Ante Up Poker Tournaments

Ante Up poker tournaments have intrigued me from the minute that I read about how this type of tournament would work.  The idea behind it is that there is actually no blinds that rotate around the table at all, but instead EVERY player antes up for each hand.  So in reality, instead of counting the number of big blinds that you have left, you are counting how many antes that you have remaining.  Of course, the antes will raise as time goes on, which can make play a bit tough, but I think that this tournament style is going to be one of the more popular in the upcoming years.  Keep an eye out for more ante up tournaments to start popping up in many different tournament series’ and online poker sites as well.

Double Up Poker Tournaments

Another interesting option for tournament poker players.  This one is interesting because it actually has players playing on the same team in an attempt to take down a poker tournament.  Each team is made up of two players, and the players will switch back and forth between levels, and the idea is as simple as any other poker tournament, where you want to try to win every chip in the tournament!  This is interesting to me because it can help with some of the bigger buy-ins out there, as players will most likely split the buy-in to the event, and also split the total winnings as well.

Both of these poker tournament styles are featured at the World Series of Poker in 2012, but the “Double Up” tournament is actually an “exhibition” event, which means that there won’t be a gold bracelet awarded.  Don’t worry though, there will still be the massive prize pools!

Customer Service

Just like anything in the world, we all want some good customer service, so never overlook this in your online poker site choice!  Whether it has to do with deposit or withdrawal questions, or even simple questions about the actual layout of the poker site and the options that are available to you.  No matter what your question is, an online poker site should be there to help you out and make your life as easy as possible.  Remember, YOU are giving THEM your business!

Deposit/Withdrawal Methods

What’s the worst thing that would happen if you set up an online account and were going to deposit your money on?  It might be if the site didn’t have your deposit method of choice available.  Many people would prefer to deposit with a credit or debit card, and if the site doesn’t offer that then it could actually be a deal breaker for some people.  Just research it before making any final decisions, and you’ll find that you can avoid quite a few issues if something like this was to happen!

Software

Fortunately for our online poker players out there, you can definitely find out if you like the software on a poker site pretty easily.  Almost all online poker sites allow you to play with “play money” at any time, so this can be a way for you to feel out a site before actually depositing money on.  Many different types of games are offered in the play money, but the most important thing is simply finding out what the site is all about, and what it would feel like to play on it.  All sites do work differently, so this is something that’s very important in many situations.

Ivey’s return to the game came a few months back in Macau, but he started making noise this past weekend at the 2012 Aussie Millions poker tournament series.  They have a huge poker tournament called the $250k Super High Roller event, which features a first place pay day of $2 million (not bad right?).  Ivey played in the event with 15 of the other biggest names in all of poker, and not only beat out the final table, but beat a stacked lineup of players that included Daniel Negreanu, Patrik Antonius, and Gus Hansen.  Ivey’s win was the first on the live poker tournament circuit in a very long time, and it could signal a potentially huge 2012 coming up for the poker pro.

Personally, Phil Ivey is probably my favorite poker player in the game.  People would flock to the online poker site Full Tilt Poker to watch him play online, and he will almost always have a huge following at any live poker tournament.  I’m interested to see the type of following that he gains at the World Series of Poker this year as well.  Ivey apparently is playing online as well, since there was a rumor that he was playing on PokerStars under a new alias.  It will be interesting to watch throughout the year the type of profit that he can bring in when all is said and done through 2012.  He’s definitely one of the scariest and strongest poker players, so keep your eye out for Ivey this year.

I know that I’m a huge fan of Ivey, but I want to hear who YOUR favorite poker player currently is.  Negreanu is definitely a popular choice as well, what are your thoughts on him against Ivey?

