The question that is asked the most often by poker players is,”When should I bluff?”

Books have been written on this topic.  So if you want to know exactly when to bluff, then go find a good book on bluffing and study it.  There is no way I can explain the finer details of bluffing in one blog post.  I will however… let out a few of the bluffing tips that I do know…

I don’t have the exact answer for you because it depends on so many factors.  A general guide to bluffing is that you have to learn when to bluff and that only comes with experience.

My best advice is to start with semi-bluffing – which means that you don’t really have anything to start off with but your hand could turn into something, when the community cards come into play.

Bluffing also depends on what kind of character you are, some people take to it naturally, whilst others are uncomfortable with it.

Take a look at this entertaining film clip showing the poker pros bluffing, Phil Ivey vs Paul Jackson, who can out-bluff who?  $1Million in the pot… nerves of steel!

And if you want entertainment read all the comments on YouTube… oh boy.. everyone has to have their say…

Here’s another clip… nice bluff… but once again its the player with the stronger nerve that pulls through.

Ok here’s another big tip… if you are going to bluff, then act strongly and decisively… don’t dither around too much… but then again if you are acting strong… then that may be a tell that you are bluffing.  Now do you see what I mean, its tough to give advice… you gotta learn it!

Here’s an example of how to get poker bluffing wrong.

I hope you learn something about bluffing in poker, if not, then I hope you at least find the film clips entertaining!

Use your sixth sense…

huh?  what you mean?  I cant even use my five senses properly.

You know when you just get that funny feeling, a hunch.. you just know hold-on a moment here, something is fishy… is this a good old poker bluff?

No matter how many books you read on poker strategy or which poker guides and gurus you have subscribed to, sometimes you have to trust your intuition, listen to your inner feeling and trust it.

Ok I know this sounds like wishy washy stuff, but I think you know what I am getting at.  If you have a tough decision to make, if you go with your intuition, most times it will work out for the better.  Every time I have made a decision against my intuition I have regretted it.

Same thing in poker.  I dont know what it is, maybe we have an animal instinct that we dont use anymore, maybe its body language, maybe its telepathy… who knows?  It doesn’t matter just use your sixth sense and most times you will be right.

For a great Texas Holdem theme party, plan in advance to have matching theme party decorations in place for the big event.  The good news is that it can be easy to plan a fabulous party with party supplies and all of the extras without spending too much.  If you plan to invite your friends over for a fun evening of car playing, then you will want to implement a few of these Texas Holdem party items into the entertainment.  For your Texas Holdem theme party, use these fun ideas to make the event even more enjoyable.

• Use lights throughout the space.  LED lights go very well for any poker game party.  Look for those that light up the space nicely, but not to the point of overwhelming everyone.
• Be sure to pick up a few card decorations or decorations that feature poker chips on them. These can be placed throughout the room.  If you are willing to, you can even create them using a deck of cards.
• Plan to have a few gifts to give out to all winning guests.  Fun theme party favors can be fabulous dollar sign glasses, fuzzy dice and even a few decks of cards.
• Dress up the room as a casino, with plenty of casino sounds in the background, perhaps even some country music.  If you are going all out, you can even rent casino like equipment to scatter in the room.
• Plan to have a few good drinks and snacks for munching on.  Everyone will be hungry!

For those looking to plan an exciting party, there is no better way to do itthen with a Texas Holdem theme party. You can find many of the items you need readily available.  Alternatively, step up and make them yourself!

Whatever you do, plan to enjoy the event as much as everyone else does!

Encourage everyone to help make your Texas Hold’em theme party more fun by dancing and singing along to the music!

I said before that it is fine to create a bit of “tilt” as long as you keep control of your emotions.  Not just in poker but also in everyday life, emotions can get in the way and sometimes cause even more problems.

How often have you allowed your emotions to take over…. and then afterwards when you have calmed down… thought how stupid was that?…. why did I do that?

Anger, fear, worry, jealousy, embarrassment… they all get in the way and cloud your judgement.  It is your “inner self” or your “ego” that usually creates and feeds off emotion.  Most of the time emotion does not help a situation, in fact most of the time it gets in the way and makes things worse.

If you are able to realise that what you are feeling is just an emotion and that it is not important.  If you can put aside that emotion and concentrate on what is important – like your poker game…

I guarantee that your poker will improve, in fact your whole life will improve, if you realise that it is just your ego wanting to be pleased and that your ego is not that important!!! 

Be aware of your emotions and control your emotions – you will be able to focus more on your poker, make better decisions and become a better poker player.

Did you know that the production of poker chips dates back as far as the 19th Century? This is something that I recently discovered after reading a very interesting article about the history of poker chip collecting. Whilst these days poker chips are generally made from molded plastic, previous poker chips have been made from such materials as bone, wood, mother of pearl and even ivory.

The problem that players faced with the older materials was that an exact dollar amount could never really be given to the chip. Hence why these days plastic chips have become the norm ranging in different colors and graphics and each being given a monetary value.

One such site that provides an interesting collection of poker chips is Terry Lewin’s Poker Chip site. Terry offers a large catalogue of past and present chips with both images and description broken down into Casino establishements that they originate from. If you are an avid collector I highly recommend you check out Terry’s site to get a glimpse of his very extensive chip collection.

Glad you enjoyed the clips of the Poker Brat doing his thing.  To give Phil Helmuth credit he doesn’t always behave like this and I have chosen particular video clips to show how someone can lose it whilst playing poker.

By the way have you ever seen anyone lose it whilst playing poker online?  That’s also entertaining, in fact some software includes animation of various actions you can take whilst playing online poker have you found them yet?

