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The standard (and indeed common sense) poker strategy followed by average skill poker players who mostly play free poker sites or low stakes and, for some reason find themselves up against strong players is not to play at all. In cash games, in a table surrounded by good players, the “novice player” only has to leave and find an easier table. But in tournament poker, it is not so simple to avoid being trapped on a table with some good or even exceptionally talented poker players.

In this article you will learn why good players will generally easily beat the novice, and, if you are a novice or less advanced player what you can try to do to survive and even prosper if you find yourself circled by hungry sharks!

A good player can defeat a novice player because a good player knows the general pattern of a novice player, given the Board cards, the novice’s actions and his position. Good players can also put them on a hand.

The good player knows when the novice has a suited connector; a pocket pair, or even, in some extreme cases, a Set. The good player can play a Straight weakly (or even fold it occasionally) when the Board pairs and the novice suddenly pours down his chips.

Let us make some systematic analysis about our novice player. For the purpose of this we will say that a player wins a pot when, (a) he wins the hand in a showdown or (b) he makes all his opponents fold. So if the novice player is to win a pot against good players what hands should be played and how?

Suppose he tries to win under the condition (a) - to win in a showdown. Then he has to play the good players through the preflop, turn and river. At each stage the good player will get more information from the novice player than the novice player can get from the good player.

If the good player has more information, then he knows immediately whether the novice player has a good hand or not. He can continue to showdown and probably win a big pot, if he keeps on value-betting our novice. Or he can lose a small pot, if he slows down and just checks. Or he can make the novice fold.

Suppose our novice now tries (b) to make his opponents fold. (Let us assume the Board can help him only a little, and his hand, from the flop up to the river, will not be of showdown quality.) Throughout the flop, turn, and the river, the good player will extract more inferences from the Board cards than the novice player will.

If our novice, who normally has the tendency to get excited, overrepresents a hand unnecessarily, then he will just be called by the good player (unless he plays really strongly, but he can’t overdo this either).

From these, we gather that the pieces of information needed to make a decision is:

1. Your cards.

2. Your perception of the opponents’ cards.

3. The Board cards.

4. Tells your opponent provides.

5. Tells you reveal to your opponent.

6. Previous tendencies of each player.

7. Position.

Both the novice and the good player has (1) and (3), but the good player’s judgment is usually more accurate with all these criteria. A good player, for example, will believe that 8-7 (his cards) is not so nice-looking in a flop of 10-7-3 (the Board cards), but a novice player may. As for (4), (5), and (6) which stems from (1), (2) and (3), the good player is usually more aware of these. And good players care more for (7) than novice ones.

So if our novice wants to play a pot against a good player, he cannot really rely fully on the information above, for he cannot interpret them well. So our novice should look for a spot in which the good player also cannot rely on most of the information above, so that they will be on equal footing. When is it? Answer: Preflop. How to play? All-in.

Preflop, your perception of the opponent’s cards is less accurate than after the flop falls. Also, because there are no Board cards yet, tells are less reliable. Finally, because a novice is less likely to have previous tendencies resulting from experience, the experienced player has little hold on (6). And preflop all-ins are dependent on hand strength mainly than position.

By moving all-in you may make your opponent fold (which is a win) or entice him to a showdown. Don’t call yourself all-in, however, unless you have a premium hand. Once your opponent does this move, if he is a good opponent, he knows that you are vulnerable.) When he does want a showdown, he is deprived of postflop information that will increase his chances of making an good decision. At this point, even though good player is still good, he has to play in terms of novice play.

The good hands the novice can have are still the traditional all-in hands: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, etc. A-K (or similar) is quite shaky, but if you can lull someone with 7-7 to play with you, you are still about 50-50 with him.Whereas if you take him to the Flop, he will have more opportunities to play his 7-7 better than you would play your A-K, and you will be defeated most of the time. Let us say your chance to win above is just 25% postflop; why don’t you take the 50-50 instead?

In summary

It takes some time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking donk “chip flinging” seen on many NoPayPOKER.com tables.Most players it seems can’t or won’t put the time in, they claim to play just for fun which misses out on the key fact that winning lots and beating all these “fun” players is a lot more fun!

Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this donk fun zone is very good news for you. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can go mercenary and hunt the “fun donks” down in low stakes real money games as well as free online poker tournaments sites that pay out real money while you happily build your skills and bankroll!

To make this work first, play free poker tournaments to learn how to play poker tournaments where you can learn while you lose but without losing real money, then once ready to can move up to low stakes and start to make some serious poker cash!

When you play both play free poker games and any size cash poker Three-bets mean good hands (or bluffs). 4-bets mean even better hands (or even better bluffs). I dare you!

But despite even for the most skilled players in the world, the best hands still come from luck! Here is a perfect example:

BLINDS 50k/100k, ante 10k

PREFLOP:

A has K-K, raises to 290k

A great start for A but he holds temptation at bay with the measured raise. He certainly plays K-K shrewdly. A lot of players might play A A or K K weak pre-flop in preparation for trapping later. A however just plays his K K like a standard hand.

B has A-Q, raises to 650k
A to call 360k

B’s reraise is to try and find out if A has a decent hand or is just trying to steal. With suited connectors, A can call, but with K-K, A does better:

A reraises to 1.49m
B to call 840k

Now A plays K-K conventionally. He is making the pot bigger. Basically he is saying “I Dare You!” If his reraise was small (like only reraise to 720k) it would be “I Want a Call” not “I dare” and B moght well call, but A has nothing to worry about if B calls unless an Ace drops.

But he does not want a call. It is OK if B folds (which is just expected if B had no hand, but he wants B to put him on a bluff and push him.

B, meanwhile, is thinking something. Because A’s raises are from the cutoff, B may think that the second is a bluff (and good for A if he knows this is what B is thinking). So what does B do?

B moves all in
A to call 3.76m

Now B is the one daring A!

A could have thought any of these:

(1) Was B trying to bluff me out? (He can’t, if he is. In fact, I want him to do that.)

(2) Did B trap me with a four-bet with the A-A? or K-K? (There is a small possibility.)

(3) How much will I invest? I had 10.7 million at the start and I am going to invest 5.3 million. About half my stack. But I am going to try to knock him out, anyway.

(4) Did B have A-x? (Most probably. They do it all the time. However, I’m quite uneasy if it’s worth half my stack.)

But A didn’t, because he instantly called. Moreover, A could have thought instead, “My ploys were successful. I trapped him. Now he’s finished.”

A calls 3.76m (Pot about 12 million)

Three-bets and four-bets almost always signify A-A, K-K or with some brave players, A-K or Q-Q. B had A-Q, which is not so good for a call (A may have figured out that B held A-Q, so he reraised instead of trapped; if he just called, then an Ace may fall and he may not continue with his K-K) but even worse for staying in a hand with plenty of raises and reraises.

However, luck has the last word in this hand.

The board ended up Js-7h-3s-Ad-Qd, which clinched B’s win.

Summing up
I know this may seem like a lot to take in all at once, the fact is though that while poker is an easy game to learn it is hard to be very good at, hence the crazy stupid “chip flinging” you will come across on many poker sites.

Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this dumb donk zone is great news for you.

The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves on free online poker and low stakes real money games sites and happily build your skills and bankroll!

To make this work first, play free poker sites to learn to play holdem where you can learn while you lose but without losing real money, then once ready to can move up to low stakes and start to make some serious poker cash!

You may play $1000 Buy in, you may play free poker games but what you do not do is just play your cards. You also play the player, or to put it another way, you aim to manipulate other players so that they do what you want them to do. The desired end result of course is that they give you money!

Playing the player has 2 sides. In regard to your play you are trying to read the other players, read their play style, figure their emotions and drivers and from here play your cards optimally.

In regard to the other players you aim to play them in order to misdirect their attempts to play you, to have them make incorrect conclusions about your style, motivations and drivers.

To learn how to do this lets look at an example of playing the player in action from a WSOP event.

