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How To Play Aces

When you are in the middle of an important tournament, or even playing ring games, there is nothing more exciting then getting dealt pocket Aces. Pocket Rockets as they are usually called, is absolutely the most desired hand in the game, but it can be a detriment to your play if you do not know how to play them. As the motto goes - you either win small or lose big with them, and knowing how to play them is extremely important.

When you are at a full table, pocket Aces are not an easy win. In fact, you will probably only win about 35% of the time with them. How is that possible you ask if they really are the best hand in poker? The answer is simple! You technically only have one pair. Even though they are the biggest pair you can hold, it is still only one pair, and many other hands can beat one pair.

Many people tend to slow play pocket Aces thinking that they will obviously win the hand, but if you do that, you are asking for trouble. If you do not raise your Aces you will most certainly have more people in the hand then you actually want. Think about the Big Blind - they just have to check, so no matter what they have they are staying in. They could hold a 4-2 os and flop a 3,5,6. Do you want such a horrible hand to win your pot? No, of course not! So, it is very important to raise on your pocket Aces, just to eliminate some of the mediocre hands. That way, if you do get drawn out, at the very least you made the right raise, rather than losing with your Aces only to complain what a bad beat you just took. It isn’t the other player’s fault that they didn’t get out because you didn’t raise. So, instead of trying to slow play against a full table, it is best that you raise your Aces. Now, if you are playing heads up, then by all means try to slow play them. Chances are you will win against only one person, but against 10 it usually isn’t to your benefit.

After that, pocket Aces usually play themselves in some ways. That means that the flop really decides what you should do with your Aces, and how you should bet. If you hit a third Ace then you can slow up your betting a bit to get the most money, but if you see a flush draw or straight draw it is always wise to bet and bet big. If the other player calls then you may want to rethink your large raise on the turn, but until then, go at it. If there are two other people in the pot and you see a raise, and a re-raise with the flop that just came out on the board, and you didn’t hit your third Ace, then you may even consider laying them down. It is a good poker player that can lay down pocket Aces when the timing is right. Just because you have the best hand to start with, doesn’t mean you are going to end with the best hand.

There are many people who refuse to bet big even when they have Aces. This may be a bit too conservative, but in some respects it makes sense. Aces do not always hold up, and if you see a flop that could be troublesome for you, then hold off a bit. You should try to extract the most money from other players, but be aware that if there are 4 hearts on the board and you have 2 black Aces that you can and should lay them down.

If there is one last bit of information on how to play Aces you should know, it is this. Aces can and will be cracked. Keep that in mind when you go all in on your Pocket Rockets.

It’s not only smaller pairs that you will need to lay down at times. Occasionally you will have to release your pocket Aces. If you have two black Aces and three hearts come on the flop, you are probably up against a flush if there is a bet and a raise. Many players refuse to lay down pocket Aces no matter what cards are on the board. A good player will accept defeat and toss the Pocket Rockets before it costs them more money. It’s not fun to dump a hand that only comes about every 220 hands or so but that’s what a winning player does.

Play The Pros at Full Tilt Poker

Full tilt has been around for a few years now, but I still remember the day that it opened.  Everyone was excited that you could “play with the pros.”  It was the first poker room of its kind, and it drew a lot of people in, and you know what?  It still does!  You see the shirts, you see the hats, and you see the funny commercials.  So, you have to wonder - is it worth opening up an account there? Absolutely!

Full Tilt Poker Room is more than just a place to play poker. You can actually learn from the pros while watching them play, and you can pick up tips along the way. Although they certainly don’t play as much as they used to, you can still seem them on a table from time to time which is very cool if you are a new poker player. They also join in many of the tournaments which allows you to get on the same table with them without waiting through 100 people on the waiting list.

The bonus at Full Tilt Poker is unbelievable too, if you haven’t signed up yet. They give you 100% match good for up to $600.00. There is no question that it is worth it. The graphics are fun, and you can even pick out your own cartoon character to match your personality. I don’t know about you, but I love it. I first started when they had the 100% bonus and for the amount of play you get it is totally worth it. They have all sorts of limits, and although the play is extremely competitive, on the lower limit tables it can be more casual and fun if that is what you are looking for.

The newest thing about Full Tilt which will have everyone happy is that if you deposit via your Visa card, then you can withdraw via your Visa card - for more then what you deposited! That is absolutely fabulous if you hate to wait around for a check in the mail. You can withdraw up to $2500 per 24 hour period and $5000 per every 7 day period. It takes about 5 days to get to your card, but it is much faster then a check. Along with Epassporte there are plenty of good ways to withdraw now that Neteller has left the United States.

Full Tilt Poker is great for a beginner or a seasoned professional. So, take a glance over there and pretty soon you can start to play with Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harmon, Gus Hansen and more!

Time To Play Some Bodog Poker!

Bodog poker is one of the up and coming poker sites on the Internet right now! With a team of Josh Arieh, Evelyn Ng, and David Williams you certainly can’t go wrong here. Currently they have one of the best deposit bonuses as well. They aren’t just giving you 100% on your first deposit, it is actually 110% up to $500. That is pretty substantial considering that you are going to play there anyhow. The way it works is that they give you a 10% upfront bonus, but then once you play at the poker tables, for every 10 poker points you earn you’ll get an additional $1.00 in bonus money up to your 100%. That means if you deposit $500 then you will get $550 to play with as long as you play. You earn up to 1 point for every raked pot so depending on the limits in which you play, you’ll get your bonus money in no time at all!

