By Samantha Williams

Just because you are playing online poker, does not mean to say that strategy and in fact poker psychology does not apply. More than one big name in poker has been made because of the fact they learned to play online, won a competition and were sponsored for participation in one of the large money World Poker competitions. Online poker sites hand out these large sponsorships as prizes and many of them sponsor entire competitions.

Such a prize generally consists of buy-in or a seat for a specific championship game level, accommodation and additional cash. There is big business in online poker, both for the poker pro and for the poker room!

There are many variations of this game, Pai Gow Poker, Seven and Five Card Stud, Omaha and Texas Hold`em to name a few. Texas Hold`em is one of the more popularly played games world-wide and features in most of the big competitions.

When playing online poker one of the things you don’t have to worry about is the proverbial poker face. Professionals call this “tells” and these are habits which the player may have that provide their opponents with clues regarding the hand they are holding. Knowing these prepares any player for the game in any situation, so making sure you don’t give away behavioral or physical reactions when you play is very important. It may be difficult to control this in a life situation if you only play online poker. So if you have dreams of becoming a pro poker player, make sure you get out there to play also.

You can get some great advice about poker tells online from many of the professionals but remember in this game there many exceptions to the rules, and experienced players may even display false tells. It is all part of poker psychology!

Have you ever wondered why so many poker pros wear sunglasses or peaked caps with the peak pulled down? It is so as you can’t see their eyes, apparently the eyes never lie, and if you know how to read the eyes, you have an edge on the game. A big hole card is hard to resist looking at for longer than is necessary, also it is very difficult to look someone in the eyes for longer than is necessary when being dishonest. Poker is after all the only card game you can win without a winning hand!!

Facial expression, bluffing that you have a weak hand when you have a strong hand, anxiety signals, trembling hands, posture and attitude are all poker tells, and as we said before this doesn’t matter to the online poker player. But it will if they win buy-in to a big competition; this and many other skills will count, because poker is after all a game of skill.

By Samantha Williams

If you want a game that is good clean fun, can be easily learned and is even able to make you relatively good profits, choose Black Jack. This has become one of the most popularly played casino table games and this is not surprising; it enjoys huge popularity in casino Mecca’s the world over.

Simple, yet with a certain aura of mystique, everyone wants to know how to play a good hand of Black Jack so they can have a good time. Having a good time in a casino, whether off or online, generally means winning.

Although chance figures largely in this game, there is also an element of skill required. Unlike hi-lo and other games which are guessing games, certain decisions must be made in Black Jack in order to win a hand against the dealer. In other words the player has more control of the decision he makes in order to win. It is this element which gives the player a certain influence over the outcome of the game.

Play your cards right and have a chance of winning some real money; this is governed by the fact that the game is played against the dealer (house) and not other players. If other players in the game lose, this does not necessarily mean that you lose, what matters is the house hand.

The aim of this game couldn’t be any simpler, and the objective is to get a hand which totals the closest to 21. Face cards are 10 points while number cards are taken at face value. The ace is either 11 or 1 and this depends on the player – it is his choice. An actual Black Jack is a 21 points score and if this is made up of a 10 scoring card and an ace it cannot be beaten by the same score in a multiple card hand.

The wager is placed before any cards are dealt and all players beating the dealer are paid 1 to 1 or on the case of a Black ack 3 to 2. It is a fast game and can be played for relatively low wagers; iis also interesting and exciting and certainly doesn’t tax the brain too much.

Practicing your game at online casinos makes good sense, very low wager tables can be found and many of these casinos will allow players to try the game free first to get the hang of it. What is important however is to ensure that the online casino you choose is above board, this is easily achieved by using a reputable casino portal. They provide reviews, news and articles to help the new online player, and many will also provide a Black List of sites with bad reputations, so check this first and steer clear of any listed sites.