The Thrill of Live Poker

Welcome back everyone!

Christmas is nearly upon us and I am definitely getting excited about the break :)

Spending some time relaxing and eating after eights sounds pretty good from where I am standing. Hope you have all done your Xmas shopping by now, I have like 3 items to go, one more trip and it will be over, thank god, I sure do hate the busy streets at Christmas.

Todays article is about the exciting side of playing poker, live poker. It tries to get across how amazing playing some real poker can be as well as different ways you can play, remember you don't need to attend a big tournament you can have lots of fun at home!

Merry Christmas everyone, hope it's a good one for you.


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For years and years, poker has been one of the most popular casino games amongst casino lovers all over the world. What with all the poker books, games, supplies, tournaments and other poker related games like video poker, there’s no wonder people love playing poker so much. But in the past decade, there has been a tremendous explosion in the number of people who have taken to playing poker. And, this is primarily because of the emergence of televised poker tournaments and online poker rooms.

Regular poker has a number of special characteristics that make it quite a thrilling past time activity:

• The odds and statistics of the game will challenge your abilities to make decisions.
• A large part of poker deals with psychology, like the bluffing, decoys, traps and intimidation part of it.
• The thrill of playing live poker can keep you wanting to learn more and more and will constantly be a challenge to you no matter how many years you’ve been playing it.
• Once the real money betting begins, the excitement and pressure of the game can keep you awake all night long.
• Small poker tournament buy-ins can give you the opportunity to win big money stakes from smaller stakes.
• Poker is a fun activity and can be played by people of all ages at home, at casinos or even at poker halls.

Poker is indeed an entertaining sport, and those of you who like to do things your way, you can even equip a room to handle or coordinate the weekly or monthly games. For the poker collector, there are so many opportunities out there for you, from the vintage poker chips and cards to the collector’s items poker books. Besides being just a regular Friday night event, you can take poker along with you holidays as well!

So, whether you are an avid poker fan or not, you should try your hand at poker at least sometime in your life. There are thousands of excellent poker resources that will help hone your poker skills, taking you to the next level. Once you start playing poker, you’ll never be able to stop! Especially, if you’ve mastered the game enough to compete against others in tournaments or at casinos, you’ll find that the excitement of sitting at a poker table will raise the fun to a whole new level!

When it comes to playing live poker, its important to do your homework first, be thoroughly prepared, and the game will take you on a roller coaster ride of excitement and fun!

Poker Tournaments

Hey All,

The temperature is beginning to drop in England this week, I spent a good 10 minutes thawing my car out before I could drive it twice already (would have been 3 days in a row but I had a day off work).
Not fun in any way.
Top top it all off it's that time of year where it's dark when I get up and dark when I get home, I barely get to see the daylight :'(

At least Christmas is on it's way, really looking forward to a few days off and seeing my family. I don't get much chance to see them since everyone is always at work so it will be nice to catch up.
Lots to do on our new house to though so I doubt there will be much rest.

Today's article is about Poker Tournaments. It is to introduce you to the great atmosphere of a live tournament and will also help you to understand some basic rules and tactics for attending.
It is part of the mini article series I have been writing lately so it's not too long a read for you. You will find a more in depth guide to live poker tournaments online.

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Poker tournaments can be quite exhilarating, but like most of the exciting things in life, it can also be very scary. There is no other thrill like the thrill you get when playing at one of those big money poker tables. Most players, who are faced with a real poker challenge, find it very hard to handle the pressure of the game and of playing for so much money.

On the other hand, playing online poker can be just as exciting, minus the pressure. If you are an avid poker player, then there are hundreds of different poker sites on the Internet that offer poker tournaments as well. Most of these online poker tournaments can be a lot of fun, and what’s more, you’ll get the chance to make big money here also! Usually, online poker tournaments tend to have big pots, making it a lot more to fun to play at these tournaments.

While there are many poker tournaments that offer mixed games, like the HORSE events that combine Texas Holdem, Razz, Omaha, Stud and Stud Eight, most of the other tournaments feature matches of one form, like the Omaha, Texas Holdem, Seven-card stud, or Seven card stud hi-lo. Both, the Texas Holdem and Omaha tournaments are generally offered in no-limit, fixed-limit and pot-limit forms.

Playing at poker tournaments is very different from your regular poker play. Usually, the poker play at tournaments takes a much longer time than your regular poker games. While some poker tournaments are rather small and consist of only one or maybe two tables, other poker tournaments can be quite large consisting of numerous tables. If you want to play at a poker tournament, then you have to make sure that you are fully prepared for the long haul. Once you’re there, there wont be much time to run around, so make sure you are comfortable and ready so that you can finish the game quickly.

