In this article we will look at two of the most popular forms of video poker including how you can reduce your risk through basic strategy, the house edge and where you can play these games online.

Deuces Wild Video Poker

Deuces Wild video poker is probably the most well known form of video poker in the world.  In this game the deuces are wild, which allows players to make much better hands.  In fact hands such as four of a kind are actually quite common and that particular hand only pays out 4 to 1.  Deuces Wild requires a very complex strategy, but if implemented properly the house edge can be reduced to only a few cents for every hundred dollars wagered.  That is a very small edge and if you can find an online casino that allows video poker play in clearing bonuses then you are on track to making a good amount of money playing video poker online.

The best casino I have found that allows you to play deuces wild online is definitely Bodog Casino.  Bodog is a great casino with tons of options for video poker games.

Jacks or Better Video Poker

Jacks or Better does not include any wild cards, but you only need to make a hand of a pair of jacks or better to receive a 1 to 1 payout.  If you use optimal Jacks or Better video poker strategy you can reduce the house edge to only $0.46 for every $100 wagered.  There are 36 rules you must follow to reduce the house edge by that much, but it is worth it if you intend to play Jacks or Better online for a long period of time.

Bodog Casino is the best place to play video poker online.  If you are really interested in taking a break from the virtual felt and want a more automated game that doesnt pit you against other real players then video poker is calling your name.  Visit Bodog Casino now to try out the video poker varieties.

There is one major difference between regular multi table tournaments and satellite poker tournaments.If you only learn one thing about satellite poker strategy then it should be this. Satellites pay out on a flat structure and regular MTT’s are always top heavy. This means that finishing first become irrelevant in a satellite tournament because players that cash all get paid the same. There are many times in a satellite tournament when the best strategy is to fold every single hand your are dealt, yes even pocket aces, to ensure you win your seat. You only aim is to qualify for the next tournament, winning the tournament is totally irrelevant.

Early on in satellite poker tournaments you are going to find that your table has two types of players, serious players and donks. Serious players are actually trying to win a seat by playing good poker, donks on the other hand are keen to gamble early on and are simply taking a shot at big money. Taking the get chips or get out attitude is actually more incorrect in a satellite than ever. Your aim is to qualify not to win the tournament. Yes accumulating chips early will give you a chance of making the money but your tournament life is more important in satellites than in a regular MTT.

Towards the bubble is the most important time in any satellite tournament and is also one of the times when most players get their satellite poker strategy wrong. Folding solidly for 6 orbits might get you into the money but there is no crime worse than blinding down and being forced to go all in. Remember everyone in the tournament is hanging on at this stage and you can exploit this. Aggression is key, use it to maintain your stack. Don’t go mental but identify the players at the table who are playing way to tight and exploit them, then identify the players who are trying to exploit the tight players and exploit them as well! Do not let yourself get blinded down to the point in which your preflop shove has no fold equity.

Don’t overlook the opportunities on offer in satellite poker tournaments. They are a great way to get experience in higher buy in tournaments. The EPT satellites or UKIPT satellites on Pokerstars are well worth a look if you fancy trying to qualify for some live poker tournaments. If online poker is more your thing then you can qualify for some of the biggest poker tournaments on the net at Pokerstars.com as well.

Firstly it’s important to note that calling stations are going to be among the most profitable players to play against. They usually have stats with low PFR percentages and a high VPIP. This is not always the case as some players are just post flop calling stations but for the most part calling stations will have a large VPIP and a small PFR.

The key to playing against players who call constantly is value betting. Learning when to value bet against these players is crucial and if you can master the art then playing calling stations becomes seriously profitable. Like anything in poker value betting is situational and it’s impossible to just sit here and tell you when to value bet and when not to value bet. However, we can reveal the key concepts of value betting vs calling stations so you can apply them when you think it’s correct to.

When you flop a hand that you want to be for value vs a calling station bet close to the full size of the pot. Calling stations are going to call regardless of if you bet 2/3rds of the pot or the full pot. This will allow you to gain extra value on all three streets.

You can even over bet the pot at any stage to gain even more value. Overbetting the pot is best saved for the absolute fishiest calling stations. Another important concept connected to value betting is getting three streets of value. Don’t be afraid to bet scare cards vs calling stations. Most of the time they will be clinging on to middle pair type hands and will still call you down regardless of whether the flush or straight just came in.

