Learning how to play poker in a real casino or with other people can frequently be intimidating and your nervousness and anxiety will take over making it more difficult to think and play your hands efficiently. Of course, in time, this wears off as your confidence builds, however there is a way to avoid this situation altogether and that is with online poker. You can easily enter an online poker room and start practicing and learn how to play. Also, most of the top poker sites have poker rooms where you can practice and play for free, so take advantage of this situation and log some hours in the practice poker rooms. You will build your knowledge of the game as well as your confidence and once you have become good enough you can give a paying room a try. You wouldn’t enter a marathon without training and you should not enter an online poker site without practicing if you do not want to lose your money.

Strategy
Strategy is important and this is the key factor that will help you win many games even if the cards did not fall just as you were hoping. Also, many players lack strategy and are too cocky to think they need it, so simply do some research on the strategy for your preferred poker game and implement these as you are practicing. The more your practice the easier strategy will become and before you know it your brain will simply be thinking in a strategic way. This is important and it will train you to become a really great poker player.

Of course, the online free poker games seem silly to many and just a way to pass the time like Solitaire or any other computer game. However, if you are truly interested in becoming a better player all you have to do is really focus on the practice games as if they were real games and the money was real as well, implement the strategies you are learning, focus on mistakes and why certain moves did not work, and you will really become a better poker player. When you are a better poker player you may begin playing for money online and will be prepared to play against the many talented card players that are in the online poker rooms.

Keep in mind, however, that the play tables are not as well laid out as the money tables, so after a few hands you should be able to learn and start winning a few hands. However, if you are not winning with the play hands after a couple hours of playing then you either play poorly or are not implementing the strategies you have learned, and likely a combination of both. Remember, if you are losing on a regular basis in the play tables then there is no reason to enter the money tables because you will lose again and this time real money. So stay focused when you are learning how to play and understand that if you can’t win at the free tables you will never win at the pay tables. Once you have played the free games for a while and start winning some, then you should move on to some of the cheap real games. There are games for one cent and two cents online, so you should consider playing those as your second step in the quest to become a good poker player. While the free games will help you learn how to play the game and the basics, you must take a step up every once in a while to challenge yourself and to learn more in order to become a better player. As long as you continue practicing and moving up a step at a time you will become a great poker player and win a lot of money. However, if you try and join the professional players when you still are learning the rules of the game you will simply lose money and your self esteem. Don’t let this happen and take it one step at a time.

Becoming a Player
Now that you know how to become a player you need to start practicing. Check out some of the top 10 poker room sites on the Internet and then start playing the practice hands. By doing this you will be able to learn a lot faster and save your embarrassment for a bad move because you are in front of your computer screen and nobody can see you. In the past, learning to play poker took a lot of time and guts because individuals had to endure playing with those better than themselves and individuals who would surely beat them for some time. However, you can avoid this situation altogether by simply playing the free games online and taking advantage of all that is made available to you. Then, when you finally do make it to the money games you will be able to hold your own and will likely win which is a ego booster and will only help you to continue playing well. Don’t think the free online poker games are a waste of time, but rather utilize them and make them teach you the ins and outs of poker so you become a truly great player.

Learning How to Play Poker Online is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Before you actually start playing a real game, you need to learn how to play poker, thoroughly. There are several different forms of poker, but the basic rules are the same—each player contributes to the ‘pot’ which contains chips that represent real money, players are dealt a hand, and the cards are concealed or hidden from the other players and wagers or bets are made on the cards depending on their ‘strength’. After all of the betting rounds are over, the player with the most cards after everyone else has folded, or the player with the strongest cards at the end of the game wins.

In order to know how to bet properly and create a strategy to win, you have to know which cards hold the most weight in a poker game. First, you should know the four suits, which are spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. All these suits are of equal value. Then, there are the Ace, Queen, King, Jack, and Deuce. There are thirteen ranks using each of the four suites– the Ace is the highest, and the Deuce is the lowest.

