The Top Ten Poker Tells

Poker tells are the habits, behaviors and physical actions of your opponents in a poker game that will give you insight into what kind of hands they are holding. The top ten of these tells are:

1. The Eyes. Watch the eyes of your opponents, unless they are wearing sunglasses. Many players will stare at their cards when they have what they feel may be a winning hand. Those who are not quite sure of having a winner but want to try to steal the pot may glance to the side to see if the remaining opponents have looked at their cards and are likely to fold. If you are new to the poker scene, some experienced players make ask you questions about your hand to see if they can gain any information about the cards you are holding. This is a strategy you can also use with your opponents.

2. Facial Expressions. When you have a good hand, it is often hard to hide your glee and will likely give it away through a smile or a satisfied expression. This is why being able to maintain a “poker face” is of extreme importance. This is why many poker players were a hat with a large brim or a sun visor so that other players cannot see and read the expression they have on their face. If you have a weak hand, signs of nervousness can also be depicted in your face and disappointment when you have a weak hand.

3. Acting Disinterested. This is one of the ploys often used by novice players, but veteran poker players can use it quite well. When you look at your cards, you appear to be disinterested in what you have so that others may think you have a weak hand. On the other hand, you can also appear very intimidating to the other players by actions that make them think you have a good hand, when in fact you are intending to bluff.

4. Becoming Nervous or Agitated. When you have a weak hand for several deals, your disappointment may cause you to become nervous or frustrated. Other players can really pick up on this and use it to their advantage. Some of the signs include sweating, having a dry throat so that you need something to drink, increased heart rate and dilation of the pupils of the eyes. Such players may take deep breaths or their chest may expand abnormally. When playing the game, if other players sense that you are nervous, you may notice them staring at the veins in the top of your face to determine if you are really nervous or just putting on an act.

5. Trembling Hands. A player whose hands are trembling probably has the best hand of the night and is trying to decide how to play the hand to get the biggest take. On the other hand the player could be betting with nothing and is very worried that he/she will lose and be put out of the game.

6. Glancing at the Chips. A player who is weighing whether or not he will raise the bet or figures he/she has a good hand in comparison with that of the other players at the table will unconsciously glance at the chips as soon as he/she looks at the cards. This will give you an idea that this player intends to play on and is maybe wondering if there are enough chips in the stack to go all in if this action is needed.

7. Peeking at Cards the Second Time. Some players may find it hard to resist the urge to peek at their cards a second time after they have looked at them an placed a bet. This could tell you that this player has the potential of making a straight draw and is checking to see if one of the cards laid in the flop matches one of the cards in his hand. Sometimes this is because the player only remembers the suits of the cards and not the number. However, it is something you should be aware of when betting against this player.

8. Patterns in Betting. When you become observant about the players at the table with you, you will start to notice whether or not there are patterns to their betting. Being aware of this will also help you avoid displaying a pattern in your betting that others can pick up on. Take note of a player who always checks when he/she has made the nuts or one that always folds when you re-raise. These signs will help you overcome the odds and become the winner in such a hand.

9. Player Attitude. A player who is a bit nervous and all of a sudden become aggressive or develops the attitude of a winner is one that is likely holding a good hand. There are obvious changes in the way a player acts depending on the cards. For example, a player that looks dejected when he/she looks at the first cards and then all of a sudden sits up and starts playing is definitely displaying tells to all the other players. The others will notice and will likely not add too much money to the pit because they know that they will lose. Showing disinterest or very little excitement will entice others to keep betting against you so that you have a greater chance of winning a bigger pot.

10. Stacking the Chips. The way players stack their chips on the table can tell you a lot about how they play poker even before the game starts. Players who are very methodical ins tacking their chips in a neat and orderly manner usually play a much tighter game than those who have unorganized and sloppy stacks of chips.

When you play poker, you are not only looking at the cards in your hand and determining the pot odds. In order to become a winner, you also have to become an expert at reading the other players and learn their individual quirks that will sometimes give them away.

Readmore »

Texas Holdem Rules And Strategies

The Texas Holdem game begins with the dealer shuffling a standard deck of 52 cards. In online casinos, however, the dealer does not play. Instead, a dealer button, which moves clockwise from player to player with each hand, indicates which player would be the dealer if the deal were advanced from player to player as the game progresses.

