In our world of free offers, often there is very little value in what is being offered for free. This has made many people skeptical when the word free is used in any advertisement or article.
However, there truly is a free way to make money online and you can have fun doing it. One of the best ways to make money online is to play online poker free games. The online poker casinos call these free games ‘freerolls’.
As a kid, you may have enjoyed playing video games or online games, spending hours trying to attain a higher score or be the master of your favorite online game. However, the reward for most of these online games is a psychological win. Now there is a way you can still play online video games and make real hard cash doing it.
The Online poker industry is one of the fastest growing and easiest ways to cash in on doing what you like anyway, playing online games for free. You may have heard of several poker players that won huge tournaments online for thousands of dollars, like Chris Moneymaker (who won the World Series of Poker main event for a cool $1 million +) He got his start at pokerstars.com, an online poker site.
Another icon in the free online games field is professional poker player Chris Ferguson, who in 2006 was challenged to make $10,000 just by playing free online poker. The challenge was to start with $0 in his account and build it to $10,000. He not only succeeded in doing this, but he surpassed his mark, and donated all the proceeds to charity.
Now your turn! Can you make money from just playing in free online poker games? YES! Take the challenge. Here is how to get started:
I have found that pokerstars.com offers the best in free online poker games, and actually offers the easiest chance to win. Start by signing up (use the link to the right to be eligible for a $50 cash bonus).
There is no cost to sign up and you are not required to make any deposit to Poker Stars.
Once you have signed up, then go to the Tourney Tab and click freerolls. About every 40 minutes Pokerstars offers a freeroll tournament to get into the weekly. The top 48 to 90 players in the freeroll get a ticket to the weekly round 2 where you can play to win real cash. The cash prize pool is $2000, with first place usually getting over $250. The payout is usually down to 800 people with last place getting under $1.
Winning a dollar may not sound like much, however you can take that $1 and play in a low stake tournament to begin building your bankroll. Poker Stars.com offers tournaments starting as low as 10 cents.
So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up using the convenient link to the right and get in a freeroll. It is FREE and you can have fun playing online games free with a chance to make money. It is better than playing online games or video games just for bragging rights.
Good Luck!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Phenomena of 'My Favorite Hand'
Yesterday, I played the Wheeling Island Casino $40 Sunday tournament. A nice tournament with a relatively small field of 51, however well worth the investment for the $550 first place.
In the home stretch we were down to 2 tables of 6 each, with the pay out to the top 10. I was sitting just under the average with about $6500 in chips. The blinds are 400/800 with a 100 ante. The player to my right has played quite aggressive most of the tournament raising at every opportunity. In this particular hand he went all in with $3200, I looked down at AJ off suit. I was the button, so I sized up the BB and SB, the SB had about $4000 while the BB had less than $2000 behind him.
I was quite sure the SB would fold, while the BB would most likely call since he had about 1/3 of his chips in already. I thought for a moment and assessed the damage if I called and lost, after all, since I was sure the BB would call I did not want to be up against 2 hands with my AJ. I decided to fold thinking it is possible he picked up a monster hand this time. The SB folds and the BB, (to my surprise) folds.
As the raiser mucked, he stated, "Had my favorite hand" I noticed as his cards went into the muck what appeared to be a black '6'. I thought to myself, "What? His favorite hand includes a 6?"
(Needless to say, my patience in waiting was well-rewarded when he later pushed all in with his K J off suit against my AA, he lost and busted out before the money.)
I can not imagine any hand that includes a '6' as a good starting hand unless it is pocket 6's. Nevertheless, I am always amazed at how people latch onto their (or other's) favorite hand. Willing to take great risks based on the belief that a favorite hand holds some magical power.
This phenomena is usually associated with the fact that the player has won a huge pot or achieved a fantastic suck out based on that hand at some time in the past. However, is playing your favorite hand a wise choice?
Everyone is familiar with the 'Doyle Brunson' favorite hand of 10 2. After all, he won two major tournaments holding these cards. Since then, the poker world has latched onto Doyle's 10 2 as though it were the 'nuts'! Keep in mind Doyle played his 10 2 while heads up. He had no reason to fold his 10 2 since his opponents took no steps to push him out of the hand.
I witnessed another instance of a favorite hand, when I was in a large tournament, 1st place was $2500.00, and buy in was $65. The field was down to 5 people, I was in the big blind with 9 4 off suit. Under the gun limped while the rest of the table folded. The flop came down 7 9 3, I had barely enough to make one more round and figured I will make a stand here since I have top pair, and my opponent likely has only over cards. My all in was about half his chips; so I felt confident he would likely fold.
