What is Rakeback and What Is It Worth to a Poker Player?
If you are a poker player who plays online with any regularity, think about for a moment, how much money you have invested at online poker rooms for this month. Add in the cash you won and then re-invested in online poker. What is the amount for this year? This value is most likely equal to hundreds or even thousands of dollars. For every dollar on every poker hand you have played online, the poker room has collected a rake. Many online poker rooms offer a percentage of this rake back to players via other sites that affiliate with the online poker room. You should be careful though, that you are well-informed when it comes to a rakeback deal and choose the one that is right for you.
Reputable rakeback deals serve as a comp to regular players and will return anywhere from 15% to 35% of your rake back to you. Anything outside this range is probably a scam. Consider the amount of rake the poker room takes (this can usually be found within the poker room’s info on the home website). Then consider the amount of rakeback being offered. Finding a middle-ground between these two factors will result in the most lucrative rakeback deal for you.
There are two types of rake: contributed and dealt. Contributed rake means that if a player doesn’t contribute to the pot (if he folds), he does not contribute to the rake. On the other hand, dealt rake is collected from all players who are dealt cards, regardless of whether a player acts or folds. What this means to you is, if you are a tight poker player, you are going to pay less into a contributed rake table, but if you are a loose player, you will be paying to the rake a lot more. Tight players will end up paying more in rake when the table is a dealt rake game. Furthermore, low-limit and mid-limit staked games are more profitable for rakeback players, simply because a $5 rake cap goes further in a $50-dollar pot than at a $500-dollar pot.
The right rakeback deal can be very profitable for some online poker players, but you have to do the homework to find the most profitable one for you. Do some personal study on your playing style, game preferences, and frequency of play, and then plug in your stats to a few different rakeback deals to find the best one. There are a lot of rakeback deals out there; therefore, if you don’t shop around, you will fall for the wrong one.
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Understanding Where Poker Came From
According to Justin Bonomo, writer for Bluff Magazine, poker is an ever-evolving game that poker players are still discovering, learning, and teaching with every hand that is played. He suggests players like Doyle Brunson have evolved more than other players and share what they have learned with the world.
Bonomo claims poker has been through four significant shifts since the 1940s, when the first rounders increased their skill while roaming around Texas, supporting themselves by playing poker. This era was the first shift. The second shift came about in the disco days, the 1970s. At this time in the United States, tournaments were becoming popular, and the World Series of Poker was established. This era also saw Brunson’s Super System, which also added to this poker shift.
Later, in the late eighties and early nineties, another shift came about as other strategy books came out, such as the Theory of Poker and Hold ‘em Poker for Advanced Players. These books were published by 2+2, one of the first big poker book publishers. Bonomo sees the 4th and most recent shift arising in the early years of the 21st century, more specifically, 2003 and 2004. He attributes this shift to the Internet, which led to satellite tournaments that could bring any player to a live event. In addition, televised events became trendy and fun to watch, as players’ hole cards could be shown to viewers watching at home. Television, along with the Internet, which allowed for a lot more means of online communication and educational instruction, not to mention the instant availability for anyone to play, there was a great increase in the skill of players, on the whole.
Bonomo states that even from 2004 to 2006, the game of poker has become tougher. This is not to say that the game of every player has improved, or that every pro is flawless. In fact, even the pros make mistakes constantly, and some even blog their mistakes (Daniel Negreanu, Brian Townsend, and Patrik Antonius). So, Bonomo has made some predictions that he is confident will come true. He believes that poker will become tougher over the next four years, as it has been steadily doing in recent past years. Another presumption he makes is that it will be necessary for good players to learn and play in different styles. They will not be able to play the same every game.
Also, he predicts that the trend of aggressive play that has developed online will become apparent in live play, as well. He states that in live high stakes cash games, players tend to play very passively, which the opposite is true online. As more online players start playing on live tables, the knowledge that has amassed online for poker players will come with them. Finally, Bonomo suggests that players will become more reliant on math and computer software programs. These types of assistances will eventually become more widely used and accepted and become “more necessary, rather than simply being beneficial.” An interesting example presented is that if the top ten poker players in the world dropped out of the poker realm for five years then returned to the game, they would be the underdogs, facing much more advanced players than themselves.
What Bonomo is saying, as a poker player, is that the game of poker will undoubtedly see even more shifts in the level of play by its players, who may not ever conquer the infinite complexity of the game.
