Posts Tagged ‘free poker’
In live poker, expert poker players rely on poker tells. Traditionally, poker tells are the body language of an opposing player to get a read on what cards they are holding or what actions they take. Poker tells are behavioural patterns related to cards, actions, and emotions of players. Some poker tells include, but are not limited to: changes in body position, placing of chips, breathing, tone of voice, facial expressions, and the directions of one’s gaze. With the advent and popularity of free online poker, tell have become related other factors instead of visible body language.
Speed of play is one of the more popular free online poker tells. Aside from a bad connection or lag, the rate of speed a person bets is a good indicator for their strength or weakness in a hand. It is widely thought that the faster you place a bet, the weaker the hand you have, and the slower a bet is placed, the stronger hand is held, however this may well be a myth.
A more useful strategy regarding speed of bet is to watch players and analyze their speed when in a hand. Each individual may vary. If possible keep track of each players speed and watch the results of their betting. For example, if a player is involved in a large pot and bets quickly after seeing the flop and eventually loses the hand, then this person’s betting quickness is a sign of weakness if it is fast. A person who bets slowly in a big pot might be building the pot and indicate a strong hand when they exercise a slow rate of betting. Since each individual has his/her own style of betting speed, it is important to analyze each style before making assumptions.
When looking out for tells its always worth considering what else may be happening with the other player behind the scenes rather that just assuming they are fast or slow playing due to the hands they hold. For example, they may well be playing a few tables at once, or surfing the net while waiting for their turn. Consistent slower betting from these players shouldn’t be considered a tell to their cards but is simply a sign they are distracted. Consistency is critical to eliminating bet speed as a tell with this type of player. In addition, the quality of the player’s internet connection can interfere with their bet speed.
Online poker tells theories have evolved over the years. It is still the best bet to analyze each player individually rather then make overall assumptions regarding tells. This holds true in both real and free online poker.
Whether playing online playing for money or free poker can be a rewarding, but a tiring addiction. So here are a few simple (tongue in cheek!) tips to keep you playing for as long as possible.
1. As anxiety has maximised due to an overload of hope on the river, run to the fridge freezer grab an ice pack and wrap this round your head. This will dissolve the anxiety around your head, but may make you cold.
2. When playing Online Poker on a laptop. If you become worried that your unmentionables are beginning to cook, ask your partner if they would kneel in front of you and gently blow between your thighs. They will also make a handy footrest.
Alternately wrap yourself up in Tin Foil to reflect the heat. This will also stop any evil aliens sending you messages.
3. In the unfortunate even of finger pain, you may wish to give this little piggy a rest. To kill two birds with one stone it would be an idea to rest your finger in an ice cream, which you can then eat afterwards.
4. During the long games with a full table you might feel like you are going to nod off. Bang a nail in the wall behind your playing chair and attach a length of string to it. Sellotape the string to your ear. That way if you do nod off, you will rip your ear off. Waking you up ready to make a bet.
5. After a long period of time sitting down and playing you will eventually have back pain- a good solution is to pinch your checks several times which will not only give you a nice blush effect it will also give you something else to think about!
I have developed these methods myself, and I assure you they work. Remember: Tea Cosy. Blowing. Tin Foil. Yoghurt. Sellotape. Pinch.
Always remember free poker is always a laugh but when you get online exhaustion you need to take some serious action.
Low pocket pairs are better then many people think they are. They are also a lot worse then some people think they are. If you’re playing a free poker game it may not seem such a big thing but when its high stakes this stuff matters! Actually, even if you are playing “just” free poker games for any reason other than fun then you should treat it serious. So read on!
First off if you have pot odds of at least 4 to 1 you can be safe to call, it is a slight disadvantage but nothing that will break the bank. 4 to 1 may sound like you would be calling every pocket pair but its actually quite hard and impossible in early position.
The difference in folding a few more times could be saving you thousands of dollars in the right environment. If the blinds are still relatively low in comparison to the chip stack and if you have enormous implied odds are also safe times to see these low odds hands.
When the blinds are few and far between then there’s not too much to fear monetary wise. As if you call every pocket pair you will see fewer blinds over a 3/4 of an hour spell.