I pushed all in, he called, and that impending doom feeling you always get when you are 'on the ropes' hit me. However, I was totally shocked when he showed 8 3 off suit! Although I was ahead, the turn was not kind as an 8 came down and a jack on the river. I was busted out by 8 3. I remarked to the guy what a terrible call it was, shook his hand, and graciously left the table. From that day on, every time I saw him or the 8 3 I referred to the hand as the ‘Bracken’ (his first name).
Anytime we would play tournaments or cash games and the 8 3 was on the flop, or I held it, I would make a remark about ‘The Bracken’ hand. Several months later, Bracken approached me and confessed that the ‘Bracken’ (8 3) had cost him literally hundreds of dollars. He was actually playing this hand as his favorite hand, and it was costing him tons of money!
Consider one very important concept before attaching yourself (and your money) to a ‘favorite hand’. Is this hand really making me money? After all, we play poker to win, not because of some lucky hand that is going to get us there every time. Before playing your favorite hand again, add up all the money that you made playing it. Now subtract all the money you lost with it. You may soon find out, that favorite hand is not your bankroll’s favorite.
For more great tips and strategies on No Limit Texas Hold ‘em, read 101 Winning Moves.
Incidentally, my favorite hand is ‘The Winning Hand’ Good Luck at the Tables!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Tired of River Beats in No Limit Texas Hold’em Poker?
The most frustrating part of a poker players life is getting called down by some idiot that is on a draw, only to make his hand on the river.
Is there truly a way to prevent this? The short answer is NO!
However, there is a way to minimize your losses and potentially stop bleeding chips to calling stations and donkeys that can not lay down a draw.
Project your image and know your opponent’s image:
First, recognize who is at your table: identify your calling stations, aggressive players, and donkeys.
Next project your identity at the table, if you are playing aggressive, you are more likely to be called down.
If you are playing tight, there is a less chance of being called down, and if you are a calling station, you will quickly get taken advantage of by superior players.
Your image at the table is as important as the images of your opponents, so make sure you project a good table image. Projecting a tight image will allow you to make a timely bluff or steal without the risk of someone calling.
Keep the pot size manageable:
This is very crucial! Keep the pot size relatively low enough until you are sure you have the absolutely best hand. Here is why: generally speaking, people are GREEDY, they will chase a rainbow for the pot of gold more often if they believe there is a HUGE reward. Let us say you are in a $1 - $2 cash game, and it is a limped pot with 4 other players. You hold AJ of hearts in middle position, you limp as well. Flop is A of clubs, J of spades, and 3 of hearts. There is $10 in the pot, SB (small blind) checks, BB (big blind) checks, UTG (under-the-gun) checks, and your turn with one person after you to act, LP (late position). What do you do?
A.) Bet the pot, $10, the pot is now $20
B.) Check to see what late position does.
C.) Bet ½ the pot, the pot is now $15.
D.) Overbet the pot ($20) to keep anyone from drawing, the pot is now $30
If you have identified all your opponents, you will make the correct decision. Currently only 3 hands can beat you (pocket J’s pocket Aces and pocket 3’s)
Let us say SB and BB are fairly tight players, UTG is a calling station, and LP is aggressive.
Do you know what your opponents are holding? You can be certain that UTG and LP are not holding any of the hands that can beat you, because of their style, they would have raised pre-flop. What about SB and BB? Would they have limped in with pocket pairs? (most likely given their tight style they could have)
Know the FUTURE hands that can beat you:
Now consider the implied hands that can beat you by the turn: 10 Q (any K for a straight), 10 K (any Q for a straight), J 3 (any 3 for a full house), A 3 (any 3 for a full house), X 3 (10 hands, any 3 for trips) , any remaining pocket pairs (10 pocket pairs can make a full house), for a total of 27 hands that can beat you on the turn.
Knowing that 27 hands can beat you on the turn how much are you willing to risk with a calling station and an aggressive player in the hand?
If you picked A or D, you have made the pot quite attractive to anyone holding the 27 hands that could beat you. If you picked C, those 27 hands will still call you, but you have minimized your risk. If you pick B, you are currently only risking $2 to this pot. The ideal way to make money in poker is to minimize your risk with maximum returns, just like any business investment.
Take a look at the investment and return on your investment (ROI)
Choosing A, you have invested $12 to win $6 (minus the rake of $2)- potential ROI 50%
Choosing B, you have invested $2 to win $7 (minus the rake of $1) – potential ROI 350%
Choosing C, You have invested $7 to win $7 (minus the rake of $1) – potential ROI 100%
Choosing D, you have invested $22 to win $6 (minus the rake of $2) –potential ROI 28%
Clearly, you can see that B and C are the wisest investments. However, you may say, well I do not make much money that way. You are correct, but Poker is not always about making money, it is also about NOT LOSING! If you believe you should win every time you are ahead, you need to STOP playing poker and take up a more suitable hobby like fishing or bowling, those sports also have competitive tournaments where you could try and win big cash.
