Poker Reviews

Do you play Poker? Do you watch Poker on television and wish that you were sitting at the table with the famous Poker players (and of course wining the big money)? Have you always wanted to play Poker, but don’t know how or don’t have anyone to play with? Guess what. You can play Poker on your computer. You may have heard about computer and online Poker in the past, but didn’t get around to installing it on your computer. Well, now is your chance. Read on as to how you can become a Poker guru through computer Poker games.

Poker is a card game of skill, strategy, and luck. The exact origin of Poker is unknown. There are many theories as to the beginning of the widely popular card game. It has been theorized that Poker began in China several centuries ago. Despite the hazy origin of Poker around the world, it is fairly easy to track the popularity of Poker throughout the United States.

The first Poker games played in the United States were in the Southern city of New Orleans in the late 1800’s. Steamboats traveled up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers while passengers tried their hand at Poker. The thrill and excitement of Poker took the United States by storm as it spread by wagons and trains.

Poker comes in many variations such as “Texas Hold ‘em” and “Seven Card Stud”. This variety makes Poker a robust, interesting card game. Celebrities have always been fans of Poker, but in recent years they have taken this interest to the world of television. For example, BRAVO network has the “Celebrity Poker Showdown” in which a group of celebrities plays Poker for the cameras. They have Poker experts that give hand by hand commentary as to the skills and mistakes of the Celebrities. It is fascinating to hear the Poker experts dole out their observations while the celebrities make witty comments.

Poker, more then any other card game, centers on reading your opponent’s body language and facial expression. A quick twitch of the eyebrows or a blushed complexion can let an experienced, observant opponent know whether you have a winning or losing hand. Therefore, a straight face known as a “poker face” is necessary. I have often wondered if the celebrities, specifically actors, would make the best Poker players because they are masters at controlling their emotions and expressions.

Online Poker and computerized Poker games have become a popular activity in recent years. Poker players can test their skills without the need of physical opponents – they can just play against the computer or online. Many Poker players use computer Poker games to learn how to play Poker and to practice their Poker skills.

Luckily finding PC Poker games through the internet is really easy. Grandmatrix offers a host of Poker games including: Best of Poker and Chris Moneymakers World Poker Championship. Grandmatrix has 18 Poker games to choose from! You could become a Poker master by playing these games. Learn and practice Poker through these games and then head to Las Vegas to win some money!

The sign up bonuses codes that are given in the game of Poker are known as Poker bonus codes. At the time of joining a poker room, that alphanumeric code is required to get the bonus. Poker bonus codes are of two types

The sign up bonuses codes that are given in the game of Poker are known as Poker bonus codes. At the time of joining a poker room, that alphanumeric code is required to get the bonus.

Poker bonus codes are of two types

The first one is the bonus code that is used at the first money deposit in an online poker room.

This poker bonus code is given by the poker room to a player who has not used that Poker room before.

Almost all poker rooms ensure that no one gets the poker bonus code more than once, fooling the poker room by signing up again with a different user name.

It is better to search information about the best available poker bonus codes before making a decision to join an online poker room and making the first deposit. The poker bonus code can be used to get the free cash. Information about the different poker bonus codes of different poker room can be found by going through some “Poker Reviews” sites. There is a number of websites that offer this free information. Moreover, if a person joins a poker room from that site, it also gives additional bonus. Once a person has joined the poker room, the bonus code is accepted automatically in the poker room and the free cash is given at the time of first real cash deposit.

The second poker bonus code is not always given. This poker bonus code can be used when a person is already a member of that particular poker room. This poker bonus code allows the player to get free cash at the time of next money deposit. The second poker bonus code generally has some restriction. With this poker bonus code, there are restrictions on the withdrawals. Also the restrictions can be on the raked hands. The restrictions do not allow the player to withdraw free cash or it may not allow the player to withdraw cash until the player has played a specific number of required raked hands.

Raked hands are used for the real money games that do not involve any ‘buy-in’ and instead of a set chip amount; the player needs to take the real money to the table.

The poker rooms want to entice the new gambler to join their poker room. So, almost every poker room offers poker bonus codes in order to attract new gamblers every now and then. Poker rooms actually want to make sure that they stay ahead in the competition and do not want to loose new gamblers to other competitors. But there is a limitation on that poker bonus code too. Poker rooms have different maximum bonus limits. It varies from site to site.

