The Tale Of Online Poker

As with most new things, especially on the Internet, online poker history has humble beginnings that few paid attention to. It’s rooted in those early web days of unlimited potential and eye-searing design. Let us tell you a small tale. 

The online poker world started almost unnoticed at first. Just one or two small websites providing real money games to the online poker real money players. None could have predicted the monetarily volatile, thrilling world containing a massive amount of heroes and villains which would eventually grow to be contained within its boundless virtual walls. 

The history of online poker so far has been short, but punctuated with compelling stories and significant dates. 

The beginning

Online Poker first began in the nineties when IRC was used as the interface for the game. IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat and it is the way that many of the former World Champions used to make some money. The technology at first was very primitive and the games were really slow to play. The way that the software worked was that individual commands had to be entered in one at a time and then an answer would come back from the head line. 

Over time, however, graphics and user interface improved and this brought with is a number of new online gambling prospects. Online Poker initially just used fake “virtual” money so that players could gain experience without risking their cash. It wasn’t until 1998 online poker real money was brought into existence. It was first introduced by Planet Poker, which was created by Mike Caro. Mike was the initial creator of the site and was very outspoken about it. The first Texas Hold’em, game with real money was held on the site and gave way to a whole new type of gambling. 

The next part of the tale

Once Planet Poker took off, it was soon followed by other sites that wanted to get into the action. This includes Paradise Poker came out in 1999 and Ultimate-Bet was founded in 2000. These other sites offered a variety of games like Seven Card Stud and Omaha. It ultimately turned into large, multiplayer tournaments where big money could be put down. In 2001 major poker tournaments were starting to be held online and people were rushing to the online tables to try their chances at this new Poker medium. 

To keep up with the initiation of all these new users, the software had to be updated. Software was created to handle multiple tables and also the payment of cash through internet lines. Party Poker developed some software capable of those parameters and it has taken off from there. Since then, best online poker sites have the capacity to entertain and meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of online customers without having to worry about the system crashing.

The software has come a long way and continues to be improved as technological advancements are made. We may look back in another decade and reflect on how primitive our current methods are. Either way, online poker has made its way to the mainstream and looks to only increase with time. 

Happy playing! 

 

Does Poker Relate To Superstition?

Superstition has been part of human’s life for as long as anyone can consider. If you read history books and novels, you will see that life has always been rife with beliefs that are not essentially based on anything reasonable. That is the precise definition of a superstition – an irrational belief. You would think that with the heights technology and science have achieved, there would be no place for such faiths. Certainly, that is not the case. In most aspect of modern life, people cling to superstitions. Whether one is aware or not, it is likely that superstition has a place in one’s life. 

Poker online has always been seen by the mass as a game of luck. It would be a breeding ground for superstition – luck and such beliefs go hand in hand. Yet anyone who has had a few experiences playing poker would tell you that luck may be a factor but it is by no means the only factor. Actually, skill plays a larger role if you look at the bigger picture. So where does superstition blend in? 

Look into the lives of a few famous poker players – and even the not so famous ones – and the chances are that you would find various sort of lucky charm or lucky ritual somewhere. A few players have a rabbit’s foot keychain in their pockets. Others keep a special photograph in their wallets. Another quaint superstition involves coins. If, on your way to play poker online game, you see a coin on the ground, do not pick it up immediately. First see if it is laying face down. If it is, leave it alone – it will only bring you bad luck. However, if the coin is laying face up, then pick it up, put it in your pocket and Lady Luck will shine upon you during your game. 

Culture also affects the way one perceives luck. Numerous African Americans believe in mojo. This is a small pouch made of flannel in different colours. Mojos contain one magical thing or another. The mojo for money is green. In order to be effective, you must carry the green mojo on your person during a poker online game. 

If you are the type of person who does not go for the supernatural or spiritual, then you would not buy this sort of thing. Yet think about it, perhaps these good luck charms are effective in their own way. People who believe in them are affected in a positive way simply because of one thing – their belief. They believe that they will be lucky and this puts them in a optimistic mindset. You ought to know the power of the mind. Believing in one’s self has always been one of the factors for success. It is no different in poker. A four leaf clover in itself may have no magical powers but the person who believes that he will be lucky will come into a game more confident. That may just give him the push he needs to play and win. 

