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8 Play Poker Tactics for Newbies

Too many newcomers to the game don’t understand how veteran rounders play their hands, and more often than not end up losing a lot of the time. And while that’s no different to learning any other sport (practice makes perfect, as they say), there are countless Play poker online guides out there that will provide you with the information necessary to compete against the big boys.

While the rules of poker are simple and the game itself is quite accessible, success typically requires more skill than luck. There’s a wisdom there that we can take from the game and apply to the startup life.

So, if you’re looking to win a big pot, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Calculate the odds

The best online poker players calculate two kinds of odds before playing: the Pot Odds (or the ratio of money to put divided by the money to gain – the Pot itself) and Card Odds (the probability to have a winning hand). Anytime the Pot Odds are higher than the Card Odds, the hand is worth playing.

Don’t fall in love with your hand

Sometimes, in a game of Texas Hold’em, players imagine they’ll get a monster hand when all they get are promising cards. When the flop, turn and river are revealed, their dreams crash to earth. Novice players tend to stick with their original assumptions and behave as their good fortune is due. Experts cold-bloodedly re-assess the situation.

Use Probe Bets

Good players sometimes bet money while they know they have very little chance of winning. They push a ‘probe bet’ only to discover what the other players may have, and often fold if they meet resistance.

Take meaningful details into account, but no others

Playing a hand isn’t just a matter of the cards you hold. It’s also about the positions of other players, the stack’s size and a million other things. World-class players take those into account but can learn to disregard the irrelevant details (e.g. your opponent may look like a moron, but you shouldn’t take for granted that he is one).

The money you’ve already spent is irrelevant

Bad online poker players think ‘I’ve already put a lot of money on this hand, I can’t fold now’. Good players don’t care; they make an assessment of the present situation and don’t look back.

Figure out which hands you can beat

When you play a hand, it’s crucial to keep in mind what you’re able to beat (as well as what can beat you), and how likely your opponents are to have them, based on their actions.

Learn

While you need to move on from money you’ve spent, hang on tightly to your past actions. Good players – both in the online poker real money and startup worlds – are acute observers and devote considerable efforts in understanding the behaviour and style of other players. The successes and failures of your past endeavours provide considerable experience. Spend the necessary time to analyze them, understand how customers, investors or competitors reacted, and why.

And never, ever, make the same mistake twice.

Manage your bankroll

If you systematically gamble all you have, you’ll be finished ruined, sooner or later. Your talent may delay the outcome, but it won’t prevent it. Alternatively, if you only gamble small amounts, you relinquish opportunities by limiting your gains.

Happy playing!

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Poker Online – Studying Poker Hand Histories

To be honest, studying poker online hand histories isn’t really the most fun thing to do. You might as well make it as quick as possible all the while still getting all that you can out of it.

With that being said, here are 5 tips for making the process of studying your poker online hands as useful and efficient as possible.

Study as soon as possible after you finish a session

Players will like to study online poker real money hand histories right after a session because often times there are unique variables that were factored into the decision to play a hand a certain way. Maybe an opponent was extremely tight/loose or I butted heads with someone over the course of a couple hands.

Review all hands, the good, the bad and the ugly

Many players have a tendency to study the best online poker hands they lost, but not the hands they won. The problem with this is that even if you won a hand, it’s possible to still have misplayed it or maybe not play it in the most profitable way possible.

Discuss hand histories

Save individual hand histories and discuss them with friends and on forums. Getting a second opinion on the way you played a hand is a great way to learn because in some cases there might be more than one way to play a hand. Jot down your thoughts you played a hand the way you did and compare that with others. Not everyone will analyze situations, in the same way, so you might be surprised to find that a fellow poker player spotted something you missed.

Make a video to learn

Although it’s more time consuming, a great way to get a lot out of reviewing your hand histories is to make a video of you doing it and then having someone else watch it. Not only will the viewers see the hands you play and comment on whether you did good or bad, but they will also be able to comment on your thought process as well and point out anything you may be overlooking.

Happy playing!

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Classify Poker Online Players as Poker Animals

The need for you as a learner of poker online, to observe and take notes on your opponents, cannot be stressed enough. If you have good starting hand requirements, you will fold a great majority of your hands. This will give you plenty of time to study your opponents and see how they play.

During the course of a game, you can fill up a huge amount of space. This can become cumbersome, and make the notes almost not worth reading, as they become a jumbled ream of random thoughts. We think the reader would agree then, that a good way to organize these notes would be most helpful!

