Poker Strategy archive

We get it. You see the stories in which one poker pro stares down another while holding garbage and ends up winning a huge pot, or you hear about the online poker player who manages to go an entire game without catching any decent cards, instead using psychology to push others into thinking he's got the best cards in any given hand. The true story is that most newcomers to poker bluff far, far more than they need to and they lose money because of this.
You should never enter a hand thinking that you're going to bluff right off the bat. You should only bluff if you can see that you can win the pot based on the way that your opposition is playing, and even then, it can be very difficult to pick the right spots. In fact, if you're unsure that you can take down a pot with a bluff (as in everyone else has checked or called to you,) then it's recommended that you avoid it entirely. New players should bluff very, very rarely and know that they'll learn when to deploy the strategy as they play more.
Bluffing does two things that help the psychological aspect of your game: it gives you a looser image than you may actually have, giving you the chance to extract more money from your opponents when you're holding good hands and it can actually put your opponents on tilt. While the latter is great (and can make you a lot of money,) I honestly recommend mucking your cards a fair amount versus showing off when you tilt to avoid a situation where the rest of the table is out to get you.
Put simply: beginners should only bluff only when they think their opponents will fold. Any time other than that is too risky and can create a leak in your game.
Play free online poker at Bodog today and learn your way around the tables!

A loose table can be a very profitable thing, but without adjustments to your game, even the best player can be wrecked by variance. Let's take a look at the two different types of loose tables and how you can adjust your game for them.

Loose/Passive Table Strategy
A loose/passive table is defined as a table in which a lot of players see the flop, but the vast majority of them are calling or limping into the action. There's going to be a big gap between the hands that they call and raise with and the chances of being re-raised before the flop are not nearly as great as they are at an aggressive table. With these tables, you want to limp in with hands that have higher implied odds like small pairs and suited collectors.

If you get a monster hand, you'll want to slowplay to not scare away the passive opponents. The main problem with passive tables is that it's harder to build big pots, but a bit of practice can help you learn what to do. You should really only be aggressive with premium pairs because you want to thin the field and raise the quality of your hand. The basic strategy to win at a loose / passive table is to become tight/aggressive but be willing to limp in with those hands with high implied-odds value as the tenor of the table allows.

Loose/Aggressive Tables
A loose/aggressive table is a table where players raise and re-raise before the flop and generally are on the verge of being maniacs. The strategy for these tables is much less nuanced: play tight aggressive. The only time you'll want to bed with small pairs or suited connectors is if you're at the end of the rotation and you're not seeing a lot of play before your turn. Other than that, stick with premium pairs and high-value suited connectors and be willing to cut your losses whenever possible.

Some people think poker tells are all about discreet cues and facial expressions. While these tells do exist, there are more obvious ways to read your opponents. All you have to do is pay attention. Here are five easy tells you can spot at the poker table.

When They Look at Their Cards

Watch your opponents as the cards are dealt. See which players look at their cards immediately. These are most likely the beginners at the table. Experienced poker players will only look at their cards when it is their turn to act. That is because you cannot give up information if you do not know your own hand.


How Many Hands They Play

Observe how often your opponents play hands. Loose players play lots of hands, so you can put them on a wide range of hands. Tight players play few hands. If you are in a hand with a tight player, expect them to hold a premium hand. You can read your opponents better if you keep track of how many hands they play.


What Hands They Play

Always pay attention when cards are revealed on the table. Replay the hands in your head when you see their cards. You can learn a lot about a poker player with this simple exercise. For example, a player who regularly plays cards like queen-nine offsuit in first position is probably not a winning player.


How They Bet

One of the hardest concepts to learn in poker is how much to bet. So watch how your opponents bet. For example, betting $5 into a $60 pot in no-limit holdem is often incorrect. That bet is not big enough to make players fold. If you think you have a winning hand, then you should bet more. Your opponents will likely call a bigger bet in this scenario.


