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With Texas Holdem Poker literally taking the world, not just the nation, by storm and with the added options of safe, legal and reliable online gambling sites, there have never been more opportunities to play Texas Holdem for an aspiring player. Many new players to Texas Holdem prefer to break in by playing online. Online Poker sites have the advantages of being convenient and you can play them for blinds as little as a nickel/dime.

The one thing that you don’t want to do as a new player is jumping right in head first into no limit cash game versions of Texas Holdem. You also need to decide whether or not you want to play Limit Texas Holdem or No Limit Texas Holdem, which are actually different games as the Limit version is much more of a nuts and bolts game requiring the best hand while No Limit Holdem is more of a gambler’s game, with infinite strategy and mind game tactics.

The best way to break in is to play all the low buy in No Limit Texas Holdem Tournaments that you can find. Find the ones that have the lowest buy-ins and play them continuously. It is an inexpensive way to get an outstanding “education” about poker as you can play No Limit Texas Hold’em for hours on the cheap, developing your Texas Holdem reading skills, (your pocket hands, board cards and opponents).

By playing in low buy in tournaments you will be able to develop your basic strategies, refine them, and better comprehend your Texas Holdem philosophy and style. You will be able to work on your skills at reading “tells” of other players while fine-tuning your own poker face to prevent you from giving your fellow poker players “tells” against you. As you play more and more low buy in Texas Holdem Tournaments you will, most of all, develop confidence if you are playing correctly and then be able to graduate to higher stakes Texas Holdem games.

Part of learning about Texas Holdem is learning to be responsible and by avoiding expensive cash games in which the money goes fast and quick, you will be responsible to your obligations outside of poker and be able to enjoy learning the game at a much more relaxed pace. You won’t play so tight and be bullied into making costly mistakes. You will find as you play in low buy in Texas Holdem Tournaments that when you play more relaxed (not careless, but relaxed) you will play with more confidence and strength. And the more confident, relaxed and strong that you feel the better you are going to play as you combine that with the knowledge that can only come from playing Texas Holdem.

The popularity explosion of Texas Holdem, especially No-Limit Texas Holdem, has helped serious players and recreational poker players alike. In the years before online poker rooms offered 24 hour access to No-Limit Texas Holdem, Limit Texas Holdem, as well as a wide variety of Texas Holdem tournaments, players were at the minimum forced to drive down to the local cardroom and take their chances with whatever Texas Hold’em game may or may not be in operation at the time. A far worse scenario awaited the Texas Holdem poker player who did not live in a city where a poker room was located.

For either the serious Texas Holdem player, or for the player who would like to become more serious about it, online poker rooms have proved to be especially helpful. To the serious Texas Holdem poker player, time is money and simply logging on is much easier than traveling to a traditional card room. Perhaps most importantly, the wide range of choices gives the serious Texas Holdem player the ability to find a game that perfectly suits their bankroll and style of play.

Another benefit of online poker rooms is the number of hands played per hour. In a traditional poker room, a considerable amount of time is spent shuffling up, which can take quite a while. Additionally, dealers usually have a 20-minute shift, and new dealers stop to count their banks before proceeding with the new hand. While this may only take a few minutes, this adds up over the course of a night. In an online poker room, you can count on a hand being dealt every few minutes, and for the serious player, this means a much better chance at a profit.

Finally, the choice of environment from which the online poker player chooses to play can also help the serious poker player. Playing from the comfort of one’s own home allows for less emotional distractions, and a “clearing-your-head” walk doesn’t have to be through a smoke-filled casino that has many other distractions.

Serious Texas Holdem poker players look for all possible advantages, and online poker rooms, if used correctly, offers many advantages and can make playing Texas Holdem much more profitable.

One of the most difficult, risky, and tricky aspects of No Limit Texas Holdem poker is learning when to correctly raise. Unlike Limit Texas Holdem poker with it’s fixed/capped betting amounts that invite you to raise or call raises with hands that may not be the nuts but instead draws, No Limit Texas Holdem poker is a game where you really need to have power cards in your hand to really contemplate a raise as not having the right cards is leaving your chip stack highly vulnerable.

Players often make one of two mistakes, if not BOTH, in No Limit Texas Holdem poker. They tend to undervalue power hands and underbet them and they also tend to “reach” and overbet marginal hands. You have to know when to exercise strength and you can only do that by knowing what a strong hand truly is and recognizing its value at that individual time that you are holding it. Part of the equation obviously would be your position along with the abilities and styles of the players. This also would be the factor that you would want to consider when you contemplate playing a marginal drawing hand as well.

