Author: Narciso Baldo

Founder & Poker Coach

Where Can Italians Play Texas Hold’em?

Posted on by Narciso Baldo

Italian Poker

Italy is one of the best places to play Texas Holdem. This variant has become increasingly popular thanks to the well-known World Series of Poker (WSOP). Two reasons to make Italy the friendliest place to appreciate Texas Holdem is the freedom to play this game as well as the warm welcome of the poker players there. 

Mind that gambling is completely legal in Italy and various poker sites at NonAAMS.com. Other types of gambling establishments are available all over the country too. If you are looking for the best poker rooms or poker sites to play Texas Holdem in Italy, read on.

Bwin Poker

Among the several online poker rooms available today, Bwin is probably one of the oldest that has offered its services since 1999. This site holds a licence from the renowned Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. It offers everything that players are expect when playing Texas Holdem. Although this company has joined the PartyPoker network which does not accept US players, the Italians are allowed to register at this platform. 

They can, therefore, take advantage of countless variants of poker including Texas Hold’em and the perks associated with these games. In fact, Bwin Poker is among the top 10 online poker sites in the world. It has around 5,000 players per day. Moreover, Bwin is the first operator to launch a real-money mobile poker app. In addition to Texas Hold’em, the players will be able to have fun playing other poker formats too.

Those who register and make their first deposit will be rewarded 100% up to €100 and other interesting advantages. For the players who want to enhance their experiences or win huge sums of money, Bwin Poker offers an opportunity to participate in poker tournaments, with many formats available. Apart from the standard style tournaments, the platform also offers other tournaments like Bounty Tournaments, Shootout tournaments, Up tournaments, and more.

PokerStars

PokerStars is the most popular online poker room in the world and its name is probably on every player’s lips. The company was founded in 2001 and averages over 15,000 players playing for real money cash every day. This home to poker is the perfect place for the Italian players. It offers a large number of poker variations including Texas hold ’em. The players who register at this site and make their first deposits will be granted a generous welcome bonus package.

In fact, the new players will receive immediately €20 allowing them to play with other players from around the world. Since Texas Holdem is played on a single table with 2 to 10 players, an opportunity to meet others passionate about this game is possible. Moreover, PokerStars is well-reputed to run some of the most prestigious online poker tournament series on this planet. And when it comes to a poker tournament, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the most well-known name. 

However, other online series are also seductive and gather both professionals and amateurs. Some of these lucrative tournaments include the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship, the World Championship of Online Poker and the Spring Championship of Online Poker.

PartyPoker

Released in 2001 by PartyGaming, a network of gambling sites in the Caribbean, PartyPoker (or partypoker) is one of the largest poker rooms. The site offers variants of poker games but the most seductive is Texas Hold ’em which has attracted predominantly Italian players. Licensed by different powerful regulatory bodies, a safe gambling environment is ensured. 

Another reason to make this online poker room the perfect place to enjoy Texas Holdem is the high-quality services provided by the support team. PartyPoker is mainly recognized for encouraging its members to freely complain about service-related problems. Previously, when playing at PartyPoker the stakes can range from 0.1/0.2 to100/200 but today, the platform changed its high-stakes cash games to €10/€20. This means that every player is able to play and have fun at this poker site. 

Concerning the tournaments, the website is home to a variety of tournaments ranging from 10 to thousands of participants. Actually, when registering at PartyPoker, the player will have the opportunity to find the biggest live and online poker tournaments. The most popular one is the Power Series. It has a $2.20 buy-in but can reward up to $10 Million every week.


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Poker Shark – What One is and How to Become One

Posted on by Narciso Baldo

Poker Shark 

The poker world loves using animals as a way of categorizing players. I’ve written articles in the past on donkeys and nits, and now I’m concentrating on sharks. A shark is the one creature you should aspire to be. They are predators, attacking their prey and top of the food chain. If a fish is a weak player, a beta, then a poker shark is surely the alpha. In this article, we will look at what a shark is, how to become one and more importantly, how to remain one.  

Beginner Texas Hold’em Question 

What is a Poker Shark? 