What They Say

Poker players like to talk at the tables. Take advantage of this free information. I once sat next to a player who mentioned how she won the bad beat jackpot the week prior. She was obviously a regular. Players who seem to know the dealers are probably regulars too.

These are just some of the easy tells you can spot at the poker tables. It is really not hard to do. You just have to pay attention to the players around you, whether you are in the hand or not


:dirol

There are literally tens of thousands of articles offering poker advice and poker strategy on the internet and if you spend any time at all wading through them, you're going to notice a lot of contradictions and things that go against your playing style. The reason for that is pretty simple: everyone who writes about poker has a different way of playing poker and poker is not a game where there's always a "right" way to go about things.

Even if there are some basics worth keeping in mind at all times — fold when you're holding nothing, position is just as important as your cards —the best thing any poker player can do to improve their game is to actually think about each and every play instead of running an autopilot. Poker players that rely on math only are going to play very predictably and their inability to take into account many situational factors will leave them open to other players.

How do you learn how to make these decisions? You play a lot of poker. Practice playing poker and instead of jumping straight to multi-tabling, spend some time at lower-limit tables and focus on each and every hand. Bodog's anonymous online poker tables give you a perfect opportunity to play without your screen name, letting you explore techniques you'd have otherwise missed.

In order to be a great poker player, it is extremely important to follow a proven strategy. There have been a great number of books written on the subject, many by professional poker players. Finding a poker strategy that you are comfortable with and which is effective will be key in your development as a player. Individuals that fail to utilize a proper strategy will likely lose much more then they win. Because the goal is obviously to win money and not lose it, it goes without saying that a proven and effective poker strategy is very important.


----------------------------------------------------------------

If you’re like me, your typical online poker session will look something like this: tables on one or two monitors, internet browser on another monitor, music playing, and the television on. That’s one of the things that makes online poker so grand. You can play and do whatever else you want at the same time, provided you can stay connected to the internet.

With all of that, though, comes a problem. Many of us opt to pay attention to everything else in the room when we aren’t in a hand rather than maintaining our focus on the game. Our poker session might be more enjoyable, but the quality of our play might suffer. Knowing this, I make a conscious effort to observe my opponents at all times. Here are some of the things I observe.

Speed of Action

This is something that can be observed while actively participating in a hand, but is easier to focus on it after you fold. Since I can’t actually see my opponents thinking about their actions, I like to determine if there is any consistency to how long it takes for them to act, especially pre-flop. Players on the extreme ends of the spectrum – those who act instantly and those who tend to use every bit of the clock – are usually good targets for blind stealing.

Someone who acts within a millisecond, usually via the auto-fold button, very often has something else going on at the same time. Thus, he’s not making complicated pre-flop decisions. You’ll often be able to raise him off his blinds, but if he calls or raises, you will know he usually has a legit hand since he didn’t check the “Fold to Any Bet” button. Similarly, someone who takes forever to act pre-flop on virtually every hand is probably multi-tabling. He is distracted by his other tables and will not bother analyzing your move enough to sniff out a blind steal. This player may also simply have a bad internet connection, which is another reason not to give him a chance to check while his connection recovers.

Not Afraid of Commitment

Looking at pre-flop action timing is simple enough and doesn’t really take that much concentration. But when it comes to how certain people play specific hands, we need to be more observant, and for longer. The first people I try to pick out are those who over-commit to strong hands early on. I look for those players who have something like A-K or A-Q flop top pair and decide that’s the nuts. Or someone who thinks there’s no way he can lose when he has an overpair to the board. As you may figure, people who over-commit to solid hands early are great candidates for a slowplay if you hit the flop hard. You can just let them hang themselves.

Of course, you will want to try to keep track of your opponents to see who slowplays sets, chases draws, and so on, but for me, the ones who start spewing with top pair or an overpair are the easiest to spot. They also tend to be more consistent in their style of play, making reads on them more reliable.