Aside from value betting it is important not to bluff calling stations. Once you have noted a player as a calling station you have no reason to bluff them. You know they are calling way to often so the success rate of your continuation bets and check raises will diminish substantially. Just wait till you actually have a hand and value bet them to death!

You should be extremely happy to see any calling stations at your table. Do not allow yourself to get frustrated with them and make every effort you can to get into as many pots as possible against them. Value bet them to death.

This article about how to play against calling stations was written by doovde who is currently promoting the Expekt poker bonus code on the ipoker network.

There are 5 differences and 5 adjustments you should make when switching from one to the other:

1. Tournaments tend to play with shallower stack sizes

In cash games, the blinds remain fixed and players usually buy in with about 100 big blinds. If they ever dip far below that, they can easily top off their stacks to be back to 100 big blinds.

Tournaments are usually played with much smaller stack sizes in comparison to the blinds. In an average tournament, each player starts out with 75-100 big blinds and it only gets lower from there.

Adjustment

In tournaments you have to play a more straightforward game. There’s not much room to maneuver after the flop so you should play your big hands hard and fast. Because of the smaller stack sizes, you’ll have low implied odds. This makes hands like small pocket pairs and small suited connectors poor hands.

In cash games, you can play a more patient waiting game. You can also play more hands before the flop because your opponents have larger stacks. This means you have greater implied odds and can play hands like small pocket pairs because when they hit, you can get paid off nicely.

2. The blinds continually grow larger in tournaments

The blinds are a constant presence in tournaments. They keep growing larger and eventually start to put a lot of pressure on everyone to accumulate chips quickly. This leads to shallow stacks and a lot of desperate all-in moves.

The blinds in a cash game stay at a constant level. Any time your stack gets low, you can simply rebuy and have another 100 big blinds to work with. There’s no pressure to make a move any time soon; all you have to do is wait for the right moment.

Adjustment

When you move from tournaments to cash games, you can place less of an emphasis on stealing and defending the blinds. While they are worth stealing when the opportunity presents itself, it’s not as vital in cash games as it is in tournaments.

When you move from cash games to tournaments, you’ll have to pay close attention to the blind levels at all times. A single increase in the blinds can cut your stack in half without a warning. You’ll have to work on identifying which opponents play tight and then steal their blinds as often as you can.

Your hand values will change drastically when playing in tournaments. In a tournament situation, you can easily find yourself going all-in before the flop with a hand like A9 offsuit because your stack is small and the blinds are growing. In cash games, this would almost always be a terrible play.

3. The structure of the tournament affects your strategy

You have to take more variables into consideration when playing hands in tournaments. Factors such as the payout structure, blind levels and the chance to knock out certain players all affect the plays you make and the risks you take in a tournament. Satellite tournaments and double or nothing sit and go’s change things even more because of their unique prize structures.

When playing in cash games, you only have to worry about making the play with the highest positive expectation. Even if you have only a small edge, you can make the play knowing that it’s profitable in the long term. If you lose the hand, you can always rebuy and keep playing.

Adjustment

When you play in tournaments, you need to take all those factors into consideration before getting involved in a big pot. In cash games, you only need to ask yourself if this is a profitable play.

4. Cash games are slow and steady; tournaments are swingy

Cash game players typically make their money at a slow but steady rate. Tournament players can go months without a major win and then suddenly take down a $40,000 tournament. It requires a completely different mindset when moving from one to the other.

It can get especially frustrating for cash game players who are used to winning money on a regular basis. An ex-cash game player can have a hard time playing great poker for three hours straight and then getting knocked out on a bad beat without receiving a penny for his efforts.

Adjustment

The most important thing you can do is adjust your bankroll to the new game. If you’re moving to tournament play, a generally accepted bankroll for tournament players is 100 buyins. It sounds like a lot but it’s necessary because you can go through long streaks without winning a thing.

If you’re moving from tournaments to cash games, you’ll want to have a no limit bankroll of about 30-40 buyins. You’ll probably want to lean towards the higher end of that as a new cash game player.

5. Cash games are flexible; tournaments are rigid

In a cash game, the players can come and go as they please. If you sit down at a table and have a hot run right off the bat, you can collect your profits and leave after playing just a few hands. Tournaments don’t allow you the same luxury. Once you buy in to a tournament, you’re going to be stuck there until you either get knocked out or win the whole thing.