So the Poker Bonus Code is a form of free money, so it’s a good thing to take.

10 years ago, Poker in Asia was a virtually unknown commodity and you couldn’t pick out a poker player from a crowd. Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t play the game, or at the very least, doesn’t know how it works.

While it was popular across America — specifically in California — and some parts of Europe, poker remained in the dark among Asian countries. For a long time, land-based companies have expressed interest in pursuing the Asian market but have been largely unsuccessful in part because most of these countries – with the exception of Macau – banned any form of gambling. As a result, poker remained a Western game, completely detached from the East.

10 years later and it’s a different story altogether.

It’s no secret that poker’s popularity experienced an unprecedented surge with the introduction of online poker. Not only that but broadcasts of the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour introduced the game to millions of casual viewers.

But most importantly, poker’s introduction to Asia happened because the countries slowly began to open its collective arms to land-based and on-line gambling.

The allure of Asia as a poker crazy region comes as no surprise considering almost half of the world’s population can be found there. China and India alone comprise almost 2.5 billion people when combined and that’s not even counting Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines — densely populated countries in their own right. With all these people starting to get familiarized with the game and the attraction that comes with it, it was only a matter of time before poker games and poker tournaments exploded in the region.

And now, to say that Texas Hold ‘Em, unquestionably the most popular type of poker, is being played everywhere is a vast understatement. Poker rooms are sprouting like full-blown seeds all over Asia. Macau, a baccarat-dominated country, is slowly beginning to experience the thrill that is poker. In recent years, it has hosted numerous poker tournaments including the Asian Poker Tour Macau 2008. Incidentally, the APT now has its very own poker room at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino.

Even in the Philippines, poker is growing faster than you can say, “All-In!” The country has hosted its fair share of tournaments not the least of which is the Asian Poker Tour. As a matter of fact, the success of last year’s APT tournament – which drew well over 316 poker players from all over the world – has resulted in the APT holding another tournament to kick off its 2009 season. The Asian Poker Tour Philippines 2009 will be held from January 27 to February 1, 2009 at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel and it is widely expected that some of the best poker players from around the world will participate in the event.

Asian poker players have also become instrumental in the propagation of poker in Asia. Some of the best poker players in the world, including Johnny Chan, Men “The Master” Nguyen, JC Tran, Nam Le, Steve Sung, Quinn Do, David Rheem and Kwang Soo Lee all trace their roots in Asia and their impact in the world poker scene hasn’t gone unnoticed.

With the meteoric rise of poker in Asia, it only seems inevitable that more and more of the future top players of poker will come from the region. It’s a testament to a game that only ten years ago was not even an afterthought. From the darkness of obscurity, poker has risen to become one of the most popular games in Asia.

With the way things are going, it’s a safe bet that poker is far from reaching its peak popularity and that’s good news, not only for Asia, but for the entire world.

Six nights a week at 2:00 a.m., popular NBC show Poker After Dark features the best professional players of the poker industry. Among them, 12 remarkable women stand out, bringing not only beauty, charm and style, but also talent, experience and confidence to the table.

We invite you to meet them and prepare yourself for facing their sharpness if you are thinking on participating in the show’s free-ticket promotion or if you are seriously saving up for paying the $20,000 buy-in the show requires. Our lady poker pros have been featured according to the number of years under the poker spotlight, from the stars with the most poker years to the more recent ones. In this article, we are honoring the women with most poker spotlight experience in the Poker After Dark cast.

Cindy Violette, 22 years

This poker beauty is the owner of a bracelet and 22 years of poker experience. A fan of card games since her childhood, Cindy worked as a blackjack and poker dealer before deciding to start career in poker. 15 years ago, Cindy took a two-year break from poker but returned because she missed it too much. Known as one of the best mannered players, she is also famous for winning mercilessly at the felt. An assiduous yoga practitioner, Violette says “you have to have balance in life. Poker can be obsessive and then it’s not good for you. You have to stay focused at all times; don’t get emotionally involved, and don’t let it take over your life.”

