4 Gambling Mistakes New Poker Players Make – Poker is a game of chance, but there is still a large amount of skill involved when playing. Many new poker players make gambling mistakes that cost them a lot of money and get them out of tournaments. Some novices play free poker online and never win because of terrible gambling techniques. However, by knowing four common gambling mistakes that are made by new players, you can greatly increase your chances of winning games and tournaments.

1. Going all-in too often or in obvious desperation. In many tournaments with play money, some players go all-in the first hand. It may work for a few times, but after a while, someone will call you. In that case, you better hope that you have actually good cards. All-in can be used to get players to fold, but it should really only be used if you have a solid hand and could possibly double your stack. People should bluff very infrequently with an all-in. Going all-in with a bad hand is what many people call “bad poker.” Sometimes you can get lucky, but the best players bet carefully.

2. Under betting. If you have a good starting hand, don’t be afraid to raise pre-flop, or bet high after the flop. If you have a great hand, then slow playing can work very well. However, when you do start placing bets in a no-limit game, they should not be too small. One reason is that you won’t end up winning as much money if you bet small. Another reason is that you are giving incentives for many other players to stay in the hand. Therefore, you are giving other players chances to hit a hand that is better than yours. The best players bet just the right amount to get it where only one or two players call. In that case, your odds for winning are a lot better.

3. Over betting. Some players get very excited when they have a good hand. They may go all-in, or lay down outrageous bets. Not only is it a waste of a good hand, but also people can start to read you. If you constantly over bet only when you have something, then people will always fold and you won’t win money. However, if you don’t have anything, then people will also know because you aren’t laying down monstrous bets.

4. Finally, it is important to know when to fold. The best poker players are constantly watching other players, and guessing who could have better hands than they have. If someone bets high, and you know you have the best possible hand (which occurs rarely), then you can call. However, you need to know the odds of the other person having a better hand. Additionally, many new poker players call large bets when they don’t have anything, they just need a draw card. This is the worst type of gamble. Seldom will a person get that final card they need for a straight or a three-of-a-kind. Knowing the odds is key to playing good poker.

New poker players are often very easy targets for experienced players. Many new poker players make gambling mistakes that can be capitalized on. In order to avoid those mistakes, it is important to study the odds in poker, analyze what other players could have, and bet intelligently. If you do that, then you will have a fairly successful poker playing experience.

Are You Interested In Playing Poker?

Maybe you recently caught a glimpse of the show Celebrity Poker and all it took was one episode and you found yourself hooked. Or maybe, all your friends have been raving about how addictive the game is and how much money they’ve won. Now you know you’re getting a little bit interested, no matter even if you think taht curiosity has indeed started to kill the cat.

But don’t worry, with poker, there shall be no senseless animal killing and anyone and anything can examine it to his heart’s content. And so, if you’re interested in playing poker, here’s what you can expect.

Poker Is No Ordinary Game – Most people think that poker is one of the easiest – or maybe even the silliest – card games because you’re only holding two cards in your hand so how hard can it be? And it seems silly because with just two cards, people actually expect you to be able to deduce whether you’ve got a good poker hand or not – and isn’t that silly?

We’re not all born with ESP here! But ladies and gentlemen, those are misassumptions – although the general rules for poker are quite easy to understand, to be able to win not just once but consecutively, you need to have a variety of mental strategies to see you through. Michael Jordan said that basketball is more of a mental rather than a physical game, didn’t he? Well, I’m here to tell you that poker is more of a mental game, too – rather than one that simply deals with random luck.

You Can Earn Money Playing Poker – Another erroneous belief most people have is that since poker is above all, a card game. Since it’s mostly played in casinos, it’s very much a vice and can be the reason why your money’s flowing out like water. Well, that’s where they’re wrong again! It’s very easy to earn money playing poker.

All you need is to improve your playing style and money management. Yes, there’s such a thing as money management in poker. Lastly, you need self-control. If you have that, then you’ll know when it’s time to stop playing poker and when it’s okay to press your luck some more.

