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Making the Most of Your Winning Hands

When holding the winning hand in poker online game, your goal should be to get as much money or chips from your opponents as possible. Squeezing as much as you can from other players is referred to as maximizing value. There are several factors to keep in mind in order to be successful in extracting the most money out of your table rivals.

To maximum your profits on winning hands, you have to get other players to toss money into the pot. If this does not happen, then you will fail to gain value on your hand. And how do you get your opponents to put money in the pot? By betting and raising, of course. A common mistake made by rookies when they play poker online is to not bet a strong hand, checking and calling in hopes of luring other players into thinking they may be ahead in the hand and setting those players up for a fall in later betting rounds.

But what is actually occurring in such instances is that the novice player is missing chances to get more cash and chips into the pot to win. Slow-playing does have its place in the bag of tricks of a successful poker games online player. But it should be relegated to only the situations in which you are so far ahead and cannot be outdrawn and are sure that a bet will cause your opponent to fold. Else, in the vast majority of situations, you should be betting for value when you have the best hand.

Not wanting to miss opportunities to bet

You don’t want to reduce the amount you can win by slow-playing and missing opportunities to bet. Your hand has value and the best way to maximize that value is by betting in poker online India. Let’s look at an example. Say you are seated in late position and are dealt and call the pre-flop raise of a middle position player. However, you have an awesome opportunity to raise and increase the amount wagered throughout the duration of the hand. If your opponent is holding an Ace, he likely would not fold and you’d be passing up an opportunity to increase the stakes. Being tricky in such situations by not raising is often counter-productive. Your hand has value now and you should capitalize on that.

Some players might be afraid to raise in this scenario in order to not scare the other player away. However, if your opponent won’t call a raise on the flop and folds, it’s likely that you wouldn’t be able to extract any money out of him on the turn and river anyway. This fact should be remembered whenever the thought occurs to you to slow-play and set a trap for your table rivals. There will be times that setting a trap is the correct play–particularly against overly aggressive players acting behind you who are counting on fold equity to win a bunch of pots.

Get as much money into the pot

But, you should get as much money into the pot as you can when you feel your opponent play poker a somewhat strong hand, as you probably won’t get more from him on fourth and fifth street if he does not have a decent hand. Don’t fear a fold by your opponent. You win large pots by betting and raising, so do it when your hand is valuable.

When attempting to maximize the value of your hands, realize that to get the most value, you need to bet and raise. Slow-playing a winning hand does not maximize the hand’s value. It tends to decrease the value you receive on a strong hand by missing opportunities to get more money into the pot and raising the stakes. Even if your bet or raise causes your opponent to fold, it’s not detrimental to winning as much as you can because your opponent more than likely would not have coughed up more cash on the turn and river if he was not willing to call your bet or raise on the flop.

Happy playing!

Tips and Information for Playing in Poker Tournaments

Poker tournaments are exciting, multi-round events that can vary in length, type, structure, and size. Players contribute a set amount of cash to the house and the tournament’s prize pool, and in return, receive a number of poker chips for use during the tournament.

Tournaments operate on the basis of eliminating players who run out of chips. At regular intervals, the blinds, antes, or limits raised to make the game more difficult and eliminate more players. Depending on the type of tournament, it’s important to adjust your strategy according to the different rules and costs.

Key Tournament Terms:

Entry Fee: The fee a player pays to the house. This is a relatively small amount of money in comparison to the buy-in.

Buy-In: The amount of money it costs after paying the entry fee to participate in an online poker tournament and receive chips. Chip amounts vary for each tournament and the buy-ins are added to the tournament prize pool.

Re-buy: The option to buy additional chips. Rules vary regarding the amount of chips a player may have in their possession in order to buy more.

Add-on: Option for purchasing more chips at certain times during the tournament regardless of the amount of chips in a player’s possession.

Prize Pool: The total amount of prizes and money up for grabs at a tournament, consisting of all the player buy-ins, add-ons, and re-buys, in addition to the amount contributed by the tournament host.

Round: The amount of time specified in a tournament for each betting limit. Length varies from tournament to tournament, often according to tournament size.