Now, two players to the immediate left of the dealer put a predefined amount of money in the pot before the cards are dealt so that there will be something to game for in the subsequent hands. These bets are called the blind. Usually, the first player to the immediate left of the dealer posts a blind called the first blind – that is equal to half the minimum bet amount. The second blind, posted by the second player to the left of the dealer (if he indeed posts the bet) will be the full minimum bet amount.

After the blinds are posted, two down cards are dealt to the players, and the betting begins. A round of betting starts from the player to the left of the one who had posted the blind. The other players can call/raise/fold when it is their turn to bet. Once the first round of betting is completed, the dealer drops the top card from the deck in order to pre-empt the possibility that someone might have sneaked a peek of it. The next three cards on the deck are then flipped face up on the table, called the flop.

After the flop, another betting round begins from the player to the left-hand side of the dealer. In this and all future betting rounds, other players can call, raise or fold when their respective turn comes. Next is fourth street during when the dealer issues one more community card the fourth community card – face up on the table. This is usually done after burning the card on top of the deck in order to prevent cheating. Fourth street is followed by a third betting round, starting from the player to the immediate left hand side of the dealer.

The dealer drops another card before placing the final and fifth community card on the table, face up. This face up card is named the fifth street or the river. Players can now use the seven cards available the five community cards and the two hole cards to form the best five card poker hand. The last round of Texas Holdem betting starts from the player to the left side of the dealer, as earlier. After the betting, players who are still in the game reveal their hands, in what is called the show down. The one who had made the initial bet or the one who had made the final raise reveals his hand first. As the other players also reveal their hands in turn, the one with the best hand is adjudged the winner.

In the showdown, if the best five-card hand is formed using all the community cards, and does not include any hole cards, the player would only get a share of the pot. On the other hand, if two or more players have the equal hand, as per the poker rules, then the pot is split between them. As another possibility, if two players have the best five-card hand, formed with the help of less than five cards, the Texas Holdem poker rules insist that the winner be decided on the basis of kicker (the cards that are not part of the winning combination).

Readmore »

Variations of the Game of Poker

While Texas Hold’Em and Omaha are the most popular games of poker, there are many variations of the game of poker played all over the world and in casinos. There are several variations of both Texas Hold’Em and Omaha as well.

The three variations of Texas Hold’Em are limit, pot limit and no limit. The rules remain the same for all three. The difference in the games is the betting limits. In limit Texas Hold’Em, each player can only bet a maximum of four times during any one hand. These are:

* Bet

* Raise

* Re-raise

* Cap (this is the final bet)

In No limit Texas Hold’Em, the amount a player raises has to be equal to or more than a previous raise in the same round. The maximum amount any player can raise is the size of the chip stack. In the pot limit variation of the game the raise amount has to be equal to or greater than the previous raise in the same round. However, the size of the pot is the total of the active pot plus the amounts of all the bets on the table.

In Omaha poker, each player receives four cards from the dealer instead of two, as in Texas Hold’Em. This difference makes Omaha a very different game.

Sometimes players will not have anything in their hands and have to rely on making winning combinations with the flop cards. You can use two of the cards to make a low combination, which consists of cards eight or below. A high hand will consist of cards eight or above.

Pineapple poker falls in between Texas Hold’Em and Omaha. One variation of this game is often called Crazy Pineapple. The dealer deals out three cards to each player and they must choose one of these to discard. Then they use the five cards the dealer turns over in the flop, the turn and the river to make winning combinations with the two cards they choose to keep. In regular Pineapple poker, the discard occurs before the flop and in Crazy Pineapple, the discard takes place after the flop.

Stud is another poker game that has many variations. Seven card stud is the one most often played in casinos, whereas Seven Card Stud High-Low is played in tournaments. In the casino version, each player receives two cards dealt face down. The fourth, fifth and sixth cards are dealt to each player but they face upwards so that all the other players can see them. Then the seventh card is dealt face down. The players can use any of the cards to make a winning hand of five cards, but in the high-low version the winning hand must be eight or better.