The type of hand you have in poker is also the same no matter what type of poker you are playing. For instance, a royal flush occurs when all of the cards are in the same suite, and contain an Ace, Queen, King Jack and Deuce. A straight flush occurs when all the cards are in the same suite, but do not include the royal cards. You can also have four of a kind, or quads, where the cards are of equal rank and are four of a kind. A full house or full boat contains three cards of one rank and one card of another rank.

In order to place your bets for the poker game, the two players seated left of the dealer place blind bets before the game starts. The bets are considered ‘blind’ because none of the players has seen the cards yet. These bets insure that there will be some money in the pot to play with before the start of every game. After this, each player starts to place bets, and can call the bet (matching the amount in the pot), raise the amount in the bet, or fold by surrendering the cards and stake in the game.

If you want to know more about betting, how much to bet for each game, or the different varieties of poker; there are a number of online sites you can check out for a glossary and tips on how to be a better poker player. If you learn how to play poker before you start playing it live or online, then there will be less chances for you to lose. You will come to know the basic rules and all the necessary tricks to win when learn how to play poker.

Learn How To Play Poker: Free Online Rules Guide is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Among other things one of the most remarkable is the return of poker. Fresh and improved versions of the game played in the snazziest of casinos by novices and pros alike has captured the fancy of many a players. A visit to any of the poker stations can never make you believe that the game was once played in smoke filled tacky rooms

The success of Las Vegan casinos depend on the enticing experience which always gets the rich and famous to the tables once again. With the upcoming of High stakes lounges, moneyed players enjoy the comfort of private, luxury gaming rooms. Thus the rich and the famous have another reason for returning to the tables with wads of cash.

However the Las vegans take good care of the economy class too, though along the years average prices in the city has been on an uphill ride, yet they managed to give provide plenty of playing room and a lot of fantastic sights too.

The flashiest place on earth caters to the needs of peace lovers with the same hospitality as it serves the poker lovers. Vegas is filled with spas and golf courses to sooth the exhausted nerves of their guests with tranquility that is phenomenal considering what this place is better known for.

Slots might be called as the games with the worst odds in favor yet they are sporty and offer gamblers a one-on-one game of chance in a non-threatening casino world.

The most exclusive of retailers and chefs from around the world have been hand picked and planted in the city to provide you the shopping and the dining experience of your life time.

The ambience takes you to the annals of the history, right in the lap of Venice of the yesteryears. Thus if you are looking for an experience to get the best the world had to offer, the place is got to be Las Vegas. All you need is time and loads of cash, even if you are low on it the place still won’t disappoint you.

Las Vegas Gambling Basics is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Here are a couple of examples that show why a good poker face is so important when playing. Imagine you have just been dealt a fantastic hand; you accidentally reveal this by smiling or grinning to yourself. The other players will immediately guess the kind of cards you’ve got, and will probably fold. On the other hand, if you’re dealt a hand and you look upset or angry, others may guess that you’ve been dealt poor cards and start raising the bets accordingly.

Keeping a neutral expression on your face throughout the game of poker involves a long and hard internal struggle. If you let your true feelings slip, even for a second, you can be sure that others will notice. The key to success is to keep concentrating on your expression while you play; in the end, it will become second nature.

Once you’ve trained your face to conceal your true emotions, you can start to have a little fun and mislead the other players into parting with their cash. You can do this by making expressions that are actually the opposite of how you are really feeling. For instance, if you get dealt a spectacular hand, and you want to convince the other players otherwise and so get them to carry on playing, you can present an angry, frustrated or sad expression to misinform them. They’ll think you have a poor hand, and will subsequently carry on betting.

The best type of practice for a good poker face is to try out your expressions in front of a mirror. Getting to grips with presenting a misleading face can be a little tricky at first; if you’re feeling really excited, keeping your face sad can be a hard thing to do. If the other players do end up getting taken in by your false expression, you will also have to resist the urge to grin at your own cunning. Just remember that by controlling your poker face, you have a greater chance of influencing the outcome of the game – in your favor.

