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It never surprises me how underestimated pocket pairs are in the world of poker. Ok, before I get carried away, I should also say on the contrary they’re also a hell of a lot worse than you may think! Again a lot of this has to be put into comparison on how much you’re betting. To be honest for me this makes no difference as I always believe you should play the free poker games with the same mentality as if you were betting your house.

Ok to start with if the pot odds are about four to one it’s relatively secure to call, although a drawback, you won’t be pocketless after. Four to one may make you think that you should be calling every pocket pair but at the early stages it’s very difficult.

By folding a couple more times now could potentially saving you a lot of money in the long run. If the blinds are quite small compared to the money on the table, and you have gigantic unspoken odds it’s a good time to see these low odd hands.

If the blinds are low then you really have nothing to worry about the amount of money that you lose here calling every single pocket pair you see will be less then the amount of the blinds in 30-45mins.

Although predominately pocket pairs are used as cards to see from the flop, in some scenarios you may even consider going all in with them. To give this some context I wouldn’t suggest going all in with any cards less than 66 as A2 - A5 are favourable cards in today’s game. I cast my mind back to my early playing games where I would miss the flop with AK; you would still end up with an above thirty percent chance to hit the river- so I would go all in without thought.

Some people including myself at one time thought 30% was not bad at all but really the only time you should with such low percents is when you’re forced into a situation that calls for it. Practice your card skills like this in free poker games first before moving on and up into the green.

The idea of private poker is not a new concept; on the contrary it has been around since the dawn of time- well since poker started anyway!! The main obstacle most enthusiasts of the private game face is finding a suitable time that doesn’t affect work or home life.

In an advancing technological world there are solutions out there. The rapid spread of poker played over the internet including many free poker sites now offer the opportunity for you to set up your own private games. These games are slightly different to the ones you may have previously experienced however you will still have the choice of stakes, starting chips and blinds.

Texas Hold-em is the accepted king of online poker play, however a recent trend suggests that Omaha is making a massive come back offering many private games.

The majority of internet games only have a small opportunity to join so its good practice to be organised and invite all of the players well in advance. Not all sites have the option of slotted start times so shop about first.

Another thing to look for is how easy is it to find your game once it is created, large sites may present some difficulty so be sure you and your friends know how to find the game before making it.

At this point I should also make the obvious clear that as your playing over the internet you must obey the ‘house rules’ of the hosting site. Some sites have bans on bad language and also remember anyone has the ability to try and join your game or see it.

After locating a site that offers the type of game and the features you want, you will find both money and free poker sites that do all you need to do is schedule a time that your friends can be online, make the game and begin playing.

Bluffing is considered by many as an art form and can take a long time to establish any level of skill. Most people believe bluffing is as simple as keeping a straight face and having balls of steel- but let me reassure you there is a lot more to it than this. The ambitions of any poker player can be reflected by the degree of bluffing that they will involve during play. For example you may find players trying their luck while playing free poker online, but at the money tables the same player plays a lot more conservatory. In this article I will share my experiences and provide tips of bluffing in no limit Texas Hold-um.

Although a lot of bluffing comes down to judgment and instincts there is still an awful lot you can learn. The 1st example of bluffing amounts to the majority of play: if your instincts kick in after an opponents checks from the flop, turn or river then you can gamble high. A great example of this when playing an opponent heads up. If there are only 2 players and you’re holding a top pair or top kickers- you have a brilliant chance of winning. I will explain why; your opponent only has 2 cards from the pack the same as you meaning the chances are small. If bluffing a heads up opponent, just ensure you have done your research and understand this type of player, so you know when the correct time to bluff is.

Next, you have to understand what is at stake when you produce a bluff. If you push all in and you know you do not have the best hand, you must consider the worst. You may get lucky, or you may not. Bluffing is similar to betting on red or black in roulette, it’s a fifty-fifty chance. If you are bluffing in free poker, you may think it does not matter because it is not real, but that does not make you a very good poker player. Bluffing is only part of the game but can never be mastered. Even the poker professionals would agree that even they still do not know when to make a bluff or not. Sometimes it is hard to tell if someone is slow playing you or they just simply do not have anything.

Third, another concept of bluffing is the persistent value bet method. During this method, you are betting on nothing from the flop all the way to the river hoping they will fold if they have chased their hand. If you bet the same amount on the flop and turn but bet a little higher on the river with your bluffing hand, the other person is most likely to fold their hand to you. But again, this does not always have the same outcome every time.

