“How come you start messing with me because I want to withdraw my winnings? You didn’t hassle me when I made my deposits”.

Sometimes it can be a very frustrating situation for customers who wish to withdraw their funds, especially if they are not prepared, aware and experienced. In this article you will be able to read about the basic procedures that most gambling operators apply in order to process withdrawals in a safe and secure way. You will also be able to read about bonuses and how important it is to read and understand the terms and conditions.

First advice – Don’t spend until you get paid!
Don’t worry, the first advice is not an indicator of you risking losing your winnings; it’s merely an indicator that sometimes a withdrawal take longer to process than most inexperienced players think. A poker player will not risk having winnings confiscated unless there has been a fraudulent activity that can be linked to you or poker players that are linked to you. This is very easy to avoid – don’t try to cheat. Every poker network and most of the poker operators have highly educated Fraud and IT experts that can trace the smallest little foul play on your computer machine and have you facing a bible of terms and conditions and have you black-listed across the online poker world before you’ve finished reading the first clause. Simply put – play by the rules and the rules will play by you.

“Why? What’s the deal with all this drama? I just want to enjoy some harmless online gambling. I’m not a criminal!”.
Of course not, but safety procedures are put in place in order to avoid certain “threats” that most certainly will result in consequences for online casinos, payment providers and finally the banks. The evil words here are “Chargeback”, “Crime” and “Reputation” which equals to “Not having the opportunity to make money without being sentenced to prison”. But of course, by having these “threats” and “consequences” also make it harder for the criminal people to do their crimes which basically is a very good thing for mankind in general.
Popular definition of Chargeback nr. 1: A fee charged to a retailer by a credit card company when a disputed charge is won by a cardholder.
Popular definition of Chargeback nr. 2: A penalty by a customer against a supplier whose goods do not meet the terms of the sales agreement.
An online gambling operator is only allowed a very small number of proven chargebacks per year in order to be accepted as an online merchant and have the right to process payments.

“So, if I lose my money, I can issue a chargeback and get my money back?”
No. There will be an “in depth” investigation and you can be sure that if no crime can be associated with your transaction, the fraud experts will prove that.

These days, most gambling operators might request copies of documents that confirm the details you have register on your gambling account. These documents usually are:
* A copy of a governmentally issued ID, Passport or Driver’s license.
* A copy of a Utility Bill that proves your physical address.
Once you have initiated a withdrawal request, they most probably will request a proof of credit card ownership. This is usually done by putting your withdrawal status as “pending” until the following copies has been received and approved:
* Copies of both sides of your credit/debit card.

“But I used my girlfriend’s credit card when I made my deposit because I went to the pub and spent all my own money the night before?”
Yes, we’ve all been there and they still hates us for it, don’t they? However, all operating online gambling sites always states in their terms & conditions that you are only allowed to use payment methods that are issued in your name. This is of course a precaution to avoid the possibilities of chargebacks. You have now broken the terms & conditions and your gambling account can be terminated,  all winnings confiscated and the initial deposit will be sent back to the credit card. That’s it – the credit card will be labeled in a global database as “negative” and no gambling operator will accept a payment from that credit card.

It is not difficult or in any way complicated to make sure that you are not breaking any rules. All operators are friendly and helpful because they are dependent upon you as a customer. If you have any issues, information is easily found in the FAQ sections on the operator’s web site. Usually, it is no problems to deal with poker bonuses and withdrawals because there are no wagering requirements in order to convert bonus cash into real cash as with most casino bonuses.

When it comes to casino bonuses, it is very important that you follow a few guidelines. Otherwise, you may not be able to withdraw your winnings. Make sure of the following:
- Read the bonus terms and conditions.
- Do not bet higher than the allowed amount. Usually the allowed bet amount is 30% of your bonus amount. Your game play will be reviewed and many online casinos will not accept any breaches of bonus terms and conditions. In fact, it is pretty common that casinos will confiscate winnings that derive from game play that have exceeded the allowed bet amount. Usually, your account balance will be set back to the initial status and you will be able to play again, but after the rules. In some pretty rare cases, your account will be terminated and your initial deposit will be sent back.
- Be aware that most online casinos have a withdrawal limit attached to the general terms if you have been given a free bonus like free spins or a no deposit bonus.

