Playing Free Online Texas Holdem Poker Games

There are a huge number of online casinos available to players around the world these days, and the majority of them offer free play, or “freeroll” games which allow you to test out the site and practice your game without adding a credit or debit card, and without putting any money on the line.

Some experienced players denounce free online texas holdem poker games as being worthless.  This is an extreme view, and not necessarilly correct.  The players that dislike free online poker games do have some valid points, but if you remember what you’re dealing with you should find that you can get a lot of valuable experiences out of free games.

The first thing you need to remember is that free games can be played by anyone - free games are “soft” (well, in terms of free money), but you are also liable to end up losing hands that you would normally expect to win because you’re up against a total novice who is playing like a lunatic and risking play money left right and center.

You can’t expect to learn much about psychology when you’re playing free online poker games, but you can benefit a lot from practicing bankroll management, pot value tracking, and hand value assessment - things which apply to all kinds of game.

NBA Champ Tony Parker Playing Poker

NBA champion Tony Parker has just signed a three year deal to represent BetClic, a French poker site.  He joins an impressive sports line-up which includes stars such as Marcel Desailly, Stefan Effenberg, and Kiko Narvaez.

Tony Parker is a French national basketball player, he turned pr0 in 1999 and played with Paris Baskey Racing until 2001 when he entered the NBA Draft and was selected to play point guard for the San Antonio Spurs, helping them to victory in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

Parker, aged 27, is married to Eva Longoria (of Desperate Housewives fame), and is well known as a poker player, having taken part in several high profile charity poker events, as well as entering the World Series of Poker.  Parker is also a musician - his first album, titled ‘TP’ was released in 2007.

Parker said of his BetClic sigining that: “A great adventure begins. BetClic is a leading company with big ambitions and I am very happy to contribute to its development in the sport during the coming years.”

BetClic founder Nicolas Beraud said “We are delighted to welcome Tony Parker in the team BetClic. He is a great ambassador for the brand. Tony represents the strong values of excellence and ethics in sports that we share. This new partnership reflects our commitment to continue our development in the sport by adding great champions to our team.”

Poker Regulation for Canada

Don’t run Off Bad Players

Cash games are all about making a profit. That means you want to make your hourly Big Blind and do it consistently. You want to continue to be consistent and grind out your profits any way you can. That means stealing blinds, taking hands away from players on a draw and protecting your hands when you need to. Yes, sometimes that is easier said than done.But there is one thing that will surely eat into your hourly rate like nothing else will. That is when you run off a bad player that is giving away their money by making comments about how poorly they play or berating them for a mistake in a hand. That is the LAST thing you want to do in a cash game. When you see a fish and you are taking bites out of that fish you want them to stick around for as long as is possible.

Why?

Because the fish is the one that is going to give you your hourly rate and then some. Why would you run off easy money when someone either doesn’t care or is playing for the sake of entertainment? It doesn’t make one bit of sense. I cannot tell you how many times I have witnessed a player get mad because a bad player drew out on them and then that player got so upset they left the table and took money they were giving away like candy with them. Sure, bad players are going to draw out on you every now and then. So what! In the long run they have absolutely no chance of taking down a profit because they are in over their heads. No limit cash games are ruthless as one would assume. They are tough enough without running away all of the profit. So the next time you spot a weak player make them comfortable and buy them a drink.

Trust me, it’s money well spent.

Ashton Griffin Wins North American Poker Tour

The 2010 PokerStars North American Poker Tour Venetian concluded last week, and after almost 12 hours of play on the final day it was young poker pro Ashton Griffin that took home the title.

The final even was the $25,000 High-roller Bounty Shootout, an interesting event which saw seven tables of seven players sit down on Tuesday, and those who won their table moved on to the final table, each starting final table play with 150,000 chips, no matter how strong or weak their position had been on their original table.

The tournament structure meant that players earned $5,000 for each player they eliminated, plus $75,000 for winning their first table.  The top “bounty hunter” would also win an extra $100,000.  Scott Seiver, who had eliminated all six of his starting table opponents, was a favourite for that prize.

The final table consisted of Ashton Griffin, Scott Seiver, Peter Eastgate, Brett Richey, Faraz Jaka, Joe Cassidy, and Hoyt Corkins.

Seiver started strong, eliminating Peter Eastgte.  Next out was Brett Richey, who was eliminated by Griffin.  Seiver continued his strong form by sending home Faraz Jaka, reinforcing his lead as the top bouny hunter.

Seiver’s luck did not hold out, however, as Corkins sent him home in forth place.  The remaining three duked it out for three hours before something gave and Cassidy went home at the hands of Griffin.  Seiver may not have won the tournament, but Griffin’s elimination secured Seiver’s top bounty hunter position.

