Bodog Poker wants to help you read your poker opponents and improve your game, so we put together this short and humorous video that shows you involuntary and common poker tells to look for the first time you sit down with someone.
Most skilled poker players have is the ability to read their opponents, which is why in the game of poker we often hear about poker tells - any physical reaction, kind of behavior, or habit that gives (or tells) the other players information about your hand.
Generally, when a player acts like they have a strong hand, they usually have a weak hand and when they act like they have a weak hand, they probably have a strong hand. This example of a common poker tell is easily spotted when you know what to look for.
If you learn how to profile your poker opponent and how to spot common tells, you can not only keep an eye on your own behavior, but you can also watch for the habits of the others.
Having a large chip stack at your table in a poker tournament can be an ideal situation. With a large chip stack you can’t be knocked out in one hand and you can send smaller chip stacks running by making large bets.
However, having a big chip stack isn’t always ideal. If you don’t play it right you can go from a large stack to busted out in just a few hands.
When players obtain a large stack they tend to make one of two mistakes. They either play too tight, or they play too loose. To stay in the game, they need to try and find that middle ground to avoid losing their stack to the rest of the table.
Hand rankings at Bodog Poker follow the standard method of any poker card game.
What Hand Beats What?
Know when to hold 'em and fold 'em.
For those of you who need a refresher, poker hands are ranked from the Royal Flush (highest) to the High Card (lowest) and are usually consistent in variations of online poker.
What are the odds of being dealt a particular hand in poker?
There are 2,598,960 different possible hands one can be dealt in the the game of poker.
To determine your poker strategy and to evaluate your chances at winning, it is good to know the odds for possible hands.
Odds for possible poker hands using a 52 card deck
Royal Flush - 1 in 649,740
Straight Flush - 1 in 72,193
Four of a Kind - 1 in 4,165
Full House - 1 in 694
Flush - 1 in 509
Straight - 1 in 255
Three of a Kind - 1 in 47
Two Pair - 1 in 21
One Pair - 1 in 2
High Card - 1 in 2
The basic rules of Texas Holdem are actually quite simple. Each player is dealt two cards face down, these are called pocket cards. The dealer then deals five community cards face up. These cards are open to all players to make their hand.
Players can use any combination of their pocket cards and the community cards to make their hand. The best five-card hand takes the pot. Of course, Texas Holdem poker can get a little more complicated than this when money is involved.
Bodog poker offers players three different options for game types: Fixed Limit, Pot Limit, and No Limit. The game type selected allows the player to control their bet minimums and maximums for that game.
Online Poker is a game of skill with poker rules of unwritten etiquette. Bodog asks that you please extend the following courtesies to fellow poker players while playing in the Bodog poker room.
Seat Selection: Start out with lower limit games to become familiar with the software. To sit down, click on any empty seat at a table and to play at a table that is already full, sign up for it on the wait list and you will be alerted once a seat becomes available.
The Buy-in: Player's can not sit down at a table with a buy-in less than 10 times the small bet limit. If you choose to sit at a $5/$10 table, then the minimum buy-in would be 50 dollars. This is only the minimum amount required.
Game Chat: Good-humored, playful conversation is certainly a fun part of poker, but abusive or hateful chat is not. Players should resist the urge to vent frustrations. If a player is abusive or rude, players have the option of blocking all chat, or just the chat of that particular player. Contact support at poker@bodoglife.com if the behavior persists.
English Only: Players from all over the world come together to play online poker at Bodog. In the interest of protecting players from collusion and team play, only English is allowed at a table.
Table Observation and Coaching: Players observing other tables must give consideration to the players who are seated at the table and should refrain from making comments about play and from offering advice.
Let the Cards Speak: Players should refrain from commenting during a hand on cards they have folded, or expressed disappointment for. Cards are turned up in the course of a hand to prevent players from inferring with the decisions and actions of other players.
Player Images: Players can upload pictures or images to represent them at a table. This is a fun and creative way to custom tailor their profiles, and express themselves. Images that are deemed offensive, pornographic, distasteful or hateful are prohibited.
Timely and Courteous Play: Players are asked to check the "Sit Out Next Hand" box if they need to attend to a matter away from their computer. Players at multiple tables are asked to use the pre-select boxes when possible and players who intentionally slow down play will be warned or have their accounts suspended.
If you are thinking about joining the Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament and you would like to preview the software before you sign up, you can test your skills by playing free online poker at Bodog. The free application gives you the opportunity to practice at free tables and provides you with the experience you'll need to step into a real money table.
To access Bodog's free poker tables, simply download the Bodog software and sign up for a free account. Then pick any table on the play money list, and start playing. The free online component of Bodog Poker is identical to the real money tables so making a transition is easy.
There are two ways to find a free practice game after you have downloaded the free software.
From the Bodog QuickSeat screen, jump directly into a free game by selecting one of the Play Money options in step 3 of the QuickSeat.
Select a table from the Main Lobby, and scroll down to the bottom of the list where you will see Play Money tables highlighted in blue.
Aside from ring games, you can also play in poker tournaments using play money at Bodog. From the Main Lobby, navigate to the Sit and Go Tournament tab in the software, and then register for any of the play money tournaments you see listed there.
Bodog also offers beginner cash poker tournaments, featuring a small buy-in and a larger proportion of players paid out. For these tournaments, the top 50% of players are paid, compared to standard Bodog Sit-and-Go tournaments, where only the top 30% of players are paid.
Join Bodog and challenge other poker bloggers each week in the Bodog poker room. Play your way up the tournament leader board and earn a spot in the final tournament for your chance to win a $12,000 World Series prize package and be a part of Team Bodog 2008.
