Pre-flop

Playing your JJ pre-flop isn’t that difficult because what you have to do is generally clear. The problems typically occurs post flop. The first thing that will influence how you play your middle pair is your table position. When you’re in early positions, you want to raise at least 3 times the big blinds. This accomplishes a few things. The first thing you’ll say happening when an early position player raises is that many opponents will fold their hand, and this is exactly what you want. It’s easier to win against fewer opponents.

When you’re in middle position, how to play your hand can be trickier but it usually involves a raise. If no one raised before you and most folded, then betting 3 times the big blind or more is a good play. If someone raised and everyone else folded, you can call. If someone raised, and other players called the raise, you have a difficult decision to make. If you call, then it’s likely that a big pot will grow and since there’s a bunch of players acting after you. It is not uncommon to see someone going all in under those conditions. If that happens, then what do you do? Risk it all, or give up the hand? It’s not a great position to be in with middle pair. A risky but often effective play is to be the one to raise the bar. Reraise instead of calling and make it expensive IF you can afford too. Don’t loose your shirt over it. Even experienced players will fold good starting hands after seeing a raise followed by a reraise because it usually indicates someone has a high pair.

When you have options but are unsure what to do, always consider the table image and chip stacks of the opponents that will go after you. Are you facing tight players that will likely fold or call a raise/re-raise or are you facing a reckless aggressive player with a large chip stack? Sometimes, when you have no clue what to do, or when the price of playing poker is just too high for the risks, you can always play it safe and fold your hand. There will be more.

In late position, it’s easier to play because everyone else acted before you. The safe play is to close the bet when you’re in a position to do so. That means you are the last player to act and you call, making sure no one else can raise after you. You’ll get to see the flop and then play another betting round. Another option is to raise, but because you are in late position opponents might think you’re making a move and aggressive players could be tempted to put you all in. The safe play is to call. You will rarely fold in this position because the by the time your turn comes up, the pot is usually interesting. You should consider folding in cases when you see a raise and a reraise before you for reasons I indicated earlier.

Post-flop

After the flop, you either hit or missed. Depending on that result, your goal is to thin the competition, or to set a trap, or to minimize your losses. The first thing you want to consider is the flop. Are your JJ top pair? In other word, are the flop cards 10 or less? If so, you might consider trapping (and assume all the risks that go with this play). But only trap when you’re facing one or two opponents. Any thing more is too much of a risk and you need to bet a significant amount, perhaps half the pot, to encourage players to fold.

If you missed the flop and high cards than your middle pair come up, then you have to analyze the last betting round to get a sense of what your opponents may hold. For instance, let’s say there’s an A and a K on the flop, and you are facing three opponents. How did they play last time? Did all three initially called a minimum bet, then you raised, then they reluctantly called your raise? That could indicate that they don’t have a high card. Maybe they have a small pair, or suited connectors for instance. But if player one raised, then the other two immediately call and you called as well, that is a sign that someone probably has a high card. Consider the number of opponents and how they played the last betting round. When you figure they likely hit the flop, don’t spend more money on it. Check it, or fold it if you have to call a bet. When you have no clue where you stand, a feeler bet can provide information but you might also be throwing money away. It’s really a decision of “can you afford to gamble”, meaning do you have the chips to spare.

Let’s say you did hit the flop and made three of a kind, that’s a great position to be in, but consider the flop. Is there a straight or flush potential? If so, you’d better try to take down the pot right away with a large bet. If not, you can act weak and trap. Let someone else make a bet, and depending on how many players are left, call or reraise. Don’t be afraid to go all in at this point, but be careful about letting opponents catch cheap cards. Again, the table image of your opponent should guide your actions. Let aggressive players bet into you.

On subsequent betting rounds, the same concepts apply. If there’s still a 3 or 4 players involved in the hand by the third betting round because they all called a bet, then you know they either hit something or had the right pot odds to chase a card. Take the time to consider what potential hands these players may have, or may be looking to get, and put them under pressure with a large bet when you conclude you have them beat.

Action 24/7

The number one reason why online poker is better live poker is because there’s always a game to be found. Sure, some times of day are busier than others- such as evenings and weekends. But it doesn’t matter what time of day, there’s people playing poker online 24/7. Possibly the most annoying aspect of live poker is waiting around for a game to start. Of course this is assuming they even have enough people wanting to play poker. While with online poker, you might not be able to always jump straight into the game of your choice, there’s never much waiting around.

Comfort of Home

Not only are there an abundance of poker games waiting for you, you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your own home. There are no travel costs, no worries about how you’re going to get home, or getting stuck in traffic. There’s no need to bother getting dressed up either. Heck, you can even play poker naked if you like. Doing this at a live poker game would get you locked up. Let’s not forget, you also save money on food and drink, as the fridge is never far away when you’re playing online poker.

Online Poker is Cheaper

Online poker doesn’t just save you money on travel, food and drink. The poker itself is also much cheaper, which is particularly beneficial if you’re just starting out learning how to play poker, and don’t want to spend too much. If you go to a casino or card room you might find many cash games below $1/$2. The rake at live poker venues is also much higher than at online poker sites. Plus if you win a hand playing poker online there’s no obligation to tip the dealer – you can’t anyway!

Play More Poker Hands

The most noticeable difference between online poker and live poker is the hands per hour ratio. When you play poker online there’s no waiting around for the dealer to shuffle the cards, potential miss-deals, working out the pot, and the players are generally much quicker to act – to name just a few things. You get to see so many more hands per hour playing online poker, which means more opportunities, more decisions, and less boredom.

