: the small blind and the big blind. These blinds are forced bets, which must be made by players who are participating in a hand. In Holdem, the dealer button indicates the position of the dealer and the dealing schedule; the button moves around the table to keep track of the dealer position. The small blind is always posted by the person to the left of the dealer. The big blind is always posted by the person to the left of the small blind. So, the onus for posting these bets is rotated as the dealer button moves around the table.

The small and big blinds are posted before the pocket hands are dealt, before the community cards are dealt and before the players have a clue as to the outcome of the dealing or the hand. Because they have made an initial investment in the hand, these players are then motivated to stay in the hand, even if they don’t like their cards, in order to get a return. This becomes especially risky as the game progresses, others are eliminated and the blinds increase incrementally. At some point, the blinds will be so high, that paying them can break a player.

Normally, the small blind is half of the big blind and the big blind is the same amount as the minimum bet. In a  Holdem tournament, these amounts are pre-determined. At the beginning of the tournament, the blinds will be a lower amount and will begin to increase as the tournament moves forward. The blinds are either increased after a pre-determined set period of time or after a pre-determined set number of hands. This increases the action of the game and eliminates any low-ranking players from the game.

Another forced bet that can be applied is called an ante. This can be used in addition to bets in a Texas Holdem tournament. The ante is a pre-determined amount that each player must post before the cards are dealt. This can increase the action of the game and considerably increases the winnings in the pot before a hand has even begun. For instance, if the small blind is $20 and the big blind is $40 and the ante is $10 in a five player game, the pot already contains $110 before the cards are even dealt.

As you can see, forced bets are an important part of the betting schedule in Texas Hold’em poker, needed to keep the game moving, eliminate straggling opponents and motivate betting.

The Next Bodog Poker Open IV Champion to be crowned this Sunday, Nov. 8, at 4pm EST

The road to poker stardom is underway at Bodog.com with the first three days of the Bodog Poker Open IV in the books and lots of prize money already awarded, including $25,000 in added money from Bodog.com. Both the lower-stakes “Contender Series” and higher-stakes “Championship Series” have seen impressive numbers each day, and the action is only just heating up as players contend for seats in the Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Event on Sunday, Nov. 8, when one player will be crowned champion and receive international media exposure.

“The chance to become a poker superstar and pocket some serious cash is why so many online poker players have turned out for the Bodog Poker Open IV this week, and there’s still time to get in on the action,” said Bodog Poker Pro Justin Bonomo. “Every poker player wants to make a name for themselves by winning a major tournament, and the Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Event this Sunday guarantees this and more with the winner receiving major exposure in an international poker publication and extensive coverage on Bodog.com.

The Championship Series of the Bodog Open IV continues tonight with Event No. 4 ($50 + $5 with Rebuys – No Limit Holdem). The series runs for the next two nights at 8:30pm with Pot Limit and Limit Holdem events, both featuring a $150 + $12 buy-in. Winners of these events will receive an automatic T$500 buy-in to the Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Event, held on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 4pm EST. Bodog.com is adding $25,000 in cash to the prize pool of the $470 + $30 buy-in Championship Event.

Running concurrently with the Championship Series, the lower-stakes Contender Series carries the same opportunity for winners to receive a T$500 buy-in to the Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Event. So far three “Contenders” have moved up to the ranks of potential champions and by the end of the week, a total of seven players from the Contender Series will have earned a shot at poker stardom by winning seats to the Bodog Poker Open IV Championship Event.

While it is the top spot that players are gunning for in each Contender Series tournament, the remaining eight final table players from each event earns an automatic seat to the Contender Series Championship Event, held on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 5pm EST. The $46 + $4 buy-in tournament features $2,500 in added prize money from Bodog.com.

Finally, those not lucky enough to win a seat to the Championship Event in either series can still win their way in on the cheap when Bodog.com hosts a full day of satellite qualifiers on Saturday, Nov. 7.

