You've read some books, subscribed to a couple of online E-zines, participated in forum discussions, even joined a few sites and played in the freeroll tournaments. You've studied the game, you've practiced your moves, and you're ready to hit the "big time". The Real Money Games. But, are you really?
Once you make the decision to take the plunge and start playing for actual money you need to decide if it's worth your time. This isn't as flippant a question as it may at first seem. You need to take an honest look at your bankroll and your poker skills. Both are likely to be rather low if you're just starting out.
So, the first question to ask is, "Can I afford to play at these stakes?" If the cost to buy into a tournament is more than 15% of your bankroll, it's easy. NO. If the cost for a seat in a ring game is more than 20% of your bankroll (cash games usually require min 100 BB's), NO. Money management is crucial to both online and live play. I know of no faster way to go broke than to over-play your bankroll.
Next question is, re-buy or freezeout? A freezeout simply means that you pay a one-time fee to enter and get a fixed amount of chips. When your stack is gone, so are you. In a re-buy, you can "go broke" and buy your way back in. There are usually some kind of limits on the re-buys. ie: Only allowed to rebuy below a certain stack level, limited number of re-buys allowed per player, re-buys only allowed before first break, etc.
If you're playing a freezeout, the 15% rule applies. If your bankroll is $100, the biggest game you should get into is a $15 buy. If you're playing a re-buy, you need to decide how many "buys" you will allow yourself. Keep in mind that re-buy tournaments also have an "add-on" at the end of the first round. The total of all buy-in and add-ons should not exceed 15% of your bankroll. If you don't want to spend any more than the initial buy-in, stay away from re-buy tournaments.
Why? Because you will be putting yourself at a distinct disadvantage to the others in the field.
If you only take a single buy-in and the rest of the field averages 3 buy-ins, you've started out giving everyone else a 3 to 1 chip advantage. Playing winning poker is tough enough, do you really want to give them that extra advantage?
Finally, is it worth your time? Is the prize you hope to win big enough, in relation to the cost of playing and the time it will take to play out the event, worth it? For example: some of the lower buy-in tournaments ($5-$15 buy) online could have hundreds, even thousands of players. Check out the prize ladder. Most tournaments pay out to the top 20%. However, spreading the money out that far means that the bottom tiers cover a large percentage of the pay-out field. This means that any real money to be won will be had much later in the tournament. Usually in the final 2 or 3 tables.
You need to decide whether you have the skills to compete at these stakes, and the free time available to reach the money. It's a waste of time and money to start a tournament you don't have time enough to finish.
Managing your bankroll and your time effectively is critical to your eventual success.
If you really want to dominate online poker, you need to play to win.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Lower Your Online Gambling Risks
Online gambling has many risks.
Aside from the risks of the game is the possibility of scams and frauds. The internet reaches far and wide and it is no wonder that some have found ways to cheat us out of the money that we’ve worked hard for.
Therefore, you should know if the online casino you’re entering is legitimate. Modern technology can make this a difficult task. Scammers need only to copy the layouts of legitimate casinos and adopt them as their own, including memberships and certifications. Logos and banners are very easy to copy (ever hear of photoshop?) so be wary of relying on these.
The best way to make sure that you don’t get scammed is to only go to online casinos approved by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. If you get invited to a site you are not familiar with, look up their certifications and make sure that these are legitimate. You can do this by doing a check of the authority certifying the site, checking with the Kahnawake commission, or even "Googleing"(tm) the site name to find reviews. You can also do a quick search of online gaming organizations' memberships. Scammers don't usually take the time to become members of these organizations because they are usually up and running for only short periods of time before they shut down one site and move on to the next.
Once you have found a legitimate site, you still have the risks inherent in the game itself. There are two ways to deal with these risks. The first way is to learn by doing. It's an excellent way to learn, but it's also the most expensive. It can be so expensive that you give up before you really get started. A better way is to read books by various experts and pros to learn basic strategy and theory. There are also forums you can join to meet with and learn from other players. Whatever your gaming interest, there's a forum for you.
Gambling should be primarily recreational entertainment. Taking the time to learn the game and taking care to patronize only legitimate sites will go a long way towards eliminating scams and frauds and making your gaming experience more enjoyable.
Aside from the risks of the game is the possibility of scams and frauds. The internet reaches far and wide and it is no wonder that some have found ways to cheat us out of the money that we’ve worked hard for.
Therefore, you should know if the online casino you’re entering is legitimate. Modern technology can make this a difficult task. Scammers need only to copy the layouts of legitimate casinos and adopt them as their own, including memberships and certifications. Logos and banners are very easy to copy (ever hear of photoshop?) so be wary of relying on these.