A shark is a term used to describe an excellent poker player. A shark is a winning poker player that dominate the opposition. They will strategize, plan, hand read, bluff well, use math and play aggressively to win money and tournament chips. Like a shark in the sea, they will exercise patience, circle their prey and know the exact time to strike. At the poker table, this might mean waiting patiently for 2 hours to bust their opponent. A shark is to be feared and respected.  

How to Become a Shark

It’s impossible to become a shark poker player upon starting the game. Like the world we live in, one must evolve to become a shark. You need to acquire lots of different skills to become a shark.  

It’s worth noting that being a winner doesn’t necessarily make you a shark. You’ve heard the expression “big fish in a small pond”. This true in the poker world. After all, a table with 9 fishes will have someone winning. That doesn’t mean they are the shark. They are simply the best fish of the lot. Put that fish in with larger, dangerous predators and they will be eaten up and spat out with little effort.  

To become a shark, one must become proficient in the skills below: 

  1. Poker Math 
  1. Hand Reading 
  1. Bluffing 
  1. Bet Sizing 
  1. Emotional Control  
  1. Continuation Betting  
  1. Value Betting  
  1. Hand Selection  
  1. Table Awareness 
  1. Patience 
  1. Bankroll Management 
  1. Game Selection 

As you can see, there are at least 12 skills required to becoming a shark. In certain games, you can skirt by and win by having just a few of the skills above. But how far will that take you? If you are keen to become a shark and to develop the skills, it’s not over. One must maintain that level…  

Staying a Shark

As previously stated, poker is like evolution. The only difference is, once you reach a level, it’s entirely possible to go back. It’s logical that if you stand still and others evolve and improve, you are essentially going back. If you’re going back and others are going forward, sooner or later you will get overtaken.

Complacency is a challenge that all poker sharks must deal with. It doesn’t take much for it to set in, hand selection to widen too much, bluffing attempts to be too frequent or an arrogant approach to game selection. 

 To avoid this happening to you, I recommend something that most professional fields advise – continued professional development (CPD). This is something professions such as accountancy insist upon in order to maintain current level of knowledge. You can do likewise by dedicating time to self-improvement. Bet Bind is a great resource site for bankroll management and record keeping. You could also try reading poker books, using poker training services, investing in new poker software or following the best poker blogs. Whatever method you try is up to you, but if it keeps you a shark, then surely, it’s worth it? 

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Poker Stop Loss – Work Yours Out

Posted on by Narciso Baldo

Poker Stop Loss

Losses will happen in poker players. It’s inevitable and par of the game. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting down for the first time or Daniel Negreanu, you will suffer losing sessions. Losing affects people differently. Some have excellent emotional control but a lot of player’s suffer from tilt. We’re human, not robots, and taking a bad beat or being on the wrong side of a cooler might affect how you play. One of the ways to protect your bankroll is to setup a personal rule called a poker stop loss. In this article, we will look at what a stop loss is and how it can help you.

Beginner Texas Hold’em Question

What is a Poker Stop Loss?

A stop loss is a fixed rule that triggers you quitting your session and stop playing after a certain number of buy-ins. It is should be an objective number not based on personal feelings.

Different Types of Stop Losses

There are a few different stop losses you can enforce. You can use a few simultaneously or only use one. 

Daily Limit Stop Loss

Setting a stop loss based on a daily limit is a good idea as it give’s breathing space. Some players find this particularly useful if they usually play a few sessions in a day. FYI – This is useful to implement for casino games too, particularly NonStopCasino sites, which have less information on problem gambling and less regulation too.

Table Stop Loss

If you are multi-tabling, having a table stop loss is usually to prevent you losing against potentially stronger opponents. The theory behind it is ok but it doesn’t protect you from tilting on other tables does it?

Session Stop Loss

This is the most common type. It’s easy to understand and follow. If you hit your stop loss, you quit. It’s important to ensure you have sufficient time between sessions though, otherwise, you can bypass stop loss by counting it as a “new session”. I recommend at least 4 hours between starting a new session. Otherwise, if you play again 1 hour later, there is a risk of you being in the same mindset as before.

