Poker Tips

1) Poker Cheats, Tips, Strategy

2) Bluffing, Trapping, & Fishing

3) Interactive Poker Scenario Quiz

4) Mind Tricks!

5) How to get paid by the poker sites without even playing a hand!

6) Probabilities

7) Tips for Serious Players

8) Making More Money through Multi-tabling

Poker Cheats, Tips, Strategy

Do NOT Play Poker Online until you learn these poker tips:
- How to cheat by knowing others' cards
- How t spot cheaters and avoid cheating tables
- How to make a profit from deposit bonuses
- How to win consistently by following the 80/20 rule

- How to cheat by knowing others' cards
It is not possible to know everyone's cards, BUT if you have a friend
at the table,
you can easily share what cards you have by IM or telephone. This
information
gives you an edge against other players. You can also collude with each
other in
order to bet and raise people out of pots, even if you don't have good
cards. For
example, if you are sitting 2 seats before the button and your friend
is sitting on
the button and no one has called in front of you, you can raise 2 bets
and your friend
can 3 bet before the flop. 90% of the time, no one will call and you
will steal the
blinds. If you are sitting across the table from each other, you can
help trap others
in the hand when either player hits a strong hand. For example, say you
flop the nuts.
You are in early position and you bet. If there are callers behind you,
your friend can
raise the pot for you after they call. You can either smooth call or
re-raise to increase
the pot. In order to trap players, you need to have other players
between you. I don't
condone cheating in poker and if you get caught, you will forfeit all
of your money in
your account. The only reason I teach you these poker tips is to bring up my next
point.

- How to spot cheaters and avoid cheating tables (The gretest poker tips)
With over 50,000 players at the larger poker sites, there are bound to
be friends that
are cheating and it is almost impossible for the poker sites to police.
So you have to
be a smart player and look out for yourself. Fortunately, all cheaters
are out to make
an easy buck so it's not too difficult to spot them. As you learned
above, if you ever
notice 2 players that play hands often together, you should take notice
and report them
to the casino. High stakes limit (10/20 and up) and high stakes no
limit ($400 and up)
are much more likely to have cheaters, so if you play these stakes,
then you should be
extra careful. Learn these poker tips. I would especially avoid high stakes no limit tables
online.

- How to make easy money from deposit bonuses (More than poker tips)
Poker sites usually offer deposit bonuses of 20-25% about once per
month. This means
if you deposit $100, you get an extra $20-$25 for free as long as you
see the required
number of hands. The number of required hands is usually 6-7 times the
deposit bonus
amount. For example, to earn a deposit bonus of $20, you must see
between 120-140
hands. The poker tips is: the EASIEST way to make money is to deposit the maximum amount
for the maximum
deposit bonus AND play the 1/ 2 limit tables very tight. For example,
if the
maximum deposit bonus of 20% is $100, then you should deposit $500.
Then you have
to see 700 hands at the 1/ 2 limit tables in order to earn the $100
bonus. As
long as you play very tight, you can come out even on the tables and
still make $100!
Many different poker sites offer this monthly deposit bonus, which
means you can do
it every month for every site and make more than $500 per month without
much risk.
Pacific Poker is the ONLY site that offers an instant bonus of 25% up
to $100 for new
players. This means that as soon as you deposit $400 in a new player
account, you get
$100 added to your account without playing a single hand!

- How to win consistently by following the 80/20 rule
In the game of online poker, 20% of the players win 80% of the profits
in the long term.
The foundation of poker is the starting hand. In order to win
consistently in a ring game
(full table), you should see about 20% of the flops (+/- 2%). If you
force yourself to
see 20% of the flops, you will find yourself playing very tight with
premium starting hands.
Below is a quick chart to help you rank starting hands.

Group 0: AA KK (Always raise pre-flop)
Group 1: QQ JJ AKs (Always raise pre-flop)
Group 2: TT AK AQs AJs KQs (Always 2 bet/call)
Group 3: AQ 99 ATs KJs QJs KTs (Late position, Use judgment)
Group 4: 88 AJ KQ QTs A9s JTs AT A8s (Late position, Use judgment)
Group 5: KJ 77 QJ KT QT JT A7s K9s Q9s T9s J9s (Late position, Use
judgment)
Group 6: 66 55 44 33 22 A5s A6s A4s A3s A2s (Late position, Use
judgment)
Group 7: A9 K9 98s 87s 76s Kxs(?) T8s(?) 97s(?) 86s(?) 54s(?)