For more details and the full remaining Bodog Poker Open IV schedule, visit: Bodog Poker

Tells are one of the most important aspects of poker. They are a big part of the game and very important to get clues and hints about the cards that your opponents hold.

A good poker player knows that the amount of money that his opponent bets on has nothing to do with his cards and that in order to evaluate his opponents situation he must spot tells.

A good experienced player can gather lots of information from tells. Tells are signs that reveal information in many different ways, good players know how to spot them and how to use the information that they revealed for their own benefit.

Another important advantage of knowing how to pick up tells is the ability to avoid giving away your own tells. If you know how common players reveal information by tells you can try to look at yourself while playing and to notice what kind of tells you give and by that to learn how to monitor and avoid it.

There are many tells that experienced poker players can read. Tells are very idiosyncratic so in order to know exactly how to read a player’s tell you have to play with the specific player for a long time. In the long run you’ll realize that you’re familiar with your friend’s tells and that you can read them like an open book, but if you’re playing against new opponents in all sorts of poker rooms, here are some of the things that you should look for.

The first thing that you have to look at is the eyes. If you’ll watch professional poker tournaments you’ll notice that many poker pros are playing with sunglasses or visors. This is because the eyes can reveal lots of information about one’s cards.

Take a good look at your opponent’s eyes, learn how he reacts to different situations and you’ll now how to read his tells.

You can also learn a lot from the facial expression on your opponents’ face. You can tell if a player is nervous or eager if he has specific facial expressions or ‘tics’ and you can look for specific smiles or concern if the hands are good or bad.

Look for certain body gestures that can hint on a specific hand. Look for signs of anxiety or distress. There are stimulus responses that even the most experienced players cannot hide, so try to look for those physical changes and to study how the other players respond to different situations.

Try to look for eye pupil dilations, signs of dry throat, sweat, trembling hands and flexing of muscles and changes in the body gestures.

Other things that you have to look for are a repetitive glance at the player’s chips which might indicate a subconscious reaction to different situations at the poker table. Another thing is that you have to look for is the way the players stack their chips. If you notice a different pattern of stacking it might indicate that the player is under pressure or eager to make his move and win the hand.

There are many different tells that can indicate different reactions to situations at the poker table, but you must remember that you cannot count only on tells and you should use other poker strategies if you want to be a better player. Tells can provide valuable information, but serious players know that this is not enough for the game.

When you are entering the world of poker you must be aware of the fact that in order to achieve the best performance you must become skilled not only at playing poker as a game but also at playing poker players as persons. This basically translates through a play that is generally perfect when it comes to techniques and that will also be adjustable to the other’s style and skill. You play must rely on the weaknesses of you opponents and take shelter from their strong points. To do this you have to constantly observe them and pick the most appropriate strategy in each specific case.

You have to consider things like advertising you game. This will give you a variety in your game when mixed with raises with low hand and calls with high hands and will not allow others to play you. As always defense is the best offence so take advantage of it. This strategy includes playing more hands with weak players and loose players and also players known to play badly after the first turn. Also play fewer hands when dealing with experts. Bluff good players and aggressive ones but never bluff a weak inexperienced player because he will ruin your game.

You must make good use of your position in the game. It is an important factor and it is proven that you must sit left to loose players and weak or maniac ones because you can easily control them. When playing against tight players do the opposite thing: keep them to your right if possible. This way you and your maniac player are isolated when you will raise and you can better play him.

When dealing with aggressive players the trick is playing them back using their own weapon: aggression. You will spend more money on hands having to raise and re-raise hands you wouldn’t normally do, but you will make them a bit more passive this way. When you have a good hand you must let them do their bets and raises and then you start yours, trapping them into many other bets as well. When you are dealing with passive players, they are safer to play. They will fold and check when they have almost nothing and they will bet only when they have a good hand, so if they bet you can fold cards, cards that you would’ve kept if you were dealing with an aggressive player.

