Where to start..

An excellent place to start online for beginners or experienced players is Full Tilt poker where you can play for free or for money. You will find a full tutorial on the site with expert video commentary.

Full Tilt poker also offers a welcome bonus of up to $600 free to new players. Click here for more details.

In fact you can take advantage of any of the welcome bonuses listed in the table below.

What you eat can affect how you play poker.

Did you know that you diet can affect the the way you play poker. To play your best you need stable blood sugar level. This is particularly important in long tournaments.

Eat foods such as fruit, vegetables and whole grains. And stay hydrated by drinking water frequently.

Avoid foods such as chips soda drinks and candy bars they will spike your blood sugar level quickly.

Money Management.

To manage your bankroll effectively only buy into cash games for 5% or less of your bankroll.

Exit the game if at any stage you have greater than 10% of your bankroll on the table. Move up levels as Your bankroll grows. Move back a level if your bankroll decreases. Never play for increased stakes if your losing.

With multi table poker tournaments buy in for 2% or less of your bankroll. Single table tournaments up to 5% of your bankroll.

Value bets

If you think your ahead on each round of poker then bet. Your opponent may want you to check but its better to bet out your good hands. You then have two ways of winning: your opponent may fold or you may have the best hand. By checking you will only win if you have the best hand at the river.

Royal Flush

This is the best possible hand in poker. There are only 4 ways you can get one. The odds of making a royal flush from 5 cards is 1 in 649,740.

A royal flush consists of AKQJT of any one suit.

Best starting hand

The best starting hand you can have in Texas Hold'em is AA a pair of aces.

Computer Hand

This is Q7 the hand gets its name as it is said to win often if you are playing online not really sure about that myself.

Final Table

If you reach the final table of any tournaments this is time move up a gear. If you have been playing tight, (which I do not necessarily advocate) then you need to become a lot more aggressive especially when you get down to only a few players left or heads up.

Last World Series Winner

The last winner of the world series of poker main event in 2008 was Peter Eastgate.
He is from Denmark and is the youngest player to ever win this event. His winning hand was Ace / five.

Rounders

What is a poker rounder? Its a poker player who travels around to play high stakes games. As in the movie Rounders (1998) staring Matt Damon, Edward Norton and John Malkovich as Teddy KGB.

World Series 2009 Qualifiers

You can qualify now for the 2009 World series main event at Full Tilt Poker.
Satellites to the main event are $216.00 buy in and sub events are $11.00.
So if your good enough you could be playing in this years world series for just $11.00 Go here if you would like to sign up.

APL Australian Poker League

You can play APL poker in Australia for free at most cities and larger towns. The poker is played usually in a friendly pub or club. Players can obtain an extra chip by buying certain products from the establishment. Monthly regional tournaments and quarterly state tournaments. Winners form state tournaments go on to play in an annual tournament of champions which attracts significant prize money.

Poker Bonuses Tip

If you are going to sign up with any poker site they will usually offer you a sign up bonus. (As with Full Tilt Poker $600) You will only get this initial bonus once and it will usually be the best one offered while at that poker room. For this reason it makes sense to make you first purchase for the maximum amount you can afford i.e. with Full Tilt the maximum bonus is $600 so if you can buy in for $600 you will then receive a bonus from Full Tilt of $600. Some smaller bonus offers may be made to you in future but it will most likely not be as good.

Favorite poker Books

I have read a number of poker books some good some so so. One of my favorites is 'Making the Final Table' by Erick Lindgren. This book give a good overview of how to play sensible aggressive poker. Check my books page for more poker books...

Weak Ace

This is a hand that can get you into a lot of trouble if not played carefully. A weak Ace also known as a 'Soft Ace' or 'Ace Rag' is an ace accompanied by a weak card such as 3, 4 etc. I actually prefer ace 2-5 to Ace 6-9 you cannot make a straight with the latter set. If I have a weak ace I am usually looking for a straight, 2 pair or better.
If you hit an ace on the flop with your weak ace there is a good chance you will be out kicked by another player. A lot of players will only play an ace with a good kicker 10 or above.

On Tilt

Players can go on tilt if they have just lost a big hand. If you think you are going on tilt its best to leave the table at a cash game or take a break to get your breath in a tournament. When players go on tilt they become reckless and can make irrational bets. Other more experienced players will take advantage of you in this state.

Language Support

I have now added support for other languages on this site. Just click on the flags above for translation of this site into the following languages, Chinese Simplified, Chinese traditional, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

A Rush

When a player has a rush they will have an unusually good run of cards and may win several pots in a row.

Poker Points

Most card rooms including Full Tilt have a bonus points system. You are awarded points based on the amount in the pot of any cash game or the buyin amount of tournaments. You can use these points to gain prizes such as books or clothing etc. or use them to buy into special tournaments and events.

Railbird

This is a person who watches poker but does not play and may stand in the card room near the rail.

Overpair

This is a pair that you may hold in your hand that is higher than any of the community cards on the table.

Satellite

This is a tournament that lets you win entry into a larger tournament.

Home Game

This is poker event that is organized in an informal manner in someone's home. Local rules are agreed among the players. It is usually a fun event comprising of a tournament or cash game

Buy In

The amount players pay in order to take part in a tournament or cash game.