Category: Articles

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DOUBLE YOUR MONEY
Some video-poker machines have an option that allows you to risk the winnings on a hand for a chance at doubling your money. While many players believe that this is simply another ploy by the casino to take your remaining stake, it’s actually one of the best bets in the casino. It’s exactly 50–50 that you will be able to double your money. No house edge; no tricks. So what’s the catch?

You may double as many times as you wish, and because the odds are even, you’ll eventually lose. It’s a risk the casino is willing to take, but by examining the law of diminishing returns, it’s one that will be risky for the player.

While each decision is exactly 50–50, the odds of winning more than one in a row decrease sharply. After the first hand, you’re not gambling on the individual hands, you’re gambling on the sequence, and that is stacked heavily in the casino’s favour.

 

DOUBLE YOUR RISKS
From the Double Your Risk chart, above, you can see that the chances of winning your double diminish the more times you attempt to buck the odds against the sequential wins. The odds against winning ten in a row before you begin to double is less than one tenth of one per cent. Not very good odds, although the odds against winning any individual double down is 50–50.

Some players will try to suggest that the machine “”knows”” when you are doubling a high win. That’s nonsense. You can see that the casino wants you to try to double as many times as possible, but there is no need to rig the machines. You’re already bucking some pretty big odds for more than two in a row. The casino is very happy to offer you 50–50 odds on each bet. Try it at your own risk.

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The other popular wild-card video-poker game is Deuces Wild. Because it has four wild cards, it complicates the strategy that is necessary to succeed at the machines. Just as in other varieties of video poker, it’s important to note the pay table on Deuces Wild. But it’s not as easy as with Jacks-or-better. Casino executives have discovered several different ways to alter the pay tables that will alter the payout percentages.

DEUCES WILD PAYOUT PERCENTAGES
The pay tables above are just three examples of Deuces Wild games available today. The small variations in the pay table are the reason for the variation in payout percentage for expert play.

WORKING THE DEUCES
The object of Deuces Wild, obviously, is to obtain the wild cards to get those valuable hands. But what does it mean when you start off the hand with Deuces? Even in the highest paying version of Deuces Wild – at 100.6 per cent you will receive No Deuce hands 66 per cent of the time, which means that 80 per cent of your hands will be losers. Another 14 per cent will be the minimum three-of-a-kind winner, which is actually just a tie. So if you don’t get a Deuce before the draw, you will actually win only six per cent of the time.

When you get one Deuce in the initial hand – only 30 per cent of the time – 45 per cent of your hands will be losers, and another 38 per cent will get the three-of-a-kind push, leaving only 17 per cent that will actually win. Another nine per cent will be near-minimum winners as straights and flushes. Two Deuces in the initial hand – dealt only four per cent of the time – means that you must take every advantage of this hand, despite the fact that 70 per cent of these hands will wind up being flushes or lower. About one in four will end up as four-of-a-kind, and one in 98 will wind up as five-of-a-kind.

 

DEUCES STRATEGY
The following strategy is a little more complicated than the other two versions covered in this article. Some basic rules are not to play any machine that does not pay 5-1 for four-of-a-kind. And most important of all, even if you’ve got a shot at a natural royal, do not discard any Deuce!

1 Stand with any natural winning hand, except for a natural straight flush starting with Nine. Discard the Nine and go for the royal.
2 Draw one card to a straight flush.
3 Draw one card to a royal flush.
4 Draw two cards to a royal flush.
5 With two pair, discard one pair and draw three cards.
6 Draw one card to a flush.
7 Draw one card to a straight.
8 Draw two cards to a straight flush.
9 Draw three cards to a Queen-Jack, Ten-Jack, or Jack-Ten suited.
10 Draw two cards to a suited Six-Seven and a Deuce.
11 Draw one card to a three-card royal and one Deuce.
12 Draw one card to a four-card straight with one Deuce.
13 Stand on any winning hand with one Deuce. Break up a flush, straight or three-of-a-kind for any four-card royal flush, or four-card straight flush.
14 Draw one card to a suited Six-Seven or better with two Deuces.
15 Draw one card to a four-card royal with two Deuces.
16 Draw one card to four-of-a-killd with two Deuces.
17 Stand on five 10s or better with three Deuces.
18 Stand on royal flush with three Deuces.
19 Stand on five-of-a-killd with four Deuces.
20 All other hands discard everything but Deuces.

