Is Playing Poker Gambling?
One thing I’ve heard almost as much as “xxxx-in river” in Poker is this wild statement that playing Poker isn’t gambling.
Feel free to tell yourself what you must, but anyone who says that playing Poker isn’t gambling doesn’t have a firm command of the English language.
Bluff Your Stack Away
One of the most known moves in Poker is the bluff. Each day new players flock to the game of Poker and can’t wait to execute their first bluff. Some players utilize the bluff very often, some not so much and some not at all. There are definitely times to bluff and times to play it straight. I thought I would go over some general thoughts on bluffing. While I am speaking mainly for the benefit of online Poker players, these thoughts will hold true in your home games and the Poker rooms around the world—except point number two.
Poker Starting Hands – Early Position
One of the most important things that newer players need to learn is when to play and when to fold. Most, if not all, new players see far too many flops and this is why they lose. If you sit around and watch better poker players go at it, you will notice that they, in general, see few flops. Your position, as well as other factors, has a lot to do with how good a hand is. If you are in the early position, you should play tighter than if you are in late position. I thought it might be helpful to share some thoughts on opening poker hands in the early position.
Bodog Poker Room
The other day Bodog updated their poker software. While the poker software looks much better, it appears to run a little slow. To make sure I was not the only one who thought this, I asked some other poker players. They confirmed that the software was indeed running slower. One feature that’s nice is the multi-table side window. If you like playing multiple tables, it should be a little easier now. Overall the software is pretty decent. It has a nice find a table feature.
Poker Lingo
I thought we would look at some Poker lingo today. If you are new to the game of poker or thinking about getting into poker, knowing the lingo is a good idea. It helps when you can successfully communicate with your fellow poker player. Today, I am going to give a quick and basic poker lingo list. If you want to add some of your own, please leave a comment. Ok, so let’s get right to it.
How to Win at Poker
Ok, perhaps I mislead you a little with the title. I am not going to give you a detailed breakdown of how to be a successful poker player; rather I am going to talk about something that is often overlooked and contributes almost solely to your long-term success. I have read many poker books that talk about statistics and “tellsâ€, but few go to the heart of the matter and if they do, many soon-to-be poker players probably miss it.