In most of the poker software clients these days, you will be able to use a chat function to communicate with your opponents during the games. As in any other form of communication, there will always be opportunities to abuse the communication tool and offend people. One helpful rule which is good to apply when it comes to the poker chat is to turn it off and forget that it even exists. Why bother talking to other players in the first place? If you are not an It-literate and an experienced online poker player, chatting will affect your concentration and in that way harm your poker play. Besides, even if you are a good typist and an online poker master, what can be so important that it needs an immediate correspondence while playing online poker? I know what you’re thinking, but please bear in mind that every gorgeous woman that may appear on your opponents avatar does not necessarily mean that “she” is in fact “her” in real life, sitting behind a computer screen and playing poker with you hour after hour on a Saturday evening, even if one would prefer reality to be so.

One of the most important etiquettes when using the poker chat is to be aware of what languages that are allowed to chat in. Generally, the lingua franca of online poker is English. Up until the last three years or so, no serious poker room/network allowed chat in any other language than English, which is sad in its own way, but in recent years, many poker software providers offer other languages to be used to chat in but these are always on designated poker tables; “Italian Chat on table 4”, “Swedish Chat on table 69” etc. Make sure that you respect the language rules when chatting.

While chatting, do not discuss a poker hand that you are not participating in. This is simply, “mind your own business, son”. Participating players along with chat masters etc. might also suspect foul play, collusion of some sort if you continue to chat about hands you are not involved in. The collusion suspicion is of extreme importance when we go to the next chat “rule”: Do not reveal your hand in the chat if you fold while other players continue to play the hand. Even if you are not colluding, this is a big “No – No”, close to being absurd.

Do not be rude, use profanities or mock other players. Hmm, how to explain this one…well, being rude, swearing and acting like an ass is pointless and boring; a waste of letters in cyber space. Behavior like this creates an uncomfortable gaming environment for the more sensitive type of poker players but it will eventually affect the rest of the players as well.

Apart from the poker chat, it is possible for an online poker player to use up his/her “deadline” in which the player has to act. Constantly using the full time bank before you act on your hand is regarded as rude and will engage the most patience and loving poker player to take measures as to locate your IP-address and come knocking on your door.

To conclude the etiquettes of online poker; behave as you would in real life with real consequences. Specific chat rules are often available in your poker room’s FAQ or Help sections.

The oldest person to win a World Series of Poker Bracelet was 80 years of age. The man who won the 2005 WSOP Seniors World Poker Championship No Limit Hold’em event goes by the name of Paul “Cigar” McKinney. In 1998, he finished on 9th place in the WSOP and he has reached the final table of the United States Poker Championship twice.  Paul “Cigar” McKinney is also famous for listing the following hobbies on the bio sheet for the 2005 WSOP: Moonshine, Cigars and Women.

The former US president Richard Nixon was known as a good poker player. While in the US Navy during the World War II, Nixon managed to win approximately $6,000 in two months. In 1946, he used his winnings and more of them to fund his successful campaign for the US Congress.

“Poker exemplifies the worst aspects of capitalism that have made our country so great”.  -Walter Matthau

“Poker’s a day to learn and a lifetime to master”.  -Robert Williamson III

“Cards are war, in disguise of a sport”.  -Charles Lamb

“Is it a reasonable thing, I ask you, for a grown man to run about and hit a ball?  Poker’s the only game fit for a grown man.  Then, your hand is against every man’s, and every man’s is against yours.  Teamwork?  Who ever made a fortune by teamwork?  There’s only one way to make a fortune, and that’s to down the fellow who’s up against you”.  -W. Somerset Maugham

“Nobody is always a winner, and anybody who says he is, is either a liar or doesn’t play poker”. -Amarillo Slim

“For the true gambler, money is never an end in itself. It’s a tool, like language or thought”. -Lancey, The Cincinnati Kid

The average number of sold decks of cards in the US is 70 million per year.

