Free Poker Article to Help you Battle Online Exhaustion.
Playing over the internet using cash on one of the free poker sites can be pleasing but can also take its toll. This article aims to give you a variety of ideas to keep the game refreshing, ok it’s an alternative guide!
1. Once prefrontal lobe pressure has built up due too an excess of wishing on the river, nip to the kitchen and grab the nearest tea cosy and place it on your head. This will disperse the pressure around your skull, as well as keep you warm.
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.
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. When suffering finger cramp from obsessive bluffing, swap hands and rest your playing finger in a pot of low fat yoghurt. Allow five minutes to soothe then continue. Eat yoghurt at a later date.
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. 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.
Just like Gran use to say. free poker is fun dear but when you get online Poker fatigue you need to stop or take drastic action!
Free Poker Games Guide to Playing Low Pocket Pairs
It never surprises me how underestimated pocket pairs are in the world of poker. Ok, before I get carried away, I should also say on the contrary they’re also a hell of a lot worse than you may think! Again a lot of this has to be put into comparison on how much you’re betting. To be honest for me this makes no difference as I always believe you should play the free poker games with the same mentality as if you were betting your house.
Ok to start with if the pot odds are about four to one it’s relatively secure to call, although a drawback, you won’t be pocketless after. Four to one may make you think that you should be calling every pocket pair but at the early stages it’s very difficult.
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.
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.
Free Poker Stories My magic $12 and the Horror of Drunken Poker Play
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 cashed out $100 and built the $50 up. When I lost at the .25/.50 table, I went to the .50/1.00 and later to the 1.00/2.00 and even the 2.00/4.00 to make up losses quickly. Fast forward to the end of early March, I cashed out another $150, leaving $125 in my account. Already having $250 without spending a dime, I felt like burning the $125 at the 5.00/10.00 table so I could brag to my friends that I at least made it there.
In hindsight it was not bright bringing a mere one hundred and twenty five dollars to a game with my opponent’s wallets packing up to thirty times my cash. But hey I got lucky. I fell to eighty dollars very fast and went all in with A 10 over cards on a raggity flop. It gives me two hundred and thirty dollars on A high as a guy called A 5 and another folded winning hand. I through another one hundred dollars at it and played the one hundred and thirty dollars. Oh without forgetting the two hundred and fifty dollars I got from clearing up their twenty five percent up to one hundred dollars deposit bonus and winning the before said amount of three hundred dollars fifty+ ranked hand freerolls.
Luck seemed to be running short when my one hundred and thirty dollars fell to seventy dollars- but then out of no where I smashed it by taking three hundred and ten dollars with an Ace / Queen high- these miracles are a reason why I love poker so much. Pulled out with around two hundred dollars- my hot run finally ended late March when the two hundred dollars went down with a King / Queen to an Ace / King pairing the Kings.
To be honest I can’t see me having another run as good as that again- at the moment I’m having great joy with the free online poker competitions.
I opened an account at one of the free online poker sites and enjoyed playing the freerolls building around fifteen dollars. I had thought long and hard and believed to have had a methodical plan which was working for me. I was playing some quality poker and put five dollars into a sit and go game and won. A few decent plays later I had managed to put about one hundred and ninety dollars together all form free online poker games.
Pretty proud of myself, I purchased a large bottle of Crown Royal with pipe dreams of turning that 190$ into my future bankroll.
The next morning I woke up with a headache like I had been hit by a bat and a dry mouth like the Sahara desert. Right, I thought, its time to start piecing the night before back together. I then heard my partner giggling at the sound of me waking up and went on to tell me about my marriage proposal (fortunately we both have a good sense of humour!) and how I pledged to make millions by selling tractor parts before falling over my own feet (might help explain why my head was so sore). To be honest at this point it all comes flooding back to me the suicidal plays I tried, and as I turned my computer on remembering this reality finally hit home: balance available $0.36.
All that hard work down the drain…. but at least I’m not married and pushing tractors! Don’t play poker drunk… you aren’t any tougher when you’re juiced, and you damn sure ain’t any better at reading people or calculating pot odds. A lesson learned, hope you find enjoyment in my self inflicted punishment, because I’m finally able to. If you must play after a few stick to the very lowest stakes or free online poker sites, you’ll thank yourself later that you did!
