The Robo Pope

The quickest way to see a great poker player get dominated by his peers is when he allows his emotions to overcome his game. Even the most experienced, well honed poker players will at times find themselves affected by the gravity of a situation. On TV, players like Phil Hellmuth and even the usually unflappable Phil Ivey have been seen in rough spots to get a little edgy about bad beats or bad plays made by people at their tables. Letting this turn into tilt, or into simply a bad outlook on the game, will only resort to letting that bad streak go longer.

Maintaining emotion is a supreme key to playing your best game. Keeping stoic about beats and knowing that you are making good plays, or that you are learning from when you mess up, is vital to the longevity and good bankroll building methods. If you find yourself in a spot where you are too worked up or angry over a situation, get up from the table. The quicker you get up and dismiss it from your mind, the quicker you can return with the clear brain to get back what’s yours. But if you can stay on in the moment, and learn to incorporate that flattening of emotion into your moment, your results will be all the better for it when you play online poker.

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Despite its not being the prettiest of poker hands, I actually like the eight ten quite a bit for how it is able to coordinate with a lot of different flops. Besides hitting pairs, the 8 10 also can end up with developing straight draws (open ended, belly buster, or double gutted), while also being less predictably frequented as other middle connective hands like ten jack or even nine ten. Because it is less likely that you would go to the flop with this poker online hand, a lot of players will find it difficult to put you on it. A wide range of middle flops play well with this board, and small flops leave you often with overs that are different from overs that your opponents might be playing. There is a lot to be said for camouflage in the game of poker. In fact, to many, it is the name of the online poker game. The more you can act in different ways than your opponent expects, the more often you will be able to get him to give you his money. Uncommon connectors like this hand are even more out of the box than the usual connectors, and when played for the right value, can lead to great reward.

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When you’re the middle stack, the odds are you won’t be drawing a lot of attention to yourself, and that’s a good thing. Think about it-how many times have you seen an opponent do nothing all game and then suddenly become the big stack? Use your anonymity to sneak up on your online poker opponents. The less they consider you, the better off you are.

When you play poker online, the attention of the table is usually directed two ways-to the big stack and to the smallest one or two stacks. Everyone’s looking at the big stack in fear of being bullied or called all-in, and they’re also eyeballing the small stacks in hopes that they’ll get knocked out and move everyone else up the prize ladder a notch or two.

While the attention is on these two extremes, use the obscurity of your middle stack to make a few moves quietly. Steal a few blinds here and there with a well-timed raise, win a pot or two, and quietly wait for your hand. When you finally hit a killer like an Ace flush on the flop, everyone who’s been eyeing the big and small stacks will have no idea what you’re holding and how you’ll play it.

When you take over as the big stack, and you hear a poker opponent say “Where did he come from?”, you know you did your job.

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The Gambler, in vast opposition the Rock, plays poker because he likes the thrill of the act, and the chance to win a lot of money or get a rush in losing it all. Gamblers enjoy playing cards in the same way they enjoy blackjack or crapsit’s a pastime, a way to blow off extra money and maybe make some in the process of playing online poker. They don’t care so much about odds and numbers as they do playing the cards the way they want to.

Against this type of player, you will often find yourself not quite knowing where you are in the hand. Even the craziest of donkeys picks up hands as regularly as anyone else, and since they tend to bet a wide range, you could be up against the nuts as quickly as you could against a stone cold bluff. Proceeding carefully, and being even more selective about the hands you bring to a showdown, is important then in making sure you aren’t overcompensating their loose play by loosening your own when you play poker online.

Gamblers will often make a scene. They want to have fun, so they will make conversation, get loud, jump when they win, etc. They can be frustrating to compete against, but are also good sources for padding your stack when you are on point.

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In cash no-limit Texas Hold “Em online poker games, one player may make a big bet that will take all of another player’s casino chips to call. When another player calls, and it is heads-up, with two big hands against each other, sometimes the underdog will ask the other poker online player if the dealer can “run it twice.”

This means the dealer will lay out the first flop, then turn and river as usual. A winner is declared based on that board. But next, the dealer puts out another flop, turn and river to give a second chance to whichever player lost the first run of cards. If the game is Omaha, then the original flop remains the same, but the dealer puts out a second turn and river card.

