Are you on auto-pilot? Is sometimes your poker game an after thought? A lot of players, once they get comfortable with the game sometimes allow themselves to get distracted and make their decisions based on rote strategy.

Distracted players often give off what some call a “distracted tell”. When they miss or hold a nothing hand, it’s obvious that they loose interest in the pot and their mind goes back to the game or what ever else is going on in the room. On the flip side of this, when they maintain interest, you know that you must adjust your play as you are more likely to face competition.

Poker is fluid. There are very few constants. Games change. Moods change. Players change. You have to be constantly aware of and adjust to those changes. Always look for anything you can that might give someone away. Who is watching TV and who is paying attention? Who wants to win and who is gambling? Are they playing in a style that’s in a book you read? Who has changed since the last hand? As a player you must be aware of changes and more importantly, the strategies that you must utilize to adapt to those changes.

Doyle Brunson has made a very successful living as a pro poker player, thank you very much.

So you’ve had some success playing online Texas Holdem poker. That’s great. What makes you think you’re suddenly an expert at the game? Do you think you’re ready to leave your day job to play poker for a living? Hang on a second. Give this more thought. Before you make any decision regarding your poker career, you should take a moment to gather your thoughts and wrap your head around the idea of what it takes — I mean really takes — to play poker for a living…

1. Patience: It takes great patience. You’ll be playing poker every single day.
2. Game plan: What’s your game plan? You do have one, right?
3. No set income: If you’re used to getting a regular paycheck then get used to not knowing when or if you’ll get paid.
4. Less time for family and friends: Playing poker for a living will require your days, nights and even some travel.
5. Skill. Lots of it. Be prepared to go up against some of the best pro players in the game. And be prepared to lose. Oh, you’ll win a few pots here and there; you may even win a nice-sized tournament. But don’t get ahead of yourself. Remember…patience.

There are advantages to playing poker, whether at land based tournaments or online:

You can work your own hours.
You are your own boss.
You can take as much vacation as you like.
You can work wherever you want in the world.
You can work in your underwear. Well, you can play online poker in your underwear, but you won’t get away with it in Vegas, sadly. Or anywhere else on the planet.

So what is a bad beat exactly? A bad beat only happens when statistically there is a “come from behind” event. The longer the odds of the second hand making the beat, the worse the beat feels.

Most would think that after a bad beat the best thing to do would be to forget about it and walk away. However, a wise poker player would see that there just might be something to learn here. This is the time when you should clearly analyze the elements that went into this experience.

When analyzing your play you may find out you have succumbed to cognitive dissonance. The theory of cognitive dissonance states that contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new thoughts or beliefs or to modify existing beliefs, so as to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions. As an example, conflict makes us uncomfortable, so we attempt to relieve that discomfort by coming up with new beliefs or behaviors in some way to reconcile this conflict.

So how does this help me you ask? The discomfort we feel when we take a big hit at the table gives us an opportunity for analysis and improvement. This only comes if our cognitive dissonance comes form an honest, factual assessment of the hand in question can we improve. Sure maybe the guy across from you did make a bad call but maybe your all in move looked like a semi-bluff to him.

Cognitive dissonance give the suggestion that a little bit of discomfort can be a good learning tool, if in fact you choose to use it.

Bad Beat

Have you ever wanted to be a poker dealer? Well now your dream may come true because Johnny Chan has opened up the Johnny Chan Academy.

Who is Johnny Chan you might ask? He’s a professional poker player, born in Guangzhou (Canton), China in 1957. He’s got 10 WSOP bracelets, 2 WSOP championship titles (’87 and ’88) and is the founder of the online casino ChanPoker.

Classes at the academy teach subjects such as how to shuffle correctly, dealing the game, how to handle cheques in the right way and proper casino procedure. This academy pays special attention to the dealing of poker, blackjack and baccarat.

You may now wonder, this sounds like fun but can I make any money? Apparently dealers can make $40 an hour and currently they have immediate openings for poker dealers in West Virginia, Las Vegas, California, New York and Indiana casinos.

When Charles Nesson, a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and member of the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS) claims that poker can teach children life skills, he probably touches the limit of what people will ever be able to accept when it comes to poker legitimacy.

Although, poker pro and 2004 WSOP winner Annie Duke joining the Decision Education Foundation, a group focused on helping children making better life decisions, adds considerable strength to Nesson’s position.

Who knows, maybe one day poker will actually be a natural part of school children’s schedule. According to the GPSTS they state that poker can assist in a person’s development of strategic thinking and enhance situational judgment skills. Poker may also helpful for teaching geopolitical analysis, risk assessment and money management.

Deception in poker is fundamental to your success, and you will notice its importance as you move up to higher stakes levels. Basically predicted behavior should be avoided at all costs when you play poker. This will make it harder for your opponents to put you on a hand, or read what you have, which will mean more than likely you will have a profit.

If you ask a novice player to define deception, they might say that it all has to do with bluffing, and that is the reason why they would stay a novice.

If you bet or raised every time you thought you had a good hand, and checked or folded every time you though your hand was bad, eventually other players will catch on and you will end up loosing all of your chips. Strong players will run circles around you. In order to maximize your wins it’s important to deceive your opponents by either showing strength (betting or raising, even re-raising when you don’t have a made hand) or showing weakness (checking when you’re strong).

Players who are aggressive can take over tables and dictate terms. Passive players who call might still win their fair share of hands but only when they have cards. Why limit yourself? You want to establish a table personality that causes fear not complacency.

Deception is an art. Be creative, and think smart. Again, the last thing you want to be is predictable.

Texas Hold’em is a simple game. It has been played in some form or another for hundreds of years, initially played with checkers by the Chinese and the Egyptians and is now enjoyed by millions all over the world.

The French were the ones who began playing with cards, in the mid nineteenth century. It’s also almost certain that the French seaman were the ones who introduced the game to the United States around that time. Draw Poker was played in the saloons of New Orleans and on the river boats sailing the canals of Louisiana.

It appears that Texas Hold’em was derived in Texas at the beginning of the 20th century and made its way to Las Vegas about a half century later where the popularity of the game spread like wild fire.

Currently in the dawn of the 21st century, Texas Hold’em poker has been launched into the world of on-line gaming. Today it is overwhelmingly acknowledged to be the best game of all time.

The Chinese have regarded this game as a skill game only and in many instances still do. However the spice of the wager is what can make any form of competition enjoyable. The major advantage of Texas Hold’em poker is that the maximum that you can lose in one game is present, and if you loose you put it down to entertainment. If you win, you can put it down to more enjoyable entertainment.

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour is bringing China its first live poker tournament; the ATTP stop in Macau. This will be the first time the People’s Republic of China will have ever held a No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament.

The stop here features a $2500 buy-in main event, as well as a “high rollers” event at $15,000. The prize pool in the main event is an estimated $600,000 but it remains to be seen if that number could be broken.

“Poker is enjoying tremendous growth in Asia and we are very excited to be a part of this and to be the first casino to host this event,” said Mr. Gary Woollard, Casino General Manager of Grand Waldo Casino. “We are very honoured to have this prime opportunity of working with First Impression Ltd and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour to make this a major event on the Macau gaming calendar.”

People are convinced that Texas Hold’em poker will be the next big hit in Macau. This tournament will serve as an opportunity to show Macau the thrill of the game and how real skill is involved rather than just luck.

Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variant played in the casinos in the USA. More and more people have been exposed to the game through television, popular literature and of course the internet.

This is a basic video guide to the awesome game of Texas Hold’em. It’s quick and easy to learn and get started but it will take time to master your knowledge and strategy.