Regarding Poker

If you have a PokerStars account then you’ve probably seen the private tournaments area in the PokerStars client, located in Tourney > Private. To register in any of these tournaments you need a password to be able to play in any of these and the buy-in for the tournament fee. The password for a private tournament is created and usually distributed by the tournament creator.

Many of these real-money private online tournaments are set up by regular players who have set up private tournaments to include only people they know, like family, co-workers, or friends. There are also private tournaments set up by websites, forums, corporations, charity groups, celebrities, etc. that draw larger fields.

Real-money private tournaments at PokerStars is a great way to play tournament host and offer your “Friday Night” home game online! Having your home poker game online is very easy to set up and is also very convenient for all the players. I personally mix my “home games” to include live and online tournaments.

So how does one set up a private tournament on PokerStars? If you have accumulated at least 2,000 Frequent Player Points (FPP) over the course of the lifetime of your PokerStars account then you qualify! To learn more about PokerStars Frequent Player Points (FPP) visit PokerStars and click on the Promotions tab and you’ll find a link on the bottom of the page under FPP Promotions.

Simply email PokerStars Support by going to PokerStars and clicking on the Support tab on the top right of the page and send an email request that they add the Private Tournaments feature to your account… It’s that easy! After you shoot off your email request to PokerStars you should be set up in less than an hour.

Setting up a Private Tournament on PokerStars:

Once PokerStars activates the Private Tournaments feature on your account you simply open up your PokerStars software and click on Requests > Private Tournaments > Create Tournament from the top menu.

You can now set up your private tournament; please note that you would need to create your private tournament at least one hour before it begins and be aware that all times are listed in Eastern Time (ET).

The first thing you need to do is choose the game for your tournament, your options are: Hold’em Limit, No-Limit and Pot-Limit, Omaha Limit, No-Limit and Pot-Limit, Omaha Hi/Lo Limit, No-Limit and Pot-Limit, Fixed Limit Stud, Fixed Limit Stud Hi/Lo, Fixed Limit Razz, Limit HOSE, and Limit HORSE. You also have the option of making a heads-up match tournament for all the available games. Hopefully PokerStars will be adding 5 Card Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw to the list soon, not that anyone I know will join!

The second thing you need to do is choose the date and time for the tournament (remember, all times are Eastern Time and you must create your tournament at least one hour before it begins).

The third thing you need to decide on is the buy-in fee of your tournament, the buy-ins range from $5.00 to $500.00. Please note that PokerStars will charge a tournament rake fee for all your participants. Buy-ins from $5.00 to $50.00 have a 10% rake fee and the higher buy-ins range from 6-9% in rake fees.

You now have to give your private tournament a password; use something that is easy to remember and easy to spell, e.g. blackmoon, appleyard, sharksoup, etc.

The final steps in creating your private tournament is to write a brief message that will appear in the tournament lobby, e.g. Time to take you all down, or There’s a bounty on Mike!, or Winner gets 10 points, etc. and finally you should write a brief name for your tournament that will be listed under the Private tab in Tourney. You are allowed a maximum of 20 characters for your tournament name, so be creative, names could look like, Mike’s NLH Challenge, or Jill’s Wed. Nighter, etc.

That’s it, now just click the Ok button and your off! Now it’s time to get the word out (and password) about your private tournament to the people you want to invite.

You can invite as many people as you like but the tournament will be automatically canceled if you have less than three players at the start of the tournament.

One last thing; try to get either at least eight players or ten or more players. It seems as though when you have nine players the tournament will start off with two tables, one with five and one with four players and will merge the players to one table when a person gets eliminated or when ten minutes have passed. I call this a bug but PokerStars has told me that it is not and that they are aware of the “issue”. I haven’t hosted a private tournament on PokerStars for a little while now so maybe this “issue” is resolved now… I hope.

So there you go, by adding the PokerStars Private Tournament feature to your account you just opened a new door to the wonderful world of online poker!

The notice on the home page of Full Contact Poker (FCP) states that they will merge their player base to PokerStars.

