Why Ban Online Poker and Internet Gaming?

Ironically, poker-loving Americans can no longer play online. They can play all the poker they like in Vegas or in any brick-and-mortar casino. They can play poker with their buddies at home. However, they can no longer play poker in virtual poker rooms. It is illegal.

Protection of Minors?

What I don’t understand, though, is the logic behind the Act. We certainly don’t want minors playing online, but is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 the best way to prevent this?

Let me put it this way. Clichéd as it may seem, children are truly their parents’ responsibility. If they don’t want their kids visiting online poker rooms, then they can prevent their kids from doing so. They can install monitoring software in their computers or applications that will not allow their kids to open online poker sites.

Parents also have to refrain from giving their underage children credit cards. While it is true that credit cards are generally available only to persons 18 years old and above, some parents apply for extension or additional cards that they let their kids use. Now, if that’s not aiding and abetting, I don’t know what is.

The Act is very unfair to people who love the convenience of playing poker online. Saying that the UIGEA is necessary to protect our children from the lures of online gambling is patently untrue. This can’t be the real reason. What is it then?

Threatened Brick-and-Mortar Casinos?

Now, this is more like it. Internet gambling, and poker especially, has grown so much in just two years. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that we can expect more growth in this gambling industry. Big casinos may not like the competition.

However, it is a fact that casinos here actually would like internet gambling legalized. Since they can see the appeal of online poker to the American masses, they have decided that they’d just rather profit from it. Moreover, these casino executives rightly suppose that online poker ultimately promotes the whole gambling industry. The players online are going to wind up in the brick-and-mortar casinos sooner or later. Thus, they don’t actually stand to lose anything if they encourage online poker.

In truth, casino owners can create virtual casinos that will be the counterparts of their offline casinos; and when online poker players tire of the online game, they will go to Atlantic City or Las Vegas and play there. Because offline casinos really do stand to gain from the legalization of online casinos, then this can’t be the reason behind UIGEA.

Protectionist Tendencies?

Now, I am convinced that this is the real reason behind the ban. Remember the dispute between the United States and Antigua where the World Trade Organization actually sided with the latter? The United States prohibited Americans from betting online with offshore bookers. Apparently, it is the government’s position that it’s okay to gamble as long as you’re not going to make foreigners rich.

It is my opinion that the UIGEA is just a first step in the government’s bid to dominate internet poker and gaming. After Americans can no longer place bets online, a lot of online casinos will be forced to shut down. Most of these online poker rooms are based offshore and majority of their customers are Americans.

When the coast is clear, an amendment will be passed that will make online poker and internet gaming legal once again – as long as they played with American-owned and -operated online poker rooms and casinos.

Just my two cents’ worth.

Know Thy Enemy

Professional poker players can be considered accurate judges of character especially in the poker arena. They can read you in a single glance and know how you will play the game by just playing with you or observing you for a few minutes. Reading other people is so important to playing poker that it is a must-have for those aspiring to be professional players. Your ability or inability to read your opponents will decide if you are going to win or lose a lot of money in the long run.

Know what type of player your opponent is, and deal with it.

The most basic skill of a good poker player lies in his ability to accurately identify the type of player his opponents are. In the broadest sense, poker players can be classified into two groups, the aggressive players and the defensive players. Each of these two types of players have its weaknesses and strengths and if you can classify your opponents into one of these early on in the game, you can use what you know to your advantage by playing on the weaknesses rather than going head on with the strengths.

Aggressive players are those that almost never fold a hand. They will fight it out till the end without regard to the value of the hands they are holding. This type of players will always bluff, raise the pot and call your bets. Because of this, you know that when you have a good hand you will be able to rake in lots of money just by raising the bet. It is also a good practice to fold hands that are not good or mediocre when playing against this type of player. Chances are, his cards will be better than yours and you can be fairly sure that he will call on your raises no matter what.