Participate in more hands next to the loose players and play tight against the tight persons. You should not bluff a loose player ever, maybe just when you have an excellent opportunity on your hands. On the other hand, tight players are to be bluffed as often as possible, a lot more than any other type of players.

It’s obvious to everyone that Texas Holdem is the most popular form of poker in the world today. It’s unthinkable to have a brick and mortar or online poker room that doesn’t spread Holdem in one form or another. It’s also the chosen game for the biggest poker cash tournaments in history, including the main event of the World Series Of Poker which decides the world champion each year.

The reasons for Holdem’s success as a game are numerous, including it’s easy to learn rules, complex advanced strategies, quickness of play and well proportioned balance between luck and skill. It’s inherent properties seem to offer something for all types of poker players. Action junkies will love the quickness play and sophisticated bettors can enjoy learning the endlessly debated advanced strategies possible. Another big part of the games growth comes from the actuality that the cards and odds often allow for rookie players to win a session or tournament against practiced players. Achieving results, even just occasionally, always encourages new hobbyists to continue playing without intimidation.

Will Holdem always be the poker game of choice, or is it possible another game will become the new favorite? Older poker games like Stud and Draw could possibly regain some momentum however this is an unlikely scenario as these games are currently being shunned by many new action players for their naturally slow pace of play. Other known games like Guts (3 card poker) seem a little too wild and precarious for most players and Pan (a form of chinese poker) is immediately seen as being just too complicated.

It is more likely that a newer game like Crazy Pineapple or Badugi would take over as the number one. Pineapple is essentially a spin-off from Holdem and Badugi is a fun new form of 4-card poker that is played triple-draw for low. These new games can be exciting poker alternatives when a bit of variety is needed in our playing sessions.

Keeping Holdem as a foundation to their poker activities, most players seem to learn the rules and dabble in the other poker games after a year or two of play. Regardless of these tendencies, it’s certain that the Holdem craze is not going to end anytime soon since it has been the introductory game for the biggest wave of new players in history.

Paddy Power are looking to crown their first ever Paddy Power Poker Pro and it could be you!

To qualify all you have to do is be a General in our VIP programme as of 1st October 2009 and you’ll play in an exclusive online final to determine the eight who will play in our Live Grand Final for a top prize of €60,000.

• €100,000 in prizes to be won in total
• Winner will get €30,000 Cash & €30,000 in tournament buy-ins
• Poker Pro Grand Final broadcast live online
• You’ll represent Paddy Power Poker in events such as the Irish Open, EPT, GUKPT
• TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY

Follow your dream and live the life of a Poker Professional for a year

Since its invention, poker has rapidly become one of the favorite gambling past times for many Americans, due to the ease with which it can be played. There is perhaps no other game of chance for which so many different variations have been created- there are literally hundreds of versions of poker.

Poker is intrinsically caught up in the history of America and American expansions. It is thought to have originated in New Orleans, where players would use a 20 card deck and bet on whose hand was the most valuable. As American settlement spread West up river systems, poker went along, including on riverboat passages up major waterways such as the Mississippi on river boats. Its expansion during this period has meant that it is an integral part of the popular telling of the history of the American West, and can be found in works of fiction and non-fiction, works of history and religion, documentaries and movies alike.

The full 52-card deck was introduced to the game after the expansion period, along with the idea of the flush. Variants of the game began to emerge during the American Civil War, and the game continued to be an integral part of the military, just as it had the development of the West. It is thought that it was the American military that spread the game throughout much of the rest of the world, especially in Asia.

Poker began to receive a lot of public attention when the World Series of Poker began in 1970. During this period, a heightened interest in the game meant that the market was ripe for development, in the form of poker rooms in major casinos as well as the development of strategy books and tips.

Poker experienced a down turn in the mid 1980s that continued right through to the new millennium. Many casinos shut down their poker rooms during this time in favor of more lucrative games which favored house odds (poker offers very little returns for a casino aside for a cut of the pot).