Table Personality

If studying individual opponents could be considered the micro view of the table, then studying the table as a single entity could be considered the macro view. Understanding how certain opponents play helps me steal blinds and make more informed decisions when I am engaged in hands with them, but understanding their collective tendencies can help me practice intelligent hand selection, setting me up for further gains as I see flops, turns, and rivers.

At some tables, I might see that my fellow players love action. They are there to gamble. In these cases, it is best for me to be more selective with my starting hands and look to destroy the flop. If people are going to toss their chips around willy-nilly, I only want to be involved when I have them beat. Chasing draws is not a good idea at a table like this, as the price of hope is too high.

On the other side of the coin, a passive table can be run over. If it is tight pre-flop, blinds can be stolen. If it is loose pre-flop with lots of limpers, I can widen my starting hand requirements and have greater success betting people out of the pot after the flop.

Again, like I noted earlier, all of these observations can be made at any time while you are playing. It is during your down time after you have folded that you will have the best opportunity to spot trends and patterns.

Playing Texas Hold‘em poker is easy. Winning consistently, not so much… everyone wants to start playing online Texas Hold‘em poker and rake in $1,000 pots right off the bat. However, the reality is, you need to have some knowledge of the game and a sound strategy to win big money at online poker. There are a few fundamental areas that should be addressed in a successful online poker strategy. First, pre flop play…

Pre flop play is the decisions you make with only your two hole cards, without seeing the flop. This is usually the easiest place to implement a strategy because there are not that many variations. For example, you can say “In early position, I will only play hands better than a pair of jacks” or “In late position, when facing an early position raise, I will only play a pair of queens or better”. Pre flop play is essential to successful poker.

Post flop play and betting strategies are a bit harder to implement. There are no concrete plays to make and you have to make decisions based on the situations you are put in. There are hardly any two situations that are exactly the same in Texas Hold‘em poker, so you have to be able to adapt. Once you have a good online Texas Hold‘em poker strategy, head over to 888poker and start playing in some of their ring games and online poker tournaments. In no time, you will be raking in huge pots at 888poker. Online Texas Hold‘em poker has never been so exciting!

When you're dealt a hand like A4, what should you do? There's an Ace, and Aces are good, right? That's the logic most beginners put behind the decision to play the hand after overestimating its strength, but this can lead them into trouble. Let's make this as simple as possible.

You should be folding "rag aces" more often than not.

Chasing hands with rag aces you're looking for one thing to happen: to make top pair with your kicker on the flop. This is because this gives you the best shot at having the best hand and making money. If your Ace gets paired and you get some action from your opponent, it's likely they have an Ace and a higher kicker themselves, especially if they raised before the flop.

However, sometimes you're going to want to play rag aces - you've got position, there's fewer players, whatever. Here's something to remember - rag aces do not win big pots. Rag aces can be played more profitably at short-handed tables, but you still have to be careful. Rag aces are generally best avoided if you are still developing a solid, winning strategy.

Internet gambling is not as glamorous as in a casino, but it's likely to be more lucrative. Launch a new career on the betting sites with the help of ixgames.com

Pick your territory
Start with sport, Ansell recommends: "Specialise in a minority sport that you are knowledgeable about. When you spot a weakness in bookmaker pricing you've probably found your area of operation."

Avoid online poker
Beginners tend not to fare very well at this game. "You will be easy prey for the professionals, who take all the money from the low-stakes tables en route to high-stakes games," says Ansell.

Think before you act
It's easy to get click-happy when gambling online, so plan carefully. "Decide in advance what you are going to bet on," says Ansell. "Don't chase losses or be seduced into further bets for the sake of it."

Be you own bookie
Calculating expectation will improve your chances, as Ansell explains: "Expectation equals your percentage in a 100 per cent book multiplied by the decimal price, including the stake."

Play the long game
However tempting they look, try to see past the short-term benefits of the offered odds. Bet on your own expectations, says Ansell: "Long-term profits will take care of themselves if you bet in this way."