General Tips

Regular online poker India playing tips apply here, in addition to some of the adjustments necessary for tournaments. It’s important to increase your stack slowly throughout the tournament. Going for the big wins early on may be repairable if you don’t succeed. But later on, too much aggressive playing will get you eliminated before you realize you’ve made a mistake. Observe your opponents’ patterns in different situations as the tournament progresses to get an idea of playing style. Make a good opponent model so you’ll know exactly when to push and when to bluff.

If it’s a Single Table Tournament:

Be careful of playing online poker real money aggressively on suited connectors. Their value is lower than expected since people are going to be short stacked, so if you still decide to call, only do so at the beginning of the tournament.

Pay attention and keep track of the players you’re competing against since you may run into them again if you continue playing single table tournaments with the same buy-in.

It’s a Multi Table Tournament:

If you’re short stacked and it’s already much later on in the tournament, consider going all in pre-flop to try and steal the blinds even if your hand isn’t looking so great, rather than waiting and going all in on the flop.

There tournaments are long and last awhile, so be prepared for a full-day event and pace yourself. Place your bets wisely.

Happy playing!

River Poker Strategy – Play the River Card

Playing the river is somewhat different than the previous betting rounds. Due to the fact that your hand has no further chance at improvement as no more cards will be forthcoming. You’re resigned to making the best hand using any five cards among the two cards dealt to you. And the five community cards on the board in Texas Hold’em. When playing the river card, there are a few factors to keep in mind prior to making a bet or deciding how best to play the hand – the correct river poker online strategy is important for maximizing value and minimizing losses.

If holding a marginal hand or mediocre hand, it is usually incorrect to bet on the river. If you’re unsure of the strength of your hand at the showdown stage and make a bet anyway. Your opponent has two choices. He can call or raise your bet with a better hand and beat you. Or he can fold his inferior hand. Your bet actually accomplishes nothing and will cause you to lose money if your hand is not the winner. Also, your bet is keeping your opponent from trying to buy the pot with a bluff with a weaker hand. Therefore, when you’re uncertain where you stand with a marginal hand, checking or calling would be the most prudent play poker online to make.

Bet the value on the river

However, if you’re quite sure that you are holding the best hand. You would be well-advised to bet for value on the river with a large bet. Many players mistakenly believe that a small bet would be more profitable in this situation. So as not to scare your opponent away. But a big bet – at or near the pot size – has been proven to be the best money-maker over the long haul. Large bets will be called less often. That is undoubtedly true.

A huge mistake seen countless times on the river is when players try to take a stab at winning the pot by making a reckless bluff. This is often attempted by inexperienced players who miss their draw. But they don’t want to miss out on taking the pot. These wild online poker bluffs seemingly come out of nowhere and are often out of place in regards to the progression of the hand up to the river card. A bet from a player who up to that point in the hand had been non-aggressive in checking and calling looks like a bluff and commonly has the result of fooling no one.

before you try bluffing on the river or if you are confronted with a possible bluff from an opposing player. Examine the betting patterns in previous rounds. If a player betting on the river has been consistently betting throughout the hand. Then his bet on the river should generally garner more respect than an out of the blue bet from a passive player on the flop and turn. Don’t bet on the river with an inferior hand just hoping for a fold from your opponent. That’s not a successful strategy.

Maximize profits minimizing losses

It is not incorrect to check on the river when you’re unsure as to who has a stronger hand. The goal is of maximize profits while minimizing losses and that cannot be achieved. If you are betting with a weak or losing hand and happen to get called. Checking is not a weak play in the right situations. And sometimes playing the river with a marginal hand would be one of those situations.

As is the case with the other betting rounds leading up to the river, the more knowledge you have about your opponents and what they might do in response to your play -whether you check or bet – the more successful you will be. So if you are quite certain that an opponent will call your bet on the river and you have a mediocre hand, then checking would be a better choice or option.

Happy playing!

Take Away Chips from Tight Passive Players

Your opponents at an online poker table who use a tight-passive playing style are often referred to as rocks. A rock tends to have extremely rigid requirements in selecting which starting hands to play. They also don’t often display aggression, either before or after the flop. When you do find a rock betting or re-raising pre-flop, be certain that he’s holding a high pocket pair. But the typical lack of aggression on most hands other than or something similar can mean that a rock fails to get optimal value on his winning hand.

