How's Your Poker Face?

Poker Face Training
By Jenny Mac

Do you know what a poker face is? Some one wanted a reiteration. Here you are: A Poker Face is a face lacking any interpretable expression. I had to clarify because I am clearly unaware from innate knowledge.

If you too are puzzled, a great example is the police officer that pulled you over for exceeding safe and posted speed. The one who knows you were speeding and knows YOU know you were speeding. He is the one who inquires if you were aware of your speed to which you reply by saying, Hmmmmm, and make that puzzled look on your face like you were just asked whether Andalusia is or is not part of the Kingdom of Spain. Or you say you were in such a huge hurry only by necessity to bring home medicinal supplies to the orphaned bear cub you saved from the burning woods behind your house. That face he wears as you babble your story? A poker face.

I come from a family of reactive people. The gene code for "poker face" was diluted from our lineage long ago. Not a soul in our family can pull it off, I promise you. Others have this capability, and perhaps are better for it but I think poker face can be a debit and a credit. Let me explain.

Not everyone wears their emotion on their sleeve. Ingenious for people who face danger or uncomfortable news on a daily basis. Would you want your doctor to look at your x-rays and scrunch up her face? Or Anderson Cooper to read the news with a scowl, or worse, a tear in his eye? No. And while the police, media, and various medical personnel are often trained to show minimal to no reaction, this is not a personal development course I have had the privilege of attending.

Poker Face Training (PFT) could have benefited me OH so many times. Let me name a few.

PFT needed: when a former leader of a visiting corporation asked during a negotiation meeting what was the difference between "state" and "federal".
Or when my best friend showed me the sweater she received from her mother-in-law which had a fake vest front sewn on the sides, was enormously too big, and had Cat O' Nine Tails on the front including some faux "cat o' nine tails" material actually glued on the front to give that billowy willowy look of cat o' nine tails blowing in breeze. (She didn't have a poker face either, believe me.)

Or the time my neighbor brought us a cake she made and upon one bite, my husband and I thought it was an iced roll of wet toilet paper. The same neighbor who criticizes every one else's cooking.

Or when playing golf with some conservative executives, one of them missed his shot and yelled a six word string of profanity.

Or when I went to a famous comedy club in California with my father and older brother. It was all fun and games and laughing hysterically, until the famous comedian who shall remain nameless started talking about certain lovemaking techniques. And he was not calling it "lovemaking". And I was sitting between my Father and older brother.

And PFT would have helped me even back in the day, when I was just getting situated in the world. Like when I came home one day and my roommate was wearing one of my dresses, that she cut the tags off.

Or when dining with a college boyfriend at his parents house for the first time, his mom called me his former girlfriends name, not once, not twice, but three times. And then wanted my help to clean up after dinner. And wash dishes. Lack of poker face on my part? Not once, not twice, but three times.

But, having a poker face at all time does have its drawbacks. Have you ever tried to give a really great surprise to someone who has mastered the art of poker face so well they show no emotion? I have and its a little less fun than it could be. Since we are a family of reactors, I know that reactors are ideal people to give gifts or plan great surprises. Because the enthusiasm is unbridled, the joy uncontained. And sometimes, seeing that face of exuberance is worth a million dollars.

So, as with many things in life, balance is the key. I am delighted that I show true excitement for all things wonderful, and I will continue to work on keeping it expressionless when necessary. But I think I have a long route, and it will not come easily as I am already making a face as I merely type the words.

JennyMac

Article Source: Poker Face Training

Aggressive Poker Strategy - Get a Guide!

Poker Strategy Guide
By Ashish K Arora

One should always read a poker strategy guide before they start playing poker. Poker strategy guide is mainly for those people who are going to play poker for the first time in their life. There are various things which should be considered before playing any poker game such as:

- Gap Concept - In poker game, gap concept means that a player needs a better hand to play against those who have opened the betting already than he would need to open himself. The gap concept mainly shows that how a player prefers to avoid confrontations with another player and now the calling is the only way to win the game. On the other hand, sometimes opening may also win immediately if the opponents fold.

- Sandwich effect - It is mostly related to the gap effect. It mainly states that when a player needs a stronger hand to stay in a pot and also when there are opponents yet to act behind him. There are many players who don't know that how many opponents will be involved in the pot and also he will have to call a re-raise or not. And because of this reason only a stronger hand is desired as compensation for his uncertainty.

- Aggressive/Passive play - Aggressive play and passive play, both are different things in a poker game. Here, aggressive play means rising and betting on the other hand passive play means calling and checking. In poker, most of the time aggressive play is considered stronger than the passive play and the reason behind this is the bluff value of bets and raises and it also offers more opportunities for the opponents to make mistakes.

- Hand reading and tells - The process of making an educated guess about the various possible cards which an opponent may have based on the sequence of actions in the pot is called Hand reading. The player always attempts to narrow the possibilities down to a range of hands. This range of hands makes senses which are based o the past actions of his opponents. On the other hand, the detectable change in an opponent's demeanor or behavior is called tell.