Avoid tips
Betting on a tip is a bad idea, although Ansell concedes that they can confirm your calculations. "If you find an expert odds compiler, you can use their opinion as additional confidence in your own bet."

Manage your bankroll
Ansell advises you start with 250 "points", with the goal of winning 10 more per bet. By risking a few points at a time, your money will last longer and you'll learn what works and what doesn't.

Don't panic
"When you start to feel under pressure, if your heart is racing or you have the urge to try to get your money back on a losing day -- stop," says Ansell. "Turn the computer off. Tomorrow is another day."

Poker is more than a game of numbers - psychological warfare is also a huge part of it, even in online poker, where you can't see the other players' faces. Let's review the three basic types of deception that take place at the poker table and how you can best use them.

Pretty much everybody knows about bluffing, even if they don't play poker at all. However, many new poker players bluff recklessly without knowing when and how you should use this time-honored bit of strategy. While you can bluff anytime, it's basically useless to do so in lower-stakes limit games because more people are involved in showdowns and it's very rare for a hand to not get played to completion.

However, in higher-stakes and no-limit games, when a player's entire chipstack can be on the line, it can be devastating, particularly when you apply some good poker science behind it. A good example of when to bluff would be you're facing down one or two other opponents in the pot and there's a high card that could potentially be a pair with yours, while the rest of the board looks ripe for a set or even a flush or straight.

The other type of bluffing that players do is actually much more common and many poker players don't consider it bluffing at all, really - semi-bluffing. When you semi-bluff, you're holding a drawing hand, something that could potentially make a devastating combination like a flush or straight. This happens a lot when you're holding high suited connectors like AsKs and the flop reads Js3s4d or the like. If you bet with this hand, you are bluffing, but you also have a high likelihood (50%) of gaining a strong hand on later betting rounds. Semi-bluffing can be a very useful technique, especially in no-limit games.

Try out these strategies when you play free online poker at Bovada!

Badugi is a poker game that originated in Asia and is unlike any other form of poker. The unique hand rankings of Badugi make it a fun and interesting game to play and it is sure to break up the routine of playing the same poker games day after day.

There are three main poker variations: Flop games like Texas Hold’em, Stud games, and Draw games. Badugi is a Draw game which means that players will have an option to exchange some or all of their cards in hopes of improving their hands.

The goal of Badugi is different than any other poker game. Players are attempting to create hands that consist of all cards being different ranks and different suits. Unlike most other poker games, Badugi hands are made up of four cards (instead of the usual five), and the best low Badugi hand will win.

Before learning the rules of Badugi, it is important to learn how the hands are ranked. Please see the Badugi section of the poker hand rankings page to get familiar with the order.

How to Play Badugi

If you are playing in a full Badugi game, there will typically be six players seated at the table. A circular marker, called the dealer button, sits in front of one player and is moved clockwise around the table after each hand is completed. Before a hand begins, the player who is seated to the immediate left of the dealer button is forced to post a small blind and the player to their left posts a big blind. These blinds help create a pot and establish the size of the minimum bet during the first betting round. The big blind is usually about double the size of the small blind.

Each player receives four cards face down, called hole cards or down cards. The action begins with the player who is sitting to the left of the big blind. They have the option to call the amount of the big blind, raise to a larger amount, or fold their hand. Play continues clockwise until every player has acted, with the players seated in the blinds having the last option during this betting round.

First Draw
Once the initial betting round is complete, the first draw takes place. Players may exchange any or all of their cards for new ones in an attempt to create a better hand. If a player choses to keep all of their original cards, it is called ‘standing pat’.

Second and Third Draw
Another round of betting ensues, followed by another draw. Then, players must act again and draw one last time before the final round of betting. Once the action is complete, the players compare hands in what is called a Showdown to see who holds the strongest Badugi hand. The pot is awarded, or split if there is a tie, and the button is moved before the next hand begins.