By popular belief, the Dead Man’s Hand originates from the 2nd of August 1876 in Saloon No.10 in Deadwood, South Dakota. It was on this date in Saloon No. 10 that Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead during a game of five card draw holding aces and eights. As a known gun slinger and poker player, Wild Bill usually preferred to sit with his back against the walls because he wanted to be able to face possible assassination attempts. Unfortunately for him, there was no such seat available in Saloon No. 10 on the 2nd of August 1876. It should be noted that there is no evidence what so ever in regards to which poker hand Wild Bill Hickok really was holding when he was shot.

“Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing from something”. -Wilson Mizner

“Gambling is the future on the internet. You can only look at so many dirty pictures”. -Simon Noble

“You cannot beat a roulette table unless you steal money from it”. -Albert Einstein

According to popular belief rather than facts, the four suits in a normal deck of cards derives from the French game cards and represents four different social classes; Spades – nobility, Hearts – the Clergy, Diamonds – the Merchants and Clubs – Peasants. There are also thoeries in regards to the king of each suit; King of Spades is king David of Israel, King of Hearts is the French king Charlemagne, the King of Diamonds is the Emperor of Rome Caesar Augustus and the King of Clubs is supposed to represent Alexander the Great.

“The urge to gamble is so universal, and its practice so pleasurable that I assume it must be evil”. -Heywood Broun

“A Gentleman is a man who will pay his gambling debts even when he knows he has been cheated”. -Leo Tolstoy

“I figure you have the same chance of winning the lottery whether you play or not”. -Fran Lebowitz

If you add the numbers on the roulette wheel, 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 etc, you will find the total sum being the denomic number 666.

Las Vegas tourism serveys show that only 5% of the visitors go there primarily for gambling. 88% of the visitors ends up gambling though. It makes one wonder what the remaining 12% are up to in Las Vegas…

“I used to be a heavy gambler. But now I just make mental bets. That’s how I lost my mind”. -Steve Allen

“Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich—something for nothing”. -George Bernard Shaw

“Last year people won more than one billion dollars playing poker. And casinos made twenty-seven billion just by being around those people”. -Samantha Bee

“Casinos and prostitutes have the same thing in common; they are both trying to screw you out of your money and send you home with a smile on you face”. -VP Pappy

A:
Aces full – This is a full house with three aces and a pair.
Ace-high – A hand with no pair, straight or flush – highest card Ace.
Aces up – Two pairs, pair of Aces being one of them.
Act – It’s your turn to play; check, bet, call, bet, raise or fold.
Add-on – To purchase more chips in a tournament, usually done at the end of the rebuy period.
All-in – When a player bets all his/her chips in a hand.
American airlines – Having two aces on your hand.
Ante – A forced bet that all players pay to start the hand.

B:
Bad beat – When a hand is beaten by a lucky draw. Most online poker rooms use this term for promotional purposes as in Bad Beat Jackpot which usually requires a hand of at least four of a kind of 8’s to be beaten.
Bankroll – Usually refers to a players gaming budget.
Bet – To place more money/chips in the pot.
Bet the pot – When a player bets the same amount that’s already in the pot.
Bicycle – A straight with A-1-2-3-4-5.
Big blind – A designated amount that is placed by the player sitting in the second position, clockwise from the dealer, before any cards are dealt.
Big slick – A hand with Ace and King
Blind – The blind(s) are forced bets posted by players left of the dealer, usually the number of blinds in a game is two.
Blind raise – To raise without viewing the cards.
Bluff – To make other players believe that one has a better hand than he/she might otherwise have by betting or raising when they do not have the best hand.
Bottom pair – Used in community card poker when you use the lowest flop card to combine with your hole card to make a pair.
Bounty – When one or more participants in a tournament have a “prize” on their head. If a player eliminates a bounty they receive the prize.
Broadway – A straight from 10-Jack-Queen-King-Ace
Bubble – The last finishing position in a tournament before the payout structure.
Bullets – A pair of Aces.
Buy-in – The minimum amount of money to pay in order to participate in a poker game/tournament.

