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Author: Andrew

Do You Play Online Poker In The Evening? If So, Read This!

Tips

Do You Play Online Poker In The Evening? If So, Read This!

Tick-tock-tick-tock… Do you ever think about WHEN you play online poker? What if I told you there’s a lot more money to be made (or lost) simply because of the time of day you play online poker?   There’s definitely evidence to support this – and the pros know it!   The time of day you play online poker could very well determine whether you are tremendously successful or go horribly broke! Often overlooked by novice players and even many amateur/pro players, making a conscious decision on the optimal best time of day to play poker is actually a lot positive than...

Reviews

Review: Is MagicHoldem Poker Odds Calculator really magic?

When online poker first became popular, I played… and lost… and play again… and lost again.  I admit I wasn’t very good.   I mean, sure, I knew how to play as far as the basics go but I just never seemed to have any luck so I stuck to the free tables – until I got better and better at it.  Then I got the poker bot (which you can download today by signing up to our FREE newsletter).   So you win money with the bot playing your hands, but some days you actually want to play some rounds...

SPECIAL DEAL: Do the Easter Hop! April Bonus at Slotland/Win-A-Day!

SPECIALS!

SPECIAL DEAL: Do the Easter Hop! April Bonus at Slotland/Win-A-Day!

The Easter Bunny has dropped some lovely goodies courtesy of Slotland/Win A Day!  If you want a break from the poker tables, now is the best time to get some good deals on the virtual slot machines at Slotland and Win A Day. Come play at Win A Day Casino, where there are truly winners every day with their Winners Every Day Draw!  Every single day a lucky player will be drawn to win up to $100! That means they will be giving away up to $3,000 in April alone just for players who deposit and play!  Slotland has a...

You Got To Know When To Hold ’em, Know When To Fold ’em…

Tips

You Got To Know When To Hold ’em, Know When To Fold ’em…

Ah… the timeless country sounds of singer Kenny Rogers.  He was right.  You do have to know when to hold your hand and definitely when to fold it.  I’m dedicating this post to the art of the fold. Yup, it’s one of those things that good poker players do routinely.  And the best poker players do ALL the time.   Do you ever wonder when you watch poker on television, nearly every hand is always so exciting and has action right to the river with wicked hands? Well, if you didn’t know already, you can certainly guess now that editing...

SMOKEPOKER SPECIAL: WOW! HOT! Titan Poker + Free Gift!

SPECIALS!

SMOKEPOKER SPECIAL: WOW! HOT! Titan Poker + Free Gift!

I’ve arm-twisted my good friends at Titan Poker to offer me something truly special for my valued SmokePoker.com members and visitors! If you type titanpoker.com in your address bar you’ll get their usual deal of a 50% bonus on up to $200 first time deposit.  But that’s not good enough for me!  So I got ’em to bump that up to 100% bonus up to $500 deposit!   Now that’s much better.   But there’s more… If you don’t know Titan Poker,  they are the main poker room of the iPoker network, one of the world’s largest in the online poker industry. ...

SPECIAL DEAL: Win-A-Day Casino! 30% BONUS BLITZ March 26-27!

SPECIALS!

SPECIAL DEAL: Win-A-Day Casino! 30% BONUS BLITZ March 26-27!

Listen up SmokePoker.com fans!  You no longer have to beware the Ides of March!”    The Win-A-Day Bonus Blitz is here! … Okay, that was a bit cheezy.  Not withstanding a bad historical reference to promote casinos, Slotland’s “Win-A-Day Bonus Blitz” is a pretty awesome way to add some big bucks to your game play.  But you gotta act fast.  It’s only on from March 26th – 27th.   This is an awesome deal. How does it work?  You get up to a 30% bonuse ONLY during March 26th – 27th. You get the chance to gain extra cash and extend...

Reviews

Review: MUST-HAVE – “The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition”

Okay, if I’m going to start reviewing products, I want to make sure I start with a good one. No, the best one. It’s a book. Plain and simple. An yes, it’s a real book. I like certain eBooks, but a lot of them are garbage. This is the real deal. Published in 2007, it is a MUST-HAVE if you’re a general poker player. It does feature the Full Tilt sponsored players, but you don’t have to be a Full Tilt member to gain from this priceless resource. Basically, all the information, tips, tricks, and strategies are assemebled from some...

Watch For Exciting Poker Product Reviews!

Reviews

Watch For Exciting Poker Product Reviews!

10,000 And that’s probably a conservative estimate! There are literally thousands of Poker Products, eBooks, Calculators, Bots, Software, Tables, Services, banks, chips and more. Whether you’re a pro, beginner, amateur, online player, offline play, even an antique poker memmorobilia collector, the possibities can be overwhelming! I plan to begin regular reviews of online and offline poker products and related services. I have a nasty habit of “telling-it-like-it-is”. Let’s call it the Dr. Phil of Poker. If you’re looking for an endless stream of endorsements, you won’t quite find that here. Most products or services aren’t all around good or bad....

Tips

Top 5 Online Poker Tells From The Pros!

Everyone knows that about poker “tells”.  You know, the scratch to the nose, the clearing of the throat, or lean back in the chair that may give away the strength (or lack thereof) of your hand at play.  But when you’re playing online, that aspect of the beautiful game of Poker is lost… or is it?  You would be surprised about how much focus the “professional” online players put into what we call virtual or online tells.  Indeed, if you want to keep winning those pots (or start!) the following is essential learning… Because the players aren’t physically in front...

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (still sucks!)

Articles / Info / News

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (still sucks!)

