Phishing and Poker Bots

Recently online poker players have been the target of phishing attacks. Phishing attacks use 'spoofed' e-mails designed to fool recipients into divulging personal financial information. It is estimated that up to 5 per cent of recipients of such mails respond to them. Another kind of cheating at online poker rooms is using a pokerbot. A pokerbot is a utility set up to play online poker and win a particular number of pots an hour. You just sit back and relax while the bot makes money in the poker rooms. However, pokerbots are banned in many poker rooms. So what do you do when you suspect cheating at the card rooms. The online poker sites have 24X7 help lines and email support. Just alert them. Poker Positions Texas Holdem is a positional poker game.

The later your position in a game, the more information you have about the other players. And your poker strategy depends on your position at the table. The dealer has the most advantageous position in poker. Positions at the poker table are classified into three: early position, middle position and late position. Early position is any of the first four places to the left of the dealer, middle position is any of the next three places, and late position is any of the next two or three positions. The late position includes the dealer position or button. The player immediately to the left of the dealer is the small blind, and must act first after the flop.

The big blind is the player to the left of the small blind. They are the ones who post the 'blinds.' The next player in the early position is the 'under the gun.' He is the one left of the big blind, and is the first to act before the board cards are dealt. The early position players do not have much information about their opponents and must be more selective with their hands. This positional disadvantage will continue throughout this hand. On the other hand, those in the late position are more privileged. They have the privilege of watching other players betting/raising and have better information with them to decide if they should play or fold.

The dealer has the greatest positional advantage

As for the dealer, he is the most privileged player at the table. The dealer's position gives you the benefits of observing how the other players are betting. It also enables you to adjust the size of the pot. A bet by the player in the dealer's position could potentially double the size of the pot. This is because the players have already committed to one bet, and it's easier for them to commit to more. These are the positional advantages.

But there are some positional advantages and disadvantages that come to you depending on who your neighbors are at the table -- whether you are sitting to the right or left of loose or tight players. Which is why it is important not only to select the table you play, but also to select the seat at the table you have decided to play. See 'What Players To Play' for more details. Your strategy for any poker game has to take into account your position at the table, and the type of players at your table.

Happy gambling! Bluffing @ Poker "You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time." Bluffing makes poker exciting. The idea behind bluffing is to make your opponents believe you have a better hand than you actually have. Bluffing in poker is living on the edge. Novices love the flow of adrenalin that bluffing triggers, and tend to bluff too often.

That's when they are being plain stupid. And like the adage too much of anything isn't a good thing, too much of bluffing isn't good either. But how much is too much? The effectiveness of bluffing depends on the circumstances in which it is done. And these circumstances will include the information you have about your opponents. There are not definitive reasons or places to bluff in poker. And if you have not been caught bluffing ever, it is simply that you aren't doing it often enough! Remember, victory goes to those who dare and act, not to the timid!

When should you bluff?

There are no fixed rules here. However, since the aim of a bluff is to deceive your opponent the thumb rule here should be to bluff when your opponent least expects it. Or don't bluff when everyone is bluffing and bluff when no one isn't. What matters here is what your opponent thinks, not what would make sense. Bluff when your opponent wouldn't even imagine in his wildest dreams that you would bluff. Remember, bluffing only pays when you get away with it.

Now, here are some typical reasons to bluff in poker: When there aren't many other players. Because it is easier to trick a couple people than a dozen. When you're up against tight players. You can bluff early to gather information about the other players' hands. When you are in late position and everyone else has checked. Bluffing here can force some players out, but not all.

You can bluff when you have bet pre-flop and missed. Your opponents don't know you missed. If you have just won a game with a nice hand, you can try bluffing with a not-so-nice hand. Act as if you've got a similar or better hand. When you're pre-flop on the button, everyone else at the table has folded, and you have tight players to your left you can bluff. With luck you may even get a really good hand. These are only a few situations in a Texas Hold'em game when you can bluff. But the, you need to read your opponents well and take a decision to bluff or not to. Also, remember not to do it too often. Your ability to pull off a bluff depends on your ability to surprise your opponents.