Superstitions may not be reasonable, but they do give you that emotional and mental edge! 

Happy playing!

Joker In The Game Of Poker

The wild card! The card of opportunity! 

Playing poker is fun! Whether you play online poker, poker in casino or simple home games with your friends or family. 

The extra Joker card in the deck of cards is assumed to have been discovered by American Euchre players. They when altering the rules for a time during the 1860s, decided that an extra trump card was needed. Initially he was called ‘The Best Bower” and in the later time ‘The Little Joker’ and even ‘The Jolly Joker’. It was in and around this time that other improvements and innovations began to show up. For instance as rounded corners replacing square and different types of corner indices. 

These Jokers, or extra cards, were first introduced into American packs around 1863. But, they reached quite late in England and other European nations. In the earlier eastern card decks there were no Jokers or any other cards equivalent to it in the Chinese Dominoes or the Indian Ganjifa cards. 

In numerous Japanese decks, an additional card can be located with a demon pattern but these were fairly distinct from Jokers. 

What researchers say?

According to the researchers, the name Joker came from German name Juker which was used for the Euchre game in Germany. The joker was mentioned in the 1886 book, Euchre: How to Play it. The Railway Euchre game which is explained in the book uses an additional card, the joker. 

Another theory is that the name could have been evolved from Poker, where it was mentioned first in the 1875 book American Hoyle. Both Euchre and poker spread in America at the same moment, so it is still not clear for which game the Joker was initially used. In the 1880s the Joker was first represented as a court jester or a clown. In a Tarot deck, the fool in the Trumps is fairly alike to the Joker. Both of these cards have pretty loads in common, in terms of look and their function in a sport. In a tarot deck the Fool is often used as the highest value trump. 

The other cases:

In other cases the Fool can be played at any time that a player wants but cannot win. The Fool had been a part of the tarot deck since 1400s but the Joker has only been just introduced. So even if the representation of modern day joker may have been motivated from the Fool, their origins are entirely different. In a French 52 card deck, the Joker has been added rather newly. 

In quite a few decks, two different Jokers are used to correspond to the Fool trump card in a Tarot deck. The black Joker communicates to the Fool card of the Tarot deck and the Red Joker communicates to the Magician which is also known as the Juggler. The Juggler is quite alike to the Fool in a Tarot deck. 

Play poker online! Good luck! 

 

Hollywood Celebs & Their Poker Love

Celebs are trend setters for us! And when it comes to who’s who of Hollywood, they’ve been way ahead of their time. If truth be told, they were already placing bets before Poker became popular around the world. From the golden era to modern cinema, the Hollywood Celebs have also come a far way with their love to play poker online game. Here’s a list of the most popular poker players of Hollywood. Perhaps you want to follow them. 

Gabe Kaplan 

Gabriel Weston Kaplan, the American actor and comedian was professional poker player as well. He played in the World Series of Poker in 1978. Kaplan was regarded as one of the elite poker players. He has over $1.3 in tournament earnings. He is also the host of the popular TV-show “High-stakes poker”. 

Tobey Maguire 

Remember Peter Parker of Spider-Man (2002)? Tobey Maguire is well known for that role. He is also well known as a poker player and can be seen in various tournaments. Tobey Maguire has placed in the money in quite a few poker tournaments and according to poker pro Phil Hellmuth he has won over $10 million in Hollywood home-games. 

Jennifer Tilly 

She is an Oscar nominated actress and the girlfriend of poker pro Phil Laak. She also has a WSOP bracelet from the Woman’s $1,000 no-limit holdem poker event 2005 and a victory in WPT Ladies Night III in her sleeves. 

Ben Affleck 

The famous and handsome actor of Batman vs. Superman was the first celebrity to win a major open poker tournament when he won the California State Poker Championship Sunday, picking up $356,400. He has been engaging poker pro Annie Duke as a teacher. 