Keeping A Good Poker Face is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Women see gambling more than just betting money on a game or dropping coins in a slot machine; it’s a holistic experience that embodies all the senses. Ask a man about a trip to the casino and he’ll tell you about the gambling and the money he won or loss. Ask a woman about a trip to the casino and she will tell you about the shows, the shopping, the atmosphere, the food and drink in the casino itself, and oh by the way, she lost or won some money.

Current observations reveal a growth in women taking up poker online, with studies showing that like their bricks and mortar sisters, women enjoy the “social” interaction of internet poker and the need for to escape the grind of daily life without spending a fortune for that experience!

Online gambling has allowed more women to become adventurous in the risks they take. The online arena facilitates their inner growl, letting women live each gambling moment as a lion rather than a lamb; the demure, prim and proper appearance of a lady no longer applies when gambling online. Women can therefore pretty much hold their own. Even when playing against men, they are not afraid of men excluding or patronising the so called “weaker sex”. Not only that but the convenience of having entertainment provided in the safe confines of their own home means that women with children no longer have to worry about hiring a nanny for the evening. They can play when it suits them night or day without ‘risking’ the need to stop their winning streak.

Today, the number of online casinos catering for women is staggering. With each site offering a wide variety of games and gambling opportunities, internet poker offers women the opportunity to play the games in a non-threatening environment without having to deal with overbearing male egos. The lack of females frequenting offline bookmakers and to an extent some men who are too nervous to visit those dens of vice are prime examples of how the internet has broken down this barrier. It’s refreshing to see that women who gamble online can now firmly take off the mask played in the real world, let their inhibitions go and be the deadly wild card once thought of as the underdog.

Jekyll and Hyde: Women’s New Alter Ego in the World of Online Gambling is a post from: Online Casino Blog

With the number of poker rooms growing almost daily, there is a lot of competition for players. And the number one weapon in that competition is money. Players can find the online poker rooms giving away free money in a variety of ways.

The first, and most obvious is in the No Deposit Bonus. This is free money that an online poker rooms give new players to use at their tables. The players do not need to make any deposits into an account to receive the bonus. It is a great way for players who want to test out the waters of internet poker to get their feet wet. You can spend time at the real money tables, on the house.

The second way to receive extra money from the poker rooms online is through a deposit bonus. These are commonly offered to both new players in the form of a welcome bonus, and to players that have played at the room before via reload bonuses. A percentage of a player’s deposit is matched by the poker room with bonus money. As a player spends time at the poker tables, that bonus money is converted into cash that can be withdrawn.

The amount of bonus money you can collect, and how fast it turns into cash vary greatly from room to room. But, there is enough bonus money out there that you can spend every hand you play in a ring game working off a bonus.

With experienced players playing two, three or more tables at a time online, they can really clear bonuses quickly. This can add a nice amount of money to a player’s bankroll, compliments of the online poker rooms.

While taking full advantage of poker room bonuses tends to require time spent at the ring game tables, there are other ways to take advantage of poker room kindness. Players can find tournaments that require no entry fees, but award real money prizes. These are known as freerolls.

Freerolls are tremendously popular now, and there are plenty of them online. Smaller freerolls may have prize pools of $50, while larger ones have $1,000,000 in prize money at stake. All without an entry fee.

Even with all of these chances to build or pad a poker bankroll by playing online, there’s still more. Poker rooms often offer guaranteed prize pools for their tournaments. This means when the buy-ins from the players who register for the tournament do not add up to at least the guaranteed prize pool amount, the poker rooms will contribute the difference. Extra money that can be won, that comes courtesy of the house.