BLINDS 50k/100k

1) A has Ac-Qh raises 350k
2) B is on big blind, has Kc-Js, calls 230k (Pot 880k)

K-J is usually a bit weak to call a raise. Moreover, B doesn’t have position over A, but he calls because he wants A to guess.

From the big blind, generally we just call because we are on a discount, so we might have 6-5, 10-8, and a bunch of other indeterminate hands which require guessing.

FLOP 4d-5h-3d

B bets 535k

Because small cards fell, B now wants A to think that his call from the big blind hit the Flop, and that his hand may well include those indeterminate hands like 5-4, 8-5, or even 6-7, or two Diamonds. But what did A think?

A raises to 1.8m (Pot 3.215m)
B needs 1.265m to call

Here, A thought that B’s bet was just a continuation bet, and with small cards falling A’s belief is reinforced that B is just trying to finish the hand. How would small cards likely hit B?

Additionally, B has been playing aggressively all night (stealing pots, etc.) so B could be betting with something (which is not likely with small cards falling) or with nothing. B could be playing just about anything, especially from the big blind.

At that point, A gambled that B has nothing. He could also have assessed that if B had something and goes all in later then he can move out fast. So he raised to try B’s strength.

B folds

B folds, because, indeed, he has nothing, and if he calls, he will be committed to continue. (Had B moved all-in then it will be a good all-in, for A could still be guessing at this point what B’s hand was. But B’s cards were not strong enough.)

Also, he folds, because A raised from late position, which allows for a wider range of hands, like even 5-4 or two Diamonds.

Poker, indeed, is not simply a game of good hands versus good hands. Experienced poker players will win with bad hands under the right conditions.

We give credit to B for first trying to win with a bad hand, a good effort to play he player. Unfortunately for B, A did the playing the player task superbly too, having noted previous actions and motivations and related that to current con text and probability and so played out to win well.

In summary
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated “chip flinging” seen at many tables.

Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this dumb donk zone is great news for you. That’s because once you learn to play poker at an above average level and combat the “all-in-all the time” maniacs then you can take them apart in coldly calculated genocide anytime you like in low stakes money games and when you play free poker games that pays real cash such as that found at www.NoPayPOKER.com.

As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn how to play poker on the free poker tables to get it nailed.

You can’t be good at everything. In poker be it the win a lot of pennies free poker games type or big cash it is why people become experts or specialists in their particular games.

It is the same as in any profession, field of study or in the workplace where people find their unique niche for the company that they work for and devote their efforts to becoming as good as they can in order to be promoted and earn more.

So how does this relate specifically to the world of poker games?

Simply this, some people are great cash game players, while others are great tournament players. There are some players who are very good at both cash games and poker tournaments but this is very rare.

Most players specialize because they are more successful at one than the other.

So how can you figure what type of poker you are best at? It might not be that clear at first. Of course you need to play plenty of both types, and while you do here are some factors to look for to help you decide once and for all.

Should You Focus On Cash Games?
If you’re a patient player who looks to play only in clear +EV situations, then you may prefer cash games. Full-ring games are all about waiting for premium starting hands and extracting the most value from them in the most favourable situation possible. Thus, cash games are good for players who don’t deal with variance very well.

The biggest mistake a beginning cash game player can make is playing too many hands. You don’t want to commit too many chips in marginal situations.

The opposite can seem to be true in the late to middle stages of a tournament.

Should You Focus On Poker Tournaments
It is correct to play tight in the early stages of a tournament, but once the blinds start to escalate you’ll need to loosen up your starting requirements. Once you’re low on chips, you’ll need to look to move all-in to survive. You may also need to put yourself in situations that may –EV in certain occasions. If you’re one of the big stacks, it’s also correct to start playing looser to bully the other players. It’s all about accumulating chips to either survive or thrive in tournaments. It’s not for the faint of heart or those who can’t deal with variance.

The biggest mistake a beginning tournament player can make is not pushing all-in enough when they get low on chips. Because the price of blinds increase as the tournament goes on, your chip stack can easily get whittled away.

Tight players can’t win tournaments.

Poker Game Specialization Conclusion
If you like tight then it is best to focus on cash games. But if you like action then tournaments are going to be your thing. That being said, a tight style can work for tournaments with a few adjustments and a loose style in cash games can be profitable under certain circumstances.

