Posts Tagged ‘free poker online’

Free Poker Guide to Matching Styles to Odds

Weighing up and calculating the percentages will give you an idea on the chances of earning some cash. For instance I’m taking part in a free poker game with twenty nine other opponents and ten of us getting waged. The percentages are quite easy to work out: one in three, and for this I would play quite mild for the majority of the game. Don’t be fooled into thinking I’m not going to be the front runner come the end of the night- but most of the time the cards dealt in the first forty five minutes will determine this.

I’m going to share and explain some of my better card play strategies. Remember this is not a beginning spot and is a long way off the real game. 77 I flat call and receive two times back and call. Flop comes 6D, 3H, 4H- 1st person to make a play all in on a one hundred and sixty five dollar, with a pot of three grand. I fold as they probably had better pockets or a nut flush draw/straight. Even though I had a fair chance of holding the best hand its way too soon to go for such a crazy move.

99 I flat call and the same opponent as previously shoved all in on flop 8D, 8S, 8H; I’m now wondering if I was incorrect on the previous play but I still fold regardless. He shows a Jtwo so I’m deciding I was right before. KJ off I flat call only due to the fact the pot is higher due to another player calling prior to me. We’re around fifteen mins in and I hold two thousand nine hundred of my initial three thousand dollars.

AJ I slow play A,6,9 flop and a player bets $350 the pot at this point was only $115 and the blinds $20/$40 so I fold. This player gave to much away with the size of his bet, if it were only me and him I would have reconsidered but I would like to think he wouldn’t try that with more players in the hand. I put him on a higher kicker, A6 suited or A9. Just in case I mention that he “should start showing a few to make it more believable.”

This way if he is doing something fishy hopefully my comment will make him think I am on to him. Even if this isn’t the case now I have him thinking that I do in fact think he is bluffing and that I may call him if he keeps it up. When in fact as you all know I am just saying it to keep him in line.

About 20 minutes later I catch him pushing with K8 on a K66 flop while I had A6. Needless to say I double up and get some valuable information. He does have hands when he does these silly bets but the hands he is doing it with are easily beatable. He is relying to much on his odds because the table is short handed at the moment.

I will now employ a method of waiting for this player to make his next error. A different opponent to my right gambles before the flop- who seems to be on the same wave length as me, however playing it completely off the mark. The problem is he’s forceful with his cards and not stupid. I continue with the six grand double up here at first break 1hr into the game. At this point there’s still twenty two players at the table.

One hr and forty odd mins gone and I grasp the same opponent again slow playing a AK for an even 9 grand making my full sum twelve grand with seven opponents left and sitting in a modest third. Although this opponent had managed to pull together around eighteen grand in chips with an attacking style his final place is eighth while the low stack at the prior table is now playing for first spot. Looking for a mark and staying with it will work out in the lengthy game however you need to ensure you have another plan to bring in money to ensure you’re at the table long enough for the big dollars.

AA I bet the minimum and have no action. Hour two is now in the books and I am in last. 4th place with 6k left so I’m all in on my next blind no matter what. The next closest player has 16k and blinds are 600/1200. 55 and flop comes Q510… a little luck never hurt anyone! I lay down AQ off to a bet that would put me all in. I didn’t feel like losing my newly found chips so fast. Went out in 3rd place with A4 suited vs K10 off. Not bad for a free poker tournament where I won some money too, shame it wasn’t an WSOP top table!

I look forward to playing you in a free poker tournament soon!

Free Poker Tips – Luck and Strategy

I love playing both pay poker and free poker online and very much hope my following tips are of use to you in your own games.

Lady Luck

The first thing to remember about playing poker, like any other card game, there is always an element of luck involved. Many people say that you can make your own luck, which when playing poker is achieved by picking your cards and games cautiously. If you have any card above 10 it really helps, having an ace though is the best option. This is because most people bet only when they have a card with a high face value. The best time to go all-in is when you are holding a face card or even better, two of them. Although as I said that there are no guarantees and still a lot depends on luck.

Observe the Players you are Playing With

You are always going to come across some aggressive players who, no matter what type of cards they have, like to play a risky game and go all-in. My advice would be to avoid betting against these players until they have lost their chips and are out or they calm down their betting.

The other type of player is the one who is very tight with their betting and even if they have a decent hand is still likely to bet a low amount. These types of players are of no significant danger of knocking you out.

Next come the so called bluffers and these can be quite dangerous. It’s really hard to figure out when they are bluffing and when they really have good cards. They confuse you a lot so be careful while dealing with such players. The best thing though is to play with only when you are confident about your cards.

Betting Strategy

Next comes the question of how much to bet and the best tactic seems to be the one where you wait till the last, that is if you get a chance to do that. If not, just play according to the cards you have been dealt and go all out if you really have a good hand. If you are holding a good hand then bet low to keep your opponents interested and then slowly increase your betting. In this way the other players are forced to keep betting and you can increase the number of chips you earn.

I look forward to seeing you at the free poker tables soon!

Free Poker Games How to Watch the Board Cards and Win

I want to emphasize the importance of watching the cards that make up the flop – especially when you first start playing holdem free poker games or pay poker. There are some good reasons for this.