C:
Call – When a player matches the previous bet.
Cash game – A non-tournament game where the chips are real money. No definite end.
Cashing out – To leave the table and exchange the chips for money.
Chase – To call a bet in the hope to make a hand on the next revealed card.
Check – When it’s a player’s turn to act and there has been no action in front of them and he opts not to bet, he “checks.”
Check-raise – When a player checks and then bets in the same betting round.
Chip – Small discs used in lieu of currency in casinos.
Chip dumping – Fraud; to intentionally lose a hand to give a fellow fraudster better chances of winning.
Chip leader – The tournament player with the most chips in his stack.
Community card – Cards that are face-up on the table and used by all players.
Cowboys -  Two Kings.

D:
Dead man’s hand – Two pairs, Aces and Eights. The hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shoot dead in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Deal – To distribute cards to players in accordance with the rules of the game being played.
Dealer – The person who is distributing the cards.
Dealer’s choice – A version of poker in which the deal passes each game and each dealer can choose which game to be played.
Draw poker – A poker variation where each player is dealt five cards down with the option of discarding one or more and replacing them with new ones to attempt to make a better hand.
Ducks – A pair of twos.
Deuces –A pair of twos.

E:
Early position -Having a position where the player have to act before most other players in the betting round.

F:
Fifth street – in community card poker, the fifth street is the last community card to be revealed. Also known as the river.
Five-card draw – A poker game where each players is dealt five cards and one chance to replace them.
Five-card stud – A poker game where each player is dealt five cards, four open and one hidden.
Flop – In community card poker, Texas Hold ‘em and Omaha, the three first open cards is called the flop.
Flush – Five cards of the same suit.
Flush draw – When a player is missing one card to complete a flush.
Fold – To throw your hand instead of playing.
Four of a kind – Four cards of the same value.
Fourth street – In community card poker, the fourth open card to be revealed.
Full house – A poker hand containing three of a kind and a pair.

G:
Gut shot – A poker hand with four of the five cards to complete a straight but missing the middle card.

H:
Hand – The best five cards that a player is holding.
Heads up – To play against only one opponent.
Hole cards – Faced down cards dealt to each player.
H.O.R.S.E – A game of poker where a cycle of five different poker games are used;  Texas Hold ‘em, Omaha, Razz, Seven card Stud and Seven card stud Eight or better.

I:
Inside straight – To complete a straight by catching the middle card.
In the money – To finish on a paying position in a poker game.

J:
Jackpot – A pool of money collected by the venue which is awarded to someone for achieving something, Bad Beat Jackpot for example.
Jacks-or- better – A form of poker in which a player needs to have at least a pair of jacks to open the betting.
Joker – To use a 53rd card usually in draw poker. The joker can be used as any card.
Juice – Money collected by the house, also called rake.
Junk – A hand with no value.

K:
Kicker – The highest card in a poker hand that does not itself take part in determining the rank of the hand, but that may be used to break ties between hands of the same rank.
Kojak – A poker hand containing King and Jack.

L:
Ladies – Two Queens.
Late position -A position at the end of a betting round.
Level – Increasing blind value in tournament poker.
Limit poker – Minimum and maximum betting value.
Lowball – In Draw poker – the lowest hand wins.

M:
Main pot – The center pot. Further bets are placed in a side pot.
Middle position – A position between the early and late positions in a betting round.
Muck – To fold your cards without revealing them.

N:
No limit – To be able to bet as much as one wish during a hand.
Nuts – The best hand at any point of the hand.

O:
Odds – The probability of making a hand.
Offsuit – Cards that are not of the same suit.
Omaha – A community card poker variation where players are dealt four cards. You must play two of your four cards and combine them with three of the five community cards.
Open card – A card that is face up.
Overbet – To bet more than the combine pot in No limit games.
Outs – To have the possibility to improve your hand if a card is dealt. Common term in community card poker.

P:
Pair – A pair is two cards of the same value.
Passive – A style of playing. The opposite of playing aggressively.
Pocket pair – In Community card and Stud poker. When a player is dealt two cards which are a pair.
Poker face – A blank face expression that does not reveal  anything about the players cards.
Position – The order of betting in poker.
Post – To pay the small or big blind instead of antes.
Pot – The total sum of money in a poker hand.
Pot-limit – Highest bet one can do is the amount of the pot.
Pre-flop – The first round of bets in flop poker.
Push – To bet All in.