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“Building a poker bankroll
Many people consider that investing serious money into something that is a mere hobby for them doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and they’re probably right. On top of that, recreational poker players never really get around to fully understanding the nature of the game and the way it’s supposed to work, and thus they’ll find it extremely difficult to turn it into a lucrative deal. I’ve heard people say you should never risk more money on poker than you can afford to take to the back of your garden and burn. That is just baloney. Every investment needs an initial push to get rolling, and online poker – for a player who knows how he’s supposed to milk it – works the same way.
Anyway, it would appear that nowadays one can start a lucrative poker career without making any sort of investment at all.
The online poker industry is so competitive nowadays that poker rooms would do just about anything to acquire new, active players. So much so, that some of these poker rooms will give players free real money upfront, with almost no strings attached (I said "almost" because you will have to fulfill the turnover requirements on your free money before cash-out). All you need to do is sign up to the poker room in question, and usually insert some sort of bonus ode which will automatically transfer the money into your real money account. After that, you can hit the real-money tables and start a-playing as if it were your own money. As soon as you’ve fulfilled the play-through requirement(s) you may cash out.
Don’t expect anything resembling a healthy bankroll though. These bonuses are not meant to make you rich, but rather to provide a start in online poker for those who may feel shy and not willing to risk anything. The free bankroll will usually be made up of a few tens of dollars, which will only really represent a potent bankroll in some of the lowest limits/stakes games (remember, you have to have about 300BBs in your bankroll a the limit you play at to be properly bankrolled).
That fact that it is indeed possible to start a real bankroll using a few of these free bucks has been proven by many, the mot notorious such experiment being that if Chris Ferguson who built up a $10,000 bankroll out of nothing on Full Tilt Poker without taking advantage of the Full Tilt rakeback deal either.
Certainly, you’ll need some very healthy skills and almost endless patience to come anywhere near his performance, but it is indeed possible in theory.
Despite that, playing on a free bankroll will present you with a series of drawbacks which will hit you pretty hard, especially if you’re a rookie. Being under-bankrolled can very well curve the efforts of a professional player, let alone a rookie. Also, the deal that you get with your free bankroll will usually deprive you of some of the best bonuses and recurring-edge offers (rakeback) that the poker room features for its paying customers.
Thus the rake will hit you much harder, and your "bankroll" will offer you last protection. As they say, looking a gift horse in the mouth though is not something reasonable to do, so you’ll have to make do with what you get.
When playing on a free bankroll, it makes a lot of sense to start out with STTs (Single Table Tournaments). These offer you much increased odds compared to cash games, and they protect your bankroll by completely eliminating the "being under-bankrolled" issue, and taking some of the bite out of the rake.
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Believe it or not, these days it is possible for a player to start from zero and make his/her way up into the upper echelon of poker aristocracy, or at least reach a level where he/she can make a living playing poker.

In theory, it’s rather easy too. Poker pro Chris Ferguson had a challenge on FullTilt Poker that he could make $10,000 without any starting bankroll, and sure enough he pulled it off, in much less time than people would’ve thought possible. He began by playing freerolls to establish a bankroll he could start with in real money games, then gradually worked his way up, until he hit $10,000. Now, there’s a poll on Full Tilt’s site where people can vote whether they want to see him attempt to reach a million dollars, or consider the challenge fulfilled.

Sure, I’m not about to argue how great an opportunity online poker is for get rich quick schemes with no investment required. After all, saying that not all people possess the qualities that made it possible for Chris Ferguson to pull off something like that, would be a huge understatement. No, you’re not going to find the going that easy, but still the chance to build up a reasonable bankroll and then to generate some extra dough is there for you too. And no, you don’t have to take the money you would’ve taken to the back of your garden and burnt, and invest it. You don’t need to invest anything at all. The competition among the hundreds of online poker rooms now populating cyberspace is for the benefit of everyday players like you and I. It gives birth to bonuses and loyalty offers that would’ve been considered downright foolish not more than 2-3 years ago.

In this respect, there are poker rooms out there that will literally pay you to play, in one form or another. One of the most accessible ways into the ranks of real money online poker is the free bankroll. Quite a few poker rooms offer their players real money, upfront, with no strings attached upon their arrival. Certainly, they won’t be able to cash the money out and be on their way, because that would be the equivalent of robbery, but provided one manages to fulfill the wagering requirements, it’s a great start. The free bankroll will instantly hit your real money account, and you’ll be able to play with it as if it were you own. Once you played it through enough times (you’ve generated enough rake) you’ll be allowed to cash your money out. If you handle things well, you may even end up with more money than the free bankroll you were initially granted.