Ideally do your testing in free poker games that way you can learn to play poker for free and find your style while not losing lots of money in the process!

This article brought to you by NoPayPOKER. The world’s only free poker games where you win real cash on every game. NoPayPOKER.com is the ideal place for new poker players to learn to play hold em without risking any money at all. Experienced poker players can test out new techniques and rack up lots of free poker games cash!

It was in a six-man free poker site (thankfully) Sit-and-Go where my belief in the omnipotence of the Set (a made hand formed from a pocket pair and a board card with the same rank; for example, you have 4-4 and the Flop comes 4-10-A) was intensely curtailed.

More so, it was a sharp free online poker lesson on maturity. After this experience I know a lot more about when to fold what seems like a good set or hand.

A Set is very powerful if, say, you have 5-5 and the flop comes A-10-5. In this situation, against A-x (excepting A-10), you are 99-1 favorite, and if another player happens to have A-K or A-Q, you will see all the problems he will face later when he goes all in or calls your all-in.

But at this Sit-and-Go, with six players (blinds 10-20, average stack 1500), I was first to act. I had 4c-4s. I raised to 50. The button called, as well as the blinds.

The flop came 4h-6h-7d. Small blind checked; before me, big blind bet 200.

I asked myself, “How could he make such a fat bet (pot-sized)?”. Those players in previous hands always play any hand that drops on their computer screens. They may have A-6 or A-7, but also 8-7 or even 8-5. Or any two Hearts. They never know when to fold or not. And you don’t know when your made Two-Pair will be crushed.

So I figured that the power of my Set was gravely reduced, so I just called in the hope that the Board would pair during the Turn, but the main reason is because there are were dangerous cards that can fall.

A Three, a Five or an Eight will render my Set unplayable, unless everyone checks; a Heart will jeopardize my chances.

Usually, I am inclined to move all-in with a Set, but there might be a stray Five. They are willing to call all-ins, even with draws. Even with gutshot draws. They do it all day.

And I can’t banish them out of a draw by power-play. What if all of them call?

The turn came 3d. There are two Flush draws on the Board and one to a Straight.

Small blind checks; the Big Blind moved all-in (he had 1400 chips, I had 1200).

On already a pot of 2200, although I am getting 2-to-1 on a call all-in (or possibly 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 if the two others call), I folded. The Button called; Small Blind folded.

They showed the hands I guessed they had: an Ad-5c, and Qh-Jh. Either way, I will be smothered if I called too; the chance of the Board pairing is just 25% (10 out of 40) and I would be getting only 3-to-1. Not only I escaped devastating math; I also escaped the onslaught of made hands and big draws.

The point of this is: If a good hand doesn’t stay good, then it’s no longer good. Its goodness is just a memory, and if you pursue the beaten path your chips will soon turn into a memory as well.

This article brought to you by NoPayPOKER.com The world’s only free poker site where you win real cash on every game. NoPayPOKER is the perfect place for Beginners to learn to play online poker without risking money. Experienced poker players can fine tune their game, test out new techniques or just grind away to accumulate all the free online poker cash!

With the immense popularity of free online poker and poker shows like the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour, poker, like basketball, has developed a jargon of its own. Many of poker terms have been around for a long time so it seems the core game maybe hasn’t changed so much.

Checks, bets, raises, calls, bluffs, and all-ins are still found and still exist with connotations like: to ‘bet’ is aggressive; to ‘raise’ more aggressive; to ‘call’ is never aggressive; to ‘check’ is still passive, unless you are plotting a raise after it. Bluffing, well that’s always aggressive. And then all in’s in no limit games are the most aggressive of all as far as many poker players are concerned.

But newer terms have emerged, thanks to the poker commentator’s ideal to be crisp and short. For example, in the 70’s they may have said “he raised after a check” now we’ll just say “check raise”. Calling after checking becomes “check call”. ‘Value bet’ may be ‘betting for value’ or ‘betting because A’s hand is good, and he wants B to call’. Although this does not imply that no one used the shorthand terms before. It may be that they are not clear enough to a general audience before in a time when poker was accessible only to a few.

