Perhaps it will appear to be a given, but I don’t think players starting out (and more experienced ones for that matter) realize just how patient you’ve got to be or how one rash move can seriously ruin a hand and ruin your entire day.

A luxury if you play poker online is that you don’t have the tension generated by having to take a seat across from someone when they try to stare you down, look for physical tells you might give away or try to intimidate you with witty banter.

But, when you play even free poker online, you need to wait for other players to make a decision inside the time they are allotted and certain people do love to take their time!

In larger games, for instance a tournament of 500, such play can make a game last hours more than necessary since some players wait until the last second to make their move. Example: If ten players are at a table and they are each allowed 30 seconds to make a decision on how they play their hand for that round and each player takes 25 seconds to make a decision, then by the time it is your turn to play, 225 seconds has passed.

That means it is over 3 minutes before your turn comes around again. For this reason it is easy to get seriously irritated and make dumb moves which could set you back a large pot and a lot, if not all, of your chips. As a strategy this type of slow move play is fairly brilliant. This is a legal way to use time as a weapon against your opponents.

In order to combat what I like to call the ’slower’ player method (and train your patience) you can take these steps:
1) Get a comfortable chair to sit in.
2) Make sure you have time to play
3) Stand-up and walk around to keep your blood flowing and your energy up.

You might not have considered patience as a skill in the past, but I assure you it is one of the best assets you can ever have in your little book of poker skills.

If you are new to poker, first learn to play and develop your patience as well as game skills. First and foremost play poker online for free at one of the better free online poker sites. Here you are able to learn to play poker for beginners totally free with no risk to your own money and start creating a bankroll to cash in for real money when you are all set to go bigtime and play poker online to win money.

Either the player has no clue what he’s doing or he is slow playing a somewhat major hand. The reason you can make this wager in most cases is because the proper move with a major hand in early position is to make a bet of 3-4x the blind so this player is hoping for a raise so that he can re-raise.

In late positions players can often call with hands like 3-4 suited, 5-7 suited, 8-10 suited, pretty much any hand that is better then complete junk. The reason for this is because with less players after you there’s a much lower chance that you will be raised out of the hand.

This is the same reason that you don’t want to call with mediocre hands in an early position. Sometimes you’ll just be throwing your cash away. If the table is aggressive don’t even give a second thought to laying down that J-10 off suit.

In middle positions you can use your personal discretion as this is the middle ground as it were. In case you don’t know at a 9 person table early would be the first 3 players, middle would be the next 3 and late would be last 3 players. Also having the button means that you’ll be last to act so if your style is aggressive with a decent level of well planned bluffs or when you’ve got a read on a weak player that’s easy to push over you’ll want to have the button as it is easier to bluff last to act.

To learn how to play poker free and practice your position play it’s wise to play poker online free to try and discover how playing or folding certain cards and hands affects your game and results. Only once you’re satisfied with it should you venture into actual money poker and risk your hard earned green!

This kind of poker tournament is fun because if you happen to get busted out with a really horrible bad beat you can get back in. Usually the re-buy takes place after the first break with an optional one later.

Tips on Re-buy Poker Tournaments
First assess your bankroll to see if you have enough to play a re-buy tournament. See if you have enough to afford the rebuys if you do get into a drawdown situation and, in the worst case, do the rebuys but do not make the money positions.

You should only join if you can manage rebuys with your bankroll that total no more than 5% of your total bankroll.

Ok, now on with the tips:
The main element in re-buy tournaments is getting your stack bigger than the other players inside the first hour.

In most rebuys you can buy chips if your stack is equal or lower than your starting stack. When you get to a rebuy I recommend buying enough to double the size of your starting stack. Most players will just add a few chips, get back to start level or a bit more so doubling up like this can often make you chip leader if no one plays the same strategy, and if they do at least you are up there at the top.

Why do this? Because your objective is to get to the money stages with enough chips to play with flexibility in the cash table stage.

Hands to play in re-buy tournaments
Since we are playing a re-buy then it is good to be a loose-aggressive player.

What type of hands should be played at the start of the tournament?

1) Hands such as AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, AQ and AJ should be raised on the flop specifically in early position.

2) If 3 -4 players move all in following the raise then call.

3) Hands like A10, KQ, KJ, KT, QT, JT and 10,10 should be raised in the middle and late position. In early position just a limp call and one raise.

4) Pocket 9s to 2s. Usually these hands are for limping in early position rather than opening raised. It’s wise to raise in middle and late position in order to try and find out where you stand but only do it once and if the pot has been reraised, fold.

5) If you hit your set then you most likely have the other players beat and get a good double up.

