If you’re collecting your first sign-up bonus, you may be surprised when you sit down at your computer and log in only to find that your $150 match sign-up bonus is not available to you for play. Don’t worry. Just because the money is not part of your regular online bankroll doesn’t mean it’s not in the system. To get your bonus, you have to clear it. And this can give you a sizable addition to your bankroll. Maybe you know the texas holdem rules and have adapted a poker strategy that already makes you a winning player. If that’s the case, a bonus becomes some extra money in your pocket.

Clear a bonus

Clearing a bonus means playing a certain amount of time on the site before they release the bonus into your account. This is to avoid players getting the sign up bonus and immediately withdrawing the sign-up money without ever playing, using that extra money for their own purposes or to play on another site. The clearing requirement assures that the online site offering the bonus will get their money’s worth.

You clear your bonus by playing a certain number of raked hands. The number of raked hands is usually determined by the size of your online poker bonus. For example, if you have $150 in bonus money coming to you, you may have to play 150 raked hands to clear it. You do not have to see a hand until the river for it to count. As long as you are dealt in and there is a flop, it’s a hand toward clearing your bonus.

At one time, you could not work towards clearing your bonus through tournament play. However, some sites, looking to draw business, have done away with this restriction, allowing players to work towards clearing their bonus in tournament play the same way they generate player points (player points are part of loyalty programs that nearly every site has, where continued play generates points that can be used for bonuses like free merchandise and exclusive tournament entries).

Cash out a bonus

Once your bonus is cleared, you can use it for whatever you want, whether that means continuing to play with the money on your site, or withdrawing it for your own personal use. If you want to know how close you are to clearing a bonus, you can usually find a link from the online poker site menu directing you to account information that will show you how many raked hands you have played towards your bonus and how many you have to go.

Current Promotions at Duplicate Poker

• Duplicate Poker World Teams Championship. This is a live event, to be held in the fall in a major venue. 36 players will form 6 teams of 6 players each, and compete for $120K in cash prizes.
• 100% sign-up bonus, up to $300. We are growing fast, and so we’re offering you this amazing deal. Don’t miss out on this time-limited opportunity! Deposit today!
• $3 in Free Play. That’s right, just to try us out

Note: South Carolina residents will no longer be able to participate in cash-based fee games. If you have any questions, in regards to legality for the state of South Carolina, please check your state’s website.

On the other hand, some “new” coaches aren’t new at all. Veteran head coaches that are simply changing cities do not figure to make winning an exhibition game a high priority.

Other “Play ON” situations involving head coaches in the NFL preseason:

* A team with a new head coach or assistant that was previously with his new team’s current opponent. This situation is especially strong if the coach left with a bitter taste in his mouth and/or his new team is an underdog. These coaches know their ex-team and ex-players very well, and if the schemes they left behind are still in tact, they will have a a huge gameplanning edge.

* A team with a coach that is gameplanning for his opponent. Most coaches don’t do this for a preseason game, but if a coach is studying films of an opponent’s schemes and plans plays to attack those specific schemes, he is playing to win.

* A coach that has a rivalry with another coach and wants to beat him. When there is bad blood between 2 coaches, expect an extraordinary exhibition game between them.

* A coach in a historically strong preseason situation. Some do better at home, on the road, as an underdog, or even a favorite.

* A coach whose job is on the line. Coming off a poor year and on the hot seat, such a coach will tend to be more motivated than one who knows he has job security.

Finally, play ON a coach that is gaining an advantage for his team by not adhering to the preseason “formula” which is as follows:

Game One - Starters go a couple of series or about one quarter; top backups into the second half; then mostly reserves, rookies and free agents the rest of the way.

Game Two - Starters go most or even (or all) of the first half; backups deep into the third (or early fourth) quarter; reserves the rest of the way.

Game Three - This is usually a team’s main dress rehearsal for opening day. Starters play one-half to three-quarters of the game, backups most of the rest of the way; reserves see action depending mostly on the situation.

Game Four - This is often a “throwaway” game for coaches, who are usually much more concerned about their opening-day opponent than they are about this practice finale. Starters often play only a couple of series or so; maybe less; some maybe not at all. Any key players with nagging injuries will be held out. Backups and reserves play the majority of the game, with promising youngsters getting one final chance to win a spot on the roster.