Q:
Quads – Four of a kind.

R:
Rainbow – Three or four cards of different suits.
Raise – To increase the size of the bet required to stay in the game.
Rake – A commission fee taken by the casino/operator of the poker game.
Rakeback – To pay players a certain part of the commission fee. Very common in online poker for promotional purposes.
Rebuy – To buy additional chips after the poker tournament has started.
Reraise – To bet higher after one has raised.
Ring game – Also known as cash games; a non-tournament game where the chips are real money. No definite end.
River – The last community card to be dealt in a flop game.
Royal flush – A straight in one suit. Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of hearts for example. The highest ranking hand in many poker games.
Runner-runner – To make a hand on the last two community cards, the turn and the river.

S:
Satellite – A tournament where the prize is a free entry to another, often larger, tournament.
Set – Three of a kind.
Shark – A professional poker player.
Short stack – A stack of chips that is relatively small for the stakes being played.
Shorthanded – A poker game with some empty seats.
Side game – A cash game which is played beside a tournament. Usually played by players that has been eliminated from the tournament.
Side pot – A seperate pot of further bets after one player has gone all in.
Sit and go – A poker tournament with no scheduled starting time. The tournament starts once a certain number of players has paid the tournament fee.
Slow play – To play passively with a strong hand.
Small blind – A forced bet instead of antes. The small blind is usually half the value of the big blind.
Split – To divide. The pot is divided – Split pot.
Stack – The amount of chips a player has at a given moment.
Straight – A poker hand, usually five cards, in sequential order. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 for example.
Straight flush – A poker hand, usually five cards, in sequential order and in the same suit.
Street – A term for a dealt card or betting round. First street for example.
String bet – A call and later a raise. An undefied act. This is not allowed in casinos.
Stud – A variation of poker. where all players are dealt both faced-up and faced down-cards.
Suited – Having the same suit on the cards.
Super satellite – A multi-table poker tournament in which the prize is a free entrance to a satellite tournament or a tournament in which all the top finishers gain entrance to a larger tournament.

T:
Tell – A detectable change in a players behaviour.
Three of a kind – A poker hand containing three cards of the same value.
Tight – A style of playing. A very disciplined player type that rarely risk or makes a bluff.
Tilt – To become emotionally upset due to having played bad poker.
Top pair – In community card poker, to have a pair with a hole card and the highest community card.
Trips – Same as Three of a kind.
Turbo – A tournament with faster blind increase.
Turn – The fourth of the five open cards to be revealed in Community card poker.

U:
Under the gun – To have the position that has to act first in a betting round.
Underdog – A player that has a smaller chance to win in regards to another player.
Up the ante – To increase the stakes.

V:
Value bet – A bet placed to attract calls.

W:
Wheel – The lowest straight containing Ace, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Wrap – Omaha Hold ‘em, an open ended straight draw with two bord cards and three hole cards.

Community card poker has become very popular in recent years. The most common games within this variation are Texas hold ‘em and Omaha. This type of poker is played with open cards, also known as community cards, which are faced up for all players to combine with their hidden cards that they have been dealt.  In both Texas hold ‘em and Omaha the aim is to form the best possible five card hand.

Draw poker does not have any community cards. In this variation the players are dealt five hidden cards which they usually can replace during the betting round to improve their chances of winning. The most popular draw game is Five Card Draw.

Stud poker is a type of poker where the players use open as well as hidden cards. Note that the open cards are not community cards in stud poker. The most common games in this variation are Seven Card Stud and Five Card Stud.

The community card variations are the most popular online poker games- Texas hold ‘em is usually available in different bet variations as well like pot limit, no limit and fixed limit. Omaha is very popular online and shares the same bet variations as Texas hold ‘em but has a Hi/Lo variation as well where both the highest and lowest hand wins the pot.

A brief history of poker

Poker was not invented; poker evolved and will continue to do so. The origin of poker is debated due to different views on the game itself. Experts that claim that poker is defied by having cards usually draw its origin back to the Persian game of As Nas and the Egyptian game of Ganjifa. Experts that choose to defy the game as a betting game tends to draw its origin to the early 1800’s in the Mississippi region.  This argument is based on the fact that there were no known card games that involved betting prior to that.