Underplaying power poker cards not only is the mistake of not maximizing value but it also leaves the door open for a player who is considering tossing his pocket hand into the muck that now might stay in on the cheap, to see the flop. Had you charged the proper price with your power hand, this player likely would have folded and you wouldn’t allow him the dangerous (to you) opportunity to draw himself a nut hand, or at least a hand better than yours.

When you are holding a power poker hand from a late position and you notice players in front of you limping in, don’t hesitate to put the hammer down and raise them a large amount, not just double the big blind. Don’t be weak in situations such as these when the other players have just signaled to you that they have weak drawing hands and are praying to see the flop on the cheap. You are actually falling

right into their hands with your power cards when you become too nice and generous. A small raise isn’t likely to scare off the early limpers, who are used to this happening in Limit Holdem. Raising a large amount, however, will chase some of these limpers out of the pot, prevent them from drawing to something better, and isolate you with just one or two other players which also dramatically increase the value of your hand. The other way to play it is not even to raise, just call them and see what develops after the flop. This would be one way of driving up the pot but carries the risk of an opponent getting the nuts through the “backdoor.”

These are just some of the many difficult decisions and factors that a No Limit Holdem player must take into consideration with every hand and every move he makes. It’s a read of value, opponents, cards and draws.

You will find every poker player has a different opinion whether to show their hole cards when their opponent folds. Personally I don't like to show when seated at a ring table but during tournament play every once in a while I find it necessary. Of course this depends on who your opponent are. I wouldn't recommend showing your hand with an advanced player or online pro seated at the table. You show one too many they will end up reading your future bluffs like an open book. Today we will review three situations where showing your cards during tournament play will help set up future hands and give you an added edge.

Showing the Nuts : This is a strategy where you show the best possible hand, which is also known in poker as the nuts. I tend to show these hands only when a big pot is taken down and I have made a significant raise on the river. Let's say for example you're holding the nut flush and two players call you down to the river. They check it over and you bet out 500. Both players fold and you show the ace high flush. This can set up a future bluff, where you may find yourself in a similar situation on the river and bet out 500 as a stone cold bluff (buying the pot). The chances of them folding are likely if they feel you are a tight player and wouldn't be bluffing with a bet identical to the nut flush shown before. This works only if you rarely bluff and have not been previously caught by your opponents, keeping your table image tight.

Showing a Bluff : I only show bluffs during short handed play, 6 players or less at the table. Ideally you should stay away from showing too many bluffs because it will cause your opponents to lose respect for your raises and they will put you on a steal every hand. Now if you're looking to upset your opponent and put him on tilt, that's another thing. Showing a bluff when a player has you beat often angers novice and intermediate players. And if you decide to show numerous bluffs many players will put a target on you and call you down every hand. So be ready for an onslaught of action if you choose this strategy. Let's just say the ideal time to show a bluff is when you're looking to get more action from your opponents and its best not to use this move more than once or twice a game.

Showing a Fold: This situation will arise when your cards are beat and want to show your opponent the smart lay down. Again I wouldn't make this a common practice because if you show too many lay downs your opponent will know exactly what type of player you are. Even worse if your laying down the winner your opponent will know he can make moves on you. So ideally the best time to show a fold is when you know your opponent has hit their straight or flush and want to show your two pair or trips. If done correctly your opponent will gain respect for your game. Folding a strong hand correctly will show your opponent you have the ability to read the board and can make the tough lay down.

The more you play online poker you will witness player's take bad beat's commenting their "On Tilt", or "Going on Tilt". What does this mean? Many of you are already aware of the emotional rollercoaster which is part of NL Hold'em but for those who are new to the game, we will review what being On Tilt means and how to avoid it. During Texas Hold'em play - especially No Limit Hold'em, poker players suffer tough beats - initially considered a huge favorite to win a hand but lose. How do you know they are on Tilt? Often they change their style of play into a reckless all in strategy or chase heavy raises down to the river leaving them felted. You may notice a player start cursing at his opponent; "You mother *****, I can't believe your Donkey *** called that all-in raise, you're a piece of ****".

