Single Table Sit and Go Poker Strategy

Single table tournaments have grown on PokerStar.net more then any other type of game structure such as cash games or multi-table tournaments. Single table tournaments offer an excellent percentage of winning some money because the top three players out of nine win money which is 33%. The amount you win for first, second and third is different, but the goal at first is to just make it to the top three of every tournament.

If you’re playing regular sit and go tournaments at FullTilt then the blinds will typically go up every fifteen minutes and if you play turbo tournaments the blinds will go up every five minutes. Based on how you like the blind structure you’ll need to decide which tournament structure is best for you. You’ll also generally start with 1500 chips in a single table tournament which isn’t much when the blinds are going up.

In the early stages of a sit and go Poker tournament you’re going to want to try and remain patient, but at the same time look for a hand that you could possibly double up on. It’s important not to sit to tight when you’re playing in these tournaments because eventually the blinds will eat you up. When you have a good hand you can’t be scared by any big bets because often other players will bet with nothing in these tournaments. Since it isn’t a cash game most players are a lot looser then they would generally be at a cash game and you can’t fold decent hands just because there is a big bet.

When the blinds go up and you reach the middle of the poker tournament the action generally starts to slow down a bit because not the remaining players are more situated. Typically the player with the most chips will begin bullying the table somewhat until another player gets a good hand and decides to make a stand. You’ll want to play tight when you get to the middle of the tournament because your opponent is much less likely to be bluffing at this stage compared to the beginning of the tournament. As the tournament gets down to 4-5 players its crunch time and you need to make sure you make it to the final three so you make money. You will want to play tight if you’re in the middle of the pack and wait for an opponent to get knocked out or until you get a monster hand. If you have a good chip lead you could try bullying the PokerStars table and if you’re the low stack you’ll need to try doubling up once you get a marginal hand.

Once you make it to the final three you should continue playing the way you feel comfortable and work on winning first place. The PokerStar.com action usually becomes loose and you’ll often see a lot of all-ins when there is only three of you because most people don’t care as much once they’re guaranteed money. Single table tournaments are a great way to build your bankroll without spending to much of your own money to fund yourself.

Posted by admin on April 24th, 2009 under Poker Strategy • Comments Off

Poker Playing Styles

There are four very distinct playing styles at fulltilt poker and once you can pick up on the style that your opponents plays you’ll be able to play better against them. It’s also good to know what playing style you fall under so that you know if you need to switch your playing style or improve upon your current style. You’ll find that there are some benefits for each playing style, but when weighed out there are some styles which are better then other styles and that’s what we’re going to look at throughout this article.

Loose/Aggressive Player

The loose/aggressive player is a very tough opponent to play against because they commonly play a lot of hands and it’s hard to pick up a read on them. A loose/aggressive player will play a lot of pots and often will raise the pots instead of flat calling opponents. These PokerStars.com opponents are great to trap when you have the nuts, but they also will scare you off marginal hands when you’re winning the hand due to there large bets. You’ll need to pick your battles against a loose/aggressive player, but with some good decision making you should be able to trap your opponent and take them for there money.

Tight/Aggressive Player

A tight aggressive player is much easier to pick-up a read on because they only bet strong when they have a hand. A lot of players at PokerStars.net fall under this category and they should work on moving towards of a more loose/aggressive player. Playing too tight will only let your opponents know how you bet and then they won’t call you when you make a big bet. If you mix your bets up a bit like the loose/aggressive players then you’ll have a better chance of being paid off when you hit a monster hand.

Loose/Passive Player

A loose/passive player isn’t a playing style you really want to be categorized under. These players like seeing flops and even the river, but once the big bets come out they will usually quickly fold unless they have the nuts. This style costs a lot of money because you pay to see to many flops and you don’t win enough pots because you’re scared of making the call on a big bet.

Tight/Passive Player

A tight/passive player shouldn’t win much money at most poker tables either because they simply bet when they have the nuts. They rarely play any hands and when they do play a hand they have a monster hand which they usually try to trap opponents. If a tight/passive player is calling your bets then you can bet they have something good so be careful. You shouldn’t lose much to this playing style because there so easy to read and you should know when they have a good hand.

I feel the best playing style is the loose/aggressive although you can’t be too aggressive. Play Poker in the middle of being loose and tight, but always remain aggressive. It’s better putting pressure on your opponents to force them to make the big decision. When you feel you’re beat make sure you fold your hand though and don’t keep pushing at the pot to try and steal it. You won’t win every pot, but when you do lose you want to keep it to a minimum so that when you win you have profits.