Laura Prepon 

This former star of the sitcom “That 70’s show” is absolutely obsessed with poker. Prepon is the host of “Hollywood Hold’em” on the E Network. She is also a regular player at big Hollywood home games and the Bicycle casino in LA. 

Michael Greco 

British actor best known for his role in the long running soap series East Enders. He was mentored by “Mad” Marty Wilson and has made over $430,000 playing poker tournaments. 

Happy reading! 

 

Multi Table Poker Tournament Beginner Tips

Are you ready to win money playing an online poker tournament? Advancing to the money in one of these multi-person tournaments takes bit luck but the right strategy can help you to overcome the challenge of trying to win one of these tournaments. 

First stage:

First, start off by playing a low entry-fee tournament. Nominal entry fees are the way to go if you are first beginning. Don’t be intimidated by the amount of entrants in these tournaments. About 10-15% of these people are just in it to try and get lucky. Don’t fall victim to their early raises or perhaps all-in bets.

In the early stages of the tournament, don’t try and cash in on a good hand right away. A few fool will call your pocket aces with a seven three and beat you with two pair. Simply call and only bet if you know you can’t be beat. Many players will go out early and it is critical that you just survive and pick up a few chips along the way. 

Second stage:

This strategy will enable you to move on to the second stage of the tournament. By now, half of the players gone and you can try to build your chip stack now. Start playing more aggressively and beware of players with bigger stacks trying to push you around. If you have a good hand, don’t be afraid to play it. Now is the time to put you in position for the final run and get yourself in position for the money. 

If you are lucky enough to make it to the end, the pressure will build drastically. By this time in the tournament, a few players are weakening and just waiting for the hand to go all-in on. Stays focused and think about the odds carefully before playing your hand. Try slow-playing that killer hand and trap your opponent into thinking that you have nothing. Chances are he will think you are bluffing and you can bury him. 

Final one:

Finally, don’t get frustrated if you don’t make it very far into your first few tournaments. Work on developing your skills and becoming a good tournament play poker online India player. Stick to your strategy even if you lose a couple of good hands. Chances are, your patience will pay off in the end and you can happily accept your prize money with a feeling of great satisfaction. 

Happy playing! 

Turn Nothing Into Something – Poker Freeroll Tournaments

Freerolls are the free tournaments of online poker. There is no entrance fee as in real life tournaments and there are money prices offering usually by the organizer or by the sponsors of that particular game. How to play better if engaged in such a tournament will be explained in this post, given the fact that people play freerolls in a strange way, and there isn’t such a big commitment because nobody is losing money. 

When deciding to go on and enter a freeroll you must pick a moment when your patience resources are at the top measure. These types of tournaments last a lot mostly because there are many players involved. 

Play aggressively

After entering, you must play more aggressively than you would usually do. When having a hand like AA or KK you must raise or increase the bid. You will surely get a call, because of so many participants. And you need at least one or two or the bid will lose its power after the flop. 

You must play fewer hands. Just wait for the proper cards and play them aggressively. If in normal online poker real money tournaments, played for money, people don’t call all the time when they see a big raise from an aggressive player, in freerolls things usually are quite the opposite. If a bad hand appears, drop it. Drop even hands like 6-6, 4-4. But try not to be predicable because some players might keep an eye on you and if you end up playing the finals with them they can tell the way you playing style. 

Take a good look at your position. It helps to know when you are in the first positions and when you are among the last ones. If you get a hand containing Q-10, J-6 and you are in the first positions you should throw them. If on the other hand you are last then call. 

Find a way to stay focused

As in all types of online poker India games, you have to find a way to stay focused. There are many temptations if you get bored and nothing to restrain you from them. There is TV, emails, chatting, talking on the phone. All that must be avoided. Another thing that you must avoid is bluffing. The chances that someone would actually keep on playing are pretty high in this type of competition. 

Don’t go changing that lucky card or draw. If you almost have a flush or a straight it’s tempting to go along with it. But when you have to give away many chips in order to do that it is not recommended. The one that raised the bid so high must already have something. And you still need a card or two to actually have a good hand. 