So just how does one avoid going on Tilt? First it's important you understand that Poker is a game of partial information, and even though you may be more advanced than your opponent(s), there always remains a luck factor. Discipline is key, be aware of your opponent's skill level and understand that underdog hands do win from time to time. Most of your bad beats will come up against Loose-Aggressive players, known for betting big almost every hand and never folding. Keep in mind if you're going to challenge a player with a heavy raise, you should avoid challenging the loose-aggressive player(s) at your table. You will notice Tilt players never last long in Texas Hold'em NL games; whether it's a cash game or tournament, they simply don't have the patience and discipline.

If you're playing an online multi-table tournament and endure a bad beat putting you on Tilt, sometimes its best for you to take a break by selecting the away button - five minute breather. Stepping away from the game will help refresh your mind and eliminate any sudden impulses to change your style of play. Sure you may be dealt pocket rockets or cowboys while you're not at your seat but it's more important you tone down your anger and frustration - effectively allowing you to get back into your regular game strategy when you return. Be aware, advanced players can pick up when you're on Tilt often calling big raises, looking to clean you out immediately after you lose a big hand. So the next time you simply can't handle the fact you just lost 75% of your chip stack to a one outer on the river- step away for a few minutes and try to regroup mentally. In the long run this will help you work through bad beats and dealing with Tilt.

Next time you watch a WSOP event on ESPN keep an eye on the top pro's, how they handle bad beats. Well many of you may already know there are one or two that come into mind who are not ideally known for handling a Tilt situation well (I won't name them), but the majority of the pro's be it online or live handle bad beats and Tilt, effectively. Look for little to no emotion, sometimes they will comment - "nice hand" or "nice catch", etc. Many players look up to Phil Ivey as he is known as the best cash game player in the world. Watch his reaction after suffering a bad beat. Ask yourself if you see a change in his style of play after a bad beat and if he seems to be off his game. The top players in the world are aware that going on Tilt is simply a negative emotion which is part of the game and knowing how to master these up and down swings is key to outlasting opponents.

No-Limit Texas Holdem tournaments are fast-paced and extremely fun to play. Texas Holdem tournament players are fortunate to have so many opportunities to play with the invention of online Texas Holdem poker rooms. A definite key to success when playing in No-Limit Texas Holdem tournaments is to find a strategy that works for you and fine-tune it until you become a top Texas Holdem tournament player.

Many No-Limit Texas Holdem tournament players like to enter several low buy-in tournaments while others prefer to enter a less number of tournaments but with a higher buy in, and therefore, a large prize pool. The difference, generally, is the number of players that you have to defeat. In a low buy-in Texas Holdem tournament, you will face considerably more players than you would in a higher-stakes tournament.

a lot of merit to this strategy; although, many other players purposefully stay out of hands early (unless, of course, they find themselves staring down at pocket rockets) and let some players get taken out before they get involved. It all depends on your style of play: if you like to play loosely and see a lot of flops, then the early rounds is where you want to make your stand, and hope that you catch some decent hands and garner some chips. If, on the other hand, you like to play a little tighter, then consider waiting through a round, let the loose players mix it up awhile, and come out firing when the blinds have gone up. The key to this strategy, however, is to be sure to come out firing heavily – as your opponents are likely to be either short stacked our have already doubled up – and either way, a sizeable bet is beneficial here.

You also have to consider how your short-handed game will be played. Texas Holdem played nine or ten handed is a completely different game when it is played three or four handed. The blinds come around much quicker and are doubling very quickly; you will most likely find that aggressive play is the only way to succeed here. Watch the changing nature of the game, and your tournament attempts will be much more successful.

The popularity of Texas Holdem, in particular online Texas Holdem, is due in large part to the wide variety of games available. Online poker tournaments are available 24 hours a day, and come in a wide variety. Texas Holdem players can get a lot of good experience, have a lot of fun, and possibly win quite a bit of money through online poker tournaments.

Freeroll tournaments are another great way to play Texas Holdem. You can get into freeroll Texas Holdem tournaments in a couple of ways. Online poker rooms will often allow you to play in freerolls just for making your first deposit, and sometimes for making additional deposits. In addition, online poker rooms will set up regular free-roll tournaments that you can play in simply for putting in time in regular ring games, usually measured by “points.” It’s quite simple: accrue enough points by playing in regular games, and you can qualify for free-roll tournaments.