“Full Contact Poker will cease all poker and casino operations in all countries and return FullContactPoker.com to its roots as a forum-based poker community…”

Not only will Full Contact Poker (FCP) players call PokerStars their new home for online poker, but Daniel Negreanu will also become the newest member of Team PokerStars.

This transition and having Daniel Negreanu join PokerStars should give a boost to the already king of all online poker rooms.

PokerStars has also agreed to host Daniel Negreanu’s Protégé 3, future Weekend at Daniel’s events, the weekly Negreanu Open and much more.

I personally think this is great news; more players at PokerStars = more game selection (not that game selection was ever a problem there), and having Daniel Negreanu at PokerStars can only be a good thing.

I look forward to playing in Daniel Negreanu’s tournaments and watching him play at PokerStars!

Yahoo UK has launched real money online poker on Yahoo.co.uk. Yahoo Poker has partnered with St. Minver Ltd. and join IPN, the International Poker Network owned and operated by Boss Media AB.

Today’s news may mark the beginning of a new online poker landscape in the near future. With powerful brands and a large database of online consumers, Yahoo could certainly challenge established online poker rooms.

Which online giant would be next to join Yahoo in the online poker business? Certainly Google, eBay, and Microsoft must all be considering their options, to name a few.

Yahoo Poker’s customers will be joining the International Poker Network of Boss Media through their partner company St. Minver, which means there will mostly be European players on the network.

With the potential to become the biggest European poker network and the fact that Paradise Poker will migrate over to IPN in the up and coming months, the International Poker Network may soon be one of the three biggest online poker networks in the world.

Yahoo Poker (Yahoo.co.uk):

Poker Site: Yahoo Poker (UK)
Who Can’t Play: Canadians & Americans
Play: Play Money and Real Money
Client: Flash (No Download)
Available Games: Texas Hold’em
Tournaments: Yes
Site Celebrity: Sam Mann

Yahoo Poker… Who said online poker is dying?

After repeatedly trying numerous different passwords, a persistent password hacker was able to login into Greg “Fossilman” Raymer’s PokerStars account.

Once this hacker had access to Greg Raymer’s PokerStars bankroll, the hacker quickly opened multiple heads-up, sit and go tables and started chip dumping Greg Raymer’s money into a relatively new PokerStars account by the name of “Ikeyrson“.

Greg Raymer is a very popular player on PokerStars and whenever he sits down to play, there are always Railbirds watching him. These Railbirds found Greg Raymer’s play suspicious and quickly informed PokerStars Support about the activity.

PokerStars quickly notified Greg Raymer and suspended both accounts before any money could be transferred to a third party account.

Greg Raymer even admitted that his password was not as good as it should have been. Let’s all take that as a lesson, make your password strong.

Click here to test the strength of your password, you may be surprised!

Click here to see some great tips on making strong passwords.

When I sit down to play some online poker I am always watching the other players whether I am in a hand or not. I am looking to see what kind of players they are; do they bluff a lot, what their starting hands are in certain positions, are they weak players, etc.

When I have some useful information on a player I make notes on them. All online poker rooms offer the ability to make notes on players. Make use of this powerful feature, because not only will these notes help you with the game you are currently in, but also when you play with that player again sometime down the road.

I currently have notes on over 10,000 players on PokerStars. Usually when I sit down at a table I will already have notes on one or more players. This small advantage will give you that extra edge and in turn, win you more money (or save you money!).

When I make notes I use my own system of abbreviations and meanings. I usually don’t make notes on players who are in late position or who are in the Blinds (we all get creative in these positions) or who are low-stacked.