So, we’ll start with some of the most popular and important compound terms like check raise and check call. I shall assume, that, as above, that checks and calls are non-aggressive, and bets, raises, bluffs, and all-ins are aggressive.

#1 Check-raise: To check-raise is to check, then if the opponent bets, then you raise. For example, in a Board with 4-7-J and you have 6-5, if you are the first to act, you can check-raise. You can check because you can hit your Straight for free later if your opponent checks, and if your opponent bets, you can raise, so he will think you are on a bluff or on a made hand, so if you hit your Straight later your hand is disguised.

You can also check-raise if you think your opponent’s weak so that he’s not going to call if you bet, but you want your opponent to think you’re weak so that he can bluff, then you can raise him.

#2 Check-call: To check-call is to check, then if your opponent bets, then you call. Check-calling is standard for the above Board (4-7-J and you have 6-5),p provided you are priced to hit your Straight later. Check-call can also be good if you flopped a monster on the Flop and you want your opponent to represent it so you can trap him.

#3 Value bet: Value is the relative strength of your hand compared to what you think your opponent has. For example, you have A-10 in a Flop of J-10-6-5-2. You can consider your Pair of Tens to be not so strong, but if you put your opponent on 7-7 or weaker, then you can bet a small amount at the river (say, one-third or one-half the pot) so your opponent will pay you off if he, indeed has the 7-7, and if it turns out that he has the Jack, your loss is not so great. The point is you bet the largest amount you think your opponent will call.

#4 Check-raise-bluff: Now we move on to more complex compound terms. You usually check-raise if you have a strong hand or a drawing hand that you want to disguise. If you have none, but want to represent, do this. Check, then if he bets, put pressure on him.

#5 Value-bet-bluff: A value-bet is generally a fraction of a pot, typically 1/3 to 2/3. A bluff is usually greater than the pot (twice or more to be credible). If you bet 1/3 or 2/3 of the pot and you have nothing then strong players are likely to see the value-bet and fold. In this case, your bluff works, with less danger than a traditional bluff, for a traditional bluff may involve more than the pot or even an all-in, while a value-bet-bluff involves just a bet that is value-bet sized.

#6 Three-bets and four-bets: A three-bet means this: Someone bets (or raises preflop), then someone reraises, then someone reraises again (possibly the first raiser). This action is the third, hence ‘three-bet’. If anyone moves over the top after this, then this action is the fourth, hence ‘four-bet.’ To reraise a raise requires a very strong hand, then to reraise this requires a far stronger hand, then to reraise this reraise requires a hand far more stronger. Unless one is representing. So we can make terms like ‘three-bet-bluff’ and ‘four-bet-bluff’, meaning ‘a bluff with a three-bet or a four-bet’.

#7 Bluff all-in: An all-in implies a strong hand. If you have nothing and this is what you do, then you ‘bluff all-in’. It is good to bluff all-in in a dangerous board (one off a Straight or a Flush, or a paired Board) but it is more dangerous, because your opponent may have the nuts and call you. In less dangerous boards, you can just bet and your opponent will fold if he has nothing – it has the same effect as the bluff all-in.

#8 Call all-in: Technically, call all-in is non-aggressive. To call is not aggressive; you just moved all in because you have a hand that you will be willing to move all-in if you acted first, and someone just set you up to it (or maybe you slow-played and your opponent became aggressive and pushed you all-in and you called).

#9 Check-raise-all-in: This one is a super aggressive move! You check, another player bets, then you go all in. Many will not interpret it as a bluff, and will call only if they have a hand. Say, on a board with J-10-Q-7-6, even with A-Q it is difficult to call a check-raise-all-in. You must have, say, A-K or 9-8 to do it, or a Flush.

#10 Check-raise-bluff-all-in: The #9 when you have nothing. Say, in the above board, you have 5-5. You just represent a strong made hand.

You can make some more variants of these poker moves. Enjoy it but don’t go too far! Value-bet bluffs will not be understood by weak players, and weak players will call check-raise-bluff-all-ins just as they will call regularly.

