Advice On Playing 5-Card Draw Poker

• Author: Thomas Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Aug 8,2010

For someone wanting to get their feet wet in the game of poker, 5-card draw is a great place to start. This is because of the purity of this poker variation, its interesting history, and last but certainly not least, it has very simple rules of play. Early poker tournaments included games in the 5-card draw configuration once introduced long ago among Mississippi River card game variations. The initial purpose of the game was one of study, but since then the poker draw became standard and its popularity spread throughout North America and Europe. Amateur games of 5-card draw have been recorded as early as the mid 19th century, and thereafter emerged such games as 7-card stud and Texas hold ‘em.

5-card draw poker continues its purity even today and is often found as a component of mixed cash games, tournament adjuncts and tournaments devoted to 5-card draw poker alone. Even though many still see it as jumping off place for the more complex varieties of poker, it does have its own structure, strategy and tactics.

So, How is it Played?

The game begins with the dealer dealing 5 cards to each player face down. After this comes a round of betting beginning with the button (dealer on the left of the large blind bet). After this first betting round, things begin to change. Now, the player is allowed to discard a certain number of cards (number based on house rules), draw the same number as discarded and thus forms the players initial hand. Another round of betting comes in here. Rules vary for 5 card draw games and are generally up to the house. Some will allow only three or four cards as trade-ins during round two, while others let the players exchange their entire hand for a new one. Once the final round of betting is completed, he who has the highest scoring hand wins.

Optimum Strategy for 5-Card Draw

The game consists of two betting rounds making it more commonly played in social home games rather than cut throat online poker sites and casinos. With only two rounds, the game is shortened considerably over other variations, but that doesn’t make it simplistic. As a matter of fact, its complex strategies and various techniques way more than make up for its length. It is important to understand the most common combination of cards to help in building your strategy. Strategy formulation also requires a great deal of patience, acute awareness of opponents moves and discards and the ability to adapt your strategy to meet changing situations.

Remember, you can only do a trade-in one time, so you and your opponents cannot count upon drawing to flushes or straights. Most of the winning hands will be three of a kind, high pairs, and so forth. Bluffing is commonly done by betting aggressively on a hand in which there are no swapped cards. You must be very aware of the number of cards your opponents trade in and the contortions on their faces when the get a look at their newly drawn hand. Depending on these observations, you will either keep your intended strategy or go for plan B. Good luck and have fun.

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An Absolute Look At Absolute Poker

• Author: Tom Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Aug 5,2010

Absolute Poker has been with us a long time and has a large following among poker players. Professionals such as Lacey Jones and Matt Vengrin and reality television star Trishelle Canatella are featured on the site leaving little wonder that this CEREUS poker network company can boast of its place at the top of online poker sites.

Absolute Poker comes under the ownership of Tokwiro Enterprises Engr and is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and thereby a reliable and secure online poker site with every right to its mission statement of “To continue to the best and most trusted.” The Absolute Poker team is constantly striving to bring to the online poker community the most distinctive and scintillating environment and is serious about continuous improvement of the software for the players total poker experience.

Because of the robustness of the software, give it more time to download than your usual site. You will be very glad you did. The software may feel like Full Tilt Poker with its smooth running, glitch-free software. You can’t miss with Absolute Poker’s read-easy game key along the bottom of the software and well formatted tabs along the side, thus offering the players intuitive and pleasing entertainment. The creators of Absolute Poker had the great good sense to offer it in both MAC and PC platforms making it more attractive to even more players.

Avatars, hot keys and rabbit cams are made to be easily switched for the players enjoyment. Yet another distinctive feature of the software is its seven deuce tables and the company is understandably boastful of this achievement. The winner of a seven deuce game is privy to extra money from their opponents. The bad beat jackpot meter flashes its numbers reaching higher and higher and the blackjack buttons dance around the screen making for an enchanting interface.

Absolute Poker is one of the oldest and biggest poker websites, and you will find at any given time over three thousand tables with over twenty thousand players all day and all night, seven days a week. This huge player base makes it possible to find limit, no limit and pot limit holdem games humming along 24/7. Omaha, Omaha hi-lo, seven card stud, seven card stud hi-lo, and razz tables will be buzzing along throughout the day and night. The more expert players can join in a game of Mixed-game play including HORSE and HOSE.

Even the new guy to poker gets a shot at real play with limits as low as $.01/.02 on up to $200/400 should he be in the zone. Tournament lobbies are also a popular attraction on Absolute Poker. There exist sit-n-go buy-ins at the $5,000 level and the usual tournament play starts at $2500 making this site dear to the hearts of the tournament fanatics. Large guarantee tournaments into the two hundred thousand prize pool levels are famously offered on weekends and Wednesdays to keep those fanatics coming back for more and more excitement. For those weary of poker seeking a brief relief, there are blackjack tournaments to offer them solace. You can imagine the pots that can be raked in with such a huge player base.