Perhaps you’re wondering why someone would employ such a playing style. That seems somewhat boring and only enters pots with the very best of hands. Nature of such weak-tight play tends to avoid losses due to not playing hands that have slim chance of winning. The strategy of online poker game can be successful if a rock happens to get action from other players on the hands he chooses to play. By minimizing his participation in weak hands, the rock does away with getting involved in hands in which he may not have the best of it.

There are number of strategies to employ when facing a rock on felt to maximize your profitability. The first would be to open up your range of starting hands. This would include hands that may hit the flop in a big way such as suited connectors and small or mid-level pocket pairs. If you happen to flop trips versus a rock and make the proper sized bets, you can be paid off handsomely in some instances. Especially, if your poker online weak-tight opponent has an overpair to the community cards on the board!

Range of playable hands should be extended

Your range of playable hands should also be extended. As aggressive betting on your part can often time push a rock off his hand. Take down pots even though your hand may not be legitimate. As opposed to a tight-aggressive poker online player, a tight-passive player has a tendency to look for reasons to fold instead of seeking ways in which to win. When the board shows a possible straight or flush or pairs up to allow for the chance of a full house. Rocks often falsely believe that their opponent made their hand and hit the straight or flush.

For this reason, your bluff attempts versus a rock should be quite liberal, taking advantage of his tendency to fold at the sight of danger on the board. You can always fold if your bluffs are met with a raise. But more times than not, you’ll be pushing a tight-passive player off of the pot unless his hand is very strong.

The ideal positioning at the table against a rock is to be seated to his immediate right. You want to be acting first not only to push him off pots that he has entered. But may be reluctant to continue, also to steal his blinds that he will tend to not defend. Should he choose to call your raise and defend his blind. You can always rely on outplaying him post-flop knowing that his range is extremely narrow.

Calling station passivity not the best way to maximize value

Rocks can sometimes be frustrating to encounter as they may check and call all the way to fifth-street with strong hands. This situation is difficult because they may not raise even with a premium hand–choosing instead to call–which doesn’t let you know the full strength of their hand. The calling station passivity is not the best way to maximize value. However, if your hand is weak and your intent is to push a rock off the pot by betting but a fold is not forthcoming. You must re-evaluate the situation and assume that your weak-tight rival may have you beat or he would have folded.

Weak-tight players only play the best starting hands. And often won’t play them strongly, preferring instead to check and call than raise. A rock will rarely ever bluff and if he bets. You can generally be sure that his hand is a strong one. The ways to take advantage of a rock include widening your range of starting hands. Bluffing even without legitimate hands as rocks tend to fold at the sign of danger. And try to seat yourself in front of the rock to act first and be aggressive.

Remember to muck your cards if a rock won’t seem to fold and your hand is weak. Using these tactics, rocks are profitable to play poker against in the long run. However, count on winning small and frequent pots instead of a massive score. Being involved in a huge pot with a rock could spell trouble, because the weak-tight approach won’t allow them to enter such a pot without being sure of winning, so be forewarned.

Happy playing!

Manage a Maniac Online Poker Games Player

If you’ve played online poker for even a short length of time, it’s a good bet that you’ve run into a maniac player at your table. Constantly betting and raising and seemingly involved in every hand. This is with no apparent regard for strategic maneuvering except to bet a lot and to bet often. The maniac player presents a unique challenge. Without a doubt, the maniac causes every player at the table to alter their playing strategy. In order to combat and play successfully against a maniac, it’s vital not to be intimidated by the aggressive tactics of such a reckless player who shows no apparent regard for the value of a dollar.

You may be curious why anyone would play in such a fashion and disregard a basic theory of poker online, which is to play only the hands that have a good chance of winning. There may be deep-seated psychological reasons for such behavior. Such as need to control the action at table and have all eyes focused on what he does next. Or the maniac may simply enjoy gambling and is fortunate to be blessed with enough cash to throw around. Without delving too deep into the psyche of such a player, it’s important to realize that the maniac’s style of play. It can be advantageous in certain situations, such as heads-up competition against an opponent. This opponent tends to play passively or even short-handed tables with reluctant bettors.