Finally, my favorite part of bluffing is when you try to produce a bet that seems like a bluff, but is not. The best bluff bet is the famous all in or the bet pot. Also, if you are playing with the same group of players on a regular basis, you can change up your style by betting an amount they would not expect. The best way to get as much as you can get from someone out of a hand is to simply call all the way and go all in on the river, hopefully they will think you missed what you were chasing and they will call.

In closing, I hope you now understand a bit more about bluffing as a whole. It is one thing to be a poker professional but being a bluffing professional is an entire different world. Bluffing is either something you are good at or not. If bluffing works for you most of the time, you may be just lucky or you may truly have the gift of bluffing mastered. But just remember, the most important concept about bluffing, in pay games or free poker, is that it will NOT always be successful.

Low pocket pairs are better then many people think they are. They are also a lot worse then some people think they are. If you’re playing a free poker game it may not seem such a big thing but when its high stakes this stuff matters! Actually, even if you are playing “just” free poker games for any reason other than fun then you should treat it serious. So read on!

Ok to start with if the pot odds are about four to one it’s relatively secure to call, although a drawback, you won’t be pocketless after. Four to one may make you think that you should be calling every pocket pair but at the early stages it’s very difficult.

By folding a couple more times now could potentially saving you a lot of money in the long run. If the blinds are quite small compared to the money on the table, and you have gigantic unspoken odds it’s a good time to see these low odd hands.

If the blinds are low then you really have nothing to worry about the amount of money that you lose here calling every single pocket pair you see will be less then the amount of the blinds in 30-45mins.

Although predominately pocket pairs are used as cards to see from the flop, in some scenarios you may even consider going all in with them. To give this some context I wouldn’t suggest going all in with any cards less than 66 as A2 - A5 are favourable cards in today’s game. I cast my mind back to my early playing games where I would miss the flop with AK; you would still end up with an above thirty percent chance to hit the river- so I would go all in without thought.

Some people including myself at one time thought 30% was not bad at all but really the only time you should with such low percents is when you’re forced into a situation that calls for it. Practice your card skills like this in free poker games first before moving on and up into the green.

Excitement runs through your veins as your eyes lighten up to the possibility of what your hand shows: a 2, 8, and yes you guessed it a fabulous King. You mildly lean over giving the slightest touch to the 2 old boys that lay in front of you. All the practice on the free poker games sites has paid off. The cards you hold have finally come in rainbow and the 2 lows are a fair distance apart. Flushes and str8’s are pretty much finished- and the kings reign supreme.

Awaiting your move you glance across the table hoping all while your not revealing the monster you hold at bay. Of course there sits the fish. They have grown your stack and you thank them for it. There poor calls and lousy bets have been most profitable. Just outstack you after there latest Hail Mary and you send a prayer towards the heavens and call them to push.

Your heart stops as fishy gets his go and as if it was Christmas he throws more money at the pot. This is it, its time to take the pot home; it’s the moment you dreamed of while learning your trade on the free poker games, and you want to take this opportunity. Inevitably it’s time to push your stack and show them all the Kings.

The fish slowly shows his cards and there it is pocket sevens! A huge gasp as everyone must be questioning what the hell they were doing. You stay calm in the comfort that his only possibility of saviour is to pull 2 more 7’s out the hat. Now off of the turn; and as if by magic the first of those 7’s appears. You can’t believe it- and as if things couldn’t get any worse, without hesitation the dealer reveals the 4th dreaded 7! Shock horror!

Your heart sinks and you drop to you knees. You have been forsaken. You swear never to play again as the gods can’t exist and let that happen. You want to scream as fishy. But you don’t. You congratulate and leave.

In hindsight you start pondering with what had just happened- is there anything you could have played different; probably not. I guess there’s no point holding on to this and you decide to let it go remembering how fishy played his hand.

I guess the moral of this article is just to remember all players have different strategies and all come with the belief there strategy will take them to the end. You must not discard the bad beats or reprimand the opponents who give you them, as these are money making people. Keep them in your mind but don’t divulge this to others- smile and believe their cash will soon be yours.

And remember, there are always free poker games to practice on before you have to take a serious bad beat for real!