My Player Notes:

AA (Any Ace) – A player who plays any low card (10 and below) with an Ace from early to mid position. Add an exclamation point when players play any Ace with a baby card from early position.
AS (Any Suited Cards) – A player who plays any two suited cards
SC (Any Suited Connectors) – A player who plays any suited connectors
CS (Calling Station) – A player who is a Calling Station and will call your bets with any made hand, regardless of what’s on the Board
RR (River Rat) – A player who calls any bets to the River (River Rat) who is looking to catch a card to make a hand
20 – A player who plays any two unsuited face cards
T – A Tight player
1 – A weak player who is new to the game or is simply a bad player
2 – A player who check-raises frequently
3 – A solid, good player
B – A player who Bluffs often
J (Jackal) - From Phil Hellmuth’s Animal Types: a reckless and unpredictable player
SP (Slow Plays) – A player who often slow-plays big hands
LF (Limps/Folds) – A player who limps in a lot and folds to any raise pre-Flop
SS# (SharkScope rating) - SS + a number between 0 and 5, with 5 being a very good player

These notes are generally for Texas Hold’em games. When I make notes on players in games other than Hold’em, I will add an abbreviation for the game next to the notes, e.g. a RR (River Rat) in Stud would look like, RR – Std, in Razz, RR – R, in 7-2 Triple Draw, RR – 7-2, and so on.

If I suspect that a player falls under one of the abbreviations above I will add the note along with a question mark next to it. When I am certain about the player’s style I will remove the question mark, and treat the note(s) as fact.

I believe that’s most of the ones I use. I also scribble miscellaneous notes on players when none of the above apply.

Making player notes will not only keep you busy in the game when not in a hand, it will also certainly help you make tough decisions when playing these players. There is nothing better than knowing who you are up against before you even start playing a hand!

 There is a lot of confusion out there in which online poker rooms accept American players. Even the online poker rooms themselves sometimes don’t clearly mention if they accept American players from the US.

I highly recommend that you only join the most trusted and proven online poker rooms. The list below is a list of the best and most trusted online poker rooms available.

Online poker rooms that accept all players, including American players:

PokerStars – 100% Match Bonus up to $50.00 for new accounts.

Full Tilt Poker - 100% Match Bonus up to $600.00 for new accounts.

Absolute Poker - 100% Match Bonus up to $250.00 for new accounts.

For American Players ONLY:

Sportsbook.com – 10% bonus – One account for poker, casino, horses, and sportsbook.

Help fight to keep online poker alive in the U.S. – Join the Poker Players Alliance today!

Here is a video from the Poker Players Alliance:

You can join the Poker Players Alliance for free, or donate as little as $20.00. You can make a difference.

Americans have fewer choices these days when it comes to playing online poker, online casino games, or placing a sports bet online.

Many online poker rooms, casinos, and sportbooks have dropped serving American players, and as a result some of you may be having a hard time finding a reputable place to play or bet at.

The one company that has always served Americans, and will continue to, is sportsbook.com. In fact, they only allow Americans membership!

Sportsbook.com offers it all, with one account, you get: sportsbook.com Poker, sportsbook.com Casino, sportsbook.com Sportsbook, and sportsbook.com Horse Race Betting.

Having an all-in-one membership can be very convenient and adds diversity to your online entertainment.

Sportsbook.com has a great first-time bonus for all new real-money accounts, you get: 100% bonus up to $650.00, $100,000.00 poker freeroll, 5% redeposit bonus and more.

Use this sportsbook.com bonus code: FIRST100 when making your first real-money deposit.

Win some poker from some fish, play a few hands of Blackjack, make a bet on your favorite team, and get your girlfriend to place a wager on a pony with a nice sounding name! Click here to visit sportsbook.com.

Americans do have a choice, and now it’s all under one roof… sportsbook.com.

What does it mean when an online poker player does a very quick check, bet or raise?

Quick Check

For the most part, if a player does a very quick check it means a sign of weakness, and the player is basically raising the white flag to get this hand done with. Any bet made to a player who checks very quickly usually results in winning the pot (assuming you are heads up).

The reason they may be very quick checks is that most online poker rooms have a checkbox where the player can check-on to automatically ‘check the next round’. Keep in mind though, that this online poker tell is basically on weak opponents. So if you know that the player who quickly checked is a weak player, then you should bet.