Posted by admin on January 31st, 2009 under Uncategorized • No Comments

Tips for Gambling at the Casino

Online Casino Gambling is very exciting and fun to participate in, but you need to know when to draw your own lines and if you can’t do this then you’re going to run out of your bankroll fairly quickly. Try to use these tips to your advantage when playing at the casino so you can leave a winner instead of leaving a loser. These are some general tips for new casino players who are looking for some helpful advice to get started.

You should play a game that you know how to play well and not a game that you want to play because it looks cool. You should make sure you know the rules to the game you’re playing as well as some beginner strategy. Never play a game that you don’t know how to play because this is the first way to losing your bankroll quickly.

Always have a limit that if you reach that point you stop playing completely for that day and leave the casino. You need to make sure you don’t allow yourself to lose more then you can afford because if you can’t you’re in serious trouble. Nobody wants to lose money at the casino tables, but there is definitely a chance of losing and you need to be able to afford every penny that you’ve wagered.

There are plenty of so called winning Blackjack Online systems that you can purchase, but don’t believe everything you read. There are no winning systems which can guarantee you winning in a casino without blatantly cheating so don’t think there are any out there. You will find some great strategy that you can implement for certain games, but there are no winning systems.

Some of the www.casino.com games have different variations with slight rule changes and you should become familiar with these variations in your game of choice. The reason is simple, the different variations offer different odds so when possible you want to play the variation with the best odds for the player to win rather then the best odds for the house to win.

When you’re losing you need to know when to draw the line and call it a day. You can’t try and win your losses back because often times you’ll lose a lot more then planned. You will begin to bet more on every bet and you’ll quickly lose control of the situation so be careful. You can always try and win your money back another day when you’ve gained your composure again. Often when you start losing you’ll lose your composure and start making silly bets.

A lot of young people have been making there first visit to the casino and when you’re in the casino for the first time it can be a little overwhelming for some. You need to make sure you have a game plan when you go to the golden casino and set limits before setting foot in the casino. The best way to do this is by leaving the credit and bank cards at home or in the hotel and only bring the cash you’re willing to lose.

Posted by admin on November 22nd, 2008 under Uncategorized • No Comments

Why Internet Poker Is Better Then Live Poker

Internet poker I feel has many benefits over live poker and throughout this article we’re going to look at some of those reasons. It wasn’t that long ago that online poker became so popular and now it seems that almost everyone has played online poker at least once. If you haven’t played online poker yet then you’re definitely missing out on some fun and I would suggest checking it out. Let’s now take a look at some of the reasons why I feel online poker is better then live poker.

There is no organizing that you need to do to play online poker and you can simply sign-on to your account from any computer and begin playing. Whenever you feel the urge to play some poker you’ll be able to just by jumping onto your computer.

There are always players on FullTiltPoker.com to play against whereas if you we’re to play a home game or in a casino there might not be action. There are also waiting times at live casinos which you need to wait for during most hours which sucks. When you play online poker you don’t need to wait to find a table and you can start playing poker instantly.

Since you’re playing at home you can play as long as you want whereas if you’re at a casino you’ll need to drive home at some point. Online Poker rooms are open 24/7 and this ensures that players around the world can play poker whenever they want too without any problems.

You can do other things while playing online poker such as watching television, playing a game, doing some work or whatever needs done. It will take away from how focused you are in the game, but if you need to do some stuff then you might as well pound it out while playing online poker so you don’t have to do anything afterwards.

You can quit at any point to take a break and come back to play. At a casino you can take breaks, but only for a certain amount of time and if it’s busy you might lose your seat.

You can play in your pyjamas and although you could do this at the casino I haven’t seen very many people wearing pyjamas to the poker tables. I like being comfortable and the best way to be comfortable is by sitting in my pyjamas.

There are tons of tournaments with low buy-ins so that even if you don’t want to risk $100+ on a ring table game you could still play poker. Most casinos have a minimum $100 buy-in for games, whereas online poker has tournaments starting at $1 and ring table games starting at $.01/$.02 with a $10 minimum.

If you’re a new Online poker.com player you don’t need to be worried about giving away any tells to your opponents while playing over the computer.

You can say what you want about the cards or opponents without offending anyone since you’re playing at your home and no one can hear you anyways. This venting process can payoff since you won’t be bottling the anger up. Bottling your anger up in poker can be costly because you’ll start playing differently and most times losing more money.

Posted by admin on July 2nd, 2008 under Uncategorized • No Comments