Recently I was at a poker game in town that I never played at before. There were several aspects of the game that I did not care for, such as how the shuffling was handled, allowing splashed pots, and not using a cut card. However, the real problem occurred when the chips from each player was cashed in at the end of the night. As the last player was being counted out it was clear that there was a significant shortfall of cash left to pay the remaining chips.

Unfortunately, this is a problem that happens more often than you would think. The problem is that if you have a game with 10 or more players it is often that you have players that you don’t know very well. These players can be very dishonest and may try sneaking in chips, which are essentially counterfeit. The problem is that most poker game hosts use chips that are standard design and can be purchased at just about any retail store or online website.

It is because of this ongoing problem that it is highly recommended that custom chips be used in every poker game, whether the game is a cash game or a tournament.

Custom poker chips will make it very difficult to bring in foreign pieces. Not only will this save you money in the long run, by not having to pay out your own money to cover the extra chips that were sneaked into the game, but it will make the poker game feel much more secure. Each night of poker will be much more enjoyable if you do not have to worry about whether someone is trying to sneak extra chips on the table.

If you search around you will find that there are many varieties of custom chips available. There are many differences in security, composition, style, and even the amount of customization that can be done with them.

The cheapest custom poker chips available are plastic and have labels, stickers, inlays, or some sort of print on the chips. They are cheap because the base chips are the same for everyone and only the removable sticker or print on top of the chip is custom. You can not change the color or design of the base chips. Therefore, these are not recommended because they can be easily copied by anyone with a printer at home or access to a print shop.

On the other hand, clay poker chips or ceramic poker chips are the most secure. If you play poker in the casinos you will notice that these are the types of chips used in poker rooms and casinos worldwide. The custom poker chips made of clay or ceramic that you can get for your home game are the exact same chips used in casinos. These types do cost more but you will feel more secure in your game and will not have the expense of cashing out with your own money.

Clay poker chips have been around for well over 100 years. Be aware that it is very hard to find real clay poker chips that can be customized. If you can find them they will cost at least $1 per chip. There are retailers that claim to have custom clay poker chips but they often are a cheap plastic and the chips are not fully custom.

On the other hand, ceramic poker chips are more readily available. This type of poker chip is fairly new, but there are a few companies that offer fully custom ceramic poker chips to home poker players. Ceramic chips start out as a solid white disk that can be completely customized. The entire face, from edge to edge, as well as the edge can be customized. This means the color and the design can be changed to your liking. You can use your artwork or you can commission someone to create artwork for you. The image on a custom ceramic poker chip is embedded within the chip so that it can not be removed unless you actually damaged the chip. It is because of these features that ceramic chips are the most secure chips that you can purchase.

Make sure that your next night of poker is not ruined by finding out you have more poker chips at the end of the night than what you started out with at the beginning. Work on a new custom set that will be created for you. Within just a couple weeks you will have a new set of chips that you can show off and you will have less headaches to deal with so you can just relax and have a fun night of poker.

–

Winner Poker Free Money $75
Winner Poker is the latest free money bankroll on offer from PokerSource. This bonus is twenty five dollars free upfront with a further fifty dollars free when you earn 2500 player points at Winner Poker. This bonus is NOT available to players from the United States. Players must be over 21 years old in order to [...] Related posts:Players from US No deposit bonus at Bodog Free Full Tilt Poker Money update 22 sept FullTilt free money update – July 17th.

Related posts

• Women and Poker Part II – the Exploitation of the Female Form (0)
• Poker Hand Rankings (0)
• Online Poker Rooms That Accept US Poker Players (0)
• Online Poker Bot V2 – Why Do You Need It? (0)
• How to Win at Online Texas Hold ‘em Poker (0)

Texas Hold’em has quickly become a staple on TV, in casinos, and in living rooms around the country.

You must know how to play, and how to play well. Whether you want to beat your friends in a friendly home game, or make some money playing online or at a brick and mortar casino, or compete in a tournament, the following tips will show you how you can begin a journey which can be fun and rewarding.