Cashing out after a successful free bankroll adventure is always a good idea. Chances are, the poker room that provides the free bankroll will not provide the best on and off-table odds for you, but you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth, this will have to do just fine until you get your hands on the funds. Once that’s done, you’ll have a choice of where to invest it. Fist thing’s first: look for a good rakeback deal. Playing with reduced rake will not only make it easier for you to beat the games in the long-run, it’ll also earn you money at the end of each month or week. Playing as a poker prop will land you an exceptional rakeback setup (well above 100%), which can provide a huge push towards the real poker bankroll that you aim for.

Whatever you do, try to avoid cash games as long as you know you’re under bankrolled. Cash games are by far not the ideal choice for bankroll building for several reasons. On one hand, you’ll pay more rake than in a tournament, on the other hand, the nature of play at cash tables will not aid you one bit.
STTs (Single Table Tournaments) are the games for you at this stage. They give you excellent odds, a flimsy opposition (at a 10 handed table, you only need to best 7 players to double up on your buy-in) and they’ll be over in a reasonable amount of time, so they represent a very good return on your time investment too.
Start with lower buy-ins and gradually work your way up into higher-buyin STTs.

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“Sometimes, we just feel this overpowering blind impulse to reassess a big pot. Apart from if we are drunk or tilted, this urge is broadly when we flop a great hand. At other times, we like to comment medium-sized pots, and this is predominantly when we have a ace but not great hand. Sometimes, we want to pore over a small pot and get to showdown cheap, this is when we have a average but probably-best holding.
This is the reason it is so important to try to adjust the pot size to match the quality of your poker hand. If we say that we raised 99 from late position and an opponent called by both blinds. The flop is perfect for us – J93. This is one of those occasions where our highest wish is to just get the money in the middle – and this is why it is so vital to start developing the pot right away!
If the blinds assess to us, we should place a bet – about 2/3 to 3/4 of the pot is a acceptable bet. Occasionally our opponents will have missed the flop completely and fold, but if they have hit a piece of it they will call – or even raise the bet! – And the pot gets nicely bloated already on the flop, increasing our chances of stacking the opponent. By placing a bet, we give ourselves the contingency to win a galactic pot whereas if we look at behind, we will have pains winning a big pot.
Creating pots on early streets with cracking holdings is an essential part of ace regard.
Then what about the medium-sized pots? Well, let’s say that we raised AQ preflop and once again the blinds called. The flop comes QT3. If both investigate to us, we should bet for value, but at the same time a positive measure of care is needed. If we don’t have a acceptable read, we no doubt do not want to remark upon for stacks – the opponent could have two pair or a set. We are wagering to extract money from a straight draw or a top pair with a worse kicker.
The recognized turn check out is to comment behind if the other player checks, with the resolution of calling most rivers if bet into and value-wagering most rivers if checked to.
With bad holdings, our aim is to keep the pot small. If we say that we, in an online poker game, limped A4 suited from late position after a few limpers (to try to flop a straight, flush or bona fide draw). The flop comes AT8, which provides us top pair with a lousy kicker.
In this case, it is in our interests to keep the pot small. If checked to, we should study and see a turn card (if we bet, we are likely only getting called by hands that beat us). If another player bets, we can call on the flop and re-review in retrospect on the turn (or just fold if it is a tight player doing the wagering). If there is a place a bet and a call in front of us, we just throw away this hand. We have no interest to size up a medium-sized or big pot.
Changing the pot size to the strength of your holding is an imperative part of poker. Of course, sometimes it is imperative to mix up our report a bit to not make us too probable, but the above lines are long-term winning recognized plays.
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Part of the charm of poker is the delicate and tough decisions we
face when playing. We have a feeling that our top pair with a bad
kicker is the best hand, but we are not sure. We think that our
opponent might be bluffing, but how do we know? This insecurity gnawing
at us when playing adds to the depth of the game and puts us on the
edge of our seats when playing online poker.

A good rule of thumb
is, when we are unsure, to either raise or fold. Let us assume that we
called a preflop raise from a tight player with JTs after a caller
in-between. The flop comes T73 rainbow. The early position raiser bets
out, the player between us folds. What should we do?

First of
all, we need to realize that our holding is very marginal. Sure, we
have top pair, but our kicker is bad and we are facing a tight player.
It is not exactly a hand to write home about (unless we have our mom on
MSN and want some good parental advice).