Many experts classify poker online players in 5 general categories, only 4 of which most of us will ever get the chance to play against. They are the mouse, jackal, elephant, lion, and eagle. Their poker characteristics are as follows:

The Mouse

The mouse is an ultra-conservative player who plays very strict starting hand requirements. It will bet, but rarely ever raises a bet or re-raise. The mouse almost never bluffs. The mouse’s weakness is that he or she is simply too predictable. When the mouse starts to raise, good players typically fold their hands, and in the mouse loses out on some chips they may have won, had they not earned themselves such a stodgy reputation. This character type is also referred to as a rock.

The Jackal

Jackals are pretty common animals in low limit best online poker. This type of player plays a lot of cards, and bets and raises with abandon. You can make a lot of money off a player like this. Do not ever be afraid to call a jackal, because since they play loose, you will catch them bluffing with trash often. A jackal is destined to lose his money. Good players see him for the loose player that he is and take advantage of his weaknesses.

The Elephant

The elephant is what most online poker real money players refer to as a “calling station.” The elephant has loose starting hand requirements, and so he plays in a lot of pots. As a result, he ends up in a lot of hands that he or she has no chance of winning. This type of player does not lose all of his chips at once since he generally prefers calling to raising, but over time, the elephant contributes most of his chip stack to the other players.

The Lion

The lion is rare in low limit games. The lion is an excellent poker player and makes his living taking chips from the mouse, elephant, and jackal. A tight player who takes the occasional risk or bluff to keep from getting labeled a “rock” would be a good example of a lion.

The Eagle

The eagle is a character that most of us will never reach or even play against. The eagle represents the pinnacle of the poker world. He or she has studied the game for years and is now in the upper ranks of the poker world.

Happy playing!

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Online Poker Tips for Surviving Downswings

Many online poker players have gone through never-ending downswing playing the game. Nothing seems to be going right whatever they try. Their dominating hands don’t stand up and the river seems to kill them if they turn doesn’t.

When nothing is going right and your bankroll is in freefall the single most important thing to do when your drowning in the depths of a downswing is to:

There are two simple possibilities why you’ve found yourself in a bad streak or a downswing.

1) Your actually not that good a player

In reality, you’ve either ridden a combination of good luck and reasonable play to build a decent bankroll that you’re now seeing disappear – restoring you to at best a break-even player.

Or you’ve really ridden your luck and briefly defied the poker online odds and not much more and you now going to pay back for your lucky play in buckets in the “downswing” when in reality it’s just your total lack of skill and the better players winning their money back from you.

2) You’re actually a good or at worst a better than break-even player

You’ve either genuinely gone “card dead” and/or you’re genuinely getting sucked out while selectively playing the best online poker hands seemingly consistently losing to worse hands.

Even though you might be a genuine winning player the “luck” factor of other players is winning out against you for the moment. You could have previously had both the “rub of the green” with a good portion of luck AS WELL as a fundamentally sound game.

Interestingly the solution whichever type of player you are is to for essentially bad players who have got lucky and now they’re poor play is earning them what it’s worth the solution is simple.

Luck is temporary but class is permanent

So, work on your game, read as much online poker real money strategy as you can, and develop at the very least a solid tight-aggressive game and understand the rank & poker hand odds … stop relying on luck & see it doesn’t last. However, for the essentially winning profitable player with at least an above break-even game – dealing with a downswing can be more tricky

If you’ve honestly looked at your game and you know its fundamentally solid then you need to look at why this isn’t working anymore.

The end of the downswing

It’s really important to recognize that there really isn’t any reason why luck / bad luck or good cards and bad cards have to run in short evenly distributed runs … so a downswing could be a genuine run of bad cards and bad luck and it doesn’t have to follow the rules of probability over the short or medium-term despite what your poker odds calculators tell you, after all, how can we define the short or long term?

That doesn’t mean probability is nonsense – it just means you can’t set it a fixed short-term boundary.

Don’t give up, pull yourself together

Nobody knows what cards are coming, you could have a run of 6 months of bad cards & bad luck but one thing is for sure no amount of getting tilted and negative about it, allowing your previously reasonable game to get all beaten out of shape will change the cards or bad luck.

The good player will check their game, stick to it & ride the downswing out to the other side ready to make hay when then cards come back. The most important thing in a downswing is to make sure your game is at its best and not suffering compounding the downswing and making it seem to last long then it has to.

Happy playing!