Although predominately pocket pairs are used as cards to see from the flop, in some scenarios you may even consider going all in with them. To give this some context I wouldn’t suggest going all in with any cards less than 66 as A2 – A5 are favourable cards in today’s game. I cast my mind back to my early playing games where I would miss the flop with AK; you would still end up with an above thirty percent chance to hit the river- so I would go all in without thought.
I use to believe that a thirty percent chance was a favourable amount when talking odds, but as you become more experienced you understand that the only time these odds pay out is the rare occasion your put in a scenario and have to call. Learn your trade playing free poker games before moving on to the money tables so you can understand these rules and odds first hand.
Your position in a free poker tournament or Sit ‘n Go is very important. Depending on where you are, there are certain ways to play and optimise your chances.
For example, if the player on my left opens, the next two men call, and the following player raises it, then I can’t come in with that possible straight, for these three reasons: First, if I call that raise, those other players behind me may have limped their good hands. So if I put my checks in to draw at this straight, the next man calls it, and the third man moves in and raise the re-raiser, my straight probably wouldn’t be any good if I make it. (When you put checks in the pot, you’ve got to think you’ll be able to go with your hand).
Additionally I’m not in place- and it comes down to being in a bad position as under the gun- 1st to tattletale your hand. The original raiser could go again with a common amount- I could call them- as at this time I don’t believe my str8 has the potential to win. I will also get some action from 4 other opponents. When this occurs it will leave the pot at five to one I cant make my str8 although the card draw chances are not five to one that I wont. So in this play I could gamble all my checks and this is where the concealed percentages appear. I know that my str8 will take an opponent down.
Besides, by not being able to open, I don’t have a quarter in the pot at this point. There’s no reason for me to risk my check to come in and draw at this “possible.” Even if I do come in and make it, I may go broke. So rather than do all this guessing, I know there’ll be another deal in about forty seconds and I’ll just wait for a new hand.
However, I would play this hand altogether differently in a limit game. I’d go ahead and call this raise and re-raise, knowing there is a limit on what I could lose. And if I did make it, I’d sure as hell bet that I could, because I don’t draw to any hand that I won’t bet. If you draw at something, make it, and check it, then you’re defeating yourself.
There are general strategies you can use for Hold’em competitions & sit & go tables. Practice makes perfect and the more you practice your style and advance the better you will become. You don’t want to learn this trade by parting and potentially loosing your hard earned cash so what better place to learn your trade than playing a free poker tournament.
When you start a game of free poker online all of your experienced opponents will be looking out for as many signs and vibes as they can pick up. As the only thing you know for sure when the dealer passes the cards out face down is your own hand and the community cards. The difference in strategies between free online poker games and live in the flesh games is the signs and signals that you need to look out for are obviously very different. That doesn’t by any stretch of the imagination mean there are no signs that I can’t teach you to look out for in the free online poker games; but for now I will give my attention to the live in the flesh games. From my experiences of playing in various small venues and also the glitzy casinos, the signs that players give away are very common and many can be pigeon holed.
I guess the only place to start is with the eyes. Nearly all beginners believe, mainly due to the explosion of poker on the TV, that they should be looking at everyone’s eyes. If I sit down at a ten man table I am expecting six or seven of them to be wearing sunglasses. Personally even without sunglasses, I find it difficult to read tells from player’s eyes, apart from the obvious where a player will raise their eyebrows directly after looking at their cards. My point here is that you should probably forget the eyes as they are likely to be hidden anyway.
Ok assuming like me you don’t concentrate on your opponent’s eyes as the main source of intellect. You will need to find more assuring ways of spotting the tell tale signs of what cards your opponents holds. The best signs I would look out for are all based on body language such as posture- slumped normally suggests bad cards and if you happen to notice a player suddenly sit up straight after viewing their cards this would be due to their increased interest at the excitement of what they might win!
Only good and experienced free poker players can remain motionless and you may be surprised at the amount of body language signs you give away without even realising it. You may notice an experienced / decent player readjust themselves, this is done vigilantly due to the fact their self conscious has remind them to remain neutral.
