Just Beginning as a Poker Player? Three essential tips

Poker is very fun and exciting and many people play as a hobby, some even as a career. The basic rules of poker are simple, but the game itself can become very challenging when you begin to play at higher levels alongside better players. Prior to investing any money in poker, it is advised that you solidly grasp the rules of betting, calling, raising, and folding. You also must know the rank of each hand, in order to make wise decisions and the fewest errors possible. You don’t want to think you have the best hand when, in reality, you are beat by many other possible hands. Here are 3 more tips on becoming a poker player.

1. “Play Money” to start- Play money allows you to start learning and applying the basic rules and fundamentals without a single cost to you. You won’t have to worry about shooting through your whole bank account trying to become a good poker player. Most online poker sites offer “play money” games, so you’ll have many from which to choose. You can also just play for fun at your home with friends.

2. Don’t be afraid to try out multiple strategies- You have to find a playing style that works for you and it may take a few tries before you find out exactly what that style is. You might not be an uber-aggressive player, so if that doesn’t suit you, try to play more conservatively. Experiment while you’re playing for free – now’s the right time. Don’t feel stuck in one strategy when you’re just getting started. You’ll be very easy to read by more experienced players and you will get quickly frustrated if other players are bullying you around the table constantly.

3. Don’t let your ego get in the way of playing a solid poker game- There will be times you will get lucky and win some big hands or suck out the cards you need to beat people. Don't let that go to your head. Keep a level head at all times, regardless of whether you’re up or down. You will ultimately concentrate better and, as a result, play your best poker.
These tips should help you smoothly transition into learning the game of poker. Poker does involve a little bit of luck, but skilled players perform better over the long run and you should aim to be one of those players. By letting these tips guide you, you can master the fundamentals, develop a successful poker playing style, and dominate online games even when you switch to playing for real money.

Improving Your Poker Skills

If you were trying to become a professional baseball player, you would probably spend much of your time working out at the gym, at batting practice and at your position as much as you could, well gambling requires the same dedication and practice if you want to be the best.

The first thing you must do to improve your poker skills is to play as many hands of poker a day as you can. This means instead of watching television, or hanging out with friends you should be in an online poker room or online casino playing poker.

Using the internet you can find many online poker rooms that will allow you to play poker online against live opponents. Playing live players instead of the computer is always better, because when you play against the computer it will always respond the same in any given situation. The computer just goes thru an algorithm which tells it what to do, but a person has to make a decision and given the same situation two hands in a row there is no telling what a person is going to do.

Besides playing poker as much as you can, it is also important to watch the game as well. I would recommend watching poker on TV, going to the casino and just watching and many online casinos will give you the option of watching a game. This will give you the chance to practice your skills of reading people. The more you watch the better you will become at noticing those small involuntary things we all do that tell others what we are thinking. An example of this is taught to the police when they are in basic training. When trying to come up with a lie most people will unconsciously look up and to the left. This means if you ask your child if they did their homework and they look up and too the left before telling you they had no homework there is a good chance they are not telling the truth.

When you can not play poker against live players or spend time watching it you should read about it. Reading about poker will not give you the experience that you need but there are many useful things you can get from reading. One of them would be the odds of any 1 card being dealt to you. Knowing the odds against you making the hand you are going for may influence your decision and save you a lot of money in the long run. There are many books written on the subject of poker and any book store will carry a good selection of them. I recommend only reading books from mathematicians and those who have made a name for themselves playing poker professionally.

Study psychology. You may not believe his but learning psychology will give you an advantage over the other players, you can learn how to overcome involuntary reactions to good news and bad news, making it harder for your opponents to read you and figure out what cards are in your hand. it will also teach you to mislead others into thinking whatever you want them to think. This skill can be extremely helpful in helping you win games and increase your wealth.

Ask any player who is a "winning player" about the psychology of poker and they will tell, cards do not matter. Hand strength (of your cards)is one of the LAST things to consider when you are playing. Position, game flow, and psychology are way more important than cards. One of the best resources that can help you can be found here. Good luck and see you at the tables!

2010 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza Poker Tournament Returns For a Fourth Year

Both visitors and Las Vegas locals alike eagerly anticipate many poker events that take place throughout the year in the poker capital. Las Vegas Poker Source recommends that poker players not miss the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza, a nearly four week long poker series that debuted in 2007 at the Venetian Resort, Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Beginning January 29th, the large and luxurious Venetian poker room plays host once again to this recurring poker tournament series, which offers poker tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $340 to $5000. Poker players can choose from a multitude of No Limit Hold Em, Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo and H.O.R.S.E. tournaments.