These are some poker strategy guide which is necessary for any poker game. Anyone should have complete knowledge of poker strategy guide before playing any game. One more thing, poker playing strategy is for knowledge not for getting experience. So, one should be careful if they are first time players.

Being a hardcore poker fan, I tried a lot of Poker Strategy Guides; Kill No Limit is what i was looking for. This is greatest ever Poker Strategy guide, I have compiled a review. I recommend checking Kill No Limit Review

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ashish_K_Arora
http://EzineArticles.com/?Poker-Strategy-Guide&id=2096989

Aggressive Poker Strategy

Aggressive Poker Strategy - Beat Aggressive Players

Beat Aggressive Poker Players
By David Walker

While some argue aggressive players can be the most annoying at the table, you have to give them credit. The aggressive poker player will either win the tournament or get eliminated quickly in a blaze of glory before getting into his or her stride.

If you play in enough freeroll tournaments and pay attention to your opponents’ style of play you will more than likely find at least one player that falls into this category. An aggressive player sitting at your table intends to take home the money or doesn’t plan to stick around and waste much time “losing”. This sort of play can certainly speed things along for the table because he or she can raise and re-raise while simultaneously taking out a few players along the way.

This player is the one who will let you know while he is chatting away what he is doing so if you are playing the freeroll to win, pay close attention to what he’s saying and to which starting hands he raises before the flop.

You will probably come to the conclusion that these players are those who only raise pre-flop with the top 10 starting hands. Even though they seem to be in a hurry to win it all or they don’t want to stick around very long, don’t forget they are “in it to win it” and prefer to win the tournament outright than merely be “in the money”.

Even though you may not regard the aggressive player as a worthy opponent then make sure you understand the following points. If the stakes are low the opposite may in fact be true. Why would a good player want to play four or five hours of poker in a large freeroll when the most money they can walk away with is a share of $15?

If, however, the stakes are much higher and it’s a $10,000 freeroll for instance, watch for the guy who gets in a hurry. You need to keep him quiet and out of as many pots as possible if he’s a big bluff. His bluffing may earn him a share of some sizeable pots.

Remember, if you don’t slow down an aggressive player who bluffs his way into some large pots, they can be dangerous when they lose the roll of “bluff” and take over the roll of “bully” with a stack of chips at their disposal.

David Walker runs free bets and UK poker websites. A free email course: "Seven Days to Better Betting" is available at both of these websites.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Walker
http://EzineArticles.com/?Beat-Aggressive-Poker-Players&id=165747

Aggressive Poker Strategy

Aggressive Poker Strategy Needs Flexibility

Loose Aggressive Vs Tight Aggressive Play in Poker Tournaments
By Vikram Singh

It is often naturally presumed that whenever you play poker you should employ the Tight Aggressive style of play. With that being said the majority of poker players worldwide do actually adopt this approach. Although the TAG style of play might be the best strategy for no limit cash games it is not always the best tactic to employ when you are playing large tournaments or to a lesser extent single table sit-n-go tournaments.

A common strategy known amongst experienced players is to play in the opposite style to your opponents. Since the majority of players adopt the TAG approach, you may want to consider adding some LAG (Loose Aggressive) elements to your tournament game. This will add an extra dimension to your game; you will constantly keep your opposition guessing by playing a large variety of hands.

After playing poker for a long time I have come to realize that you cannot stick to one particular style of play for a long period. If you are always playing the TAG game you will eventually become too predictable and your opponents will figure out that you only play with premium hands. You will get bluffed at a lot more and won't get paid off with your monster hands. In order to overcome this problem you must be able to effectively mix up your play by shifting gears at the right times to continually keep your opponents on their toes; this is the key to playing solid tournament poker. I'm not saying that you should permanently switch to a LAG style of play, however by simply adding some key LAG elements to your tournament game you should see you a major overall improvement.

Now, what exactly is the Loose Aggressive approach? The LAG player is defined as a poker player who calls and raises a large variety of hands with the intention of outplaying or outdrawing an opponent who is usually holding a stronger hand. This type of player is also very aware and will usually back down when there is retaliation or resistance, However he will semi bluff at a lot more pots and sometimes come over the top if he feels his opponent is weak and cannot call.

This type of variety in a player's game can very easily help them exploit the enormous number of players who don't let a single chip slip into the pot without holding a premium hand in the early stages of poker tournaments. In No Limit Cash Games you can sit around and wait for the nuts all night, but in tournaments and sit-n-gos you don't have that luxury, the blinds and antes are continually eating away at your stack, so you must be making some moves regularly. By adding LAG elements to your game in the early stages of Sit-N-Gos and Tournaments your stack will be better equipped to deal with the frenzied circumstances at the end stages of the game.