As with many of the major online poker sites, collecting player points is a preeminent facet of play. The ability to earn a nice income is enhanced by the Power Hour promotional feature. The Power Hours are designated periods where players amass more than the usual points. Freerolls are lucrative and yet another treat awarded by the site. Let us not forget to mention the Donkament involving several unique tournaments where the players can buy in with player points but get some really nice payouts.

Possibly the largest of the promotional events is the UBOC Online Championship of Poker. There are twelve days at which eighteen events occur with a purse of over four million dollars in prizes. This gets every poker player’s heart beating faster.

Then there is the Ten Million Chips Hall of Fame promotion for the play money players on the site. Should one of these fortunate players reach ten million in play chips, they become eligible for a real $50 bonus upon making a one time deposit. A valuable bad beat jackpot and numerous player incentives add to the many advantages of this dependable, fun and challenging website.

Email is the only means of contacting Absolute Poker, but the help options are many with informative pages and a FAQ section. There will be an answer to a visitors question 99.9% of the time with these tools. Absolute Poker is thoroughly committed to reliability and security to ensure that its huge volume of players is properly cared for.

Whether newcomer or sly veteran on the prowl, this site is a haven for anyone looking for a game. Absolute Poker as a company with a sturdy foundation manages a massive number of cheerful players.

For more poker room reviews like this one please check out reviews like our Mansion Poker Review, Gutshot Poker Review, or any of the other poker room reviews at Rakeback Solution.

So You Want To Play 7-Card Stud

• Author: Tom Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Aug 4,2010

The game of 7-card stud poker goes back to the very beginning of traditional poker history and is today still a very popular game in casinos and at casual home poker parties as well. Its large following is attracted by its standard structure, familiar to all poker players. Seven card stud rules change slightly from place to place but all are played with a maximum of seven players – this is because of the seven cards dealt to each player and the 52 card make up of a standard deck of cards – and, too, during the course of a game, the dealer will burn four cards. There are less betting rounds than in other forms of poker causing many a house to instigate a rule to call a pre-flop compulsory bet, or ante, to promote both participation in hands and a more complex and challenging game.

Those players who play only holdem games will find themselves at sea in stud poker because of the dissimilarity of strategy required to it play well. No player should think then, that they can approach a 7-card stud table without first observing many games and learning thoroughly its rules, tactics and betting strategies. This careful attention to stud games cannot help but allow a player to gain the insight required for any number of strategies.

A Description of Betting Rounds in 7-Card Stud Poker

To begin the game, each player is dealt three cards with two of them faced down and one up. Betting begins in a clockwise direction with the player holding the highest hand betting first (two aces would be the topmost hand at this point). The following three rounds, or streets as they are sometimes termed, will be dealt face up with the last (River) card dealt face down which takes us to the highest hand 5-card showdown. Betting rounds are taking place between each deal, with the exception of Mississippi stud which can be played with just four betting rounds and the last two cards are dealt as one.

Some 7-Card Stud Strategy

There is usually a mandatory ante that marks the start of most stud games and it is not unusual for some games to demand that the player with the lowest scoring visible hand “bring in” (place a forced bet). The game continues with each player being dealt three cards, two up and the bring in hand holder must bet first. In case of a tie, the suit is the tiebreaker. At this point in the game, a player has the right to bet, fold or raise to the level of the house limits.

Another deal commences with each player being dealt one card, followed by another round of bets starting with the player of the highest hand (three aces tops). In all ensuing rounds, the one who has the best visible cards can opt to bet or check to start the round. After all the cards have been dealt, the cards should be ordered in the players hands with two down cards, four up cards and finally, one down card.

Similar to Holdem and Omaha poker traditional play, the player with the highest ranking 5-card hand is the winner. Stud is a little unusual in that it does not have a community card pile and the cards in each hand are not all hidden. As is the rule in traditional games, a Royal Flush is at the top of the card combination ranking with the usual assortments ranked in the order of highest to lowest: straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, pair with high cards bringing up the rear. An appropriate betting strategy uses as its foundation hand strength, close attention to opponents betting patterns and face up cards and a fine sense of the size of the pot.

For more information on how to play other poker games like Texas Holdem or Royal Holdem please visit Rakeback Solution.

What You Must Know If You Like To Gamble

• Author: Basilia Bichel
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Aug 3,2010

Before you start to gamble on any game, be it poker, roulette, bingo or the slots you should know the rules of the game you are playing.

And the most effective way to learn the rules is through practice or by taking the time to read up on your game of choice. Most casino games are available for you to play for the enjoyment alone, and by doing so you can improve your skills and understanding without risking anything.

