Poker Tropical

There has always been a difficulty for me in attaching much importance to physical tells in live poker, as I used to use them to try and appear nervous when I was strong with some success against certain players a few years back.

To play online poker click here!

Many players will tell you that physical tells are important however, but you can certainly say they are overstated in the general idea of poker for those who have never played it. The poker film ‘Rounders’ famously talks about knowing a mans tell and how much this can help you in the game, and having watched this film last night before a poker tournament, I began to look upon the idea in a new light. The problem with looking for tells in players is that most of the poker players you sit down against are experienced, and will go to great lengths to give nothing away when they bet. This does not go for every poker player however, and one less experienced player last night proved something.

Some poker players have tells which are blindingly obvious, but you simply wouldn’t notice unless you were looking for the correlation between a particular action, and the hand they turn over at the end. Down to four players and with our less experienced poker player on my left, I realised that whenever I started picking up chips to raise his big blind, he picked up some of his chips and started playing with them. Three times I took his big blind in this way, until on the fourth time, when I picked up chips to make a raise…. He sat perfectly still with his arms folded. I then folded, he raised the pot and ended up showing (A,K) at the end of the hand. So having previously written about physical tells being overrated, I felt it necessary to point this out. Whilst you might sit down at several poker tables and not see any tells from poker players, but keep looking, because you are bound to find one eventually.

Texas holdem has emerged as the true favourite of poker players over the past couple of decades, with a very high number of WSOP and other worldwide poker events being Holdem events.

To play online poker games click here!

Considering the fact that Holdem was not always the favoured game of poker players, it would be reasonable to assume that there will come a time when a new favourite poker game emerges. It is entirely possible that the signs of a shift are already here, with increasing numbers of pro players turning to Omaha as the game where poker players make more mistakes. This fact is not surprising when you consider how long most serious poker players have been playing Holdem for. The fact is, that so many poker players have developed strong game theory in Holdem, that it is considerably more difficult for anyone to make money there, than it is in Omaha.

Omaha has an immediate allure to the Holdem poker player in the fact that the general theme of the game is along exactly the same lines. The only real difference for new players to grasp in terms of rules, is that you have four hole cards instead of two, but you can only use two of these to make your poker hand. As you might expect, the result is that players get involved with all kinds of hands and go chasing multiple draws, pairs and other potential poker hands that will usually win in a Holdem game.

This is an exciting change to Holdem in many ways, and the loose, draw happy play, can be capitalised on by those that know Omaha poker well. It would be difficult to see Holdem fading into obscurity, of that there is little doubt. However, for the all action, enjoyable poker game that it can offer, and the points about easier money being made here, you could see how Omaha might carry the poker torch on from Holdem.

Poker rooms which are dedicated entirely to free poker are a difficult thing to find, the main reason for this being that poker rooms make their profit from real money being pushed across the virtual felt. So there really isn’t much money to be made from this type of site generally speaking, but there are still some places that offer these free games.

To play online poker games click here!

This type of poker room will obviously offer no cash incentives for play at the tables, and often the only currency to change hands is points. Most poker players in the online poker world will be looking to either play for enjoyment, to make money, or most often, both. This means that such free poker sites do not attract a great following, and could not fill their tables overly quickly. They do fulfill players needs of the enjoyment of playing poker, but without the excitement of there being money at stake too.

This means that real money poker rooms will always have an edge over free sites. Free poker sites do offer an interesting outlet of games for those who wish to learn the basics of poker, just as any free game does. It is always better to further your understanding of a game through free play before moving on to small stakes games, and free poker sites are certainly good for offering this. Otherwise though, free sites are probably doomed to never enjoy the same player flow through their sites, as they simply can’t offer everything the players need.

TV poker shows have become a lot more popular over the past ten years than they ever were before. In fact there weren’t even any televised poker games really to speak of before that time, and so you would have to say it is no coincidence that the games popularity has grown quickly during this time.

To play online poker click here!

