3 Card Brag Betting Strategies

March 13, 2011 - by Bulldog · Filed Under Bulldog Poker Strategy Comments Off 

With the many different formats of 3 Card Brag, it is very difficult to provide basic 3 card brag strategy guides to suit all versions of the game. The betting system for live 3 Card Brag makes strategies such as continuation betting and bet leveraging ineffective, and tight aggressive 3 Card Brag players may find that the antes which are charged at the beginning of each game negate their profitability.

By the same score, loose players will find fixed limit “draw” 3 Card Brag too constraining for their betting and bluffing styles. With so many hands having the potential for positive conversion during the exchange of cards, a lot of players will try to get to the draw as economically as possible and then take down a bluffers hand if they connect on the exchange.

3 Card Brag betting strategies are largely going to depend on the format of the game which you are playing, and it can often be in your best interests to find a 3 Card Brag style which suits your method of play and then stick to it. Below are some general tips (rather than specific strategies) to help you get more from playing 3 Card Brag.

“Live” 3 Card Brag

  • Make sure that you and all the other players have a common understanding of what rules, antes and betting limits you are applying in the game.
  • Always pay attention to what cards have been shown when playing with an unshuffled pack. This will assist you with betting decisions in later hands.
  • Remember that pots can increase in value rapidly, so work out in advance how much you may have to put into a pot to “see” another player (usually double the bet) and plan your betting actions accordingly.

“Draw” 3 Card Brag

  • When you are dealt a premium “made” hand, you need to make it as expensive as possible for players with “un-made” hands to get to the draw.
  • Conversely, if you have an “un-made” hand, with a good potential for conversion, you want to get to the draw as economically as possible.
  • One strong similarity with other forms of poker is the priority in which you should determine your betting action. Position comes first, what you know about your opponents comes second and only then should you consider the value of your cards.

General 3 Card Brag Advice

  • Make sure you are familiar with the 3 Card Brag hand rankings as they differ from poker inasmuch as a run (straight) beats a flush and a running (straight) flush is dominated by a prial (three-of-a-kind) even though it is harder to achieve.
  • Play your cards blind whenever possible in the first round (draw) or early rounds (live) of betting. It enables you to gain more knowledge about your opponent’s hand strengths without investing a great deal into the pot.
  • Vary your play. If you become too predictable, players will fold their unmade hands against your betting actions (75% of hands are unmade) or bet into you if you are displaying signs that your hand is weak.

Final Words On 3 Card Brag Strategy

Memorize and use these 3 card brag strategy rules to increase your winnings. 3 Card Brag is an exciting and fast paced game which can be both enjoyable and lucrative. If you find that you develop a long losing streak, or feel that you have been unlucky in a protracted sequence of hands, avoid increasing the amount of your betting action to try and win your money back, as this could only make things worse and result in you playing “on tilt”.

Define Your Poker Strategy When Playing at Online Poker Sites

March 11, 2011 - by Bulldog · Filed Under Bulldog Poker Strategy Comments Off 

How to Make Your Poker Strategy Work

The are many different poker sites on the Internet and that means that poker players have a lot of choices when it comes to finding a site that’s right for them. Once you do find the poker room that meets your criteria, you’ll need to apply your poker strategy. Of course, that means having a strategy and adhering to it.

Here’s a consideration of how to choose a poker site and also what type of poker strategy you can employ to increase your chances of winning.

Your Poker Room

This is what your poker room should have so that you can use and improve your poker strategy.

  • Games that you want to play
  • The right stakes
  • Instant deposit methods
  • Ongoing tournaments, sit and gos and cash games
  • A range of players from fish to sharks

The checklist is designed to ensure two things—that you can play to your strength and that you have plenty of choice. Both are important. You don’t want to play at poker sites that limit you.

Types of Poker Strategy

There are various types of poker strategies that you can use. Some players are aggressive all the time. Others sit back and play a very conservative game. Other players focus a lot on position and play that to the hilt.

But these players are not really playing a true poker strategy. They are actually engaging in a certain style of play. That can work to a degree but it can also work against you. Here’s how to think of poker strategy and how to develop one that works.

A Way of Playing Poker

A true poker strategy acknowledges that the game of poker has a lot of ups and downs, and that players must, as it is with any game, adjust their play to those ups and downs. That means that sometimes in a game you may want to play aggressively, that is when you have good cards, and other times you want to be conservative, as in when your hole cards are weak.

Here’s how to play a solid game of poker no matter what the situation is.

