Mastering The Art Of Slow Play In Poker

Hey Guys!

Sorry it's been a while since i've blogged :) Lots of stuff going on.
How was everyone in the merry month of March? The UK was a little wet and miserable but I soldiered through, came out with a cold though :( I hate them.

Got another article prepared, I have a few tbh so the next week or so will see more frequent updates. This one is about a special poker technique known as slow play. Hope you find it useful and remember if you need more help visit wassonline to learn to play poker

If you happen to acquire the expertise to slow play in poker, you will prove to be a formidable foe to your fellow players and will be able to cripple them adding their chip stacks to your own. The term slow playing denotes a style of poker playing, in which there is a display of weakness when in fact your hand after the flop is exceptionally strong. If the flop is an off suit 8-6-K and you hold pocket sixes, it gives you an excellent opportunity of slow play as the flop eliminates a flush draw and also makes straight draws highly unlikely.

With such a hand and flop, you let your opponents do the betting as you put on an act of silence, simply calling when they bet. Aggressive players are very much in the habit of betting when no one else does and the slow playing strategy will work best against such players. As you remain disciplined continuing your play acting, you can rest easy that no scare card will pop up on the turn and you can check-call again. Your time to raise or check raise comes when your opponent bets on the river. This presents an opportunity to extract some more chips from his pile.

However, this is not the proper strategy to pursue at every favorable flop or each time you happen to ‘flop’ a set. Your opponents are also intelligent players and would be doing their own analysis and betting as per their own strategies. When you raise pre-flop, they may become suspicious if you check later, although at a weak table you might just be able to get away with it. With strong players at the table you need to analyze the flop carefully and determine what sort of draws are possible on the existing board and what cards can your opponents hold that could result in those draws. You first need to watch out for flush draws which may be a possibility if there are two or three suited cards on the board. Then examine the possibilities of straight draws. Either of these draws makes slow playing undesirable. However, you can try it on a flop, and if a scare card comes upon the turn, you can examine if your set is still good and increase your speed.

When slow playing, you need not be scared because you only slow play when you have a monster hand! Therefore, just play cautiously keeping close watch for draws and let your opponents chase them. Slow playing may not be suitable against conservative players, but if there are super aggressive ones on the table, it may be the ideal style of poker for you.

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!

How to Win Money at Online Poker

Hello Everyone,

Here is the rough draft of my latest article "Online Poker: How to Win Money Sitting In Your Living Room"

It is just a really quick guide to playing online poker and it's value on the Internet today.

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The recent years has seen the increase of the popularity of the game of poker. The entire credit for the increasing popularity goes to its easy accessibility on the internet. People can easily log into any of the numerous sites that has dedicated for online poker and start playing the game from their living room itself. Everyday free roll poker games are played online where entry fee is not required and the players have no risk of loosing their money. In case of online poker the players can win millions of dollars from a particular game as the amount of money involved is phenomenal. So the question arises that how can it be easy to win money by playing online poker?

A great amount of money may not be obtained from free roll poker, but normal online poker can change the fate of a player. However, playing poker in a real room with real players is totally different from playing online poker. People who do not perform well in traditional setting, there is a fair chance of them to perform well in case of online poker. The reason for this is the anonymity that the internet offers.

When a player decides to win a significant amount of money by playing online poker, it should be kept in mind that they should first learn how to play the game of poker. The positive points of online poker is that the player is not disturbed by the shouting, drinking and the lights of the live joint and he stays focused on the game. The second important factor is the strategy to follow. But even more important is to stick to that strategy. The player should have a clear idea of the profitable time for him to go all in and the odds he has to face when clearing the pot. It is good to have fun and win, but the player should not make a bet that he cannot afford. A player who wishes to become a pro can follow the different poker strategy guides that are available. The player can improve his game and win more times by following the tips and hints given in the guide.

The increasing number of online tournaments that are played startles the mind of the players. People make a bet of million dollars on this game. As a huge amount of money is involved there will always be some player who will be better than others. However, the players can always improve their playing skill by following the tips.

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Hope you like :) Remember the WassOnline poker forum guys let me put this draft up here for free which is always good of them.
Have a great weekend guys I am going to be putting lots of effort into sorting the house out.

-Frank

A History of Poker

Hello All,

Everything seems to be going OK here at the moment, tired as hell from squash last night but hey that's how it goes. Weather seems to have taken a turn for the worst, not the ebst news when the weekend is on the way but maybe it will get better. I have another house viewing Saturday to look forward to, a bigger semi than I am in now.

Got a nice article for you all regarding the history of poker that I did for some people I know. I rewrote it and thought I would place it on here for you all to see :)

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Poker is considered to be most popular among the different card games played in the world. This game is not only fast- paced but also fun- filled and it can be enjoyed by many players together. How the game of poker is still a mystery. However, people say that this game began more than 10 centuries ago. Since then, there have been a lot of changes in this game.

It is believed that the Chinese were the first to play the game of poker that goes back to the 10^th century. In the 12^th and 13^th century an early form of the poker game was played by the Egyptians. In the 16^th century the Persians used to play ‘Ganfija’ which was a version of poker. In the 18^th century ‘Poque’ was played by the French which was considered its national game. The game played by the German was called ‘Pochen’. Both ‘Pochen’ and ‘Poque’ are said to be early versions of the game of poker. From the year 1526 the Spanish started playing the ‘Primero’ which is considered to be the ‘poker mother’. This is said to be the first version of poker as it has direct similarities with the modern poker. The Spanish knew that in spite of having poor cards the opponents could be deceived by using the concept of bluffing and calling high stakes.

The writings of Jonathan H. Green in 1834 provide the earliest written references of the game of poker. This game was referred by him as the ‘cheating game’. But on realizing that his writing was the only written evidence of this game, he decided to name it ‘poker’. However, the origin of the word ‘poker’ is contradictory. The word poker is derived either from French ‘poque’ or the German ‘pochen’. It is often believed that it may be derived from the Indian word ‘pukka’. It is also believed that the word poker is derived from the slang word ‘poke’ which is generally a term used for pickpockets. Even though the origin of poker is uncertain this one of the most poplar card game in this world.

The present poker scene is dominated by three games which are the 5 card draw, the 7 card stud and the Texas Hold ‘Em. The most prestigious event of the game of poker that attracts players from different parts of the world is the World Series of Poker. Poker is a simple game that has and will continue to attract players. By playing poker people have and will continue to win money.

If you want to learn to play poker visit WassOnline, a fantastic poker community that I mentioned before.