When you are using the LAG approach you will probably be able to pick up a lot of small pots without much resistance. If you raise pre-flop with hands like 35 when you are in position and if you only get 1 or 2 callers you are in a good spot to take down the pot a majority of the time. Even you miss the flop entirely the pre-flop raise has put you in control of the hand and if your opponents check to you it is most likely they missed as well (Two Thirds of the time your opponents will completely miss the flop), a continuation bet in this spot will usually take down the pot.

Obviously this tactic won't always work; sometimes you will bet and get check-raised, but that doesn't matter because you should be able to get away from the hand easily and you wouldn't have lost that much. Overall you will accumulate more chips by continually winning those small pots, after all you can't win every pot, and even if you missed the flop with AK or AQ and you got check raised you would most likely have to fold.

Another major advantage that makes the LAG style of play so profitable and enjoyable to employ is the fact that sometimes you will hit the flop hard and make a huge hand, e.g. you flop a straight, a flush or 2 pair. If this occurs it is very unlikely for your opponents to put you on something like 86 or 47, and if they have high pockets or got a piece of the flop you will get paid off in a big way and take down a huge pot.

Although, there are some disadvantages of using the LAG approach. When using this style you will always come across inexperienced players or calling stations that will call you down with bottom pair or AK and absolutely destroy your stack. So to employ the style effectively you must study your opponents very carefully and know who to target. Remember there is no point bluffing a calling station or re-raising with bottom pair if you know your opponent never folds when he hits any pair.

Also by going into the pot with marginal hands you will constantly find yourself holding the second best hand. Whether you are holding middle pair or your kicker isn't good enough, a good LAG player should be able to away from 2nd best hands without losing too much money. However if you are not careful this could seriously damage your stack and jeopardize your chances for the latter stages.

Nevertheless overall, by adding LAG elements to your game in the early stages you should be able to amass extra chips and acquire a nice stack early on. You immediately gain a huge advantage over players who play a cautious, tight game. The extra chips that you accumulate will allow you to survive tough decisions in the end stages and give you some breathing space.

So if you happen to get involved in a race situation in the latter stages you are able to withstand a loss and are not completely crippled. You will have an extra buffer of chips that will be much needed and treasured when you are placed in those situations. On the other hand a player that always pursues the TAG approach will most likely be Dependant on his AK to win a race or be eliminated out of the tournament.

For more great poker strategy articles and tips check out Poker Room Hustle, online poker blog covering Sit-N-Go Poker, No Limit Cash Games, Poker Tournaments and general updated poker Information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vikram_Singh
http://EzineArticles.com/?Loose-Aggressive-Vs-Tight-Aggressive-Play-in-Poker-Tournaments&id=1134926

Aggressive Poker Strategy

Aggressive Poker Strategy Number 1 - Get the Book

How many times have you gone online to play poker only to see someone else’s name high up on the Leaderboards? I mean, what do these other players have that’s so special, anyway?

Doesn’t your blood boil over when a seemingly simple mistake takes you out of the money? It sure does mine.

Or I should say, it used to.

I thought I had it figured out. I’d watch the pros play on TV. I read a few books. I sure have played enough hands. I decided to start playing the Sit and Go’s – those single table online tournaments that are so popular these days.

Boy, was I ever in for a surprise. The same rules don’t apply! These tournaments play fast – they’re over in under an hour. They play fast and hard. And I was falling fast and hard.

Until I met Carl “The Dean” Sampson. Now this guy can play. He’s one of the most successful – and feared – online cash gamers in all of Europe.

He stays out of the limelight for the most part. He’d much rather keep his stealth persona alive. His competition fears him, and he likes it that way!

The secrets I learned from “The Dean” have given my online game a new lease on life. I’ve gone from being “nuts” to making the “nuts” more times than I can count.

And it can be the same for you.

Up until now, “The Dean” has been reluctant to share his secrets. He’s been having fun going from game to game and from the “green” to the “green.” His fans, however, kept on his case. His followers and students were begging him to teach them to win.

He already gets paid thousands to consult with the biggest names online.

He finally relented. Turns out he loves watching his students win the big pots. It gives him as big a charge as winning them himself.

Well, almost. :)

So here’s the deal.

I’ve got special access to Carl Sampson’s exclusive strategies to Crushing the Competition in Online Single Tournament play. Your chance to sit side by side with “The Dean” himself and watch him play.

See how he bets, when he bets, and why he bets when he bets! And I gotta tell you, it’s not what you think or were taught to think.

Carl teaches the secret to “controlled aggression” – just one of the many secrets that he reveals. Learn this one skill and you’ll be making the money chair both online and at the casino!

I urge you to pick up a copy of Carl’s newest book. Before too many others get a copy of it. Truth is, I’m not sure how long Carl plans to keep it for sale.

Click on the link below and start cashing in!

http://pokersharkpool.com

See you Online!

Donovan Baldwin

P.S. If you’ve ever wanted to pick the brains of a poker pro – this is your chance. Carl is one of the best – his strategies will take you from desperation to inspiration to the money chair! Pick up a copy of “Crushing Online Single Table Tournaments” and see what the buzz is all about.

Aggressive Poker Strategy