Badugi Betting Structure
Badugi is played as a Limit game at PokerStars. The limits depend on what size game you are playing. If you are playing in a $5/$10 game, the small bet is $5 and the big bet is $10. Usually the big blind is the same size as the small bet (for instance, $5 in a $5/$10 game). In the first two betting rounds (before and immediately following the first draw), players can wager small bets, and big bets are made in all subsequent betting rounds.

Typically only four bets are allowed per betting round, which means if one player bets and there are three raises, the pot is ‘capped’ and there is no more betting until the next round.

Play Badugi on PokerStars
You can give this fascinating game a try at the PokerStars play money tables and play for free. Once you get comfortable with the game, challenge yourself at the real money Badugi tables. Download the free PokerStars software and start playing Badugi.

"Poker really is a microcosm of life," poker Hall-of-Famer Crandell Addington said in 2007 when he spoke to The Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society at Harvard. This Harvard society touts poker as “a game of skill that translates into all forms of day-to-day living,” as stated on their website.

If poker is a microcosm of life, it shouldn’t surprise us that women are frequently the most empathetic players at the table—often to the detriment of our results.

In the 1980s, psychologist M.H. Davis developed a multidimensional scale to measure empathy called the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and found that women scored significantly higher than men on all four measured dimensions1.

We feel more sympathy for the misfortune of others (Emotional Concern scale), we more often transpose into the feelings of fictitious characters (Fantasy scale), we can better put ourselves in other’s shoes (Perspective-Taking scale), and we feel more personal distress when we observe distress in others (Personal Distress scale). Since then, several empirical studies and meta-analyses have backed up this finding.

What’s wrong with being empathetic? Nothing at all, if you don’t let it affect the way you play. Chances are you do though; it’s extremely difficult not to let empathy lead us to be nicer and even soft-play others at the table. Being too nice in poker is like befriending a lamb before you turn him into lamb kabobs, you just shouldn’t do it (trust me, RIP Lambie). Except not only will it ruin your dinner, the smart “lamb” will recognize your weakness and play better against you. My brother once said, after bluffing me out of a hand some time ago, “I use your love as fold-equity.” It worked, and I can’t blame him for doing it; because even worse than being nice, is expecting others to return the favour.

The concept of poker altruism that has developed among some women is ridiculous. I have seen it time and time again—women soft-playing their friends and expecting others to return the favour. “How could you call me with ATos, I would never do that to you!”—This kind of mindset has no place in poker. It’s one thing to let your emotions deter you from maximizing the value of your hands, but to ask someone to do the same is absurd.

That’s not to say you should be cruel - being overly emotional in any way is obviously bad for your game. Learn to leave your emotions off of the poker table altogether.

Can we really just turn off our emotions at the flick of a switch?—Unlikely. Deepak Chopra once said not to try to think positively, instead consider the reasons behind thinking negatively and aim to change them, and positive thinking will follow. I think this makes sense for empathy in poker. By reframing our concept of the game as just that, a game that is played to be won, and encouraging others to do the same, empathy becomes less salient.

Maybe we shouldn’t try to turn off our empathy, but dim it down a bit. If we could learn to control it, and act only on certain cognitive rather than emotional dimensions of empathy, it could actually be an edge. The ability to take on another’s perspective makes it easier for us to read other’s emotions, which would be advantageous in live play.

We owe it to ourselves to explore and act on the issue; women who play poker struggle daily for success and respect in this field, and the only way we are going to get it is if we just stop being so goddamn nice.eom



Mona Harb is a poker player and writer from Ottawa, Canada. She holds a degree in Journalism with a Concentration in Psychology from Carleton University. Former content editor for Academic Exchange Extra, a peer-reviewed e-journal for educators, Mona has also contributed to such publications as Canadian Geographic Magazine and the Ottawa Citizen. Among her poker accomplishments is making the final table of the miniFTOPS Main Event in 2011 under the user name 'KHALAS'. She also plays on PokerStars where she goes by 'sexyhands'. Follow her on twitter.