These types of tournaments must not be taken as a model. They don’t really mean poker, they are full of beginners and the lack of the actual chance of winning or losing at every hand affects the normal ways of poker. Try not to give importance to hand you’ve lost or won here, just get over them quickly. Freerolls are not to be played forever because they can make you create a style of playing that is not recommended for real poker. Play freerolls when you are a beginner or out of money, and with the money won here play ring games or real tournaments. 

Happy playing! 

8 Ways A Poker Game Will Make You Successful In Life

You’ve most likely watched Casino Royal where James Bond is fighting crime badass, and also play poker amazingly. Playing poker for a long time not just makes the poker players professionals, the game of poker also teaches a few great life skills. Let’s read about some of them: 

Capability to begin a business 

Numerous successful company CEOs know how to play poker. You’ll find the company leaders also someway tend to be nice poker players. Playing poker can make you a superior company leader. You can perk up your company’s chances for success if you learn this game. 

Improve money management 

Learning how to manage your bankroll in poker is similar to managing your real-life bank account.  

The inventible up & down swings in poker will come. In the same way in real life, you may go through periods where your bank account is dipping down as you’ve invested into something with smart future returns. 

Smart investments 

Learning about risking money, making decisions, knowing when to withdraw your money will help you make smart investments in real life. These are the tricks of investing into a poker tournament when you have a decent chance of profit which can teach you the correct risk/reward mentality when investing. 

Enhanced long-term decisions 

The natural intuition when making crucial decisions is to make emotional based reactions. The reactions that feel will offer numerous instant gratification or relief. But, normally, delayed gratification is superior and offers more favourable long-term results. 

Poker is all about making the correct moves based on the cards you are dealt along with the cards you assume your opponent has. Forming decent decisions for the long-term over the short-term can be applied to all areas of life and the goals you strive for. 

Learn to be practical 

There are many practical approaches to learn poker online. If done smartly, straddling in poker is a great instance of being practical in the game. This could shake off your opponent and put them into reflex mode, giving you the upper hand. 

In life, if you’re too inactive, you won’t do well. You require being practical in getting what you want, and also be going after your goals constantly for sufficient period of time. 

Poker reveals your true nature 

If you’ve ever been in truly tense situations you’ll act in a definite manner. What you do when under strain says a lot about you. It’s a test of nature to constantly do the best play. 

Makes you disciplined 

It’s no secret that discipline is crucial to be winning in any field.  If you wish to get better grades in mathematics, then disciplined study is simply essential, for an hour or more every day, depending on your normal aptitude. 

Disciplined is a like a muscle, you can train it and be slightly stronger the next day.  

Poker players must have the discipline to play poker online game and grind other players for long hours. This type of will power straight carries over into all other areas. 

Trains your patience 

If you have ever attempted to get a goal that needs constant effort over time, it is almost impossible if you have no patience! The game of poker will increase your patience level. 

To win an online poker game in the long run, you actually need to fold your cards sometimes. This implies waiting for the right cards to play or moments to represent hands. 

Big losses are inevitable in the game of poker, in particular if you get a bad beat. But if you lose because of a raise you shouldn’t have played the game and that will be teaching you a valuable lesson. 

Happy game and happy life! 

 

4 Kinds Of Poker Maniacs

When your challenger at the poker table starts to bet a lot and raise more than their fair share of hands, most poker players will quickly label them as the ‘Maniac’. However if you study the poker maniacs play closely you will notice a pattern of aggression being employed which fits into one of four categories. The kinds of poker maniacs are;  

Predictable maniacs 

These kinds of poker online players are generally thought of the most as a maniac by a lot of players. When this maniac plays they bet, raise and re raise almost every hand pre flop and a lot of the hands on the flop too. There is no way of getting a read of what hand they are holding because they do the same thing every time. However you can make a few observations about these players. The first thing to note is a lot of these players tend to slow down on the turn when you call them down. When this maniac re raises you on the turn this will mean they actually have something.  