You can begin by…

PLAYING FOR FREE

Admittedly, playing poker free without anything at stake is usually boring and unrewarding.

However, the majority of online poker sites still offer the option to play poker using free money. Anyone who opens an account receives a small sum of play money he or she can use at the play money tables. There they can play in the same manner that the real money tables use.

Now clearly the level of competition and the quality of the strategies are not those you will usually find at a real money table. That is not to say that the free tables are not without purpose. Since the site will keep records of the amount of free money you win, there will be a steady increase in the level of play as you start entering into tables where the stakes are higher. For instance, if you were to start out with 1,000 dollars and slowly work your way up to a sum of 20,000 dollars, allowing you to enter into tournaments where the buy-in is 3,000 and up, then you would be playing against higher caliber opponents. As a result online poker for free does have its own level of competition and depth.

When you have mastered the play money tables, you can then begin playing at the real money tables. Take the time to play for free and think of the decisive advantages it presents:

Gain a knowledge of the best starting hands in Texas Hold em.
You learned to harness the power of position at the poker table.
You have grown in your understanding of betting and the various betting strategies
Grasped the ability to speak poker slang without looking like an idiot at the tables.
You understand there is a proper code of conduct known as poker etiquette.

So what are you waiting on? Do a search on online poker reviews and find the poker-client that best suits your needs. While you begin learning to play poker for free, you should…

BUY THE BEST POKER BOOKS

A large number of poker players find their introduction to the game of Texas Holdem through some of the best poker books.

With Texas Hold’em experiencing such a rapid growth in the past several years, there are more poker books than ever before, however you want in your possession the best poker books. Read poker book reviews and find the top poker books especially for beginning poker players. However, take the time to search the Internet for information on how to play poker and the different Texas Hold em starting hands before starting out.

Good poker books can help you improve techniques to your game that you may have not known or have ignored. You also might find that during a bad poker run, re-reading your favorite poker book can help you return to the essentials and point out some probable weaknesses in your game.

Do yourself a favor and read nothing but the best poker books that will help you to learn how to play poker. Now there is one other tip you should utilize if you want to learn how to play…

FIND A POKER COACH

If you are serious about learning to play poker and wanting to win money, you should consider a poker coach. You are aware every professional athlete has a “go to person.”

Hank Haney tutors the prolific Tiger Woods to keep him in check and perfect his swing. Heck, even Michael Jordan himself had a mentor. Every paid athlete regardless of the sport has a tutor or a trainer to maintain his or her discipline… Always helping with strategy and perfecting the game.

Poker is a people game and coaching is a people thing. A poker coach can see what you are doing wrong and immediately correct you. That is hard and perhaps impossible to do on your own.

If you’re serious about playing poker then you should take playing poker serious enough to find a good poker coach. Having someone to critique your play may save your bankroll down the road.

Learning to play poker takes a minute to learn and a life-time to master. With the aforementioned tips it will make learning to play easier. Good luck at the tables.

–

Poker After Dark – Hard to Read (source: launchpoker.com)
All the players at Poker After Dark’s the Cash Game show admitted one thing: Durr was hard to read. In the $100k buy in event Phil Hellmuth, Allen Cunningham, Guy Laliberte, Mike Baxter, and David Peat were playing with a crafty player better known for his… (source: launchpoker.com) – RSS and News widget on Feedzilla.com

Poker Players Alliance to Raid the DNC (source: launchpoker.com)
When the Democratic National Convention for 2008 takes place around August 25th, the grassroots organization known as the Poker Players Alliance plans on being there. The PPA will hit the DNC on August 26th, and plans on bringing some big name firepower to… (source: launchpoker.com) – RSS feeds and Feed widget on Feedzilla.com

Poker After Dark – Durr Does It Again (source: launchpoker.com)
The $100k buy in event featured the best players out there, such as Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Allen Cunningham, Guy Laliberte, Mike Baxter and David Peat. It was Baxter and Dwar who mixed it up before, and were destined to do it again in this particular han… (source: launchpoker.com) – RSS news feeds and Widgets on Feedzilla.com

