If you play poker regularly, and you understand the game exactly as it is, you probably know that there are misconceptions among people with no direct experience. You’ve probably heard many of these erroneous viewpoints. If you are like me, you spend a fair amount of time explaining to uninformed people precisely what poker is and what it is not. For the benefit of all, this article will clear up some of the more common misconceptions.

Conversely, if you never play poker, and your entire experience of the game is what you read in print and see in movies, you probably have many wrong ideas. That is to be expected. Please, allow me to enlighten you on a few points.

1. Poker is not casual. Many people think of poker as a mellow social pastime, where friends sit around drinking, laughing and whooping it up. In fact, there is nothing friendly about poker. You can be cordial with others at your table (and you should be), but the game itself is vicious. Played properly, it is a form of warfare. It is an aggressive battle for domination. I think of poker as “violence, without the violence.”

2. A poker face is not the main requirement to play. I cannot tell you how often I hear this misconception. Nearly every time I mention poker to someone whose only exposure to the game is the media, I hear some lame comment like, “Oh, you must have a good poker face.” No, a poker face, a steely-eyed gaze, is not the essence of skillful play. True, you do not want to be sending tells to your opponents, but the so-called poker face is widely misunderstood. The ability to create a poker face does not make you a poker player. Consider this: When you play poker on the Internet, everyone has a poker face.

3. Winning at poker is not easy. Blame television for this one. You generally see only the winners on television. Those who win get the most exposure and are most often featured. The final table in a tournament, for example, is comprised solely of players who are winners. Very little attention is paid to those who lose, say nothing of the vast majority who bust out of tournaments without fanfare. Playing well takes a huge amount of study, discipline and practice. Succeeding in the world of poker is far from automatic.

4. Women can play. The idea that poker is exclusively a man’s game is another falsehood. Years ago, many well-known poker authors wrote that women do not have the killer instinct necessary to play well. Time has proven that theory wrong. Nowadays, women compete at every level, and plenty of skilled women win in cash games and tournaments. The idea that poker is a man’s game is laughable these days, and I wouldn’t have included it among common misconceptions were it not for the fact that many still believe it.

5. Poker is not a game of mathematics. In blackjack, for example, you always have one best move at any moment. Your task is to determine what that move is. If you have 13 and the dealer is showing an ace, then you should hit. That is always true, no matter who is seated at the table or what they are doing. Poker is different. In poker, you must take other players into account, and the mathematically preferable move may not be wise. Top caliber players often debate what is the best move in a particular situation. Poker cannot be reduced to mathematics because there are too many human factors.

6. Poker is a not game of luck. This is perhaps the most common misconception, and it is dead wrong. Luck averages out. Over time, all players receive the same percentage of good hands and bad hands. The difference is what players do with those hands. A good player will maximize the amount won with good hands and minimize the amount lost with bad hands. The key element that separates winners from losers, over time, is not the cards dealt, but the decisions made. Stu Unger, three-time World Series of Poker champion, put it this way: “In cards, the luck always balances out. The good players are going to win. Any player that thinks card playing is a game of luck, I’ll show you a fool. That’s what the losers always say. The winners don’t worry about the short term; we play for the long term.”

7. Cheating is not rampant. The prevalence of cheating is another incorrect impression held by many. In private backroom games, cheating does happen occasionally. But in modern casino cardrooms and high-profile tournaments, where most of today’s professionals play, cheating is virtually nonexistent. (Online poker, however, is a different story. It is possible to cheat when playing on the Internet, due to the nature of the technology. If you’d like to explore a particular way to cheat when playing online, click here: Poker Cheat.) Although cheating is technically possible in some situations, and it does happen, it is not nearly the factor that many people suppose. If you are hesitant to play poker out of fear of being cheated, you are overreacting.

8. Poker is not an addiction. No matter what the media would have you believe, the vast majority of poker enthusiasts play because they enjoy the game, not because they are hooked in some way. Sure, a tiny percentage of players do struggle with addiction, but they are people with an addictive personality, whether or not they play poker. We should not blame poker for someone’s compulsive behavior any more than we should blame sex for someone being a rapist.

9. Poker is not sleazy. There is nothing even remotely “underbelly” about the beautiful game of poker. A great many good and decent folks play for a wide variety of reasons, such as fun, challenge and personal betterment. Poker highlights the best of human interaction and calls into play the most honorable of human qualities, such as courage, sound reasoning and self-control. Poker is a wonderful way to build character.