After First Break
If you’ve not got a large stack and feel you might be below average in chips or just in the flat average then consider an add-on. It depends on the poker site whether your add-on is 150% of your starting stack or the same.

This will likely give you a big advantage over players who are in a similar lower stack position and do not take up the highest add on allowed.

1) Mostly those who survive this stage are now playing tight particularly the short stacks, but don’t feel you must copy them.

2) Consider doing the opposite, if the players are very tight try being slightly loose and you can often pick-up the blinds without any contests.

3) When you get called then see the flop, usually if they bet back then their hands could have you beat.

4) Look for opportunities to steal especially in the late position. Show good quality hands to make them feel you are raising a quality hand.

5) Limit in going all in here because at this stage once you get busted then you’re out for good.
a) Hands should go all in if head to head: AA, KK, QQ, JJ and AK.
b) Hands should go all in with 2 or more players: AA and KK

Remember if you don’t get to the money then make certain you have only committed at the most 5% of your stack ? Live to fight another day!

For anyone who is a new comer to poker then learn how to play the game first before risking money. play poker online for free at one of the best free poker tournaments sites where you can learn to play poker for beginners absolutely free with no risk to your own money and begin building a bankroll to cash in for real money when you are good to go bigtime and play poker online to win money.

In this article I will tell you what I did to get past the early blues and win first in the free poker games and then on cash games.

Firstly, when you join a free poker site, hang out there for a while but don’t play yet, familiarise yourself with it, how it works, the poker games on offer and the players and how they interact. Watch a few games, and get a feel for the general speed of the games and players.

Do not start with big plays and when someone goes all-in, absolutely do not follow unless you feel your hand is good enough. Assess your cards and play the hand you have not the one you wish you had! Make a decision and stand by it.

If you think you have a strong hand, don’t let yourself be pushed out by the All In gang. These are mainly new players like your-self or just people messing about.

A little tip that hasn’t failed me yet:
Value your cards. Give the pocket cards (the first cards you get) a value according to your chips. For example, say you have 1000 chips, lets call an Ace as value 300, King 290, Queen 280 and so on, set your own values. If they Pair up, the value becomes one card value plus half. So 2 kings will be 435 (290 + 145). Once the first round of the hand is done and you get to the stage where 3 new cards are laid on the table (called the Flop), you revalue your cards.

If you’re not confident, then click check and do not raise your bet. Only call if the cards are worth the risk.

On the turn of the forth card, known as the TURN, check the cards and if they are worth it start to raise your bet. The turn of the final card (known as the River Card) is the most important card of the game.

Unless you’re all-in at this time, your bet could decide the outcome. A sharp rise could force the less confident players out of the game. After you’ve been playing a while you will know by now how confident they are by their bets.

But remember; don’t over value your cards. Obviously Three of a kind is good, along with a flush or straight. But 4 of a kind is normally a winner.

A good poker player reads the cards and players well; a bad one goes all-in straight away. Only bet what you can afford whether they free chips or paid for chips.

You will find that online poker free players tend to be more reckless with their chips yet this in itself is good practice for playing against reckless players and you will learn how to play poker for free with no risk to your finances.

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.”

By doing this if he was being sneaky he may start to think about what I said and believe I know his game. It’s a no lose situation as if I’m wrong he will be wondering if I think he’s blagging & could call if he continues. The truth is as explained I’m just making remarks to keep him in check.

A good twenty mins on the same guy is making a move with K8 on a K66 flop when I have A6. Well as you might have guessed I ensure I double up & gain some vital info. He has in fact have hands when he makes these trivial gambles, however the cards he’s playing it with are very defeatable.

Until this changes my job at the table will be to catching him with another mistake. The player next to me pushes all in pre-flop thinking about the same thing that I am but going about it all wrong. He is aggressive with his hands, not an imbecile. I am still riding out that 6k double up here at 1st break one hour into the tournament. There are still 22 players remaining.

About 1 hour and 41 minutes in I catch the same player again slow playing AK for an even 9k bringing my total now up to 12k with 7 players left I am in 3rd place. So although this player was able to amount about 18k in chips with aggressive behavior he finishes in 8th place while the low stack at the previous table is now in the running’s for 1st place. Finding a target and sticking with it can pay off in the long run but be sure to find another means of making money to keep yourself around long enough for the big pay out.

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!

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 – also commonly called 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 – term meaning that the player plays a lot 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.

Above details the pre flop terms, so lets look at board activity terms.

Over pair – A pair in your hand that beats what is on 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 – number of possible cards that can give you the win on a hand.

Drawing dead- Term meaning that you there is no possible way to win the 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

Poker and playing free poker is all about betting, checking and raising, but even the three basic options can be pretty interesting.

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.