Another thing you need to be careful about when it comes to playing at poker tournaments is the way you behave. It is very important for you to follow the rules of the concerned tournament otherwise you will be asked to leave the tournament. Make sure are always polite and kind to all the other players that are participating in the tournament. Remember that a poker tournament, whether it’s a live one or an online, is no place for profanities and a bad attitude. Everyone must be treated with respect, just the way you would like to be treated and the game will be a lot more fun for everyone!

Online Poker Vs Offline Poker

Hello Everyone,

Hope everyones weekend was good, I certainly had an eventful one.
We had an office Christmas party, lots of fun and some great food but also very embarrassing for certain members of the team. Anyway the less said about that the better.

There will no doubt be a lot of people gearing up for their own Christmas do's over the next few weeks, I think the best advice is to just ban cameras, they are annoying and don't do anyone justice.

I am updating the mini-articles today with a new one about the differences between online and live poker. This article will be of use to players who have only played one form of the game and need to know how to prepare them selves to play the other.

Personally I do prefer live poker but online poker has a hell of a lot of advantages and convenience. WassOnline actually host their own live poker tournaments in professional casinos around the world. I would highly recommend you take part in such an event but make sure you have some practice first!

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With the rise in the popularity of poker in the last two years, poker lovers have now got several alternatives to choose from while considering the place to get their poker fix. Most people love the casino culture, but many prefer playing at home too. It depends upon different individuals and their preferences, as both have their own pros and cons.

While distinguishing between online poker and offline poker, the first factor to be considered is the incidentals involved. It involves expenses that go outside your bankrolls and which you may incur while playing poker. Incidentals are one of the most determining factors due to which many poker players prefer to play online than offline. It includes the transportation charge, food and drinks that are often purchased when people go to casinos to play poker. Besides, it also involves parking fees and tips. However when you play online, you need not spend on extra things like these, as you can easily play online poker for hours from anywhere and besides you also need not pay a virtual tip. In casinos, though it is not mandatory to give tips to anyone, but it is a courtesy to tip your dealer or the waitress serving cocktails each time you win a pot. It is observed that parking attendants, chip runners and floor people also offer better service when tipped, which usually tends to add up by the end of the evening.

Online poker also offers the benefit of data management as compared to offline poker. In case of a casino session, you may vividly remember the highlights, the times when you went wrong or did a brilliant job, but you would probably not remember the exact play of each hand. Besides if you play continuously, chances are that you would not be sure what you figured about certain opponent in case you play the person again. But in case of online poker, you can easily feed input notes on your opponents that will be there if you log in to play again.

Death of a Legend: Chip Reese

Morning All,

I am sad to say that I have recently heard the news of Chip Reese dying at the relatively young age of 56.

Chip Reese was a very well known and respected player and his career has seen him do many amazing feats including 3 word series poker bracelets and card room manager of the world famous Dunes casino.

He always came across to me as a funny and intelligent man and certainly one of the most down to earth and intelligent players I have seen in the World series.

My thoughts go out to his family, you will be missed Chip.

-Frank

Slot Machine Payback Probabilities

Hello All,

Things are still dull and wet in England and everyones mood is reflecting this.

I may be working on some housing details later this month so I will keep you guys updated in case you care ;)

Today I have posted the 4th part of my mini-article series which concentrates on slot machines inside casinos.
You will find this article quite eye opening, especially if you don't already know anything about random number generators and how slot machines pay out. If you like it let me know, if not let me know why.

The whole series has been co-developed by WassOnline.com and if you want to know more details then why not visit their casino reviews section and check out ther slot machine guides.

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Slot machines are as random and unpredictable like a game of roulette. In a slot machine, when you pull the handle or press the spin button you are actually not generating any numbers. This is done to add to the excitement in a casino. How a slot machine actually works is with a microcomputer that is constantly generating numbers even when the machine is not in use.

There are known as Random Number Generator (RNG). Therefore, when you pull the handle or press the button the machine displays the last set of random numbers that were generated.

A good slot machine is one that gives you a higher payback percentage. These are machines that offer anywhere between 95 to 99 percent and try and play these only. Generally, the machines where you play with $1 or a higher amount are the ones that provide you with a higher payback percentage.

Machines that require you to play with $5 or more statistically have proven to have the highest payback. Many slot machines have signs indicating ‘up to 98% payback’. This is an indicator showing you that there are many loose machines leaving you with a higher chance of winning some money. ‘Up to 98% payback’ means that the slot machine will payback 98 cents of every dollar, but this takes place in the long term. When this sign is put up it means that probably one of the machines is loose what you can do is to play when the ‘up to’ is missing from the board.

There are many ways to spot these machines; if they provide signs then you are in luck but otherwise look for the machines that are centrally located. This is because the good machines with a high payback percentile are generally located where people can see them and her the sounds of a jackpot.