A popular belief of the origins of poker is that the Chinese emperor Mu – Tsung spent a new year’s eve playing a game similar to domino with cards together with his wife in around 960 A.D.

From the early 1800 poker became a very popular game in North America. During the civil war, poker was already a game played by soldiers on both sides.

Poker today

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is played once a year in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the biggest live event in the poker world with more than 20,000 participants in recent years. The WSOP has been played since 1970 and is regarded as the most respected live event on the poker scene.
Poker is now a big industry. With the help of the internet, players can easily enjoy a good poker game by simply turning on the computer. The online poker industry has an annual revenue of more than $1 billion.

The biggest online poker rooms are PokerStars, Full Tilt and Party Poker with more than 200,000 players online during peak hours.
The first online poker room was available in1998 and it was called Planet Poker. The following year, Paradise Poker was launched. Between 2003-2006 there was something you can call a online poker boom and online poker grew in popularity. In 2006, the U.S. government banned international online poker rooms for players within the U.S. borders and this dramatically affected online poker.

- In offline poker, “tells” include variations on how players handle their chips when betting. Do they throw the chips on the table or place them in thorough way? Does the player look his/her hand in a consistent way – how often? If there is a possible straight/flush on the flop – does the player check his cards again? Does the player participate more or less in the social communication during a hand?

- In online poker, some common “tells” include how fast a player decides on a hand. Is a quick bet a bluff or a good hand? The time factor is by many regarded as the most useful “tell” in online poker.  How often does the player fold pre-flop – is he a patience player or hoping to get lucky on the flop? Poker aliases and avatars can also be “tells” but obviously not very  reliable but in some cases they can tell you something about the player – does the alias include it-lingo (lol and that stuff) = most certainly not a very old player. Is the avatar a picture of a baby? Perhaps poker is a relaxing activity between the change of diapers and during the baby’s naps?

If you are new to poker there are many things that will help your game to develop. Just by being aware of them and keeping it in the back of your mind will improve your chances to win. But you should also be aware of that poker is a very complex game and there is no certain way to win because luck is still involved. Below you will find ten tips that will help you to develop your game and have more fun:

1.    Some cards are better and some cards are worse. This is a very common issue among new poker players – they play to many hands. The reasoning for many new players is that the more active you are – the more you should be able to win.  This is not true. Play the hands that are worth paying for and make your opponents pay to see them.

2.     Don’t get emotionally involved. All players have been there. You get upset because the poker gods are treating you unfair because you should have won that hand. Remember that poker involves luck and therefore also bad luck. Being upset will affect your poker game the same way it will affect any other aspect of life. You will not reason, think or act upon your full potential and this will put you in a harmful position.

3.    Know when to bluff. This is also an issue for new players. The bluffing factor in poker is often overused and often so in the wrong situations. Use it carefully and do not bluff for the sake of bluffing because your opponents will read you. But don’t ignore the importance of bluffing either – bluffing is a part of the game and you need to find the balance.

4.    You don’t “owe” your cards anything. Sometimes you have a decent hand but you don’t hit anything but since you already have put so much chips in the pot you feel obligated to continue. As soon as you realize that you are not holding a winning hand – just stop betting and calling. No reason to lose a game by holding on to good cards that never paid off.

5.    Observe. By learning to recognize different characteristics among your opponents, you are already on a good way to become a good poker player. Is the player a wild cat, a tight player, passive or active/aggressive? But be aware, some players can fool you by pretending to be something they are not.

6.     Admit your game level. This is important, to know yourself and realize that poker is something that you learn by playing. Don’t jump into games above your limit to soon. Every new player can have a good starting period but it hardly ever means that you are a player with a unique poker talent. Take your time and work your way up the stakes.

7.    Free your mind. Poker demands concentration. If you are in an unbalanced mood, something is bothering you or you rather do something else – don’t play poker. An untrained mind can concentrate for less than five minutes on anything. There are however ways to learn to focus on something a lot longer than that. Simply put, play when you want to play – don’t play unless this criteria has been met.