Not Only Choosing a Bonus

While it’s very important to get a nice bonus from an online poker site, it’s important to remember that it shouldn’t be the ONLY thing that you factor into your decision.  If you are looking for a new online poker site, don’t automatically choose the site with the largest bonus, but instead find a site that has excellent software and that you enjoy the feel of.  Also look for a site with the type of games that you enjoy playing, and make sure that they are constantly running throughout the day so that you can get in on the action whenever you choose.

How Bonus is Released

Many online poker sites will release their bonuses in different ways, so it’s always a good idea to read up on how a specific site will release your bonus.  Many of them will release it $5 or $10 at a time as you play, which is good because it helps keep money in your account if you run bad at any point.  On top of that though, it’s important to see how many frequent player points on the site that it takes for you to earn before specific amounts of your bonus are released.  You don’t want to have to play TOO many hands before you get some of your money credited to your account.  Most online poker sites have this information under their bonus information so it won’t be too tough to get your hands on.  The release of the bonuses are pretty straight forward with most online poker sites, but research is important in anything gambling related of course!

Live Poker

In live poker, you need to be sure to find a good middle ground between making a bet too fast or too slow.  If you bet one way too consistently, it may give them a tell that they already know.  This is why it is important to change your style of play often, and keep your opponent constantly guessing.  At times it is a good idea to show a bluff, and other times it’s a good idea to show that you have a strong hand if your opponent folds.  Live poker bluffing is a bit easier to pick up than online poker, but that’s only if you have a good poker face and can sell your opponent on it.

Online Poker

This is where it gets fun for all of you fans of bluffing out there.  Imagine how tough it can be to convince an opponent that you are strong even when they can see you, and now put yourself in that spot when they can’t see you or hear you at all.  This is exactly what convincing someone you are bluffing in online poker is like.  You have to change up your betting styles, and bluffing online goes back to showing strong hands when you win pots often if you can, and also overall just showing that you are a strong player.  If you get caught bluffing once or twice, you need to completely avoid it for quite a while, or even until you get moved to a different table.  People remember big bluffs, especially when they get called down as well, so just remember that!

Being the Original Raiser or Caller

It sounds crazy, but the difference between whether you were the original raiser or the original caller is pretty big.  If you raised the action to start, then the opponent is left guessing exactly what you are raising with.  So if the board comes up with something like 10-Jack-Queen of the same suit, you can continuation bet with a bluff that you have something on the board, whether it be the suit or a straight draw.  If your opponent has a pocket pair, more often than not the only thing that they can do is lay down this hand.  You’ll known almost instantly if you are behind though, because if you get a call on that board, then it’s time to give up typically.

Dry Boards vs. Scary Boards

As we mentioned above, boards like the 10-Jack-Queen with three suited cards can be pretty scary boards, even if you have a strong hand.  Scary boards are tough to bluff into it, and if you aren’t careful you can find yourself in some tough situations having to decide whether or not to call off a big chunk of your stack, or even all of your stack at times.  A dry board is basically something that doesn’t jump off the page.  So an example would be 2-5-9 off suit, as there aren’t very many big cards, nothing suited, and no real straight issues out there for you to worry about.  This is a great board for you to get off a bluff at, especially if you are the one controlling the action.

More Than Enough

Most people would consider about 25 or 30+ big blinds to be more than enough to play with in a poker tournament.  This gives players the chance to be able to raise, re-raise, three bet and continuation bet often, and also play to their comfort level.  It’s important to not get too crazy though if you are getting close to the 25 or 30 big blind mark, as this can be a nice way to burn through some of those chips quickly if you get into a bluffing war with an opponent.

Middle of the Road

Personally, I consider the middle of the road to be between 15 and 25 big blinds.  This is the spot where you want to keep your play tight, but you can bluff a bit in position in order to attempt to steal the blinds.  You shouldn’t be doing too many three bets or bluffs though, as that can burn right through your chips and leave you in a tough spot.  You definitely want to try to play small ball at this point to attempt to pick up some chips and continue to build your stack so that you can get up into the “more than enough” category.