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Up for Play Poker Online Bluffing? Know the Factors

For many play poker online players, nothing comes close to the feeling that you get when you pull the trigger and attempt to bluff your opponent out of their pants. Nothing will get your heart beating faster or get you trembling harder than watching your opponent contemplate whether to call your bet or not.

And of course, while they are trying to make their decision you are just simply screaming in the back of your mind, “Please fold. Do it this one time.” But as fast as your heart may be beating, it will simply stop if you hear the words, “I call.”

This will happen to everyone at one point in their poker online career, but it is important to take those situations and learn from your mistakes.

When should you bluff?

To pull off a successful online poker real money bluff, it is important to consider many different factors, as this will help prevent a bluff from blowing up in your face.

What is your image?

If you are portrayed as a loose aggressive best online poker player or a maniac, then it is possible that your opponent just simply does not believe you. At this point, they are willing to call with a wide range of hands because they feel as if it is possible for you to have nothing but two high cards or an Ace and any other card. And if you are a maniac or just a very loose player, then this may very well be true.

On the other hand, you could pull off a successful bluff if you were a tighter player and not involved in every other pot.

It is important to remember that your opponents are watching you, so if you are aggressive then a bluff is going to look normal. When you are considering a bluff just put yourself in your opponent’s position and figure out what you look like to them.

What is your opponent’s image?

This is just as important to factor in as knowing what your image is. If your opponents are calling stations, does it really make sense to bluff them? They will simply call your bet regardless of what they may have.

Loose, aggressive, or maniacal opponents will be similar. It will be difficult to try to push these guys off a hand and if you do, you will probably have to fire several shells to do so.

The ideal opponent to bluff against is someone ‘smart’ enough to fold a hand if they feel that they are beaten. These players are generally tight-aggressive or just plain rocks. In either case, they will know how to fold and are more willing to do so if they are facing pressure and do not have the nuts or close to it.

What are you representing?

In other words, what hand are you trying to represent? The whole idea behind a bluff is to tell your opponent, “I have something and it is better than your hand.” If you just call pre-flop, check the flop, check the turn, and then fire a river bet, that is going to look awfully suspicious. Sure, it is possible that you have something but any decent player will be looking to get some value out of their hand before the river, so that of course will stand out.

On the other hand, if you raise pre-flop, c-bet the flop, and fire a bet on the turn, then you have shown nothing but aggression and have told your opponents that you have a hand and do not plan to go anywhere. Depending on your image, you are more than likely to get a fold here then if you were to act weak or uninterested until the last moment.

Another thing is to consider what the cards are on each street. If you try to make a large raise when a deuce comes up on the turn or river, it really will not make a lot of sense, especially if it does not coordinate well with any of the other cards on the board.

What does the board texture look like?

The board texture is going to be a huge factor when deciding whether to bluff or not. If your opponent is a rather decent player, they are going to have something. So, what could they have, and does it look like they caught a piece of the flop?

Depending on your opponents and the stakes you play poker, many times it will be difficult to bluff on a draw heavy board. Many times, players are willing to push it in on a draw of some kind or even top pair.

It is a good idea to bluff on very dry boards where your opponents are likely to have nothing or very little at best. This way there is a lot of pressure in a situation where they may have nothing more than pair.

How many players are in the pot?

Simply put, if there is more than one other player in the pot besides yourself. It would be virtually pointless to try to attempt a bluff. Why is that? Well, the more players that are in the pot the more likely it is that someone has made a hand of some kind. It is hard enough at times to push one player off a hand much less trying to push two, three, or even four players off a hand.

Bluffing in Poker

As fun and as thrilling as bluffing can be, it is no different than any other strategy. If it is abused then it can become quite costly. However, if the factors above are considered when making the decision to bluff. It is possible to run a successful bluff and come out with a nice pot. The bottom line to making a successful bluff is to just make sure that they make sense.

Happy playing!

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Online Poker – Stealing Blind in SNG Tournament

One of the best ways to build your stack in a sit and go online poker tournament is through stealing the blinds. It isn’t very ideal to try stealing the blinds early on in the tournament so you’ll want to try and appear to be a tight player in the early stages. If you’re able to gain a tight table image in the tournament then it will help you down the road when you start to try stealing blinds from the other players.

You’ll want to wait until the blinds become worth stealing which we would say is at the 25/50 level. In order to steal poker online blinds, you need to consider several factors such as your position, options if you’re re-raised and the opponent’s lefts in the pot.