Deal with a maniac at the table

So let’s examine the best ways to combat the maniac at your table. First of all, it will be crucial to tighten up your game and play only the best starting hands. This is problematic if you happen to run into a string of bad cards. But it’s important to restrain yourself when you see all the chips and money flying around the table and the maniac sometimes taking down pots with garbage hands. Stick to a game plan of playing only premium hands. As if you widen your range you are playing into the intent of the maniac. This is to get you in on the action with weak or marginal hands. The maniac would love nothing more than a wild game with many players competing for very huge pots.

Your position at the table is vital to being successful versus a maniac. You want very much to sit to his left and have the advantage of always acting after him. If you are seated to his right, you will find yourself at a huge disadvantage and frustrated at having the maniac constantly betting and raising right behind you. If it’s possible to change seats to get in a better position, do so.

Whether playing online or in live action, it often seems that other players seated at the table cannot stop themselves from commenting on the maniac’s playing style. The remarks made are overwhelmingly of a disparaging nature. This is detrimental to the game as the maniac may take his reckless and free-wheeling play elsewhere. Despite the maniac’s style and ability to influence the actions of the entire table, you don’t want him to leave. If you play correctly against a maniac, your profit potential can be enormous.

Comments are best left unsaid

It’s best to let the maniac think that he can completely dominate the game. Let him believe that he can manipulate and run all over you. Quietly biding your time to counter his aggressiveness with proper strategies. A prime sin of online poker is underestimating your opponent. If the maniac feels that he can control you, he is committing a fatal error in not being cognizant of your skills in fending off his reckless style.

The maniac tends to meet his demise when other players become more disciplined and play poker in a technically correct fashion. When facing only one or two other opponents in a hand due to most players catching on and shortening their range of playable hands, it’s very likely that at least one of those two players will have a better hand. So your best defense is usually a tight-aggressive playing style that cashes in on the maniac’s multitude of bets and raises. If you wait patiently for the best hand and are confronted by excessive betting and raising by the maniac, you should hold your ground instead of being intimidated into folding.

Regardless of experience and talent, playing too many hands. And tossing way too much money into pots with the worst hand in hopes of inducing a fold. Or catching a miracle card on the river is not a winning strategy over the test of time.

When confronted with a maniac at your table, remember to play tight-aggressive. Seat yourself to the left of the maniac if possible, induce bluffs by checking to the maniac. And raise after he bets when you know you have the best of it. Don’t attempt bluffs as they won’t work. Let the maniac think that he’s the greatest player on the planet.

Happy playing!

Dealing with Calling Stations while Playing Online Poker

A calling station at the online poker table is a player who doesn’t take the initiative in the hand, often simply just calling bets of other players. As you can imagine, this is a terrible way of playing poker. Aggressive, solid play is considered the best style to employ the majority of the time on the felt. Calling stations lack the aggression to be successful, practically ensuring that the hand will progress to the showdown stage. Their tendency to avoid folding can be both profitable and annoying to you as they often lack the good sense of mucking their cards when way behind. However, they will sometimes catch their draws and win the hand, which is the frustrating part of dealing with calling stations.

There are certain ways to combat such play and to maximize your effectiveness against those calling stations who seem to have deleted “fold” from their vocabulary and playing style. Your goal will often be to make them pay for the opportunity to outdraw you. When involved in a heads-up online poker India situation with a calling station where you are sure your hand is best but can be beaten depending on either the turn or river, the size of your bet should be large enough to give your opponent incorrect pot odds. He will invariably call you anyway as calling stations are known to do. But in so doing, he is making a statistical mistake.

As long as you can achieve this mathematical consistency. Or edge of giving him incorrect pot odds to continue playing the hand, over the long run. You will be profitable and successful despite the occasions that he will get lucky and outdraw you.

Players who take control of the game

When confronted with calling stations, you will generally be the player who takes control of the hand, dictating the action and bet sizes. Calling stations will leave the wagering up to you, content to call bets and see how things may pan out without giving any thought to pot odds and the probability of winning. A calling station generally knows he has some sort of hand and will want to see if what he is holding is better than what you may be holding.