8.    Everybody reads an open book. Make sure that you find ways to alter your game play. If you get caught up in a certain play pattern you will be read as an open book. Play more aggressive/passive, bet higher/lower and play more/less hands. Confuse your opponents for a while and slowly go back to your own strategy again.

9.    Continue to learn and develop. You will never be fulfilled as a poker player. Read more poker books, talk and play against new players and learn new strategies. As in any skill, you will start going backwards as soon as you stop going forward.

10.    Have fun and enjoy the game of poker. It is always helpful to have a positive distance towards the game so you will find opportunities to try new strategies and ideas that will develop your game play. Learn from your own mistakes and other players success.

Before you bluff, you must consider a few things. Who are you trying to bluff? How many are you attempting to bluff? What type of player are you considered to be by your opponents? Do you have a chance if someone calls your bluff?

1.    The chance to get away with a bluff is more likely if your opponent is a strict, tight and odds calculating player. The worst players to bluff against are the wild ones; players that enjoy the thrills of the chance factor in poker – the loose aggressive type that most likely will re-raise your bluff with a 9 -2. One good advice is of course to find the player that actually has something to risk if he would call you. Try to avoid bluffing against players that can afford to lose the pot without a major impact on their chip stack.

2.    If you are about to bluff, you obviously don’t want anyone to call it. You shouldn’t bluff before you have seen how most of the other players have acted in the hand in question. If you have a late position in the hand, it’s a good start but if the players before you have made a bet, called and re-raised it might be a good idea to reconsider. The optimal scenario would be a passive act from all the players before you.

3.    It is important to understand your own role on the table. If you have been playing tight and not too aggressive for a while, it’s possible that most of your opponents consider you as a tight player and therefore, your chances of making a successful bluff is better. But on the other hand, if you have been playing fairly loose and aggressive and been successful in that game play, chances are that you have created a loose cannon attitude and you will be considered as a wild player that intimidate your opponents.

4.    When bluffing, it’s a good advice to initiate the act before you are completely naked. If you are facing a player who just checked before the turn and the flop was giving you some “outs” that you might be able to reach on the turn or the river, the bluff should be initiated. Chances are that your opponent doesn’t have any “outs” if interpreting his check correctly after the flop was laid out.

If you manage to find your bluff balance, you will enrich your game play and your chances of winning. It’s important to find the best possible opportunities to bluff, to find your opponents weaknesses but most of all, to find the best timing and not to over do it.

The main starting point is knowledge. You will need to study the game and learn the basics of poker and different strategies. You will be able to find several more or less trustworthy web sites that provide basic strategy tutorials on the internet but don’t forget there are a lot of books available on the subject as well. Instead of jumping straight in to a pool full of sharks, make sure to read up and make yourself comfortable playing on the play money tables.

Once you are ready to go from play money to real money you need to figure out how to finance your start. PokerBankrolls.com offers several No Deposit Bonuses which you can claim to get yourself started. Another option is to search around for poker rooms that offer freerolls in which you can participate without any raked hand requirements. It is not easy to win a freeroll as a newcomer but at least you are not risking anything and you can try again if you fail to finish in the money. It can also be a good way to get a hint on how to play tournaments but bear in mind that freerolls are played very loose and extremely aggressive because no player is risking to lose any of their own money. Real money tournaments are played very differently in comparison to freerolls.

No matter if you finance your first little bankroll by a No Deposit Bonus or by playing a freeroll; the next step is to try to make this little bankroll grow little by little in a slow and steady paste. Many poker professionals claim that you should calculate your game limit by having a bankroll of at least 200-300 multiplied by the big blind. For example, if your initial bankroll is $10, you should play on tables where the big blind is $0.05 or lower. By following this theory, you ensure that you can hit a few strings of bad cards or making some mistakes without losing your bankroll. It’s very common that newcomers overestimate their poker skills and start on a level which is too high for them. Sad as it is, higher limits usually means that the skill level also is higher, not only the blind levels.

Once you have managed to size up your bankroll further with an additional few hundreds or so multiplied with the big blind and you feel comfortable at the game level, you should move to the next level and start all over again. You can always can go back to the previous level as soon as you feel uncomfortable playing at the new level. To build a bankroll from scratch takes a lot of patience, discipline and devotion.