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I can certainly say that playing online pocker this week, and indeed last week, I had some moments that really tested my character. Strangely there have been three occasions these past two weeks where I have been looking great on the flop with an opposing player all in, and they have hit runners for a Straight.

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Pocket Kings against (8,8), top set on the flop with (5,5), and (A,K) against (9,9) with a king falling on the first card of the flop all, ended in this same way. But there is nothing to be gained by feeling sorry for yourself.
We all have to deal with these tests of resolve sometimes, and it is how you respond to them that can have a huge impact on whether you bounce back or go on to lose much more through sheer frustration.

In the short term, it is important to deal with these situations in the right way. I often allow myself a smile when faced with unpleasant outdraws, partly that’s to let my opponents know that it hasn’t gotten under my skin of course. When I make that next bluff, I do not want people to think it is a bet born of frustration or anger.

In the long term we simply have to trust the odds. No matter who you are or how unlucky/lucky you might feel on a given night, it all evens out in the end. That is why responding to bad beats is so important, because the hand itself is just one of many that will happen for or aginst you over time.

It is the hands afterwards where you either go off the rails and do something silly, or calmly smile and carry on playing logical, calculated, pocker, that will determine your profits or deficits at the end of a month or a year.

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This was the last hand I played in last nights live Celeb Pocker event, and involved being dealt (Q,J) in the small blind. The player to my right had mentioned two hands previously, folding (A,6) preflop, and he limped in from the button.

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The flop came down (A,5,9) and it was checked to the button player. He led out with a raise of 1,600 and I decided to come over the top for another 4,500 all in bet. The fact that he had mentioned folding a mid to low Ace two hands previously swayed my decision, as did the fact that he was last to act after the pocker action had been checked on the flop.

I felt he was folding mid to low Aces preflop and would have raised wih a strong Ace. So of course I didn’t feel he was as strong as an Ace, and he sat thinking for a long time before another player urged him to make a decision. Calling time on the player was perhaps fatal for me, as usually, I find that the longer a player thinks, the more likely they are to fold.

As soon as the online pocker player said to hurry up and decide either way though, my opponent sighed and threw the chips in saying he felt he was probably behind. He showed (A,4) for top pair which meant he had made a call which was slightly out of character preflop, and on the flop too actually. That said, I still have to take resposibility for making a dangerous play and coming off worse. This serves as another reminder that I need to adapt my play at my local live event and tighten up my play.

This week I have thankfully made a reasonable addition of Coral Pocker points to aid my league position, but there were a few other positives to take from the session other than this.

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I was a little unlucky in not seeing a pocker hand bigger than (Ad,4h) or (6,6) in the first hour. I shall try not to speak too much of this though, as I don’t like to blame luck whenever I do not succeed, as this is counter productive I feel.

I managed to take a cheap flop with (Js,10s) early on though after (A,K) fatally failed to put any sort of substantial raise out preflop. I flopped my trip tens, checked the three way pot, then a King came off on the turn. I decided to make a small bet in the hope of someone having connected and thankfully my opponent had. I made enough chips to see me through for the next hour, with the occasional blind steal, and after being moved tables I finally picked up a hand of (J,J) which was the best I’d seen all night. I moved my last 5,500 in and was called by (Q,Q). I hit my Jack, he hit his Queen, and I was eliminated in 10th place. I know I didn’t see many cards to work with but we all have that problem sometimes, I am happy enough with what I achieved regardless of this.

So a few more online pocker points now should put me into the top ten of the league table, despite playing two less games than most other players and so I cannot be unhappy with that. To be honest, I am already anticipating the big end of league game on May 24th, having managed 4th place last time around, let us just hope I am getting my poor luck out of the way before then.

Omaha is a game I play very little of live, mostly because most of the players I know enjoy Holdem far more, but I do manage to play often online.

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Whilst I do not claim to be an exceptionally gifted Omaha pocker player, I certainly know enough to pinpoint mistakes I see made every day by amateur players. I feel that many players are branching out from Holdem to experiment with Omaha at the moment, and this brings me to my first point. If you pair both your hole cards in Holdem you are usually in a commanding position on the flop, but this is not often the case in Omaha. Whilst I admit there is a reasonable chance you are in front, you will find that especially on lower stakes cash tables, you will get several callers and end up losing the pot.

