Conversely
if you never play poker
and your entire experience of the game is what you read in print and see in movies
you probably have many wrong ideas. That is to be expected. Please
allow me to enlighten you on a few points.

1. Poker is not casual. Many people think of the game as a mellow social pastime
where friends sit around drinking
laughing and whooping it up. In fact
there is nothing friendly about poker. You can be cordial with others at your table (and you should be)
but the game itself is vicious. Played properly
it is a form of warfare. It is an aggressive battle for domination. I think of poker as “violence
without the violence.”

2. A poker face is not the main requirement to play. I cannot tell you how often I hear this misconception. Nearly every time I mention poker to someone whose only exposure to the game is the media
I hear some lame comment like
“Oh
you must have a good poker face.” No
a poker face
a steely-eyed gaze
is not the essence of skillful play. True
you do not want to be sending tells to your opponents
but the so-called poker face is widely misunderstood. The ability to create a poker face does not make you a good player. Consider this: When you play on the Internet
everyone has a poker face.

3. Winning at poker is not easy. Blame television for this one. You generally see only the winners on television. Those who win get the most exposure and are most often featured. The final table in a tournament
for example
is comprised solely of players who are winners. Very little attention is paid to those who lose
say nothing of the vast majority who bust out of tournaments without fanfare. Playing well takes a huge amount of study
discipline and practice. Succeeding at the game is far from automatic.

4. Women can play. The idea that poker is exclusively a man’s game is another falsehood. Years ago
many well-known authors wrote that women do not have the killer instinct necessary to play well. Time has proven that theory wrong. Nowadays
women compete at every level
and plenty of skilled women win in cash games and tournaments. The idea that poker is a man’s game is laughable these days
and I wouldn’t have included it among common misconceptions were it not for the fact that many still believe it.

5. Poker is not a game of mathematics. In blackjack
for example
you always have one best move at any moment. Your task is to determine what that move is. If you have 13 and the dealer is showing an ace
then you should hit. That is always true
no matter who is seated at the table or what they are doing. Poker is different. You must take other players into account
and the mathematically preferable move may not be wise. Top caliber players often debate what is the best move in a particular situation. Poker cannot be reduced to mathematics because there are too many human factors.

6. Poker is a not game of luck. This is perhaps the most common misconception
and it is dead wrong. Luck averages out. Over time
all players receive the same percentage of good hands and bad hands. The difference is what players do with those hands. A good player will maximize the amount won with good hands and minimize the amount lost with bad hands. The key element that separates winners from losers
over time
is not the cards dealt
but the decisions made. Stu Unger
three-time World Series of Poker champion
put it this way: “In cards
the luck always bal
ances out. The good players are going to win. Any player that thinks card playing is a game of luck
I’ll show you a fool. That’s what the losers always say. The winners don’t worry about the short term; we play for the long term.”

7. Cheating is not rampant. The prevalence of cheating is another incorrect impression held by many. In private backroom games
cheating does happen occasionally. But in modern casino cardrooms and high-profile tournaments
where most of today’s professionals play
cheating is virtually nonexistent. (Online
however
is a different story. It is possible to cheat when playing on the Internet
due to the nature of the technology.) Although cheating is technically possible in some situations
and it does happen
it is not nearly the factor that many people suppose. If you are hesitant to play poker out of fear of being cheated
you are overreacting.

8. Poker is not an addiction. No matter what the media would have you believe
the vast majority of poker enthusiasts play because they enjoy the game
not because they are hooked in some way. Sure
a tiny percentage of players do struggle with addiction
but they are people with an addictive personality
whether or not they play poker. We should not blame poker for someone’s compulsive behavior any more than we should blame sex for someone being a rapist.

9. Poker is not sleazy. There is nothing even remotely “underbelly” about this beautiful game. A great many good and decent folks play for a wide variety of reasons
such as fun
challenge and personal betterment. Poker highlights the best of human interaction and calls into play the most honorable of human qualities
such as courage
sound reasoning and self-control. The game is a wonderful way to build character.