Importance of position

The position is important when you try stealing the best online poker blinds because you can create better odds by acting later in the hand. For instance, if you try stealing the blinds from the first position then you’re going to need to have 8 players fold to your raise. If you’re the 6th player to act in the hand then you only need 3 other players to fold after you. As you can see you have a lot of better odds of your opponent’s folding when you’re in a late position.

You need to consider what your options will be if you get re-raised for one simple reason. If you have a marginal hand then you’ll still be able to flat call a small re-raise in hopes of hitting a big hand in a big pot. If you have absolutely nothing when you try stealing the blinds then you have no other option but to fold if you get re-raised.

Stack size

Looking at the opponent’s lefts in the hand is the factor you need to look at when you’re stealing the blinds in a sit and go tournament. If you have observed the players left in the pot to be fairly tight then you’ll have a better chance getting away with the bluff. But if one of the players is loose, they might want to make a move on you. The stack size is also important in tournaments because you need to consider the likelihood of the other players making a move. If there is a short stack left in the hand and you re-raise to steal the blinds. They might just want to push all-in so they can try and double up.

There is a lot to consider when you’re thinking about stealing the blinds in an online poker real money game and it isn’t just something that you can do. You often don’t want to do it too often or else you’re going to begin getting re-raised a lot more often. Once the other players pick up on it.

Happy playing!

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5 Poker Online Tips for Successful Multi Tabling

Do you want to clear your poker bonuses faster? Do you want to make more money in the same amount of time playing poker online? Or do you just get bored by only playing at a single poker table?

Then you need to learn how to multi-table! Multi-tabling isn’t difficult!

Multi-tabling might seem to be impossible the first time you try it: you haven’t made your decision about a hand on one table yet or another starts beeping for your attention. You decide to click the fold button but suddenly a table pops up and before you know it you miss-click called a pre-flop all-in bet wit J7 off-suite. While still recovering from this unexpected and costly event you hover your mouse pointer to the raise button. At another table where you’re looking at pocket aces, only to see your hand get folded as your time out.

At this point, you might not believe it, but multi-tabling is easy! All you need to do is follow these six multi-tabling tips:

Don’t start multi-tabling too quickly

Successful multi-tabling is a skill that consists of two main elements. One element is playing winning poker online or: making correct decisions. The other element is successfully managing to make a higher amount of decisions you need to make in time or: not timing out.

Although you will play more hands per hour by multi-tabling this doesn’t mean that you will pick up the skills to play winning best online poker faster. This is because multi-tabling allows you less time to play each individual hand and therefore you won’t be able to learn as much from every hand you play.

Because of this, it is very important to be able to make correct poker decisions before you start trying to make as many of them as possible by multi-tabling. Just like you need to learn how to walk before you can run.

Stop trying to follow all the action in a hand

The human mind is a curious one. And although you understandably feel the urge to follow the action in a hand you also have to take care of other tables where you can already act. You simply can’t allow yourself to stay focused on that single table (only satisfying your curiosity) while there are other tables in more urgent need of your attention.

When multi-tabling you should make it a habit to constantly look for opportunities to make a decision at any one of the online poker real money tables you are seated at.

By not actively looking for opportunities to act at other tables you don’t allow yourself to make decisions when you have the time to do so comfortably. If this decision results in pre-selecting the fold option, then that’s one table less that can interfere with a big decision during the next minute. And even if you can’t directly make your move because it’s not your turn yet, you can already think about what you are going to do when it will be your turn. And this allows you to act much quicker and therefore to multi-table more effectively.

Train your decision-making speed

So, we’ve already seen one ‘multi-tabling trick’ to increase your decision-making speed and that is to look for opportunities to make decisions ahead of time. Another very important aspect in order to be able to make decisions quickly is to recognize standard situations and knowing how you have to act in these situations.

The most important way to learn to recognize standard situations will be through experience: simply play a lot of hands. But you also need to play them consciously to learn how to act in those situations and hence, you shouldn’t play too many tables too quickly to rack up those hands.

Experiment with your table layout

The way in which you arrange your tables on your screen can help you in keeping up with all the action when multi-tabling. There are three possible ways to arrange your tables: you can tile, cascade, or stack your tables.

By tiling your tables you arrange them side by side and one above the other so that there is no overlap. Tiling allows you to scan all your tables to see if you can already act somewhere and allows you to follow other players’ actions when you have the time to do so. Tiling your tables will be a very good option if you are playing up to around ten tables. One disadvantage of multi-tabling without overlapping tables is that it will take a lot of desktop space. Therefore, you’ll need a large poker monitor if you want to play many tables using this layout. But then again, large monitors are really nice anyway.