You can use these animations to irritate people and get them to go on tilt or you can use them to express your own frustration – it brings a whole new dimension to the poker table.

Sometimes when playing online poker the game really slows up.  Sure you can play multiple hands and computer games on the side, but if you want a bit of entertainment, a good ‘poker guide’ is to watch how people react to what you make your online character do.

Some players will just ignore you because they know what you are up to, others get really irritated and can go on tilt.  Its a good way to get your opponents distracted and playing bad poker, so that you can take advantage of the situation.  And now for ‘poker guide’ number 2 – As long as you remain in control of your emotions it is fine.

Try it, you may enjoy being the Poker Brat of the online poker world – only thing is that you may have to change your online name afterwards…

I got sent a question from Mary, who is a new online poker player.

She asked what does on “tilt” mean?  And, “Why is their a poker room called “Full Tilt”?

The “Poker Guide” will try his best to answer these questions.

Well Mary there is a good explanation on Wikipedia, they say it is when a poker player is in a state of mental confusion or frustration and then they don’t play to their potential.  Its when a player just loses it and cant focus on their poker game.  A “blow-up”, a sudden rush of blood to the head, call it whatever you want, but in poker its on “tilt”!

It happens to all poker players at some stage.  Some people are better at controlling their emotions than others.  The best thing to do when it happens to you – poker guide tip – is to take a break, take a deep breath, get a grip of yourself and calm down so that you can think clearly.  Because its not going to help your game, if you are so mad that you can’t think straight.

Be very aware of other players “winding you up” trying to get you to go on “tilt”, so that they can take advantage of you whilst you are not concentrating fully on your game.

Here are some fantastic examples of the “King of Tilt”, who other than Phil “Poker Brat” Helmuth.  I can think of no better person to demonstrate to you the meaning of “tilt”…

Not a lot of poker is played, but it makes very good entertainment….

Now we have Phil on Poker After Dark, there’s more poker in this one and Phil does a whole lot of talking, the editor has his work cut-out editing out all the swearing!

And then he goes way out of line on the big stage of last year’s World Series of Poker.

Another poker guide tip is to use “tilt” to your advantage, by getting other players on “tilt”.  Its not really polite to do this, but if there is someone who deserves to be on “tilt” then go for it.  There are subtle ways of putting people on “tilt” and it is probably better to be more subtle about it.

Of course, if you are online then you don’t have to deal with that persons rage, face to face, so you might be a bit braver.

I hope this helps to explain the term on “tilt”, Mary.  As for Full Tilt, I think they just thought it was a good name for their site.

And now for my next bit of advice, my ‘poker guide’ to the beginners out there, in fact not only to the beginners its also for some of the more experienced players.  Often people can’t be bothered to study the numbers behind poker, they just want to play… forget about the math, that’s too complicated.

Know your poker odds

But the reality is that you have to know the odds in order to be confident of your betting.  Know the probabilities or chances of each hand winning.  Use an odds calculator if that makes it easier for you.  And, one benefit of playing online poker is that you can have all sorts of tools open to help you as you play.

But the point is – it is a good poker guide to learn the strengths of each hand don’t just accept what the odds calculator gives you, so you know exactly how to play the hand i.e. raise, call or fold…. but also how much to raise by.  If you over play it, your opponent may fold too early.

If you know your odds, your poker game will improve dramatically!   Let’s face it, it’s really all about the probability of your cards beating your opponents. Or put another way, what is the probability of my opponent having a better hand?

Simple really…. ahh but maybe not so simple… that’s what makes the game of poker so great and attracts millions of people to play it!

Well Christmas has been and gone.  Late Christmas wishes to all of you out there.  Yet, not too late for the ‘Poker guide’ to catch you before the end of the year and wish you all the best for 2009, I hope its a good year for you.

I said I would start giving poker guide tips to all the people starting out at poker – so here goes with my first bit of advice for all the beginners:

1. Do your research and try as many online poker sites as you can

Many new payers ask,”Where shall I start playing” or “Can you recommend a good online poker site?”.  The truth is that it has become very competitive out there in the online poker world and there is a lot on offer.  There are many great sites, pick one of the top 10 poker sites and just start playing.  Don’t get hung up on where to play.

It becomes a personal thing, people have their preferences for certain sites, for their look, the level of players, integrity, functionality or features.  Once you’ve tried a few, you will develop your own preferences.

And the best poker guide is to try as many of the top poker sites as you can, because there is a wide range out there and it is only once you have tried many, that you begin to get a feel for what you want, or what your needs are.

May luck be with you!

Jason

Hi everyone, I have been away on a holiday for a few weeks and have taken a break from poker.  It’s allowed me to gain a new perspective, which I will share with you.

Whilst I was traveling during my entertaining holiday, I managed to chat to people and get some completely new, fresh ideas from people outside of the game.  What I have realized is just how hard it is for new poker players to start the game.  There are loads of poker strategy sites and blogs, all giving their opinion on what to do, what not to do and how to make your next big win!  But not many sites that will take you through the steps of “how to start playing poker online…”

New players are completely confused by all the jargon.  There is enough to cope with learning the game, the last thing you need is some smart a.., giving it to you in some strange lingo!

So, over the next few weeks, I am going to go back to some of the basics of online poker and how to start playing online.  I am going to also include a few interviews on the blog, with new players that I have made contact with. I will be calling myself the ‘Poker guide’ at times, so don’t be confused when I start talking about the Poker guide, because its me, its my new name.

To those of you that have been playing for a while, stick around you never know, you may learn a thing or two.  My poker improved so much when I started teaching and explaining poker to new comers, because I had to go back to the basics and actually think why things were that way, so that I could explain it better.

The ‘Poker guide’