Free Poker Guide to How to Specialize in Cash Poker Games Or Tournaments

You can't be good at everything. In the world of Poker from the entry levels of penny play free Poker or big stakes players become experts or specialists in their particular games. It is the same as in the "normal" world where in our professions and hobbies and business we aim to find our niche and focus our efforts on becoming as good as we can so that we get promoted and earn more money.

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. Of course, there are players that are great at both cash games and tournaments though they are few and far between.

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. You obviously need to try your hand at both, but here are a few suggestions that may help you to figure it out.

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 favorable 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.

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.

How Are Online Poker Tournaments Rigged?

Arguments, discussions, and much controversy have existed for several years on whether online Poker is rigged or not. Both sides claim the other side is wrong, and ultimately neither side has prevailed in presenting a credible enough or concrete proof that their theories are correct.

Is Online Poker Rigged?

However, there are simple ways to answer the question, are online poker tournaments rigged? That answer lies in the detectable patterns used by the poker sites, of which are known as poker algorithms. Several scandals broke in recent years where cheating and collusion was discovered by players that ultimately led the poker sites to add in special poker algorithms to prevent cheating and collusion by players.

Some of these algorithms will significantly alter the percentages, the winners, and the outcome of play in online poker. The reason is simple, internet poker is a computer-generated series of codes that is not truly random by any definition of the word. What that means is that by adding in code to the software, the poker sites are essentially changing the possible outcome and make the game less random and more predictable to a player that is AWARE of the patterns occurring in the program.

For example, have you ever noticed in the late stages of a tournament, a shortstack has not played a hand for maybe 20 or 30 hands, then all of a sudden he moves all in and gets called by one or more players. The shortstack will showdown a marginal hand while the callers will have a dominating hand and inevitably the shortstack doubles or triples up by winning with his marginal hand.

Secret Poker Algorithms

This is an obvious pattern often referred to as an equitable percentage algorithm used by the poker sites. The purpose of this algorithm is simply to ensure that a single player does not hold an unfair advantage over other players by constantly winning pots. Furthermore, it also prevents a player from dominating a table or tournament by limiting the number of wins a player may have.

In essence, if the poker site is using additional poker algorithms, regardless of their reasons, they effectively are promoting online poker tournaments that are rigged, because of their interference in the natural and statistical outcome of hands.

Several patterns and poker algorithms are used by the online poker sites to detect cheating and collusion as well as control other aspects of the game. It is important that if you wish to become successful in playing online poker and winning that you learn what these algorithms are and how you can simply defeat them. Otherwise, you will continue to fight a losing battle against a computer-generated program that is purposely designed to minimize your wins.

Playing Poker Freeroll Tournaments

Freeroll tournaments are probably the best way to increase your Poker skills without putting wagers. There is no entry fee to join an online freeroll tournament even though you have a chance of winning real money. The prizes at offer are usually lower than those in paid tournaments but even so, most online Casinos offer them with decent prizes and good value. You should do some research as to which of them offers the biggest prize pools before playing in one of them.

They offer much better game quality because players aren't just pushing all-in every hand. Players have the chance of actually winning something and are thus more likely to therefore think twice before making a move. Quite simply, play-money games can be referred to as just card games whereas freeroll tournaments offer real Poker. When people are playing play-money games, they push in chips with any holding of their choice. They are thus more interested in seeing the cards on the table and see if they can win something.

Freeroll tournaments are a great way to improve your playing skills as well. You are playing with people who are serious about winning and do not just push all-in every hand they have.

It allows you to play real Poker for free. Although you need to wait till a tournament starts, they offer real enjoyment, strategic game play from players and a chance to win big. The mere fact that you can win real money at freeroll makes it a very attractive option in comparison to play-money games. The game play is also much better than in play-money games.

Advanced Poker Strategy for Tournaments - How To Move Beyond Playing Only Your Cards

The beauty of Poker is that it is easy to learn but almost impossible to fully master. A player who has learned the basics of Poker strategy including starting hand selection, the various kinds of odds and table position looking at advanced poker strategy tips and information needs to cover many areas. This article suggests 5 advanced poker strategy areas that can improve any player's poker skills.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #1 - Game Theory

Game theory is actually a branch of mathematics which looks at situations where 2 or more people have conflicting interests. It can be applied to poker in many ways. The most common example is 'Optimal Bluffing Strategy' in which you aim to randomize your bluffs in a way that is 'unexploitable' by opponents. This advanced poker strategy involves making your bluff frequency exactly the same as the odds your opponent receives to call the final bet.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #2 - The Independent Chip Model (ICM)

ICM is a model which gives a tournament player's chip stack a dollar value based on prize pool distribution and the stacks of remaining players. It is then used to calculate your true risk - in terms of dollars not chips - when making a decision during play. This advanced poker strategy is commonly used in Sit and Go tournaments but can be equally useful in multi-table poker tournaments.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #3 - Heads-Up Poker Play

There are actually 2 advanced poker strategies designed for heads-up play. Both are used at the end of tournaments and rely on math to ensure that an opponent has no numerical way to exploit you. The first is known as the SAGE system and the second 'Nash-Equilibrium'. Becoming an expert in these systems will help you reach that number one spot - where the big payout is!

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #4 - Stack Size Flexibility and Inflection Points

Made famous by Dan Harrington the concept of 'M', zones and inflection points is a must for players learning advanced poker strategy for tournaments. You can calculate your 'M' score at any point during a tournament by dividing your chips by the blinds and antes. This score is then used to assign a 'zone' which dictates your strategy as you travel through inflection points (changes between zones).

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #5 - Rail-Birding The Online Pros

Watching the professional online tournament players at work is a great way to pick up advanced poker strategy tips. Effective rail-birding involves analyzing the hand as a whole rather than just the cards in play. Stack-sizes and reads are just two of the many things to watch out for.

Party Poker - Online Poker tournaments at Party Poker

Party Poker strategy should be developed so that one will learn who plays fair or who the sharper player is. By defining them, one can easily deal with them. Party Poker - carefully study each player's move so you will prevent loss in your cards. Playing party poker free online is very much different than playing plain Poker in a room. The strategies and odds change suddenly once one starts playing online Poker after playing the normal version of Poker. But the comfort levels are high and for a few even the chances of winning become higher. Party poker has the fundamental Poker rules, though it may be different in some rooms. Generally, Party poker starts with a batch of two players situated at the left of the "dealer button." Party poker dealer buttons refers to the round disc being passed on clockwise on each player. It signifies who will be dealer in the event that the deal was move forward from one player to another.

Play seven card stud and poker tournaments and enjoy the fun and excitement

The seven cards stud stands as S in "h.o.r.s.e", seven card stud is often used to be the most popular game years ago, then are derived from Texas Holdem , today you can find seven card stud in almost every Casino around the world, even you can find it on every Poker room online, even though the tables may not be full, yet it is found that a lot of players is still available in the big Poker rooms. It's common to play stud in limit style, and the players has to be in limit, when you play it in h.o.r.s.e .stud but on the other hand Texas Holdem are very much different game, all the stud games does not used community cards, unless when all the cards already been dealt, it is found that only the last card will be used as community card, but that too never happen.