Online Punch

September 15, 2010

Three Thoughts on Posture and Invulnerability in Poker

1. No one ever master the game of poker. Even supposed masters are handed defeat by those who have just begun. In some way this is what makes playing poker online both the greatest game and the most confounding. It is what makes it so popular to begin and so lucrative to take money off of those who know less than you, and those who think they know more.

2. Perhaps the quickest way to defeat at Everest Poker is the idea of immortality. The more headstrong you are about your game, the easier it is to become blinded by the stroke of chance that you have no control over. Keeping your game on your shoulders as well as in your mind an even field where you may dominate in the long term but fall in the short term is vital to the move onward and up.

3. Being humble and efficient are perhaps the two most underrated aspects of a great player’s personality. Look at players like Phil Ivey and Chris Ferguson: even though they clearly are the favorite at any table, they never take their game faces off, they are always silent and calculated, never crass. One could learn much even in posture and poise by watching them.

September 29, 2008

Battle for the Blinds

There’s little surprise that the big money is made in poker by winning the big bets, but the oft overlooked blinds aren’t just dangling there too look good.

These little guys are extremely important in poker tournaments, and any chance you can snatch them up, you should take it.

The techniques to “steal” the blinds are numerous. Say, for example, you’re in last position, and everyone around you has only called. You have a decent hand, and you raise it up to about 4x the pot. Many times, you’ll see the table fold around, and you’ll have a chance to “steal” the blinds. If you’re at an eight handed table, you’ve just secured yourself at the table for another eight hands, considering the blinds don’t raise.

If you’re playing a standard ring game, then this is also important. Even though the majority of money in ring games tends to move money in the bets, a solid blind cache can bring you more table security, and help you from having to play catch up. As such, anytime there is an opening to take down the blinds should be taken advantage of.

There is an exception to the rule however. If you have a good hand, and you’re looking for someone to bet against you, you may not be in a position to take down the blinds. What you’ll want to do instead, is bait your opponent into betting with you by fishing, and hoping they follow you to fish school. At which point, you can bring out the bet after the fact.

But as a general rule, it’s always good to take down the blinds, because they really do add up. If you can take down 10 blinds in an hour, then you’ve freed up a bet 10x the blinds to be used with no harm to your stack. And for that reason alone, you should be able to see how powerful it is to take them down. Not to mention, you’ll begin to develop a dominant table personality because you’re taking down so many hands.

August 22, 2008

Poker and Parties, Oh My!

People these days love poker. Why not have poker parties online? Sounds a bit odd, but a poker party online can happen. All you need is your favorite online site to play poker, get together some friends online and before the game or during it have a chat secession. Together, everyone can play some cards and enjoy some friendly conversation.

You can even virtual role-play with a beverage area or cart for guests; pretend it is an atmosphere in Vegas. It can even be a vacation of sorts, where everyone is together and staying at a fancy hotel. The possibilities are limitless. Being creative with a poker party is not only fun, but also brings about a certain thrill to the online poker experience.

Imagine sitting in front of your laptop or desktop watching a poker game you are playing. Your friends are having fun, you are having fun and the poker chips are falling on the table. A laughing out loud symbol is made in the chat and everyone has a great time.

What could be better than friends and a good game of poker? Especially when the sounds of the cards are dealt, you have that winning hand and don’t know whether or not your friend has the hand that could beat you.

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