  • Play strong hole cards such as high pairs and suited face cards.
  • After the flop adjust your play accordingly. Great hole cards may be destroyed or helped by a flop.
  • Be sure to analyze each player’s style and their present betting pattern.
  • As the cards on the table change take into consideration what the other players may be holding.
  • Don’t risk too much on weak cards.
  • Watch out for changing situations, the check/raise and other such developments.
  • Play your position, using strong positions appropriately.
  • Keep totally focused throughout each hand.

Go with the Flow

The best poker players know how to milk each hand, getting as much as they can out of every situation. They also know when to fold and save their cash for the next hand or the hand after that. A true poker strategy takes into consideration the fact that you’re playing a game where situations are constantly changing. It’s your job to find the best poker sites at which you can play and to then play the cards you are dealt properly.

Washington State Poker Sites Do Still Exist

March 11, 2011 - by Bulldog · Filed Under Online Poker Articles Comments Off 

What Poker Rooms Are Accepting Players From Washington?

Over the past few months, poker players in the State of Washington have had a tough go of it. It’s as if they’ve hit one bad beat after another. First, the state started to enforce a law that prohibits online gambling, and then online poker rooms started to turn away players from the state.

Then the State Supreme Court upheld the law that makes online poker playing by residents a Class C Felony punishable by up to five years in jail and a $10,000 fine. And with that more poker rooms pulled out. But the good news is that there are still Washington State poker sites for players.

Here’s a quick look at a few that are still accepting players. For how long, who knows? But the good news is that these three sites seem to be in the mix for the long run.

Bodog Poker

What’s great about Bodog Poker is it offers numerous deposit options, a great signup bonus and plenty of fish. You can get 100% on an initial deposit of $1,000 from what is one of the most trusted poker rooms on the Internet. Plus, Bodog also offers a premium sportsbook. Be sure to read our review and to use our links to get this huge bonus.

Lock Poker

Lock Poker is still open to Washington State poker players and they are offering a 200% bonus on up to a $1,200 initial deposit. This site has decided to take players from the state under its wing. Of course, in doing so they reap some great benefits. This is a solid site.

Ultimate Bet Poker

The Ultimate Bet brand is yet another trustworthy entity. They offer a 100% bonus on up to $1,100 and are actively seeking players from the state. This is an attractive and well-rounded Washington State poker site. Checkout Ultimate, they could be right for you.

Be Vigilant

Poker players need to be vigilant when it comes to Washington State poker sites. New poker rooms may open up and others may close. Keep up on the news and monitor the Internet for developments regarding any sites at which you’re playing. There may not be a lot of choices, but there are some good ones.

iphone Casino Overview

March 7, 2011 - by Bulldog · Filed Under Online Poker Articles Comments Off 

These Mobile Casinos Look Great and Play Fast

The iphone Casino is relatively new to the mobile gambling market. There are various casinos that owners may access, all of which are the result of a partnership between Spin 3 and Microgaming. This is good news for iphone users due to the fact that Microgaming is one of the leading creators of online casino table games and slots.

Table Games

Once you download one of the Microgaming casinos that may be accessed via the iphone, you’ll be able to play various standard casino games, such as roulette, blackjack, craps and baccarat. There are also special games such as bingo, casino horseracing and more.

The iphone casino table games take every advantage of the innovative phone’s exceptional picture. There is nothing like iphone’s graphic display. Its richness actually makes casino games more exciting to play. Plus, the device’s touch screen gives users the opportunity to partake of their favorite games with ease. You don’t have to bet money; you can have fun and play every table game for free.

Slots

Of course, players can enjoy great slots from Microgaming, including Mermaid Millions and Tomb Raider. You can also play one of the most popular progressive online slot machines in the world—Mega Moolah. This progressive’s jackpot often reaches and goes well beyond $1 million. Being able to play various exciting slots that offer high payout percentages and huge jackpots make the iphone Casino a real winner. By the way like the table games, you may play all slot machines in the free play mode except for progressives.

Bonuses and Banking

The bonuses for those who play casino games on the iphone range from $50.00 to $5,000.00. Those who use the iphone casino application will be happy to know that banking is exceptionally secure as sites use some of the most respected deposit methods known, including Neteller, UKash, Click2Pay, and Debit/Credit Cards.

