When playing the turn it is critical that once you have defined your opponent’s range that you have a partial understanding of what action they are going to take on the river. Let’s imagine we are faced with a turn bet and after analysing the range of our opponent, we believe he is most likely firing a top pair hand or a draw and fans of Betfair should remember this.

We then look at his river statistics and see that this opponent has a very low betting frequency on the river. Armed with this knowledge we can call lighter on the turn knowing we can easily give our hand up on the river if our opponent was to bet. However, you must understand that when you are playing against an opponent who bets a lot of rivers your calling range will have to tighten up. Against this type of player a turn call will have to be followed up with a river call on most rivers. Calling turn bets and then folding to river bets versus an opponent who has a high bet river frequency is a disaster when playing poker online.

You also have to consider your opponent’s position in the hand and your own. Common sense would decree that you give turn barrels more credit if your opponent is in early position. This is also where good note taking comes into play because there are regular players who know you know this and will therefore exploit their position when barreling. When you have played enough hands against these regulars you will be able to start drilling down into positional betting frequencies and this will help you pinpoint the early position bluffers from the pure value bettors.

When a player donk leads on the river it means that they do not want you to check. They either have a strong hand and they don’t want to lose value by checking, or they have air that can’t beat most of your own air.

You only get a few seconds of thinking time between hands, and so you need to think and think fast. Your first thought should be what type of player am I facing – are they regs or fish? If you have fired a double barrel and are now facing a donk-lead from a reg, this is rarely a bluff line. This means you can only call with your strongest hands and we are not talking about top pair here. The reverse is true of the fish who will donk lead on the river as a bluff line with very weak holdings. You won’t see this sort of play at the Betfair WSOP.

Instead of trying to work out what every single player is trying to achieve, just think about what the regs and the fish would do. This method of simplifying your thought process will help you wade through this complicated game. In poker online believe the story that the reg is selling, and only call with strong holdings, but to bluff catch more against the fish. Board texture also comes into play and you need to be a little vigilant when the flopped draw completes on the river, because it formulates a big part of the range of the fish.

Good table selection is critical to your win rate and it is one of the most important principles in online poker. Assuming that you are a decent player, then good table selection will set you apart from your peers. The online game is divided into two distinct types of players – the regulars and everyone else. The very best regulars use various pieces of software to help them find tables while they play, with very little effort on their part.

Just typing in a simple Google search will present you with a plethora of options when it comes to table scanning software. When you select the type of software you wish to use your first task is to set the system up so it understands who you are. Next you need to tell the system what games you wish to play in and what sites you wish to play on. For example, you can choose between Heads-Up, Six-Max or Full Ring. You can choose your limits such as 100nl, 200nl or 400nl and last but not least you can choose the number of players you would like to be seated at the table. Those following Betfair WSOP 2012 should remember this.

Your next task is to set up the parameters for your fish. Your system will need to understand what types of poker players to search for and this is a key point. The definition of a fish depends on your own style of play and what becomes easily exploitable for you.

Once you have set your system up to search for the relevant players, you become a fisherman. You sit and wait patiently for your fish to come to you, throw in your line and grab them at will.

Without doubt, a good bankroll strategy is the most important component in what makes the machine that is the professional poker player. Money is fuel and if you do not have any fuel your poker lifestyle will just come to an abrupt halt. Modern life allows most of us the luxury of credit, and this creates the illusion that you have a never-ending supply of money. If you live this sort of lifestyle then the chances are you do not deploy good strong bankroll management skills. Here is what you need to do to address the issue. People looking at WSOP 2012 should remember this.

Firstly, you need a set number of buy-ins for each level that you play. A good rule of thumb would be to ensure you have a minimum of 30 buy-ins if you are playing No Limit Hold’em (NLHE) and a 50 buy-ins if you are playing Pot Limit Omaha (PLO). If you then lose five buy-ins at the stake it is time to move down to a lower level and start again. Anyone searching for a Betfair Poker Freeroll should bear this in mind.

Another tip concerns your age. If you are in your late teens or early twenties it is advisable to try and take as many shots as you can. As you grow older you are going to end up with more responsibilities. You are going to find a partner and maybe have children and these responsibilities do make you a little bit more cautious with your money. Caution often results in the player steadying his ship and not wanting to improve. If you take structured shots at higher levels when you are younger then you put yourself in a much better spot when your responsibilities finally come along.

