Lots of folks like to play slots but the odds are a lot better with video poker. Video poker and Black Jack are the only two games wherein you can develop a positive edge on the house. More on Video Poker

But be sure and take them if they are available. When you play in a real world casino be sure and give the dealer your players card so that they can track your play. They are free to get and unless you are a real high roller it is the only way the casino has a checking your comp level. You can get food and rooms for free and this all adds into your bottom line. It is not all what you get from them in the, "Right Now" but the offers that you will get in the mail throughout the course of the year that make it valuable. A free room for a couple of nights can put an extra couple of hundred dollars in your pocket. But if you set at the table an extra fifteen minutes to get your full hour in for the comp then you are a long term loser. Never ever let the thought of the comp govern your play. Trying to get free stuff almost always costs you money. Suppose you want a drink and you know if you sit down at a slot machine there will be a pretty girl along to get you a drink for free. Go to the bar. Pay the six bucks ot twelve bucks or whatever it costs. The "free" drink at the slot is going to cost you a lot more in the long run.

Suppose you are dealt Ad,Js. The flop comes and flips a 5d,5h,Ac. You now have two pair. You don't see anybody wildly betting and suspect that no one has another five in the pocket. The Aces over Fives two pair look like they may be good. But being a smart poker player you bet cautiously because you know that a Three of a Kind or even a Full House could be out there. The pot is small and there is only one guy betting. You call all the way to the river. You now have {Ad,Js] 5d,5h,Ac,2d,6c. The six of clubs on the River does not help anybody and by now it is only you and one other guy in the pot. You bet, he raises, you call. When he flips over his pocket cards you heart drops down into your shoes. He was playing along with Big Slick. His King beats your Jack kicker all to hell. More on Kickers

Free Games and Pocket Pairs

I was playing Texas Holdem online this morning. A free game just to while away some time until my buddy picked me up to go to the casino. For some reason I kept getting pocket pairs. First it was a pair of Deuces. The flop came 8d,Ah,8s which gave me two pair Eight's and Twos. Losers. Playing Your Down Cards

Playing on line can sort of distort the picture for you. For one thing it makes position on the table to seem to be more of a minor thing than it really is. The play moves way to fast at times and they give you buttons to click so that you can automatically call or raise a bet. It is of course to their advantage to move the game along as fast as they can. They make their money on the pot rake. Notice when you play on line that the dealer has a slot next to his right hand. The money that accumulates there is the pot rake. Of course, in a play money game it does not cost you anything to play. In a game played for real money it is a factor and should be taken into account. The fewer hands that you play. The less you pay. Texas Holdem Poker Position

Takes a some what different skill set than playing straight up Texas Holdem for money. In a regular money game you can always buy in for another stack of chips. In a tournament when they are gone. You are out of the tournament. Right at the beginning of the tournament you are in a touchy spot. On the one hand you want to do everything that you can to build your chip stack. On the other you certainly don't want to put what you have at risk. There is lots of power in a big stack of chips. It puts you in the position of being able to bully other players out of the tournament. A short stacked player taking on the power of a big stack is an all or nothing play for him. But the Big Stack can relax and play out the hand sucking every chip out of the short stack. Win or loose he can't be hurt that bad. More On Poker Tournaments

The reason is obvious. You do not meet the other players face to face. You spend no time looking for tells because you are faced with an immobile avatar that cannot give anything away. Playing poker face to face in a brick and mortar card room is a lot different. You can substitute some of your technical know how with your read of the opposition. Poker People Skills

Posted: Friday, 4th of November 2005, 3:00 P.M.

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