Considerations for Setting Stop Loss

The amount you set should depend on your emotional control, experience, playing style, proneness to tilt and format you play.
The more experienced, less prone to tilt and shorter handed games you play, the higher stop loss you can have. Some of these measures are easy to assess. You know if you play heads up or shorthanded, you know if you’ve played 6 months or 6 years. But when it comes to rating your likelihood of tilting – you need to be honest and ruthless with yourself. Think back to the last few sessions where you lost. At what point did you feel your game suffering? How likely are you to spew, make bad calls or silly bluffs? Now, rate your proneness to tilt based one the above scores.

1) Cold as ice. It takes a lot to get you off your game and you have a professional attitude.
2) Luke warm. You are generally very composed even after 1 or 2 buy in losses. However, a bad run of hands and several losses will start to affect to your game.
3) Heart on sleeve. You don’t take well to losing buy ins and start to make silly mistakes pretty quickly.

Texas Hold’em Question’s Stop Loss Calculator

Choosing a stop loss for yourself can be tricky. The most important thing is to find out what is right for you and sticking to it. Treat it as a rule and don’t deviate it from. Also, if you feel like you are playing bad before the stop loss, quit before it. That’s an incredibly important thing to remember. The rule is there to protect your bankroll and losing more but if you are already playing bad, leave the game.

I’ve created a stop loss calculator. Run through the table below, tallying up your scores. Use the key at the end to find out how many buy-ins should have as your stop loss.

PointsExperienceBankroll ManagementFormatPlaying Style Proneness to Tilt
5> 5 Years> 100 Buy-insHeads upLAGIce Cold
3Between 1 and 5 yearsBetween 50 and 100 buy-ins6 Max TAGLukewarm
1< 1 Year< 50 Buy-insFull RingNittyHeart on Sleeve

Have you added your points up? Find out what stop loss limit to employ from the table below:

ScoreStop Loss Limit
> 2010 Buy-ins
Between 15 and 208 Buy-ins
Between 6 and 146 Buy-ins
< 6 3 Buy-ins

Disclaimer

The table above is a guide to help you calculate how many buy-ins you should set for you stop loss. However, if you ticked heart on sleeve for proneness to tilt. I recommend moving down 1 in the table above. For instance, if your total was 12, move from 6 buy-ins down to 3. Your proneness to tilt is one of the biggest factors to setting a stop loss so it holds more weight than the other aspects.

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4 Advanced Poker Plays You Should Be Using

Posted on by Narciso Baldo

Advanced Poker Plays

Poker is a straightforward game, for the most part. Most winning players at micro and low stakes are playing their own style that serves them well. They play that way and it’s enough to win and they’re happy with it. However, as you play more and move up stakes, “standard” or solid poker, will not be enough. You will need to reach into your bag of tricks and find new moves to help you beat the opposition. With new ideas comes risk and advanced poker plays come with risk too. This article will look at four advanced poker plays one can use in Texas Hold’em. 

1)The Turn Re-Raise Bluff 

The turn re-raise bluff is one of the rarest bluffs in Texas Hold’em. I ask most of the players I mentor, how often do you raise the turn on a bluff, and the answer is always “rarely” or even “never”. It’s arguably one of the most successful bluffs to execute but so few tend to use it. Most players either make their bluff on the flop or on the river when the action closes.   

The turn re-raise bluff works well against players capable of folding medium to weak strength hands. The turn re-raise is a very strong signal of strength. After all, it is later in the hand and to raise the turn will likely be costly. Most players are raising the turn because they want to build the pot for value and charge their opponent to outdraw.  
 
To execute the turn re-raise bluff, you need to ensure you are playing deep stacked games, have pegged your opponent on a weak or medium strength hand (i.e. no stronger than top pair with weak kicker). It also works well if the turn card favours your range. For instance, you called a flop continuation bet on a perceived draw, and the draw card hits on the turn. One of the modules in our poker bluffing course is dedicated to the turn re-raise bluff.

 

 2) Smooth Calling Big Pairs 

This play gained some popularity a few years ago but is used far less nowadays. It’s a fantastic play to use in aggressive games because players will stack off far lighter than you think. If you are dealt pocket aces or pocket kings and flat call an initial raise, someone behind you with a hand like ace-queen or pocket tens will often put in a raise. Some players even squeeze lightly, incorrectly sensing weakness on your part. Thus, when the initial raiser folds and action is back on you.  
 