The best part about playing Texas Holdem freeroll tournaments is that you are playing with OPM: other people’s money. If you are new to Texas Holdem tournaments, this is a great way to get a feel for the aspects of tournament play. Use this opportunity to evaluate different styles of play, and pay attention to other people. See what works, and what doesn’t, and then you may be able to pick up some ideas for yourself, or find some things “not” to do.

Another great advantage of playing in a freeroll Texas Holdem tournament is that you are able to try out new strategies. Without worrying about risking your buy – in, you can try a method of playing that you haven’t tried before. If you are an extra aggressive player, try tightening up for the entire tournament and see if that style works for you. Conversely, if while playing in regular Texas Holdem tournaments, you find that you keep losing because the blinds raise so fast, this may be a good time to practice being a little bit more aggressive. Free-roll tournaments are a great way to fine tune your game.

There are some other strategies you may want to try out. You may want to just concentrate on playing your button. The button position is the most advantageous position in all of Texas Holdem poker, and playing it correctly is a key to successful poker. Try playing your button extra aggressively, and see how that affects your success. On hands that you would normally make a marginal raise, go ahead and make a substantial raise, or even raise all-in pre-flop. Go ahead and take a chance with that 10-J and see how many times you simply steal the blinds by making a little larger than average raise.

Free-roll tournaments are also a good time to experiment with different strategies for playing the blinds. The small blind is often the most problematic for many players. Since they are already in for half of the big blind, they often call with marginal hands. This is not always a mistake, as it makes it difficult for other players to put them on a hand. But, if you find that you are consistently losing your small blind hands, try the opposite of your normal style of play, and see if it works better for you. If it does, adopt in to your regular style of play. Don’t ignore your big blind play as well: if you normally just “check” your big blind, try and make some substantial raises, even with marginal hands. You may be surprised at how often many people who called the original blind will now fold, and if you win the hand, that’s essentially free money – you didn’t have to beat their hands.

In short, think of free-rolls as a way to fine-tune your game. A good Texas Holdem player never stops learning new ways and better ways playing game: tinkering with their aggressiveness, of how they play the blinds, and when to make larger raises or get away from hands completely. Be sure to use these opportunities to improve your game, and don’t be afraid to incorporate them into your regular Texas Holdem game.

If you are playing tight in Texas Hold’em Poker you will likely muck it in 80% of the hands right from the get go and even more than that after the flop and turn. You will rarely play poker hands all the way to the river but don’t consider that wasted time. For a winning Texas Hold’em poker player, you can never learn enough or gather enough information. During mucked hands that are still going on the smart thing to do is watch the play. Continue to read the board and assess what the best possible poker hands are as you can never have enough training in board reads but, just as important, read your poker opponents, study them, learn from the good ones and bad ones as well and also learn the traits and tendencies and take your lessons to the bank later on.

Even the best poker players will have tendencies that you can evaluate for future hands. Tight steady poker players who only raise when they have the goods should immediately tell you to respect their raises in future hands and that they aren’t kidding around or bluffing. When you are in an early position keep in mind that these players may muck it a lot but if they truly have the best hand they won’t hesitate to raise your bet so you need to respect them in relation to what you decide to do with your hand. At the same token when you are in a late position such players, if they limp in, likely have marginal hands but a draw to something better. If they raise early you had better have the nut hand or close to it because these players aren’t jacking around.

You also should learn from the poker players that are too tight, that even crack with high pairs or high suited nonpaired hands like Big Slick (ace-king). These players can easily be bullied and you can take advantage of them with good hands that may not be the best. Observe these players from the blinds positions and see if the protect the blinds aggressively or are very passive and fold when raised or even called from the small blind. You might be able to get such players to waste valuable hands.

Then you have the loose poker players that will take shots with medium connectors at the straight, or shoot for flush draws. These poker players in the long run will likely wear their chips out but be careful at “slow playing” such players because if you don’t charge them a premium price they will gladly see the flop, turn and river on the cheap to try and draw their hands. You cannot let these players keep playing on the cheap because more often than not they are drawing to something and don’t have the nuts. If you leave that door open and allow them to draw their flush or full house drawn on the river that you let them have for cheap, it may beat out your set or high pair hand with top kickers that otherwise would have won the pot had you charged them a raise, which may very well have caused them to fold. These are just a few of the reasons you should always watch your opponents and learn all about them.