This is basically a “gentleman’s agreement” when the casino allows it. It gives the underdog a better chance of possibly winning some chips back because it’s possible that each player will win one of the runs. For instance when KK goes up against KQ, then the player holding the Queen is the underdog, but with two chances to win. Most often both runs go to the bigger hand, though in poker anything can happen. When the original bettor agrees to run it twice for the underdog, that player is extending gracious chivalry to their rival. It adds a friendlier tone to the contest.

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The benefit of being able to hold a video game in your hand is that you can take it anywhere that you want. If you have a video game system that is at home you can not bring it around with you in an easy way. It can be done, but it is going to be hard. Hand held video games let you sit in the car while your mom is driving and advance to the next level of your game. You can then save it and put it into the larger game system that you have at home and finish playing. Sometimes you just can’t advance to the next level it the environment of your home; it just takes another location to advance. The hand held video game system lets you go to any environment that you want and advance to any level that you could not get to at home.

You have to remember to get out and get healthy activity in each day, you can take a diet solution for fast energy if you would like some help. Playing games all the time can become a bit much, it is best to split up your time and still do all of the other things that life has to offer. Balance is great for overall well being. Hand held video games are fun and add value to a balanced life.

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Buying a poker table for use in your home casino or your own local poker game can be a big decision, and particularly when you are not sure what you want in a table. Spending what can go anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand can make all the difference in the look and feel of where you poker game goes down. Here are some factors to consider in the purchasing:

Felt: this is the first and foremost consideration, obviously, as the felt is where the cards are. A smooth, plush surface is most favorable, a surface that will both let the cards move and won’t flip them. The color of the felt is a purely aesthetic choice but also one that will make a difference.

Cushion: some tables don’t come with a cushion around the circumference of the table, or one that is flimsy or can get pried up. Sturdy construction is just as important as the look of the table, and the cushion quality is a good determination.

Cup holders: everybody likes to drink when they play, and the looser your players get, the better, right?

Dealer slots: if you plan on having extra chips to deal out and new stacks to factor, a slotted section for the dealer to use is important.

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Online poker is often called a more of game of “people” than cards, and there is irrefutable truth in that. Each player has a different style. Some are rock solid who only bet when they have the goods. Others are wild players who constantly make runs at the pot to scare off other players. They become predictable and their patterns can influence decisions.

Beware of becoming complacent about someone else’s style. A player who seems loose at one outing may tighten up next time. Don’t rush to conclusions and be rash about stereotyping. Even though you have encountered an individual previously at a poker table or online room, don’t assume that player is still playing the same way. People adapt their play for lots of reasons. Maybe the former bully is in a down swing and will easily fold now. Perhaps the rock has been reading about the benefits of aggressive play and starts using those strategies at the table.

Make it a point to get a fresh read on your opponents every time. Certainly you can refer to past experience against a poker player, but observe current play to see if past established patterns are still valid or if your opponent has changed their style. Tackle each new game in the moment using the past as a possible reference point but remain flexible and open-minded about the present reality of your opponent’s play. Poker is a game of deception. Your opponent knows that too.

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What we’re going to talk about today is a situation that, while rare, is something that all serious players come up against sometime in their career. It’s a situation when you’re faced to choose whether or not to bet your whole pokern stack in a situation where your odds of winning are right at 50%.

Here’s an example. You have Pocket 7s and your opponent you think has AQ or AK. The odds are about even in a showdown to the river that either hand could win. 7s have a slight favorability, but it’s ever so small.

Let’s say you have about 10000 poker chips and your opponent has 5000 chips. He bets out 1000 in first position. And you raise to 3000. He reraises all in. Now you’re faced with this decision. If you follow here, you’re riskingan additional 2000 chips on about a 50 percent chance to win. So let’s look at the odds. 2000 to play for 8000. That’s 4 to 1 and the call should be a no brainer.

But let’s make that scenario a bit tougher for you to decide the right thing. Let’s say same poker hands and you both have 7000ish chips. You’re in late position this time, and you bet out 2000 to steal the blind. Your opponent goes all in. The odds are a little different this time. Now you’re only getting 5000 on 7000, or about 1 to 1.4. It’s just under 50% and you’re only favored to win by about 50%. Here is where you should consider folding the hand. It’s just not worth risking that kind of money with such little favorability of your hand holding up. You’re opponent has 6 outs to the pair, and the straight draw. In this situation, it just wasn’t worth the call.

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