This article brought to you by NoPayPOKER. The world’s only free online poker site where you win real cash on every game. NoPayPOKER is the perfect place for Beginners to learn to play poker online free without risking money. Experienced poker players can fine tune their game, test out new techniques or just grind away to accumulate all the free online poker cash!

This article is about the endless argument over whether poker success is luck or skill, and, know what, I’m going to answer it once and for all! I’ve been playing poker for many years both money and free texas holdem and in this time have made some real nice money…I’ve also been busted a few times so I like to think I have a good perspective on the issue!

For starters lets define what skill is in the poker context. In my opinion a skilled player is one who can recognize betting patterns, understand flop odds, and percentages, and have a solid concept of strategy and theory. I have noticed however, not matter how well skilled one may be, you must account for variance, and sometimes aggressive, even poor play from others.

I believe in conclusion it is best to assume that poker is a combination of both skill and luck where the skill level of the player involved has a definite effect on the “luck” component of the equation in the medium and long term.

The assumption would be based on this conclusion that you have to be both pre flop aggressive, as well as post flop smart. Many times a player might find themselves in a position where they made the proper call, yet they find themselves behind due in part to an opponents luck hitting a one or two outer.

It is extremely difficult to combat this situation. This also can be attributed more toward online poker vs traditional brick and mortar casinos because of the amount of hands dealt online. The action of online poker is much faster, and decisions must come much quicker.

A lot of people find they get more bad beats in online poker than in live games. Mathematically this can be attributed to the number of hands both seen, and played. In addition there is a fatigue factor involved where players feel they are being pushed too hard, or perhaps have suffered a bad beat.

Consequently decision making may become irrational, and typical hands that would be thrown away are now played, or even pushed pre flop out of anger in trying to win back lost funds.

Others, who are skilled can pick up on such trends and play them to their advantage, which in turn triggers greater loss, and in the eyes of the losing player, more bad beats which he feels was based on luck.

The successful (skilful) poker player knows how to manage each aspect of the game. In effect you become able to manage probability (luck) by application of skill and so apply the old phrase beloved of annoying sales managers/gurus everywhere, “make your own luck”. Basically meaning that your skill flattens out the “bad luck” to the extent that you are up consistently in the medium and longer term.

And how to do this? Learn your skill on free texas hold em sites like http://www.nopaypoker.com, get skill, get confident, build a bankroll and then you can move up into micro and low stakes money games and beyond.

I’ve been a poker player since I was a teenager, I’ve played for money in casinos and lots of fun money free poker at home. For the last few years though I’ve focused most on free texas holdem poker. Initially this was easy and fun but as time has passed I found it getting harder and harder to win, after thinking long and hard I realised that I’d become stuck in a rut I now call the “Easy Play” trap.

The trap is where you get into the habit of playing every single hand in the belief that it is the only way to win. You post and play every hand praying the flop with give you a hand. The problem with this play - You lose – and everyone playing with you learns how you play. This is especially a problem on free texas holdem poker sites where it is all to easy to not care. OK, if all you want is some fun free texas holdem poker play it’s no problem (though I would say that getting whipped frequently takes the fun away!) , but if you have any sort of ambition to improve and win proper money later, even go pro, then this is a fatal trap to get stuck in.

Then last year I started playing what I call “SMART”. “SMART” players think of the odds of playing each hand based on your starting hand. The two cards in your hand give you an idea of what your chances of winning before the flop.

“SMART” poker means as follows:

Singles – A - K - Q – J

Married – AK – AQ – AJ – A10

Average – 10 10 – 9 9 – 8 8 – 7 7 – 6 6

Rare – AA – KK – QQ - JJ

Terrible – 2 7 – 2 8 – 2 9 – 2 10 – 3 8 – 3 9 – 3 10 -4 9 – 4 10 -5 10

Singles are best used cards belonging to the same suite.

Playing singles with low off suites is risky because some times it is the kicker that means a win. Watch the flops to check out how the cards are falling as if there are more small off suites hitting with a single you might want to try.