When choosing a poker table for a Texas Hold’em poker game be it Limit Texas Hold’em Poker or No Limit Texas Hold’em Poker, and whether it is online or at a casino/poker room, there is far more to what goes into an intelligent choice than a comfortable seat that meats the eye. To a sophisticated Texas Hold’em poker player or one that is “felt smart” you are not looking for just a poker table but for a place to dominate and exploit.

Beyond the poker table activity that you notice (you should “scout”) the action before jumping into a seat have you isolated both the good players and the bad ones. Is this a weak or strong poker table? It isn’t enough that you were able to determine whether the table is loose or tight, (that’s only one part of the equation), but it is also imperative to judge the QUALITY of play and players at the poker table and then evaluate it against your comfort zone and skill level.

One of the key elements that Texas Hold’em poker players learn over time and should know going in is that you don’t necessarily win by being just the best player you also win based on the mistakes of the other poker players. If you have watched world class poker players on TV you will notice that even they make many fatal mistakes, so when you are scouting a table you should look to see who is making the FEWEST mistakes as that is likely one of the better players.

If you find a couple of bad players making a lot of mistakes you don’t even have to rate as one of the best poker players at the table, just not one of the worst, as it is likely those two losers will keep compounding their mistakes which is all that you will need to show a potential profit and prevent big losses at that table. You will also notice that bad poker players or even decent one’s who, for whatever reason, are making a lot of mistakes end up going on tilt, multiplying their losses and woes and your profits and fun.

Also keep in mind when you are scouting a poker table that poker players who play a lot of hands are already indicating weakness and ignorance and a loose playing poker style that an average tight player who stays the course of his style can exploit. Good poker players (and even a lot of weak ones) know that the more hands that you play, the worse that you are going to do so look for loose “action” players who will hang in there with marginal drawing hands as in the long run you can milk them of their chips.

When scouting a No Limit Texas Hold’em poker table the importance of talent evaluation is even more critical. You will be up against “all in” bets and you want to make sure to differentiate between the legitimate “all in” bets from the bluffers and loose risk takers. No Limit Texas Hold’em poker requires nerve and courage and the better information that you have, the more you can exercise those vital qualities.

Raising in poker is an art that can take a lifetime to master. Many players who are new to the game feel you should only raise when dealt a strong starting hand. Raising with a strong hand is a standard procedure but what they do not know is there are several other situations that exist in poker where raising gives you an advantage over your opponents. Today we will go over the five most common reasons to raise during Texas Holdem NL play; gain information, earn a free card, eliminate competing hands, bluffing, and increase pot size.

Gain information : Raising to gain information is best done pre and post flop. Here you will raise with marginal starting hands in order to find out what your opponents may be playing (get a read). Say you're playing suited connectors and the flop earns you middle pair. At this point you may want to send out a mini raise to get a feel for the other player's hands. If someone re-raises heavy, you know most likely he has top pair and is protecting his hand. Pre-flop with a marginal hand you may send out 2X or 3X the blind just to get a feel for their starting hands. This of course is most recommend mostly when you are in position, ideally on the button or close to last position. Another time you may send out a raise to gain information is after flopping top pair but with a weak kicker. Say you're playing A 2, and the flop has earned you top pair. If you feel that your opponent has you out kicked, send out a raise to buy that information. A heavy re-raise back, most likely your hand is beat. This will save you chips in the long run and will help you learn information before having to pay a heavy price on the river.

Earn a Free Card : This is a strategy that may take you some time to pick up on. The idea is to send out a small feeler bet to keep your opponents from going on the offensive. In this situation you are well aware that it is more than likely they are ahead with for example top pair, two pair, or trips. What you are doing is simply earning a free card by betting post flop, in order to see the river. For example, your holding 7 8 of diamonds and the board comes 6c 9d Ad and three other players limp in. At this point you're holding a straight draw and flush draw. More than likely at least one or two players have you beat with their ace, so you bet out to keep them from going on the attack. The turn comes 2h, not helping you and most likely not helping them so everyone checks. River comes 10 and you have made your straight. By betting post flop you kept the other players from raising and eliminating your chances of catching a straight. Everyone checked on the turn which effectively earned you a free card, the 10 you needed. Earning a free card works well both during cash games and tournament play. Use it with caution and be weary of any re-raises as most likely your opponent is on to your strategy and is sure he has the winning hand.

