By definition, a coin-flip is a 50-50 odds situation, in which the outcome is entirely dependent on luck, in the case of poker: on the board. An example of a poker coin-flip would be to have your Q,Q going up against an A,K. You already have a made hand but your opponent has six outs to beat you, which means the odds are by and large even. Knowing that, it is weird to talk about the use of strategy to better your coin-flip odds. Weirdly enough: it can be done too.

First of all, you need to make sure the coin-flip you’re about to take is a coin-flip indeed. While in poker the odds are rarely exactly 50-50 on coin-flips, a 45-55% match-up will still pretty much count as one. A 30-70% match-up not so much though. Just because you believe you’re about to get yourself into a coin-flip, doesn’t mean that you do too. If your 7,7 goes up against your opponent’s A,A, that there’s not much of a coin-flip. In order to know that you’re about to take a coin-flip for your tournament life, you need to need to have a solid read on the opponent you’re up against. All this has little to do with altering the odds involved though. For that, you’ll have to take the initiative in the hand. In other words: you need to be the aggressor. Being aggressive generally pays in poker. If you’re aggressive, you create a natural advantage over your opponents, and here’s how that advantage works in the case of the coin-flip: by making the shove instead of making the call, you’ll have your opponent faced with a critical decision. As they would say in NBA playoff terms: you defend home court and you place the pressure onto your opponent. He may decide the make the call, but he may decide to fold too. By being aggressive, you’ve basically opened up two ways to win the hand: by winning the coin-flip, or by forcing your opponent to fold.

Now put yourself in his shoes: the pressure’s on you, and you have to make the decision. If you decide to call, you will have to win the coin-flip, there are no other way for you to win the hand. The advantage that you secure by being the aggressor in the above described situation is known as the fold equity.

Sign up for rakeback when playing in online poker tournaments. Most of your rake rebate will come from cash games of course, but a rake return on tournament fees is also more than welcome anytime. Log on to http://www.rakemeback.com for the best rakeback and poker propping deals.

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Wood Poker Chip Case

This elegant humidor style poker chip case holds 200 poker chips, two decks of cards and dice.  This case was manufactured by a factory specializing in humidors, and it is re-designed to fit poker chips by the factory. The image on the top of case is of a lighter wood tone and has the Ace of Spades and the Queen of Hearts displayed. The case has brass hinges and clasp. The interior is  black felt. While cigar humidors cost hundreds of Dollars, you can have this elegant chip case at a fraction of the cost. Cards, Chips and Dice not included.

*High gloss lacquer finish.
*Black Felt interior.
*Brass hardware.
*Space for 200 Poker Chips.
*Dark and Light Wood Top.

This high quality decorative humidor style poker chip case makes a perfect Memorial Day, Labor Day or Christmas gift for the poker enthusiast in your life.

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These attractive 10 gram casino poker chips look and feel just like the real thing. The chips feature an authentic chip design and have no metal insert for the most authentic casino playing experience possible. The center of these chips is recessed to allow for the application of custom label inserts. These are among the best poker chips for label customization available today. Compare to much more expensive Paulson poker chips and you will find that these chips are just about the best on the market today. The feel and sound of theses chips will make you think that you are at a casino poker table.

Custom Poker Chips

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With the WSOP just around the corner again, online qualifiers are being stepped up everywhere in the online poker industry. It’s that “WSOP satellite” time of the year, and why shouldn’t you be one of the players jumping on the satellite band-wagon? After all, if you win your way into the Big Dance for something like $30-60, you may just become the next Chris Moneymaker, and be honest with yourself: as corny as the whole idea is, you have fantasized about it, haven’t you? Here are a few tips to help you make the most of the satellites you decide to take part in.

Most WSOP satellites are run in a MTT format. The main difference between various qualifier types is that some of them offer only one package (in winner takes all style), while others offer several packages for the top finishers. Your strategy approach is 100% dependent on which type of satellite you’re planning to take part in.

In a winner take all satellite, your position is obvious: you need to be the fox, the one who goes for the win, because second place in these events is only as good as last. This “fox” mentality is a little difficult for most regular MTT players to get into. Everyone is used to the idea that making a final table carries some pretty substantial rewards, and that even making it past the money bubble offers some benefits. Most MTT players are “farmers”. Their first major goal in the tournament is to make it past the money bubble. Once they’re over the fence, they start thinking about ways to make it as deep as possible before busting out. This sort of thinking just won’t cut it for you in a winner take all satellite. Farmers tend to give up marginal value for the sake of lasting longer. They achieve less variance, but they’re usually all gone by the final stages of poker tournaments. Foxes on the other hand, take advantage of the cautious nature of farmers. They play a high variance game, yet in pretty much every tournament, one will only find such foxes at the final table. In winner takes all WSOP satellites “farming” loses its point completely, yet many of the players who are accustomed to playing this style, find it difficult to kick old habits.

The second type of WSOP satellite is the one that gives top finishers a set number of packages. Let’s say one such satellite gives players 5 seats. This means the top 5 finishers will cash in on their efforts, while the remaining field will go home with the proverbial wooden spoon.

In these events, winning is not that important anymore, therefore the “fox” approach described above may not be the optimal approach for you. In such cases, making it past the bubble is all you need to do. Farming takes on an entirely different meaning in this case. In such satellites, chip leaders will often refuse to play any hand (and that includes pocket rockets) as the bubble approaches. The problem is that because of the proximity of the prize, the action will tighten up to the point of ridicule, so you will be forced to play some of the tightest poker you’ve ever seen. Once you reckon you have enough chips to carry you through past the bubble, you can lay back too and watch the other players battle it out.