Married and Rare hands are your better possible starting hands prior to the flop and requires that you think first. Going all in with a Married or Rare hand before the flop is good but can also be a killer. Watch the other players for a time and get an idea of what they play before going up against them.

Average poker hands are good to start with but the flop truly provides a picture of how you will play your hand. On an average a third will fall with the flop when holding a small pair. If not, and there is a small bet, try the turn but never the river as odds are against you.

Terrible are poker hands I try not to play because they normal are losing hands. True you might get lucky but if you do not have any money in the pot why waste the time and money on a chance. High blind and there is no raise, yes play, however low blind, forget it and wait for a better hand.

During a recent live game I was down to 80 in chips with the blinds at 10 – 20. I was not getting a hand and we were down to three players. Being “SMART” I came back and won the money.

And how do you learn to play “SMART”…The sensible way is to learn your skill on free poker tournament sites. Don’t get put off or sidetracked by all the Easy Play “farm animals” you’ll find trapped on such sites, that is part of the territory in the land of free texas holdem poker. Then, once you have demonstrated consistent winning ways move up to low stakes games and stay there until you repeat the success and then move up again…WSOP one day, who knows!

When playing free poker online, players are trying to obtain as much information as possible. Since everyone’s cards are dealt face down, the only two things you know for sure are your own cards and the community cards. This is where ‘tells’ come into play as good players are constantly analyzing every single part of your play and demeanour. Playing poker on line is obviously completely different to live play; however there are a few things to watch out for on line which I will come back to, but for now I am going to concentrate on live play. I have been playing poker in my local club and various casinos for a number of years now, and have picked up a few tells and ways of reading players.

Too many new poker players have seen the telly and get caught up with the eyes as a focal point of telling a players hand. Unfortunately from my experiences apart from the very novices who may raise an eye brow here or there I don’t find the eyes as giving the best tell tale signs. Additionally when I’m playing at a typical 10 person table, the chances are over half of them will be wearing tinted glasses of some form.

Ok assuming like me you don’t concentrate on your opponent’s eyes as the main source of intellect. You will need to find more assuring ways of spotting the tell tale signs of what cards your opponents holds. The best signs I would look out for are all based on body language such as posture- slumped normally suggests bad cards and if you happen to notice a player suddenly sit up straight after viewing their cards this would be due to their increased interest at the excitement of what they might win!

Only good and experienced free poker players can remain motionless and you may be surprised at the amount of body language signs you give away without even realising it. You may notice an experienced / decent player readjust themselves, this is done vigilantly due to the fact their self conscious has remind them to remain neutral.

Quite often body language is accompanied by table chat. Chat at the table and the signs you give away as a result are easier to hide as you can simply remain silent throughout- which is not a bad idea during the big games. You would be shocked at the level of skill some players have at recognising distinctive changes in tone and rhythm and knowing what this means to your play. There are other fundamental parts which can also explain loosing at the cost of general chit chat. You could genuinely become distracted taking your concentration away from the game. This is the difference between the regulars and the pros. The pros are masters at using all their ability to fish for signs: by playing while talking to you they’re actually finding your weaknesses while only showing you strength. Most of the time you don’t realise what’s going on till you inevitably remind yourself at the end of the game of the friendly chatty guy who ‘lucked in’ and took home the pot.

Other well known tells include sweaty palms, looking at your cards then directly looking at your stack, licking your lips, and even a bulging vein in the neck. Along with body language and table talk another big tell is betting patterns, and this is where I come onto the internet. Everything I have mentioned so far is useless online. Betting patterns are the only pieces of information you can get from players in an online environment. A lot of newish players tend to play free poker by the manual, pocket aces bring a bet of 4x the big blind, KJ is 2x the big blind, and suited connectors bring a flat call. By watching players at your table for a short time you will be amazed at how they stick to these principles. Once you have established players betting to a pattern, clearly you are at a big advantage.

Just remember to be sure that the sign the opposing player is giving you is an actual sign. As with most things in life if something seems to obvious and too good to be true- it might be. As one art of poker is knowing how to spot players signs and another is spotting players faking their signs.