The Ultimate Free Poker Strategy Guide for New Players

Poker has taken the world by storm since its invention. The game involves bluffing, deception, luck, and skill, creating countless opportunities for players to earn large sums of money. In this article we’ll show you the exact tactics used by professional poker players – from basic strategy to advanced techniques.

 

Poker Player Standings 

You might already play poker or even consider yourself a good player. If you want to improve your skills, however, you should take things further. Most casinos offer free lessons, but these don’t teach you the real secrets of the game. Playing against other opponents gives you some valuable insights into how they behave and what their weaknesses are. Even though you can earn a living playing poker professionally, there’s no guarantee you’ll win every time. There are, however, various ways to increase your odds. This guide will explain each of them and give you practical examples.

Table Games vs Hold’em

A lot of people think that hold’em is just about making the best hand possible to beat all others in the pot. That’s true enough, but it’s not the only way to play. You have numerous options when deciding whether to raise, fold, call, re-raise, etc. A few popular table games include:

Texas Hold’em 

This is probably the most famous form of online poker. It consists of five cards being dealt face down with three community cards placed in the middle on top of the five. Each player is then allowed to check, bet, or raise according to his own strategy. After betting, everybody reveals his cards except the person who raised first. The player who makes the best hand wins.

Razz 

Razz is similar to Texas Hold’em except that one card is hidden instead of two. Only after everyone bets do the cards come out. The player who holds the ace gets to discard any number of cards he wants. At the end of the round, the winner is determined by which player has the highest value hand.

Seven Card Stud 

Seven Card Stud is played as an extension of traditional stud poker. Instead of having seven cards per player (as in Stud), there are eight. The dealer shuffles the deck and deals seven cards in addition to the original deal to the betting player in turn. The rules of Seven Card Stud are identical to those of regular stud poker except that the betting round happens twice.

Three Card Omaha 

In Three Card Omaha, four cards are dealt face up and three more face down. Then, two hands are dealt at once face up. Players may either be dealt two cards (a flop) or receive a third card (an additional flush).

Strategy Guide

The following section covers some simple strategies that will help you to play better poker. For more detailed information, see our articles on strategy and psychology.

Basic Strategy

When you’re new to poker, you need to learn some basic concepts. These include knowing what types of hands you’re likely to get in different situations and how to use the available tools such as raising, checking, folding, etc. To start off, let’s look at how to calculate how much to bet.

Betting Calculations 

If you want to maximize your chances of winning, you should choose the right amount to bet based on your current situation. You can find the right range by using your opponent’s previous actions and your own recent ones. With this knowledge, you can decide if you want to make a small bet or a big one.

Let’s say you’re facing someone who has been betting $0.10-$0.25 per hand. If you bet $1.00 per hand, you’ll know for sure that he would never go over $2.50. If he goes over $2.50, you won’t lose anything even if he folds to you because you’d still have $3.56 left. On the other hand, if you only bet $0.05, you’ll lose the entire pot if he calls. If he raises with $0.30, you’ll also lose, since it’s difficult to predict someone else’s future moves. 

The Best Strategy

By now, you should have a pretty good idea when you need to fold and when you need to call. However, there are still times when you should check rather than call. Let’s take a closer look at why.

Checking vs Calling 

A popular method of deciding whether to check or call is called the “Gambler’s Rule.” This rule states that if your opponent has not acted within the last few hands, it’s usually safe to wait until he does act before calling.

You Should Check 

If your opponent checks every time, you should generally wait until he bluffs. This way, you don’t risk losing money by making a bad decision. Bluffing works like this: Your opponent thinks you’ve got a strong hand and decides to raise. He then reveals his hand, which doesn’t contain any good draws or suited connectors.

 

The Bottom Line

As we’ve seen above, most players think their opponents are bluffing at least half the time. So, you shouldn’t call unless they actually do. Furthermore, there are certain situations where you should always check instead of calling. By learning these situations, you can become a stronger poker player.

 

The Most Important Concepts When Playing Poker

Poker has become very common these days and even kids play it at home. For those who love to gamble, or simply enjoy spending time with friends, poker can be quite addictive. If you want to get better at the game, then you should study it thoroughly. The rules are not complex, but they are essential for every player to follow. So without further ado, let’s dive into the most basic aspects of poker that you need to know before you start playing.

 

Becoming a Poker Player

If you really want to play poker and any game like australian online pokies for that matter, there are some things you need to understand first. You will have to learn how to bluff, read other players’ body language, manage your bankroll, know when to fold, etc. Each of these skills is important if you want to win in poker tournaments. However, we’ll discuss each one individually.

1. Why is card shuffling important?

When we first sit down to play a hand of poker, the dealer will shuffle all the cards together in one big pile. He’ll use his special tool for this purpose. It’s called “the shoe”. This tool looks like an ordinary deck of cards, except that there are no jokers or picture cards. There is just one type of card: a thick metal rod with different-shaped indentations on each end. These indentations act as little cup holders for the cards. As soon as the dealer finishes shuffling, he lays out the whole shebang face up in front of him. From now on, the only way to reshuffle the cards is by taking them out of their cups one by one and moving them around yourself. Shuffling the cards is an integral part of poker. 

2. How does bluffing work?

Bluffing is basically the art of making people think you’re holding something good while actually, you aren’t. Bluffers pretend to hold strong hands or tell lies about their holdings so that other players will lose money because of their greediness. Basically, bluffs happen when you make statements that appear truthful but are actually false. There are two types of bluffing: proper bluffing and improper bluffing. Proper bluffing happens when you make statements that are believable but untrue. On the contrary, improper bluffing occurs when you make statements that are true but unbelievable.