A few situations change but it is rare for even the craziest maniac to keep pushing the pace on later streets. One school of thought has always been taught that you are always to play poker online with the maniac sitting to your right so you are not getting caught limping in and getting raised off of your hand. With the predictable maniac it can actually be good for you to have this player on your left because you can limp with big hands like Aces or Kings and then go ahead and re raise them when it gets back around to you. 

Opportunist maniacs 

This player seems to act like the predictable kind but they actually have a different thought pattern that inspires them to be very aggressive. A few like to raise a whole lot of hands after they win a big pot to keep the table on tilt or play the rush. Others may slightly go on tilt themselves if they lose a hand just so they can make the money they have lost back from the next pot. 

By knowing this information and studying them carefully, you can figure out what they are doing and even set a trap against them. 

Erratic maniacs 

These kinds of maniacs can be very tough to play against, because you may have observed them being tight for the last hour and then watch them start raising 3-4 hands in a row. Initially you will put these players on a good hand until you either see a show down or consistently see more raises than they could possibly have good hands statistically for. 

It is much harder to get into the flow of their game to take full advantage of their play, however if they stay at the table long enough you will see the pattern of their play take shape and work out how to nullify it. 

Professional maniacs 

These kinds of maniacs definitely deserve their own category; they are the smartest, expert online poker maniacs you will meet at the poker table. These kinds will sometimes purposely play ultra aggressive because they have studied other players at the table and will know if they are dealing with a lot of tight players or anyone who shows fear. So just like all the other maniacs they will raise lots of pots but here is where the big difference is. Once these players hit the flop, they will change from being a maniac to playing tight aggressive poker. 

Poor poker players can easily make mistakes against these kinds of maniacs for having nothing when they bet all in on the river and end up calling off their whole stack. Be careful not to give these players too much action with weaker hands. Still focus on raising them with good hands and remember what they show down with against other players. 

Happy playing!

4 Steps To Becoming A Poker Shark

Poker seems like an easy game. There isn’t much involved and the structure is simply a matter of deal and play and so on. Still, the apparent simplicity of poker is deceptive. There is a reason this game has continued to fascinate people from all walks of life for over 200 years! The truth is that poker mastery involves a great deal of skill. Here we’re covering the four basic steps you require to master to become an expert play poker online player! 

Learn the rules 

You require learning the rules of the game. If you are completely new to poker it may take a little while to get it at first, but rest easy knowing that the basic rules of online poker are shared among virtually all game variants. Once you’ve picked up your first game the others tend to be only minor variations. 

Still, before you play any hand of poker you require knowing the specific rules of that game. Not understanding a few of the particulars can lead to numerous spectacular failures. 

Learn the numbers  

A few basic mathematics and statistics are essential to becoming a good poker player. While you may not require knowing the precise values, you will require having a very good idea of the worth of every hand and the chance to make money with it. Each situation involves a slightly unlike calculation, but essentially it all comes down to pot odds and implied pot odds. In many cases simply knowing whether you are the favourite or the underdog is enough. 

If you are playing online at home don’t hesitate to use charts and tables of odds. Reference cards are excellent ways to pad your knowledge until you gain enough experience to have an intuitive feel for the cards. Working through the examples in books also accelerates the learning process. Often a real game will be moving too quickly for you to properly deduce your chances. 

Keep in mind: The numbers from game to game can vary wildly. For example, a pair of kings is much stronger in Hold’em than in Omaha. Approach each new variant carefully and play poker cautiously until you understand the differences. 

Learn the people 

Knowing the rules and the numbers is only half the game. Poker online is truly a game about people. In front of your seat at the table will be a pile of chips, numerous cards, and most crucially several other people. You’ll have to assume they know the rules of the game and understand at least something of the numbers. Perhaps it may be surprising then that everybody plays in a different way. Do they understand the game in a different way? Or are they simply bad players? 

Players, all players, make mistakes. It’s a matter of what kind and how often they make mistakes that decides their skill level. Occasionally you get people who forget the basic rules, but more commonly you’ll get people who don’t have a good understanding of the numbers. Knowing these people and understanding their mistakes is a key skill. 