Quite often body language is accompanied by table chat. Chat at the table and the signs you give away as a result are easier to hide as you can simply remain silent throughout- which is not a bad idea during the big games. You would be shocked at the level of skill some players have at recognising distinctive changes in tone and rhythm and knowing what this means to your play. There are other fundamental parts which can also explain loosing at the cost of general chit chat. You could genuinely become distracted taking your concentration away from the game. This is the difference between the regulars and the pros. The pros are masters at using all their ability to fish for signs: by playing while talking to you they’re actually finding your weaknesses while only showing you strength. Most of the time you don’t realise what’s going on till you inevitably remind yourself at the end of the game of the friendly chatty guy who ‘lucked in’ and took home the pot.
Other classic signs consist of: sweaty hands, viewing your hand and then straight after viewing your stack, licking your lips, or even for some a pulsating vein in the neck. The art of free poker is noticing trends and playing numbers and for the best part of this article is only relevant to in life games. There are certain signs you can still look out for at the online tables such as if you notice an irregular trend in gambling amounts. Many new players play the game by the book- pocket aces bring a bet id 4x the big blind, KJ is 2x the big blind and suited connectors bring a flat call. The more you play the more you will notice that the majority of players stick to their beliefs. Once you cotton on to these beliefs you can use them and manipulate them to your advantage.
Just remember to be sure that the sign the opposing player is giving you is an actual sign. As with most things in life if something seems to obvious and too good to be true- it might be. As one art of poker is knowing how to spot players signs and another is spotting players faking their signs.
It’s very surprising that over recent years the level of boasting a win against an opponent has took an upwards turn. Even more surprising is that this tendency not only occurs on the free online poker sites but also on the money tables. Scaring a smaller “fish” away is not a very shrewd tactic; as keeping this player involved should result in winning their money. On the contrary this type of player may not realise their own lack of ability, and consequently the longer you can keep them in the “water” the more of their money you can win. Hence the saying: “don’t tap the aquarium”.
You want to people to gamble. You even want fish to get lucky a few times so that they’ll keep gambling. That is why you should try to treat fish with respect. You want them to enjoy themselves and have a good time.
Applauding or praising a poor move may encourage an opponent to continuingly make the same mistakes. However, this may be outside of a players moral standing and would be considered a hustle or “setting the fishes bait”.
You don’t have to set bait to keep the fish nibbling and putting money down. By simply ensuring there is a good feeling at the free online poker tables you will help bring down the opposing players self guard and they will gradually let free and play adventurous. While your opponent is having a good time playing carefree you can continue to play conservative poker and watch your money pile up.
No one likes being disrespected and the chances are if you’re obnoxious or impolite, your fish will find another bowl to swim in (table to play at) and inevitably take their purse with them. By pushing this opponent away you will have potentially pushed away money you could have won from their blunders.
Can you imagine if everybody played well? The game of poker would be very tough to beat.
The main goal of playing good poker is to make as many correct decisions as you can, while forcing your opponents to make as many incorrect decisions as you can. It’s much easier to encourage bad players to make bad decisions, so you shouldn’t scare them away. In the long run, you’ll profit from their bad plays.
Another reason why you shouldn’t berate fishy player at the table or in your online chat box is because you don’t want them to improve. If they feel embarrassed with how bad they play, they may actually take the time and effort to improve their play. In other words, you’re encouraging bad players to become good players. Once they’re good, they’ll be tougher to beat. You won’t be getting their money quite as easily anymore. Why would you want to make it any harder to earn a buck in poker?
It’s hard enough to win at poker nowadays with all the information that’s available to improve your game. There are a lot of decent players out there. The games simply aren’t as soft as they were when I started playing online seven years ago.
That’s why I try not to “tap the fish tank and why I still play at free online poker freerolls were there’s real money up for grabs!
Whether playing online playing for money or free poker can be a rewarding, but a tiring addiction. So here are a few simple (tongue in cheek!) tips to keep you playing for as long as possible.