Adjustment

The adjustment for this difference is based on pre-planning more than it is strategy. Make sure you know how long any upcoming tournaments could last and plan accordingly. If it’s a long tournament, make sure you’re well fed and well rested before you show up.

In cash games, you have the luxury of only playing when you feel comfortable and confident. You can stop any time the game goes south or you lose your concentration. Too many poker players stay in poor games for too long and wonder why they can’t win anything. If all the fish leave, don’t stay at a table full of regulars! Look for easier tables or call it a day.

The proper strategy for Razz tournaments is surprisingly similar to that of other tournament types. The basic idea is to play tight and straightforward early in the tournament and then slowly increase the aggression as the tournament wears on.

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Hand Selection

Hand selection is a critical skill in Razz tournaments because with the right hands you’ll win way more than your fair share of pots. As a general rule, you should try to only play starting hands that no worse than a 7 or 8 high.

This is a tight starting range but it will take you a long ways in Razz tournaments. Don’t be afraid of looking like a rock because you’ll still get plenty of calls when you play a hand. The tables shift around constantly and most of your opponents won’t be paying you much attention.

Early Stages

In the early stage of a razz poker tournament, you’ll want to stick to the above starting hand guidelines and play a straightforward game. The more you try to bluff and pull of fancy plays, the more you’ll risk busting yourself out of the tournament.

Bluffs are a bad idea in the early stages because most of the weak opponents will still be alive and ready to call. Even as the tournament progresses you’ll want to be very careful in choosing when to bluff.

Middle Stages

During the middle stage you’ll start to see the players tighten up as all the fish get knocked out and the tightwads batten down the hatches and hope to make it to the money. In this stage of the tournament you can loosen up your hand requirements just a bit start to amp up the aggression.

Look for tight opponents with medium sized stacks and attack their bring-ins whenever your hand appears strong. It doesn’t have to be a great hand in reality but if you show the right player a strong up-card and make a raise, he’ll probably fold. You’ll get all the antes, which is a good amount of chips.

Late Stages

The blinds are going to get a lot bigger and the stacks a lot shorter during the late stages of a tournament. At this point, it’s vital that you make as many well-timed steals as you can to stay afloat.

What you really do not want to do is get so short stacked that you have to go all-in on 3^rd street and pray. Try to keep up the pressure and prevent yourself from getting too short. If you do end up in a tight situation, however, remember that’s best to be the one pushing than it is to be the one calling. Don’t wait too long either – if your stack gets too short, you won’t get anyone to fold when you push all-in.

A maniac is a player who is extremely aggressive. They may raise with any hand dealt to them, re-raise any bet they face and will generally fold very few, if any hands. A players dream would to be seated with a whole table of maniacs, or sat at a heads up table along with one, but do how do you play against them? Loose, Aggressive?

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It will be a huge advantage if you are seated to the left of the maniac. Of course this is not an option if you are involved in a tournament, but if playing in a cash game try and ensure you are to the immediate left of the player. This is an advantage as you will have position on your opponent, meaning you will be able to view their actions before you make your decision on your play.

Most decent hands you are dealt will most probably be stronger then the cards your opponent will be raising with. Any A-X, pocket pair and Broadway cards are worthy of a re-raise as you will isolate the maniac meaning you can play heads up with the player.

The maniac may also change the style of the whole table, as players will loosen up to try and get into pots with the player. This can be an advantage for you, but stay away from pots involving too many players unless you have good implied odds. If a good player at the table raises the maniac whilst you are in the hand, you should only be willing to call with the top one or two hands, as any other hand will likely be behind already.

You have to be prepared to face big bets on the flop, turn and river. If your hand is not improved by the flop you simply cannot fold to a bet. If you have an A-x and are facing a large bet it will be worth a call as it is likely your opponents hand has not improved either, and your Ace high is leading. If you hit on the flop however, always fire out a re-raise. You do not want to play passively in case you allow the opponent to hit a winning hand, as you will lose a huge amount of chips calling and raising his bets.

So to sum up, when facing a overly aggressive player, you should try to sit to the immediate left of them and isolate them whenever possible with decent starting hands. When on the flop, don’t fold to any bet if your hand doesn’t improve and be prepared for the whole table’s style to change as a result of the maniac.

