One nice thing about learning basic poker odds is that you can actually put the knowledge to good use at your favorite online poker site or even live poker, and actually profit from it — try doing that with calculus! The very best online players can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, so learning the ropes can pay off in a big way.

A complete tutorial is beyond this scope of this but that’s what sites like allinpokerodds are for, where you’ll find poker odds calculators, strategy guides, and reviews of the best online poker sites to play at. Allinpokerodds is not just any old odds calculator. The hand history import feature really sets the site apart from other wannabes, giving you instant odds at all stages of the hand you just played online.

Getting started may seem intimidating but calculating odds and playing winning poker is very similar to statistics and solving math problems; once you learn some basic formulas and principles you can apply them to a wide variety of common situations that occur over and over.

When using a blind structure calculator for a home game it is important to remember that time only tells part of the story in regards to the speed of the blind levels.  The most relevant factor is the number of hands that each player gets to see at each blind level.

This has to do with the very nature of increasing blind structures.  If the blinds never increased the games could theoretically last forever.  But with increases in the blinds, players have to continually try to accumulate chips, otherwise the increasing blinds will eventually whittle away their stacks.  The faster the blinds increase, the fewer hands a player has to accumulate the chips necessary to stay ahead of the blinds.  So the amount of time spent at each blind level is only relevant because time has a direct impact on the number of hands that get dealt.

To illustrate this, let’s look at two rather extreme tournaments.  In both tournaments there are nine players, the starting stacks are 200 chips, the starting blind level is 2/4 and the blinds double at each new level.  In the first tournament, the blind timer is set to increase the blinds every 30 minutes, while in the second the blinds raise every 10 minutes.  However, for some reason, it takes the players at the first table 30 minutes to play a single hand of poker.  At the other table, it takes only one minute.

At the first table, the blinds are putting an inordinate amount of pressure on the players.  Sure, they only go up every thirty minutes, but by the time a player has seen his or her 5^th hand the blinds will have reached 30/60.  At that point the player can’t make any moves, all he or she can do is push all-in.  Needless to say, this tournament won’t involve a whole lot of skill – whoever gets lucky and gets a big hand in the first few hands is going to win.

At the other table, though, despite the short amount of time at each blind level, the players will each get to see 10 hands before the blinds increase.  This is still probably less than average, but it’s much more reasonable than the first game.  Rather than having to push all-in within the first five hands, a player will usually get one top 10% hand at each blind level, and so can afford to be a little patient.  By the time the blinds reach 32/64 a player will have seen forty hands, which will afford him or her a reasonable amount of time to pick the right spots to play and make moves.

Of course, both of these examples are somewhat extreme (if nothing else, blind levels rarely double with each increase).  Nevertheless, they do illustrate that before deciding on a blind structure for a home game it is important to factor in how long each hand takes since it is the number of hands dealt at each blind that really determines the impact of the blind increases.

So, when determining the blind structure for a home game, remember to always consider the speed of play among the players.  If you have an inexperienced group then it might be beneficial to have longer blind levels since new players tend to take longer to count chips, make decisions, etc.  However, if you have an experienced group and an efficient dealer then you can shorten the blind levels and still get a good amount of play since each hand will take less time.

Many online poker players use an odds calculator to aid in winning a hand. There are many different odds calculators on the market and some websites even offer a free poker calculator. The only requirements are that you sign-up at a poker room from their list and place the minimum required deposit. When you do this, you get both bonus deposit money and the calculator for free to use for one year. Most odds calculators will work with any of the major poker websites available online; you are not limited to a partner poker site.

Why are poker players using an odds calculator? The poker tool gives you the information you need to avoid common mistakes. You will start to understand how the knowledge of poker odds can influence your play dramatically and you will become a better player faster. Some odds calculators work for both absolute beginners and experienced poker players.

The majority of available odds calculators are designed specifically for Texas Hold ‘Em.  This is the most popular form of poker played in poker rooms today. Players receive two hole cards and then choose three from five community cards.  The suspense builds as everybody watches the community cards.  Between rounds of betting, the dealer passes out the flop (three cards), the turn (one card) and the final card, called the river.

The calculator grabs the values of the cards dealt and automatically updates the current odds. If you had to calculate the odds manually, you could easily make a mistake. The poker tool uses complex algorithms to calculate your current hand odds, giving you a recommendation of what you should do in real time based on your cards, position, fold depth and playing style. All the relevant information is displayed clearly in a small window that stacks up next to the poker browser window without distracting you from the game play. Players do not have to flip back and forth between screens to see what’s going on.

Any odds calculator is a great improvement tool for any Texas Hold’em poker player as it will assist you, but the final call is always yours to make.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a successful poker player who doesn’t think that psychology is a crucial part of the game, especially among no-limit Texas hold’em players. Alan Schoonmaker understands this, and for this reason, he has written “Your Worst Poker Enemy.” This book is intended to show how your own psychological quirks can be your downfall at the poker table.

Using Psychology to Your Advantage

In five distinct sections, Schoonmaker shows how many players rely excessively on intuition, even when they know they should be applying logic. He shows players how to do a cold, hard assessment of their own play and the psychological errors that they make. He shows how players can identify these psychological errors in others to use to their advantage.

Psychology and the Evolution of Poker

Schoonmaker understands that in the 21st Century, poker is constantly evolving, as more and more people take up the game, as technological advances like hole card cameras and Internet play predominate. He talks about how players can analyze and adjust to these changes to stay ahead of the curve.

Understanding Your Own Psychology

Schoonmaker also offers techniques for understanding and combating the effects of tilt, an emotional overload that can occur from a series of bad beats or one terrible one, or from a run of bad luck. If a player lets it, tilt can destroy them, and Schoonmaker’s techniques and observations can help prevent this from happening.

