Reading Opponents: Texas Holdem Poker Tells

• Author: Bruno Chauvet
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Sep 3,2010

One of the most fascinating and critical parts of poker is the extraordinary ability of great players to be able to read a player and work out what cards they hold. Everybody has poker tells and the best players know that the more attention you pay, the more information you can gain about someone. Poker tells include everything that you do at the table from moving chips, speaking and even involuntary mannerisms.

The Eyes Reading a player starts with their eyes. Watch how they view the world and you will gain insight into their thoughts. An opponent who glances at their chips immediately after seeing the flop is thinking about betting and likely has a monster. Some players will stare at their hole cards longer than normal when they have a big hand. When the flop comes down and the player stares at the flop as if staring straight through it, they have often missed.

The Hole Cards Double checking the hole cards usually means a weak hand. People don’t often double check big pairs because they remember what it was the first time. Looking away and uninterested after seeing the hole cards is a dead give away for strength. Squeezing out the second hole card sometimes means the first card seen is an ace. Checking the hole cards on a flop that is all the same suited usually implies someone doesn’t have the flush.

Patterns in Betting In poker, one thing that is often true is that strong means weak and weak means strong. Any player that forcefully shove chips into the middle looking aggressive is on a bluff. The reverse is also true.

Chip Stacks If you ever notice a player winning a large pot and stacking their chips from the last hand, they will not play the hand unless they have good cards. Tight conservative players keep neat stacks and loose aggressive players usually have unkempt stacks.

Voice Changes If a player is talking smoothly while in a hand, it means he is not overly concerned about the hand he is playing. This is because he feels comfortable and usually means a big hand. Any speech means strength. Any question directly at your or the dealer means strength e.g. Is it my turn to bet?. An opponent that is acting rude is trying to induce a spite call.

There are many poker tells. If you keep your eyes open and always watch the table, you’ll be on the right track to becoming a great player.

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An In Depth Look At Betfair

• Author: David Patron
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Aug 30,2010

Betfair is a company known primarily for its sports betting but the site also offers many poker games. It is one of the foremost sports betting organizations in the world andset has developed a robust infrastructure to manage a dependable and exciting place for poker players. Betfair has added some renowned professionals to their team including such glitterati as one of the top woman tournament poker players in the world, Annette “Annette_15″ Obrestad, Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi and Peter Jepsen, making for a very strong team. One of the company’s claim to fame is its in-depth knowledge of all things regarding online gaming, this has overflowed into the poker application.

The company prides itself on being the biggest online gambling community with proprietary software making for a reliable and smooth running application. The company was born in 1999-2000 to its founders, Andrew Black and Edward Wray whose goal was to develop nothing less than the best betting technologies in the industry. The software is proprietary and robust with terrific multi-table, media and custom support to go along seamlessly with its cash game and tournament offerings.

Betfair partners with the World Series of Poker Europe so it definitely takes its poker tournaments to heart. With their serious intent, they offer a schedule of tournaments and free rolls every single day. Players know it for its serious and aggressive player base and loose funds from the sports book so they are surrounded by cash. Since the company is based in Europe, players may find it too quiet if they are joining the site at Europe’s off hours, but the true aficionado will stick around and find a game to his liking and know the site will welcome him warmly.

Note well that the primary focus of Betfair is its sports book so the poker can be somewhat soft. Also note that sports bettors are true risk takers, no odds calculation needed here, so they can make mighty fine poker opponents.

The ongoing bonus programs are inspirational. Some of the best are Bankroll Booster, Poker points, tournament free rolls and specials too numerous to count. The site is especially fond of its free roll players and tournament players to whom value is important so really fine tournament promotions are part of the daily schedule. Poker points can be traded for many different things and sometimes can be used for a selection of discounts in the sports book. Regardless of which feature on the site you fancy, you are assured of top notch support.

Support is available 24/7 to add to the players enjoyment of the site. Support can be contacted by email or by phone and all issues are promptly resolved for the comfort and convenience of the customer. The banking system offers many withdrawal options and is a partner of The Royal Bank of Scotland so visitors to the site can always be confident when using the banking software. Betfair just may be number one because of its great technical support and its keen understanding of gambling related issues whether of the technological variety or otherwise. Most will not feel the need to call upon the great support feature because they will encounter no difficulty in navigating the site.

Betfair is considered to be in the top twenty of online companies in the world and is the recipient of many business awards, the Queens Award for Enterprise among them. So it comes as no surprise that this site is the top choice of gamers everywhere. You should join them.

For more poker room reviews like this one please check out reviews like our Fortune Poker Review, Everest Poker Review, or any of the other poker room reviews at Rakeback Solution.

Approaching The Game Of Poker For Profit

• Author: David Patron
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Aug 25,2010

In Poker, some games offer more potential for profit than others. Limit Hold’em was once the most popular online game. There remain many low to medium limit games, and also those with limits as high as $100/$200 per game. Because one can always find a hold’em game whether online or at a casino, it undoubtedly offers the most profit potential of any of the games. There are many not-so-hot players out there that do not rise to the level of the $20/$40 limit.

If your goal is to find the most profitable game out there, limit hold’em is for you. It has a profitable history, is currently remaining profitable, and there are no signs of diminishing profits for the future. It’s popularity means that there are many novices to make a nice profit from if you took the time to learn and practice the nuances of the game as well as your opponents.