Some coaches like to start out the preseason with a win, and then look at their players in the other games. Some like to get 2 wins before relaxing and looking at players. Some may use the 2nd game as the regular season dress rehearsal instead of the 3rd. Some coaches may feel it’s very important to win the last exhibition game for the sake of momentum.

An example of taking a coach’s approach to a preseason game came in a previous matchup between New England and Arizona. The Patriots were 3′-point home favorites. In giving our nod to New England, our GAMEDAY INVESTMENT e-LERT STAR SELECTION noted:

“Matt Leinart makes his NFL debut Saturday night, when the Cardinals travel to Foxboro, Massachusetts to play the Patriots. The USC Heisman Trophy winner ended a prolonged holdout by signing a contract earlier in the week and is expected to play the second quarter here in relief of starter, Kurt Warner. Leinart will compete with John Navarre for backup quarterback…

…While Leinart may indeed have a long and productive career in the league, he figures to be in way over his head here. He’s had little time to practice with Arizona and has never even attended an NFL game. Making a rookie debut on the road against the Patriots, who love to confuse opposing QBs with various schemes and blitzes even in the preseason, is not a recipe for success. New England’s defenders will be very motivated to give Leinart a rude welcome to professional football.

Getting Leinart a crash course in game experience is obviously the goal for Dennis Green here, and not necessarily winning the game. The Cardinals enjoyed a huge win last week, as they christened their new stadium with a victory over the Super Bowl champion Steelers. Usually, a win in the preseason allows a coach to feel zero pressure the following week, and he can look at players, which is the case here.”

Indeed, Dennis Green threw Leinart to the wolves in a way that he certainly would not have in a regular season contest. The Patriots devoured the rookie and the rest of the Cardinals, winning a 30-3 laugher.

Again, If you can find a mismatch in how two teams are approaching a preseason contest, you’ve probably found a golden opportunity.

24kt Gold Online Casino boasts the biggest payouts and odds that beat Las Vegas. Add to this more than 50 games with 30 slots of all descriptions, and back it up with the terrific PlayTech casino software, and you have a real winner.

I think these are the most beautiful casino games of any casino, and the range of slots is astounding - everything from 3 line to 9 line slots, and the now-famous million dollar slot machine.

Did I forget to mention the 200% new player sign-up offer that let’s you triple your bankroll to play and win? Or the weekly cash-back and deposit bonuses that they give to every single player every week? No need to jump anyone’s claim here, there’s comps and rewards for everyone.

A real highlight is their world-class 24-hour live customer service - smart and friendly reps, and fast fast service.

24ktgoldcasino.com offers it all, and more. Whatever you do, make sure you try they BlackJack Switch - where else can you switch cards to make a better hand?

All in all, if you really want to strike gold at your very own Las Vegas at home, this is definitely the place to play. It’s the motherload of online casinos.

This is one first-class online casino in every respect, and it’s highly recommended.

1. Big Easy does it.
The first U.S. casinos appeared in New Orleans in the 1820s after the city legalized gambling and began charging $5,000 for casino licenses. The city used the fees to fund education and a local hospital.

2. Paradise lost or found?
The first real casino on the Las Vegas Strip, the Pair-O-Dice Club, opened In 1931. Of course, back then the Strip was simply known as dusty old Highway 91.

3. Gam-tastic
Legendary gangster and Vegas visionary Bugsy Siegel named his Las Vegas casino the Flamingo after the long legs of his showgirl sweetheart, Virginia Hill.

4. And speaking of Bugsy…
The pit boss, who controls the casino’s table gambling area, is so-named because once upon a time the person running the show was a real boss–a Mob boss.

5. And speaking of legs…
The longest-running casino floor show in Las Vegas is the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana. It opened there in 1959.

6. Pocket shocker
Not that the casinos don’t trust their employees or anything like that, but dealer costumes/uniforms usually don’t have pockets in their shirts or slacks.

7. Here’s the deal
Casinos introduced automatic shuffling machines at blackjack tables to speed the game. Because: More hands = greater profits. A shuffling machine results in 20 percent more games played per hour.