Related posts

• What to Look For in Online Poker Sites (0)
• The Color Of Poker Money – Play Money Poker (0)
• Shoutbox & Chat (0)
• Reading Online Poker Players (0)
• Professional Poker Players Like to Lead (0)

Anybody who has not heard of the poker game? Anybody who has not played a round of poker game? I think not. Even celebrities nowadays participate in celebrity poker games. But who knows how poker came about? In truth, there is a dilemma as to who can lay claim for the birth of this card game. The French have it ‘poque’ which descended from the Germans’ ‘pochen’ which means “to knock”. However, it can be contested that it could have originated from the Persian game of ‘as nas’ that could have been taught to the French settlers by Persian sailors in New Orleans. However poker came about, everybody is playing it and loving the challenge. Poker rules therefore are extremely important since you might be betting your car keys already, for all you know. The poker rules guides the green horn on how to loose graciously the first few deals. Thus learning to play a good game of poker is expensive.

We need to know the basics on how to play poker, the poker rules according to the poker variant, poker etiquette and poker hands to be able to passably play. Winning is everything in poker since this is a mind game more than anything else.

First off, we need to clarify the different poker game variants to know which poker rules need to be in play. There are many variants to the poker game but the more universal poker game variants are: draw poker, stud poker, widow poker game, and miscellaneous poker games (which include Stud Horse poker, Oxford stud, Guts, and Blind Man’s Bluff). However, the most commonly played poker games for the first three variants are the five-card draw, seven-card stud, and the Texas hold ‘em.

Since this is the most played poker game variant, poker rules for the five-card draw are generally easy to remember. It is assumed that you basically know the general poker game play, the hand values and the betting system. Poker rules differ from the home-style games to the more formal games as played in the casinos. For formal games blinds are commonly used while for home games, it is more typical use an ante. Ante is where the first betting round starts from the player to the dealer’s left, then the second round betting begins with the player who opened or made the first non-zero betting in the preceding round.

A common house rule in playing five card draw in home or social games is that a player can not replace more than three cards, unless he holds an ace or a wile card so that the deck stub will not be easily depleted. Another common house rule is that the last card in the deck stub is not dealt anymore to ensure that anybody who might have seen it will not use that information.

In the seven card stud, poker rules are a bit more complex than the five card draw since two to eight players can play. The only poker rule to remember, (better make it your mantra) is two down, four up, one down. This is the lay of the cards and not meant to mean something else.

The third most commonly played poker game is the Texas hold ‘em. The poker rules here are the same with the first two but what makes this different is the introduction of lipstick cameras where spectators were able to view each player’s cards.

Definitely, we have seen that poker rules changes a bit depending on the game of poker being played. Now that we have learned the different poker rules, playing it like the pros would be as easy as pie. Good Luck!

–

Draft California Poker Act Becomes Public
California’s proposed poker legalisation law is released into the wild. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_01052009_215.html

Aussie Millions 2010 – Qualify at Ladbrokes Poker
Join some of the biggest names in poker by qualifying with Ladbrokes for as little as 4. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/Poker_Promotions/Aussie_Millions_2010_Qualify_at_Ladbrokes_Poker.html

PokerBot Site Offers $10k For Bot-Friendly Venue
A pokerbot site is inviting bot users to vote for the most bot-friendly site. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_20062009_250.html

Related posts

• What to Look For in Online Poker Sites (0)
• The Color Of Poker Money – Play Money Poker (0)
• How to Win at Online Texas Hold ‘em Poker (0)
• How Omaha Poker Is Played (0)
• Women and Poker Part II – the Exploitation of the Female Form (0)

The genesis of poker:

The exact age people actually started playing poker is heavily disputed. This game has many variations. So it is possible that it was born in several different places. It is common belief, however, that poker was invented by the Chinese way back in the 10th Century A.D.

People believe that poker came from Chinese dominoes. It is said that Emperor Mu-Tsang of China played a game of domino cards, a possible ancestor of poker, with his wife a day before the 969 A.D. new year.

Some others feel that poker in fact has its roots in as-nas, a Persian game. This game which was first played in and around the 17th century was a 5 player game and was unique in the fact that it had only 25 cards in the deck with 5 different suits.