Do you want to play now? Hurry and take advantage of these current
deposit bonuses.
Even if you already play elsewhere, you can sign up at any of these
trusted poker sites
just to earn the current deposit bonuses (Good until Oct. 2, 2005).

Bluffing, Trapping, & Fishing

- Bluffing Strategy: Stealing Pots & Winning Big with Nothing
- Trapping: Creating More Action & More $$$ For Yourself
- Learning to Fish

- Bluffing Strategy: Stealing Pots & Winning Big with Nothing
Bluffing is a necessary component in taking your poker game to the
next level and making some serious $$$. If you sit around and wait
to catch prime starting hands, you'll find yourself getting
impatient and possibly on tilt. Being able to recognize a weak
opponent(s) and pouncing in an effort to steal the pot can keep you
earning even when you're not catching cards.

Bluffing is all about position relative to the button. When you're
last to act, you have the luxury of making your play based on that
of everyone else at the table. If you sense weakness at the table,
you can take a stab at winning the pot regardless of whether or not
you're holding any type of hand whatsoever. (Be careful not to fall
into an opponent's trap)

A semi-bluff is a safer play than the full bluff in that it affords
a bit of flexibility in the case that your bluff is called. An
example of this would be making a huge play on a flush draw whilst
holding the appropriate Ace. Knowing that nobody has the nut flush
might allow you to make a play suggesting that you in fact have it,
perhaps forcing out a smaller flush that has already been made and
beats your Ace high.

- Trapping: Creating More Action & More $$$ For Yourself
Trapping is an important technique that can be used by a smart
player to greatly increase the size of his/her winning pots. If you
are far ahead in a hand, exercise patience so as to keep your
opponent playing. A strong bet could force players out of a pot you
are sure to win, preventing you from fully capitalizing on major
hands.

Feign weakness, check-raise, make it difficult for your opponent to
get away from a pot. The truth of the matter is that you want to
get called sometimes, so you have to bet accordingly.

Trapping is a great way to generate a lot of action where there
wouldn't necessarily have been any before. Trapping can be a
slippery slope however. By attempting to trap your opponent by
feigning weakness, you might actually allow him/her to catch a
miracle card that ends up beating you.

- Learning to Fish
A fish is a bad poker player who tends to lose a lot of money. Good
players are excited to find a fish at their table, and always sorry
to see one go. Online poker rooms (such as Party Poker) offer
players a buddy list / chat service through which to chat with
fellow players. If you find a fish at one of your tables, you can
add their username to your buddy list, and then be able to get an
alert any time they log on and sit down. Although you can't get a
listing of their table, they will more than likely be playing the
same limits and you can simply perform a manual table search.

Using this method allows you to take advantage of online players
whom you feel you have an edge over.

Interactive Poker Scenario Quiz

You've learned a lot through BluffandWin.com up to this point and now its
time to put that knowledge to the test. The following quiz is based on
information that has been presented throughout PokerLetter. Lets see how
much you've learned...(answers are at the bottom)

1)You're on the button with 10d - 10h. The pot is raised 3x the big
blind in front of you. You are short stacked with 10x the big blind in
chips. You should...

A. Muck your cards
B. Call the raise
C. Double the raise
D. Push all - in

2)You're heads-up in a tournament. You have 4x as many chips as your
opponent in the big blind. Your opponent limps in and you look down at Ad
- Ah. You should...

A. Check your option
B. Make a large raise
C. Make a callable raise

3)In a 7-player game, everyone folds to you in the small blind. You
look down at Js - 10s & raise 3x the big blind. The big blind calls
quickly & the flop comes 9h - 8s - As. You bet 9x the big blind and your
opponent comes over-the-top, all-in. The call would require an additional
12x the big blind in chips on your part. True or False... the call is
the smart play.

