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.

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How Playing Cards And Suits Came To Be

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

Cards, known as Saracen cards, were introduced to Europe in the second half of the 14th century. The people in more rural areas, having survived the “Black Death” were moving to the cities. Here they began a class of merchants and artisans who became middle class urbanities. Coming out of the dark ages with its superstition, ignorance and poverty, guilds and universities made a reappearance, scientific experimentation was once again allowed and thrived, and the populace now had time for leisure and play.

During the early Renaissance, books, cards, and paintings were manufactured by hand. A community of art and science appreciators formed and became the primary factor in the spread of card games across Italy. By late–th century many illustrated card-manual manuscripts had appeared in a number of key cities in several countries, including Viterbo near Rome in Italy, in Paris, and in Barcelona. Thanks to traveling artists and scholars, the popularity of the game steadily grew: in the early 15th century a single craftsman sufficed to satisfy the card requirements of a city; but by mid century there was need in multiple fulltime shops.

Because this was a somewhat foreign form of amusement, not everybody embraced it. Some felt it threatened the fabric of society’s mores and morals. They saw it as a game where gamblers and bettors were in cahoots with the devil. During the protestant Reformation cards were rather dramatically referred to as “devil pictures.”

In spite of or because of this, the popularity of cards persisted. Even Mary, Queen of Scots was a major bettor and enjoyed the game, shockingly, even on Sunday. The compleat Gamester was published in the late 17th century in London, relating details of more than a dozen games and their basic strategies. Particular facilities – casini – were established in Venice for aristocrats and courtesans especially for card games. From these Venice casini, a game called primero found its way all over Europe and was transformed into poker some time later.

In time, women as well as men, farmers and merchants as well as courtesans and nobles were able to enter the games and found symbols of themselves represented in the cards. A Swedish deck that became very much the rage, was comprised of these suits in order of ranking: sun, king, queen, knight, dame, valet and maid. Those ribald Florentines played with cards that pictured nude dames and dancers, with the dancers being the low suit.

Interestingly, the number of cards in a deck at the time was not standard, consisting of 30-40 or 52 cards. The designs also varied considerably. The suits most preferred were symbolic of wealth, food, military security as well as popular sports of the court:, coins, cups, sabers and clubs. Some of the symbols familiar to us today were typical of those in France: in red, Coeurs (hearts) stood for the church, and correaux (a rectangular floor tile) was a sign of the merchant class; in black, piques (spear and arrow heads) represented state authority, and trefles (trefoil clover leaf) denoted farmers. Somewhere along the line, a brave artisan exchanged the vice-royals symbol with queens.

Eventually a deck of cards made it to the form that we all recognize and understand today. 52 cards of- different ranks make up 4 different suits. Clubs, Spades, Diamonds and Hearts make up the suits, while Ace, King, Queen, and Jack make up the card ranks rounded out by ten through two.

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Online Gambling – The DIY Casino!

• Author: Nebekenazar Jones
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Jul 23,2010

Las Vegas has nothing on online gambling. I don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on flights, a hotel room and a rental car when I can just pop open a cold one, open up the Compaq Presario and get to stomping fools in a the Hold ‘Em Room. One interesting thing about online gambling that is much different than Vegas of course is your ability, or lack there of, to size up your competition. Luckily, Stonewashed Casino’s real time video conference feed gambling system allows you to do just that.

This ability to read someone’s actual body language is what sets the Stonewashed Casinos online gambling portal a cut above the rest. When I used to play at more second rate portal’s, I honestly was not making nearly as much money. When I can actually look into someone’s eyes, I can get a lot better idea as to whether or not they are trying to BS me. And reading the BS signals are what Hold ‘Em is all about!

Before Stonewashed Casinos, I was looking anywhere and everywhere for a dependable online gambling portal where I could endeavor into the depths of my vices late into the wee hours of the morning. I was just another miserable married guy with nothing to look forward to every night except diapers full of feces, screaming babies, and a nagging wife. Then I found Stonewashed Casinos, and I honestly feel like I am back in college again.

The video feed makes gambling on Stonewashed Casinos a lot like being back in the Frat House, talking crap with the boys, throwing money around like its nobodies business. There is a fun sense of camaraderie that you get even though you are all trying to take each others money. I guess it is not dissimilar to the same feeling you have when you are trying to kill your buddies in online gaming shoot ‘em ups. Anyways, when I am logged in to the video feed, I almost forget I threw away my sense of self to placate societal norms (ie, got married).

So, maybe by now you are seeing through the real me. I’d obviously prefer to be in Vegas, bagging scandalous women, throwing my money down the drain and engaging in Felonious activity. But alas I am married, so I can’t. Thank the heavens for online gambling and thank Stonewashed Casinos for their amazing online video feed gambling portal.

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Improve Your Approach In Playing Poker Online And Boost Your Chances Of Winning.

• Author: Rich Vial
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Jul 21,2010

Poker is identified by many as a game that requires a lot of luck however it is obvious that winning at poker actually combines both luck and a very high level of playing skill. When you are able to successfully read the cards of your competition and can do correct guesses is far indeed from luck. Online poker in the U.S. is rapidly becoming a very popular online game amongst many internet gambling games. This is partially due to high-stakes televised poker tournaments.

Another is that many recognize the fact that this is a card game which may be won if you develop the proper methods and strategies. Meaning, skillful play adds a lot to winning chips at online poker

Skill, when it comes to internet poker, plays a major part than luck. As luck decides which cards are dealt to you, skill and know-how are in command as to how you “play” the game. A skillful player will always finds a way in order to effectively come out of the game ahead.

Discipline

All skills and strategies in online poker are very much reliant on your discipline as a player.

You need to have that self discipline to wait until you get that right option, good hand, good game etc.

Discipline suggests that you must never play in areas where you are short of edge, avoid participating in hands which will result in trouble and that you wisely and expertly control your money and play only with money that you can afford to lose as well as learn from all your mistakes.

Furthermore, you need to have the discipline to control your emotions always and never “go on tilt”.

Observation

Keep in mind that you will uncover a lot when you study your opponents frequently. Observe closely how each opposition plays their “hand” then use that observation against them. Listen to their comments. Many poker players will usually tell you the kind of “hand” they laid down or their reason as to why they “played a hand” that way.

As a result, each time you play a “hand” with them then you can determine their bets, checks, raises and calls mean.

But also, pay attention and be conscious of your game and consider your table image always. This is because just like you are constantly searching for “tells” in your game opponents, you have to look for “tells” that you may be imparting to your opponents. If you notice one in your opposition, also consider if you are or not showing that same tell.

Changing tactics

A great poker player should be unpredictable, meaning you are capable of changing your tactics; how you do this is very much reliant to your “table image” as well as your opponent’s “table image”.

For instance, when throughout your many poker games you have never been caught bluffing, then you have a significant bluff edge. On the other hand, when you have always been bluffing and playing loose, then even if you are not bluffing, there is a big likelihood of getting paid when you are already in fact, holding a “good hand”.

The methods here is that if your opponents play tight, then play looser; when they play loose, tighten your game up.

Be a humble winner and a graceful loser

Just keep in mind that in gambling, you do not win all the time and you do not lose all the time. As they say, sometimes when on top of your skills more luck is on your side, then you win. So just enjoy the game above all. There will always be another day that could bring you a different kind of luck.

Deception is extremely important since this will make you “less predictable”.

Rich Vial is a webmaster for US Poker Sites & Online Poker USA.