It’s an advanced poker play as few players have the patience to smooth call big pocket pairs.  Smooth calling is a tricky play too. Sometimes it means you’re going to have to play post flop with a big pair, potentially multi-way. It’s only worth doing, if you have aggressive players behind you, something that is common on poker sites in America and Europe too.
 

3) The 4 Bet Bluff 

This is a more common bluff among the advanced players. Twenty years ago and it was practically unheard of! As poker became more aggressive and players started understanding “ranges”, they found new and innovative ways to win pots pre-flop. Now, when you open from the button and the blinds 3 bet, you may opt for a 4 bet bluff. The logic behind it is sound. If your opponent is a light 3 bettor, you can start to incorporate 4 bet bluffing as part of your overall strategy.  
 
The 4 bet bluff works well when stacks are deeper, when you have decent image and if you’ve not shown down any light 4 bet shoves already.  

4)The Over-bet Shove Bluff 

I’ve mentioned the value of over-bets in a previous article and I stand by it. The over-bet bluff is used by expert and novice but the difference is why and when. Context is everything in poker and executing this over-bet shove bluff correctly is very satisfying and rewarding.  

To pull of this bet without getting called, you need to have your opponent read for a hand that is no stronger than top pair. It will usually involve betting every street, although it’s not 100% necessary. As long as the board run out is favourable to your perceived range and your opponent is capable of folding, go for it. The reason why it’s better than just an 80% pot bet is because players pot control and more likely to make a hero call if it is just a normal bet. By overbetting, you significantly help your chances of a fold as you’re giving them a terrible price. People often think you have a super strong hand hoping to get called or don’t have much themselves, shrug and fold, thinking you are a bad player.  
 

Final Thoughts on Advanced Poker Plays  

There’s nothing wrong playing a solid game and playing careful. Often, that is enough to win at poker so there’s not much reason to deviate from that. However, there are times when you will be up against strong opponents. Against them, you need to have a advanced plays to rely on to help your chances. I hope you consider using some of these advanced plays in the future, and you pull them off.  

How Do Players Cheat in Online Poker?

Posted on by Narciso Baldo

How to Cheat in Online Poker

The world of online poker is a very competitive one. Whenever the stakes are high in life and there is money to be had, there will be people out there looking to get hold of it via nefarious means.

Given the security measures involved, not every potential poker cheat is attempting to defraud the house, rather they are often looking to cheat their fellow players and win an entire pot for themselves.

Most reputable poker sites have managed to avoid such fraudsters, however, players in Poland and beyond have become quite clever at attempting to use various tools to enable them to cheat with being noticed. Those looking to hoodwink people, especially on Texas Hold’Em poker, quite often would have no need to take the risk if only they invested some time in training via Texasholdemquestions.com.

We look at the various ways people cheat on poker. Writer  Jacek Michałski, whose profile you can review here, has shared some of his thoughts on this subject.

Tricky Cheaters

As long as people have had brains, there has been cheating. In the gambling world, this is something companies such as Zet Casino have to guard very carefully against.

In Poland, where among other territories people search for the best mobile payment apps to use for gambling, more and more players are protecting themselves but sometimes the tricksters are just too clever!

Online poker cheating is hard to get away with thankfully, and there have been careful ways developed for instance to catch a potential PokerStars cheat. Here’s how they try to achieve their goals.

Using Bots

This is how some of the biggest and most controversial poker cheats in history have got away with cheating. Poker bots exist, and that is just a sad fact.

There have been recorded instances of such bots being programmed and defeating “real” players at the online poker table. Bots know when to play and when to fold. They have no emotion and so aren’t tempted to play at the wrong time.

Using Collusion Methods

One thing every Polish player should be aware of is this. The collusion method involves two or more players putting their efforts together. Using a form of communication, such as Skype or WhatsApp, the players share their hole cards and intended stakes to ensure one of them wins before they share the cash.

This method differs from ‘ghosting’, which instead involves gaining help from someone on the outside.

Using the Ghosting Method

This is similar to employing a ‘ringer’, someone or something that is better at the game than they are purported to be.

In this case, the cheat asks for help from a professional poker player who knows all the best moves. Again, using an online communication tool the player in the game simply screenshots their hand each time and asks a coach to help them through and make their decisions for them in return for payment.