8. A pretty nice tip
One of the world’s largest slot jackpots to date is $34,959,458, won in the year 2000 by a cocktail waitress at the Desert Inn Resort in Las Vegas.

9. The big, big money
With casinos thriving throughout Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and the South Pacific, precise worldwide gaming income is difficult to pin down, but the take totals in the hundreds of billions.

10. Making it big
The new Borgata Resort Casino & Spa in Atlantic City has a price tag of $1 billion. That’s a helluva lot of nickel slots.

11. Location, location, location
The more than 200 casinos in Las Vegas attract some 33 million visitors a year. In contrast, the former Portuguese colony of Macau in China has only 11 casinos, but the bustling destination attracts about one-third as many visitors as Nevada’s gambling Mecca.

12. The big money
Vegas’ annual gaming revenue is $6 billion per year. Atlantic City kicks in another $3 billion as part of the annual U.S. total of $50 billion.

13. Key of C stands for Casino
The musical cues and any incidental theme music in casino slots are usually in the key of C. Research has shown that this key fits in best with the casino’s general hubbub.

14. Gimme five
A casino will often leave an empty $25 limit blackjack table open, rather than changing it to a $5 table that would be sure to draw a crowd. It’s simply economics. Casinos have figured out that a full table of seven $5 players will earn them half as much as two $25 players. And a single $100 player would earn them much more–and much faster.

15. The glass ceiling
Two-way mirrors in casino ceilings conceal hidden cameras, which zoom in on any customer winning more than $1,000, just to make sure everything is on the up and up.

16. More Casino Candid Camera
You are on 24/7 video surveillance everywhere–from the parking lot, to the casino, to the hotel, to the pool to the lounge. Everywhere, that is, but in your room. And yes, casino restrooms are under video surveillance. They must be really worried about cheating at craps?

17. Really Big Brother.
Atlantic City’s $1 billion Borgata Resort Casino & Spa has more than 1,700 surveillance cameras.

18. You want chips with that?
Did the Earl of Sandwich invent the buffet line? Not exactly. But the inventor of the much-loved food item that now bears his name is said to have invented the whole “roast beef on toast” thing so he could eat with one hand and gamble with the other.

19. Faster, faster
Nor does casino management use its “eye in the sky” surveillance just to spot cheaters. It also performs “game-pace audits” to ensure that dealers are keeping the game moving fast enough to maximize profits.

20. Chips
If you want to take a casino chip home as a souvenir, feel free, but make sure it’s of a low denomination because it may be worthless when you return. Casinos reserve the right to change their chip designs at anytime.

21. Atlantic City altruism
Casinos in New Jersey don’t allow the Big 6 and Big 8 sucker bets that are scrawled on craps table in most of the rest of the world. (The table bet pays off worse odds than just making a place bet on the same number). Jersey is obviously trying to earn a squeaky-clean rep, but it’ll take a long time to banish the memory of Tony Soprano.

22. Time to lose money
True: There are no clocks in Las Vegas Casinos.

23. Breathe easy
Also true: Casinos reportedly pump in extra oxygen to make visitors feel better and gamble longer without getting tired.

24. Bright lights, big city
Get your glow on: The Vegas strip reportedly has more than 15,000 miles of neon tubing.

25. Rats, I’m lost!
Maybe you’re amazed, or maybe you’re just in a maze. Casino’s meandering pedestrian paths are specifically designed to keep you slightly disoriented yet always close to the action.

26. Coinless slots?
One of the latest tech crazes in casinos is ticket-in/ticket out paying of slots and other games. Instead of inserting coins, you buy in with bills or a paid casino card, and cash out with a paper ticket. If you win a big jackpot, you don’t have to wait for the attendant. If you lose, you can just slink away.

27. Watching what you spend
Casino’s in Missouri use a ticket-in/ticket out system and bill validators (games that suck in your bills like a change machine) to ensure a two-hour loss limit of $500. So, for once, Big Brother is watching out for you.

28. That’$ entertainment!
Although gaming is still king overall, many casinos in Vegas make more than half of their money from the shows.