Any poker library that includes a section on psychology would be incomplete without this volume. Those who benefit from it may also consider taking a look at Schoonmaker’s follow up work, “Your Best Poker Friend,” or the book’s predecessor, “The Psychology of Poker.”

Online poker players often feel like fish out of water the first time they get into a live poker game. They are not always sure of the stated rules of live play, let alone the unwritten rules.

If you’re wandering into a live poker game for the first time, there’s no need to worry. You’re playing the same game you’ve always played, just in a slightly different venue. Still, it’s good to know some of the understood etiquette of the game.

Private Vs. Public Games

If you are invited to a home game, it’s a very different situation than if you are playing in a public card room. In a home game, you should be on your best behavior to be sure you will be invited back, especially if you are a winning player. In a public room you should still behave yourself, but you may get a little more latitude.

In a public game, you are free to leave the table whenever you want, although if you pick up your chips, your seat will go to another player. In a private game, you should make it a point to stay a while, especially if you are integral to keeping the game going. If you have a big win, it is customary to give the opponents some chance to recoup their losses, rather than leave right away.

Chopping

In a public card room Texas hold’em game, if it is folded around to the small blind, he and the big blind may decide to “chop,” taking back their bets and starting a new hand. This is done to save time and so that the House does not benefit by taking a big percentage of a small pot.

The small blind may have to give up one chip in a chop. If you chop once, common etiquette demands you chop throughout the entire session, not only when it’s convenient for you.

Checking It Down

In some blind vs. blind situations, a player may want to “check it down” rather than chop. This happens in bad beat jackpot games when both players have a hand that may result in a bad beat jackpot.

Usually this means one player holds a pair and the other a big ace. Players simply check to the river and show down their hands.

Dan Harrington was already a legend when he wrote “Harrington on Hold’em,” a three volume series revealing secrets for winning tournament no limit Texas hold’em. Once these books came out, however, he assured his place in poker history forever.

These three books became must reading for any no limit tournament poker player. The ideas that Harrington crystallized in the volumes are ideas that nearly every poker player can now recite by heart.

“Harrington on Cash Games”

For his next work, Harrington brought his expertise to the world of cash games. “Harrington on Cash Games,” a two volume set, was written to help players apply the same analytical approach that Harrington advocates for tournaments. Following this approach, anyone should be able to become a strong player.

“Harrington on Cash Games” Volume One

In volume one of Harrington on Cash Games” he discusses the basic ideas and elements that you need to know to be successful at poker. Ideas such as the basic principles of poker, why to bet, how to determine how much to bet and what it means when others bet. He then moves on to discussing the finer points of aggressive pre-flop and flop play.

“Harrington on Cash Games” Volume Two

In volume two, tight-aggressive turn and river play are analyzed. Harrington then goes on to explore the different kind of game situations that a player might face, such as whether or not to play a loose aggressive style, how to beat weak games and what to do about physical tells.

Using These Books

What’s nice about Harrington’s work is that the books are peppered with problems taken from real life examples of cash game play. Readers can play along with great (and not so great) players, trying to figure out what they would do in a given situation and then seeing the results. This can be of great benefit to the reader.

The books do not contain the kind of game-changing concepts that “Harrington on Hold’em” offered. However, they do provide a rich source of poker information for any reader that cares to give them a shot.

Knowing the poker rules, obviously. You got to be familiar with the rules of the game.

But playing online poker calls for additional traits and skills, such as learning to “feel” your opponents, measuring the right bet for the right hand, patience, and luck among them.

The web offers endless resources for learning poker. Guides, blogs and forums will do the work, as do videos of actual games or those offering tips, such as the following:

However, knowing WHERE to play is as important as knowing HOW to play poker, and no less rewarding. How do you, the player, choose the right poker room for you?

Ask around on forums, read as many reviews, and check licensing of each such “candidate”. You are best advised also to stop by for the highest online poker bonuses, a service sorting the endless selection of online poker rooms by the highest bonuses. On this table, the top bonuses are listed along with a short description, and links to reviews of the poker rooms and the poker rooms themselves.

Because learning where to play means a lot.  Sometimes it could mean an extra grand – that’s how much.

Master the art of bet-sizing and your poker game will improve in leaps and bounds.  Its not good enough to just bet, check or call, you aint gonna get anywhere.  The skill is in the amount of your bet.  Think “How much am I going to bet?”

Every time you decide to bet, ask yourself immediately, “How much?”  That way you wont just bet, you will use the size of the bet to your advantage.  Bet-sizing gives you the leverage to out play your opponents.  And, the best way to learn is by playing a lot of poker hands, grinding it out.  You’ve got to get that feel for what your opponents can take, what will push them off, how you can get that pay-off.

Think before you act!

I sometimes don’t know what all the fuss is about.  If you follow the rules and play poker within the legal guidelines, then what can go wrong?  The lawmakers seem to put fear into people and whilst you shouldn’t break the law, that doesn’t mean that you should stop doing things because you think they might be wrong.  Find out first.

All you have to do is find the US Friendly Poker sites and play your poker there if you are from the US.  Sure in some States they have tough laws on gambling and the banks are under pressure to prevent people using their credit cards for online gambling.  But find out for yourself first, what you can and cannot do.  Best thing to do is read poker reviews to give you tips on the US Friendly Poker Rooms.

And, then always only play at the best online poker rooms, that have a dependable reputation.  The big gambling companies will always ensure that they are operating within the law, because they have too much to lose if they are not doing things properly.  Remember that your reputation is precious, once you blow that you are doomed!