On the other hand, good players will use this move as a deception and may check-raise you after you bet. This is why it is very important to know what kind of players you are playing against on the table before making any move. That is why it is so important to make player notes on the players at your table! So whether you are in a hand or not, observe the players at your table and make the appropriate notes on them. These player notes will help you with tough decisions later on in the game.

If you classify a player as weak and they do this tell, and you are heads up, then bet. If you classified the player as a good player, then you may want to check if you don’t have any hand yourself, or make the bet small enough where you can easily fold if checked-raised.

Quick Bet or Raise

This online poker tell is a classic weak move that indicates strength. Again, this online poker tell comes from weak players who simply don’t know that they are giving their opponents a tell.

Weak players are generally not patient players and they want to get involved in a pot quickly when they have the goods. Most online poker programs have a checkbox where the player can check-on to automatically ‘bet or raise’ when it’s their turn to act.

This is a sign of strength! Unless you have a very strong hand, get out and fold. It may be hard to fold to a weak player, but when you know they have the goods, is it really worth losing more money to them?

A Golden Rule of Poker: When playing weak opponents you MUST play fundamental poker against them. That means you cannot play fancy with them, such as bluffing. You must play poker with the hands you are dealt, and not play the man. Weak players do not pick up on subtle moves made from good players, they are only concerned with their hand and they don’t think what you might be holding in your hand. Adjust your play against weak players and you will easily take their money!

With patients you will get a monster hand against these players and because they are generally Calling Stations and River Rats, you will be paid well for their lack of understanding the game.

There are plenty of fish online, so real them in!

Find the fish at PokerStars, free 100% new account deposit match bonus for all new accounts. Use PokerStars Bonus Code: First2007

It can be a challenge for Macintosh computer (Mac) users finding a reputable online poker room that offers Mac compatibility.

Fortunately, there are two good choices for Mac users who want to play online poker.

 
Solutions for Mac Poker Players

FullTilt Poker
(American players welcome!)

FullTilt Poker offers Mac users a software download specifically for Mac computers.

Recommended Requirements:

- Mac OS 10.3.9 or higher
- G5 or Intel Based Macintosh
- 512 MB or more of RAM
- Broadband connection
- At least 15MB of free disk space

Minimum Requirements:

- Mac OS 10.3.9 or higher
- 800Mhz G4 processor speed or faster
- 512 MB or more of RAM
- Dialup connection
- At least 15MB of free disk space

Click here to get Mac for FullTilt Poker. Open a new account at FullTilt Poker and receive a 100% match deposit bonus, up to $600.00!

Absolute Poker
(American players welcome!)

The other choice for Mac users is Absolute Poker’s no-download Java version of their poker client.

Having this option is actually a viable solution not just for Mac users, but for anyone who wants to access the Absolute Poker room from any Internet connected computer in the world. Java is an ideal solution for playing poker when at the office, at someone else’s computer or when on holidays.

Click here to get Mac for Absolute Poker. Open a new account at Absolute Poker and receive a 100% match deposit bonus, up to $250.00.

Now, do Mac proud and kick some PC butt on the felt!

Having more than one online poker room account can save you money and help your bankroll from quickly dwindling down.

My main online poker room is PokerStars, but when I can’t seem to catch a break and start losing money I will stop playing there for a day or so and play elsewhere, like FullTilt Poker. Instead of trying to recoup my losses, which usually does not work, (instead I seem to lose more when I try to get my losses back) I’ll play elsewhere to start fresh.

Usually when I switch rooms after a bad day of poker elsewhere I tend to do well at a different poker room. My point is this; when you find yourself losing at one poker room, stop playing there for a day or so and switch to another online poker room. This will save your other poker room’s bankroll from suffering even more losses and gives you a fresh approach with the other poker room.

And if you find yourself losing at the other poker room too, then I strongly suggest that you stop playing poker for a day or so to recharge your brain and maybe your body.

Knowing when to stop even more losses is an important aspect of managing your poker bankroll.

PokerStars has a 100% first-time deposit bonus and FullTilt Poker offers the same, a 100% deposit bonus for new real-money accounts. Take advantage of these great poker bonuses to start your two-room system.