Dee Luong, 18 years

Born in Vietnam during the war, Dee learned from a very young age that she needed to always find the bright side of circumstances, and make the best out of them to survive. After moving to California at an early age, Dee’s attitude towards life drove her to pursue her dreams in Vegas, getting into the poker scene with the help of poke star Huck Seed, who gave her the tools to make it in the poker world. Since then, she has competed among the best in the game, and still continues to do so.

Jennifer Harman, 14 years

The first woman to win 2 bracelets in WSOP Tournaments, Jennifer has been labeled as the best female player and one of the best players in the world. Harman has more than 10 years of experience as a professional poker player, and her journey has taken her from bankruptcy to top success gradually. Therefore, there is not much Jennifer has not experienced and overcome in poker. She keeps her edge playing in live tournaments, where she says she learns and earns the most, and if you are still doubtful about this harmless-looking lady, you should read the chapter she wrote on Limit Hold’em in Doyle Brunson’s classic titled Super System 2 – according to some reviews, anybody who wants to get serious in poker should memorize it.

Annie Duke, 14 years

Owner of a bracelet and the respect of the poker community for over 14 years, Annie Duke is, according to Phil Helmuth, “the best all-round woman poker player in the world today.” After abandoning a career as a cognitive psychologist by dropping out from graduate school just before her PhD. dissertation, Annie got immersed into poker thanks to her brother, Howard Lederer. It paid off almost immediately, making her over $40,000 during her first full-time poker year. Today, Annie is part of the poker hall of fame, and anybody should think twice before sitting on a poker table with her.

Joanne Liu, 12 years

Born and raised in Taiwan, Joanne first moved to the United States to earn a master’s degree in computer science. Soon after landing a job in California as a systems analyst, she learned how to play poker in 1996, the same year she ventured to enter her first WSOP event, in which she finished fourth. From then on, conquering final tournament tables is a common achievement for Liu, who attributes her rapid success to the principles learned in Sun Tzu’s book The Art of War, her poker bible, which says a lot about how fierce this poker talent is at the table.

Kristy Gazes, 10 years

Leaving a career as documentary filmmaker, Kristy has been in the poker spot light for 10 years. Kristy began playing poker since the mid-80s, bluffing at casinos about her age to be able to bluff at the poker tables. She considers Daniel Negreanu and her ex-husband, Bill Gazes, as her most influencing role models. Having a notorious presence at the tables, she sits down not only to win chips, but to also demand class and respect for every player involved in the game. She hopes to retire in 5 years, but not before earning a bracelet, so beware of the bracelet predator for the next 5 years of tournaments.

Check out these beautiful poker veterans and learn from them 6 times a week in NBC at 2:00 a.m.

Next: Meet TV’s 12 Best Poker Night-Owl Gals, Part II: Newborn Poker Babes

Online poker room is a good place to test your basic skills and define the best live poker game playing strategy for yourself. At the Internet poker room table you would have to play against possibly more skilled opponents.

The first and the main live poker game tip on our list is: do your homework, study the basic poker rules, memorize all possible poker hands, visit Internet poker forums, read books on poker, chat with other poker card players.

Then try a few FREE versions of an Internet poker room game at our sister site: 3-hand, 5-hand, Caribbean Stud, Texas Holdem Poker, Video Poker. They all are fun to play!

Take full advantage of live poker game deposit bonuses at the Internet poker room you choose. Almost all Internet poker rooms offer deposit bonuses for new poker players, usually from $30 to $50. 

Place a limit on the money you are going to gamble with before you start playing live poker game.

When playing a poker game, analyze the playing habits and poker playing strategies used by your opponents at the Internet poker room table.

As a beginner do not play too many poker hands, you will be sure to loose. Play only the higher value starting hands.

With chosen low poker limits you can play live poker game for several hours for less than the cost of a movie ticket. So even if you lose a little, think of the expense as a small payment for a nicely spent evening.

Play online poker games at your present mastery level. If you are just a beginner poker card player, do not rush into Internet poker room tournaments, your time will come after months of improving your skill in numerous live poker games.

Learn how to fold a poker hand and when. Fold if you have nothing in your hand, do not be afraid to fold poker hands as many times as necessary.

Becoming a successful player by mastering the art of choosing starting poker hands, employing pot odds, and aggressively betting your winning hands.

