Online Poker News

Before you sit down to play that next Texas Hold’em game, whether it’s a tournament or online poker, be sure you have your thoughts straight and a clear head.  The things that can harm your poker game the fastest are a bad attitude, mental distractions, intoxication, or anger.  Also, playing spitefully or to get revenge on someone are bad strategies.  Keeping your mind in the game and your focus clear is the best thing you can do to succeed at a hand of poker.

Beyond a generally good state of mind, there are other factors that can improve (or harm) your Texas Hold’em approach.  The first tip may seem to be obvious, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted: concentrate on the game! Always pay attention to the other players’ actions, both when playing virtual poker and in person.  Watch the cards that come down, watch the amounts being bet, and watch for hesitation or overly aggressive behaviours.  A large part of poker success is how you read the game and your opponents.

Also, be economical about how many hands of poker you play.  Buying into too many hands will stretch your pot too thin, while sitting out too long makes you look distracted or weak.  Never bluff just for fun; always think through how aggressive you will be and how you will draw other players’ bets.

A general cognisance of the game leads to success in both virtual and live tournament play when it comes to Texas Hold’em.

Friday the 13th was not unlucky for online poker star Mickey Petersen, who hails from Denmark, took his second Full Tilt online poker series title. He came out on top of the field in a $216 limit Hold’em Rush event number 27 and he banked $37,000. 72 players walked away with cash from a total of 778 players. Petersen won his first FTOPS jersey came back in April, when he won a $216 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament for $86,000.

Mickey Peterson quickly made his mark on the Top 100 Worldwide Rankings beginning in 2009. His 3rd place showing in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up was good for $69,350 in June ‘09 and he also placed 2nd in the Titan Poker $250k Guaranteed for $30,000 a month earlier.

The latest online poker tourney was unleashed and this is the 17th instalment of the popular Online Poker Series (FTOPS) from Full Tilt, by Wednesday they had already awarded $4 million in prizes over 10 winners. They are to offer a total of 34 tournaments through August 15th with more than $19 million in guaranteed prize money.

RPM Poker pro Brent Roberts was the first FTOPS jersey winner, taking down the $216 No Limit Hold’em Event for $164,358. Roberts, who has more than $1.2 million in online tournament winnings and close to $1 million in live earnings, came out the best of a field of 4,591 players and a tough final table that included Sam Grafton. The series, which began in 2006 and has run between two and four times per year, will offer a total of 34 tournaments through August 15th with more than $19 million in guaranteed prize money.

There has been some great news for online poker buffs last week, their preferred casino game is on the up again which suggests that a recovery may well be underway. Although the gain was only 1.3 percent, the news was especially satisfying, with the World Series of Poker still on-going and the card rooms looking toward the traditional late summer increase in player activity.

The strong upturn comes at the perfect time for online poker, as the industry has been in a gradual decline for most of this year. The recent upswing is in spite of the on-going WSOP, suggesting that sustained growth may be returning. With the back-to-school increase in poker traffic and events like PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker coming up, things are starting to look promising for the industry once again.

Playing poker games like Texas Hold’em is easy if you know the basic game play.  Skills come with practice, so testing out such games at a virtual poker site is a great way to improve your strategy.  Play online poker to prepare for at-home or tournament games.

Most games of Texas Hold’em begin with 10 players at a table, decreasing in size as players are eliminated.  One player will be denoted as the “dealer,” with the two players to his or her left posting the “blinds”.  These are paid to the pot before the first card is dealt.  The big blind equals the full amount of the minimum bet (unless you’re playing No Limit Texas Hold’em) and the small blind is half that amount.  The remaining players may see their cards before deciding whether or not to pay the pot.

Each poker player receives two private, or “hole”, cards.  In the first round of betting, three cards – or, the flop – are dealt face up onto the table.  Once all bets are settled, a fourth card – the turn – is placed on the table.  Another round takes place, and then a fifth card – the river – is dealt face up.  With all cards dealt, the remaining players must make the best five-card hand, which can be any combination of the cards on the table and their own personal hole cards.

The same poker hands apply to Texas Hold’em, from pairs to straight flushes, as apply to all other poker games.  Become familiar with these rules by practicing your skills online.