It’s A Good Time To Play Poker Online is a post from: Online Casino Blog

One way in which playing poker online and playing poker within a casino differs, relates to the betting limits which are imposed on the poker players. When playing poker online by way of an online poker website, the online poker player may not be required to put up as much money for an ante as the poker player that is playing this type of card game within the casino limits. This is one of the many advantages of playing poker in an online setting. Many individuals just want to play poker for fun or to make a little spending cash perhaps and are wary of risking large amounts of money in the process. The various online poker websites will allow the prospective online poker player to bet smaller amounts of money than the casinos will at times. This is an attractive feature of the online poker websites. If you are looking to spend small amounts of money, this might be the type of gaming situation for you. If money is no object, then maybe you will prefer to go to a physical casino. However, keep in mind that certain online poker websites will host higher betting limits.

Another way in which playing poker on an online poker website differs from the casino atmosphere is the lack of other players in your physical vicinity. Casinos can make a person become a bit claustrophobic after awhile and if you are the type of individual that likes his or her own space, then online poker gambling on a poker gaming website might just be the answer. When you are playing poker online you are playing against other individuals; however, the upside to this is that you are not crowded in a small, stuffy area with those other players breathing down your neck, trying to get you to hurry up and make a move. Not only can this type of player behavior on the part of your peers be obnoxious but it can also make you decide to play in a way which you would not have done had you been given the time and space to think the move through. This is a definite plus to playing poker online as opposed to in a casino. If you are keen on the idea as well, then again, maybe online poker playing is your cup of tea.

A third way in which an online poker website may be right for you is if you enjoy excitement and would like to play more than one game at one time. By playing the poker game in an online setting, you are able to play more than one game at one time. This is not possible in a physical casino setting since the only way an individual could be playing at more than one table at one time would be if that person had really long arms, which is highly unlikely. Therefore, by utilizing online poker websites you are able to play two or three games at once. The choice is up to you. If you have the concentration skills to pull this off, then this would be another attractive detail that might pull you into playing in an online poker game setting.

A final way in which playing poker games via an online poker website might be right for you is if you want the convenience of not having to leave your home in order to enjoy some gaming entertainment. Online poker websites are extremely convenient for a number of reasons. First of all, you do not have to drive anywhere in order to play poker. You simply log on to the internet via your internet provider, connect with a specific online poker website and get down to business. A second reason why online poker websites are extremely convenient is that they allow you to jump right into a game without ever having to wait for a seat to open up. Lastly, online poker websites are extremely convenient options for the avid poker player in that they enable you to pay money and collect money via a few quick touches of the keypad. Payment systems companies that act as a go between from online poker player to online poker website enable money to be transmitted quickly and efficiently from online poker player to online poker website thereby ensuring that either or both individual(s) are paid in a swift manner.

Online poker websites are a wonderful alternative to the casino businesses of the past. Not to say that casinos are out of date, this is just to provide an alternative to poker players that may be interested in checking out this different type of gaming avenue. If any of the aforementioned items seem of great interest to you, then maybe online poker playing is something that you should take a look at. It never hurts to give it a try. It may just be something that you are happy to have discovered and will change your impression of gambling forever.

Is Playing Poker Online Right For You? is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Several recent events in congress has brought attention to the legal standing of online wagering in general. The first thing to understand is the skill game of poker is not the same as sports betting nor even “random chance” casino games like craps and roulette. It may be treated the same eventually, or it may not. Legal precedent for a lot of this simply does not exist. As of this article, no person has been charged, brought to trial, convicted, or sentenced for playing online poker. But this does not guarantee that if will not happen in the future.

In my research I found that Professor I. Nelson Rose, Professor of Law, Whittier Law School Costa Mesa, Ca, is one of the world’s leading authorities on gambling law. He states that “no United States federal statute or regulation explicitly prohibits Internet gambling, either domestically or abroad.” Still, the US government has taken the position that certain things are illegal, and more importantly, certain things are worthy of prosecution. The Wire Act is the statute most often cited as making on-line gambling a federal offense. He notes that the operative subsection reads: “Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”

Rose goes on to say: “The first element of the Wire Act, says that the statute applies only to an individual involved in the ‘business of betting or wagering’ (not to a common player).”