A return in popularity came in the development of several more tournaments for poker, mainly the brainchild of Stephen Lipscomb who developed the idea of the World Tour of Poker. Since the beginning of that show, with its reliance on innovative camera technology which allows viewers to see the cards of the players, poker popularity throughout the world has taken on astronomical proportions, particularly the Texas Hole “Em variation. Online poker sites have also contributed to the increased popularity of the game which has been described as “Every Man’s Game”. Professional poker players have become celebrities in their own right, and many celebrities are also turning to the game as their preferred method of entertainment. Some players, such as Jennifer Tilly, seem to have given up their former careers in order to play the game.

This is by far, one of the most important concepts in Texas Holdem.  Playing a top ten strategy is the very first strategy that players should learn because it teaches the player good habits that lead will lead to later success.

People are always asking me what a good, solid strategy is for a beginner playing Texas Holdem.  My answer is always the same, play a top ten strategy.

Top Ten strategy, refers to the the top ten pockets hands that you can have.  These hands are AA, KK, QQ, AK suited, JJ, TT, 99, 88, AQ suited, and 77.  The strategy suggests that you only play these hands.  This will lead to very conservative play, but for a beginner to profit at Texas Holdem, conservatively is exactly how you want to play.

It seems to me that I am always seeing newbies playing very agressively, they are the first ones to go all in, and that is generally the wrong strategy. If these beginner players would stick to a top ten poker strategy, they would come out much better in the long run.  More importantly, this conservative top ten poker strategy will teach the beginning player patience, which is the most important virtue that a texas holdem player can possess.

Poker is a game of information. Control what information your opponent is receiving, and you can maneuver him into making a mistake. There are two primary ways to control this information… by bluffing, or by slowplaying.

Bluffing is making a strong bet, when your hand is, in reality, weak. You are trying to get a better hand to fold. Slowplaying, on the other hand, is to hold a very strong hand, but play it weakly. This is done to entice a weaker hand to bet into you.

For instance, you decide to hit the felt, and play a few hands of Texas Holdem. Not many hands are coming your way, and then you look down to see pocket 7’s.

Your last to act, and one person has raised the pot in front of you. No one else has called. You decide to just call, and see what the flop brings.

Then, the flop comes down… It’s 8 of hearts, 7 of spades, 2 of clubs. You hit the jackpot! Middle set. Now, you want to figure out how you can make the most of it.

The only thing is, your opponent stares at the board, and then checks to you. You figure he missed the flop. If you bet now, he’ll probably fold, and you won’t win much at all with your monster hand. You decide to check it as well.

The turn card comes out, and it happens to be a King spades. Hopefully, your opponent likes this card. After looking a few moments at the board, he bets half the pot. This is working perfectly according to plan. You decide to call, and see what he does on the river.

Finally the river card. It’s a 2 of hearts. No flush, no straight, and only a King high board. Suddenly, your opponent decides to push all his chips in the middle! You really couldn’t ask for much more. You call instantly, and he rolls over KQ. You take down the pot with your trip 7’s.

So, you won a huge pot, deserving of your monster hand. However, it might never have happened, except you were able to slowplay it.

But, there are some rules to the slowplay. Follow them closely, and you can use this technique to pull out profits in poker.

First Rule: Hand strength is a must! Without it, you are just giving free cards for them to take your money with.

Second Rule: Your opponent need to be able to make a good hand. If he’s holding overcards to the board, this may work. If he’s holding trash, it probably won’t.

Third rule: Any card that can come must not be able to hurt your hand. We want to make sure the gun he has is a water pistol, not real bullets.

Fourth Rule: If your opponent happens to call with anything, then bet anyway. He’s gonna call…not sense in playing slow to prevent a fold.

Fifth Rule: If the money you can win in the pot is already a large amount…then bet away. You’d rather take down a big pot now, than slowplay and lose a huge one later.