Want to win your way into one of these events? Single table satellites are available to players each day in the Venetian Poker Room from 8am-2am, with two winners advancing to the respective poker tournament. There are also Super Satellites into the main event being held on Friday February 19th at Noon, 4pm and 8pm. The first two are $220 buy-in with $200 rebuys and the evening satellite will cost $540 with no rebuys. Winners from the Super Satellites will advance to the NAPT Main Event ($5000 five day event) on Saturday February 20.

This year’s main event is double the price tag of the former $2500 main event, and is also being sponsored by PokerStars. North American Poker Tour (NAPT) is the new live tournament poker series that will continue across the country after this initial stop in Las Vegas. PokerStars is the largest online poker site in the world and will likely grow even more in popularity as they branch out into the live venues.

The Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza Poker Tournament Series is held in high regard by poker players of all skill levels. In the past, events have been won by amateurs and professionals alike (from all over the world as well). Poker players travel far and wide to Las Vegas specifically to attend this poker event. It is one of the most well known poker series in Las Vegas, only falling behind The World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour on the list of major poker events. The past prize pools have gotten as large as more than $3 million in the course of one Deep Stack series. With the new larger main event buy-in, combined with more and more players catching on to the poker trend and traveling to this event, players can expect even larger fields and continuously growing prize pools to kick off the 2010 version of the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza.

In addition to the Deep Stack Extravaganza schedule, The Venetian Poker Room will also be offering a second chance tournament every evening at 7pm. For a $120 buy-in, players receive 7500 in chips and 20 minute blind levels. The poker room will also have a large variety of live action cash games running 24 hours a day. The poker room offers tableside beverage and food service, chair massages, and poker room rates based on availability and clocked cash game hours. For more information on poker room rates, call 877-444-3777.

For more information about the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza Poker Series schedule and structures, as well as other poker happenings in Las Vegas, visit Las Vegas Poker Source.

PokerStars and Venetian Team Up for a Fully-Loaded Deep Stack Extravaganza

Venetian Hotel, Resort and Casino in Las Vegas houses one of the most loved poker rooms in the world. They play host to a very popular poker tournament series in Las Vegas called the Deep Stack Extravaganza, which is attended by tens of thousands of poker players during its four occurrences throughout each calendar year. Prize pools for this event have totaled well into the several millions.

PokerStars is the largest online poker room in the world, containing more players and games at every stake than any other site. Several World Series of Poker champions have come from seats won by satellites at PokerStars, such as Chris Moneymaker (2003) and Greg Raymer (2004). PokerStars began offering “real money” poker games in December of 2001 and dealt its 25 billionth hand in early 2009. They also hold the record for largest online poker tournament ever held, with 149,196 entrants in the playing field.

So what two better poker powerhouses exist that could team up to produce a poker tournament together? Beginning January 29^th, the Venetian Las Vegas will play host to its first of four 2010 Deep Stack Extravaganza Poker Series. The schedule will run much like it has in the past – poker players of all different skills and backgrounds from all over the world will participate in No Limit Hold Em, Omaha Hi Lo, Pot Limit Omaha and H.O.R.S.E. poker events, with buy-ins beginning at $340 and extending up to $1070. Players can buy in directly, or have the opportunity to play single table satellites each day at the Venetian. Two players from each table will advance into the respective tournament.

The main event of the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza is where players will experience changes from the past schedules. Instead of the $2500 buy-in, three day event of previous Deep Stack poker tournaments, players can enter the North American Poker Tour main event – at a price of $5,000. This NAPT main event is part of PokerStars first ever live tournament series. After its debut at the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza poker series, it will travel across the country to other casinos (venues and dates have not been announced just yet).

The Venetian will hold Super Satellites for this event on February 19^th. At noon and 4pm, players can participate in a satellite for $220 buy-in with $200 rebuys. At 8pm there will be a $540 (no rebuys) Super Satellite. Players can also qualify online with PokerStars for a variety of buy-in options, even including freerolls. There will be a $700 25 seat guarantee on PokerStars on Sunday January 17^th at 6pm EST.

The NAPT/Venetian Deep Stack main event will begin on February 20^th with only one day 1, with players receiving a 30,000 starting chip stack.

For more information on the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza, you can call the poker room at (702)414-7657. For more on the NAPT structure and schedule, visit www.pokerstars.com. For additional information on all major and daily poker tournaments in Las Vegas, poker players are invited to visit www.lasvegaspokersource.com to aid in the planning of your poker trip.