Regardless of which type of satellite you choose, bear in mind that you will have to win quite a few coin-flips to get there. Pick your coin-flipping spots wisely and for crying out loud: sign up for poker rakeback.  I know that poker props deals work best at the cash tables, but getting a 30-50% rebate on your satellite tournament fees isn’t shabby either. The extra money may just buy you that one extra chance you need to make it.

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Not signing up for rakeback. Rakeback is something that may not sit well with some of the top online poker rooms, but it’s certainly God’s gift to poker players. I always remember to sign up for that rake back or poker prop deal after I create my poker account. Don’t do that. Rakeback is not something only the small online poker rooms offer. Some of the biggest rooms give players rakeback too. Sign up for a deal and then open your account.

Playing for too long while not on my A-game is something I do too. I hit a snag, I take a bad beat and then I find myself chasing the losses. Truth be told, on a few occasions I do manage to get back up above the red line, but playing while chasing losses is not something you want to do. When you chase, you take unnecessary risks and therefore you impair your ability to make optimal choices. When things are not going well for you, you should just quit and save some dough to come back to fight another day.

The exact opposite of chasing losses is setting session goals and quitting while on a roll because of them. I do that too unfortunately. Often, I get started in a session and I go on a roll. I felt a few guys and then I’m like “that ought to be enough for today, I’m over my set winning limit anyway”, so I quit while I’m ahead, not paying attention to the fact that I actually minimize the time I spend at the tables while on my A-game. I once strung together a streak of 14 consecutive winning sessions, but I can’t help but wonder how much more I could’ve won had I not quit way too early in each and every one of those sessions.

Skipping table section. This is one common omission I’m not guilty of. I know I’m not the best player and in order to make money, I know I need to find folks who are worse than I am. It’s a surprising fact though that many people don’t give a wooden nickel about table selection… With the wealth of statistical information that modern online poker rooms offer right in their lobbies, table selection should be a cinch for everyone really.

Committing chips on EV- plays while knowing all too well you’re making a mistake. Again, this is familiar territory. I did quite of bit of studying on this most annoying shortcoming of mine…there are rather intricate psychological processes at work here apparently, which I prefer not to get into in this piece.

Bad bluffs. I think it’s been a while since I made one of these. Remember, while bluffing is part of poker, blind, dark-tunnel bluffs should not be. Your hourly rate will hate you for these babies.

Steve Larson, an online poker player from Canada, visit his rakeback web site for more useful information.

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The Berlin police have captured all of the suspects in the European Poker Tour Robbery earlier this week. On Sunday they arrested the person that they think was the ring leader.The man in question is a 28 year old Lebanese. The police believe that he is not only the mastermind but that he also drove the get away car. The latter ride was a posh Mercedes and, according to early reports, the suspects escaped through a local shopping mall adjacent to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in the German city.

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A couple of months ago, Rush Poker’s introduction by Full Tilt caused some serious waves in the online poker industry. Some hailed the innovation as the biggest change poker had ever seen since going online, others were fast to write it off as a failed attempt to innovate, made at the expense of the very factors that make poker a game of skill rather than one of luck. I happen to agree with both points of view, but one has to admit that good or bad, successful or not so much (I suppose it is rather successful though), Rush Poker is here to stay. Due to the modifications made to some of the core concepts of the game, optimal strategy for the Rush Poker tables has changed quite a bit too.

First of all: let’s take a quick look at the changes brought about by Rush Poker. Spawned by an insatiable thirst for action on the part of the online poker player, Rush Poker is a game which managed to eliminate downtimes completely. Players who join the Rush Poker action do not actually join a given table. Rather, they join a room with thousands of players, who play at hundreds of different tables. Once a Rush Poker player folds his hand, he’s automatically taken to another table where he’s dealt into another hand immediately. The quick fold option allows players to tick the fold button and to be taken to another table, before the action gets around to them.

What this means is that you can toss your player reading skills right out the window. The very essence of the game, that based on psychology and on individual ability to pick up on various reads, has pretty much been done away with. You won’t stick around long enough at a table to develop a history with those playing there and thus to make any sort of reads. That leaves you with the mathematical side of the game: play good old ABC (tight aggressive) poker and hope for the best. That’s your best shot really and here’s why: at a regular table, most of the money you make comes from fish, who constantly make bad choices. Even if you manage to score a few lucky hands against your skilled peers, your profits will still come from the fish. At the Rush Poker table though, there’s no way you can tell who’s a fish and who’s not. The only way to make sure you milk the opportunities offered by the fish is to play radically tight-aggressive, ABC poker, kind of like back in the days at the micro limits.

Tightening up and raising your starting hand requirements makes sense from a whole bunch of angles. Because players won’t have to wait around for anything, they can just hit that quick-fold button 10 times in a row and play only the starting hand they like. This means you’ll need a really good starting hand to compete against those who decide to commit chips on the same hand on which you make the move.

Pay extra attention to the BB. The BB is the only position which doesn’t have the quick-fold option displayed from the get go. What that means is that the guy in the BB is most likely to attempt a defense on rags. None of the other players have any kind of motivation to venture into light three-bet territory at all.

Another major difference between regular poker and Rush Poker is linked to rakeback and the poker rake. Because Rush Poker is so dazzlingly fast, you’ll end up generating much more poker rake per hour than at any of the regular cash tables. That means it’s quite imperative that you sign up for a rakeback or a poker prop deal, otherwise you’ll end up bleeding away too much of your profits.

Steve Larson, an online poker player from Canada, visit his http://www.rakemeback.com web site for more useful information.

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