4)You hold As - 7h in the big blind. The pot is raised and then
re-raised to 12x the big blind before reaching you. You are the shorts tack
with 20x the big blind in chips. You should...

A. Muck your cards
B. Call the raise
C. Re-raise all-in

5)You hold 10h - 8h in the big blind. Both the dealer & the small blind
call & you check. The flop comes 10d - Ah - 7h. The dealer immediately
pushes all-in for 15x the big blind & the small blind folds. You have
40x the big blind in chips. True or false... the call is the smart play.

6)You are in early position in a tournament with 8 players remaining.
It is folded to you and you look down to see 6h - 6s. You are the short
stack with 12x the big blind. You should...

A. Call the big blind
B. Muck your cards
C. Raise
D. Push All-in

7)You are on the button and look down at Kh -Kd. Three players ahead of
you limp-in and you raise to 3x the big blind. Two players call and the
flop comes 10s - 4h - Ah. The first player bets 6x the big blind and
the second player calls. You should...

A. Call the bet
B. Muck your cards
C. Re-raise
D. Push all-in

8)You are on the button with Qh - Qs. Two players ahead of you limp-in
and you raise to 6x the big blind. The big blind calls your raise and
everyone else folds. The flop comes Qd - 10d - 5d and your opponent
checks. You should...

A. Push all-in
B. Make a substantial raise
C. Check
D. Make a small raise

9)You are the chip leader in a tournament with 4 players remaining.
Looking down at Ah - Jh, you raise to 6x the big blind. Everyone folds
except for the big blind who re-raises all-in for an additional 10x the
big blind. You therefore have to call 10x the big blind to win 22x the
big blind. True or false... the call is the smart play.

10)You are playing heads-up against the chip leader at the final table
of a tournament. Your opponent raised from the button and you called
with 9d - 10d. The flop comes 7s - 8d - Jh. You should...

A. Check to your opponent
B. Push all - in
C. Make a small raise

11)Following the previously mentioned scenario from question 10, you
check and your opponent bets the pot. (Roughly 1/15 of your chip stack)
You should...

A. Muck your cards
B. Call the raise
C. Make a small raise
D. Push all-in

12)Rank the following starting hands from best to worst: Kh - Ks, Ah -
Kh, As - Ad, Qh - Jh, Jd - Jh, As - Kd, Ah - Qh, 5s - 6s, 8h - 8d.

13)In poker, the term "on-tilt" refers to which of the following...

A. Being on a hot streak
B. Being on a lucky streak
C. Playing like an intelligent player
D. Playing frustrated and carelessly


Answers
1) D. Not only are you short stacked, but you're facing a raise. Your
re-raise is large enough to force all mediocre hands out. More often
than not you will go head to head with the initial raiser.

2) C. Pocket Aces is a monster hand at any time, never mind heads up.
The goal here is to keep your opponent involved whilst making it easier
for you to get a read on his two cards. You don't want to force him
out, but then again, you don't want him to see a flop for free.

3) True. You are 4-to-the-flush and have an inside-out straight draw.
In all, you have 15 outs. You will therefore make your hand 1 out of 3
times. The pot total is 36x the big blind and you need to call 12x the
big blind. The money and odds are right for you to make the call.

4) A. Facing a raise and re-raise, your As - 6h is probably no good.
With 20x times the big blind in chips remaining, you have time to choose
a better place to get all your money in, even though you're the big
blind. Don't overestimate your Ace.

5) False. You have middle pair and you're 4-to-the-flush, giving you
about 14 outs. There is 18x the big blind in the pot and you would have
to call 15x the big blind to play. The pot odds prevent the call from
being a smart play. (Although this is not the smart play, many players
with 40x the big blind in chips might want to gamble in this position.
Keep in mind that it certainly is a gamble. You stand to win about 31% of
the time.)

6) D. There are 8 players remaining in the tournament and you are the
short stack with a meager 9x the big blind in chips left. Professionals
state that in order to win tournaments, you have to get lucky. At the
very least, you might be able to steal the blinds. The worst case
scenario is that you will get multiple callers. The fact is that even though
you're not yet invested in the hand, you have to get your money in at a
time when the other players at the table still have to ponder the call.
If you allow yourself to get down to 3, 4 or 5x the big blind, it
becomes an automatic call for some players. This is the right time to
gamble.