The question of whether Internet sportsbetting is covered by the Wire Act seems to have been answered by the US Supreme Court’s refusal to review the conviction of Jay Cohen. Whether online casinos and online poker cardrooms are covered under the aimed-at-sportsbetting Wire Act is a different question. In February 2001, Judge Stanwood Duval of the US District Court in New Orleans ruled that it did not: “‘in plain language’ [the Wire Act] does not prohibit Internet gambling ‘on a game of chance.’”

On November 21, 2002, the US Fifth Circuit Federal Appeals Court upheld Duval’s ruling, stating: “The district court concluded that the Wire Act concerns gambling on sporting events or contests… We agree with the district court’s statutory interpretation, its reading of the relevant case law, its summary of the relevant legislative history, and its conclusion.”

The Appeals Court further states: “Because we find neither the Wire Act nor the mail and wire fraud statutes may serve as predicates here, we need not consider the other federal statutes identified by the Plaintiffs… As the district court correctly explained, these sections may not serve as predicates here because the Defendants did not violate any applicable federal or state law.”

The Appeals Court specifically cites Duval’s statement: “[A] plain reading of the statutory language [of the Wire Act] clearly requires that the object of the gambling be a sporting event or contest.” This is very explicit language. You would have to jump through a lot of mental hoops to consider the playing of online poker to be “a sporting event”.

So, while the US Justice Department recently stated that the Wire Act covers casino games in addition to sports wagering, the Federal Appeals Court has directly ruled that that interpretation is not correct. This is not a small disagreement. It is a direct contradiction that could well spur the creation of new, 21st Century Federal legislation that actually deals with these issues. One bill introduced by James Leach of Iowa, aims to inhibit the ability of citizens to gamble online. It however does nothing to criminalize actual gambling online. But other bills may be introduced in the future with that goal.

Gambling regulation traditionally has been the responsibility of individual states. For instance, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer reached a settlement with Citibank and PayPal regarding their involvement with online gaming. Some individual states have laws prohibiting any form of gambling online (or any gambling for that matter). That is a different issue from whether it is legal on a US Federal level.

A key distinction exists on a Federal level between bettors and those operators whose business is to benefit from the actual making of wagers: “engaged in the business of betting or wagering… which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers…” As long as players stay in the “players” category and not in the in-the-business-of-wagering owners/bookies/runners/agents categories, a significant difference in status exists.

There are many ways to read the Wire Act, but only under the broadest interpretation could playing online poker be deemed illegal in terms of the Wire Act. In my opinion (which isn’t worth a hill of beans… only the US Supreme Court’s view will matter unless new legislation passes) playing online poker is not illegal for US citizens, in regards to Federal Law — unless it is a crime in an individual state, in which case the Federal Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 may apply. The Act makes it a federal crime for five or more persons to engage in a gambling business illegal under state law. Gambling online is definitely illegal in some states, but the Crime Control Act of 1970 does not apply to players. In addition, since the Crime Control Act does not refer to foreign commerce, it is hard to see how a case could be made that it applies to Internet gaming across multiple international borders.

Finally, in November 2004, the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda won a World Trade Organization ruling that United States legislation criminalizing online betting violates global laws. In April 2005, the WTO Appellate Body affirmed the principal conclusions involved.

So, as long as online poker players do not participate in owning a share of the house rake; as long as players only wager against each other; as long as players participate in the skill game of poker and do not bet sports; as long as players obey state laws… draw your own conclusions.

Is Online Poker Legal? is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Poker bots are computer programs set up to play on behalf of (and instead of) an actual human being, according to a consistent and, presumably, proven strategy. Hearing of the possible presence of these borderline cheaters in your online poker rooms could be enough to make online poker players question whether to sit down at the online poker tables at all.

So let’s start there. In a word: yes. Of course you should keep playing poker. As we’ll explain, these poker bots are far from foolproof and even farther from unbeatable. Secondly, online poker rooms are in the process of making it harder and harder for a poker bot to even get through their virtual doors (think: cyber-bouncer).