Let’s start with some basics:

2-7 triple draw is mostly played with a limit bet structure. Every player is dealt five down cards. His aim is to build the worst five card hand while straights and flushs are valid and the ace counts as high card only. So the best hand is 2-3-4-5-7 – a seven low. You can draw three times as many cards as you want. After each draw there’s a betting round.

Enough rules, let’s take a look at some 2-7 triple draw strategy:

It’s very important to select good starting hands. If you don’t do that you’ll lose a lot of money in the long term. So if you get dealt a hand like 2-8-T-Q-A you should just fold. Even though you can draw three times you most likely still have a bad hand and end up calling with the worst hand all along.

Instead you should play hands like 2-3-6-7-7 or 2-3-5-T-A. Those are hands with potential even though 2-3-6-7-7 may look worse than our 2-8-T-Q-A hand above.

Another important point is aggression! Aggression is so important but most of the players seem to ignore the benefit of aggression. If you play aggressive you can win the hand in two ways. Either your opponents fold or you get called but get a better hand later on.

Let’s say you have 2-3-7-9-A. Instead of calling you should raise with such a hand. It’s ok when everybody folds and you win a tiny pot. And it’s also ok when you get called because it’s likely to make some sort of hand after a few draws.

Another great benefit is that your opponents can’t put you on a hand and will pay you off when you got the goods.

2-7 triple draw is a very nice game where you can show good profits if you’re playing the right style. But there are some points you can’t ignore. Be selective with your hands you play and if you play a hand – play it aggressively.

Tip #1 – Play very tight for the first few levels.

For the first few levels you want to play very tight and only play your premium hands.  Playing tight will allow you to preserve your stack for the later stages and will also give your opponents time to take each other out.  You should try not to risk chips in this stage and only play pots when you think you are ahead.

Tip #2 – Try not to call in the middle to late stages

It is important to try to maintain your stack through the middle and late stages when the blinds start to get bigger.  To do this you should raise your premium hands or even your moderate hands in good situations and hopefully take down some blinds.  One thing you should not do in these stages is call raises.  You should be pushing all-in or folding to most raises at this stage.  Once the blinds get bigger it’s not worth risking a tenth or so of your stack to see the flop because those chips may be the difference between doubling up and bubbling out.

Tip #3 – Try to get your chips in when you’re ahead

In double or nothing sit and go’s coin flips are not beneficial to your cause, especially in the early stages.  The amount of chips that you might win is not worth the amount of chips you could just as easily lose.  This is because you can only win a maximum of double your buy-in, so the added value of a double up doesn’t equal the 50% chance of losing your entire stack, because even if you double up you aren’t guaranteed to cash.

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Tip #4 – Play tight at the bubble

In order to make the top half of the field you should stay tight at the bubble.  In double or nothing sit and go’s there are more players at the bubble than in normal tournaments, which decreases your chances of being the bubble boy.  For this reason it is smart to just play super tight and hope that another player busts.  Fifth place pays the same as first, so there is no reason to risk being eliminated in 6^th to take the chip lead.

Tip #5 – Survive with smart all-in moves late

If you are getting short stacked at the bubble you should try to move in from good positions to steal blinds and survive in the tournament.  You should go after the middle stacks who have enough chips that they feel they can survive until the cash, but have few enough that they are worried about you doubling through them.

The majority of the profit that can be made from double or nothing sit and go’s comes from the few wild players who do not understand the structure.  The players who will be the most profitable are those who are able to adjust their games through the various stages of the double or nothing sit and go.

The majority of bounty tournaments have half of your buy-in go to the prize pool and half become the bounty, but this can be different at different rooms.  For example at Aced Poker half of the buy-in becomes the bounty, whereas at Cake Poker 1/3 is the bounty and at PKR it starts off as half of the buy-in, but when you knock someone out you only win part of their bounty and part of it is added to yours.  Regardless of what structure the bounty tournament is, there are a few changes you should make to your strategy in order to increase your profits in these tournaments.