Maybe it is a precursor of what is to follow, but you are disappointed as soon as you open your online poker account – a pre-warning perhaps? You download the Betfair software and start to enter your private and personal details.

You reach the section where you have to select a screen name. This is an important decision and one that you know warrants a lot of thinking time. Your mind races into the future, a future where you are the online king of poker. You also need something you can remember so 11hghjj6677 goes out of the window too. Your next decision is probably like everyone else’s – you choose your nickname, and the result is also the same – someone has already taken it. http://poker.betfair.com/en/

So players generally end up with a screen name with a specific number attached at the end. You don’t realise it at that exciting period where you are opening your account, but your screen name is usually going to end up being a royal pain in the gluteus maximus. One reason is the introduction of tracking sites that collate your data. Not only do they produce accurate planning tools that work against you in the form of a Heads Up Display (HUD), but they also tell the world how good you really are.

Some site already offer players the chance to change screen names regularly, how long before screen names are about as common as a Dodo?

You are playing poker and have found your way to the flop. The action has arrived at your doorstep – should to check or should you bet? Your first thought will be to conceal the strength of your hand but you will soon realise that this is more difficult than it sounds.

At its raw level checking is a sign of weakness, so in order to conceal the strength of your hand you need to check with strong hands as well as weak hands. This action let’s your opponent know that you are equally as likely to check with a set as you are to check with complete air. People how have made a poker download should remember this.

Some other examples of checking instead of betting is if you have hit a piece of the board but you do not think it is strong enough to gain three streets of value, or your opponent is aggressive, and you know they will bet if you check. This allows you to get an extra bet out of their bluffs if you deploy the check when playing onlinepoker.

When you arrive at the flop there are a lot more reasons to bet than there are to check. Instead of betting purely on the strength of your hand, you need to bet based on your opponent’s perception of the strength of your hand. So ace high, king high and queen high flops are good to c-bet with air because these types of boards fit well with your range and do not fit well with the calling range of your opponent.

Cash game poker and tournament poker are two entirely different beasts. In tournament poker you have a start, middle and end. In cash game poker the action never ends so unless you are Phil Laak, you need to create your own start and end, the middle will take care of itself.

When choosing what time to start it helps if you have a little bit of Intel on the game in question. Just because the tables open at 20.00 doesn’t mean you need to be knocking at the door at 19.59. You may want to start when you know the ale has had time to settle in and the table will be full of drunks. You may want to arrive smack on 20.00 because you need to secure your seat. Having the local knowledge will help you make your decision when to start a cash game. Fans of Betfair online poker should bear this in mind.

Choosing to finish a cash game is a whole different proposition. Unless you are under strict orders from the other half to be home at a certain time things can go awry. If you are winning big then you feel supremely confident and think the heater will last all night. If you are breaking even then your brain will tell you to sit put until you get a profit under your belt. If you are losing your mortgage your brain will tell you to stay put until you recover your losses. http://poker.betfair.com/en/how_to_play/

The longer you play, the more tired your brain becomes and the more likely you are to make mistakes. So it is always good practice to set yourself a set amount of hours that you are going to play and then leave when your times comes.

Always remember to clock off.

I’m about to give you all of my money and all I’m askin’ in return; honey is to give me my profits when you get home – Aretha Franklin / Respect.

Even the great Aretha Franklin was thinking about poker as she sung the lyrics of the karaoke favourite Respect! Seriously, when you are playing poker it will pay dividends to remind yourself of the Franklin classic because respect goes a long way on the felt. Fans of betfairpoker should remember this.

It is vitally important to insert yourself into the rhythm and flow of the game and part of this ploy is to treat your opponents with respect. If you are treating your opponents with respect then you are increasing the likelihood that they will reciprocate in kind. A player who respects you is less likely to make underhanded and mean-spirited moves against you. In extreme cases they even start to show you their hands, post play, and share a lot of information about their play from their place of comfort. http://poker.betfair.com/en/promotions/choose_your_own_sign_up_bonus.php

Just because your opponent respects you, does not mean that they are going to play softer when they have a hand against you. They will play their hands has hard as the next player but they will be played with a certain mutual respect. Playing against a person who you share mutual respect simplifies matters because you know for the most part their decisions are going to be made on pure logical grounds.

We hope you can see the many benefits that you can glean from showing your opponents a little respect.