Years after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act was first introduced to the public, there is still a general pervading sense of hope within the poker community in the United States. Despite the events that have been happening which testify to the strictness and seeming effectiveness of the Gambling Act, poker players – especially the online poker players – still hope that there will be some way to circumvent this law. After all, there have always been loopholes to any law that has been laid down. Yet just recently, someone with authority – a top American gambling administrator, no less –...

Texas Hold ’em Starting Hands

Articles / Info

Texas Hold ’em Starting Hands

Despite the waves that the US Congress Bill has been making, online gamblers all over are still feeling hopeful that somehow this mess will be sorted out. As the saying goes, life goes on… A friend of mine recently bought a 500 piece poker chip set and we had a good old game of Texas Hold ‘em round at his place. This got me thinking that I should write a series of posts about this particular brand of poker, so I’ll start with some facts about starting hands. More than being the current craze in our homes, Texas Hold ‘em...

Video Poker Tips – Getting Started

Articles / Insights / Tips

Video Poker Tips – Getting Started

Video poker is admittedly one of the most attractive features in many casinos – both online and offline. Who can easily resist all those brightly colored flashing lights and the large signs predicting a WIN? Yet for those of us who have actually given in to the video poker machine’s allure, we know that the promise of the bright lights is not all that we expected it to be. Then again, I would have to admit that the chance of winning and the actual losing is part of video poker’s image. It just seems to keep on giving you enough...

Playing Shorthanded In Texas Hold ’em Poker

Articles / Insights / WSOP

Playing Shorthanded In Texas Hold ’em Poker

When you watch poker games on TV, such as the World Series of Poker, you normally see them starting out with ten players. However, as the game progresses, players get eliminated and the numbers around the table start to dwindle. The starting number – ten players – is what is called a full table. When the players start falling out, then we have what we call a shorthanded table. In all online poker rooms you have the standard full table and with some poker rooms they offer shorthanded from the outset, which is normally six starting players. Is there a...

What Are Sit And Go Poker Tournaments?

Articles / Insights / Tips

What Are Sit And Go Poker Tournaments?

Sit and Go tournaments have become one of the most popular ways of playing Texas Hold ‘Em Poker today. Both offline and online, Sit and Go tournaments are played by countless players. So what exactly is a Sit and Go poker tournament? It’s basically just the same as any other poker tournament except that it’s like playing at the final table. No more elimination rounds – just the round that counts. Sit and Go tournaments might also be single table or multi table and these days there’s an emerging form of Sit and Go tournament online that’s proving ever more...

ORAC – The World’s First Poker Bot

Articles / History / Insights / Stories

ORAC – The World’s First Poker Bot

Anyone who is into poker bots will probably know exactly what I’m talking about here, because ORAC was the first ever attempt at a poker bot. Created by Mike “Mad Genius” Caro in 1984, this poker bot could actually be dubbed as the father of all poker bots. So who is Mike Caro? Well, his Wikipedia entry reads: “In 1978 he contributed 50 statistical tables to Doyle Brunson’s Super System and wrote that book’s chapter on draw poker. He acts as a consultant to many casinos, providing odds, and he helped develop the Poker Probe, the first serious commercial PC...

How To Play Video Poker

Articles / Insights

How To Play Video Poker

Though Texas Hold ‘Em undoubtedly holds the top position when it comes to popularity these days (thanks to the World Series of Poker mainly), there is no doubt that video poker is one of the most loved versions of poker there is. When you first look at a video poker machine, you may mistake it for a slot machine – especially if you are a beginner. Unlike slots, however, video poker requires skill from a player on top of the luck factor. In order to win at video poker, you need to know certain rules as well the ranks of...

Poker Pros Speak Out About The Gambling Ban

Articles / Info / News

Poker Pros Speak Out About The Gambling Ban

Soon after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act was signed, professional poker players from the US and Canada started to make their feelings known. Their reactions ranged from disbelief, to defiant, to downright angry. Personally, it doesn’t surprise me that these poker pros reacted in the way they did. I’m sure that many of them cannot help but take this bill as a personal matter. After all, it’s their livelihood that we’re talking about. Poker expert Tim Lavalli decided to go around and get it from the horses’ mouth. Here are some quotes that he compiled from different poker pros. Read...

Mistakes Even Advanced Poker Players Make

Articles / Insights / Tips

Mistakes Even Advanced Poker Players Make

Just because you’re an advanced poker player doesn’t mean that you’re not bound to make mistakes once in a while. Poker players are human after all. Yet knowing what possible mistakes you can make will definitely help you avoid them, so here are some of the most common errors that you can make in a poker game. Mistake #1: Missing value bets Value bets depend on the kind of poker game you’re playing. For limit hold ‘em, the bets are small in relation to the pot. Thus, the other players will probably call your value bet even with really weak...

The Worst Starting Hands In Texas Hold’em

Articles / Info / Insights

The Worst Starting Hands In Texas Hold’em

In my last few articles I’ve taken a break from hands, raising, and other poker terminology. It’s high time that we get back on track. I just realized that after I posted my previous article on choosing starting hands for Texas Hold’em, I didn’t do any follow up. Quite logically, if you can get good starting hands, then you can also have bad starting hands. In this article, let’s take things a bit further and talk about some of the worst starting hands that you can have. 2-7 (off suit) When you find yourself with a 2 and a 7,...

My Baddest Poker Beat Ever!

Articles / Stories

My Baddest Poker Beat Ever!

We’ve all been there – having that one hand that you’re sure you’re going to win with so you say the three words every person at the table chasing hates to hear, “I’M ALL IN!”. Well I’m sure you all know what happens next so I am not going to dwell on that part. I was sitting at a low stakes table at the Daytona Beach Dog Track Poker Room and I got a Queen of hearts and a Ten of hearts. So I call and here comes the flop. Now I don’t remember what the suit of the flop...