The amount of literature devoted to the game gives it a big advantage over other less popular types. It is the most studied of games and it is even possible for the most studious of players to learn much from the published material. This renders decision-making that much easier.

Of course, the ease of learning the game promotes many skilled players at the table, both online and off. This fact cuts into its profitability, especially for the average player. The run-of-the mill player cannot expect to make a net profit.

If you would like to avoid this dismal fate, there are several very specific questions you can ask yourself in order to determine which game is best for you. Poker is a game of chance, a game of skill and creativity, and it is a game of risk and self control. Determine as precisely as you can how prone you are to taking risks and how well you are able to control yourself in such situations: that is, whether the risks you take are impulsive and uncalculated (.i.e. a disaster in poker terms), or whether you are the type who likes to take calculated risks designed to win as well as to thrill.

There are special tests to help you determine how risk-prone you are. If you cannot help yourself, slot machines will probably be your best choice. If you would rather avoid risk, it is best to gravitate towards limit games in the exact proportion to your aversion towards risks.

If you are an individual who must have everything under your control as often as possible, decide whether you are a human calculator who remembers every card played and every combination of cards in a three or four hour long marathon games, or the psychologist who made your best moves by reading your opponents’ body language and facial expressions. The latter player should be in a no-limit or MTT poker game, not limit hold’em.

It is of interest that the psychological player has the better chance of becoming a well-developed player. There are very few high-limit games played as high risk tends to cut off players early on in the game. The no-limit and tournament varieties are both easy to find and complex enough to provide a challenge. These games should be the choice of the budding beginner in the field of poker.

The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Rakeback at Full Tilt Poker and competes in the monthly Races and Rolls Freerolls.

What Poker Image To Maintain

• Author: Tom Kearns
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Aug 18,2010

The average poker player would not understand that at any point during a game they are projecting a certain image to other players. They do not know that they even need to project a certain controlled type of image. Or worse, in order to avoid the projection of any semblance of meaningful communication, they disguise themselves by wearing various articles to cover their faces entirely.

But unless they completely disappear – did Welles’s invisible man play poker? – they will always project just enough information for good players to exploit. They are not only likely to attract other and better skilled silent scarecrows similar to themselves, but they are also likely to scare away those players who would otherwise constitute the bulk of their regular income.

A neutral expression does not make you difficult to observe. Well-managed communication with opponents, if properly done, will give a much better result than holding on to that blank, wordless image. Blankness is undoubtedly a sign of frailty rather than robustness.

If it is a retreat from controlled active participation, it is always a weakness (the alternative is not hyperactivity, but balanced calculated manipulation). Moreover, these players probably do not suspect that for the skilled opponent they probably still have tells of one type or another somewhere about their inevitably, even if reluctantly, living breathing person.

A non-serious player will look for a table where folks seem to be having fun. They will cruise around the room until they stumble upon the table with laughing friendly players gathered around. They are not looking for a serious game but for some fun and so a potential opponent’s skills are not a priority.

For the career player, these fun seeking amateurs are his bread and butter and he will cater to their every whim. The wise player knows that these good time amateurs are where his earnings originate and will encourage them to stay and play by being a witty raconteur while emptying their wallets. A not-so-great but happy player will linger at an amusing table, risk more and lose more while always in a good mood. This professional’s dream player would not go near a table manned with stone cold zombies.

A good conversation and a sense of humor combined with a slightly flattering play which keeps the amateur trusting he has a chance will increase the chances of that player coming back for more next time, perhaps even specifically seeking out your table. Since they do not play for the money or the excitement of high stakes, they will not regret as much having lost to an entertaining player.

By keeping weaker opponents in a fun frame of mind, you encourage their high hopes of lady luck finding her way to them. Lady luck will visit occasionally and turn them into frequent players and attract still more fun-loving amateurs to the table. If you display a cold attitude, they will leave.

The best professionals are aware that they project an image and so are cautious as to what that image is at any given time. They have created an image to add to their interests, not to shun others. They have learned their superior technique through experience and have learned to manipulate the game to their advantage by creating a persona that establishes a positive environment in which everyone wants to join in including the heedless, fun-loving victim.

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Baccarat – The Easiest Game In The Casino?

• Author: Benjamin Duval
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Aug 16,2010

Learning to play baccarat, whether online or in a casino, could not be easier. It is probably one of the simplest games you could encounter in a casino or on the Internet. Play a few free-play hands at any online casino that offers the game and you will soon grasp the rules and how the betting works.

Unlike the more well-known casino card games, such as poker and blackjack, Baccarat is a game of pure chance and it is basically about guessing whether the value of the players hand will be greater than, less than or equal to the value of the banker’s hand. The hand with the highest value (with a maximum score of 9) is the winner.

Players place their bets on the relevant outcome. If a player chooses “player” or “banker” any winnings are paid out at evens, but if the player correctly guesses that both hands will be of equal value, they will be paid out at odds of 8 to 1.

After betting, the banker deals 2 cards face-up to each player. Cards numbered from 2 to 9 have their face value; Aces have a value of 1; 10s and picture cards have a zero value. The winning hand is simply that which is of a higher value. However one hand must have a value greater than 5 in order to be that winning hand.

If a hand is greater than 9, the leading digit of the sum of the 2 cards is dropped, ie. A player is dealt 6 & 5 = 11, their hand scores 1. If, after dealing the first 2 cards to each hand, neither can score over 5, a final third card is dealt to each hand and the outcome is determined on the highest hand of 3 cards.

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