RESOURCES:
Bonomo, Justin. “The Evolution of Poker.” Bluff Magazine March 2008March 2008 20 Jun 2008 <http://www.bluffmagazine.com/magazine/The%2DEvolution%2Dof%2DPoker%2DJustin%2DBonomo-1252.htm>.
Have you ever heard the saying, “Any Two Cards Can Win”? The saying refers to poker, and if you’re lucky, it’s true!
Yes, the outcome of any poker hand, ultimately comes down to luck, but an educated and experienced player can certainly use the odds to his advantage. The theory is similar to that of the stock market. The results of a day’s ups and downs can make or break anyone’s bag of luck; however, there are traders who can and do continuously profit off of the stock market because they know how to play the game.
In poker, you can really take the “odds” with a grain of salt. There’s always a chance, and any two cards can win. But, there is a skill called Hand Selection that allows a player to know what hands have positive expected value. Here’s an example of positive and negative expected hand value to help explain this concept, which isn’t as complicated as it seems:
For the sake of this example, let’s say that you are dealt 100 hands and every time, it is a A-A vs. 7-2 off-suit showdown. Let’s say each player bets $5 per hand, resulting in a $10 pot. After playing 100 hands, you each have wagered $500, $1000 total. Since pocket aces will win about 88% of the time, the player with A-A will win 88 out of 100 times, or in money terms, this player will win approximately $880 (a profit of +$330). On the other hand, the player holding 7-2 off-suit, the worst hand in hold ‘em because both cards cannot be used to make a straight or a flush, will win the other 12 hands (a loss of $380). This example should help you realize the importance of polishing the skill of hand selection.
Some common hand percentages:
A pocket pair flops a set around 12% of the time
A hand of A-K will flop at least a pair around 37% of the time
A hand of two suited cards will flop four cards to a flush around 11% of the time
So, what makes certain hands better than other hands? In the example above, we learn that pocket pairs, specifically big ones, can be a very strong hand, with the potential to win without help from the community cards. Furthermore, when a high pocket pair meets matching community cards, the result is a set or a full house, both of which are powerful poker hands.
Higher cards are, obviously, better than lower cards, as they result in better hands with bigger kickers. Suited cards (of the same suit) have a good chance of creating flushes, while connectors (consecutive) or near consecutive cards, will more likely result in a straight. Even better are suited connectors, which increase the odd of a straight, flush, or rarely, a straight flush. Additionaly, hands that use both hole cards are typically stronger than hands that only incorporate one hole card, as they are less likely to produce a tie and split pot.
There is a chart of the 70 most playable hands, written by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth, included in their book, Hold ‘em for Advanced Players, (page 14-15). By studying this chart, you will greatly increase your knowledge of hand selection and be able to incorporate it into your game, in turn, increasing your chances of playing a hand for which any two cards can win!
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So you want to play poker? To truly be on the level of pro, you should invest in a plastic deck of cards. They are much more durable than the paper ones, and they shuffle easily and faster. We recommend the Bicycles below. It is very common for professional poker players to carry a deck in their pocket, so get some cards and start practicing.
Next, you’ll want too know the basic lingo. When the action lands at your seat, you will have to do one of the following: fold, call, check, bet, or raise. To fold is to lay down your hand and walk away from the pot for one hand. To call is to match the bet. When no bet has been made, you can check, or pass the action on to the next player without betting. Another option is to bet, if no one else has or raise to a bet if someone has already done so.
Texas Hold em is a poker game that uses community cards dealt in the center of the table. Hold em uses 5 cards for players to share. Each player is first dealt two hole cards, face down. The player to the left of the dealer posts the small blind and the next player to the left must put up the big blind. Blinds, like antes, encourage action. The blinds create pots that make the pot worth winning.
The player to the left of the big blind gets the first opportunity to call or raise. Betting goes on around the table. You must bet in this round or fold. After one round of betting is complete, three community cards are laid down face up (this is called the flop). A second betting round takes place. You can bet or check in this round, unless someone else bets, then you’ll need to call or raise.
The next community card, fourth street or the turn, is dealt face up on the table. Another round of betting occurs. Then the final card is dealt face up on the table, called fifth street or the river, followed by the final round of betting. Then the showdown awards the pot to the best hand.
The dealer chip moves to the left, and then the whole thing is repeated.