Some others claim that “poque”, a French card game was the true ancestor of poker. It was invented in 1480 by the French who settled in New Orleans. They used the normal deck of cards.

Dawn of the Era of Online Poker.

People invented games in the bygone era which resulted in poker. Now poker itself has reinvented itself into a new form -Online Poker. People are crazy about this game which offers many advantages over normal casino poker. This craze is spreading fast among all age groups and types of people.

Best Poker sites:

The best poker site is most probably one of those listed below. Novices can view these sites to find the site that suits him/her the best to improve his poker playing.

1) The forums on CardsChat.com

This is probably the best poker playing site online. It has a forum for exclusively poker and another for other card games. Poker players can read the various topics in the forums.

www.cardschat.com is the place to go if you want an active poker forum.

2) Learn Texas Hold’em

This is easily the best online pokers site for beginners. Here there are various write-ups on hold’em, advanced poker strategies and poker rankings. There are various poker tables, tips, and even a question and answer section in the site.

www.learn-texas-holdem.com is a must visit for beginners.

3) Celebrity Poker Showdown

It is the official site of the poker program on Bravo TV. It has complete videos of games and tip for gaming. It is the most famous poker site in the world wide web. If fame was everything, this site will win hands down.

It has an interactive flash animation on playing Texas Hold’em. It also features the poker great Phil Gorden

Play poker with the celebs at www.bravotv.com/Celebrity_Poker_Showdown

4) Poker Babes

It includes the profiles of prominent poker champions. You will be shocked to see the number of women champions in this man’s game

It is the best site for women poker players. It has many perks for women players and offers them a lot of priceless tips for excelling. After all, why should boys have all the fun?

All women poker players must visit www.poker-babes.com

5) Online Poker Guru

It is indispensable for poker rules, strategies, tips and tricks. It also runs down the memory lane by presenting the history of poker and poker vocabulary. It is among the best novice sites. This site is the true guru in teaching poker for novices.

Let the Guru teach you how at www.pokeronlineguru.com

6) Poker News

This site is a strong contender for the best poker site award. It offers unbiased reviews of other poker sites and helps users to join the poker room that suits them best. This is the place you need to be in if you want to stay in touch with poker and other poker players.

Get to know the latest in poker www.pokernews.com

7) Poker terminology glossary

This site has a comprehensive list of poker slang, definitions, terms and other must-knows for basic poker play. It cannot be done without for beginners. Even experts may have to cross check with this list at times.
Learn poker slang and terminology on www.conjelco.com/pokglossary.html
Low limit Omaha
This site stands out in providing novices the various possible starting hands of poker and also gives strategies for hi/lo split low limit Omaha games.

Check out these strategies at www.lowlimitomaha.com

–

Poker Hall of Fame Adds Two Players (source: about.com)
This year, the Poker Hall of Fame inducted two new members to it’s exclusive club: Harry Orenstein, who invented the hole cam that’s made poker on TV exciting, and Dewey… (source: about.com) – News widgets and RSS feeds on Feedzilla.com

Online Poker Weekend: ‘sistabossen’, ‘METZMAGNY’ Capture Majors (source: pokernews.com)
Another Sunday night full of online poker action saw ‘sistabossen’ and ‘METZMAGNY’ capture the night’s biggest prizes at Full Tilt and PokerStars, respectively. Overall, attendance in the biggest online events ticked upward… (source: pokernews.com) – News widgets and RSS feeds on Feedzilla.com

Related posts

• Women and Poker Part II – the Exploitation of the Female Form (0)
• What to Look For in Online Poker Sites (0)
• The Usage Of Poker Aides Online – A Double Edged Sword (0)
• The Color Of Poker Money – Play Money Poker (0)
• Professional Poker Players Like to Lead (0)

Why did online poker rooms stop accepting US poker players and What happened?

President Bush On Friday October 13, 2006 signed a bill that affected online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, bingos whose principal purpose is to tighten security measures for the United States sea ports. Attached to that bill was a federal ban on banking institutions knowingly transferring funds to businesses or people that may conduct gambling operations in United States and areas where gambling is prohibited. Many online casinos left the United States marketplace, but, gambling at online casinos is not illegal in most of the United States.