Poker is a card game where players bet to win the amount on the pot. Players hold a card that hopes to have a winning value. The player that has the highest card value wins and is entitled to get the whole pot. Although this is the main principle of poker, there are actually lots of variations and names related to it. In essence, poker is a game of chance, where the players hope to get a good card value. While this is so, strategy is most of the time required to get the best result of the bet.

While there are people who play poker just for fun and experience, most of the enthusiasts do so for hopes of getting payouts from their bet. In other words, they tend to bet for more to get the chance to win. Nevertheless, just as there are high rewards for winning the bet, stakes are also high for loosing.

The popularity of poker has risen from the time that online poker was introduced. Players can play poker right from where they are. They don’t need to be on casinos or poker rendezvous. They simply have to log in poker sites and play along with other players online. Online pokers are then more convenient and anyone from anywhere can play it as long as they have Internet access and interest on the game.

There are plenty of online poker options to choose from as there are many websites that offers the game. Every website has their own promotional gimmicks, game offers, poker community, and other means to create traffic and interest to poker enthusiasts. While these options are available, it is beneficial to get online poker reviews from one single site. This way, those who want to play poker need not log in or visit each and every online poker sites just to evaluate if the site provides the poker game that the player is looking for. With just one site, the poker enthusiast simply have to read the poker reviews of different sites and choose which on the list is preferred and interesting.

One of the sites that provide online poker reviews is the Earn Poker Bonus. This site compiles poker sites and makes corresponding poker reviews for every poker sites. The reviews are unbiased and accurate based on what is the actual operation of the poker websites.

The online poker reviews of Earn Poker Bonus involve a lot of subjects about the poker website. The most common however, is the bonus that every website offers. Earn Poker Bonus understands that most poker players wants to win in the game and not just give away the money that they bet. So in making poker reviews, Earn Poker Bonus discusses which among the poker websites has the best bonuses offered as well as the best win and pay-outs.

Earn Poker Bonus provides a list of websites that offers the most common bonuses which are sign-up bonus, reload bonus, and no deposit bonus. The site can also offer online poker reviews on the website that offers poker games that makes one win often and which among provides a good value for the pay-out. These poker reviews can readily be seen in Earn Poker Bonus site.

When you mention poker, people usually associate this with the cowboys of the West. We imagine a set of grizzly and rugged cowboys inside a Wild West bar or saloon. One of the cowboys could be fiddling with his gun preparing to draw it up anytime until before the other had a chance to collect his winnings.

Some people might associate poker with businessmen. A group of high-rolling businessmen, those who lay down very large bets in some underground poker tournament or at the back room of an ultra high-class casino somewhere.

Good for us common men, the onset of online poker proved to be one of the best things to come out of the Internet. Good as it was, it made poker craze to spread beyond the mega-rich, the business-suited elite.

Due to the proliferation of a number of the best online poker site, they made possible poker-playing to beginners and novices. They made it possible for people to place modest bets from the comfort of their own homes.

Looking For The Best Online Poker Site

The problem of the beginner or novice is to look for the best online poker site available. When you are a beginner, you can be sure to have problems choosing the best online poker site simply because there are thousands out there.

Each poker site has something to offer that other poker sites do not offer. There are also poker sites that does not necessarily provide enough information to the beginner or novice, instead of learning, the beginner might find poker playing confusing.

A couple of poker sites or websites with information regarding poker sites are listed below for checking by the beginner. The poker sites below were chosen randomly and therefore does not necessarily reflect the option of the writer.

By actual testing of each poker sites, the beginner might have an idea of what the best online poker site should be. The best online poker site might just be one of these poker sites.

List Of Possible Best Online Poker Sites

1. Poker Pages

This website is focused solely on poker and has a chance of being judged the best online poker site. It includes an international directory of websites all about poker. In this website, you can see information regarding poker tournament schedules, poker rooms, poker strategies and tips, articles about poker, and more.

To check out Poker Pages, go to www.pokerpages.com

2. Card Player Magazine

This website offers the poker player an online publication of articles about poker tournaments and strategies. Likewise, it has a chance to be judged the best online poker site.

To check out Card player Magazine, go to www.cardplayer.com

3. Poker Forum

This website includes several information about poker. A discussion forum, the rules of playing poker, poker tournament schedules, poker book reviews, and much more. This is also a possible contender as the best online poker site.