In this situation, our
options are to raise or fold. There is nothing wrong in folding. A bit
on the tight side, sure, but if we put the tight player on a good hand
there is no reason to continue playing. We can, however, test the tight
player by raising. If the opponent re-raises we just fold, if he calls
we do not put another cent in the pot unless we improve to two pair or
three of a kind. Playing like this has its advantages: we avoid to pay
off our opponents’ good hands (for example, over pairs or sets), but we
win most of the times he is continuation-betting with a hand like AK or
88.

The same is true for a hand like 87 on a flop like T76 – a
very marginal holding indeed. Middle pair and a gutshot straight draw
is not really a hand we like to get deeply involved with, but if we
feel the opponent might be bluffing it is not wrong to test him with a
raise. Folding is correct, but often, so is raising.

The common
denominator for both hands is our action on the flop. Raise or fold. No
calling! This allows us to avoid trouble later in the hand, on more
expensive streets. If we face resistance, we are probably beat. If we
are lucky, we draw out on the turn and get paid off, but otherwise we
just toss our hand in the muck without losing too much money.

Should
we just call the flop with a marginal hand, there is a risk of us
trying to bluff should the opponent check the turn, or maybe it will be
too alluring to call on the river just to see him turn over a better
hand. It all boils down to avoiding trouble on later streets by acting
on the flop. It both saves money and makes money, and is therefore a
good play.

Written by Andris Kangeris for 24hPoker.com

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“

Since we, unfortunately, are not born perfect, flawless and
all-knowing, we are bound to make a lot of mistakes each and every time
we try something new. We go through a learning curve where we identify
the errors we commit and try to correct these to the best of our
abilities.

This is also true for online poker. In this article, I will point out four common and costly beginner errors.

1) Playing too many starting hands

This
is probably the most common, and one of the most costly, mistakes a new
poker player makes. Most new players are so eager to just play that
they fail to realize the value of sound starting hand selection. There
are certain hands that should rarely be played and there are loads of
hands that should never be played. Good starting hand selection is the
foundation of solid play.

2) Betting too small

Another
common mistake is betting too small. It is not at all uncommon to see
people making tiny bets, even in large pots. This is almost always
wrong. When you bet too little, people will not fold the times you
bluff, and will have good odds to outdraw you when you have a good
hand. A good rule of thumb is to always bet ½ – ¾ of the pot size.

3) Slowplaying too much

The
rush of flopping a great hand, like three of a kind or a straight, is
exhilarating. So exhilarating that many new players forget to bet their
great hands! When you flop a great hand, the best way to get paid
usually is to just bet it. Sure, there will be these annoying times
when everybody folds, but those will be outweighed by the times when
someone calls (or even raises!) your bet. By betting your great hands
you give yourself the chance to win a huge pot instead of just picking
up a small one.

4) Calling too much

The fourth mistake is
calling too much. Beginners tend to never let go of a straight draw or
a flush draw, regardless of the cost. The curiosity of seeing the other
players hand is overwhelming on the river, so many beginners call in
spots where all logic screams that they are beat, just ”to see their
hand”. Calling too much is a very costly mistake. The next time you
just feel that urge to call on the river just to see the other players’
hand – think it over once again and think of the money you will save by
just folding.

Written by Andris Kangeris for 24hPoker.com

”

“Sometimes, we just feel this irresistible urge to play a big pot. Unless we are drunk or tilted, this urge is usually when we flop a great hand. On other occasions, we like to play medium-sized pots, and this is
usually when we have a good but not great hand. Sometimes, we want to
play a small pot and get to showdown cheap, this is when we have a
mediocre but probably-best holding.

This is why it is so
important to try to adjust the pot size to match the strength of your
hand. Let us assume that we raised 99 from late position and got called
by both blinds. The flop is a dream for us – J93. This is one of those
situations where our highest wish is to just get the money in the
middle – and this is why it is so important to start building the pot
right away!

If the blinds check to us, we should bet – about 2/3
to 3/4 of the pot is a good bet. Sometimes our opponents will have
missed the flop completely and fold, but if they have hit a piece of it
they will call – or even raise! – And the pot gets nicely bloated
already on the flop, increasing our chances of stacking the opponent.
By betting, we give ourselves the chance to win a huge pot whereas if
we check behind, we will have trouble winning a big pot.

Building pots on early streets with good holdings is an essential part of good play.