Heads up play between Corkins and Griffin didn’t last long - just two hnds, before Griffin’s nine and eight of diamonds, paired with a nine of spades on the flop bested Corkins’ nine and three of hearts.  The turn and the river didn’t improve te hand, so Corkins was eliminated.

The final prize money run-down was:

Ashton Griffin - $560,000
Hoyt Corkins - $100,000
Joe Cassidy - $95,000
Scott Seiver $215,000
Faraz Jaka - $95,000
Brett Richey - $90,000
Peter Eastgate - $85,000

Seiver may have went home in fourth, but the top bounty hunter prize certainly made it a good week’s work for him.

Poker Principles important when Running Bad

Being able to stand on your basic fundamental poker beliefs is extremely important when you are running bad. Having some kind of poker principles allows us to rely on our foundation. Without a stable philosophy of how and why we do what we do at the poker table we might as well launch a rocket to the moon without knowing how to get there.It may not sound like that big of a deal but having a solid foundation of who you are as a poker player and how you are able to optimize your skill is extremely important when things are not going your way. A bad run inevitably brings up doubt in our minds as to what we are doing and whether it still makes sense or not even if we are doing all the right things at the right times. When those bad runs do happen we must be able to stand on that foundation knowing that no matter what, getting our chips in the middle with the best hand is and always will be the best play a poker player can make.

No limit holdem can push you to the edge emotionally. Every poker strategy book on the planet teaches you that Pocket Aces are the hand to have and you want to get your chips in the middle along with having the hand hold up. Well, 82% of the time that happens to be the case. However, bad runs can make the unreal appear to be real when you get your Aces cracked a few times in a row. Again, being able to rely on your fundamental poker principles help keep your mind in the correct perspective to continue to play the way you know works best for you.

Bad runs happen to us all. But when you know you are doing all the right things you have to continue to do those things and allow the bad run to turn around. otherwise, we can make things worse when we start doing things that are not conduscive to solid fundamental poker.

Trust me on this one.

iPhone Strip Poker App Developer Speaks Out

You’ve probably heard something about Apple’s App Store, and their tendancy to ban anything which could be remotely classified as either “adult content” or “offensive”, but many people are confused as to why some of the more cartoon style games, and some of the less adult “Strip Poker” games have been banned.

The developer of one of the more recently banned games - “Poker vs. Girls”, has spoken up about the isue.  The Poker vs Girls app was one of the most popular games on the app store before it was removed.  The developers said of the ban that “It sucks”. The app had been very successful, they told TechFlash, “While it had fallen off recently, it had consistently been in the top 100 of the Casino games in the App Store and top 50 for much of the time, and its loss will be missed from our little portfolio of apps.”

The developers do plan to continue to produce games, working around the restrictions that Apple have in place for content.  They had released another non-poker themed game recently, which had been doing well. “The part of us that’s grumpy at some of the App Store policies is much smaller than the part that’s walking around in a daze and jumping for joy thanks to the App Store.”

They’ve also added a game, in jest, to the store - making a joke about Apples policy of removing strip poker themed games. It is called “Poker vs Strong Female Role Models. The description is a joke about apples Apple’s policy change, stating: “Coming soon. Hopefully.”

Beat Stress With Online Poker

A recent study by a group of Canadian scientists has proven that playing online poker reduces stress.

The benefit comes from cortisol - the “stress hormone” which is made y the body’s adrenal gland.  When cortisol is released into the blood stream, it increases your lood pressure and blood sugar levels, triggering the “fight or flight” response.  In the long term, stress can be very damaging to your body.

A Canadian university has published the results of a study they did into stress and online poker.  As part of the study, the cortisol levels of online poker players were monitored.  As the players becamse more involved in the game, their bodies produced less cortisol, rather than more.

Previous studies had already found that the brain benefits from online gambling in other ways - for example improved cognitive function, and the reduction of the ageing process thanks to the brain activity that online gambling encourages.  This latest study is yet another way that the body can benefit from online gambling.

The study tracked the cortisol levels of players throughout a prolonged online session.  There was a gradual reduction throughout the session, with the average reduction being 17%.  The researchers believe that the same reduction could be expected for players participating in other forms of online gambling.

The researchers said that they believe the reason for the reduced cortisol levels is that the players becomine increasingly focused on the game and forget about the stresses of online poker. People who play poker - in real life or online, tend to be very tranquil when they are playing, which encourages lower cortisol levels.