Five Card Draw is a very common poker game. In this game, the dealer deals five cards to each player, who then choose to keep some, all or none of the cards. There is a second dealing round in which they receive more cards to make up a hand of five. They then place their bets based on their hand or if they have a losing hand they fold. In order to receive the second cards, players have to place an ante, which is decided at the start of the game. The betting starts after all players receive their second cards.

Readmore »

Tournament Poker Rules

For those who participated in the tournament, tournament poker, one thing that must be you know, you should become familiar with tournament poker rules and agree to be bound by them when you're playing. If you break the rules, you will first receive a verbal warning. If violations continue, you are at risk or suspension of the game for a certain length or time, or you may even be disqualified from the tournament together. You have accumulated chip also will be removed from play. You will not be allowed to cash them in. Whether you're playing in a live game or online one, the rules for poker tournaments are basically the same.

Where you sit at the poker table is determined by a random draw or it is possible that you may be assigned a seat. You are not allowed to change your seat after the game starts, unless you have permission from the director of the tournament. Every participant receives the same number of starting chips and even if you are not present at the table when the chips are being given out, you will still receive the specified amount. If you are absent when the games starts. You will be dealt in and if it is your turn to make the blind, the dealer will take the required number of chips out of your stack to make the blind. An attempt will also be made to locate you and call you to the table. However, if you cannot be located within a reasonable amount of time, your chips will be removed from play after a half-hour. If you know that you will not be able to be present at the beginning of the tournament, you are required to notify the director so that your chips will remain in play until you arrive.

The limits and blinds in the poker game are raised at certain intervals. A newcomer to a tournament should not think that the blind placed at the beginning of the game will be the same amount throughout. A deal begins with the very first rifle of the shuffle and the signal for a new round of betting will take effect on the next round. When the lowest denomination of chips is no longer needed in the blind or betting, it will be removed from play. Players will receive new chips to match the value of these lower denominations. In the case where there is not a sufficient quantity of low denominations chips, the dealer will deal out one card to each player for each of the low chips. The player with the highest card in a suit will receive the odd chips to replace the lower ones. This continues down until all players have replacements.

A player can stop the action at the table by calling “Time”. If you are eliminated from the tournament, you must vacate your seta immediately. If you want to watch the rest of the action at the table, you must do so from the spectator’s gallery.

Readmore »

Why online Poker Room Reviews High Demand

I ask you why online poker room reviews are in such high demand? Well, simply because, unless you are an expert gambler who knows the ins and outs of online poker rooms, it is a bit hard for a layman to read the intricacies of a poker room, its game rules, payout percentages, bonuses and the conditions governing them, competition levels, and more importantly, to deduce whether an online poker room seen in the internet is indeed a genuine one or a fraudulent site. A good online poker review portal solves all these troubles in one sweep.

Online poker review websites generally list online poker rooms based on the above mentioned factors taken independently, or sometimes in combination of one, two or more. Hence, it makes the job easier for gamers to choose the online poker websites they want to game in. For example, if a player A wants to game in a poker portal where the competition is tough, he can choose one accordingly. On the other hand, if a player B prefers online poker sites that offer lots of bonuses and promotions, and the one with a robust and user friendly software and that offers excellent visual experience, he can choose one accordingly. At the end of the day, online poker reviews are all about telling a player, not withstanding whether he is a professional player or a novice, how an online poker room figures in terms of performance, the common bench marks being payout percentages, promotions, game software, competition levels, and how genuine the website is.

Having said that, however, online poker reviews you find in the internet may not look all the same. For example, a review written on poker in one website may look a bit different from the one posted in another site. However this is an acceptable aberration for minor differences are natural, as it depends on the games the reviewer had played at poker or the way he had analyzed the whole thing while he penned the review. But caution must be exercised if you find any odd review in the fray that talks differently or overtly promote a particular website or feature. When a poker review (or a review on anything) loses its neutrality, it loses its essence. Such poker reviews must be ostracized.

That brings us to another relevant question how to ensure that a poker review you find in the internet is indeed genuine? First point, you could trust genuine poker review websites. They have a reputation to guard, and hence will be stringent in their review standards. Secondly, always prefer reviews written by experts in the trade. Former players or current players, who regularly game at various poker rooms, are always the better placed ones to write about an online poker room than somebody who has no connection whatsoever with online poker websites.