3. What is reading people’s body language?

You’ve probably noticed that poker players usually don’t look away from others during the game. They watch every expression on their opponent’s faces and try to determine what they are thinking. In addition to facial expressions, poker players also pay close attention to body language such as whether someone smiles too much, holds a lot of chips, or fiddles with them, etc. Reading body language is crucial to being successful in poker.

4. How do I manage my bankroll?

A bankroll is how much money you are willing to spend on gambling. When you begin playing poker, you must decide how much you’re willing to risk per hour of play. Once you figure this amount out, you can set aside a certain percentage of your earnings to keep in reserve. Your bankroll helps you stay focused on the game and avoid the temptation to go crazy and bet recklessly. Besides, having a healthy bankroll lets you practice responsible gambling. A poor bankroll makes you more likely to overspend and burn through your savings. To help protect yourself against this situation, you must always limit your losses to a fixed fraction of your total bankroll. 

5. Is it okay if I call off before the flop?

Some people have a tendency to call off prematurely. If you feel that you cannot afford to gamble anymore, then you should definitely cut your losses and leave the table. However, some people believe that calling off early can be beneficial to them. The key here is to know when you are done betting. Many poker players say that they would rather wait until after the flop than call off earlier. By waiting till after the flop, you give everyone else at the table time to react. So, when you feel that you want to quit, wait til after the flop.

6. Do I need to fold pocket pairs?

It’s not important to fold pocket pairs. You could even consider folding any pair, including pocket tens and nines. Poker is a guessing game, and your goal is to win. But, you need to understand that there will be times when you will get paid less than expected. Therefore, you might as well take the chance to win and see what happens. However, if you get dealt a very unfavorable hand (like losing three straights) but still have a decent pot, then you may want to check instead of raising. Check is essentially saying “no”. Raising is essentially saying “yes”. 

 

Conclusion

Poker is an exciting game of skill and luck. It involves both physical and mental skills, which are combined to create a winner or loser. This article gives you tips and tricks for mastering the game of poker. I hope you found these helpful, and wish you good luck!

 

Secrets of a Professional Poker Tournament Player

How would you describe a professional poker tournament player? Is he or she someone who plays poker every day to relax after work? Or maybe a high roller who plays only at big events such as WSOP? Maybe a professional poker gambler who plays online poker games regularly? All these descriptions are completely outdated now. Today, professionals play online poker exclusively. They also spend a lot of time training, analyzing their opponents play and preparing strategies before they sit down at the table. And then they face their opponents head-to-head. This article tells you all about the secrets behind winning poker tournaments.

 

The Global Scene

Poker players from all levels compete in online poker tournaments all over the world. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is considered the premier tournament series worldwide. In recent years, however, several other prestigious poker tourneys became very popular. For example, the European Poker Tour has been running since 2004, attracting around 30 million viewers each year.

Even if you’re a beginner, you should try out online poker. If you want to become a better poker player, you should always practice. Practice alone won’t get you anywhere. You have to focus on learning new skills and improving your game under real pressure. Take advantage of our free poker resources and read some articles to learn more.

Online Poker Tournaments – What’s It Really About?

In the past, there were three types of poker tournaments. First, was the live tournament, which meant that people played against each other in real life. Second was the fixed limit pool tournament, where players could either buy into a predetermined number of seats for an entry fee or pay according to how many chips they owned. Thirdly, was the freeroll, which was a no entry fee event with no prize money involved. These days, most tournaments are held online and can be divided into two categories: cash and non-cash.

Non-Cash Tournaments

These tournaments don’t include any money prizes. However, the top players receive points or trophies in return for their efforts. Examples of this kind of tournament include the WCOOP and the EPT Main Event.

Cash Tournaments

These tournaments do offer some sort of monetary reward. Usually, it’s not much though, but it will still help you improve your game and get better results when playing online poker tournaments in the future.

Qualifying for Online Poker Tournaments

If you want to participate in online poker tournaments, you need some extra qualifications first. Firstly, you must register yourself with one of the major poker sites. Secondly, you have to join a poker league. Only registered players are allowed to take part in these leagues. Then, you have to play enough hands to qualify for the actual tournament itself. There are different ways to qualify for online poker tournaments like earning points by playing certain hands, accumulating points through previous matches, or simply buying your way in. Once you’ve qualified, you’ll enter the main event.

Winning Poker Tournaments

Once you’ve entered the main event, you’ll find that the structure of the poker tournament is similar to a normal tournament. During the initial stages of the tournament, you play heads up against everyone else in order to eliminate weaker competitors. After this point, you’ll usually be matched up against fewer and fewer opponents until eventually, you’re left playing just against the best players in the field. Of course, you’ll never know what your opponent holds because you’ll only ever see their cards. This means you’ll have to rely on your instincts, skill, and luck throughout the tournament.

Poker Strategy

To win at online poker tournaments, you’ll first need to understand the basic strategy behind the game. The object of the game is simple; use as few resources as possible when making decisions about who to call and fold. For example, consider the case of a flop being dealt. In theory, anyone holding pocket aces has the best hand, but what are we supposed to do if someone also holds pocket kings? Obviously, since he already won the pot, he doesn’t care if we call. What about another player who holds J5s? He’s probably going to raise and then check his ace range (A9s-Q9s), so why should we call him instead of folding? Since he would rather risk nothing than lose everything, we should always assume he’s bluffing and fold. If this situation applies to a full house, there is a lot more room for error!

 

Concluding 

Online poker tournaments can be very profitable if they are played correctly. You might not succeed every time you try, but it isn’t hard to learn how to become successful over time. Take note of the tips above, and you’ll soon be able to start winning more than you lose when playing casino games online.