Then
what about the medium-sized pots? Well, let’s say that we raised AQ
preflop and again the blinds called. The flop comes QT3. If both check
to us, we should bet for value, but at the same time a certain measure
of care is necessary. If we don’t have a good read, we probably do not
want to play for stacks – the opponent could have two pair or a set. We
are betting to extract money from a straight draw or a top pair with a
worse kicker.

The standard turn play is to check behind if the
opponent checks, with the intention of calling most rivers if bet into
and value-betting most rivers if checked to.

With mediocre
holdings, our wish is to keep the pot small. Let us assume that we, in
an online poker game, limped A4 suited from late position after a few
limpers (to try to flop a straight, flush or good draw). The flop comes
AT8, giving us top pair with a lousy kicker.

In this case, it
is in our interests to keep the pot small. If checked to, we should
check and see a turn card (if we bet, we are likely only getting called
by hands that beat us). If another player bets, we can call on the flop
and re-evaluate on the turn (or just fold if it is a tight player doing
the betting). If there is a bet and a call in front of us, we just muck
this hand. We have no interest to play a medium-sized or big pot.

Adjusting
the pot size to the strength of your holding is an important part of
poker. Of course, sometimes it is necessary to mix up our play a bit to
not make us too predictable, but the above lines are long-term winning
standard plays.

Written by Andris Kangeris for 24hPoker.com

”

“

How do
you chat during games of online bingo?

 

The web’s
premium online bingo parlours contain split screen games. In other words, half
the screen contains a digital bingo game, while the other half of your screen contains
a chat box (similar to messenger). Once you’re a member of your favourite site,
you’ll be able to make friends and chat to other member during games by simply
typing in the box. You can select private messaging with one or more of your
friends, people you want to be your friends :), or join in the mass free for
all!

Mastering
the bingo lingo and making friends is the key to really getting the bingo buzz
– plus, it also enables you to join in the bonus chat games (card games,
trivia, brain teasers) which payout in free bingo credits for hours of free
gaming!

 

How do
you play & win at online bingo?

Online
bingo parlours either offer 90 Ball Bingo, 75 Ball Bingo or preferably – a
choice of both the UK
style 90 and the American 75 game. Either way – the basic aim of the games
remain very similar. Every time you buy a bingo ticket – the bingo software
creates a completely randomised set of numbers. So – even if you play with 50
bingo tickets in every game…the chances of an identical ticket are virtually
zero!

Your aim
is to mark off the numbers that match those drawn by the bingo spinner. If you
match enough numbers to form a winning combo – you win a cash reward! 90 Ball
combos are generally for 1-line, 2-lines and Full House jackpots, while the American
game often delivers whacky combos and game card shapes!

Most bingo
websites will automatically indicate when you have a winning card – so if you
miss a couple of numbers (probably because you’re new to the game or chatting
away!)……you’ll still get alerted to the win! What’s more, you can use
auto-daub options to let the computer mark you card – just sit back, chat and
relax in style!

 

How
much can you win playing online bingo?

Bingo is a
game of luck – so while everyone has a chance of winning with every ticket,
some gamers get luckier than others. You’re also likely to go through hot and
cold gaming sessions – but remember to always keep smiling! If you’re one of
the really lucky bingo players, you can win big progressive bingo jackpots
worth thousands. At the other end of the scale, low level bingo wins can
deliver enough to buy a another session’s worth of bingo tickets. Bingo payouts
happen frequently, but their value depends on factors including ticket price,
game type and parlour. Most long-term gamers manage to enjoy some nice medium
sized payouts.

 

Can you
play online bingo for free?

Online
Bingo tickets range in price – but with good parlours offering ticket prices
from 5-10 pence, everyone can afford some weekly gaming sessions. The good news
is – new gamers don’t have to spend a penny to trial real bingo games. You can
easily find offers of £5 free
bingo credits when you join, risk-free.

 

Are
bingo websites the same as online casinos?

Bingo
parlours have a much more relaxed vibe than many online casinos – so you’re
sure to find a very warm welcome from the parlour’s bingo hosts and existing
members. Hundreds of people are signing-up every week – so you definitely won’t
be the only newbie! However, many online bingo parlours have mini-casinos
offering video slots and classic, real-feel casino games.

 

Why are
so many people playing online bingo?

Everyone
seems to be playing online bingo – from office workers, to hip student, to
doctors and even a huge bunch of celebrities! The fact is bingo is great fun
and it makes everyone welcome and feel the same – just special!