Online Poker Reviews serve as useful pointing boards to players, directing them to the best of online poker rooms available in the web, at any given time. However, they must ensure that they read only genuine reviews, preferably penned by players themselves.

Visit 4kingpoker.com for honest online poker review of sites like PKR Poker, latest online poker news, poker tips and articles, poker bonuses, and poker forums.

Readmore »

Decode The Bonus Offers

It could turn out to be more of an enticement trick than any real deal that provides something substantial to the gamers. So, it is important to decode the bonus offers put forward by online poker rooms before biting the bait. When gaming at online poker rooms, read clearly the bonus statements provided in the website. Is it 100% sign up bonus up to $50 or $500? If it is only up to a small amount that the poker room matches the deposit, it is of no use to a player who always prefers to deposit big. For example, if you bets big say $1000 and if the online poker rooms matches your first deposit to up to only $100, the particular bonus offer is of no benefit to you.

However, it is to be noted that the concept of advantage or disadvantage mentioned above is not absolute. For example, if poker rooms offers 50% poker bonus up to $250, for somebody who bets relatively low at $500 or so finds it useful to his gaming account. In general, hence, it can be concluded that usually it is the players who bets higher finds the sign up bonus offers of online poker rooms of little use to their gaming fortunes.

But, even if you find a poker room that offers generous sign in bonuses, still your job is not any near from over. Now, take a close look at the bonus release conditions posted in the site. Usually, online poker rooms have some conditions governing bonus releases. For example, in some poker, the poker bonus rule states that for ever $1 release from the bonus, the player has to earn 125 Poker points by playing at real money games. So, the job of the gamers is to focus at how to earn those points that can be redeemed for the bonus money. In some poker rooms, such as poker, players could earn points by playing at real money games. In some others, points can be earned by playing tournament fees. The bottom line: select your poker rooms based on the poker bonus release terms and conditions.

Also, see if the bonus release is full or partial. That is, certain poker rooms issue the bonus as soon as the player meets the required conditions. Some other online poker rooms, on the other hand, only give the money in increments. The second option works for gamers who play for less than an hour daily, while the former is for players who play for longer durations.

To sum it up, poker bonuses is of tremendous advantage to the players, provided they game in an online poker room that has fewer terms and conditions attached to the bonus offers. When playing in reputed online poker rooms like PKR Poker you do not have to worry anything as PKR offers a wide range of Poker Bonus selection exclusively for its players.

Visit pkrpokerreview.com to read the latest PKR Poker review, PKR Bonus codes and finding the best Poker Bonuses offered at PKR.

Readmore »

Poker Game Online

For those of you who are still confused about how many people play poker game online and always managed to get a victory would be interested also to start playing poker games online. To achieve that you try your best to read all the available references, watching television, etc., here are some suggestions for you about the game of poker, which will help you win.

You must remember one thing, poker game is all about chance and little bit skill, if you are lucky you will win, but that also is no true always, you also need some skill to win poker game.

A skilled player will always take advantage of visual signal while playing poker in casino, but the same is not possible in online poker game, in online poker game, player has to bet in order to get success as he is not physically present and hence he may not get any helping hint, so he has to fully depended on betting.

In online poker game too you will get all the required information about the participating players, pot size, the number of hands being played and the details of those who are waiting and you can make best use of this information in selecting best game for you. In online poker game too, players has to keep in mind that game and table selection is of prime importance. Here, in online poker game, players come and go very quickly, so player has to be very attentive and should be all set to change table as per requirement.

In broad perspective, it’s all about decision making ability of a player that decides the faith of a player whether it is played online or in a casino. Winning decision making ability is a must in this poker game. When you get the cards, you have to make the decision whether to continue or play, in case you decide to play, keep in mind that you will reach a stage where you are forced to raise (make a bet larger than the previous bet) or call (place an amount of chips in the pot equal to the previous bet). Also, you have to remember that everything depends on your ability to make fast decisions.

The other interesting thing with online poker game is – a player can participate in multiple games and the same is not possible when poker is played in casino. Many players find this feature useful, but it does not work well with all players especially if you are new to this game, playing multiple games will be dangerous as concentration gets divided, but as you get used toonline poker game, you can play multiple games at a time with ease.

Readmore »