But even players with perfect grasp of the numbers play another way. Each of them has a particular strategy which they believe is going to make them money. A few of these players have gradual stack changes while others have large swings. A few people are cowards and numerous are bullies. It’s your job to identify each player. Label them. Tag them. Describe them. Knowing their style will assist you in knowing their cards; and that will help you avoid making mistakes. 

Manipulate the people 

Knowing people is the key to not losing money, and at certain stakes, with a good deal of patience, it can also provide for a steady income. But to get better returns you’ll require taking it to the next level. You require playing your challengers against themselves. 

Just taking advantage of mistakes isn’t enough. No, you want to push your challenger into a corner. Learn the situations where they make bad calls and create them. Force on them scenarios where they feel uncomfortable. Your goal is to explore their shortcomings and cause them to make mistakes. 

You are on your path of becoming a real shark! 

Happy playing!

History Of The Playing Cards Suits & Symbols

Poker is an ancient game! And it has a colourful history. But, do you know that bright history? We are sure, you don’t. You just play poker online and do not think about or read about the history linked to it. And thus we have brought to you a small tale of playing cards. Read on: 

The notion of suit symbols might have started off with Chinese ‘Money’ cards. But, the suits which made their way into Europe were most likely a variation of the Islamic cups, swords, coins, and polo sticks.  

As Europeans didn’t know what the polo sticks were they shifted them as batons. And they became what we know these days as the ‘Latin’ suit-signs. These were used in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula and Italy until French Card makers had a bright commercial triumph of inventing the ‘French’ suit-signs which are much simpler to make. 

In the meantime, by the end of the fifteenth century, playing cards had put on most of Western Europe. The varied cultural contexts and printing techniques led to a variety of playing card types and styles. Stereotyped designs odd to exact regions evolved and became standard patterns. But the combos of court hierarchy and suit symbols were not always uniform and stable.  

Numerous designs

In numerous cases we see Kings climbed on horseback, in many other cases seated on thrones. Numerous packs contained Queens and attendants; others preferred horsemen and foot soldiers. Many packs had additional trump cards or five suits. In several regions the suit signs were somewhat fluid and included everyday objects, animals, helmets, hunting kit or flowers. Packs are known with suit symbols such as: crowns, roses, hearts, pennies and rings or bells, leaves and acorns. 

We do not know exactly why this happened. But we can wonder that diverse cultural, artistic and iconographic traditions. Distinct feudal, noble or regal court hierarchies, liberal or conservative tendencies. The migration of craftsmen along with the exportation of artisanal goods and crafts to other markets. Even linguistic influences and fashions in clothing, played a part in how the pack of playing cards changed and was accepted in various regions.  

16th century Portuguese mariners introduced their Latin-suited ‘Dragon’ playing cards into Japan. They were then banned in a prohibition of 1648. But they recurred in disguised forms and advanced into numerous variant types. The dragon on the Aces was accustomed by the Japanese in Unsun Karuta, and by the Javanese too. While the name for the cards, “Karuta”, is copied from the Portuguese. Likewise, the Native American Indians made cards with their own understanding of Spanish suit symbols based on those used by Spanish sailors and kept them even after French-suited cards had arrived from Europe. 

Export of the cards

It is known from numerous sources that cards were exported at a premature date from Germany to Italy, packed in barrels. Late 15th century German Card makers produced Italian and Spanish-suited cards in the new system of engraving, in an elaborate Gothic style, which were exported to foreign markets and influenced local creation in those places. 

To summarize, first came the Latin suit systems, which are still used in Spain, America, Italy, the Philippines, a few parts of France and North Africa. The courts were perhaps all-male to start with, but female pages and queens were soon introduced. Germanic suit systems evolved after a period of testing with different combos of suits, and at last the French suit system was invented as a technical innovation in which the number cards were simplified, and which has turn into the most widely-used suit system around the globe. 

The next time when you play poker, remember you are playing with the cards which have bright historical tale to remember. 

Happy playing!