Then of course you have the benefits of being able to play in some of the best tournaments around. For example, every week there is a $100,000 guaranteed tournament that you can qualify for. You can either buy right in or play satellite tournaments to win your way in for very little money. There are also qualifiers into the “Player’s Choice” tournament which awards the winner with $12,000 in tournament fees to pick the tournaments that you want to play in such as any of the WPT tournaments or even the famous World Series of Poker. That means you can head off to Australia, Prague, or even Las Vegas. If you want to be the next Chris Moneymaker and make all of your dreams come true, then all you have to do is open an account at Bodog Poker!

Whether you are a newbie, or a poker pro, there is a lot of great benefits to playing at Bodog. They have low limits, high limits, and everything in between. From turbo sit-n-go’s to freeroll poker, there is something for everyone. Take a chance and deposit with Bodog today. Good Luck!

Online Poker Table Selection

Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be looking at some of the strategy of online poker which includes many of the popular poker games. Today we’re going to look at something basic, but so important to the game of poker. It is table selection. While this sounds simple, there is a lot more involved when picking out a table to play on. There is such a thing as a bad seat at a great table, and even worse, having a bad seat at a bad table.

After you decide what limits to play, you then need to figure out how many people you want to play with. Many poker sites have smaller tables made of 6 people or larger tables made up of 9 or 10 people. Personally I have found that full tables with 9 or 10 people are generally harder to win at because the fact is you just have so many people in the pot, although for some people this is a definite plus. However, as you go up in limit size this will change because the people generally get better. Of course they generally become more aggressive at the same time.

Before you join any table you need to look at the players. Find out who is a limper and who is the aggressive one. Look at who plays tightly and who is the loose player at the table. You also want to find out what the stacks are. If you have one person with all the money then it probably isn’t worth your time to play, but if you have a couple of good stacks on the table then it may be time to sit down. Watching the pot average is also a good way to decide if you want to pick that table as well. If you have a particularly large average for the limits in which you are playing then you know the players are raising, capping, and generally trying to get the most out of everyone. If this is your thing then go for it, but if you want to play a more conservative game, it is best to look for a smaller average.

Watch the game for a couple of hands and see if you feel comfortable with that type of betting. Now the question becomes where you sit. By choosing a table that is not completely full, you will get a choice of a couple of seats. You want to make sure you have position on some of the loose or aggressive players because they are going to be where you get most of your money from. You do not want position on a tight player because they just won’t play that many hands, or have the chips to pay you off when you have the nuts. You generally want to be able to hide between the looser players bets as well as being able to lose less money when you have to fold weak cards to them after they bet or limp.

You do want to make sure you see signs of players calling a lot of raises after limping in with weak hands, and players that show weak hands outside of the blinds. This means players continually play with ace-little card off suit and unsuited connectors. This is when you are going to win some money in the long run for sure. Also, outrageous raises on the nuts are always good to see because that means that you know when to fold and when to call. Lastly, it is good to see players limping or raising only a little bit with top notch hands. That will save you money if you do lose the hand.

It is important to stay away from tables that get down to the blinds consistently because you are just not going to win any money. Although you don’t want to be at a table with all the players playing as if they had a million dollars, it is important to be able to win something. Lastly, stay away from the tables where several people are going all in on every hand. Not only is it annoying, chances that they suck you out even once or twice is fairly good.

You may find as the game goes on that you don’t like the table. That is part of the allure of online poker - you can simply get up and find another table. The point is that you need to do this. Don’t stay on a table you are not comfortable with because that is a sure way to lose all of your money.

An Oldie But A Goodie!

If you haven’t played Absolute Poker by now then you simply don’t know what you are missing! Absolute has always been one of my personal favorites as well as so many others. Currently for new players they are offering a bonus of 100% on their deposit of up to $500 which is a great deal! The bonus is added to your account on an accrual basis as most poker rooms do. For each raked hand of $.50 or more you play, as long as you see flop you get 1 point. Even if you play tournaments you get 1 point per every $1.00 you spend in tournament entry fees. The more you spend the quicker you get your bonus - it is that simple!

What drew me to Absolute Poker is one of the biggest promotions around the online poker world. That, of course, is the Bad Beat Jackpot. Many newer poker sites are trying to implement something like this, but to date no one has reached the levels of payouts that Absolute has. They have already given out more than TWO MILLION dollars. Just the other night I was playing on a table and that dreaded little box popped up saying someone at another table had won the Bad Beat Jackpot - which stood at over $300,000 by the way!

The way it works is simple. They collect $.50 from the pot of each raked hand that is $.25 or more. The Bad Beat Jackpot grows and grows until some hits it, or in other words, has a really bad beat which is losing with a four of a kind of 8’s or better. We’ve all had the bad beats. In fact, I remember one in particular that still makes my stomach sick. I was in a pot for all my money - almost $800 - when I hit what I thought was a monster of a hand. The Straight Flush. I was jumping up in my seat, screaming for my opponent to call me. Well he did, and I couldn’t have been happier! Until he turned over a higher Straight Flush. The drop in the pit of my stomach was almost too much to bear. Now if that had happened to me at a site with a Bad Beat Jackpot, I would have thousands of dollars to ease my sadness. So, my point is, if you have to take a tremendously bad beat like that one, you might as well get paid for it!

So, head over to Absolute, get your 100% sign on bonus and jump on a table to get your Bad Beat Jackpot today!

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