29. Oh, the Zumanity!
Las Vegas’ New York New York casino spent $50 million remodeling its showroom for Cirque du Soleil’s erotically themed Zumanity show.

30. A titanic show (and take)
Celine Dion receives $100 million plus half of the profits from her three-year engagement at the 4,000-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Vegas. The second balcony “cheap seats” will set you back about $80, and prices top out at $225. The $95 million theater features a 120-foot-wide stage and the world’s largest video screen.

31. Who, who are you?
According U.S. News and World Report, casino players have a median income of $41,000 and a median age of 47 and wager an $25-$100 per casino visit; 45 percent of the players are male, 55 percent female.

32. Child’s play? Not!
The legal age to gamble in the U.S. is 21. Some casinos may look the other way and let kids under 21 play, but they never let them win. Usually, if an underage player wins any jackpot, and definitely a jackpot over $1,200 (which requires them to record it for the IRS), the minor will be shown the door but not shown the money. Which makes underage gambling just about the worst bet there is.

As you use particular tactics to the roulette wheel, you should learn what you need to know to boost your odds of winning dramatically - and with better odds, the more you should win.

As I was scouring the Internet hunting for a fascinating roulette wheel strategy I came across a computer program identified as RouletteSniper. I signed up for the 60 minute complimentary test software that the RouletteSniper site offers you and analyzied it out. I couldn’t trust how closely, just the test version was predicting when I should bet. Within the first 11 minutes I gained enough money to really pay for the RouletteSniper application.

I’ve trusted winning with Roulette Sniper over the previous 3 weeks and I know it should be the world’s greatest beneficial software in the universe for beating the roulette table. I’m not gonna to show you the income that I make playing with RouletteSniper, but I will tell you that it kicks a$$.

One advice that I recommend with RouletteSniper is to use conservative defaults, but increase the high/low values by about five numbers. Depending on what online casinos you play in, this will most likely influence the chances of lucky opportunities you get but definately will increase the number of chips you rake in, so it is recommended to choose an online casino where you can remove the animation.

As usual maintain smart money management strategies when playing at the online casinos and you will win and stride away glamorously.

It is a good idea to avoid tie bets altogether, since they give the house a significant advantage which can be estimated at around 20%. Hence, by sticking to only the banker and player bets, the house advantage will remain at a minimum, thereby maximizing your chances of winning.

Understanding Pot Odds

Pot odds are pretty simple to understand. When you need to decide whether to make a call, you have to consider how many chips are already in the pot. If you need to call a $10 bet and there’s $100 already in the pot, then you’ll have 10 to 1 pots odds. These odds are quite favorable. Pot odds alone aren’t going to help you make a decision on whether or not you should bet. If you want to make the most informed decision based on your pot odds, then you need to consider your hand odds as well.

Understanding Hand Odds

When you examine your poker hand odds, your aim is to figure out what the likelihood will be for you to hit your hand. To start, you need to calculate the number of outs you have (based on the number of cards that are in play). Let’s say that you’re holding K J and a rainbow flop (all unsuited cars) comes out Q 10 7. In this drawing hand, you’re goal is to hit the straight. You can make a straight if a nine or an ace comes out on the board. Since a card in either direction will help you, you have an open-ended straight draw.

Now, what are the odds that you will hit your straight on the next card? Well, there are four aces and four nines in each deck of 52 cards. Out of 52 cards, you have eight possible outs. There are already two cards in your hand and three on the board. That leaves 47 cards in play. Of those 47, eight cards will help you hit your straight and 37 cards won’t. By dividing the number of cards that won’t help you (37), by the number of cards that will (8), you’ll be able to determine that you have a 4.8 to 1 chance of not making your straight on the turn card.

Conclusion

If the odds are 4.8 to 1 that you won’t hit your straight, then the pot has to be at least five times the amount of the bet that you have to call. Your pot odds have to be greater than your hand odds for you to make the statistically correct call. If the pot odds are greater than 5 to 1, go ahead and chase your straight.

For betting, structures vary but with most games, a new game would begin with two players to the left of the dealer, placing their bet, which is known as “posting the blinds”. After the dealer shuffles the cards, each player would be dealt two, face down cards, or “pocket” or “hole” cards. The round of betting starts with the player to the left of the two that posted the blinds. This round is called the “pre-flop”. During Texas Holdem, players would be able to check, raise, or fold.