10. Poker is not illegal. Most people with a functioning brain do not actually believe this, but the forces of misguided morality want you to think that the game of poker is against the law. It is not. Poker is not associated with crime in any way. Nor is it controlled by the mob. Not is it dangerous. You do not need to be on the lookout for gangsters. Or gunplay. No, you do not need to carry a sidearm and shoot your way out of the casino to protect your loot. You’ve been watching too many movies.

These are a few common misconceptions held by many in the public. If you encounter people with these ideas, please set them straight. But be understanding; it’s not their fault that they hold these incorrect viewpoints, which are passed off as fact everywhere in today’s media. It rests with us, intelligent members of the poker-playing community, to spread the truth regarding the magnificent game of poker.

By: Timmor L. White

Online poker games are so interesting and thrilling to play that you would spend hours on the poker table without even realizing it. Just like any normal poker game, the tactics for playing online poker are much similar. The only dissimilarity is that online poker is played much quicker as compared to normal poker, further more while playing an online poker; you can not watch your opponents’ faces who are playing against you at the poker table. Some of the poker players may find this to be main disadvantage but in fact it’s a benefit as you can watch the challengers’ actions and how they react on a particular move by which you get an idea about the poker cards they might hold. Though, in an online poker, your computer is your card dealer and as in regular poker the act goes round the table and the dealer deals the card. But there is time limit set by online poker games for a player to make a move and if the move is not within the time limits, the poker cards fold on its own. This is how the game is played rapidly as the player is forced to play immediately within the specified time limit. It becomes easy for a player to watch the opponents’ acts by observing the poker cards that are offered to them. Well, while playing online poker you need to be attentive as there are possibilities that you may loose your move or your opponents’ actions. You not just have to be focused while playing online poker but you should even keep a watch on your opponents’ regular moves. And always remember if your rivals act quickly you should observe the poker hands for which they are generally doubtful to make a play. You can decide if the player has strong poker hands, weak hands or doesn’t understand to play fine, just by watching the kind of poker cards they possess. The same holds a fact for the player who takes a long time to make a play and then makes a move rapidly and if this is the case, the player in fact possess a weak hand and pushes the auto check button. While playing online poker, a learner must concentrate on one poker game only and if you play multiple poker games you will obviously be disrupted from any one poker tables and thus loose your turn or might be a large sum of money. By missing turns you may also be asked to leave the poker room. And if you concentrate on single poker game at a time, you will be aware of the moves that your opponents make. If you pay attention on your online poker game, it will surely be beneficial to you no matter how different it is than normal poker. As many people are fascinated to play poker games online there are various methods by which you can surely be a winner. You need to have a through knowledge of playing poker online as well as apply the knowledge to learn your opponents’ better. To enhance your knowledge on online poker you need to know the different tactics while playing poker games online. You can learn too much on the Internet as there are several websites that help you play poker games online effectively. You need to focus on how you can improve your poker hands as well as the hands of other challengers on the poker table. Everytime remember that the plan differs with each poker game so you have to be tolerant as you will hardly win during your first games.

By: jamiehanson

From my experience as a poker player, all beginners, intermediate and master players must have a poker strategy in order to improve his game-play and skills. It doesn’t matter where and when you play, tournaments, friendly games, real or virtual money in order to increase your winnings you have to put up a good strategy.

All big players such as Doyle Bronson, Daniel Negreanu, Tony G. and others beside the fact that they have a great intuition, when they play they put up a good strategy in order to increase their chance to win.

There are many interesting strategy factors that can be applied in the game such as table position in order to control the bets and pot size. For example on a heads-up tournament the strength of a hand depends more on hitting the flop then the cards in hand.

Avoiding giving your opponent the chance to read your cards is another important aspect of poker strategy.

Having experience in poker games is not always enough to win a tournament, depending on your opponents you must come up with a good strategy. If it is more easy to find a good winning strategy against a weak player, also professional player usually need some time before they can adjust their game. Regarding the aggressive play you don’t have to worry because usually big players always like to see the flop in order to act further.

Before entering a poker game learn the correct rules of the game so if you are involved in an argument you can protect your money. Make sure that the game is not being played with any special house rules. If you have the opportunity to observe your opponents playing before you sit on the table do so in order to see their tactics.

By: Glont Ionut