It is humbling to realize how much our basic functions can take control of our conscious minds. Remember the study of Pavlov and his dogs? This was a scientific study done on dogs where they would salivate at the ringing of a bell. A ringing bell meant food. No other sound meant food to them. This experiment has been tried with other animals as well, with pigeons, cuttlefish and mice to name a few. The same phenomenon occurs with them. Habit conditions them to believe that specific symbols or signs result in a specific event.
Moreover, additional experiments show that once an individual is thus conditioned, it will not learn what to a more developed mind, such as ours, may seem a variant of the same. That is, once a cuttlefish learns that a pink circle means food is coming and a blue spot means...
10 Jul
As poker players we have a lot of different goals when we play poker. Some of us play strictly for the fun of it. These players’ goal when they sit down at a poker table is to have a good time and share some laughs with their friends. They may have a couple of beers and a cigar and be completely happy if they walk away losing a few bucks. That’s OK as long as that’s the reason you play poker. Some of us play for money. These players’ sole purpose for playing the game of poker is to turn a profit. In reality most of us are some sort of combination of the two.
If, like me, you play strictly for the money than there are a few things that you should always be focused on. Moving up to the next limit and continually getting better at poker. If you continue to improve your...
9 Jul
It may sound obvious to some that playing any game with other people requires some basic sense of decency and poise. Well-designed software will usually bear the brunt of your aggression and impatience with saintly resignation and if your purpose for playing poker is to get rid of pent up emotion or to redirect frustration you had better stick to customized bot opponents. But it is surprising the amount of people who behave like bullies and hillbillies, sometimes in the belief that it is a manner of bluffing.
A lot about a person can be ascertained by his behavior, especially when involved with other players in a game of poker. The expert player comes off as focused and purposeful in his manner, even though he may be politely brisk. He is there for an honest, competitive game of quality poker....
9 Jul
Many people play poker on-line for several hours a day. These individuals are paying a fee, or rake, or each pot that they play. Individuals playing multiple tables or playing several games a day will find that the benefits of registering with a rakeback plan gives them an opportunity to make money while they play.
On-line poker sites calculate the rake for each pot in a game. This amount usually is 5% of the pot and caps out at $3 per pot. But, if a person plays many pots each day this fee can quickly add up. The fees can “rake” up fast. This is where the term “rakeback” came from.
An on-line poker site may figure the rake based on the amount of the pot and the number of people sitting at a table. Other sites figure the rake based on the actual people playing the game...
8 Jul
In the second half of the 14th century merchants introduced what was then commonly called “Saracen cards” into medieval Europe. Those who had survived the bubonic plague moved to cities, where they formed a new class of merchants and craftsmen – the urban bourgeois. Once the poverty and prejudice of the dark era eased, trade, guilds, and universities began to revive, and new scientific perspectives were discovered along with the time for leisure, play, and pleasure.
During the early Renaissance, books, cards, and paintings were manufactured by hand. A community of art and science appreciators formed and became the primary factor in the spread of card games across Italy. By late–th century many illustrated card-manual manuscripts had appeared in a number of key cities...
7 Jul
When information concerning an opponent’s hand is revealed by body language this is called “a tell” or “tells”. It is something you should learn to keep an eye out for, it’s a challenge and keeps you from fidgeting as well. It also may decide the outcome of game to your favor like nothing else. Systematic observation may yield invaluable insight and earn you cash. Watch for your opponent tossing their chips vigorously in the bank, licking their dry lips, glancing aside, or scratching behind the ear during a live game. To the uninitiated it may seem more like black magic than technique but many professionals rely heavily upon it.
Online, however, things look differently, to say the least. In fact, at first glance, you don’t seem to see anything. A photograph...
4 Jul
Professional poker players are constantly evaluating their game and that of their opponents. The best software for this is PokerTracker. Poker tracker will record every hand of poker that you play online and arrange them into a neat easy to use database to show you exactly how you are playing and, more importantly, how your opponents are playing. If the pros are using it you should too. So how does it work?
Your online poker rooms are automatically storing detailed histories of every hand you play on your hard drive. What PokerTracker does is import this history into an easily readable database. You can then compile whatever statistics are meaningful to you and use this compilation to shore up any weaknesses in your game.
The software also lets you see your opponents strengths and weaknesses...
1 Jul
Poker tables are generally built by using poker table felt and other poker table supplies. Most of the poker table tops are constructed with sheets of plywood. Some of these have rails and some have cup holders.
In some of the tables you will see that the covers are made of poker cloth whereas in some they are covered with velvets. In some of these tables, you will find designs that have few cases of beer placed in it. The people who love these types of tables can now purchase them that are made of leather and wooden materials.
There are generally three types of poker tables: round poker tables, oval-shaped poker tables (actually, rounded-edge rectangles), and octagonal poker tables. Foldable poker tables, which come with folding legs, are also available (e.g., Texas Hold’em poker tables)....
29 Jun
Some may think that the talent of unraveling what lurks in their opponents mind is the secret to playing poker well. It might also be considered that If one could attend a class or seminar on the science of the unconscious mind while indulging in games of chance that it would be a great help to their game. No way. If one was able to be taught how to read another’s mind and discover their various neuroses in the process, it would still be no guarantee of a win.
While strategy is a real and important element of poker, and is certainly more basic than psychoanalysis, it is still only one important tactic. Mindreading would certainly be an asset to wise play, but is this possible? It is in a way.
The best of players, as the best of artists, never required a manual on the subject of their...
26 Jun
Poker fans may enjoy collecting Poker Art, and there is a large enough industry churning out anything from Super Mario chip art to stylish monochrome photographs with titles such as Gunslinger and No Chance. Most of it, however, is primarily commercial products, with little or no nuance to entice the eye of a connoisseur.
With an eye fro the game’s complex aesthetics, the serious poker player may have a general interest in is poker in art when he is not challenging a worthy rival. Is there an existence of good art which is significantly related to poker?
Despite its immense popularity, worthwhile references to the game in art are rare and some admirers cherish them with the elite pride of the devotees of some wonderful esoteric practice. Poker in music, to my knowledge, features mainly...
25 Jun