You see, here’s the thing: there are countless poker bots. Countless programmers with dollar signs in their eyes have tried and are trying their hand at pitting technology against humanity. There are so many different types of poker bots to choose from, new ones cropping up on online poker rooms all the time, that it leads to but one crystal clear conclusion:

They can’t all be unbeatable. This is both a caution against relying on them and a consolation to those players who fear being unwittingly pitted against them.

What about a table with more than one seat occupied by a poker bot? If you think it hasn’t happened, doesn’t in fact happen all the time, then you’re kidding yourself. In an instance like that, some poker bots have got to lose. In fact, in each hand, only one can win.

In truth, each bot is only as good as its programmers. And to be clear, that’s programmers with an “s”: there’s the guy or gal who built the program and you, the user, who must determine the parameters (or settings) by which the poker bot will play. That’s two human variables affecting quite directly the actions of the poker bot. So, let us ask you something: Why not just play the darned game yourself?

Another thing to realize is that poker is not suited to mechanical play. It’s a human game. Sure, a poker bot can’t be put on tilt, but neither can a poker bot read a tell nor spot a bluff. It’s questionable at best how beneficial a poker bot can be to one’s game. You’re probably just as well off improving your game the old fashioned way: practice practice practice.

But this threat may not be a threat for long. You might think, why should the poker rooms care, since poker bots make just as much money for online poker rooms as real people? The answer: the real people are getting restless. And at the risk of having their flesh and blood customers retaliate against poker bots by boycotting online poker itself, the online poker rooms are starting to take notice of the problem.

Already, may online poker rooms are instituting software that identifies when a player seems to be using too much of a pattern in their play. It’ll be a tricky road, since distinguishing poker bot play from human play is a tricky and therefore risky business. Nobody wants to make false accusations or, worse, take erroneous action, like blocking an innocent user’s account. But they’re working on it.

As a new form of competition arises — namely: who can build the better bot? — we’ll find more and more online poker rooms hosting bot-only tournaments (don’t laugh, some already have). Hopefully, an increase in this practice will encourage poker bot enthusiasts to create a niche for themselves (surely a profitable niche for the online poker rooms) and leave the rest of us ordinary folk to play against other flesh and blood human beings.

Invasion of the Poker Bots: Is No Online Poker Room Safe? is a post from: Online Casino Blog

The most common and money-losing mistake is playing too many hands. If you want to know if you are playing too many hands just watch your style, your games, and see how many hands you are loosing, especially those that you suspected from the begging they are bad, but still went along with them. We all live under the impression that at some point we didn’t have a good hand since forever. And this is the moment that a hand we wouldn’t have played the moment we first entered the poker room suddenly becomes interesting and full of opportunities. This is the trap boredom leads us to. We will always find reason to keep playing a hand even if we know it is a poor one just to take part in the game.

So, if you think this is an aspect of you game that needs improving, your objective is to increase the number of hands that you are giving up in pre-flop. If you are playing aver 40% of the hands you are getting and mostly loosing, then something is wrong. We must most definitely play fewer hands. So your objective will be in this situation the attempt to throw at least 70-80% of the hands you are getting. Just do it mechanically. Count the hands and when you realize how many more you have to drop, you will start dropping all those questionable hands automatically. Firstly, stop playing bad cards from early position. This is a must. If you are not sure of what the term of good hands for every position means, they you can refer to articles or booker written by experts for this purpose. Try and let others teach you and stop thinking you are experienced and know everything. Make a list and count every time you are folding. After you finish your games, remember the total number of hands that were in the game. Then calculate your pre-flop folding percent. If you managed to get it up to 80% or at least 70% it means you are disciplined and you have achieved you goal. If not, keep trying till you do.

Remember that this goes only for full-ring tables mostly. Once you managed to adjust your folding style, you already achieved a new level in paying online poker, you are one step up on the stairs to the pros category.

Internet Poker Strategy: Avoid Playing Too Many Hands is a post from: Online Casino Blog