10. Poker is not illegal. Most people with a functioning brain do not actually believe this
but the forces of misguided morality want you to think that the game is against the law. It is not. Poker is not associated with crime in any way. Nor is it controlled by the mob. Not is it dangerous. You do not need to be on the lookout for gangsters. Or gunplay. No
you do not need to carry a sidearm and shoot your way out of the casino to protect your loot. You’ve been watching too many movies.

These are a few common misconceptions held by many in the public. If you encounter people with these ideas
please set them straight. But be understanding; it’s not their fault that they hold these incorrect viewpoints
which are passed off as fact everywhere in today’s media. It rests with us
intelligent members of the poker-playing community
to spread the truth regarding the magnificent game of poker.

–

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PPA Calls For Action On Online Poker


The Poker Players Alliance is calling on their members to use Obama’s website to vote for changes to online poker legislation. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_16012009_139.html

Texan Poker Players Keen On Possible Taxation


New legislation being introduced this week proposes to regulate and tax poker in Texas. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_26032009_190.html

Team CelebPoker – Poker Masters
Rein Zijda, a member of Team CelebPoker, announced his arrival on the Live European Poker circuit with a sensational third place finish in the 13th Poker Master Main Event in Seefeld, Austria. The 45 year old poker professional, from Gouda in Holland, walked away with a cheque for €19,150 after exciting the crowd throughout the two days with his fast aggressive style and nerves of steel.

The boogey-man of the beginner: the rake
Many online poker players start out by playing at the play money tables that most online poker rooms offer. Play money action might be a good way to get used to the interface and the rules of the game, but it isnt much more than that. Intricate strategy (or basic for that matter) is impossible to learn at the play money tables, and efficiency is truly one of the last things that ever cross a play money players mind. This is one of the reasons why it is much more difficult to make the transition from play money tables to real money ones for beginners. Another reason for it is a much less anticipated one: the presence of the rake and its effects on the players bankroll over the long-run. Real money tables feature rake. The rake is a small percentage raked off each and every real money pot that is won in a poker room. Thats how the poker room generates revenue, and thats how it collects the money it needs to keep up the services it provides. The rake is paid by all players who take an active part in a hand and not just by those who win the pot. The pot is a standalone entity at the table, it doesnt belong to anyone until after its been raked, so do not fall under the false impression that you are not paying rake unless you win. The bad news is, whatever you do at a real money table, you will end up losing money to the rake. In cash games each individual pot is raked in the above described way, in tournaments, youll be required to pay a tournament fee. The good news is though that there are ways to reduce the rake, and even to recover some of it. The most straightforward way is through rakeback. You sign up for a rakeback deal and youll be automatically making extra money on each and every hand you stuff money into the pot in. Rakeback is a very convenient setup, because its a self-sufficient system, that is, you will not be required to exert any sort of effort in order to make it work. Some rakeback deals, called prop deals, offer as much as 100% or even more of your rake returned, but they have special requirements towards players engaging in the scheme. A prop deal can be extremely lucrative for the right kind of players, because it does have the power to make long-term winners out of under-performing players. Game selection offers other more subtle ways to reduce the rake. In order to be able to dodge the effects of the rake through game selection, you need to have a thorough understanding of it. Lets see cash games first. You pay rake on every single hand you play. The more hands you play per hour, the more money you lose on the rake. Consequently, heads-up cash tables are the worst when it comes to the rake you pay, because they feature speedy play. Short handed cash tables are rake guzzlers too, but every cash game will ultimately eat up more money in rake than tournaments. In a tournament, you only pay a one time fee, which is around 10% of the value of your buy-in. You will not pay rake on every hand you play, and you will get a much bigger bang for your buy-in than in cash games. In Multi Table Tournaments your odds of making the money are low because of the high number of opponents youre faced with. In a STT (Single Table Tournament), you get better odds because youre only going up against 5-9 opponents, but your buy-in/potential payout ratio will suffer. Make sure you know where youre taking your hard-earned money and where you can make the most of it.

The Secrets of Poker Chips
Chips used by players in poker are tokens representing a predetermined amount of money. These tokens are also frequently called checks. The main difference between tokens and chips is the fact that checks carry a certain value while chips do not. Prior to the manufacturing of modern poker chips, poker players apparently employed small valuable objects, including gold nuggets, coins and small items made of either ivory, bone, or wood.read more