1. Knock out the very short stacks and win their bounties

When a player has very few chips it’s the perfect time to try to win their bounty without risking many of your chips.  If the short stack player goes all in from early position or is forced all-in from the blinds his bounty is up for grabs.  If you find yourself in the best position of having a strong hand when this happens you should try to isolate the short stack so that you are the only player with a chance at his bounty.  You do this by raising the pot fairly high so it is not worth it to others to play the hand unless they actually do have a strong hand as well.  You do not want players to get a free or cheap look and end up out drawing you and winning the bounty money.  You should probably try to isolate if you have a big pair or a big ace, as long as you don’t put yourself in too much danger.  A raise of maybe 5 or 6 times the big blind should be enough to keep the borderline hands out of the pot.  You don’t need to push all-in over the top and risk your stack.

If you are in the more common position of having about an average hand when the short stack is all-in you should do your best to see a flop and try to hit something.  If you have to call a raise you should take the bounty amount into account when calculating your pot odds.  This means you should call a slightly higher raise than you normally would in order to try to hit something on the flop and take down the pot and the bounty.  It is also important to remember that players will not be checking it down when there is a bounty in play, so just because someone bets after the flop doesn’t necessarily mean they have something good in this situation.

2. Double up through the big stacks

If you end up being short stacked bounty tournaments allow you a better opportunity to double up and get back into the tournament.  Since players are looking to collect your bounty they will be much more likely to call your all-in bet with a worse hand than they would in a normal tournament.  You should use this fact to your advantage by playing tight when you have the short stack and only pushing with very strong hands.  You can even start pushing a little earlier than in most tournaments; around the 15 big blind range would be a good spot to start pushing with premium hands.  Once you drop below 10 big blinds you should of course look for more opportunities to push and this may mean you have to push with a less than premium hand.  It’s just important to remember that you are more likely to be called when you push all-in in a bounty tournament and if you use this to your advantage you can move from short stack back up to average very easily.

3. Don’t go out of your way to win a bounty

Bounties are nice to win, but a first place cut from the prize pool is much larger than anybody’s bounty.  Your main goal in bounty tournaments should still be to win the tournament.  It is good to try for bounties when the opportunity presents itself, but you shouldn’t go out of your way, risking too many chips to win your bounty.  You should play the tournament similar to how you normally would play a tournament, with just the two minor adjustments listed above.

The huge difference between satellite tournaments and regular tournaments is that there is no difference in prize between every player who cashes.  All the winning players receive the same thing, that being a seat or a token to a larger tournament.  This difference can change your strategy in a few ways that we have outlined below.

See a lot of flops early on

As a rule of thumb, satellite tournaments have more fish than regular tournaments.  A lot of winning players don’t see satellites as a good use of their time, because you don’t actually win any money.  The fact there are a lot of fish means you should see a lot of flops early on and try to make a big hand to double up with.  That being said you should still only be making good calls from good positions and not wasting your chips.  Success in a satellite tournament is made a lot easier if you have chips early on.

Avoid coin flip situations early

You don’t want to risk your tournament on a coin flip early on.  IN most satellite tournaments your starting stack is of a greater value than half of a doubled up stack.  This is because the entire goal of a satellite tournament is survival.  Of course the degree of this changes depending on what percentage of the players in the tournament win a seat.

Late tournament big stack play

If you were able to accumulate a large stack through the early and middle stages of the tournament you should now be playing tight and holding onto the chips that you have.  Avoid confrontation with other tall stacks that can do harm to you.  If you have enough chips to wait out the tournament, then do so.  An example would be if you are in 5^th out of 22 players in a satellite tournament that awards 18 seats and you are dealt QQ.  The chip leader raised the pot from early position.  This is a time when you should probably fold this hand and just try to wait out 4 more busts.  Since the relative value of the extra chips you would earn by winning this hand is basically 0, there is no reason whatsoever for you to risk busting out of the tournament when you have enough chips to survive.

Late tournament short stack play

If you weren’t able to accumulate many chips through the early stages and are now one of the short stacks you need to try to win chips and avoid bubbling.  In satellite tournaments the best players to raise are the medium stack players who you can still do damage to and who are trying to wait out the last few busts.   You should be coming over top of their blinds from late position when you get the chance.  You should only go after the monster stacks and short stacks with quality hands.  The huge stacks aren’t really worried about winning a seat and will likely call just to try to finish the tournament faster.  Short stacks are in the same position as you and would be looking to double up with any good hand as well.