It is strange indeed that some players are born winners. They play poker with aggression and risk. Yet, in the end, they win. How would you boost your performance in poker and be just like one of these winners?
The main point to note here is that the players are intuitive and think more on the moves rather than on the results. For instance, the players don’t play too many hands. They select the starting hand very prudently. Often, young players feel that the more they play the better they become in poker. Yes, that is indeed true. However, what’s even more real is the fact that playing more does not mean you win more.
On the contrary, playing more number of hands means you lose majority of the games. If you feel that you cannot really figure out what hands to take and what to abandon, take a look at the starting hand strategy. This would help you to analyse what is best in store for you.
The wise men in poker don’t get emotional at all. They are extremely focussed and play the game with logic rather than getting emotionally charged. While you are being logical in your stance, remember never to bluff “just to bluff”. This can be disastrous in some occasions.
A sensible player does not play with a very high stake. It is true that players graduate from low stakes to higher ones. However, it is important to know where you stand and how much you can afford to play a game. Surveys show that people who go beyond their means to play poker and bet with a high stake, do not win poker in the long run. These people are emotional and cannot focus on the game.
High stakes also have highly skilled players. You can end up being a novice players or a fish amid experts or sharks. Before you get thrown off in a high-staked game, you should play with low stakes aplenty to earn better profits.
Poker is a very systematic game that does not encourage emotions. So, if you happen to see your opponent’s final bet, don’t feel shy to make the best use of it. You are not cheating but using clues that are displayed by the opponents throughout the game. Once you know that what you are doing is not against the poker rules, do what you feel the best for the game.
If you are in a hand, it is always wise to fold if you are well and truly beaten. If the money in the pot is lost, it would not be yours even if you played the entire game.
Remember, you are not obliged to any player for your actions. Just play what you feel is the best move for you. You don’t have to keep someone honest just because you happen to judge what he is trying to do.
Pragmatism and aggressive skills can make wonder to you. Practice the tips and you would soon see results reaping just before your eyes.
During Winter/Spring 2008, the Ongame network created a new rule for affiliates prohibiting them from including the word ‘rakeback’ in any URLs that had pokersites from the network on their website. Instead, affiliates of the network offer a different ongame deal, called a continuous bonus. This is simply an alternative term for Ongame rakeback. The newest continuous bonuses are, in fact, more advantageous for the end-users, as the payout is typically larger.
The Ongame software was initially the only option for Mac & Linux users who were interested in playing online. The network offers players the opportunity to play its games within a browser (no-download) and also a client-based (downloaded) version. The actual GUI of the applications are not all that pretty, it’s a little difficult to play multi-tabled, but other than that, all regular features (and advanced features) are in place. The network has quite a solid stream of traffic, with 4,000+ users being online during peak periods in ring games, and some 20,000 in tournaments. Most Ongame sites offer the following flavours of poker:
- Texas Holdem
- Omaha
- Omaha Hi/Lo
- 7 Card Stud
- 7 Card Stud Hi/lo
- 5 Card Draw.
All around, it’s a decent network, but you’ll have to contact the owners of their respective websites to find out about their rakeback (or ‘continuous bonus’) offers.
Rake is how poker rooms earn their money. It’s the amount deducted (usually 10%) from the pot, which is then given to the house and is capped at a certain amount (usually 5$) in ring games. In tournament, the rake’s a minor portion of the player’s buy-in – obviously, the bulk heads towards the major prize pool. It’s not that uncommon for individual players to be contributing thousands of dollars in rake per month whilst playing poker online. Now think about that: a poker room with 5,000 very active players (in reality, the larger rooms are significantly larger!), all contributing a few thousand dollars per month, that’s incredible! Poker rakeback is a way for these players to get that money back; a refund, if you will.
Through rakeback, players get back a percentage of the rake that they’ve paid to the poker room. A regular rakeback offer is between 25% and 40%, but sometimes players can get even higher payouts. If you’re paying 1,000$ a month in rake, and you’ve got a 30% rakeback deal, you’re going to get back 300$. For serious poker players, this can become a large part of their income!
| # |
Poker room |
Rakeback |
Network |
Promotion |
| 1. |
Full Tilt Poker Rakeback |
27% |
Full Tilt Poker |
Open to US players |
| 2. |
Ultimate Bet Rakeback |
30% |
Ultimate Bet |
Open to US players |
| 3. |
Absolute Poker Rakeback |
30% |
Absolute Poker |
Open to US players |
| 4. |
PKR Rakeback |
30% |
PKR |
|
| 5. |
Sun Poker Rakeback |
30% |
Cryptologic |
If you’ve already opened an account with a poker room without signing up through someone’s affiliate ( or ‘bonus offer’), then more than likely you won’t be eligible for rakeback bonuses. However, you should email around to find out if it’s possible.
There is nothing worse than getting into a freeroll and getting knocked out early on, simply because you were taking the completely wrong angle. Seriously, I’ve been there. Freerolls are great: they offer you the opportunity to win money while not risking a dime. Unfortunately, because of this, you’re going to have a field swamped with morons just waiting to suck you out. It happens, and that’s something that can’t be helped. This guide will teach you how to play, and place, in freeroll tournaments. The overall strategy is to win big, or get knocked out early. The early stages are probably the most crucial parts of the entire tournament, as it sets up the rest of your game.
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Back to the basics here, folks, since there’s a lot of people that still get confused! (And a lot of people around that just don’t know much beyond trips > two pair). Anyway, here you have it: the complete hand rankings… Read the rest of this page »
