Online Poker Basics

One of the greatest innovations of mankind is Poker, as it is probably the most popular type of card game ever invented. It is played by betting on the value of a card combination in your possession, which is called a "hand," and placing that bet in a central pot. The winner usually is the one who has the highest hand or whoever makes the other players fold, either by bluff or by an aggressive transparency.

But of course, you already know that, being the wily and cunning Poker player that you are.

However, there is much to say about online poker gaming and how it is strikingly identical and at the same time different from a real poker game. Below are some information about online poker that should serve as a guide for beginners:

First, online poker is played the same way as, for the lack of a better term, offline poker. The rules are pretty much the same, save some regulations imposed by individual poker site owners, which are not very often. Most of the time, the rules on Texas Holdem, Stud, or Draw poker are essentially the same online.

Second, since it is online, it transcends national boundaries and you can play against anyone who has an Internet connection anywhere in the world. Online poker also has the attributes of a normal chat room, were people can interact the way they do on most chat sites. While you can play against some of the worlds best poker players, the downside is that you are also exposed to playing with the worst. Don't you just hate it when you see amateurs hitting in the flop?

Third, you can play for real money or just play money. Most poker sites have their own system of how players can play for real money. Some use credit cards, money orders, bank transfers and the like. If you are going to play for real money, just make sure you play in a credible poker site. Joining one can sometimes be complicated. So be sure to visit the FAQs section of the site and read their terms and conditions carefully. But if you don't plan on playing for real money, then you can still enjoy online poker.

Fourth, one of the main differences of online and offline poker is that you cannot see your opponents in the game. You cannot see their "tells," which means you cannot estimate if a player is bluffing or if he really has a good hand. You cannot see your opponent flinch at your bet, or at the flop. However, you can still observe their betting patterns, and that is where you unleash your poker skills.

Now that you have learned some of the basics of online poker, then you are good to go. The key to online poker is the same as it is in offline games: you should not overdo it. Take everything in moderation and be sure to choose the right poker site to trust your money with. Who knows, the next time you go all in online, you might just win the big pot.

Poker Calculator Basics - Understanding VPIP

The VPIP measurement is a commonly used indicator in all Poker calculators. The reason for its inherent importance in online calculating tools is that it clearly shows one of the main attributes of a Poker player - and that is his willingness to get involved in pots.

Your opponent's willingness to get involved in the play is translated as "Voluntarily Putting money In to the Pot" or VPIP as most online player's know it. VPIP is an extension of the classical profiling scale of Poker player's identities where passive aggressiveness and the tight loose scale interact to label your opponent. It's the quickest way to determine your opponent's style of play and when combined with other indicators the VPIP will generally be an accurate guideline for game planning against a particular opponent.

Whenever a player goes into a pot either by calling or raising that adds to his VPIP and is expressed as a percentage of the total hands he has seen. So let's say that after the 20th hand you have raised once, called a raise twice and filled the small blind once. That means you have voluntarily entered the pot by taking chips from your stack and putting them into the pot four times. That means you have a VPIP percentage of (4/20) 20%. That amount is well within a normal playing range of straight up poker, but really 20 hands is a short range to measure.

A poker calculator like Tournament Indicator will keep tabs on yours and your opponent's collective statistics for up to two years covering thousands and thousands of hands. Once you have some data on your opponent though, you will need to know what the VPIP percentage actually indicates as to the player's strategy.

A VPIP percentage between 24% and 30% is generally thought to be straight up, position and hand card strength. You can normally expect a competitor in this range to be either be playing hole cards with inherent strength, position blind steals and position potential hands like connectors.

If your opponent has a VPIP higher than 30% you can assume all the hands above but added to that are connectors, suited cards, any ace, any two big cards and any pair from any position. If you see someone playing even more like 40% VPIP, well it's hard to classify junk but that's what they may be holding.

A VPIP percentage lower than 24% is usually on the tighter side of things and will not be raising to steal blinds, will not be calling with connectors that have good odds to do so, and will only be in a pot ahead of you if he has raised.

For practice, next time watch around your table and measure the VPIP of all players, including yourself. There is really no right or wrong percentage as game conditions may demand a certain strategy, however it's hard to win long term with a high VPIP.