According to Phil Gordon, a good poker exercise is to take that deck of cards you now carry around in your pocket, and shuffle them so the cards fly into the air and land on the table around you. Take the cards lying next to each other in groups of seven. Organize them so that you make the best possible hand of five cards. Then take the three remaining cards and study which of the hands would be made better by replacing one card with one of these three. It’s a good way to learn the best possible hands.
As with any new game or skill, you must play to learn and practice to excel. A good place to start off is PokerStars or FullTilt.
You can also try poker out for free at Bookmaker.com:
In order to pick the right table at Wass Poker (see below for WassPoker bonus codes), or any other card room for that matter, you should determine a few things before you take a seat. You’ll want to sit at a table that has a big blind of 1/200 of your bankroll. In other words, your bankroll must be worth at least 200 times the big blind, 300 times if you are a novice. According to Dean Stone in Blitz Magazine, having this much in your bankroll will protect you from a losing streak. He goes on to say that if you are looking for a tournament seat, the buy-in should not be any more than 15% of your bankroll.
Another thing to look for is weak players at the table. You may want to sit and watch a few tables until you find a seat next to a sucker. The players you are looking for are those that call excessively with a hand of nothing or are over-active players who raise frequently. These are the types of players who will slowly but surely, give you their money, and if they leave the table, follow them.
These two tips can keep your bankroll rolling. Try it-it works!
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In Phil Gordon’s book, Poker: The Real Deal, he suggests all aspiring and established poker players watch the top 8 poker movies of all times, which are listed and reviewed below. We’ve also added Casino Royale as #9. You can purchase or download any or all of these movies, new or used, at the bottom of this post from Amazon. Gordon suggests every poker player will “repeatedly be faced with critical decisions that will forever alter an outcome, whether of a hand, a tournament, or your poker career” (18). These movies exemplify some instances of defining moments for the poker characters in these movies.
#1. Starting from most recent, but not rated in that order, the first movie on our list is Casino Royale (2007), the most recent Bond movie, starring Daniel Craig, as James Bond. In this movie, Bond is up agains bad guy, LeChiffre, while the defeat of worldwide terror rests in the hands of Bond-in his poker hands to be more specific. In the first poker scene, Bond goes heads-up against LeChiffre. Bond hints that he knows LeChiffre’s tell, but then mucks on the river.
In the second poker scene, LeChiffre knows Bond is on to his tell, so he uses this information to bluff and beat Bond, once again. By this point, Bond has lost $14 million, but in Hollywood, another $5 mill is easy to come by, and Bond re-buys. Eventually, Bond wins $120 million on one of the rarest poker hands to ever be played, and saves both Britain and the US, as well as the rest of the world. This movie shows how in poker, anything is possible!
#2. Next on the list is Rounders, from 1998, in which Matt Damon’s girlfriend has reformed him from his gambling ways. His old friend and poker buddy, Ed Norton, is trying to bring him back to the tables. Ultimately, Norton gets Damon into a heads-up with Russian poker man with an addiction to Oreos, Teddy KGB, played by John Malkovich. This movie is packed with poker scenes, and the good guys don’t always come out on top.
#3. Robert Redford stars in Havana, a movie from 1990, set in the 50’s. Robert Redford stars as Jack Weil, who goes to Havana to set up a poker game, but inevitably falls in love and ends up smack dab in the middle of the Cuban Revolution.
#4. House of Games (1987) is a twisted thriller that follows a female psychiatrist and a professional con artist, which leads to a great poker scene.
#5. California Split (1974) follows to LA gambling men, George Segal and Elliot Gould, who can’t figure out whether they are in for the action or in for the score. There is lots of great poker action in this film, including a cameo by Amarillo Slim Preston.
#6. Cool Hand Luke (1967) is an American Classic, more specifically, a Southern classic. Paul Newman plays a tough convict who won’t be broken. His nickname, Cool Hand Luke, is given to him in the poker game, due to his bluffing skills. This movie is where the famous quote, “What we have here is a failure to communicate,” came from.
#7. A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1967) stars Henry Fonda and Joanne Woodward as husband and wife. Husband loses all their money in a poker game, has a heart attack, and it’s up to the wife to learn to play poker and win their money back.
#8. The Cincinnati Kid (1965) puts Steve McQueen, an amateur poker player, against Edward G. Robinson, a poker pro. This movie serves as the archetype for all movie poker scenes that follow and depicts the greatest bad beat story in all of poker cinema history.