This is a double-edged sword to you because your value bets while ahead in the hand can pay off quite handsomely versus a player who continues throwing money into the pot right along with your bet. But if he does happen to hit an out to win the hand when logic. The incorrect pot odds would have forced a better player to muck his cards long ago. All your online poker real money betting while having the best of it will go for naught. But remember that you actually want a calling station at your table who plays that badly because you will profit nicely over time.

Keep in mind that you should avoid bluff attempts against calling stations. They tend to call you down with any sort of pair–even low pair. That is fabulous in the majority of hands in which you will be playing them, as chances are good that if you are in the hand that you can beat a low pair. However, if you cannot beat it and try bluffing, your bankroll will suffer as a result. Bluffs will typically not work due to the tendency of calling stations to play the hand through. You can’t bluff a player who won’t fold.

Spotting the calling station

After sitting down at the best online poker table and playing a few hands, it is usually quite simple to spot a calling station. They tend to be involved in too many hands and will play them through to showdown often without acting first and waiting for other players to bet and set the pace of the hand. Go ahead and take control if you have the hand to do so. If not, checking and getting a free card is the advisable play when heads-up versus a calling station because a bet on your part will not likely scare him away. Your play should be aggressive with good sized bets only if you have the best hand.

Don’t allow a calling station’s inability to fold frustrate you. Of course it’s annoying when they continue to call your bets and eventually catch a card to pull off a bad beat. But the majority of the time, you will be scooping pots after a calling station has happily donated money into the pot incorrectly playing a draw or some other bad hand that he can’t seem to muck. So take the occasional bad beat in stride and realize that over the course of time you will profit nicely from players who call and call without proper pot odds or any strategic method of attack in their arsenal. You want calling stations at your table. Remember to make value bets when ahead in the hand and don’t bluff or bet without a good hand. That is the correct way to deal with calling stations.

Happy playing!

Online Poker Game – Tips for its Security

For many poker lovers, especially real money game players, it is very vital to be mindful against some online security. Using cyber crime about the increase, it happens several times when hackers use malicious software to target poker players harassing their reputation or to claim their bankrolls that are important. Although the majority of the trustworthy best online poker platform invest in security measures; but it is even the task of the players to assure all security measures to secure them.

Here are a couple of tips to secure your online poker accounts:

Applications updates, security suites

Do not settle down for a free antivirus program you have found or already have bundled with your OS. Always choose to get a robust anti-malware security suite that features protection against viruses, Trojans, key loggers, spam etc.. Poker online players ought to use security suites, such as a firewall; it will help prevent someone from discovering your machine. Services usually updates frequently, so you’re always get guard against the dangers. Always download the most recent software updates that are free be it for your OS or some other program.

Make use of passwords

Constructing a password for online poker real money account isn’t hard. A strong password is more than seven or eight characters long, includes a mix of letters, numbers and symbols and lower instances. It’s also a great idea to prevent phrases and words. You should choose for passwords which are convenient to remember hard to crack, as word passwords are much easier to crack. Do not recycling passwords and change them regularly, also.

Pick two-step authentication

A two-step authentication method serves from being sabotaged as a heightened security measure to guard your internet poker accounts. It verifies you’re allowed gain access.

Do not use public Wi-Fi Hotspots

Whether it is at a neighborhood coffee shop or at an airport, millions of gadgets users take benefit of their free public Wi-Fi programs, or “hotspots.” But don’t rely on them and with poker to play online, shopping or banking.

Happy playing!

Strategy Tips to Play Poker Online

For those interested in learning to player poker, the first question most commonly asked is what is the best poker strategy? It’s a good question too. To win at online poker requires, not just plenty of good luck, but plenty of good skill as well. You can start with a rundown of basic poker strategy below.

Perhaps the most important online poker India tip is that players should have a solid understanding of the pot-odds. Essentially, pot odds compare the amount of money. It is in pot to amount of money you would have to add to pot to continue playing. This then begs the question “is it worth it to continue playing? To answer this question, you must also possess an understanding of the card odds. For example, if there are 100 in the pot to stay in the game, you need to put in an additional 10. The pot-odds are 10-1. If your chance at winning is better than that, then it is worth calling. If, however, you have a 22-1 chance of making a winning hand, your best bet is to fold.

