http://www.misterpoker.co.uk/pokerArticle.asp Online Poker Articles en webmaster@misterpoker.com ©2006 http://www.misterpoker.co.uk Sun,23 Nov 2008 07:54 GMT 23 November 2008 GMT http://www.misterpoker.co.uk/pokerArticles.asp#Understanding Basic Poker Skills And Terms 29/07/2008 Knowing the terms and skills needed to play poker is a must, regardless of whether you are going to play a hand online or in a live poker room. Occasionally you run into something that makes you stop and wonder what it is. Understanding the terms of the game and mastering the basic skills you need to play is key to winning. You need to know the terms before you can master the skills you need. This is one distinct advantage of playing poker online. You can learn everything you need to know before ever stepping foot into a live casino. Let's start off by discussing what a blind is. A blind is a forced bet that players must make in place of an ante and is usually used when playing Texas Hold'Em poker. There are two blinds in the game; the small blind and the big blind. When sitting at a poker table, the person to the dealer's left pays the small blind. The person sitting to the left of the player paying the small blind pays the big blind. Texas Hold'Em poker also uses community cards. These are the cards laid face up in the middle of the table that all the players use to make their hands. There are usually five cards laid out and the first three cards are referred to as the flop. A draw is when you need to improve the cards in your hand. Deciding whether or not to draw is determined by what is on the table and what is in your hand. If you have nothing usable in your hand and one on the table, then you can draw a card. These cards are called 'outs'. After players stand or draw, two more cards are laid on the table; the 'turn' which is card number four, and the 'river' which is the fifth and last card dealt. These are the basic terms you should know when playing poker. It takes skill, however, to be a good poker player. You should be good at basic math and probability, be disciplined, be able to read other people, and be willing to take a risk in order to reap the benefits of winning the hand. Math skills - especially probability - are important to figure out how outs work and the chances that must be taken in order to improve a hand. To figure out whether or not you have a good chance of hitting your out card, you need to count how many outs you need overall to get a good hand. Multiply that number by two, add one, and you have your percentage. If you do not have a good percentage but want to play the hand out, then you are going to need to bluff the other players. Practice is how you determine your outs and being able to make realistic bets. Folding your hand is another thing you need to learn. There are times when you should fold and times to stand and play what you have. You are going to make mistakes and if you learn from them, you'll start to win more money than you lose. Being disciplined when you play is also key to playing a good hand of poker. It takes time to learn how to play poker and be good at it. Once you have honed your skills, start with low stake games. With patience and practice, you'll be winning hands in no time. http://www.misterpoker.co.uk/pokerArticles.asp#Managing Your Poker Bankroll 29/07/2008 You love to play poker but you hate to lose money, especially when the hands you have been dealt lately have been pretty bad. You may want to consider how you are managing your bankroll before continuing. Your bankroll and how you manage it is all part of the gambling scene, and it can prove to be the difference between a good poker player and a really bad one. Issues in managing your bankroll is something everyone - novice and advanced players alike - faces at one point or another in their poker playing career. Professional poker players have learned over the years through trial and error how to manage their bankroll. They use the skills and experience they have acquired. Without these, new players could lose all their money in one fell swoop. Could it be that their luck has run out? Not likely. New players tend to play at tables that are both above their skill level and with stakes which are too high for their bankroll. Some higher tabled games are way too advanced for a novice or intermediate player and when they wager on an iffy hand, they are going to strike out big time. Players can avoid this by playing at tables that meet their needs without breaking the bank. Insufficient bankrolls will keep you from worrying about the game and the cards you are holding, and will keep you worrying about your money instead. Other players can easily bluff you when your mind is occupied elsewhere and if you are worried about the money you may be low on, you could wind up losing it all because you didn't pay attention. No limit poker players should never buy into a game that charges more than five percent of the total bank roll. A good example here is a low rake and buy-in of $0.10/$0.25. This game would give you a buy-in of $25. If you do not have more than $25 in your poker bankroll, or even have an amount that is close to $25 in there, you may want to reconsider playing this game. You do not have enough leeway in your account to lose and not go broke. Sit and go tournament players should have a bankroll of at least $200 and not play anything over the $5.00 +0.5 games. These games have a low buy-in with a low re-buy, and are a great way for you to build up your poker bankroll before moving on to a higher level of rakes and payouts. Plus you get the chance to play against more advanced players that can still be taken down, thanks to the nature of poker in general. The goal behind a managed bankroll is to walk away with more money than you started with. If you are a beginner poker player, start out on the small rake and blind side of the online casino, and don't move up to the next level until you can afford it without it breaking your bankroll in the process. http://www.misterpoker.co.uk/pokerArticles.asp#Introduction to Poker 29/07/2008 Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings.The games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown, limits on bets and how many rounds of betting are allowed. The pot is split between the low and high hands in some games. Poker is perhaps the most popular and widely known card game. Though there is much debate about its origin, the most accepted theory is that poker is a direct descendant of the Persian game As Nas. The earliest direct reference to the game Poker shows it's origins in New Orleans around 1830 and the popularity of Poker had spread from the Mississippi river to the east via the railroad a few years later. In casual play, the right to deal a hand typically rotates among the players and is marked by a token called a dealer button or buck. In a casino, a house dealer handles the cards for each hand, but the button, which is typically a white plastic disk, is rotated clockwise among the players to indicate a nominal dealer to determine the order of betting. Poker is played with a standard 52 card deck. The cards are ranked from highest to lowest starting with ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. An ace can be used as the lowest to complete a low straight. There are 4 suits, spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds. There is no value placed on any suit in particular. Some games have wild cards such as a joker, which can take on whatever suit and rank their possessor wishes. Unlike most casino card games, poker is a game in which players play not against the house but against each other. What sets poker apart from other casino games are the elements of psychology and skill, which are essential in good poker players. Skill in poker is an amalgamation of several elements. Skills such as gauging the strength of your hand and that of your opponents, building up a pot, knowing what cards to play, knowing when to raise or call, and knowing when to fold and when to bluff, just to name a few. The element of psychology is equally as important as that of skill. Each player brings his emotions and baggage to a game being able to gauge the opponent's strengths and weaknesses is essential to holding the upper hand. A great poker player can win a game with an inferior hand, if they have the psychological skill to out-bluff their opponents. Play online poker at Misterpoker.co.uk, the number 1 online poker room. You'll find Texas Holdem, Omaha Poker and other poker games. Misterpoker offers the best online poker rooms available plus the largest online poker community. Get to know the basic rules of poker, find the largest poker bonus offers online and the latest poker strategies.