Eliminate hands : Raising with pocket pairs, AK, AQ, etc, is recommended if you're looking to take down the pot without allowing your opponents to draw out on you. Standard raise pre-flop is 3X the big blind. Your goal is to knock out any players planning to play their suited connectors, or other hands such as J 9, 10 K, A rag and so on. Hands that can very well have you drawing dead after the flop or turn. You should look to be up against one at most two players after your raise. This will increase your chances of taking down the pot and controlling the rest of the hand. Another situation when you should look to raise is after flopping top pair. Say your holding 10 J, and the flop comes 2 / 7 / J. Here you should send out a raise to force any players who have bottom or middle pair out of the hand. Last thing you want them to do is check it down and catch two pair on the turn or river. Keep in mind that many players, especially in Cash games are looking to create monster hands; straights, flushes, trips, etc. In order to prevent them from making these strong hands, you must push the tempo early and make them pay the price if they decide to chase it down.

Bluff Raise : Bluffing is most often used during high limit games and tournaments. Lower limit games you will find most players will call you down unless of course you raise heavy. Semi-bluffing is raising when you have a good hand and are somewhat likely to improve the hand after the turn and river. Therefore you may send out a small raise to knock players out of the hand and also increase your chances of taking down the pot. The main purpose of bluffing or semi-bluffing is to knock players out of the hand immediately. Bluffing can get you in trouble, especially if you're up against a tight player that is calling you down. Also be weary of aggressive players who will re-raise often and when they catch cards can crush your chip stack.

Increase Pot size : When raising to increase pot size- you are effectively increasing your payout by sending out strategic bets that will keep your opponent(s) interested in the hand. Say you flopped a set or straight, ideally you don't want to raise players out of the hand by raising heavy, instead send out a mini-raise 1X-2X. A raise that keeps players interested in the hand as they feel you may be on a draw or bluffing. If there are more than one or two players involved in the hand and you feel someone may catch a flush, set or full house, then of course raise it up heavy and force the player to fold. When you have the best hand possible (the nuts), you should be very careful with your raises or wait until the river. If you check it down to the river, your opponents have a higher probability of making a strong hand, say for example a lower straight or flush in which they will call almost any large bet you send out. This will turn into a nice payout for you if done correctly.

The best way to perfect these strategies is to test them out in low limit games. Try them out while playing a 6 or 10 player sit and go tournament and keep notes on what works best. You may find that some of the methods are harder to work with and therefore may choose not to try them at all. Keep testing what works best for your game. Tight players will have trouble learning how to master bluffs and semi bluffs as it is in their nature to protect their chip stack. Aggressive players may overbet too often when they have the nuts and eliminate too many players from the hand. Remember that every player has their own personality on the poker table so each of the five methods we reviewed today will fit into your game differently. The key is mastering every strategy for raising, making your hands completely unreadable by your opponents.

Today we will review the use of the continuation bet during Texas Holdem NL play. This is a common strategy widely used both by intermediate and advanced players. A continuation bet is an aggressive raise made post flop after a pre-flop raise to represent a strong hand. Let's use a scenario in which you bet out pre-flop 3X the big blind from the button holding pocket 10's. One player calls and the flop comes 5, 9, A. It's likely your opponent is holding top pair, but instead of checking you fire out a raise for half the pot size. If you are a re-raised, chances are you're behind and should fold. If the player calls, you have at least put him on the defensive and possibly earned yourself a free card with the turn. The raise made post flop is known as a continuation bet as you did not have top pair, but "continued" your aggression with a 2 nd bet into the pot.

Now this doesn't mean you can simply start sitting at any ring table or guaranteed prize pool tournament and fire away continuation bets left and right. This strategy should be used with caution as timing is everything. Advanced players will pick up on your moves and start re-raising post flop aggression to test out your hand. Or they will simply slow play their hand and re-raise you on the turn and river just enough to keep you interested. Weak players may call you down and get lucky on the turn or river. During tournament play, most players are sticking to premium hands, so if they continue to call your aggressive raises, most likely they have you beat. Ideally you want to try this move out with a table that is tight players and when you're in position either on the button or close to last position.

The continuation bet serves more than one purpose. If used correctly, you can pick up on crucial information from your opponents. Using the bet not only to defend your hand but also to test out your opponents strengths and weaknesses. During tournament play for example the blinds are increased, which forces players to take action early. You will find during the initial stages of the tournament many players tend to take the chip lead by being the aggressor and going after big pots with marginal hands. A continuation bet will help you determine which of your opponents are tight and which are loose. If for example you make your continuation bet and are called down to the river by an opponent catching him on a gut shot straight draw, you know his intentions are to gamble early. Therefore if a future hand comes up where you are dealt pocket queens and that same aggressive player has raised you all in pre-flop, more than likely you will call.