”

“

It is extremely hard to become a really good player of Single-Table Poker tournaments. There is a hell of a lot to learn and of course practice practice practice! In this article we try to give you some tips to get you started on the road of Single-Table poker tournaments but if you are interested there are many excellent books available which go into the subject in much more detail.

 

If you have the patience for it then I would always recommend playing standard Single-Table tournaments instead of speed tournaments.

Good players, of which you’ll be one, have a far greater advantage in a standard single-table tournament, and the reason for this is that so much of the play occurs after the flop where tactics and strategy really come into play. At a standard Single-table tournament the blinds rise slowly enough that you will stand a good chance of knocking out the weaker players before the poker tournament enters the lethal all-in or fold stage! In addition your stack will also be far more stable and suffer less from variance in a standard single-table poker tournament compared with a speed tournament. Because the stack is more stable it will become much more apparent who the good opposition are and who are the weaker players to be picked off. 

 

Don’t be too eager to see the flop, especially in the beginning of the poker tournament. 

It’s always good to be able to see the flop and by doing so complete a winning hand but in a Single-Table tournament the blinds tend to increase very quickly in comparison with your stack, a lot more than it would in a regular ring poker game. In complete contrast to a standard poker game have draw hands really isn’t to useful, especially in the earlier rounds of the tournament.

 

Don’t get nervy when the blinds get big

Towards the end of the tournament it is essential that you play aggressively if you are to have any chance of winning the whole poker tournament. This is where a lot of average players go wrong in that wait too long for the killer hand before betting. In actual fact in the latter stages you should be looking for every possible opportunity to steal the blinds because it is such a fantastic way of building up your stack without having to go to a showdown.

 

Try and get a really intimidating stack

This may sound blindingly obvious but it ties in very well with the previous point of trying to steal blinds in a poker tournament. It is virtually impossible to steal blinds if your stack is only slightly bigger than the big blind because one of the other players in a blinds position will almost certainly call you. This makes sense because they are already committed by paying the blind and therefore have pot odds on their side but also because poker players in a tournament just love to knock each other out as that is the whole point. To have a reasonable chance of stealing a blind your stack needs to be at least 3 times the size  of the big blind and preferably nearer to 4 times as large.  Having a stack this size is almost as crucial as having chips in the first place as being short stacked  means you have to get good cards or be very very lucky. If your stack falls below this level then you really need to start taking some more risks  and playing aggressively to get it back up to  a decent level.

 

Pot Odds are incredibly important towards the end of the poker tournament 

You shouldn’t expect to have any great advantage when you go all-in against an opponent in a single-table poker tournament. Having said that even if you just have a slight positive edge then you should call the opponent player. Let me illustrate this with an example. Lets say that you are seated in the big blind position with a 10,7 spades. The blinds are 200-400 and some player in a middle position goes all in for 950 which the other players fold to, should you make a call?

The answers is a huge resounding yes. By making the call you are only putting in an extra 550 chips in what now totals a very respectable pot of 2100. You therefore only need a 26.1% chance of winning to make this good pot odds and because your cards are suited and close to each other you easily have this. Even if your opponent was sitting with A K spades you would still have a chance of winning.

It is very important to know what probability of success each pocket card combination will give you in comparison to other hands pre-flop. Lets say that you have 2 high cards, A heart and K clubs, this will give you a 66% chance of success compared with 2 low cards like 6 spades 5 diamonds. A small pocket pair gives you roughly a 55% chance against 2 high cards so as you can see this kind of information is crucial for you to be able to make proper decisions.

 

It may be impossible to make reliable money out of high-stakes Single Table Tournaments

For the vast majority of players this really isn’t an issue, when I say high stakes here I am referring to games upwards of $200+$15. Most players never play in anything bigger than a $100+$9 buy in tournament. It is especially the high-roller speed Sit & Go’s which are tough to win money at. The first reason is fairly obvious and it is that at the high-stakes games you typically find very good players, a large proportion are professionals or at least very serious amateur players. To be able to have a consistent edge over these players is extremely difficult.

The second factor is that opposite to regular ring game there is no upper limit to how much a single table tournament will cost you! Players in a $5-$10 ring poker game pay virtually the same rake as players in a $50-$100 game because most online poker rooms cap the rake at $3.

This is not the case in poker tournaments where the rakes increase all the time. A player at a $200 St & Go tournament pay almost $15 in rake per tournament and players at at $500 poker tournament pay $30 each time they do a buy in.

If you add all these points together it is easy to see how it can be very expensive in a single table high stakes poker tournament!

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