When you are ready to start gambling with cash, look for sites that are reputable. Consider setting a few constraints on yourself. For instance, only allow yourself a certain amount of cash to gamble with before calling it quits. Another suggestion is to set a time limit for how long you will play.

Strategies are not very helpful when it comes to gambling. It does not matter whether you are in a major Vegas casino or at an Internet gambling site, the house will always win.

Efforts to beat the house are attempted by numerous people all the time. Even if someone manages to come up with a successful method of changing the odds to their favor, there is one major glitch unaccounted for by most people. Casinos examine the wins and losses for each table; even further, they scrutinize every step made by players and log strategies as they discover them.

As soon as a successful strategy is found the casinos aren’t usually too far behind in working out a way of blocking it. If anything, online casinos are better at this as they can record every move you make and have sophisticated software to work out strategies.

The final point to keep in mind is that gambling should be entertaining. People gamble for various reasons, whether it is an occasional stress buster or a pointed effort to make money. However, once the game starts to wear on your nerves or frustration begins to set in, then it is wise to stop playing immediately.

There are not many people out there that make a living from gambling. In fact nearly all gamblers lose money. The thing you need to remember is to never risk more money than you can afford to lose.

Remember this about gambling and it’ll be a lot more enjoyable for you.

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Action Poker Review – Behind The Exclamation Point

• Author: Tom Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Aug 2,2010

Action poker offers just that, action. With its motto of “Get Some” you know you found a site that will challenge you to perform to your utmost level. Action poker is owned and operated by Ecom Enterprises which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Playsafe Holding AS, which tells you this is a company that knows its stuff.

Action Poker is regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and operates out of Norway (OTC). The company can definitely make the claim that it is a well-informed international poker establishment. Action Poker got its start in 1999 and is licensed by the Action Poker Network (APN). It is a site that has won the blessings of poker players for many years and will do all it can to make the players experience more enjoyable.

If you only have a MAC forget this site because it runs exclusively on Microsoft Windows version 98 and later. But, for the great majority out there with PCs you will find a rapid download that is exclusive to Action Poker. Upon opening the software, you will notice a message informing you of the latest bonus which really gets your juices flowing. So suffer, you MAC users.

There is an update tool on the bar across the top of the application which is a fine tool allowing easy software updates to ensure you that you are playing with the latest software version. The application is intuitive and is based on buttons and drop downs making it very easy to navigate. You will find a news ticker and blinking ads on the site to keep players in the know of the latest poker news and information. Other goodies are links that access all the nuances of the game rules within the help function and in addition, place the casino and blackjack games right in front of you, which gives you a pretty good idea of their customer service orientation.

You will encounter 300 tables and 3,000 players on the site at all times at Action Poker. Many players are pleasantly surprised to find more games than the usual no limit, fixed limit and pot limit holdem, Omaha, and seven card stud. There are more esoteric games such as Guts poker, Monte Carlo Guts and Survivor Guts which are games to test the mettle of the most expert player. Then there is Pan which is played in California and is a rummy-based true gamblers delight.

The wagers start at $.01/02 and go upwards to $50/100 covering every player’s wallet and skill level. Tournament play is not a big feature at Action Poker but the games that do exist include freerolls and fine formats to make up for their sparse appearances. While there are only a few tournaments, buy in begins at one thin dime and can lead to big rewards and one could go for the World Series packages if a buy-in of $1,400 doesn’t weaken them. There are certainly ample opportunities among the variety of games on the site to earn some great bonus money and prizes.

A high point of the promotions is the satellites to the Winter Games in Vancouver which comes with tickets to the 2010 Men’s Hockey Gold Final. The bonuses are primarily tournament based on Action Poker so the site fronts guarantees that are very appealing to its customers. Do not forget the Stanley and Frieda tournament which is a bounty tournament happening on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays in which a player receives an extra 30 bucks for doing in Stanley or Frieda. The site also has satellites to the World Series of Poker so you can be sure this site isn’t going to go away any time soon.

Action Poker’s longevity has attracted companies like the International Gaming Council (IGC) and the random number generator tester ITECH Labs Australia to ensure that players will feel secure on the site for many years into the future. Action Poker willingly offers contact to three gambling addiction help facilities: GamCare, Gamblers Anonymous and the National Council on Problem Gambling. Clearly this is a site that exists for the well being of all its users.

Help is via email which is up and running 24/7 so the company can be contacted any time for any questions that the players may have and all will be answered promptly and to the player’s satisfaction. The support site is extremely secure so a player need never feel their privacy is compromised and can focus on enjoying themselves at the site.

So go “get some” and enjoy yourself and your winnings.

For more poker room reviews like this one please check out reviews like our Party Poker Review, OnlyPoker Review, or any of the other poker room reviews at Rakeback Solution.