Winning in No Limit Texas Hold’em is based largely on making the correct decision at the right time. Too often people with strong starting hands feel they should win all the time. In reality, there is no hand that is a 100% preflop winner. Use these three tips: table image, pot manageability, and hand possibility to avoid bleeding chips. Again, you are never going to avoid all river beats, however, you can control the amount of your losses. For more great tips read this post on poker strategies.
Keep up to date on my poker posts and follow me on
Is there truly a way to prevent this? The short answer is NO!
However, there is a way to minimize your losses and potentially stop bleeding chips to calling stations and donkeys that can not lay down a draw.
Project your image and know your opponent’s image:
First, recognize who is at your table: identify your calling stations, aggressive players, and donkeys.
Next project your identity at the table, if you are playing aggressive, you are more likely to be called down.
If you are playing tight, there is a less chance of being called down, and if you are a calling station, you will quickly get taken advantage of by superior players.
Your image at the table is as important as the images of your opponents, so make sure you project a good table image. Projecting a tight image will allow you to make a timely bluff or steal without the risk of someone calling.
Keep the pot size manageable:
This is very crucial! Keep the pot size relatively low enough until you are sure you have the absolutely best hand. Here is why: generally speaking, people are GREEDY, they will chase a rainbow for the pot of gold more often if they believe there is a HUGE reward. Let us say you are in a $1 - $2 cash game, and it is a limped pot with 4 other players. You hold AJ of hearts in middle position, you limp as well. Flop is A of clubs, J of spades, and 3 of hearts. There is $10 in the pot, SB (small blind) checks, BB (big blind) checks, UTG (under-the-gun) checks, and your turn with one person after you to act, LP (late position). What do you do?
A.) Bet the pot, $10, the pot is now $20
B.) Check to see what late position does.
C.) Bet ½ the pot, the pot is now $15.
D.) Overbet the pot ($20) to keep anyone from drawing, the pot is now $30
If you have identified all your opponents, you will make the correct decision. Currently only 3 hands can beat you (pocket J’s pocket Aces and pocket 3’s)
Let us say SB and BB are fairly tight players, UTG is a calling station, and LP is aggressive.
Do you know what your opponents are holding? You can be certain that UTG and LP are not holding any of the hands that can beat you, because of their style, they would have raised pre-flop. What about SB and BB? Would they have limped in with pocket pairs? (most likely given their tight style they could have)
Know the FUTURE hands that can beat you:
Now consider the implied hands that can beat you by the turn: 10 Q (any K for a straight), 10 K (any Q for a straight), J 3 (any 3 for a full house), A 3 (any 3 for a full house), X 3 (10 hands, any 3 for trips) , any remaining pocket pairs (10 pocket pairs can make a full house), for a total of 27 hands that can beat you on the turn.
Knowing that 27 hands can beat you on the turn how much are you willing to risk with a calling station and an aggressive player in the hand?
If you picked A or D, you have made the pot quite attractive to anyone holding the 27 hands that could beat you. If you picked C, those 27 hands will still call you, but you have minimized your risk. If you pick B, you are currently only risking $2 to this pot. The ideal way to make money in poker is to minimize your risk with maximum returns, just like any business investment.
Take a look at the investment and return on your investment (ROI)
Choosing A, you have invested $12 to win $6 (minus the rake of $2)- potential ROI 50%
Choosing B, you have invested $2 to win $7 (minus the rake of $1) – potential ROI 350%
Choosing C, You have invested $7 to win $7 (minus the rake of $1) – potential ROI 100%
Choosing D, you have invested $22 to win $6 (minus the rake of $2) –potential ROI 28%
Clearly, you can see that B and C are the wisest investments. However, you may say, well I do not make much money that way. You are correct, but Poker is not always about making money, it is also about NOT LOSING! If you believe you should win every time you are ahead, you need to STOP playing poker and take up a more suitable hobby like fishing or bowling, those sports also have competitive tournaments where you could try and win big cash.
Winning in No Limit Texas Hold’em is based largely on making the correct decision at the right time. Too often people with strong starting hands feel they should win all the time. In reality, there is no hand that is a 100% preflop winner. Use these three tips: table image, pot manageability, and hand possibility to avoid bleeding chips. Again, you are never going to avoid all river beats, however, you can control the amount of your losses. For more great tips read this post on poker strategies.
Keep up to date on my poker posts and follow me on
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