Poker Tips - Heads Up Play

By Adrians Imsa

The most important thing in heads up play is to find out real quickly what type of opponent you are dealing with. So the first stage of the game must be the gathering of information. This means that you can make a call with nothing in hand after river just to see what he was playing with.

Every player follows some kind of pattern, of course in real life it's much easier to know what the other player has, because there are so much more tells. With online poker the poker tells become less obvious which of course means that they also become much more important.

I will give you some of the easiest online poker tells, that mostly apply to every player in poker. First of all, it's the size of the bet. That is the most important poker tell in online poker. People think that they have a very different way of betting hands pre-flop or post-flop, yet they deceive themselves. Only the best can consciously change their game style so completely that they leave you wondering.

I advise you - spend some time playing heads up with a guy and just watch his bet size. After a while, it will become clear what types of hands he raises pre-flop and to what amount of chips. Most people raise three times the big blinds with any playable hand, yet sometimes they raise four big blinds. Why do they do that? What happened? Now usually they've got a hand that is not so playable, like, AK or AQ or QQ. The decision to raise slightly higher amount of chips than usual, is made subconsciously for most people.

The same goes for post-flop play. Observe how your opponent plays hands post-flop. Some people will slow-play good hands, some on the other side will bet it out with big bets. The more you play with one opponent the easier it will be to tell exactly what type of hand he is playing with.

If you are playing with an aggressive player, just allow him to bet your winner hand - don't scare him off with huge bets. If you are playing with a calling station who just likes to call every bet with second best pair and no kicker value whatsoever, continue betting, but observe how much he is willing to call, don't scare him off. If you are playing versus passive player, just bet. If he has nothing, he will fold, if he has something, he will call or raise. Just don't get too aggressive, because if he chooses to play a hand, it will probably be quite good.

What is more important - head up games will definitely raise your poker read skills, which later on you will have less problems of applying in games with more people.

Heads up poker is much less dependent on luck, because basically to win in poker heads up game, you have to gather information about player and use it against him. Of course there will be times when unlucky river cards will come up, but the more good decisions you make, the more you will win.

If you are unsure of yourself in heads up play, I would suggest Sit and Go heads ups. At least with them you know exactly how much money to invest in one game, but on the other side you will have less time of discovering your opponents play, because blinds are rising up and chips are finite amount. But I would still suggest giving it a go.

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Poker Chip Giveaways

By Thom Riemersma

Many poker chip players will do little tricks with the chips while they play. They will shuffle, stack, flip and twirl them. Finally when it comes to betting they will either place them in and orderly fashion or fling them down. A keen observer will be able to see subtle changes that can make you money. Here are some tips to help you.

Wait for Them to Stop

There is one or two in every game you play. The player is constantly shuffling their chips. They seem to have a pattern of betting shuffling and folding those chips! However observe closely when there is an unexpected stop in the activity, after a bet. When this happens it is very possible that they do not have a winning hand and are not expecting cash out.

When people have made hands they're relaxed. Chances are they'd shuffle on with a made hand. The fact that they've stopped shuffling their poker chips shows that they're nervous. They don't want you to call. In this situation, raise. I'm willing to bet they fold.

Splashing the Pot

This tell can be a little trickier. There are people out there who splash the pot because they like the sound it makes. What you're looking for however, is someone who's been putting their poker chips in nice neat stacks and placing them in the pot. When this person suddenly sends a hailstorm of poker chips into the pot something's up.

Always keep in mind the fact that poker is not always what it appears. Therefore when you see this quiet player play wildly you can be pretty sure that they are bluffing you. Call their bluff and raise your bet. If you are wrong you will know what they are up to next time they turn wild.

Poker chip tells aren't about looking for something a player does habitually. The best tells are breaks in a player's usual pattern. If someone has been doing something throughout the game and suddenly their behavior changes then something is up. It may be worth a few bucks to find out what that change means.

As you play you will notice the people who love playing with those chips. They practice new tricks at home until playing around with their chips is just a habit with them. When they get into a predicament they unconsciously stop playing with their chips. This is when you can cash in big.

If you are in need of either 1000 poker chips or are in need of a http://www.elitepokerchips.com/ clay poker chip set, Thom Riemersma recommends that you visit http://www.elitepokerchips.com/ for all of your online poker shopping needs.

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The Art of Bluffing

By Steven Derbyshire

The do's and don't of bluffing could fill a book on their own, but here are a few of the most crucial things to keep in mind:

- Avoid bluffing out heavy winners: they can afford to Call and usually do.

- Newbies are often desperate to know what you've got and they will call just for the sake of knowing.

- Veteran players play a clever game are analyzing your actions more closely and are often easier to bluff.

- Ask yourself how best your cards might look to the other players. Don't bluff without at least a bittie in your hand to make it look threatening.

- As a general rule bluffs have a better chance to work well at tight tables, and are pretty much doomed to failure at loose tables unless all the "loose players" have already folded.

- Good sense tells you that the more people you are seeking to bluff the less chance you have of it working. Remember your goal is for everyone to fold.

- Bluff from late position if possible. If everyone is checking calling or folding in front of you it's an ideal time to try and buy the pot. It's not advisable to bluff from early position because you have no hint as to who has hit their hand or been dealt killer cards.

- A lot of people would debate that to bluff with "outs" isn't a true bluff. But logic orders that you're better served bluffing when there is at the least an outside chance of you making a decent hand. This is also referred to as a "semibluff" and is made when there are still cards to come.
For instance you are dealt AK in a Texas Hold 'em game and the flop entirely misses you with a board showing J, T, these might constitute a good time to go ahead and bluff at the pot. You are representing a big pair or that you caught a piece of the flop, and your show of strength might prompt the rest of the table to fold, giving you the pot right there.

Even so, even if someone does call your bluff you have outs. An ace or king on the turn or river gives you top pair and if a queen hits you have the nut straight. Bluffing with "outs" simply means that even if the bluff does not work you're not completely beat

- So many people think that if they bluff a lot and play loose and crazy poker, it makes their bluffs harder since no one can ever be sure what they have. It in reality works the exact opposite. As anyone who's played long knows, bang-up cards don't come often so the chance that the wild player is holding trash is generally higher than the chance that he's got good cards. Therefore strong players almost always call crazy bluffers. On the other hand it's very difficult to call a person's bluff when they forever play good cards.

When you have the image of a strong player who casts off the trash cards, the other people at the table know that odds are you have good cards and to call the bluff is taking a big gamble. Play a good number of hands at any one table and build your table image before trying to bluff.

You'll have the chance to apply all your new found skills online in many venues.

Steven Derbyshire has been an avid Poker Player for over 15 years. Now he wants to share his knowledge and help newbies entering the World Of Poker. He can be visited at his site http://www.pokersitesreview.eu

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