#9. My Little Chickadee (1940) is the oldest poker movie staring W.C. Fields as Cuthbert J. Twillie, who is a con-man/poker player, who gets mixed up with Mae West.
There is a lot to learn in these movies, if nothing else, that poker has been around a long time. It’s not a new game, though modern-day culture has re-invented the hype surrounding the game and its players. Hollywood recognized this American pastime we call poker long ago, which is so much more than a fad.
Find any of these movies, plus Phil Gordon’s book, below!
Resources
1. Gordon,Phil. Poker: The Real Deal. New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2004.
2. Bondmovies.com
3. Amazon.com
Unlike other card games (like poker), in Rummy, Gin, and Kalooki, more strategy can be applied to the actual playing of the cards and less of the game is left up to lady luck. One reason for this is because these games are actually very simple in terms of rules, play, and win when compared to games such as poker.
One of the very first things you can do when playing these types of games, which applies only when a discard pile is used in the game, is always draw from the stock pile; never pick up your first few rounds on the discard pile. This keeps your opponent(s) from seeing which cards you draw. The more secrets you can keep about your hand from other players, the better off you are. Another reason this technique can be helpful is because, if after your opponents have had their turns, the most recent cards on the discard pile are obviously not needed by any of the other players, which is why they left them on the pile. By drawing an unknown card from the stock pile, you may be taking the next card one of your opponents does need, and preventing them from laying their cards down, or melding as it is called.
On the same note, you can use the discard pile to your advantage by watching what your opponents discards choices are and also make note of the cards your opponents pick up off the discard pile. I’m not saying you have to count cards or anything technical like that, but if you are deciding between two cards to discard, check out what’s already lying on the discard pile and make a mental note when you see a card picked up or laid down. You can get a good idea of what cards the other hands at the table are holding.
One thing you might want to think about also is picking up cards from the discard pile that can be used in other melds already on the table. You should use caution in doing this because you might just be enabling other opponents to play cards from their hands. Again, try to keep up with what other players are holding.
Also, don’t use Jokers in sets. It is much harder for opponents to come up with replacements, as they must match number and suit, whereas in runs, they only need to match the number. If you have 3 of a number, chances are one of your opponents has or will draw the 4th.
Finally, the object of the game, of course, is to go Kalooki and lay all your cards down in one turn, thus ending the game and sticking your opponent with an extra 25 points. However, it is not always possible to go Kalooki, and you should never hold out for Kalooki if other opponents have already started melding cards on the meld area.
Rummy, Kalooki, Gin, and other games of this sort are best when practiced. The more games you play, the better your instinct for the game will become, and discard/lay choices will become second nature, and the only thing you will have to concentrate on is keeping track of the cards in your opponents hands. Playing online gives you an advantage that card games have never seen before. Try jotting down the cards you see come and go in a diamond shape, each corner corresponding with the player who draws/discards them.
Make sure you know how to play each version of Rummy and Kalooki games, as all have a slighty different twist. You can take a very short but effective tutorial on all rummy-related games and then play for real money at RummyRoyal.com.
Just like a lottery, keno is a game that is governed by the luck of the draw. However, there are some techniques you can implement in order to increase your odds.
First of all, the odds of getting 5 random numbers to come up (e.g. 56, 17, 34, 22, 18) are essentially the same as getting 5 numbers in a row (e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), but you can choose numbers that have not been called recently. As more numbers are called, in the long run, it is theorized that all numbers will come up evenly, eventually. Seasoned Keno players often study the numbers that have come up and choose those that are due up because they haven’t been called in a while. It is said that history repeats itself, so a set of numbers that won once upon a time ago and haven’t hit in a while, could possibly win again. On the flip side of this strategy, if you notice numbers coming up consistently, then you might try betting on those number, because when you play Keno, ultimately, anything is possible.
Another technique you can try is picking consecutive number pairs (e.g. 20 and 21 or 46 and 47). While there is no proof that this trick works, there does seem to be a common trend in Keno that pairs of numbers do often come up consecutively.
Finally, you might be better off replaying numbers over and over again, changing up those that get called. Or if this seems too boring for you, pick one or two spots that haven’t come up in a while, or even a consecutive pair that haven’t come up in a while, on which to bet on in every round.
You can play Keno at many online casinos, but two we recommend are Rushmore Casino and Intertops Casino for other perks that these sites offer. Read our Rushmore Casino Review and Intertops Review posts for more info on these online casinos.