Poker and the iphone

There are various sites that now offer poker for the iphone. Switch Poker is one site that you can access to enjoy poker on your phone. Overall, playing poker using your phone is less convenient than betting with it at a casino. That’s because at this time there are very few direct mobile applications. However, it seems that users may also play poker by logging onto Mac sites via their phone’s wifi connection. I haven’t tried this myself, since i do have an iPhone, but no Mac computer, so i can not say too much on that subject. It’s expected that eventually more iphone poker applications will follow.

iphone Casino Makes Playing Easy

Apple computers, ipods and iphones are all about convenience and ease of use. The iphone continues to be an industry leader. For those who love playing casino games or poker and are also intimately connected to their iphone, this is a marriage made in heaven. Now iphone users can play anytime they would like.

Poker Tips and Tricks to Watch Out for

March 7, 2011 - by Bulldog · Filed Under Bulldog Poker Strategy Comments Off 

Here Are Five Essential Poker Secrets

Maybe you’ve been losing more than winning, but you’re not quite sure why. You’re quite sure that you’re a fairly smart person who should be able to take down other players. But more times than not, you’re a poker players who’s finishing out of the money. Here are five tips and tricks that every player needs to know in order to start winning consistently.

Poker Tips and Tricks

Some of these poker tips and tricks are useful and some should simply be avoided at all costs. There are some tricks that may look great in the movies or on TV, but they can often sink you and your bankroll faster than the Titanic went down in those cold North Atlantic waters. However, there are also some poker tips that you can take to the bank.

Tip/Trick One: Bluffing

I’m not sure how to say this more plainly—do not bluff when playing poker. That does not mean you should not play your position. You should do that. But being in the dealer spot with middling cards and betting when all others have folded up to that point is not bluffing. That’s using your position. If someone goes all-in after you bet and you do too—that’s bluffing.

Bluffing occurs when the poker player pushes the betting to extreme limits with the knowledge that they are holding nothing. This is never good. Why is it not good? Because the people you are bluffing may very well know that they have you beat and will simply meet your bluff and then reveal their high pair, three of a kind or flush.

Tip/Trick Two: Check/Raise

This is one to watch out for and to use when the time is right. The check/raise occurs when a poker player with a superior hand, let’s say pocket rockets, checks instead of betting and then meets any bet someone makes after they had originally checked. On the next card, the player checks again. This time when someone bets, they may raise that person a bit. The point is to keep the aggressive player in the game. On the final card, the player may check and then when the other player bets really answer with a high raise. To use this technique when playing poker, you must be sure that you do hold a better hand than anyone else.

Tip/Trick Three: Chat Box Chatter

Some people will use the cat box in an attempt to throw off a player. It may or may not work. A smart player simply shuts off this distraction. Anything that takes you out of the game is bad and chat certainly has the potential to do just that.

If you use chat, do so at your own risk. It can backfire in many ways.Taunting, being belligerent and insulting another poker player is not only rude but it could get you banned from an online poker room. Be professional in play and temperament.

Tip/Trick Four: The Tilt

You’ve just lost a sizable amount of cash and so you decide to cast all sense to the wind and push the betting out of frustration, anger and sheer spike. This is a trick that you are pulling on yourself. For some reason players think that this will simply make them win the hand. It won’t. If anything, a poker player should sit out the next hand if they are feeling emotional and get their focus back. That’s a poker tip to always follow.

Tip/Trick Five: First Hand Hole Cards All-in

You see this a lot in poker tournaments. It may or may not work. I’m not a big fan of this. Even with a pair of Aces in the hole going all-in on first hand hole cards can backfire. If solid poker playing is about addressing each hand smartly, the decision to push the betting on the first hand is often not a good one.

This will result in one of three things:

  • Everyone folding and you taking in a small pot.
  • Another player or two going all-in and beating you.
  • Another player or two going all-in and you taking down a huge pot.

Two of the three outcomes are not desirable. And remember that although you may be favored to take the hand when you have two Aces in the hole as the hand develops another player, that one with a Two and King in the hole who pulls a King, Two, 10 flop, looks a lot better and now has better odds of winning.

Save going all-in for later in the game when you are tall stacked and the blinds are large. And even when you’re in that position, you don’t need to go all-in. You need to bet enough to make the other players go all-in. Bet what you need to and do not over bet.

That way if everyone folds, you’ve actually won something of value and if they stay, you may still have some cash to play with in case you do lose the hand.

Remember these Poker Tips and Tricks

When playing poker, you’ll be well served to remember these tips and tricks. It’s important to be vigilant when you play poker. If you’re not, you can find yourself out of the hand and even the game very quickly.

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