7) B. As difficult as it might be to fold your pocket Kings, sometimes
it's simply the right thing to do. The chances are that at least one of
your opponents has an Ace, and it's not outside the realm of
possibility that one of them is sitting on a hand like A-10. It's important to
recognize when you're beat.

8) B. With 2 cards to come and no diamond in hand, that flop is scary
for trips. The worst thing you could do is push all-in and fall into a
made-hand's trap. Any flush beats you, so it's important to try and get
some information from your opponent at this point whilst still
demonstrating that you have a hand. By making a substantial raise, you make it
difficult for your opponent to call on a small diamond draw. If your
opponent calls, you have to hope that no more diamonds come on the turn
or the river, but you always have the chance of pairing the board and
having the nuts.

9) True. This is an easy call for the chip leader. The chip leader has
the luxury in trying to take out opponents late in tournament play.
Your Ah - Jh is only in really bad shape if your opponent has A - A, A - K
or A - Q. The chances are it will be a coin-flip scenario that is well
worth the 10x the big blind asking price.

10) A. This is the perfect opportunity to try and trap your opponent.
You have the nuts here with the J high straight. Perhaps your opponent
didn't get a piece, or got a small piece of the flop. Give him the
chance to try and catch up or bluff at the pot. If you play this type of
hand right, you can still get all your money in, but as a call instead of
a bet, ensuring that your opponent also gets his/her money in.

11) B. Although you could probably squeeze a little more money out of
your opponent with a small raise here, you are so far ahead of pretty
much any hand your opponent might have that you can afford to simply call
and feign weakness. This might allow you to win more money if you check
the turn and again let your opponent fire at the pot.

12) As - Ad, Kh - Ks, Ah - Kh, Ah - Qh, Jd - Jh, As - Kd, Qh - Jh, 8h -
8d, 5s - 6s.

13) D. If you find yourself on tilt as we all do from time to time,
take a break and let the frustration pass. Play the game one hand at a
time because you can't change the past, you can only learn from it.

Mind Tricks!

- The Art of the Mind Game
- Tilt: The costly effect of a lack of focus
- Short stack psychology
- The Art of the Mind Game

The ability to be an intimidating force at a table can help you
bluff big pots by having the respect of your opponents.

A good way to get inside the head of your opponent is to show a big
bluff. If you manage to bluff a big pot and take it down after your
opponent has struggled with his decision, showing your bluff could
have a lasting effect on your opponents' ability to play. Getting
your opponents second guessing themselves is an invaluable aid when
playing poker.

Some players like being able to talk to their opponents in an
effort to rattle them. This is almost impossible online where it is
quite easy to ignore your opponents' comments.

- Tilt: The costly effect of a lack of focus
Everyone has bad beats. What separates a strong player from the
rest of the pack, however, is an ability to remain focused on the
moment and not thinking about a bad beat or a mistake. Losing focus
can be very hazardous to your bankroll.

Steaming, on tilt, unglued, opened up, etc. All refer to a player
whose poker play has been negatively affected by a lack of control
of one's emotions. Poker players have a keen sense about when
someone is on tilt, and look to take full advantage of it.

Even the best players are susceptible to becoming unglued. What do
you do when it inevitably happens to you? TAKE A BREAK! If you lose
your focus over a bad beat, get up, walk around, and take a few
deep breaths. Let the action roll around a couple of times. The
worst thing that will happen is that you lose a blind or two. If
you continue to play whilst on tilt, you could find yourself going
bust very quickly.

- Short stack psychology
Just because you're the short stack, it doesn't mean that you have
to be intimidated by other players. The key to playing on the short
stack is having the patience to wait and pick your spot, and having
the timing to choose your spot.

It is important that you don't rush to get your money in just
because you're the short stack. Calculate how many times you can
post the big blind before going bust. If you have less than 4 times
the big blind, you should consider getting your money in the next
time you are the big blind. There's nothing worse than blinding
yourself broke. Pick a calculated spot and gamble.