Defensive players, on the other hand play, it safe throughout the game. A defensive player will always try to cut his losses by folding cards that are not so good or are merely average or mediocre. He also seldom calls your bets or makes one of his own. Because of this, you can be more aggressive when playing against this type of player. Feed on his insecurity and his desire to play it safe. When you feel that his cards are not very good, raise the bet or bluff in order to make him fold.

Know when to be aggressive or defensive yourself

Knowing how to switch your game strategy from being aggressive to being defensive is one of the most effective tactics in playing this game. Flexibility is the key as demonstrated by professional players who adapt a strategy based on how their opponents play. Frequent and properly timed switching from aggressive mode to defensive mode is a great strategy in itself because your opponents will remain guessing; they will not be able to settle on a strategy to use against you because they cannot even decide what type of player you are.

Poker Secrets Revealed- Part 1

This is Part one. Watch this video and learn how to cheat on poker when you play with your friends, family. even though it take a lot off practise but still you can do it.
anyways good luck.

Common Poker Mistakes

Most poker players realize that strategy plays a major part in how their game turns out. This knowledge, however, does not prevent them from committing errors in judgment that cost them their games. It is commonly the novice players that commit the following mistakes, but some seasoned players still do these from time to time.

Playing too fast and too high

So you have a monster hand. Most novice players get so excited that they aggressively raise and re-raise their bets to unprecedented amounts. This is very bad strategy you should steer clear of. If you do this, you will induce many of your opponents to fold and drop out of the betting. You will still win but you will have accomplished two things as well. One, you will lose the chance of winning more money because the more players you tempt into lasting out the game, the higher your pot would have been. Two, you become predictable; the next time they see you do this again, the other players will readily believe you have a monster hand and never bother seeing the game through. Likewise, when they see you not betting as aggressively, they will know that you don’t have a very good hand and they will make you drop out of the game.

Playing too slow and too low

When you have a good hand, you may be tempted to play too slow to get all the players play until the end of that hand. When you do this, you are giving your opponents free cards. They will be able to wait out the hand and form better card combinations without much cost to them. One of your opponents who had an average set of cards to start out with may beat you in the end. Betting too low also means that the pot couldn’t grow bigger. If you still win the hand, you would win less money than what you could have won had you bet more aggressively.

If you have a good hand, it is better to consistently raise bets so that the pot can accumulate much faster. However, do not over bet or over-raise. It is good poker strategy to bet high and constantly raise the betting while still retaining the maximum number of players at least for the turn.

Going all-in for the wrong reasons

This is the most common mistake that novice poker players commit. When they have a good set of starting cards, they go all in the hopes of securing a sure win. Seeing the strategy work, they will sometimes be tempted to go all in even if they have a very beatable hand in the hopes of bluffing their way to a win. This may work for a few hands but it will lose its power soon enough. If you go all in much too often, the other players will begin to suspect that you’re all hot air and begin calling your hand. You will thus lose all your chips and your dignity, too.

Some Facts about Online Poker

Online poker is all the rage right now for people who for one reason or another prefer to play poker over the internet. It is as fun and riveting as offline poker games but it is far more convenient. Read on to find more about online poker.

Online Poker versus Offline Poker

Online poker is conceptually similar to offline poker. You play with other people and the same basic offline poker rules apply. However, your interaction with your poker buddies is done through an online casino of which you are a registered member, and you use virtual cards and chips and you play in virtual poker tables. Before you can begin playing you also need to download and install the special gaming software provided by your online casino.

Online Casinos

Online casinos are the internet counterpart of your brick and mortar casinos. Online casinos facilitate and initiate online poker games by providing and distributing online poker software so that networked poker games can commence among players from all over the world. Not all online casinos offering online poker games and tournaments are legitimate, however. Some would just take your deposit, let you play, and then prevent you from withdrawing your winnings. Some online casinos are operated by crooks who simply wish to obtain your credit card information for fraudulent activities.