Short Stack

If a player is short stack that typically means that they have under 15 big blinds, and this means that you are going to be pushing all in with your big hands instead of just raising.  Raising will only leave you in tough spots after the flop, so you should push anything that you really want to raise all in pre-flop.  You should be really tight with your play as well, and give yourself time to pick up that big hand so that you can double up and get into the 30 big blind level.  Don’t risk your stack with just anything!

Texas hold’em definitely dominates in terms of no limit poker, but as far as limit poker goes, this is typically actually comes down to Seven Card Stud and Razz.  As far as the other most popular game, Omaha, you’ll find that it’s typically played by pot limit.

Limit

The most popular types of limit games are ones where you are drawing cards, like Seven Card Stud and Razz.  When playing limit you’ll find that players have great chances to be able to hit straights and flushes because they don’t have to pay a ton in order to be able to see the next card!  Bluffing doesn’t happen very often in limit games either, so if you are a big time bluffer, then you should probably lean a little more towards no limit.

No Limit

Let’s face it, we all know that no limit Texas hold’em is what really brought the game of poker to life all around the world.  The World Series of Poker is played in no limit fashion, and this is definitely the most popular type of game out there.  Most tournament players and cash game players for hold’em will play no limit, and a large part of that is because of the potential to be able to bluff your opponent.  And for any newer recreational players to the game, you will most likely be jumping into a no limit hold’em game to learn the strategy.

So in the end, the debate will probably live on forever, but it really comes down to your personal opinion!  If you like to bluff it up a little bit, and are a big time tournament player, you are probably leaning towards no limit.  On the other side of things though, if you are more of the type of player who likes to play a bit more loose and attempt to hit draws, then you should definitely stick with limit games.

Putting Pressure on the Original Raiser

You know those times when you are sitting at the table and that person raises before the button, and you just have a strong feeling that the person is simply raising position?  Well, if you are in the big blind and have a deep stack, you can three-bet that opponent and potentially take down a pretty nice sized pot if the opponent is raising light.  Even if they do end up calling your re-raise, you can continuation bet on the flop if the board is fairly dry, and then go after that pot one more time.  While you don’t technically have position during the hand, you can still put that pressure on your opponent.

Limpers All Around

If you are the big blind and there are quite a few players who just flat call around the table, this can set up a nice pot and give you the opportunity to just check and already have a huge pot sitting in front of you.  This means that you get to see free cards regardless of what you are holding.  On top of that, if you have a big hand, you can raise it up when it gets to you and put the pressure back on your opponents.  This will also build up the pot even more, which is obviously a good thing if you have a big hand from the start.  It is important to remember though that you shouldn’t raise with too weak of a hand though in this spot, as some players will simply be looking to get a raise from someone else at the table while holding a monster.

Bonuses

Bonuses or “free money” as some of us like to call it.  Almost ALL online poker sites are more than willing to give you some free money in the form of an online poker bonus for signing up with their site and depositing on.  Bonuses will range quite a bit, and most of them will go from a few hundred dollars up to a few thousand dollars, with match bonuses that normally range between 100% to 200%.  All of these will pay out nicely, but it’s important to see how they are paid out as well, as most are released over time!

Depositing and Withdrawing Money

To sum it up simply, choose an online poker site that makes your life as easy as possible.  What I mean by this, is that if a site makes getting money onto their site tough, and doesn’t have deposit methods that work for you, it’s typically not a good sign.  So find a site that works with you to get the money on there to your comfort level, and also a site who won’t make it tough to get the money off of the site as well.  Withdrawing money is the most important thing out there, so do a bit of research to find out information about that.

Software

Many online poker players will overlook the software aspect of thing, but it’s actually very important.  You can head onto a site and create an account to try out the software with their play money option.  This can give you a feel for what the sites play is like, and also help you make sure that you like the site in general.  So don’t forget to try out the site before making any final decisions, and remember that you don’t have to make a deposit to try it out!