To check out Poker Forum, go to www.thepokerforum.com

4. Play Winning Poker

This website includes articles about poker strategies, and various articles and resources about poker. This can be judged as the best online poker site.

To check out Play Winning Poker, go to www.playwinningpoker.com

5. Poker Top 10

This website boasts a collection of top ten lists that includes poker games, rules, and players. This is a serious contender for being the best online poker site.

To check out Poker Top 10, go to www.pokertop10.com

6. United Poker Forum

This website offers a message forum that is interactive. Aside from this, a bulletin board is available to discuss various poker strategies, the competitive events, the poker players, and all sorts of game variations.

To check out United Poker Forum, go to www.unitedpokerforum.com

7. Texas Hold’em Poker for Beginners

This website is also possible for being the best online poker site. It provides a Texas Hold’em and several general poker guides. It has poker strategies, odds, the rules, and much more.

To check out Texas Hold’em Poker For Beginners, go to www.texas-holdem-zone.com

8. Low Limit Hold ‘em

A possible best online poker site, it offers the beginner the various strategies of poker, the tactics, and a starting hand selection for all low limit games of Texas Hold ‘em.

To check out Low Limit Hold’em, go to www.lowlimitholdem.com

9. Serious Poker

This website offers the beginner or novice various poker articles, the reviews, and all available poker links. An online glossary is also available. This is also a possible choice by the beginner as a best online poker site.

To check out Serious Poker, go to www.seriouspoker.com

If you have been into a casino, chances are, you have seen or played with a video poker machine. For those who do not know what video poker is or for those who haven’t stepped inside a casino, video poker is one of those casino games that looks like and has a similar size like that of a slot machine. It is usually played on a computer console.

The earliest video poker machines were in the market in the mid 1970’s. It is basically a combination of a monitor that resembled that much of a television and a CPU or Central Processing Unit. In 1979, video poker came into the mainstream with the introduction of “Draw Poker”. Video Poker became popular in the 1980’s and up to now, different video poker machines are still being played in many casinos and gaming floors.

A game of video poker begins when a player inserts money or ticket into a video poker machine as a bet of one or more credits. After this, a “deal” button found in the machine should be pressed. This action draws the cards in the video poker machine. At this point, the player has an option to keep or exchange one or more cards for a new one from the deck of cards. After this, the video poker machine evaluates the hand. A pay schedule of winning hands is usually posted. If the hand matches one of those, then the video poker will offer a payout.

A pair of jacks is usually the minimum hand when a video poker machine starts the payout. The bases of payout allocations in pay schedules are the rareness of the hand and the overall speculated return offer of the game operator. Other players play more and bet more boldly for video poker machines that offer progressive jackpots for royal flush and other rare hands.

There are many kinds of video poker machines. Most of which that were created are variants of the original 5-card draw. These video poker games can be categorized into 2 kinds. These are the standard video poker and the multi-line video poker.

Standard video poker include Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, 10’s or Better, Aces & Faces, Joker Poker, Megajacks and 2 Ways Royal. These video poker games are usually characterized with the use of terms that have some adjective in the title such as “double”, or “triple” or “bonus”. Deuces Wild, which is the most popular among standard video poker machines, can be played where a two can substitute as a joker. In this video poker game a jackpot is paid as a natural royal or for four deuces.

Multi-play poker games, on the other hand, are video poker games where the player starts with a base hand of five cards. In this game, different set of cards with the base excluded from the set will be used to draw additional hands. Some of the multi-player video poker games offered include 4-Line Jacks or Better, 4-Line Deuces Wild, 4-Line Aces & Faces, 10-Line Jacks or Better and 25-Line Aces & Faces

The following are tips that can help you play and win in video poker games.

- For players who want to play progressive video poker, it is best to look for jackpots over 250 dollars on a nickel machine, 2,500 dollars on a quarter machine and 10,000 dollars on a dollar machine.

- you should play on a video poker machines that pay 6 coins for a flush and 9 coins for a full house

- Jacks should be reserved when playing video poker and you should remember that it is more valuable than the Ace.

- A strategy to get royal flush bonuses when playing video poker on progressive machines is to bet the maximum amount of coins.

- And lastly, like in all poker games, take your time. Study the hand dealt by the video poker machine before you act.