Anytime you find yourself among gamblers and poker players, you will certainly hear a number of words not typically used in everyday conversations. This occurs whether you are in a live poker game, watching a television show on poker or taking part in a discussion in an online poker forum. The words commonly used are known as poker terms, poker expressions or poker slang. In order to keep up with the dialogue, you need to know the meaning of at least the most common poker terms used. The following will give you the basics of the poker language, but certainly does not contain all words you may come across.

Note: The poker slang, poker expressions and poker terms defined in this list does not include any of the regularly used ones that have swear words or any type of offensive language. If you want to see complete lists of all poker words, poker slang and poker terms, check the websites listed under References. Also, this list does not include any commonly used acronyms, abbreviations or initialisms that I already covered in my series of articles titled: Poker Acronyms, Abbreviations and Initialisms. Terms are listed in alphabetical order.

Ace in the Hole: phrase used when one of a player's face down (hole) cards is an Ace.

Ace Out: when a poker player wins the pot with an Ace-high ranked hand. Otherwise, a hand that contains an Ace and no other poker hand ranking.

Ace to Five (Ace-to-Five Lowball or Wheel): considered the best low hand in poker games that don't count straights and flushes. This hand includes A-2-3-4-5.

Ace Working: a hand that contains an Ace.

Aces Full: a full house that consist of three Aces along with any other pair.

Aces Up (Aces Over, Acey-Uppy): hands that consist of two pairs in which one of the pairs is Aces.

Acey-Duecy: terms used for both a two pair hand that contains a pair of Aces and a pair of Deuces (twos), or when a player's hole cards in a Hold'em game are an Ace and a Duece.

As some of you know I've been taking in the baby birds from my friend's mom. She passed yesterday and my friend have asked me to take over the birds. I am very upset at the moment and trying to help my friend the best I can.



:dance::thumbsup

WSOP Europe Announces Seven- Bracelet 2012 Slate

The 2012 World Series of Poker Europe is slated for September 21 October 4 in Cannes, France. The events include no-limit hold’em and pot-limit hold’em, with a variety of formats: short-handed, shootout, and a special “mixed-max” tourney, debuting this year. The WSOPE’s main event begins on September 29, with returning champion, Elio Fox.

Iowa Bill Falters, Mississippi’s Tanks

Two state bills aimed at legalizing online poker encountered rough sledding in recent weeks. An Iowa bill proposing an intrastate online poker network similar to that planned by Nevada, passed the Iowa Senate on a 29-20 vote, but faces an uncertain future. A similar measure went down to resounding defeat in Mississippi, despite the presence of land-based casinos in that state. No real prospects exist for another effort in Mississippi, while the Iowa bill, despite its passage, moves on to a House waiting list, where GOP legislators have expressed their plans to block the bill from further action.

Andrew Kim Takes APPT Korea

American Andrew Kim, captured one of the major new Pacific Rim titles, topping a 268-player field at the Asian Pacific Poker Tour’s recent Seoul, Korea stop. Kim’s victory in a regional hotbed for the game was worth 145 million South Korean Won—about US $129,700. Another US player, Vincent Rubianes, took second for $80,950, while Spain’s Rafael Rodrigo finished third, collecting approximately $84,400. Germany’s Moritz Ortmann officially finished in fourth, but left with the second-most money, $94,800.

Failla Victorious at HPT’s 100th Event

The Heartland Poker Tour’s success in mid-price tourneys continues, with the tour recently conducting its 100th stop, at St. Louis’ River City Casino. Plenty of star players joined the event’s 328-player field, including Greg Raymer, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker, and Dennis Phillips. But veteran, East Coast player, Will “The Thrill” Failla, claimed top honors and a $119,064 payday. Brian Nguyen finished second, to take home $67,390. William Matula was third, which was good for $42,863.

