Poker variations

There is so much information coming at us every day that you have to apply the filters to get what you want.  We all suffer from information overload, but the trick is to find quality sports betting picks that will help your betting success.

Professional tips on football games – English Premier League, UEFA Champions League or other European football.  Maybe, its other sports that you are into like basketball or the NHL, tennis, cycling whatever – here is a blog that is updated daily with fresh content and information.

We all like a side bet once in a while, so think about the odds and read as much background info as you can, so that you make knowledgeable decisions and the rest is easy…

Last night I dreamed that I won the Sweepstakes.  Champagne was flowing, I started planning my round the world trip and the estate I was going to buy… got quite carried away by it all… and then I got rudely awoken by the rubbish truck at 05.30 Oh well, its back to reality I guess…

Its back to the everyday slog, back to trying to make it big by entering my online poker tournaments.  Facing the disappointment of getting bad beats and getting blown out in the first round.  But one day, just you watch.  Take a good close look at my name, because it is going to appear in a hall of fame!!

You have to keep trying.  Climb back on your bike and have another go, otherwise you are never going to learn how to ride… or become the next Lance Armstrong!

We know just how popular poker is in the Scandinavian countries, with some of their players taking top honours in big poker tournaments and the WSOP.  It is interesting to see how poker has spread to other countries in Europe, with the European Poker Tour now including Kiev, Prague and Warsaw.

The smaller Baltic countries are also getting in on the act.  PokerStars has obviously recognised the growth in the online player base and in the demographics of their European players, because they are now sponsoring a big poker tournament in Estonia.  In fact the national Estonian basketball team is sponsored by PokerStars.

When you play poker online look at where the players are from, or ask them and you will be surprised to see all the places where the players live.  Need an atlas just to find where they are.

It doesn’t matter what kind of poker variation you are playing, future planning during the hand will help your game.  Not enough players think of the possible outcomes during a hand.

Think about what you will do if certain cards come on the flop, turn and river.  Set it up from the beginning.  If you are playing someone who is a little tight, show your strength and they will mostly shy away.  Its important to get aggressive from the beginning and keep to your plan.  One little sign of weakness and the table will come back at you.

Think about what you will do if certain cards come up on the river or turn.  Plan the street. Am I going to fold, raise or call? What kind of flop is there?  And, go through the options for each situation, am I going to fold, raise or call?  What did I do pre-flop and what sort of message am I giving to my opponents?  If I call and then fold, what was the point of calling in the first place?  Maybe just to stay in the game and see what everyone else would do, or to see the next card.

By planning ahead you know whether you will bet or not, and what size bet, therefore you shouldn’t leak value.  You are either in the hand or out.

Anyone who has visited or lived in the United Kingdom will know just how football crazy they all are.  Football is discussed everywhere, anything from the premiership down to local village teams taking each other on.  When you say football to me I think of the oval ball and the game where they throw the ball to each other

But in the UK if you mention football, then straight away its which team do you support and do you think they are going to win?… and what do you think of this transfer?  .. and can you believe they have signed up so.. so?

Personally I dont car so much about it, but when its the big games like in the World Cup, then I might watch… aint nothing gonna get in the way of my poker!

I think I might change to playing some omaha for a change from texas holdem.  It just makes you think differently for a while.  Change is good!

At the end of the day you still have to watch the same fundamentals.  Which starting hands to play and which to leave.  Reading players and working out what they may have, depending on how they have managed the betting.  How much have the raises been relative to the pot?  Is it worth the risk? And all this you have to calculate in a short time, thats why I enjoy poker, the game changes every hand.

Obviously the four cards make a difference in omaha… but apart from different possibilities you can make with four cards in your hand, its the same really.

There is always one kind of person or character that gets under your skin!  And when you meet them at the poker table it is really hard to control yourself.  But you have to keep check of yourself, no matter how much they get to you or irritate you.

My first reaction is that I want to beat them, bury them and get them off the table as soon as possible.  Problem is when it gets personal then you can make mistakes.  Its best to leave the ego at home!  Although its damn hard.  My competitive spirit comes out, or maybe its some deep seated aggression that has been suppressed and needs to come out…

So I end up grinding my teeth, going really quiet and playing hands that I would never usually play… its a sure tell!

Keep a lookout for those loose players, they’re always about, especially at the lower limit tables.  Watch their betting patterns and exploit them.  A couple of losing hands and they will be getting itchy feet, wanting to try and show strength… but do they actually have anything in their hand or are they just hoping to chance it and get lucky on the flop, turn or river?

Its worth calling them a few times to check what they have and to establish any patterns of play.  Look around your table and classify the players, aggressive vs conservative, loose vs tight.

When you start out playing freerolls and at the low tables, you will find many overly aggressive players with not much to lose, so they throw their chips around without a care in the world.  Sure it happens higher limits too, but it is more common at the lower tables.  Its good to pick up on the signs of a loose player and squeeze them for chips when it counts.

We sometimes forget to plan ahead.. in all aspects of life..

If you have a mediocre hand but want to show strength, then plan pre-flop to show that strength and don’t just call.  As soon as you check or call, your opponent is going to suspect weakness and exploit the situation.

Its all about thinking of the various scenarios that could happen ahead.  If I raise, is my aggressive opponent going to re-raise?  And, will you handle the pressure and see through his aggressive tactics?  Is he trying his luck with nothing in his hand again?  What did he bet pre-flop and is he sticking to his story? How does the flop change things?  Does the flop favor him or me?

There’s a lot of things to consider in such a short time, but once you have played a lot of poker, these thoughts will become automatic.

Think ahead and if you have a plan, then make sure you stick to your story… unless of course you are intentionally confusing them…. but then thats a whole different story…

It still amazes me how some online poker players can multi-task and the extent to which they can multi-task.  Ask me to do more than two things in the kitchen and I am bound to mess up both of them… forgetting there is something in the oven, until a burning smell brings me to my senses.   If more than one person talks to me at once, I can’t handle both conversations at once… its part of being male!    Online I am a bit better and have learnt to play poker at a few tables at once.

Woman are much better at multi-tasking, they should be excellent at multi-tabling on poker sites or in poker tourneys.

Then you hear about the maniacs that will enter more than one poker tourney at once.  Apart from the fact that you have to spend hours and hours concentrating online, with a colostomy bag in place so that no breaks are required…

Now multi-tasking bingo I could handle, but not live poker tourneys!  Maybe I should check out a few Bingo sites and get a bit of multi-tasking going, need to work on my skills.