New players too often ignore the option to fold. But really it is one of the most profitable plays available. Most amateurs play too many hands because they don’t possess the discipline and patience needed to know when to fold. In fact, if you read any books on online poker real money strategy most of them strongly encourage folding. To be a successful player you need to know when to hold and when to fold.

An important skill – bluffing

Bluffing is also an important skill, but it isn’t used as often as many of us would think, nor should it be. Good advice is to save bluffing for use against the good players (since they will more often throw down a hand than will the recreational player). Occasionally, a well-timed bluff, where you do not lose a lot of money, can help you win larger pots in subsequent hands. Players may think you are a “bluffer” and remain in the game even when you actually have a strong hand. Just remember that when you do bluff, your knowledge of the pot odds should guide your bluffing.

An obvious strategy, but one worth mentioning because of its importance, is that you should always look for best online poker games with players who do not play as well as you do. The successful player knows he needs to play weaker players in order to make a profit.

After all is said and done, just remember that if you focus on enjoying the game, playing calmly and fairly and not too desperately, you will most likely enjoy playing the game as well as its outcome.

Happy playing!

The Power of Fold in Online Poker

In poker there is a large advantage in mastering odds and probabilities. The reason is that online poker is a ‘statistical game’ like backgammon and unlike chess. As randomness plays a key role, you have to measure it to understand its effect and this is what probabilities do. In this vein one statistical concept deserves special attention: fold equity.

Literally, fold equity is the probability that your opponent will fold when you bet or raise the pot. Fold equity must be factored into your decisions as it directly affects the chance you have of winning a hand. Fold equity is based on a simple principle. If you have a hand that you are ready to call a bet with, then you should bet it yourself. This gives you two chances of winning. Of course you win with the best hand, but if your opponent folds you win too (even with the worse hand).

Fold Equity closely related to aggression

Fold equity is closely related to a capital concept of online poker India, namely aggression. Let’s say you will call all bets to the river, so that the strongest hand wins. If instead you were the one doing the betting, then you have a higher chance of winning that hand given fold equity. So being the aggressor instead of calling passively seems to inherently increase your win rate in online poker India.

To be honest this is a bit of a simplification because by being the aggressor you also take the risk of getting check-raised or trapped. In which case and assuming for illustration that you still call to the river, then you would have put more money into the pot, and as it is likely that you lose such a hand, you will lose more.

In other words fold equity adds to your win rate, but the risk of getting raised decreases your win rate. Nevertheless it is known that the net result of aggression is positive and this is why top players like Isildur1 or Ivey have an aggressive style. But the next step to boost your win rate is to know how to profile your opponents so that you identify the ones with the most fold equity. These are the ones you want to be aggressive against.

Difficult to assess the chances of getting a poker player to fold

It is difficult to accurately assess the chances of getting an online poker real money player to fold. For that you must consider many factors including the image he has of you. If he thinks that you are tight he is most likely to fold. It is the pressure you put on him which will also increase your fold equity. Note that so-called calling stations have very low fold equity as they love to call all the time. Avoid bullying them; instead focus on some other players such as the rocks who will fold unless they have a monster.

By betting or raising you force your opponent to make a difficult decision that may lead him to fold his hand. Whether live or online, many players try to stay in a hand by checking or calling. This usually indicates weak hands or players in a drawing position. With few exceptions, aggression should always be preferred in best online poker, as you can raise the pot, to eliminate the weak hands and create fold equity.

Fold equity becomes important at the end of a tournament where the stacks are small compared with the blinds and antes. It is mathematically true of course, but without fold equity, mathematics will not be of much help.

Fold equity to vary

Depending on the time of the tournament, your fold equity will vary. At the beginning of the tournament, the players’ stacks are large so players are more inclined to persist in their hands. Your fold equity is then lower. But some players tend to play very tight to avoid compromising their chances early on. Your fold equity against this type of player is higher, so identify them as soon as possible. At the end of the tournament near the bubble most players tend to play very tight to make the money. Fold equity is very high at this time and aggression is a must.