When there are less online pocker players going to the flop you can of course be more confident of these type of hands, but you still have to be extremely wary of any three cards to a suit on board, or potential Straight combinations. These hands are the obvious dangers that can hurt you after a seemingly great flop of top two, or a set. The basic fact is that in Omaha, you are never safe until you have the absolute nuts.

On a similar point, big pocket pairs are pretty in Omaha, but they are still just a pair. I would recommend caution with these hands, as they are only as strong as the other two cards supporting them. Ideally you want your two Aces or Kings to give you Flush or Straight options too in relation to your other hole cards. So often I see players betting the maximum on every street regardless of the board cards, then turn over hands like (A,A,7,10) for a single pair. Reading the potential dangers of the board cards is of huge importance in Omaha.

This was probably the biggest pot which I won in last nights game on VirginPocker.com. From the small blind I picked up (J,9) and along with the button player, flat called. The flop was extremely kind, falling (Qh,Kd,10h).

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I checked, and the big blind led out with a bet of 600 which was around three times the big blind. The button player called, and I made a calculated risk to flat call and let another card come off.

I obviously did not want to see a heart or any card which paired the board and potentially made a Full House for one of my opponents. The (4s) was a harmless card and I was happy to see the big blind player raise another 800. The button player called, and I decided it was time to test just how strong my opponents hands were. I raised all in for another 2,500 and the big blind quickly called. The button player folded, and I was surprised to see the caller turn over a King for top pair. I spoke to him later and he said he felt I was on a draw.

This may seem like a loose call, but my table image is that I like to bluff often and this shows that you can get paid off much more often with this type of table image at Virgin Pocker. I had 10,500 after this hand which would have been a comfortable amount to take to the final table of eight players, but then unfortunately poker never seems to work out perfectly, and two hands later I doubled up a short stack when he got very lucky with (Ac,Qs) against my (Ah,Kh).

All in all, an exciting game of online pocker at VirginPocker!

Pacificpocker.com – After a successful mid week live game in which I finished 2nd place, I felt happy enough to go to a second tournament at the weekend too. There were only a dozen or so players which is around half the usual entrants on Wednesdays game, but with a higher buy in fee, there was potential for another nice boost to my funds. The tournament started smoothly enough as I picked up a few hundred chips with an (Ad,Kd) which turned into a Flush by the turn.

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Then, came the hand where an opponent called my bluff on the river with King high, followed by a few small pots gone wrong and I found myself with only 4,000 or so from a starting point of 6,000. Then came the hand in which I flopped a Straight and picked up a nice pot, followed by a Full House soon after, putting my into a strong position with 10,500.

We needed one more player to be eliminated to go to the final table, and I was delighted to see the shortstack at our table raise it preflop when I was holding (Ah,Kh). I forced him all in preflop with his (A,Q) and unfortunately he caught a queen on the flop. Ironically it was this same player who later went on to eliminate me from the tournament and split the money heads up on the final table. If not for that queen, I would have taken a chip lead of 14,000 to the final table and my night might have been very different.

From this point, I recovered quite well, but never quite got back to where I should have been in chip count, and perhaps tried too hard to get to that point. I feel that this is partly why I attempted a risky play and got eliminated on the final table, I was still trying to play my way to where I felt I should be, and took one too many risks. But every tournament is a chance to learn from mistakes, and I shall certainly be looking to do that as I have another impromptu tournament lined up for Tuesday night. www.pacificpocker.com

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www.celebpocker.com – Playing in a small sidegame after my live game this week, I found myself dealt (Ad,10d). As the action got round to me, I put out a raise of 500 into the pot with the blinds at 200/400. The player to my left then reraised another 800 and it was folded round to me. I immediately knew I was behind, but I also knew the player I was up against was not overly experienced and I might have a chance to outplay them on the flop.

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I called another 800 to make a pot of 1,900 despite feeling I was up against a bigger Ace. This might seem like madness to some people, but I just knew that with a low flop, a ten high flop, or two diamonds, I would have a fighting chance to win the pot.
Just as I had hoped, the flop came down (3,7,9). At this point, I felt that I should check, because it gave me a chance to extract some information without risking any more chips. My opponent then thought for a moment before checking too, and I immediately had the possibilities narrowed to a hand like (A,K) or (A,Q) rather than a pocket pair. If my opponent had any sort of pocket pair, my feeling was that they would have bet out in order to try and work out if they were in front, especially as I was likely to have missed a flop like this one.