How to get paid by the poker sites without even playing a hand!

In poker jargon, it's called getting "rake back". In every hand you
play, the house takes about 10% of each pot. However, if you sign
up for a "rake back" program, then you get part of the rake the
house takes for every single hand you see. Think of it like a
credit card with cash back or a comp from the casino. Most "rake
back" programs give you back 20-25%. For example, if you play 5/10
limit holdem, you would get about $.05 for every hand that you see
(not play). So if you see 1000 hands in a week, you would get $50
back!

We offer rake back of 25%, but in order to qualify, you need to
open a special rake back account at Empire Poker and see at least
1000 hands. (Party Poker does NOT allow rake back) We manage 100s
of rake back accounts and our highest rake back player earns over
$5000 per month just from rake. How? He sees 40,000 hands of 15/30
per month playing full-time with 4 tables. If you play regularly,
why leave money on the table? Start earning your rake back today!

Probabilities

Spend 5 minutes gaining poker knowledge can give you that edge.

Poker math doesn't always require computation on the spot. There
are a number of scenarios and draws where your probabilities are
the same regardless of the cards you're holding. This is because of
the number of outs that you have. If you become aware of these
patterns and memorize your percentages, it can allow you to spend
your time focusing on other matters such as your opponents' betting
habits and demeanor and greatly increase your ability to maximize
your poker winnings.

Knowing your probabilities is an important tool because it can not
only help you to make a smart call based on the percentages, but it
can also help you get away from hands you would otherwise have
difficulty giving up.

Here are some probabilities that you will find extremely useful
when playing:

Pre-Flop Probabilities - Chances of Being Dealt...

2-Aces 220 - 1
2-Kings through 2-Jacks 72.7 - 1
2-Tens through 2-Sixes 43.2 - 1
2-Fives through 2-Deuces 54.3 - 1
Ace-King suited 331 - 1
Ace-King offsuit 110 - 1
Ace-Queen or Ace-Jack suited 165 - 1
Ace-Queen to Ace-Jack offsuit 54.3 - 1
King-Queen suited 331 to 1
King-Queen offsuit 110 to 1
Ace with less than Jack, suited 35.8 to 1
Ace with less than Jack, offsuit 11.3 to 1
ANY Pair 16 to 1
ANY two cards suited 3.25 to 1
ANY two suited connectors 46.4 to 1
ANY two connectors 14.8 to 1
ANY hand with a Pair or an Ace 3.91 to 1

Your Chances of Flopping...
(Assume you have Ad - Kd in the hole)

A - A - K / K - K - A 1,088 - 1
2 diamonds & A or K 58.4 - 1
2 diamonds 8.1 - 1
10 - J - Q 310 - 1
10d - Jd - Qd 19,599 - 1
3 of another suit 21.8 - 1
Anything with an A or K 2.08 - 1

(Assume you have Ks - Kc in the hole)

K - K & any other card 407 - 1
K - A - A 1,632 - 1
A - A - A 4,899 - 1
K & smaller pair 147 - 1
3 clubs or 3 spades 43.5 - 1
3 diamonds or 3 hearts 33.3 - 1
Anything with 1 K 7.51 - 1

Slim To None - Long Shot Chances...

Flopping:
A Flush 118 - 1
Quads off Pocket Pairs 407 - 1
A Straight off 6-5 Offsuit 75.6 - 1
A Straight off 7-5 Offsuit 101 - 1
A Straight off 8-5 Offsuit 152 - 1
A Straight off 9-5 Offsuit 305 - 1
A Straight-Flush off 9-8 Suited 4,899 - 1
A Straight-Flush off 9-7 Suited 6,532 - 1
A Straight-Flush off 9-6 Suited 9,799 - 1
A Straight-Flush off 9-5 Suited 19,599 - 1

Miscellaneous Probabilities:

Dealt a Pocket Pair 16 - 1
Dealt Suited Cards 3.25 - 1
Dealt Pocket Aces 110 - 1
Dealt Pocket Kings 110 - 1
Dealt Ace - King 81.9 - 1
Dealt 1 Ace 5.7 - 1

Tips for Serious Players

- Making Easy Money using Poker Notes
- Stealing Knowledge From Players; Hand Histories
- The Serious Advantage of Big Buy-Ins

- Making Easy Money using Poker Notes
Not only are your online poker opponents anonymous, but you also
tend to get more players coming and going at a quicker rate at
online poker tables.