When the betting round ends, the top card of the deck would be discarded by the dealer, which is known as the “bum card”, as a means of eliminating cheating. Then, the next three cards of the deck are flipped over, an action called a “flop”. Another round of betting would begin with the player seated to the left of the dealer. When this finishes, the dealer would burn yet another card, flipping one more card onto the table, which is the “turn” card. This sixth card is what players could use when making a five-card hand.

Next, the players to the left of the dealer start another round of betting. The dealer burns another card, placing the final card face up on the poker table, the action known as the “river”. Any of the five cards on the table or the two held in the hole can be used to make a five-card hand. For the final round of betting, the player to the left of the dealer would start bidding. Any players still in the game would show their hands, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. This player has the option of calling, an action referred to as the “showdown”.

The winning pot goes to the player with the best hand. In the case of more than one player having the same winning hand, the pot would be split. Keep in mind that in this game, you only want to play strong hands that can support a raise or multiple raises that come from an early betting position. If you have a medium strength hand, then you would play in later positions for the best chance of seeing a flop at a decent price. However, the strong hand should be played most often and aggressively.

Additionally, in Texas Holdem, you want to take as many raises as possible. You also want to eliminate some of your competition, increasing your chance of winning. Then, an aggressive play before a flop will add credibility to a strong play that you might consider using on the next round in the case of a garbage flop falling if you want to steal. If you have a lot of action and potential for a flop is high, be prepared to fold your high pair.

To improve your chances for beating the game of Texas Holdem, you might use any of the following strategies: * Keep your eyes open for uniform flops. For instance, an 8 7 6 could be turned into straights relatively easy, which could overpower your high pair or any other good hand * For bluffing, allow yourself to be caught on occasion so you are no too predictable * When you have a two-way draw, play aggressively * Suited flops with a potential for making a completed flush should be played with caution. In this case, hold the nut in the suit, have two pair, or trips that can fill * Whether playing hands or not, study your opponents to determine if they are bluffing often, are they playing more hands than they fold, or do they behave in a certain way that discloses the type of hand they are holding * Do not draw to the low end of a straight. For example, if a 9 8 7 flops, instead of playing the 6 5, you should play the Jack 10.

* Before the flop, fast play strong and high pairs to increase the size of the pot early while encouraging garbage or weak hands to fold instead of hitting a lucky flop and thereby winning While some Texas Holdem strategies require time to become comfortable with, in time you will respond to the various hands without much thought. Texas Holdem is fun, competitive, and a game that can be beat, using the right strategies. While Texas Holdem can be played at standard casino tables or online, you will also find this game to be a popular tournament choice.

But unfortunately this excitement is probably responsible for more losing hands and leaving players with empty chip stacks than almost anything else in the game of poker.

Excitement at a poker table is normally a bad thing. When people get excited - and when I say people I mean poker players in this case - they usually make bad decisions. They allow their normal level of poker discipline to drop and make crazy, irrational moves that can cost a big pot or, worse still, their whole chip stack.

Discipline is all about making decisions and sticking to them. If you are a tight player, you need to decide what hands you will play and have the self discipline not to waver from your decision. The most important part of that is knowing when to lay your cards down, especially when they look very tempting and you are itching to stay in the hand to see what happens.

It’s as old as the hills but it’s still as true today as it ever was; you need to know when to fold ‘em. Even if you have a hand that looks like a monster, it can always be beaten and the bigger and better the starting hand, the harder it is to fold.

Dangerous starting hands that cause a lot of people to lose their poker discipline and cost them money are those such as A-10, A-9 or worse, Q-J, K-10. If you catch one of those in early position (that is when you are at the start of the betting) you should almost always fold them, there are just too many hands that can beat you.

Although it’s probably about the hardest to master, poker discipline is one of the key skills that marks out great poker players and sets them apart from the rest of the pack, so decide on your strategy and stick to it.

Article Source : http://www.love-texas-holdem.com/

Tagged: Poker, Holdem, Discipline