The introduction of the camera under the table to show viewers the hole cards, has undoubtedly been instrumental in these shows being a success. This shows exactly what decisions a player is faced with. Also, it makes the game far more TV friendly than a show which would otherwise, be mostly a case of watching people sat in chairs thinking. Televised poker shows have helped to bring professional poker players something of a hero status in the eyes of poker enthusiasts.

Poker shows usually involve these big names within the game battling it out for thousands of dollars, and the way they play is inspirational to those who want to play the game seriously. It is true that poker shows do not receive the same air time as major sporting events, and given the games popularity, that is a shame I think. Part of the problem will always be that those who have no understanding of the game see it as a game of chance, with people sitting around a poker table gambling. This wouldn’t have the same appeal as people competing in events that are purely based on skill and/or physical prowess.

The fact is though, it is only this lack of understanding that prevents poker from being recognised for what it is. Poker is a game where players strive to calculate and outwit each other to maximise the profit from their fortune, and minimise the financial damage from their misfortune. Recognising the signs of uncertainty in an opponents betting, and stealing pots when behind, help to ensure poker amounts to a game as much based on talent, as it is luck.

Interestingly, position is generally a concept which is not learnt in the very early stages of a poker players development. Poker players are often taught hand rankings and reasons for betting, calling, or folding in many diverse situations first and foremost.

To play online poker games click here!

That isn’t to say players do not understand the basics of position though. Of course players learn that the button and blinds move around the table and the action moves to the left. But, the strategic ramifications are often more difficult for the inexperienced poker player to see when they first start out. Poker by it’s very nature, involves decisions and situations that change due to what might seem to an inexperienced poker player, trivial issues. You may play one hand when in slightly later position but not in others, or you might contradict the general guidelines of this due to a hand you had previously seen your opponent play.

This can be confusing for new poker players, especially as you can consider all this intricate information carefully, make an excellent informed decision, and still lose the poker hand. That is the volatile way poker and fortune can work though, and poker players only ever play by the fact that a decision will result in winning more than it loses over a more lengthy timescale. Position can often dictate the way you play hands, because often in late position the action will be folded around to you, giving you the information that most of the table do not have strong hands. Even if there is a raise from a tight poker player before the action gets to you, well then your position just helped you by giving the answer of how to play your (A,9) or (5,5).

It is difficult in poker to say that one move is completely wrong or that another is completely right when you look at a given situation. There will always be lots of variables to take into account when judging which move might yield more success.

To play online poker click here!

One of these variables that should always be present in your mind, is your opponents tendancies to respond in different ways. Some players can be described as ‘calling stations’. This type of player never wants to be bluffed and is willing to pay, sometimes heavily, to see if their hand is good enough to win. In this scenario, you would not want to attempt to bluff your opponent out with what you correctly read to be a marginal hand. In many scenarios this would be the right move, but in this case, the opponents general poker playing style means it would not be.

You can also apply this logic to decision making when faced with a very aggressive poker player. Where in some cases it would be right to bet your hand when you have something strong, against an aggressive player this would not necessarily be the best move. It is still a reasonable enough move on the face of it, but you have to consider the fact that setting a trap could be a more profitable decision. When you decide which move to make in a particular scenario, it is always imporant to remember that your opponents playing style and view of you as a player will often have a significant effect on how the hand works out for you.

Poker: Many players enjoy the MTT format when they play poker, and many tournaments both online and live are conducted in this manner. Despite this fact, MTT tournaments are one of the least stable ways to earn a living as a poker player.

To play online poker click here!

The main issue with MTT’s is that you can pay a buy in fee many times without making a big cash or final table if you are playing events with hundreds of players. Of course the flip side is that when you do make it to the last few players, you get a large payday.  This is great for your bankroll, but the intermittent nature of these returns on your investment can lead to big swings in your bankroll, which simply isn’t conducive to a stable income.

Most players that begin earning regular money from poker, do so online, and in the form of cash tables or STT’s. Some players can multi table many of these poker tables at once, although you can still earn an income from playing only one to three tables at once, which importantly, should not distract you enough to erode an edge you have on a particular table.

