Continue Reading »
The Pokerdonk – Pokerblog, Strategy & Pokernews…

Choosing which table to play is the first step in cash game strategy and will mainly depend on your bankroll and you should be looking to bring the table maximum into the game with you so you don’t have too many players with lots more chips than you who can bully you about.

Sit Down Get Comfy.

This is definitely one very overlooked cash game strategy that catches so many players out. Lets imagine you get dealt a pair of 10’s first hand, most players will sit there thinking that getting a quick return off the other players will seem nice and easy. These same players will start throwing chips in to get a nice big pot hoping for a nice payout and a nice start, but wait we have only been here 2 minutes and we know nothing about our opponents, what style they play or anything about their betting patterns, the guy on the button happens to be flat calling everyone and has Ace Jack, all of a sudden you have put half your chips in and you are way behind if he flops one of his higher cards. It is so easy to get drawn in early, but its rarely profitable. Get a feel for the table and your opponents and if you get good pocket cards don’t go overboard until the blinds have been around a few times.

Take Notes.

A famous poker player once said “poker is a game of people with cards”, by this he meant that your opponents actions are much more of a useful tool than the cards you are holding. Most online rooms now allow players to store notes on any other player and becomes a great cash game strategy. You can use this to your advantage by jotting down their betting patterns or cards they have played out etc, this can be helpful when your faced with a big decision you can quickly look over what they have already done to decide what they might have now.

Be Alert.

Poker has a habit of sometimes dealing us nothing but bad cards, the blinds can pass you by a few times without you picking up one decent hand. This is not the time to go to sleep this is a very important cash game strategy to use, while your not involved in the hands you can closely study the other players and take notes, watch all their moves, try to put players on a hand and see if your right. You can also watch and see if you can decide what play they will make next. All the information you gather in these quiet periods will be invaluable to you when you come to play. All good poker players will be watching you, make sure your watching back.
Don’t get greedy.
Getting greedy at a cash game can and usually does end in disaster. When a player sees a big opportunity to take a big pot they usually lead with a large bet or raise to get as much out as possible but unless you have the nuts this is a bad cash game strategy. This is for two reasons, the first is that if you bet big you will most likely scare people away and so you make very little, secondly if you don’t have the nuts and your throwing money at the pot, someone else might just have you beat.

Finally – Avoid The Tilt

Always keep control of your emotions when playing, If you lose a large pot don’t go chasing the next ones in hope of redeeming yourself as in most cases it will end up with you having no chips. The best cash game strategy in this situation is to sit back, take some deep breaths and work through your notes to see how or where you lost the hand, this will give you an opportunity to learn some more on your opponent and also you will be educating yourself by learning from your mistakes.

Continue Reading »
The Pokerdonk – Pokerblog, Strategy & Pokernews…

Continue Reading »
The Pokerdonk – Pokerblog, Strategy & Pokernews…

Where To Start And How Much

First of all you must find a site that offers you the graphics and set up that suits you best. Find something you feel comfortable with and maybe play a bit of free chip play to make sure. Also find out what poker bonuses are available to you on deposit, some offer 100% match up to your deposit so that could greatly increase your bankroll already. Once you have chosen these it is time to deposit, the amount you deposit will depend on how often you can play and of course how much money you have in the bank. As a first time money player it is usually best to deposit about $100, this will help teach you about managing your bankroll before you put a lot more on.

The Basics

Just because you have $100 dollars does not mean you should jump into the first $50 buy in tournament to try and win a $1000. There are a number of ways to play poker and you need to decide how you are going to be using your money. You could be a tournament player, a cash game player or a mixture of both whichever you choose, each comes with a set of guidelines to help keep with managing your bankroll properly.

The Tournament Player

The best way to play poker tournaments is to enter those that are 5% of your total bankroll, so if you have $100 to play with enter those that have no higher than $5 entrance fee. This in theory gives you 20 chances to finish in the money and with those stakes you should find a nice prize fund. As your bankroll rises then you can enter the more expensive tournaments and bigger prizes, should your bankroll fall then enter the lower competitions until you build it back up again.

The Cash Game Player

When looking to enter a cash game you will want to be entering those that have blinds of around 2% of your bankroll. So again if your bankroll is $100 then your game should be the $0.01/$0.02 blinds. This effectively allows you to easily put the table maximum in when you start so you don’t get bullied but also leaves you with a sizeable re-load amount in the bank. Never sit at a table with all your cash hoping to double your money, your statistically more likely to lose the lot.

Mixing The Two

Managing your bankroll playing both can be done easily if you are better at one than the other. If you are a better cash game player, then you should play until you have made enough to pay for the entrance fee to the tournament you want and use the winnings to pay for it. It is then as if you had a free go and you could get yourself in the cash prizes for a nice little bonus.

Continue Reading »
The Pokerdonk – Pokerblog, Strategy & Pokernews…

Continue Reading »
The Pokerdonk – Pokerblog, Strategy & Pokernews…

Continue Reading »
The Pokerdonk – Pokerblog, Strategy & Pokernews…

Continue Reading »
The Pokerdonk – Pokerblog, Strategy & Pokernews…

Continue Reading »
The Pokerdonk – Pokerblog, Strategy & Pokernews…