Using Your Position to Your Advantage in Free Poker Tournament
Knowing where you ’stand’ in a free poker tournament is very significant in your ability to make the most of your odds.
Imagine one of your opponents opens, the following 2 call, and the next opponent raises it, than it’s impossible for me to come in on a str8. For instance say I call the raise the other opponents following me and could have limped their decent cards. So if I put my checks in to draw at the str8- the following opponent calls and the next moves in and raises the raiser- my str8 would become very doubtful. Remember putting checks into the pot means you have to believe you can go with your cards.
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.
Regardless as I’m not able to be open- I don’t have a 1/4 in the pot at this stage and therefore I don’t see the point risking my check to come in and draw at this probable. I could go in and make it, I may still go bankrupt. In stead of playing all of this speculation- I could just wait a minute and play with a new hand.
This time though I will change my strategy and play the game another way as it’s a limited game. I would call the raise and then re raise as I know there is a cap on what I could be out of pocket for. If I made it I would be a certainty that I could as I do not draw to any cards that I will not bet. If you draw at any point and make it, but then check it- you are beating 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.
Free Poker Games Guide – All Poker Players Suffer Bad Beats – Its How You Bounce Back that Counts
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.
As you sit in anticipation for your turn you take a quick look over your opponents trying not to give any signs away of the fabulous hand you hold- there sits a fish. They have all played their part and helped water the stack as you sit watching it flourish. The bad calls and awful bets are all helping line your back pocket. They continue to outstack you after their latest hail-mary & you sit hoping they continue 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 slowly shows his cards and there it is pocket sevens! A huge gasp as everyone must be questioning what the hell they were doing. You stay calm in the comfort that his only possibility of saviour is to pull 2 more 7’s out the hat. Now off of the turn; and as if by magic the first of those 7’s appears. You can’t believe it- and as if things couldn’t get any worse, without hesitation the dealer reveals the 4th dreaded 7! Shock horror!
Your heart sinks and you drop to you knees. You have been forsaken. You swear never to play again as the gods can’t exist and let that happen. You want to scream as fishy. But you don’t. You congratulate and leave.
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.
Everybody comes to the table expecting to win in a different way. Remember the bad beats but never admonish those who hand them to you. They are profitable people and need to be remembered. Keep them close to you heart and tell no one. Smile and remember there money 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!
Free Poker Skills Heads Up and Short Handed Play
Unlike the usual styles of poker heads up & short handed poker is different. Similar to money tables there is more of a desire to view an increased amount of hands and play more forceful. By the finish of the majority of the lengthy free poker tournaments I have competed in, the opposing player just seems to stop trying. I begin forcefully with any Q+ or decent low blind cards such as J7 off suit. Even though these cards can be a waste of cash- they’re quite often the best preflop hand.
Remember that you have to be prepared in heads up & short hand to be ready to gamble almost everything that hits on the flop & even occasionally if nothing hits.
Keep your opponent guessing while keeping an eye on his normal bet range. If anything should seem off from what he/she is usually doing its ok to lay one or two down now and again. Also in heads up A high is most often the best hand on the flop.
If your opponent decides to try and switch roles with you by betting back even bigger or frequent my best advice is to let him/her. Switch roles and see if he/she is as good at catching the awkwardly high/low bets as you were. You may find you need to switch roles with the opposing player a few times before you get the result your looking for but eventually they will break down.
Heads up is also a place where you will see a lot of bad beats. Most often this is because both players are seeing a wide range of hands and neither can really put one another on any set hand pre-flop. Just don’t put all your eggs in one basket unless that basket has steel re-enforcement. Although hands like AX or K9 are very good at this stage of the tournament they are nothing to be going wild over. They are still a good 30% with just about any hand.
Good luck in all of your poker and free poker.
Free Poker Online Guide to Working Out What Your Opposition is Holding
It’s very important for your success that you learn how to use psychology in poker, even in free poker online games you should try to think your way to the win…that way those free poker games may become very profitable buy in games and tournaments later on.