The best way to make sure that you don’t get scammed is to only go to online casinos approved by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. If you get invited to a site you are not familiar with, look up their certifications and make sure that these are legitimate. You can do this by doing a check of the authority certifying the site, checking with the Kahnawake commission, or even "Googleing"(tm) the site name to find reviews. You can also do a quick search of online gaming organizations' memberships. Scammers don't usually take the time to become members of these organizations because they are usually up and running for only short periods of time before they shut down one site and move on to the next.
Once you have found a legitimate site, you still have the risks inherent in the game itself. There are two ways to deal with these risks. The first way is to learn by doing. It's an excellent way to learn, but it's also the most expensive. It can be so expensive that you give up before you really get started. A better way is to read books by various experts and pros to learn basic strategy and theory. There are also forums you can join to meet with and learn from other players. Whatever your gaming interest, there's a forum for you.
Gambling should be primarily recreational entertainment. Taking the time to learn the game and taking care to patronize only legitimate sites will go a long way towards eliminating scams and frauds and making your gaming experience more enjoyable.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Poker Strategies: Playing with Style
It seems everyone has an opinion on how you should play. However, there are very few hard and fast rules when it comes to playing Texas HoldEm and most of those are more suggestions based on the odds of a certain combination of cards coming up.
My advice for beginning players is to ignore what you see on "TV Poker". Those shows are meant for entertainment, not instruction. The hands you see are not representative. The shows have been edited and the hands chosen for dramatic value.
I've found that it is usually best to adopt a playing style that best fits your basic/innate personality. While Gus Hanson's style of play makes for exciting television, not everyone has the flair (or talent) to pull that off.
As an example, if you are by nature cautious, you should begin with a more conservative style of play (ie., tight/aggressive). While it is always good to mix up your play, forcing yourself to play too aggressive will only serve to make you excessively nervous. Perhaps even to the point that you are unable to concentrate on your opponents due to anxiety over the size of your stack and the size of the pot.
Alternatively, if you are naturally aggressive and out-going, then you should adopt a more aggressive, wide open style of play (ie., loose/aggressive) for exactly the opposite reasons. If you are an aggressive type, forcing yourself to slow down and play too tight might make you nervous because you are "missing the action". This in turn could cause you to make an improper raise or all-in against the wrong player in the wrong situation.
There is no "right" way to play. One style of play works for one player and another style works better for another regardless of the cards that are dealt.
A "rock" and a "maniac" can be at the same table and be equally successfull.
Whichever style you choose, remember that at some point you will have to "change gears" in order to not become too predictable. That is the one hard and fast rule I have found in poker. If your play becomes predictable, your opponents won't have to worry about how to read you.
Win more, more often! Click Here!
Poker professional Kim Birch, the "Danish Dragon" shares some of the strategies that regularly make him a yearly 6-figure income. Click Here! for more details.
My advice for beginning players is to ignore what you see on "TV Poker". Those shows are meant for entertainment, not instruction. The hands you see are not representative. The shows have been edited and the hands chosen for dramatic value.
I've found that it is usually best to adopt a playing style that best fits your basic/innate personality. While Gus Hanson's style of play makes for exciting television, not everyone has the flair (or talent) to pull that off.
As an example, if you are by nature cautious, you should begin with a more conservative style of play (ie., tight/aggressive). While it is always good to mix up your play, forcing yourself to play too aggressive will only serve to make you excessively nervous. Perhaps even to the point that you are unable to concentrate on your opponents due to anxiety over the size of your stack and the size of the pot.
Alternatively, if you are naturally aggressive and out-going, then you should adopt a more aggressive, wide open style of play (ie., loose/aggressive) for exactly the opposite reasons. If you are an aggressive type, forcing yourself to slow down and play too tight might make you nervous because you are "missing the action". This in turn could cause you to make an improper raise or all-in against the wrong player in the wrong situation.
There is no "right" way to play. One style of play works for one player and another style works better for another regardless of the cards that are dealt.
A "rock" and a "maniac" can be at the same table and be equally successfull.
Whichever style you choose, remember that at some point you will have to "change gears" in order to not become too predictable. That is the one hard and fast rule I have found in poker. If your play becomes predictable, your opponents won't have to worry about how to read you.
Win more, more often! Click Here!
Poker professional Kim Birch, the "Danish Dragon" shares some of the strategies that regularly make him a yearly 6-figure income. Click Here! for more details.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