Happy playing!

Cheating at Poker – What to Watch Out For

There are few forms of online poker cheating that you must know; marked cards, imported chips, mechanics, and collusion. Imported chips are illegal poker chips brought into the tournament. Collusion is playing differently against one or more players at the table than you do against others.

Cheating at low stakes poker online games is not usually a problem. Tournament play discourages cheating due to the relatively low buy in cash amount. Many tourney players are attending for the enjoyment and camaraderie rather than the need to win the money. So don’t worry too much about cheaters at your game.

Surprisingly, the biggest form of “cheating” is peaking at other players’ cards. Seeing your opponent’s cards is sometimes inevitable due to the online poker real money. Remember that is not improper for one player to complain about another player who constantly has the opportunity to view a third player’s cards.

Marked Cards

Marked cards can be purchased. Brand new decks of marked KEM cards (in sealed plastic!) use a dye that is only visible to players wearing special glasses. This cheating method can be easily avoided by never using anyone else’s cards at your tourney.

Some players may also try to mark cards by tearing or nicking them with a fingernail. This is usually a little too obvious a tactic but of greater concern is a ‘punched’ card. A punched card has a little indentation punched into the card in a specific location. You can view a punched card here. A dealer can feel the punch as he deals the card and an observant player can view the punches on everyone’s down-cards.

Imported Chips

You must be on guard against players who might try to bring their own poker chips into your tournament. This is particularly true if you use one of the more common types of chip that is readily available. If you use a customized chip with your name printed on it, you don’t have to worry about a player having an identical chip, but if you are using the plastic Bike chips – what’s to stop a player from bringing extra chips into your tourney?

If you must use common poker chips, try to modify them in some unique way. One easy method is to place little stickers (labels) of a certain color or shape on each chip. Just make sure they don’t come off, you don’t want to make false accusations against an innocent player. You might also use an unusually colored felt marker to permanently mark your chips.

Always pay attention to the chips in play. If you’ve owned your set of chips for ten years but all of a sudden one or two shiny, new Purple (500) chips appears. You’ve got a problem. Make sure your account for your entire chipset at the end of the night. Chips do occasionally get lost under carpets or down ventilation grates. Ensure that you know the exact number of chips you have in your set.

Mechanics

You should pay specific attention to the dealer always as this is where the cheating can occur. Your worries will be greatly lessened if you have a dedicated dealer you can trust.

Collusion

Collusion is extremely difficult to prove and caution must be used when dealing with the issue. It is best to simply walk away from the game when you suspect collusion. Unfortunately, walking away is not an option when you are in your own house hosting 20 guys for a night of best online poker!

Some common forms of collusion are:

Dumping chips: Purposely losing to a partner, perhaps someone you are backing monetarily or with whom you have traded a percentage stake.

Hand-mucking: Switching or altering hands. Couple of players sitting next to each other might effort to switch hands or alter them in some way.

Hot-seat: A fresh player is requested to play a game, only to play against a team of players all stealthily working together.

Signalling: Trading information between partners. Signals can take many forms, from the placement of the chips on the cards, to coughing, to Morse code tapings on the table. The key ingredient in all signalling systems is the ability to be repeated without being noticed. In a game where folks are always watching each other, this can prove tricky. When a cheater is signalling the value of his hand to his partner, he is also signalling the value of his hand to everybody else at the table.

Implicit Collusion

Let’s say there are three players left in the pot and one of those players goes all-in. There is now a good chance that the remaining two players will “check it down”, meaning that they will both check, rather than bet or raise, until the showdown. This is known as “implicit collusion” because the two players are now, in effect, teaming up against the all-in player. There are several legitimate reasons why implicit collusion is somewhat tolerated:

The chance of a successful bluff is much lower since there is a guaranteed card showdown with the all-in player.

Eliminating online poker players players is an important objective in a tournament and both players have a vested interest in seeing the all-in player eliminated. Two hands have a better chance of beating the all-in player than one.

Players not in the pot also have a vested interest in seeing the all-in player eliminated.

For these reasons, don’t be surprised to see many checked-down hands in these situations. It is not considered to be cheating unless done by verbal agreement.

Happy playing!