The key to making money at poker is in stability and consistency. The size of the figures is not immediately important, as all players should start by consistently beating the weaker games before moving up. If you can confortably play a few tables at once and notice a distinct profit over a sample of 500 STT’s for example, then move up to the next level of buy in. This gradual advancement constitutes the best way to develop a stable income from playing poker, but if you do go on a terrible run, be prepared to move back down for a while until you are running a little better.

Poker Tracking Sites: One of the more recent phenomenons to arrive in the poker world, follow on from the expansion of the online game. Poker tracking sites and spreadsheets which apply mathematics to certain scenarios you will face to generate a best option for you, can now be found online.

To play online poker follow the link!

Some sites such as Pokerstars have banned the use of such tools whilst their players are at the tables, and can detect breaches of these regulations. These new sites raise some interesting questions, and some might argue that there is an issue with the morality of taking a quick look at someones entire Sit and Go results without their knowledge. Sites such as Sharkscope allow you to do this, although they do also allow players to block access by other players to their results, if they choose.

One point to consider in relation to this, is that Sharkscope is not used entirely to see how weak the competition is at any given table, but to actually map your own progress. There is a certain satisfaction to be had from seeing a graph depicting all your hard work, and the gradually emerging fruits of it. Now for the issue mentioned earlier in relation to morality, or basically, an individuals right to privacy. Perhaps the blocking of viewing for your own results should be offered onsite at the poker room you play as opposed to simply on the tracking site itself. After all, not every poker player knows of the existence of such sites, and it would seem proper that they are informed of tracking sites, and also their right to be excluded from searches on them.

Since the dawn of poker, there have always been games which are enjoyed and played predominantly over others. Over the past decade, what was already a very popular game in Texas Holdem, became the undisputed favourite game across the world.

To play online poker click the link!

The WSOP is evidence of this still being the case, all you have to do is look at a Holdem game compared to a Seven Card Stud poker game of the same buy in amount for example, and see the difference in participant numbers.

Having said that, there has been a recent trend of Omaha increasing in popularity. Partly this is because to amateur Omaha players, almost every hand looks playable. This means that there are plenty of poker players, many who were previously Holdem players, sitting down to Omaha and making mistakes as they try to get to grips with the game.

Serious poker players know that capitalising on these mistakes is always a profitable endeavour.
The fact is that many of the players who used to be weak at Holdem, have now grown skilled at the game over the years, and so pros can no longer find a significant edge to the same extent that they can with Omaha.

The very fact that Omaha can generate much more action is alluring to those who become tired of patient Holdem play, which means that Holdem players will be tempted to experiment with Omaha as it is an exciting game to play. Where there are new players trying to learn a game at cash tables, there will always be those waiting to profit fom their inexperience.

Guaranteed tournaments are seen in ever increasing numbers with online poker rooms, and it isn’t just the numbers of such tournaments that are growing, it’s the prize pools too. The popularity of these guaranteed tournaments was evident earlier this month as Pokerstars set about breaking the record for the most participants in an online poker tournament ever.

To play online poker follow the link!

65,000 players took part in a $100,000 guaranteed tournament, breaking the world record in the process.
The biggest online poker guaranteed tournaments will be found on the biggest name sites, with Pokerstars and Full Tilt being at the forefront in this regard. Each of these poker rooms offer guaranteeds all day, every day, within their schedule, such is the popularity of big guaranteeds.

The biggest guaranteeds in recent times have exceeded the $1 million dollar mark with ease, and whilst this may be the chance of a lifetime in many respects, it still costs a lot if you register directly into these tournaments. This does not however mean that lower bankrolled players cannot enter at all, as there is a way you can play satellite tournaments to win your seat there.

Big guaranteed tournaments are always a positive for both the players and poker rooms, becaus the online poker rooms can advertise these very eye catching prize pools, and the players have their chance to win them.
Even the biggest guaranteeds will be balanced out so that enough players pay a high enough buy in to cover the guaranteed money, this ensures the poker rooms make a profit from such events.