This can even be done when playing mobile casino poker games as it is even quicker on handheld devices to screenshot or take photos of hands as pass the information to a pro.

Using Multiple Accounts

This is probably the simplest method of all for poker cheats. There will always be an unfair advantage for a player or players to be able to see more than one hole card and more than one hand, only with this method the cheat doesn’t have to involve anyone else.

Although online casinos have a rule allowing only one account per person, email address, household or IP address, the use of credit cards registered in different places as well as VPN has meant one player being able to hold various accounts and play multiple hands in the same game. Using this method, a player may have twice or even three times the chance of winning a hand.

Conclusion & Disclaimer

So, there is more than one way to cheat playing online poker and it is one of the last things the online gambling world has to tackle that gives it a disadvantage versus bricks and mortar casinos. To know if you’re playing against a cheat, look out for the same “people” winning all the time via similar methods.

Please note, this article is purely an informational piece on how to cheat at online poker and to help players be aware of it. Texas Hold’em Questions does not condone cheating in anyway and recommends you inform the poker site if you suspect someone of cheating.

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Biggest Online Poker Pot

Posted on by Narciso Baldo

Intro to Biggest Online Poker Pot

There have been some pretty insane pots won online over the years. Generally, they are going to be aces versus kings and post flop coolers as most professional’s are not stacking off in deep stack cash game with weak hands. Would you invest hundreds of thousands with medium strength hands?
Let’s look at the one biggest online poker pots and give commentary.

Tom Dwan (Durrr) vs Urindanger – Pot of $723,941

This game was played on Full Tilt. One of the major poker sites, trusted and endorsed by GamStop. This hand would be less likely to be found on CasinoGap. A resource website for finding more enjoyable poker games, not on GamStop.

In a 6 handed game (as most of these high stakes games are), Urindanger opened to $3,000 from the cuttoff with Ac Ad, elmariachimacho flat called and Tom Dwan 3bet to $16,300 from the small blind with Kc Kd.  Urindanger puts in a 4 bet to $45,000, elmariachimacho folds and Dwan calls.

Flop – 9h 5c 4h ($94,000)
Dwan checks, Urindanger bets $52,700 and Dwan check raises to $139,500. Urindanger moves all in for $314,971 and Dwan calls it off.

Turn brings 3d and river falls 6h leading to one of the biggest online poker pots at $723,941.

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Commentary

At face value this is just a cooler right? Aces against kings, no commentary required for the biggest online poker pot. I beg to differ; this is deep stacked cash games where an error can lead to you losing the value of a house. Let’s try and dissect it a little.

Before the Flop – Urindanger

This could have been the biggest online poker pot with it all going in before flop is dealt. However, they are playing over 350 big blinds effective here and neither player knows that the other is holding what they are. Keep in mind they are playing in games which are super aggressive. In urindangers spot he is trying to get as much in as he can without losing Dwan. He makes standard open, notices a squeeze from Dwan (which doesn’t need to be pocket kings) and makes the 4 bet on the smaller side. I like his sizing as he is in position and want to elicit a call from Dwan who will play the hand out of position. It also serves to increase the pot size and also gives Dwan more perceived fold equity and implied odds too. His sizing is less than 3 x the bet made by Dwan. It is also enough for elmariachimacho to get out the way.

Before the Flop – Tom Dwan

Tom is loving being able to squeeze here as it gives the element of doubt to his opponents. His sizing is ok as he is out of position and he has factored in the pre flop call from elmariachimacho. Once he has been 4 bet and action is on him, he has two options, flat call or get the 5 bet in and stack off. If he 5 bets, it is likely to $120 – $130K at which point he is committed to going all in. By flat calling, he keeps in potential bluffs from Urindanger and won’t lost him if he is 4 betting Jacks or Queens for some reason. I like his flat call a lot, particularly as he recognises that if he 5 bets and faces an all in, he knows he has to call and is likely up against pocket Aces.