As the shared cards on the table are played by all of the players in a game, there is always a chance that another player is holding the same cards as you do, and hold a higher kicker. Take this situation, for instance: Two pair is a very common hold in hold’em. Let’s suppose that player A has two sixes in the hole. That’s a turning hand, because there’s a damn good chance he’ll get one more to make trips, and he’s going to get three cards in the flop instead of one at a time to see if he can get that other six.

The turn comes an eight, eight, and deuce. Now Player A has sixes and eights. Player A is now looking good to win the game over Player B, who is holding an ace, king as there are still 2 more cards on their way and this player will need to catch one of these in order to beat Player A.

Along comes a ten. Player A is still favorite to win with the best handHe now has a three pair, which are useless now. If the final community card hadn’t been a ten, then Player A would have won, but Player B has now won the pot because of his ‘ace kicker’.

If you are new to hold’em, have a go at playing free poker games and see how you get on before betting any real money on the cash tables.

Free Poker Top Tips.

The following free poker tips do include some poker terminology, if you’re new to poker get familiar with these terms first by finding a good free poker glossary online.

1. Your play in the early stages of any paid or free poker tournament should be very tight: there are lots of people eager to get into the action and each “player out” greatly improves your chances of making the bubble (money places). Even with good cards, all-in show downs are marginal.

2. You should reduce your starting hand requirements slightly from late position in case of no raises: in no limit poker the expected value of say, a small pocket pair, can be very high.

3. Hands that you can play (in case of no raises and lots of limpers in the pot) in late position include two suited face cards, and suited aces down to an eight. In this phase you are looking for a nuts or near nuts hand (nut flush, full house or straight) that you can afford to slow play and make a huge gain for a small initial stake.

4. A pocket pair can become really strong hand, especially against multiple callers, because of the disguise value if you hit a set on the flop.

5. Post flop you should be mega-tight and never jeopardize either your chips or your table image chasing the river|One big difference between a STT and an MTT is where one player amasses a huge chip lead in the early stages. In an MTT, you hate having them on your table. They steal the pots while people on other tables are playing hands. But in a STT a clear chip leader can be a positive factor. The bluffers are in big trouble, because whatever they throw in, big stack can afford to call. It is possible to play nice and tight and still keep up.

Summary
Play tight, do not bluff and remember your position at all times. Let the fish die off, without losing too many chips, but look for simple opportunities to gain. Create the impression you are a rock and you’ll do great over the long term. If poker is a whole new world to you then I would recommend playing some free poker sites to build up some confidence and skill in the game.

Free Poker Lingo Guide

I remember when I first started playing free poker and there were so many terms that I didn’t understand, it was like a whole different language.

This guide is to help decipher some of the more complex terms and hopefully introduce you to some new ones in hopes that they will help not only improve your game but can make poker more enjoyable.

We all know some of the terms like , flop, turn , river, check, raise and so forth but there are even some terms for those that are foreign to some players. Such as…

4th street – aka the turn

5th street – also more commonly called the River

But that is not the limit of the terms you can keep in mind while you’re contemplating your next moves. Keep these in mind when you are watching the bets come around to you.

Plays tight – generally means that a player does not play lots of hands

Plays loose – the opposite to playing tight, and the player tends to play lots of hands

Plays “ATC”- they play anything “ATC”= any two cards”.

On tilt- means that a player is being erratic with their bets usually from losing a tough hand earlier.

Now that you have an idea on pre-flop situations now let take a look at board activity terms.

Over pair – When you have a better pair in your hand than the board.

Top pair – means that you have paired the highest card on the board with one in your hand. Next down is middle pair and bottom pair respectively.

If you manage to survive the flop but have 4th and 5th St. left to endure. Then you have three more terms to keep in mind as you go.

Outs – the amount of cards that can give you a winning hand.

Drawing dead- this basically means that you have no chance of winning a hand. Some players if they are drawing dead may bluff or go on tilt at the last second to try and steal the pot.

Having the “nuts”- Having the nuts means you have the best possible hand available from the cards on the board and in your hand.

Some tricks on betting

Granted, in all free poker play and pay poker, everyone can bet, check, and raise but even those three options can lead to some interesting possibilities.

Even terms like check and raise can lead to some pretty interesting scenarios and put players in a frenzy.

One example is to check-raise. That term means to check when the bet comes to you but then raise if a bet comes up. This tactic can hide the strength of your hand and can lure a player into losing a lot chips if he is not careful on how he plays it.

Value bet – Is a bet that is not a large bet but is considered small enough to call. Some players may call a value bet in hopes of gauging a player’s game play or to see their hand.

Semi-bluff bet – Is similar to a bluff bet but is enough of a bet to make a player think very carefully about what their next move is.

[b]Pot odds -[b] This term I would say is the most useful term to keep in mind. Pot odds is the ratio of your chips in the pot versus the whole pot. For example if you have $1500 in a $6000 pot your pot odds would be 4:1. Keep this in mind if you are in a tight hand and not sure if you should risk more or not.

Pot committed – Term meaning that a player has a majority of their chips in the pot. This is a very useful term as it can decide to back off on a hand or force them all in if you have the nuts.

These terms can all be used in free poker games as well as other poker situations, but if it’s at your table that you see and hear them, then you will know what is going on and that vital knowledge can give you the edge on your next game and hopefully put more chips on your side of the table.