Psychological tactics in poker ensures you have the advantage; this can be the difference between going home empty handed and taking the pot.
There are loads of psychological scenarios to consider which is as significant as knowing your place at the table: the chances and numbers involved in making a hand, pricing the pot and running a trap.
There are 2 main points to consider when using psychological tactics; clever surveillance and general intellect. Psychological tactics also form the basis of bluffing and also the platform for playing the salesman. These same essential tactics work at either end of the spectrum- whether it’s a friendly game with some friends at the weekend or at a large stake table gambling for thousands.
I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that a massive part of playing poker and using psychological tactics is to know your opponents. If you’re playing with strangers it’s key to start observing them to notice their patterns and how they play. Once you have a grasp into the mindset of your opponents you can make decisions on your hand even before the second turn of the cards. By understanding your opponent’s strategy forms the foundations of an astute poker player.
Here appearances count for everything, neighbour, what they say is true: a man’s eyes mirror his soul.
So do other physical giveaways, known among professional gamblers as “tells”: One player may talk a lot if he’s got a hand, giving of being anxious to get in; while another player may become very quiet if he’s holding something.
If you were playing against me however you wouldn’t know the cards I was holding as I maintain a consistent level of conversation. I also enjoy playing the fool- as the tells of most novice or standard players have is remarkable. For instance I wouldn’t give you a dime to look at these players cards and call them out. As they would have inevitably by now told me by their body language what they’re holding.
Some of these psychology pointers you will have realised only apply in real world games where you can see eye to eye but others, such as the chat (or lack of chat from a normally chatty player) speed of action and so on are very applicable to paid and free online poker games. So if you don’t already do it start to observe, think and observe more and think you way to more winnings.
Free Poker Online Guide to Poker Tells
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.
Too many new poker players have seen the telly and get caught up with the eyes as a focal point of telling a players hand. Unfortunately from my experiences apart from the very novices who may raise an eye brow here or there I don’t find the eyes as giving the best tell tale signs. Additionally when I’m playing at a typical 10 person table, the chances are over half of them will be wearing tinted glasses of some form.
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.
When playing a hand as a result of reading what you believe to be a tell, always be careful as you may have misread the signals, and you may be playing a shark feeding you false information.
Let the Novice Payers Play Free Online Poker and Don’t ‘Tap the Aquarium’!
Perhaps one of the most disturbing trends in poker in recent years even on free online poker sites is the increasing number of so-called “good players” that regularly criticize those who play poorly. Chasing away “fish” makes little sense for anyone who wishes to win money playing poker. The surest way to win money is to play against inferior opponents who don’t realize that they’re poor players. That’s why people say that you shouldn’t “tap the fish tank” or “tap the aquarium.”
To help keep fish in the water you may conceder playing a few bad hands to ensure they’re having a good time; as the better time the opposing player is having will result in the length of time they stay in the water and continue to gamble.
You may even congratulate them on their bad play to make them think that they’re playing correctly. This, of course, would be a form of hustling that some people wouldn’t be comfortable with engaging in.
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.
To think simplistic poker is about making good judgment choices, and leading your opposing players to make poor choices. As you would expect it’s much easier to help fish make bad choices and for this reason you should keep them nibbling and not push them away. Because the bottom line is you want their money and the worse the fish the more you will gain.
The game of Poker is competitive, and by pointing out opponents mistakes you will not only get the fishes back up- you will be helping them develop. They may take this one step further and decide to take some time away from the table to find ways to improve. Like most things- the more you play the better you become, especially when your opponents helping you realise your errors. Sure enough the fish soon develops into a competent player and the chances of taking their money has gone from a given to a struggle.
The modern game is fast becoming harder to win; this is partly due to the masses of knowledge that’s available to learn from. The difference in standard today compared to when I first started playing many years ago is massive.
I continue to play free online poker where there’s still plenty of cash available to win- but you will never catch me “tapping the fish tank”!!
Matching Playing Styles to Odds in Free Poker Online Games
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.”
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!