Poker Is Fun – If you think poker is a very serious game, you’re partially right. But not all serious things are lacking in pleasure, you know. Take the game of chess, for example. It seems boring at first glance but when you learn how to play the game, it gets addictive. And that’s how it is with poker as well.

Basic Poker Rules – Poker Hand Ranking

For those that do not know the basics, here are the ways the hands and cards are ranked in poker.

Number of cards in the deck: 52.

Number of suits: 4 (Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, Clubs)

Number of cards in each suit: 13 (In order of rank; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2)

Number of cards in a poker hand: 5 (even in games where you are dealt more than 5 cards, only 5 cards count as your poker hand.)

Rank of poker hands from highest to lowest:

1. Royal Flush; (ace, king, queen, jack, ten, all the same suit.)
2. Straight Flush; (5 cards in sequence of the same suit. see “straight” below for explanation of in sequence) (The lowest ranking straight flush is the wheel-flush, ace, 2, 3, 4, 5. 5 is considered the top card, not the ace.) (if two players have a straight flush, the one with the higher top card wins.)
3. Four of a kind; 4 Kings, Queens or other cards. (Of course the higher ranked 4 of a kind wins, such as 4 kings beats 4 queens)
4. Full House; This consists of 3 of a kind, (see below) and a pair all in one hand. (example; you have 3 fours and 2 kings. That would be fours over kings, while having 3 kings and 2 fours would be kings over fours.) (If 2 players each have a full house, the better three-of-a-kind part of the hand wins. example; you have 3 eights and two aces, your opponent has 3 nines and 2 twos. Your opponent wins. Their nines beat your eights.)
5. Flush; 5 cards of any rank, but all the same suit. (If 2 players each have a flush, the flush with the highest top card wins, if that is a tie, then whoever has the highest second card wins, if that is a tie, you compare the third, fourth, fifth card, etc.)
6. Straight; 5 cards in sequence. (example; 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 is a 7-high straight. If you opponent has 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, they have an 8-high straight and they win.)
7. Three of a Kind; (Trips) 3 cards of the same rank. (example; 3 sevens, 3 eights, 3 kings. if 2 players have 3-of-a-kind, the highest ranking cards wins the hand)
8. Two Pairs; A Pair is 2 cards of the same rank. 2 pair means you have 2 sets of 2 cards of the same rank. (If 2 players each have 2 pair, the player with the highest top pair wins. Kings and twos would beat queens and jacks.)
9. Pair; 2 cards of equal rank. (If 2 players each have a pair, the highest ranking pair wins. If 2 players each have the exact same pair, then out of the 3 remaining cards in your hand the highest card is your “kicker”. The highest kicker wins. If still tied, you go to the next highest kicker, etc.)
10. High Card; Where no one has a pair or above, you compare hands like this. The highest card in your hand vs the highest card in opponents hands. If that is a tie, then you compare the next highest card, then the next if still tied and so on. (King, Queen, 10, 6, 2, would beat King, Queen, 10, 5, 4. It would have been a tie until the fourth card compared and the first hand has a 6 to their opponent’s 5.)

For a game where most players rarely consider luck, there are lots of superstitions in poker. When you mention that someone was lucky in that poker tournament they won, be careful of how you say it. For instance, if you mention that you were unlucky, your luck may never change.

Ok, that may sound a bit ubsurd, but poker is a game loaded with superstitions. Did you know that if you are playing a game with two seperate decks and you are asked to pick the deck, you should always pick the deck of cards that is furthest from you? Or, how about If you get a run of bad cards, you must sit on a hankerchief to break your bad luck? It’s actually considered good luck to blow through a deck of cards while they are being shuffled.

Some other fascinating poker superstitions are:

• You can change the run of cards by walking around your chair three times.
• The luckiest seat at the poker table faces the door.
• The unluckiest seat has it’s back to a fireplace.
• When changing seats, you should always do so clockwise.
• The unluckiest poker card is the four of clubs.
• It’s very unlucky to sit with your legs crossed at the poker table.
• Friday is a bad day for playing cards.
• The 13th is also a bad day, regardless of what day of the week it is.

For being such a game full of skill, many people still hold on to the old superstitions.