Play a little tighter when things go too fast.

You can make multi-tabling easier by simply playing fewer hands. Mostly you’ll play tighter automatically when multi-tabling. But when all of a sudden you have to make several tough decisions for a big pot. Then just fold some other marginal hands that you would have otherwise played. This will help you to focus more on those big decisions instead.

Happy playing!

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6 Lessons to Learn from Online Poker Rules

Online poker has always been linked as a card game where you can earn big treasure, earn respect, and of course, there’s a great lifestyle which you can lead.

But is poker online only about money, fame, and an excellent lifestyle? No, it’s certainly not. You could really learn a few life lessons just from some of the poker rules. Now, that seems a little fascinating. When we say rules, it has more to do with the soft features of the game rather than its technicalities. They leave a permanent impact on your life.

Your posture speaks about you

As an unprinted poker rule, your posture matters the most while you play poker. The way you count or stack your chips, or how you hold your cards speaks volumes about your level of expertise in the game. A poker pro would be quick enough to read your posture and assess your level.

In life, your posture tells how confident you are during situations and amongst people.

Play the cards you are dealt

One of the best online poker rules you do not get to pick your cards. You need to play sincerely and smartly with the hand dealt with you, even if they are not great cards. Similarly, we never get to choose our cards in life too. Nonetheless, we need to play with the same sincerity and the zeal to win.

Never ignore the human element

In online poker real money games, you play with people. The poker rule says the human element in the game cannot be undermined. In the case of online poker, you win a game not because of the cards you are dealt but because of a strategy that your-opponent failed to gauge.

Your method matters the most

Online poker or online poker strategy is all about a certain method you follow. Over a period of time, the right method will help to win more. It is a game where people do not make rational decisions always.

Life teaches us to follow the right method irrespective of the results.

Be aware of your battles and decide on them

One of the poker rules says to decide on your battles – continue staying in the hand or quit. Based on the pros and cons, you need to choose to continue or quit the game. In life too, it is important to decide if it is worth continuing in a situation/relationship.

Play with an open mind

In poker, it is very important that you look at all possibilities or outcomes. Make it your poker strategy, because the more you keep your mind open, the more possibilities you explore to win. When you confront situations in life, you need to be open and evaluate all options to make wise decisions.

Happy playing!

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Online Poker – Get to Read Opponents with Tells

Reading opponents in online poker can be difficult for most online poker players. Online poker strategy requires players to adjust their decisions based on their opponent’s tendencies.

Inexperienced players seem to really struggle with accurately recognizing their opponent’s playing style and tendencies. In poker online, a player’s tendencies primarily refer to their hand-selected based on their position. And how they bet their hands. Players can discover tells on their opponents by carefully paying attention to the pot odds. And watching the types of bets being made. Obviously, online poker does not allow for the traditional tells of live poker. Where someone that seems to be blinking irregularly could be a sign of the strength of his or her hand.

Rapid Check

An online poker real money player that checks instantly is normally indicating that they have a weak hand. Keep in mind; this is normally the case but be very cautious of the check/raise. Players that instantly check, depending on how many players remain in the hand and the pot odds, will more times than not fold to a bet.

Rapid Raise

If the best online poker player immediately raises absent of even the slightest hesitation, the player most likely has a monster hand or believes they can bluff the other players based on hands they’ve seen played by their opponents. Extremely loose players are an exception to the strong hand theory as they are likely to raise with anything. Whenever calling a raise that was made instantly, players should review their hand. Their pot odds and determine if their outs make the call worth it. When calling an instant raise, don’t be surprised when you see an instant continuation bet.

Delayed Raise

Players like to use the delayed raise when they are holding a strong hand. This gives the perception that they are thinking really hard about calling your bet. And are possibly trying to go over the top to steal the hand. However, most of the time this is exactly what the player wants their opponents to think. The delay is enough to make the opponent think their mediocre hand is the best hand but the delayed raiser is, in fact, holding the dominant hand. This is not always the case but players should be cautious when a player delays and then comes over the top.

Again, observing a player’s playing style and tendencies will significantly play into reading online poker opponents. A tight player will have a strong hand in this scenario the majority of the time, whereas, a loose player may not necessarily have such a strong hand using this bet. Either way, players should be cautious when facing a delayed raise.

