How To Become A Successful Online Poker Player

For me playing poker is not just about attempting to win money, it is also fun. The hands come around in a much speedier manner than when you play at a casino. 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. Many a player can become rather bored in this situation and this can see them start to waste their stack.

I would like to make it clear that I am by no means a professional poker player; for a living I work for a composite door company where I sell, as you can no doubt imagine, composite doors. I also help people to stop stuttering in my spare time by running a one-to-one speech course and by a variety of self-help stuttering therapy options.

There will always be the nutter type of player who we will come across from time to time – these players are ones that bet large amounts on virtually ever hand. These players may win a lot of chips in a short period of time, however in the long run will always lose.

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. I would have to say that this is not the best 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.

Online Poker Players Are Society’s New Celebrities

If you believe what Celebrity Apprentice Joan Rivers says, poker players are “beyond white trash.” But I bet you could find millions of poker fans who disagree with that assessment. As a matter of fact, poker is wildly popular right now and so are its practitioners. This is evidenced by the fact that poker players like Jennifer Harmon, Phil Gordon, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and many others have achieved enormous celebrity status in recent years.

This surge in popularity has caused many to try their hand, so to speak, at making a living playing on on-line poker websites. Some have actually been very successful and because of this many more people have become Internet poker millionaires. These poker successes are not always who you would expect them to be, because they’re often quite young and not seasoned pros. Unfortunately, for every new batch of successful poker players, there are also those who have been victims of Internet poker scams. Mostly new players step into this trap, because they don’t know how to verify a gambling site’s bona fides.

To make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to you, the following tips can help you assess whether a site has the potential to be a scam:

• If the site doesn’t look professional, don’t even register there. Sub-standard construction could be an indicator of the work of a quick-buck artist or a cash-strapped owner who may go belly-up and take your winnings with him.
• Check if the site or its owners are members of the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC). IGC members agree to adhere to a code of ethics.
• Make sure the site has 24-hour support with a toll-free phone number and e-mail.
• If the site looks professional, is an IGC member and has good contact info, do several small transactions as tests before you put up any major money. These will reveal a lot about the quality of the site.

Everyone has to start somewhere, so there’s no reason why with a little luck and a lot of practice you couldn’t become one of online poker’s stars. Just make sure to do your homework first, so your success won’t be tainted by regret.

Correcting the 5 Biggest Mistakes In Online Poker

Biggest Mistakes in Online Poker

Distractions
One of the biggest problems players have when playing online poker is allowing distractions to affect their play.  Many players watch television, listen to a radio or iPod, surf the net, or chat online with friends while playing online poker.  There is certainly no problem with listening to some music or having background noise, but for most players anything beyond this negatively impact results.

If you are serious about making money and improving your game, you must pay attention to what is happening at the table.  You will miss out on valuable information such as timing tells and betting tendencies if you allow outside influences to distract you.  The more tables you intend on playing, the more important it will be to focus on the game(s) at hand.

Playing above your bankroll
Putting too much of your bankroll at risk is a common mistake among many beginners.There are endless examples of talented players that went broke from playing at stakes they couldnt afford because they thought they could beat the game.  Poker is about playing the odds, and even if you are huge favorite in a tournament or cash game you still have to remember that luck is a factor.

The most successful poker players usually adhere to a 20-50 buy-in rule for tournament cash game play.  So, a player that has a $300 bankroll should be playing $5- $10 sit n go’s at Full Tilt until he can get up to at least $500.  If you decided to get aggressive and play $100 sit n go’s and the competition was too strong or you got unlucky, you would go broke after just 3 tournaments.  Play it safe and use the 20-50 buy-in guidelines.

Not playing in position
A commonly accepted principle in poker is playing position.  Poker is a game of incomplete information, and the more information you have about your opponents, the more successful you will be.

Acting after your opponents provides you more options.Many pots are decided by the player who acts last in the hand, because they have more information at their disposal when making their deicision.  If two players have the same hand, the player in position will win a much higher percentage of these pots because they will have more information to make the decision.

Not Understanding short term variance
A lot of players have a tough time understanding the amount of variance there is in poker.Strong players make find themselves on week or month-long downswings, just as weaker players can go on dramatic upswings, so dont let short-term results influence your play.  A beginning player might be fooled by a big night, week, or month, without realizing that they have been making many mistakes. Conversely, players may be playing well but losing every coin flip, get sucked out on the river, and seemingly missing every straight or flush draw.

Just because you are dealt pocket aces doesn’t mean you will win the hand.Poker is all about percentages, and being a solid favorite does not ensure that you will win the hand.  Focus on playing each hand as best you can, without allowing your good or bad luck to influence your decision-making.Luck and variance are just part of the game that any poker player will have to accept.

Playing without rakeback
When you play online poker, the poker room takes rake from each pot if you are playing a cash game and an upfront fee before a tournament is played.  Poker sites like Full Tilt and Poker Stars reward players for playing at their site by giving them money back for their loyalty.

Rakeback can make the difference between breaking even and being a higly profitable player.  The money that is returned to you each month could help you move from .25/.50 to .50/1.00, or spent on a new computer or television.  Before signing up at a room like Full Tilt Poker, you would go to a rakeback website and sign up to get some of the rake the poker rooms are charging returned to you.

Rakeback offers can vary between 30-40%, and virtually always include a sign up bonus or other incentives.  If you don’t have poker rakeback already, you are passing up free money!

Some Tips For Poker Tournament Strategy

The neon lights, the loud noise, the smell of money, welcome to Las Vegas. Bedtime is never a set time here. You might be up at three in the morning walking around the casino. You look at the slots, the black jack table, the something catches your eye. Poker. All are not familiar with poker. Yet, there are poker tournament strategies that can turn a small bet into a large take home.

Poker, like most gambling is tempting. Being impulsive with money is most people’s first instinct. This is a big no. Rushing bets can be the end of your game before you even had the chance to settle in. Doing this runs a higher risk of losing money fast, and little to no time to win it back to even break even. I am not advising you to fold when you have a royal flush in an early hand. A poker tournament is like a marathon. If you sprint for the first mile, you’ll be out of the race. But the longer you pace yourself, and stay in the game, your chance of winning increases.

Poker is not a team game. Its one against the rest. You will not win every hand. That is not the goal either. The goal should be to be in the game till the last hand is dealt.

Live poker tournament play is not all about the cards. Its is about your opponents, and the way you conduct yourself. When you get that killer hand, you cannot put a huge grin on your face. This is a major wrong doing. Players can read other players, even in the most subtle way. Live tournaments is just as must about reading the cards in front of you as it is reading the cards you are dealt.

Live tournaments could be a big step for some new to the game. Online tournaments can be a nice stepping stone. All the same elements of poker exist online. But you are in the comfort of your own home, and not playing in front of the opposing players. Even though you have the option to play other live players.

Online poker is legal in the United States. It’s legal in most other countries as well. Recently, the American government is making online poker, and gambling harder and harder. Though it is still legal, it seems that the government is taking slow steps to stop it. Although, this is happening, many oppose the actions.