Fri, 09/16/2011 – 04:27 – PokerPages Staff

If you’ve mastered the cash ring games at PokerStars, you’re probably ready to get started on some tournament play.  In tournaments there can be some very serious money up for grabs, sometimes with very little outlay.  Freerolls and satellite tournaments even allow players to win seats at big money events without even spending a cent.

Your Entry Fee is All You Pay

On entry to a tournament you will pay a single entry fee, also known as a ‘buy in’.  Your buy in gets you a chipstack, from which all of your bets will be taken.  Each player entering the tournament will be given the same amount of chips, ensuring everyone starts off on an even footing.  Chips have no monetary value in a tournament; players are awarded prizes based on the order in which they are eliminated.  This could be if you finish in the top five for single table tournaments, or a hundred players or more in larger tournaments.

Rakes Explained

The buy in from each tournament will have a rake specified, which goes to the house.  This will be the case in live poker as well as online poker.  A $10+$1 tournament will cost you $11 to enter, with $10 going to the prize pot, and the $1 rake going to the house to cover costs and overheads.

Seating Plans

Whether playing online or live, your seats throughout the tournament are allocated at random.  As players are eliminated, new tables are created until there are only enough players to fill a single final table. When playing any scheduled tournament, be sure to arrive on time, as your buy in may not be refunded if you miss the start.

For more advice on poker tournaments and other poker information, visit PokerSchoolOnline.

Thu, 09/15/2011 – 07:24 – PokerPages Staff

When playing online poker at PokerStars or any other site, you will come across players who will bluff. In fact, bluffing is a big part of the game of poker. Knowing how to do it effectively is a very useful skill to have and perhaps yet more useful, is the ability to spot when somebody else is bluffing. Players will bluff to try to achieve one of two objectives. They will either try to make you think they have worse cards than they actually hold, or that they have better cards.

Negative Bluffers

When somebody is trying to convince his opponent that his hand is worse than it actually is, he can be said to be bluffing negatively. He may do this by taking an overly long time to place his bets, or checking the bet if he has the opportunity. Players who act quickly and opt to slow the pace can also indicate spots of negative bluffing. A good way to test the water with these players is to raise when you get the opportunity. A player with no hand will back out, whereas a player with a good hand will keep going.

Bluffing Positively

Almost the opposite, is the player who will place a big bet to give the impression that he has a better hand than he actually does. This aggressive tactic is designed to try to put other players off playing, especially if the cards he holds are somewhat weak. Test a positive bluffer’s mettle by raising when it’s your turn, to see what their reaction is.

For more advice on tactics, visit PokerSchoolOnline.