1. As anxiety has maximised due to an overload of hope on the river, run to the fridge freezer grab an ice pack and wrap this round your head. This will dissolve the anxiety around your head, but may make you cold.
2. After spending half the night on the laptop you may notice and become concerned that the meat and two vegetables are slightly over cooked- I suggest asking your other half to get on their knees and blow on the affected area. As an added bonus you can also put your feet up.
For the sci-fi fans out there, I suggest wrapping yourself head to toe in tin-foil as this will also stop opponents and uso’s intercepting your thoughts.
3. In the unfortunate even of finger pain, you may wish to give this little piggy a rest. To kill two birds with one stone it would be an idea to rest your finger in an ice cream, which you can then eat afterwards.
4. A late night game or after a good few hours you may start to drift off and hear the land of nod calling. The best method of staying awake is to smash a six inch heavy duty nail into the wall directly behind you. You then need to wedge a few stacks of cards below the front of your front two chair legs to make the chair unsteady. You can now rest assured that if you do nod off you will fall back straight into the nail and probably never wake up again- now there’s an incentive!
5. If after a couple of days playing non stop you begin to experience back pains, repeatedly pinch both your cheeks, this will take the focus off you back, as well as give you a rosy glow.
These methods have been invented by myself and I can assure you no women, child or animal has been harmed in making these!
Always remember free poker is always a laugh but when you get online exhaustion you need to take some serious action.
Low pocket pairs are better then many people think they are. They are also a lot worse then some people think they are. If you’re playing a free poker game it may not seem such a big thing but when its high stakes this stuff matters! Actually, even if you are playing “just” free poker games for any reason other than fun then you should treat it serious. So read on!
First off if you have pot odds of at least 4 to 1 you can be safe to call, it is a slight disadvantage but nothing that will break the bank. 4 to 1 may sound like you would be calling every pocket pair but its actually quite hard and impossible in early position.
By folding a couple more times now could potentially saving you a lot of money in the long run. If the blinds are quite small compared to the money on the table, and you have gigantic unspoken odds it’s a good time to see these low odd hands.
If the blinds are low then you really have nothing to worry about the amount of money that you lose here calling every single pocket pair you see will be less then the amount of the blinds in 30-45mins.
Pocket pairs are mostly just something to see a flop with and get away from easy but in rare cases you may even consider going/calling all-in with them. I wouldn’t recommend pushing with anything less then 66 as A2-A5 are popular hands these days. I remember when I first started playing poker and I found out that missing the flop with AK your still usually over 30% to hit by the river so I would just push all in regardless.
Some people including myself at one time thought 30% was not bad at all but really the only time you should with such low percents is when you’re forced into a situation that calls for it. Practice your card skills like this in free poker games first before moving on and up into the green.
Here are some pay poker and free poker stories I hope you will enjoy.
In 2008 I came across Noble Poker’s $12 no deposit sign up bonus (now expired). I tried it out and played at the penny 0.01/0.02 tables earning chump change. Slowly the bankroll built to $20 with some hiccups along the way. After a week, I got bored of winning small profits and moved up to the .25/.50 tables. The bankroll fluctuated yet again, but went to $60 when I placed 3rd for $36 at their $300 50+raked hands freeroll in which only 50 people played.
My strategy was to buy in at the nominal amount at each play and consequently get the chance for decent pot odds when I was drawing. I found my opposition felt inclined to call my all in when I had strong cards due to it not being a lot more to them so my wallet climbed to one hundred and fifty dollars by middle of February.
I decided to pull out at one hundred dollars and built the fifty dollars up- My strategy for accumulating losses was to jump up to the next table and win my money back quickly i.e. if I lost at the twenty five cent table I would jump to the fifty cent table. Now moving to the start of March I pulled my dollars out at with a further one hundred and fifty dollars which left one hundred and twenty five dollars to play with. My total was now a flattering two hundred and fifty dollars without spending a cent. I thought about throwing the one hundred and twenty five dollars at the five or ten dollar tables so I could at least have the bragging rights to my pals that I gave it a go.