Multi-Tabling

Many online poker players like to play on multiple tables at the same time. Just playing one table at a time means you get to see more hands per hour than in live poker, but if you’re playing on multiple tables then obviously this becomes an even bigger factor. Playing multiple tables also reduces the variance, and you can play at much lower limits – thereby spreading the risk. If you are playing poker in a live venue, let’s say a $1/$2 NL game, you’d probably want to sit down with about $200 – which is at risk on any given hand. You could spread this same $200 across multiple tables, at lower stakes, when you play online.

Tracking Your Game

It’s always nice to know if you’re winning, losing, or breaking even at poker. Sure, you can keep notes on how much you’re spending when you play live poker. I used to keep a spreadsheet to track my income and expenses from live poker games. But sometimes it’s easy to forget how much was spent, particularly with re-buy events. Of course, this is just basic tracking. When you play poker online you can get instant hand histories, and access to a huge wealth of data. It goes far beyond just saying if you’re a profitable player or not. You can find leaks in your game and plug the holes. By analysing your play you can improve your skills as a poker player.

Bonuses and Promotions

Online poker is a fiercely competitive industry, and with so many poker sites looking to attract customers, there are a multitude of bonuses and promotions on offer. Casinos like to offer promotions to their patrons, but when it comes to poker they care much less. Poker rooms don’t make much money for casinos, so they don’t really bother trying too hard. However online poker sites are only too eager to offer bonuses and promotions, be it 100% signup bonuses for new poker players, or re-load bonuses for existing players. They really want you to play poker at their site, which is something you can and should take advantage of.

Conclusion

I think the advantages of online poker that have been outlined so far, are fairly comprehensive. Of course playing poker in a live environment has its advantages too – such as the social interaction, and being able to see players’ reactions. The purpose of this article is not to knock live poker, but to give valid reasons for why online poker is superior in so many ways. It’s fair to say this has been achieved. Good luck at the tables!

Sky Poker Celebrates First Birthday; Announces Boot Camp Classes and Line Up

Sky Poker is celebrating its first birthday.

One year ago Sky Poker simultaneously launched On Air on Sky Channel 846 and Online at www.skypoker.com <http://www.skypoker.com/> . One year on Sky Poker’s mix of entertainment and education has made it one of the top destinations for experienced poker players and newcomers alike.

Over the past 12 months Sky Poker has introduced new tournaments, new programming and huge prize funds. It also won industry accolades such as Gambling Online Magazine’s Gold Award for the ‘Top Innovation in Online Gaming’ and bronze award for ‘Best Poker Tournaments’.

Sky Poker is taking its tradition of education to new levels with its first Boot Camp, which takes place in Bristol on the weekend of the 8th and 9th of March.

Sky Poker can now reveal the topics that will be covered at the Boot Camp, which is strictly limited to 60 players only to ensure everyone receives plenty of personal attention from the Sky Poker personalities instructing the course.

Saturday will feature an introduction to Boot Camp from Sky Poker presenters Matt Broughton and Nick Wealthall. Matt will also cover table position and live play etiquette with Nick covering hand reading and cash games. Sky Poker’s Kara Scott will also will be on hand to help students throughout the course and also lead a session on tells.

Sunday will see Nick discuss short handed and heads up play as well as a session on table presence and another about online play. Matt will be joined by Tony ‘Tikay’
Kendall in a session on bankroll management, followed by tales of being a poker pro from Tikay himself.

Other familiar faces from Sky Poker are also planning to attend the Boot Camp ensuring a very high concentration of experienced poker players, all in one place for the students to benefit from.

More details of the syllabus are available at www.skypoker.com <http://www.skypoker.com/> , where players can also play satellites to qualify for the Boot Camp. Alternatively players can pay £250 directly to attend the Boot Camp – a fee which includes accommodation, meals, refreshments and entry into the Saturday evening tournament.

As always, check our Sky Poker Promotions page for the latest deals.

Sign Up At Cake Poker

Prizes are awarded on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis including a top prize of €3000 for the best performer of 2008. Best weekly participants will be awarded from €250 (1st) to €10 (16th – 20th) with top monthly winners receiving anywhere from €1500 (1st) to €20 (41st – 50th). Additional bonus prizes include a WSOP Main Event Package for any player in the top 3 every month of the year, an EPT Package for any player in the top 5, or a GUKPT Package for a player who ranks in the top 10 every month in 2008.

This is a new promotion so there is still lots of room for those who have not signed up yet to jump on board and start ranking in the top positions. If you are interested in joining the league we offer a €100 bonus for new players at Virgin Poker. Click Here To Visit Virgin Poker

Up To £.25 / £.50 – 10 Points Per 20 Raked Hands
£.50 / £1 – £2/£4 – 20 Points Per 20 Raked Hands
£2.50/£5 and Above – 30 Points Per 20 Raked Hands

For tournaments, players are awarded 10 poker points for every £1 in entry fees.

If you would like to sign up at Sky Poker and receive your bonus check out our Sky Poker Promotional Code page or our Sky Poker Review. Alternatively, you can Click Here to be taken directly to the Sky Poker site.

Stay tuned for more great promotions and bonus offers from Sky Poker.

William Hill Poker has announced the launch of an insta-play poker client for their poker room which allows players to access the website remotely from any computer and play without having to download the traditional poker software.

This is a great step for William Hill in providing their poker players with an easy and accessible way to play poker on the site without the hassle of download the online poker software. All you have to do to use the no download version is go to the William Hill Poker website and press play instantly to be connected.

The William Hill Poker room also offers players a great $500 monthly loyalty bonus in addition to their other fantastic promotions. Check out William Hill Poker Here.