Taking a Stand

Taking a stand in poker is as common as breathing air. We all have moments in time where we are short stacked or someone is attempting to run us over and we have to put up or shut up. The problem is that way too many poker players wait too long to take a stand. In no limit poker tournaments you have to be willing to put it all on the line. You also have to be willing to put it all on the line during key stages of the tournament knowing that you may be eliminated.If that kind of talk bothers you then no limit is not the game for you. However, the successful tournament poker players know this and that is why they get their chips in the pot stealing blinds and small pots periodically throughout the tournament. None of us will ever be dealt enough hand to rely solely on great cards. So, the tried and tested method of winning pots is to steal them when the opportunity presents itself.

Taking a stand will slow down those that believe your blinds are for sail. You don’t even need a big hand in order to take a stand. The fact of the matter is that when someone raises your blinds more than a couple of times in a row your BS detector should be going off full blast. That means hands like [A][T], [A][J], [A][Q], [8][8]-[A][K] are all hands you are willing to not only re-raise with but get all of your chips in the middle with.

What happens if my opponent has a big hand?

You are likely to get railed. However, if your read on them stealing your blinds is correct, as it will likely most often be, then you will see them lay down their garbage hand and move on to someone else. You are going to have to make moves like this if someone sense you are weak. How you choose to play it is up to you. You don’t even need the cards to make this move but it is best to have something to defend yourself with if possible.

So the next time someone considers your blinds up for sale be sure to send them a powerful message that you will punch back.

Knowing what to do isn’t enough in Poker

How many times have you heard or seen a poker player claim that they knew what their opponents hand was or if they had re-raised they would have easily won the pot? If you play this game at all you have heard that line at least a million times and likely several million more in your lifetime.Seriously though, knowing what to do just isn’t enough in the game of poker. The good poker players both professional and amateur will not only know what to do but they will ACT on that knowledge. That is what distinguishes the good poker players from the average poker players. When it comes down to calling or re-raising a significant amount of chips and relying on all of the information and instincts you have built up over that particular tournament on a player it can be tough.

But when you can use that information to make the correct decision and come out triumphant knowing that your decision was correct there is no better feeling in poker. Trust your reads and the information you have gathered throughout your time at the poker table and you will be victorious more often than not.

Collusion and Why it’s BAD for Poker

A couple of weeks ago we all heard about what happened in the situation with Isildur1 and the admission of collusion and datamining. To say that collusion is bad for online poker or live poker would be an understatement. Much like golf poker must keep its image as clean as possible when it comes to the fairness of the game and players being treated equally. The reasons for this should be self evident.First, the game of poker is still in its infancy as far as the overall non-playing public goes. In other words the jury is still out. There are still those that believe that poker is a seedy game filled with seedy people looking for any kind of angle they can get in order to get money. While there are certainly instances where this is true the overwhelming majority of poker players are decent hard working people that enjoy a game of cards.

Second, online poker has the most to lose from any collusion scandals due to the fact that there will always be suspicion of the game from those that do not play it and even a few that do. How many times have you heard, “The RNG is rigged!” “This site is rigged!” I would venture to say that those that make these kinds of statements are likely to be very poor poker players that have to place the blame for their own inadequacies on someone else.

Lastly, there is an extremely high price to pay for collusion and no poker room, online or otherwise, wants to allow this kind of activity for fear of losing their clientele which ultimately is the poker rooms lifeline to profits. We all need to continue to identify and remind ourselves that collusion in any shape for or fashion is bad for the game of poker and there is a high penalty to be paid for those that are caught.

Play Free Poker Casino Games Online

A trip to the casino can be a lot of fun, but after you’ve paid for transport, parking fees, drinks, and your bets, it can be an incredibly expensive venture.

The good news is, you can enjoy much of the casino experience at home by playing free online poker and casino games online.   In many cases, you don’t even need a credit card in order to sign up to play free games at an online casino.

Registration for free play is usually a quick and simple process - all you need is a computer with an internet connection, and a decently modern browser - for example Firefox (or Iceweasel if you’re a Debian geek), Chrome, or a recent version of Internet Explorer.  There are even some online casino and poker games that can be played on modern mobile phones and “smart phones”.

Playing free online poker games is a good way to get some practice in.  You can’t treat it as serious tournament experience, but if you’re still a little nervous at the tables then it’s a great way to tweak some of your strategies and turn the basic things into second nature.

Even experienced players can have fun playing free online poker, or just checking out the free slots and free casino table games that most online casino sites offer.  Personally, I don’t like to log in to a paid online casino account in an internet cafe or using hotel wireless (yes, I’m that paranoid), so having a free account without card details on it means that I can have some low risk fun while I’m on away on business.

Next Page »