Of course it was stupid to only bring $125 to a table with people stacked with 10-30X my amount, but I was lucky to succeed. Down to $80 quickly, I all-in with A 10 overcards on a raggity flop. I take a $230 pot on Ace high since someone called with A 5 and another folded the winning hand. I cashed out another $100 and played the $130. Not to mention, I also earned about $250 from clearing their 25% up to $100 deposit bonus and winning the afore mentioned $300 50+raked hands freerolls.
Luck seemed to be running short when my one hundred and thirty dollars fell to seventy dollars- but then out of no where I smashed it by taking three hundred and ten dollars with an Ace / Queen high- these miracles are a reason why I love poker so much. Pulled out with around two hundred dollars- my hot run finally ended late March when the two hundred dollars went down with a King / Queen to an Ace / King pairing the Kings.
To be honest I can’t see me having another run as good as that again- at the moment I’m having great joy with the free online poker competitions.
I opened an account at one of the free online poker sites and enjoyed playing the freerolls building around fifteen dollars. I had thought long and hard and believed to have had a methodical plan which was working for me. I was playing some quality poker and put five dollars into a sit and go game and won. A few decent plays later I had managed to put about one hundred and ninety dollars together all form free online poker games.
Pretty proud of myself, I purchased a large bottle of Crown Royal with pipe dreams of turning that 190$ into my future bankroll.
I woke up the next day in bed with my girlfriend. “Last night you asked me to marry you.” she says giggling. With a dry mouth and foggy mind I reply “Did you say yes?” (knowing very well that neither one of us have any plans of marriage for a long time). She says “No, I was too busy laughing at you when you told me we had a future selling farm equipment after you fell into the bathtub!” I groaned and went to get a glass of water, then sat down at my PC. Fuzzy visions of kamikaze plays started to resurface in my mind as I logged in to my account….Current Balance: $1.93 available.
My method, strategy and graft had been wasted- on the plus side I’m not being forced down the aisle and the farm equipment is defiantly not parked on my front lawn! The moral of the story is simple- play sober! The more drunk you are the rasher uncalculated plays you will make and your ability of reading people will dramatically slip. I guess a lesson learnt would have been to play the free online poker sites when drunk- this certainly would have helped with the hangover in the morning.
Excitement runs through your veins as your eyes lighten up to the possibility of what your hand shows: a 2, 8, and yes you guessed it a fabulous King. You mildly lean over giving the slightest touch to the 2 old boys that lay in front of you. All the practice on the free poker games sites has paid off. The cards you hold have finally come in rainbow and the 2 lows are a fair distance apart. Flushes and str8′s are pretty much finished- and the kings reign supreme.
Awaiting your move you glance across the table hoping all while your not revealing the monster you hold at bay. Of course there sits the fish. They have grown your stack and you thank them for it. There poor calls and lousy bets have been most profitable. Just outstack you after there latest Hail Mary and you send a prayer towards the heavens and call them to push.
Your heart stops as fishy gets his go and as if it was Christmas he throws more money at the pot. This is it, its time to take the pot home; it’s the moment you dreamed of while learning your trade on the free poker games, and you want to take this opportunity. Inevitably it’s time to push your stack and show them all the Kings.
The fish reveals and there lay pocket 7′s. The table gasps and all wonder what they were thinking. Your heart pounds then calms as you realise only two more sevens can save him. Now off to the turn. And as if on call appears the first of those magic sevens. Surely not you heart screams as the dealer speeds forward and delivers that dreaded fourth Seven.
You fall to you knees- how can this be possible, this seems more than a bad case of lady luck as you contemplate quitting poker till your dying day. You want to shout at fishy, but you still manage to keep some dignity and you simply say “well done” before leaving.
In hindsight you start pondering with what had just happened- is there anything you could have played different; probably not. I guess there’s no point holding on to this and you decide to let it go remembering how fishy played his hand.
I guess the moral of this article is just to remember all players have different strategies and all come with the belief there strategy will take them to the end. You must not discard the bad beats or reprimand the opponents who give you them, as these are money making people. Keep them in your mind but don’t divulge this to others- smile and believe their cash will soon be yours.
And remember, there are always free poker games to practice on before you have to take a serious bad beat for real!