Player note sections are offered for free by many services such as
Party Poker. You can jot down important information regarding
opponents' playing styles, things like: Smart or stupid player,
patient or quick to act, consistent betting patterns, tight or
loose player, type of hands opponents play pre-flop or push all-in
on, etc.

Not only does this practice keep you more attentive, it can also be
of invaluable use when you're in the position of making a tough
call or looking to make a move saving or making you big bucks.

- Stealing Knowledge from Players; Hand Histories
The ability to see an opponents hand is the ultimate source of
information, especially when coupled with your notes. The trouble
is you only see these cards when a hand goes through to the river.
What about all those cards that were mucked after the bettor failed
to get a caller? Was it a bluff or did they have it?

Party Poker has a feature allowing you to receive hand histories.
All you have to do is click on the hand number and request an email
be sent to you. You can receive it within minutes giving you an
edge that nobody else at the table gets. This can help you put a
read on every player at the table, allowing you to take down
MONSTER POTS.

- The Serious Advantage of Big Buy-Ins
Most poker resources suggest that you sit down at a given table
with at least 20x the big blind (bb).

Example: $3/$6 no limit table. BB is $3, so you should sit with a
bare minimum of 20 x $3, or $60.

We'd suggest sitting down with anywhere from 50x - 100x the bb for
a couple of reasons. Sitting down with a 100x the bb ($300 in our
above example) will generally make you 1 of the big stacks at the
table. People won't be as quick to mess around with someone
demonstrating a willingness to gamble. More important than the
intimidation factor is the "nuts" factor.

Imagine picking up the "nuts" and only having enough money left to
double the bb. This happens all the time and is incredibly
frustrating. Don't let it happen to you. When you have the "nuts,"
you want to be involved with the betting from start to finish. This
way you can maximize your winnings.

If you are serious about making money playing poker, you should have
at least one account at every major poker site so you can follow the
action, have multiple screen names, and earn multiple bonuses.

Making More Money through Multi-tabling

- Learning to Multi-Table
- More Hands = Stronger Hands = More $
- Speeding Up The Learning Process

- Learning to Multi-Table
The first thing you need to do before being able to multi-table is
proper setup. This means setting your resolution to 1920x1200 or
the highest setting, however, some sites offer a minimized view
instead of the full table view. Alternatively, you can use 2
monitors with a dual capable video card. Also make sure that you
are playing with a 4 color deck (to quickly notice flush
possibilities) and with the sound on to hear if it is your turn.

If you are playing up to 2 tables simultaneously, you can still
play both the players and the cards. Try starting with 2 low-limit
tables to get a feel of the speed of play and the level of
attention you need to give each table.

Although you can remember player types with 2 tables, once you
start to play 3 or more tables simultaneously, you will find it
more difficult to track the players, and will be forced into solely
playing the cards and position. The more tables you play
simultaneously, the tighter you should play, since you can see
about 50 hands per hour per table. Once you feel comfortable, you
can multi-table at higher limits.

1 final point to note is for those players who have rake back
accounts. Maximize your rake back earnings by multi-tabling at 4 or
more
tables. Since you get paid for every hand you see, it is easy money
to play tight and see about 18-20% of flops. If you see 1000 hands
and just break even at the tables, you will still be up in the
amount of rake you get back.

If you would like to set up a rake back account, please fill out
this form. It's FREE: http://www.pokerletter.org/rakeback.htm

- More Hands = Stronger Hands = More $
Why play multiple tables? Easy; more tables means more hands; more
hands means you see stronger starting hands more often; stronger hands
means more money. Sure, you will still encounter some bad beats.
But over the long term, strong starting hands will maximize your
earnings. Since the goal of multi-tabling is to play strong starting
hands and play tight, you should only play full ring games when
playing 3 or more tables.