Thu, 07/28/2011 – 11:22 – PokerPages Staff
Looking at the various rooms on offer at PokerStars,beginning poker players will notice that in addition to the various variations of poker available, there are two ways to play the game, in tournaments, and cash ring game tables. The main difference to these methods of play is to do with the way you stake your money, and the prizes you can win.
Cash Ring Games
A cash ring game is the sort of game you may find played in a room at a party, and it’s certainly what you will have played if you’ve sat down at a poker table after just walking into a casino. Cash ring games consist of players staking their own money for each bet, and winning real money for each hand that they win. The risks and rewards are higher for this type of poker, as the stakes can become high.
Tournament Play
In tournament play, rather than betting with your own money, an entry fee, known as a buy-in is paid. This buy-in purchases a stack of chips that you use to bet in play. These chips have no monetary value, and you play until you either run out of chips or opponents. Players cannot walk away and cash in their chips in tournament play. Usually the number of players who cash in a tournament is predetermined, and is based on how many players have entered. In some tournaments, players battle it out for massive sums of money, like in the WSOP Main Event, where players can earn multi-million dollar prizes for a $10,000 buy-in.
Want to learn more? PokerSchoolOnlineis the Internet’s #1 source for poker information.
Thu, 02/17/2011 – 01:36 – PokerPages Staff
The beginner poker player relies on information or advice offered by other poker players or poker sources. Beyond the poker rules, much of the advice is subjective and can sometimes mislead the beginner. As an inexperienced player, weeding through tips and strategies to determine what works and what does not. Often the inexperienced player adopts their play to one or more theories that are not supported by the top players in the field. Such can be true with Omaha Poker and some misconceptions.
Myth 1: Omaha Poker is a complicated game
Untrue. Omaha Poker is one of the most straightforward variations of poker. Omaha is a much simpler game than the most popular Texas Hold’em. Once the beginner understands the basic rules and strategies, the simplicity of Omaha Poker becomes clear.
Myth 2: Do not raise before the flop
Untrue. The basic concept of poker is profitability. In Omaha, as well as most variations of poker, when you have the best hand you want to maximize the profit. This is accomplished in EVERY round of betting. The most common way to maximize profit in Omaha is to exploit the preflop value of the starting hands by raising with the best hand.
Myth 3: Aces never win
Untrue. Aces can dominate a good Omaha hand, a hand with only one Ace. Aces up against any random hand could lend to the Aces losing value in post-flop betting. Raising preflop will isolate opponents to one or two, making Aces more likely to be profitable.
To learn more, check out PokerSchoolOnline, the best source on the Internet for poker related learning. Then put those skills to work by playing free at PokerStars.net. Also, check out the PokerPages section Poker Information and Poker Articles for more poker tips and strategies.