If you are thinking about joining one, be sure to check that casino’s web site. Give special consideration to its terms and conditions, the number of years it’s been operating, and the number of members it has. Check the website for security seals and see if it’s a member of any online gaming and online poker associations. However, do not take the casino’s word for it; search the internet for confirmation of the casino’s alleged affiliations and security features. Furthermore, initiate a search engine query about your target casino to find customer reviews about it.

Online Poker Legal Aspects

Online poker, as with many online wagering games, falls within the gray area yet to be defined and addressed by the law-giving bodies. Of course, each state has something to say about gambling per se which may be stretched to involve online gambling as well. The federal government also has the so-called Wire Act statute which may or may not classify online poker illegal; it is so vague that it is subject to contradicting interpretations.

Before you begin playing online poker, be sure to research your local state laws on gambling. You should also remain informed about any legislation that may impact your online gambling activities.

Winning at Online Poker

When you win at online poker, you generally have a choice between letting the money remain in your account for future games and withdrawing it for use elsewhere. Some people who are new to the world of online gambling have difficulty imagining how their payouts are disbursed. You can withdraw your winnings through various ways, depending on your online casino. The most common means are PayPal, wire transfer, direct deposit to your bank, etc. Check out your online casino’s payout disbursement methods and the service fees it charges for withdrawal.

Tips for taking on the big player on poker

Ideally you want to play in games where you're clearly the best player at the table. In No Limit Hold'em tournaments, however, you don't have the luxury of choosing which table you'll be playing at.

Unless you truly believe that you're the absolute best poker player on the planet (you're not), here are some adjustments to make when playing against superior opponents.

Make larger pre-flop raises

As a rule, I'm a big advocate of making small raises before the flop rather than oversized ones. That being said, when you're facing tough players, you should be seeing fewer flops and be willing to risk a few more chips in order to steal the blinds. This is especially true when facing a tough player in the big blind.

Tough players are notorious blind defenders who play well after the flop. So, avoid marginal situations against them by making slightly larger pre-flop raises in an attempt to get them to fold.

For example, if your standard raise is about three times the big blind, increase it to four times when a strong player is in the big blind. With a hand like 8-8 or A-Q, you'd be better off picking up the blinds with no resistance rather than playing a flop against this tough opponent.

Avoid marginal situations

If a tough player raises from early position, don't call him with marginal hands like K-J or Q-10. Those hands aren't very good in any situation, but they're especially vulnerable against a great player who isn't going to make many mistakes after the flop.

Target weaker players

Look to play more hands against the less-skilled players at your table.

If that means stretching your starting hand requirements against them, then that's what you need to do. In fact, you'd be much better off playing a hand like 5c-3c against a weaker player than you would be by playing a hand like A-10 against a top player.

Against the weak player, you'll be able to outplay him after the flop by bluffing or by getting him to pay you off when you have him crushed. That's not the case when you're up against a player that might be better than you. Here, you run the all-too-likely risk of being outplayed yourself.

Don't get too cute

One of the biggest mistakes players make when they're outclassed is that they add too much trickery to their game in the hope of outplaying a better opponent.

Give it up.

Your focus should be on playing fundamentally sound poker. If you do, it will be difficult for a better player to exploit you. When you get too creative in an attempt to fool him, he'll usually see right through the play and turn the tables on you.

Play cautiously

Don't play big tournament pots against the best player at your table unless you have a monster hand.

Sure, you eventually must beat all of the players in order to get the first place trophy, but it's a better policy to worry about them later rather than sooner. You can even hope that the best player takes a bad beat from one of the weaker opponents. Those are chips you can more easily pick up.

Even if you have a very strong hand on the river -- one that you're fairly sure has your opponent beat -- take the safe route and call him rather than raise.

There is less value in raising a great player on the river because it could cost you all of your chips if he does have you beat. Besides, when you do have the better hand, a great player won't call your raise anyway.

Here's the bottom line: Don't play scared poker, but when you spot a strong opponent, choose your battles wisely.