Flop Play – Urindanger

Once this dry flop falls, Urindanger just has to try and get in one way or another. He knows Dwan has many overpairs in his range and doesn’t want a potential scare card on turn or river. The question is, how much can he bet to generate what he wants. His bet is fine, betting $52K, this could certainly be an AK that is trying hard to get a TT type hand to fold. In truth, I am not sure the sizing matters a great deal here other than if Dwan has a weak to medium hand like Ace high or pocket pair, a smaller bet allows Dwan the perception of fold equity and may increase his chances of a bluff. For this reason, I slightly prefer a smaller bet of around $38K-$40K.

Flop Play – Tom Dwan

I like Dwans check on the flop here. Betting won’t accomplish much as he may let his opponent off the hook if he was making a play. Checking is at least likely to get a c-bet out of his opponent. Once this flop comes, Dwan recognises he will be prepared to stack off. If Urindanger has pocket aces, good luck to him. After he checks and Urindanger bets, he has to decide whether to check raise and call all in, or slow play.  He opts to check raise, which is fine. My personal preference is to flat call here and check call it down. It keeps in any potential weak hands or overpairs that Urindanger may otherwise fold. As it happens, it’s irrelevant but when you are playing for the long term, you need to ask these questions and consider whether your line is the most profitable.


Bounty Poker Tournament Guide

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Bounty Poker

Bounty tournaments have been increasing in popularity for years. Check the tournament schedule on any online poker lobby and you’ll see plenty of them running. In this article I’ll take a look at what a bounty poker tournament is, why they are popular and offer some tips on what to expect.

Beginner Texas Hold’em Question 

What is a Bounty Poker Tournament?

A bounty tournament is where players are rewarded for knocking out their opponents. The amount they can win is dependant on the tournament, some offer 20% of the buy-in as the bounty.

Why Are Bounty Poker Tournaments Popular?

Its tournament poker with a twist. You can make money, or some of your buy-in back without even having to cash. This is particularly appealing for those who like to take risks early on and gamble it up. Where they may usually have a low ITM rate, bounty poker tournaments offer a way of claiming some money back. Most online tournament takes a few hours to hit the money so one can see the appeal of incentivising knocking out opponents.

Bounty Poker Strategy Tips

Bounty poker or “knockout” tournament poker has a different feel to it. Soon as a short stack goes all-in, they are swamped by people trying to take their bounty. Sometimes you’d think the bounty was 50% of the buy-in (some knockout tournaments do offer this level as bounty). But, it’s important to recognise and calculate the risks throughout a tournament. If a player is all in, look at how much of your stack you need to risk in order to win the bounty. If it’s a high percentage of your stack, you need to consider whether your hand is likely to be ahead of their range. I see too many players make soft calls in bounty tournaments when they should still be employing solid calling ranges.

Isolating Opponents

If you have an opponent all in and you think you have them beat; you are often best served isolating that player. This protects you, as it reduces the chances of more people entering the pot to try and win the bounty. I’ve found this a more successful strategy than making lots of light calls that end up multi-way. By playing that way, you are more likely to bleed your stack. Remember, in those hands you have to beat more players hands so you’re playing a riskier, high variance game.

Register Early

As with most tournaments, the weaker players often bust early. This is especially true for bounty tournaments where there are lots of even weaker players looking to gamble. Therefore, you should want to take advantage of this by playing from the start. It’s great that online poker sites let you register late, but don’t be one of the late entrants if you want to improve your chances of building a stack against fishy opponents.

Going Deep > Early Knockouts

Don’t go mad trying to bust people early on. Even in bounty tournaments that offer a higher percentage, it pays better to go deep. Therefore, your tournament poker strategy should not change significantly in this regard. Going deeper trumps some early bounties. There’s no substitute for a final table finish so stay solid and don’t let what other players are doing affect you.

Conclusion on Bounty Poker

Bounty poker tournaments are an innovative twist on regular tournaments. They are available at online poker rooms at CasinoDeps.co.nz and most major poker sites. They are arguably more profitable for regular tournament players due to bad players making incorrect adjustments. The final table pay-outs may not be as high as they otherwise could be, but they reel in weaker players so swings and roundabouts. If you decide to give them a shot, remember to register early, play solid and isolate those short stack shovers!


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Poker Jokes to Share at the Table

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Poker Jokes

Sitting at the table or playing online can be a little monotonous after a while can’t it? You can lighten things up with a laugh though. Telling poker jokes is also more likely to get your opponents to loosen up, feel more at ease and potentially concentrate less too? This article is a light-hearted piece focusing on some poker jokes you can share with friends and foes at the casino or in the online chat.