Eriquezzo Cap tures WSOPC Atlantic City Main Event

Atlantic City recently hosted the latest WSOP Circuit series, where Ryan Eriquezzo secured his second-ever WSOP circuit ring. Eriquezzo topped 640 other players, finishing off David Zeitlin, to secure a $191,194 winner’s payday. Zeitlin’s run was worth $118,307, with Troy Erickson finishing third for $86,774, and Garry Gates fourth for $64,530.

Frederik Jensen Bes t at EPT Madrid

The European Poker Tour’s recent stop in Madrid, Spain served as the scene of the second straight EPT triumph by one of Denmark’s rising poker stars. Frederik Jensen topped a 477-player field to win €495,000. Jensen finished off Scotland’s Fraser MacIntyre, to complete the Danish double, with MacIntyre settling for €290,000 in second-place money. Romania’s Andrei Stoenescu finished third.

Bwin.Party Seeks Nevada License

Bwin.Party, whose namesake brand PartyPoker was once the largest US-facing online poker site, joined a growing list of companies seeking Nevada gaming licenses. The application was filed by Bwin.Party subsidiary BP Gaming Entertainment, Inc., seeking approval as a service provider. Given the parent company’s lack of a physical Nevada presence, licensure requires the firm to form a partnership with an existing firm already doing business in the state. State officials have received nearly two dozen applications to date. Each of the applicants—manufacturers, service providers, operators, and testing labs—seek to establish their presence in a reopened market.

Veteran poker-industry writer/editor Haley Hintze is the author of an upcoming book on the Absolute Poker and UltimateBet online cheating scandals, to be released later this year.

So sad of your friends mom My god rest her in peace.. Just make these birds as pet in your home.

David "Doc" Sands is one of the most consistant tournament players on the circuit. In the past six years, he has amassed more than $4.8 million in online and live tournament winnings. His most recent claim to fame is finishing second in the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic this past February for $806,000. Before heading off on a trip full of tournament poker, Sands took some time out to serve as guest on the latest Strategy with Kristy podcast.

Here is a snippet from the interview in which Sands answers a listener question:

I used to play multi-table tournaments online for a living. Obviously, since Black Friday, I can't do that anymore. I've transitioned to playing live small-to-medium buy-in tournaments and traveling a little bit to do so. Because of the variance in tournaments, I've found it very difficult making a living playing live tournaments. How do you deal with the variance that comes with playing live tournaments?


Read more: Strategy with Kristy: David "Doc" Sands | PokerNews

"Rags to riches" stories are a part of poker history and while there have been plenty of players that have made a little go a long way, the following four players took that extra step and became part of poker history. You already know the names; now, get the stories that helped these guys get where they are.

Johnny Chan
The gregarious poker player who's been immortalized by Hollywood with a clip of his biggest win appearing in Rounders, Johnny Chan didn't start off ahead of the pack. He was born in China in 1957 and moved to the United States in 1968, eventually ending up in Houston, Texas. While his family restaurant business was tempting enough for him to work knights and weekends while attending the University of Houston, poker was a calling he couldn't deny. He made a huge splash in the scene in 1987 after winning the first of two back-to-back WSOP Main Events and since then, he's earned ten of the hallowed bracelets.

Daniel Negreanu
On paper, it sounds like a sure-fire recipe for disaster: the Toronto-born son of Romanian immigrants declares that one day he's going to be rich and promptly begins hustling pool players and learning his way around various games before moving to Vegas at 22 to earn a living playing poker. While he did have to move back (at least) once, 2004 was a kind year for Kid Poker and his fortune shifted massively after being named the WSOP Player of the Year. He's earned four bracelets and has career earnings in excess of $14,000,000.

Phil Ivey
It may be hard to believe, but the 36-year-old holder of eight WSOP bracelets wasn't always on top of the game. He started off playing poker in back-room games at the New Jersey Telemarketing Firm where he worked in the late 90s and he even used a fake ID to gain access to Atlantic City's casinos to start earning real money. Ivey now has over $14,000,000 in earnings to his name and several high-profile endorsement deals.