Rapid Call

Players that rapidly call primarily indicate they have a marginal hand withdraws or they are slow-playing the dominant hand. The idea behind the rapid call is that the impression is given that the player is not even fazed by the bet that was made and easily called. This forces the bettor to question the strength of their hand and possibly check the next time around. If this happens, the player with the marginal hand now has the opportunity to buy the pot because the player backed off and showed their weakness. The bettor is now in a tough position because unless they are absolutely certain they have the best hand; they have many reasons to believe the other player has them beat when it may not be the case. This is a situation where the marginal handed player used psychology to take advantage of the hand.

Miscellaneous Bets

Players that seem to push way over the top in comparison to the pot size are usually either bluffing or have a monster hand. The odds are unfavorable usually for their opponents and they very well could just be buying the pot. However, players should evaluate their hand and only call these types of bets in instances where they are certain they have the best hand at the point of making the call. Other bets may include small bets or minimum bets when the pot has already built up. These bets may be an attempt to buy the pot without risking much but they are primarily feeler bets to see where everyone stands.

Players should also be cautious of the check/raise. Most online poker players understand how to use the check/raise. And lure players when they have the nuts (best hand) during online poker games. However, the same players can easily be trapped with a check/raise and lose their chips by staying in with a marginal hand. Always be skeptical when a player checks, you bet and then they immediately come over the top. There’s a very good chance you beat. However, if the player has been extremely loose and has pulled this move quite a few times, they may be bluffing. This is why it cannot be said enough, observe your opponents to find out if these tells fully apply to their playing style and tendencies.

Happy playing!

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Poker Online– Let’s Talk about Bluffing

There are appropriate situations to bluff in poker online and there are situations where bluffing is entirely inappropriate. Online poker players need to be able to distinguish the two and make the correct decision. Too often, players bluff when they should not and pay dearly for it. Bluff attempts should always be taken with caution. There are flags that should instantly be raised and delay further bluff attempts in certain online poker situations. Learning to be an observant online poker player will help in noticing these situations.

The opponents at the poker online table will greatly impact these decisions. Opponent playing styles and tendencies significantly impact the environment for bluffing. For example, would you want to bluff at a table full of extremely loose players? Of course not, the chance of being called on your bluff with a garbage hand is too likely. The same is true for bluffing out of position at a tight table. The chance of being pushed in return or called from a later positioned player that has the dominant had is also highly probable.

Continuation Bets

Continuation bets can get a lot of players into trouble. Online poker real money players seem to get attached to their hand and even more attached to the chips they have given to the pot. A classic example of this is the Ace/King raise pre-flop that hits nothing on the flop. The inexperienced player will fire a continuation bet with this hand nine out of ten times. The bad part is that when they are called or re-raised, they call if re-raised or fire another continuation bet on the turn with unfavorable odds. However, the continuation bet can be a profitable bluff tactic if used correctly.

Players that open up the pot pre-flop have an advantage in that; they control the pace of the hand. If they are sitting in late position after raising pre-flop, are checked to and fire an instant continuation bet, they will probably take the pot down the majority of the time. This would be an example of properly using the continuation bet bluff tactic. Keep in mind; players should be cautious if the continuation bet is called and should not allow themselves to drown by continuing to try to bet their opponent off the hand.

Draws

The best online poker players that are inexperienced will often bet their draws heavily to push players off the hand or build the pot for if they hit the draw. This can be advantageous and also very dangerous at the same time. The strategy for bluffing with a draw is to either have the other players fold or note the aggressiveness and only call. The call allows the bluffer to see another card and hopefully, they hit their draw.

However, if the draw is bet and an opponent comes over the top, now the situation is a little sticky. At that point, pot odds would definitely need to be calculated and determined as to whether calling the re-raise is worth it. Too often, players get attached to their draw bets and push too hard when they are obviously beaten. When bluffing, players have to observe their opponents and not be afraid to abandon ship if it gets ugly.

Stealing the Blinds

Stealing the blinds is typically only used in sit n go’s or tournaments. This is because the blinds escalate and blind stealing may be worth it because the pot is so large. Be very cautious in attempting this bluff type because just about everyone is aware of it and is actively watching for players that are consistently trying to steal the blinds. The reason everyone is aware of it is that everyone feels the heat of the rising blinds, the short-stacked players pushing wildly and everyone can taste the prize pool. Blind stealing is most effective from the dealer position when the table folded around. This player has the opportunity to raise and steal the blinds.

If the blinds call, the dealer position has the positional advantage the entire hand. However, be cautious if a noted tight player calls a raise in the blinds from a player sitting in the dealer position. They most likely have a strong hand to call the raise being dominated in terms of position.

Happy playing!

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