A continuation bet can also serve as a semi bluff. There are situations where you may want to make a pot size raise post flop if for example you have a nut flush draw or open ended straight draw. Let's say you're playing a multi-table tournament and dealt A 10 of clubs on the button; and you make a standard raise 3X blind, getting two callers. The flop comes 9c, Jd, Qc. Both your opponents check it over to you and here is a good time to make an aggressive pot size raise. Not only do you have a nut flush draw but also an open ended straight draw. Raising strategically here would most likely eliminate one of you opponents from the hand and at the same time you have numerous outs in case you're up against a set or straight. This type of continuation bet is more advanced as it's your responsibility to factor in the number of outs, possible hand your opponent(s) hold, pot size, stage in the tournament, etc. If the turn does not help and your opponents send out a heavy raise, at this point you are probably beat but now committed to the pot- so be careful not to get yourself into too many of these situations. During tournament play it's often these big decisions that will make or break you.

In closing a continuation bet is a strategic bet in poker you should look to add to your game. Always be weary of players who spot this move and make adjustments to counter your aggression. If you're a newbie, I recommend you try it out when playing a single table tournament or low buy in multi-table tournament. Make the move on tight players, in position, or when the tournament is reaching later stages and you need to start taking down big pots. Pick your spots carefully, and as you begin to master this move you will notice your ring game sessions improving and better top finishes with tournament play.

Heads up play has become increasingly popular among online NL players over the past few years. With the release of the National Heads Up Poker Championship televised on NBC everyone wants to become the next Heads Up poker expert. Online tournaments are available 24/7 providing easy access for testing out new strategies and sharpening your skills. Today we will review the important strategies of heads up play. There are three common elements of heads up action; position, bluffing, and reading your opponent. In order to be consistently successful, you should work to master them.

Poistion : With heads up you will be paying blinds every hand, so waiting for aces or kings will eventually clean you out. Position is key as the button posts the small blind acting first before the flop. The button has three rounds of betting after the flop, which will allow you to further take the lead and control the hand. Tight players tend to fold from the big blind after a pre-flop raise, while aggressive players protect their blind by firing back. Ideally you want to play aggressive from the small blind, test your opponents hand strength and control the pace. From the big blind you should be more defensive, protecting your blind and not committing too many chips (unless of course you are dealt strong cards). Find a comfortable zone by gauging your opponent's skill level. Later stages of the tournament will increase the blinds and this will effectively cause you to make more moves, so be cautious of re-raises.

Bluffing : Poker is a game of partial information, therefore the more you are able to test out your opponents hand by betting, the more information you receive. Once you are able to find out your opponents strategy, you will be able to make moves on pots by bluffing. If you follow the formula of constantly attacking from the button and defending off it, you'll will quickly find out what your opponents are made off and see how their game contrasts with yours. If you run into more advanced players using a similar strategy, you will endure long tournaments often lasting up to an hour or more. The weaker players who you should be able to bluff easily, will not take long to take down. Just remember to always be cautious of getting caught by the tight players who call down your bluffs, and likewise don't allow the aggressive players to bluff you.

Reading your Opponent : Being able to put your opponent on a hand is critical during heads ups action. It will take several hands before you are able to make your first analysis of his or her style and level of play. The best way to get a quick read is simply call your opponent down. Of course you want to keep your calls fairly cheap so standard pot size raises are ideal. Aggressive players tend to check raise out of position, call heavy raises, and push all in on the river. Passive players consistently fold their small blind and smooth call your raises. Always ask yourself; are they bluffing too much or too little. Are they more advanced by consistently changing style of play and keeping you on edge? Or are they predictable and sticking to one strategy? All of these are questions which will help determine your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Make adjustments by trapping the aggressive players and pushing the tempo with passive players. This will not work every time, but in the long run you will come out ahead.

If you're new to the game try out a few of the $1 or $2 heads up tournaments found online. Or you can also test out your new strategies on the play for fun tables but keep in mind with those games any two cards are played. Watching the high stakes player tournaments will also help you determine how the strategies work. Always remember the three critical factors of heads up play; position, bluffing, and reading your opponent. Keep a positive attitude and get ready for a battle as heads up action is a continuous roller coaster ride of ups and downs.