Why do poker player’s not get written tattoos?
Because the other players could read them like a book.

Why should you never play poker with an alligator?
You will lose every hand.

What’s the difference between poker players and politicians?
Politicians tell the truth.

What did the dealer say to the cards?
I can’t deal with you anymore.

Where do you find vampires in poker?
At the high stake’s tables.

Parties are like when you’re on a rush at the poker table.You start with a pair and end up with a full house.


Paper, Rock and Scissors were playing poker together. They are in the middle of a hand when the scissors bets $50, the rock goes allin and the paper snapped in half and died. Scissors asked the rock “what happened to paper?” The rock answers “I think he folded”.

My brother is new to poker and was getting lucky on everyone. The other players called him a donkey and he answered “At least I don’t ten two play the Doyle Brunson”.

How do you know poker player’s care about music?
They hate bad beats.

Why do professional poker player’s stay away from mountains?
They do their best to avoid going on tilt.

Why do unlucky poker player’s make bad sportsmen?
They run bad for a long time.

Conclusion on Poker Jokes

Poker jokes are a great way to have fun and liven things up a little. I know some of the jokes in this article aren’t the best! Feel free to contact us with some of your poker jokes and perhaps we will feature them in a future article.

What is the Most Effective Video Poker Strategy to Adopt?

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Video Poker Strategy

It has been said that a player with the requisite skills can successfully overcome the odds to beat video poker machines. The rationale behind this is predicated on the fact that players are competing against machines, and not against other players.

Before one delves into the most effective video poker strategies, it’s worth evaluating the video poker games with the most player-friendly odds. The RTP (Return to Player) percentages indicate how much of every £1 wagered on a video poker game is theoretically returned to the player over the long-term.

The higher the RTP, the lower the house edge, and vice versa.

Our point of call when evaluating the most effective video poker strategies is based on selecting the games and strategies providing the lowest house edge.

  • Full-Pay Deuces Wild Optimal Strategy Video Poker – 100.76%
  • Full Pay Deuces Wild Simple Strategy – 100.71%
  • 10/7 Double Bonus Basic Strategy – 100.17%
  • 10/6 Double Double Bonus – 100.07%
  • 9/6 Jacks or Better Optimal Strategy – 99.54%
  • 9/6 Jacks or Better Intermediate Strategy – 99.52%
  • 9/6 Jacks or Better Simple Strategy – 99.46%

Video Poker Rules

Since the majority of video poker games are played with a single deck of cards (52 cards), there is a degree of standardization across the board. Players begin by making a bet and clicking the deal button. The RNG (Random Number Generator) is responsible for randomly dealing 5 cards to players. Players get to choose which cards to keep, and which cards to discard. Depending on the rules of the game in question, players are tasked with compiling the strongest-value hand, given the rules of play.

For the most part, the video poker games with the lowest house edge offer a house edge of around 1%, or an RTP of around 99%. Of course, the best way to boost your chances of winning with video poker is to pad your bankroll with additional firepower. You can play video poker casino with 100% up to £100 +200 spins for players in the UK at reputable operators, like Casino.com. By getting a head start with an online casino bonus, video poker players can position themselves for success with the right strategies and playing styles.

Determining RTPs and Playing Requirements for Video Poker Games

The optimal strategy for specific video poker variants depends upon the game in question. It is worth highlighting several games, their rules, and RTPs accordingly:

  • Bonus Poker – in these video poker games, higher bonuses are awarded for specific types of hands such as 4 of a kind. 4X Aces typically pay up to 100X the bet, while 4X 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s pay 60 X the bet.
  • Deuces Wild Video Poker – all of the 2s in Deuces Wild Video Poker are Wild cards. The payouts for Deuces Wild Video Poker games vary from one game to the next. The house edge is especially low in Deuces Wild Video Poker, particularly Loose Deuces Video Poker which has a 500X payout when you land 4X 2s. Though rare, these games can be found at land-based casinos across Las Vegas, and online too.
  • Joker Wild Video Poker – this exciting video poker variant features a 53rd card – the Joker. As its namesake suggests, the Joker is Wild. It substitutes for other cards in the deck to help form winning combinations. RTPs for Joker Wild Video Poker games range from 98% – 100% +. It is important to check the specific game RTP, to ensure the best possible payback percentage.
  • Jacks or Better Video Poker – this is the gold standard of video poker games. Players are tasked with compiling a 5-card video poker hand with Jacks or Better. Anything less than Jacks loses. The ultimate hand in Jacks or Better is a Royal Flush.