There are 11 states; Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana (felony to play online poker), Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington (felony to play online poker) and Wisconsin that disallows gambling online, but there are 39 that have no laws against playing online poker or casino games.

Full Tilt Poker is an online poker room that allows Americans to play online poker after the United States passed the bill in October, 2006. Full Tilt Poker offers the best in online poker with world famous pros, a huge bonus, real or play money. Play poker online now, it is free to download. Try ther free online poker game 24 hours a day on state-of-the-art online poker software. Play for real money or for free in tournaments or ring games. Full Tilt Poker’s online poker room was designed by world class poker professionals, and offers you the ability to learn, chat, and play online poker with the pros.

Check out Full Tilt Poker at http://www.casinospokerrooms.com/em/fulltiltpoker.html

Absolute Poker is an online poker room that allows US poker players to play online poker after the United States passed the bill in October, 2006, and Absolute Poker are a privately held poker room so the new law does not affect their business like other poker rooms.

Online Poker for Live Players Online Poker, joining this online poker room lets you experience the excitement of playing against live players from all over the world and winning big money and prizes in our great tournaments. Real and play-money games are available and a great bonus and rewards system for everyone. Maybe you will meet Serinda Swan at a poker table? Read how to find Serinda. All you have to do is download their poker software, Log in and start playing online poker.

Check out Absolute Poker at http://www.casinospokerrooms.com/em/absolutepoker.html

UltimateBet Poker is an online poker room that allows US online poker players to play online poker after the United States passed the bill in October, 2006. Designed with the assistance of the best poker players in the world, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, UltimateBet provides the best poker games available on the Internet. Poker players can download the free poker software, play in free ring games and tournaments and get tips from these pros to learn the sport or to enhance their playing strategy. UltimateBet currently has over 2 million registered players.

Check out Ultimatebet Poker at http://www.casinospokerrooms.com/em/ultimatebet.html

Poker.com is another online poker room that allows US poker players to play online poker after the United States passed the bill in October, 2006.

Make your first deposit with Poker.com now and receive a 100% Bonus, up to $200 FREE. When you join Poker.com you will receive entry to the $50 New Player Freerolls every 3 hours for 4 weeks. Everyday at Poker.com tournaments they run with huge guaranteed prize pools. $50 Freeroll tournaments run every 2 hours. Plus everyday there is either a $1,000, $2,000 or $10,000 Freeroll. The Poker.com software has a range of features that are not available in any other poker software online. You can contact their player support team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through email or live chat. Every Sunday at 15:00 Poker.com runs a $10,000 Freeroll, and on the last Sunday of every month Poker.com holds a $50,000 Freeroll. Poker.com is the only poker room with instant payouts, Click2Pay and NETeller. You could win your way to the WSOP, the WPT, the Aussie Millions and more by playing their daily satellite tournaments and much more

Check out Poker.com at http://www.casinospokerrooms.com/em/poker.html

Play Online Poker at the Fastest Growing Online Poker Rooms in the World.

–

VC Poker bonus no longer available
The long running free poker bonus from VC Poker has finally come to an end. Available since early 2007, this was one of the longest running free money promotions available directly from an online poker room. Unfortunately, as of September 2009 they have finished it, and VC Poker do not currently have any free money [...]

CelebPoker $ 19 Free Poker Money
There is a new site offering a free bonus at Celeb Poker. The bonus is an up front $19 in free cash with a further pending bonus of up to $180, which makes this potentially the largest free poker bankroll available online at this time. This bonus deal is available from CelebPokerMoney. There are a lot of countries [...]

Related posts

• New William Hill Poker Bonus Offers (0)
• Women and Poker Part II – the Exploitation of the Female Form (0)
• Professional Poker Players Like to Lead (0)
• Lone Star Park expecting to beat the odds this season – Dallas Morning News (0)
• The Usage Of Poker Aides Online – A Double Edged Sword (0)