The turn card was another (7) which I was certain hadn’t helped my opponent at all. I should perhaps have bet out there and then, but something told me that I could induce a raise by checking, and I was correct in thinking so.
Obviously feeling that their big ace might actually be in front, my opponent quite reasonably, raised it 500.
My reraise to 2,000 showed enough teeth to force them off, and I had won a nice pot against what turned out to be (A,K), purely on the basis of reading ability and controlled aggression. celebpocker.com

The first time deposit bonus at www.coralpocker.com is generous as it allows players to choose their own bonus amount based on their deposit, but they do have to clear the required amount of points within a given time frame to be awarded it.
In terms of trust and security, a poker room such as the one at Coral will always be flawless in this regard. As the poker branch of a large and established betting company, you know you will be in safe hands with Coral Poker. Help and support are also of a high standard, being available 24/7 and in many different languages.

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The variety of games on offer are good enough for most players, and I would certainly be happy playing anywhere with these games on offer. Holdem, Omaha, 7 Card Stud, and 5 Card Draw are all offered, with STT, and MTT formats available. There are some big guaranteed tournaments on the schedule too which is always nice to see, as these offer the sort of prize pools which dreams are made of. There are other interesting new features on www.coralpocker.com too, with monthly loyalty bonuses, as well as an upcoming ‘Poker Warz’ event. This is an endurance contest which offers the chance of a great win for a fairly low initial buy in.

All in all, there are good things happening at Coral poker currently as well as the usual great selction of usual games for smaller bankrolled poker players.

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www.coralpocker.com – having been dealt (7c,8c) on the button you attempt to pick up the blinds with a preflop raise. Both the small and big blind quickly call and the flop comes down (Ac,Kc,7h).

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This is a difficult position to be in, but certainly not one to be unhappy about. You have position on the two opponents which is good, but ideally you want to see them make a small raise. If they check, this could mean they have missed the flop entirely which then means you are less likely to get paid off if you hit a set or a Flush. Your main hope here is that one or both players have caught an Ace or king, and you will make a strong hand on the turn or river.

If one of the other players is shorter stacked I would be less inclined to reraise in case one of them decides their Ace is enough to push the rest in with. Simply calling gives you a chance to make your hand before getting seriously involved in the pot. If you miss the turn, I would fold to a strong bet and maybe call a small bet. If you hit a club, a seven or even an eight for a two pair, I would reraise if I am raised. There is a possibility that you will be behind, but I feel this is slight enough to commit to the hand in most cases.

One of the blinds dropping out of the hand on the flop or turn is preferable if you hit your two pair or Flush, but I would be happy to take both players on if I have a set because if they have (A,A) or (K,K) as hole cards, I would have expected a preflop raise.
If the action is checked around on the turn in this case, I would put in a smaller sized bet to try and induce a call from a strong King or weak Ace Coral Pocker

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www.coralpocker.com – Whilst playing poker, there will often be reasons for you to reassess the situation at your table and alter your play quickly. One such circumstance might be when you are reseated at a different table, or when players are eliminated at your own table. Where you may have found yourself pushing a player on your left around a little, you might suddenly find yourself seated next to a completely different style of player.

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If you carry on playing the same way, you could cause yourself big problems. It could equally of course be a case of the blinds increasing and your previous tight play may have been causing your chips to dwindle. In this scenario you can often be in a position where you need to open up a little and increase the range of hands you are playing.
Other factors that might cause you to want to alter your play quickly, include instances where a player at your table starts to play a different way against you with success, which can often be only discovered by losing a pot. If you are too set in your style of playing to change quickly, you may make the same mistake again soon after and be punished heavily for it.

As a final point, if you ever find yourself in a H.O.R.S.E tournament, you will be required to radically change your way of playing regularly due to the game changing every so often. This is part of the reason I respect players who are strong at this type of tournament so much. Because not only do you need to be skilled at several games, you need to switch your mindset quickly as the game changes each time. Coralpocker.com

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