Video Poker Payouts

The common pay table for Jacks or Better Video Poker games comprises the following hand combinations and payouts:

Jacks or Better1
Two Pairs2
Three of a Kind3
Straight 4
Full House9
Four of a Kind25
Straight Flush50
Royal Flush800

The above pay table (Jacks or Better 9 /6) typically has a house edge of around 0.46%, when a player uses perfect strategy. For the most part, you can expect a house edge of around 1% in Jacks or Better video poker games.

Sick of a Short Stack? Try the Stop and Go Poker Play

Posted on by Narciso Baldo

Stop and Go Poker

Tournament poker is a minefield. It requires multiple skills to navigate your way through it, chip up and ultimately bink a win. Unfortunately, tournament poker also involves you playing a short stack sometimes. It’s not what we want but its inevitable, you will get short stacked in tournaments. Getting your stack back up to average or better can be challenging. You have to know push/fold strategy and either run good to hold up to get back in the game. One move that can help you chip back up is the stop and go play. It’s a highly effective tournament move when exercised properly. This article will explain what the stop and go poker play is and when to use it , so you are better prepared next time you play a low to mid stakes poker tournament.

What is the Stop and Go Play?

It is where a player calls a raise from the blinds, committing a decent amount of his stack and then shoves the flop. The idea behind this is that if you re-shove pre-flop, you have less fold equity as most raising hands will have lucrative price to call. By flat-calling pre-flop and shoving on the flop, you reduce the chance of getting a call slightly. Your opponent is only going to make a pair around 30% of the time. Secondly, if they have a small pair, they may fold when all overcards flop.
The play is a great move to utilise in low stakes tournaments as you can increase your stack a significant % without actually being all in and called.

Example Hand

You are short-stacked with 2,000 chips. The blinds are 150/300 and you are holding Kc Td in the big blind. Everyone folds to the cut-off who raises to 800, they fold to you in the big blind.

If we re-raised all in here, our opponent would certainly call. He only has to call 1,200 more for a pot of almost 3,000. However, you decide to flat call.

The flop comes Jc 7s 3h and you move all in. Consider the situation for your opponent. He has to call 1,200 for 2,950. If he has anything less than a jack, he may pause for thought. Consider a hand like pocket 5s. If he thinks we have hit or have a higher pair, he is drawing very slim to just 2 outs and have around 8% chance. Or, he may have an ace high hand like A-10 and fold too. Our opponent folding has resulted in:

  • Avoiding an all in pre flop showdown
  • Winning the pot without contest
  • Increasing our stack almost 50% without being all in and called

Key Points to Remember

The stop and go play is great but you need certain ingredients in order to pull it off, otherwise you are just blowing away chips. You need to do it when you’re short stacked (there’s no point doing this with a decent stack). It must be done out of position so you can act first after the flop. You also need to make sure that the pot is heads up. Risking this play against multiple opponents is a disaster. The more people in the pot, the greater chance someone has hit and will call you. It’s also better best to do this with hands you think are questionable and are either a coin flop to your opponents, or behind. There’s no value to this play if you actually have a premium hand like ace king or pocket aces.

You are best served doing this at low to mid stakes. Most high stakes tournament players are familiar with this move and will make the post flop call more liberally. It also works better on the softer sites, allgamblingsites.com offers a great sportsbook review service and it’s well known that sportsbook sites that offer poker are notoriously softer.

Final Thoughts

The stop and go is a great tactic to use in tournaments. It’s another way to steal blinds and antes and keep yourself going. By employing this move, you may have a few more chips for your next all in and give you a platform for the rest of tournament. It’s a fun move to use and also feels good when you pick it up without a call.

If you enjoyed this article, perhaps you’d like to read our poker tournament strategy tips or small ball articles.

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