Chris Moneymaker
While you couldn't quite call his story a "rags-to-riches" one — he was, after all, a comptroller and worked in a restaurant while holding a master's degree — Chris Moneymaker's rise to prominence was as great a jump as anyone has seen to date. He purchased a $40 seat in an online poker qualifier for the 2003 World Series of Poker seat as an amateur and ended up winning the 839-strong Main Event a couple of short months later. That $2,500,000 grand prize has served him well: he's still a professional poker player almost a decade later.

Want to start your own journey? Play online poker at Bovada!

This brief glossary will help newcomers understand the some of the basic poker terms that are used when they learn how to play online poker. Some of these have been covered in more depth elsewhere on the site, but it's always a good idea to get a refresher!

Ante: The stake that each player must put into the pot before they receive a hand.

Blinds: These are the forced bets that take the place of an ante in Texas Hold 'Em Game.

Board Cards / Community Cards: The cards in the middle of the table that every player has access to in order to build their hand.

Draw: When you draw, you hope to improve your hand with the board cards. You're 'on a draw" when you want other cards to come out to complete your hand for you. For instance, if you have 10s9s and the flop is 8s7s4d, you are trying to draw a Js (or another jack) or 6s (or another 6.)

Flop: The first three board cards in hold 'em poker.

Limit Poker: This is poker with bets at a fixed size. In a $1/2limit game, all of the bets and raises are $1 in the first two rounds (preflop and flop) and then $2 in the last two rounds (turn and river.)

Longhanded: A poker game in which seven or more people are playing. These games can be very profitable or very dangerous, depending on the skill level of the other players. Compare this to a shorthanded game.

Outs: These are the cards that can improve your hand. See Draw to understand how they work.

Position: Where you sit in the rotation relative to the blinds. The "worst" position is immediately after the big blind while the best is considered to be the dealer because they have the best understanding about what other people have in their hand (or at least pretend to have.)

Preflop: The round of betting that occurs after you are dealt your two hole cards and before the flop is dealt to everyone.

River: The fifth and final card that comes on the board in Texas hold 'em, after the turn.

Shorthand: A poker game with six or fewer people playing. Many tournaments use the final shorthanded table as the final table versus eight or nine.

Turn: The fourth community card that is dealt in hold 'em games. It's the first card after the flop.

Gambling is a great form of entertainment when being enjoyed for what it is, a leisure activity, and with any winnings being treated as a bonus. In does run the risk however of becoming addictive and of spiralling out of control if it becomes unaffordable and if it is used to create needed funds.

With the creation of the internet there are more and more opportunities to enjoy gambling online, which is great as it means you can enjoy the entertainment without leaving the home, or getting ready for a night out. Whilst that is enjoyable it may be that sometimes you prefer the comfort of your own home.

With this though it does become easier perhaps to spend money, as you are left without the physical tangibility of cash and chips that you would have at a casino. It’s important therefore that you set a budget for your online gaming and stick to it, so that it remains a fun thing to do as opposed to becoming a financial drain.

Read More: Set yourself a budget when gambling online - Life & Style - The Independent

There is one image associated with this press release.

The world's leading online poker media site, CardPlayer.com, has launched three new online poker odds calculators to add to its industry leading hold'em and Omaha calculators.

The new poker calculators are for the variants of seven-card stud, seven-card stud eight-or-better, and deuce-to-seven.

Users can now run the numbers for up to six hands and include dead cards for players who have mucked.

A spokesman for CardPlayer.com said, "Non-hold'em poker is becoming increasingly popular, especially in the mixed game format so we're giving players what they want in the form of a great resource to help hone their skills at the table."

CardPlayer.com is the world's leading online poker site for Poker Tools including Hand Matchups, a Poker Stats Tracker, Free Poker School and Training and much more.