1. When playing Omaha Hi/Low Split your starting hand selection should have high hand and low hand possibilities, or you should muck them.

2. When playing seven card stud make sure you can beat what your opponents are showing on the board. You can also look to see if your outs are already in play. That will make draw decisions a little easier.

3. Take advantage of the plentiful satellite tournament action available online. Getting into a big tournament via a cheap satellite can make you rich, just ask the last six WSOP champions.

4. Only play starting hands where both hole cards are eight or less when playing Razz. You need a base to build a good hand in this game, so start with good cards.

5. Don’t get drunk and play poker. The same goes for pot or any mind-altering drugs. Intoxication always leads to going broke.

Born in Concord, New Hampshire professional poker player Annie Duke holds the women’s record for most “in the money” finishes at the World Series of Poker. Duke also has a brother, Howard Lederer, who is a professional poker player and her sister Katy Lederer, is an author and poet who made good on the Lederer family name by writing a book on the popular card game entitled “Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers”.

Also known as “The Duchess of Poker”, Annie’s education extends far beyond the realm of poker. Duke is a Columbia University grad (English and psychology major) but abandoned her academic studies to play poker in the male dominated poker rooms in Billings, Montana.

A lot of people probably don’t know that it was Annnie Duke who taught Hollywood actor Ben Affleck how to play and win at poker. (Ben Affleck took that knowledge and went on to win the California State Poker Championship in 2004.)

How does she do it?

Unlike most poker players, Annie Duke tends not to hide her emotions at the table and refuses to play in women’s only poker tournaments.

“Poker is one of the few sports where a woman can compete on a totally equal footing with a man, so I don’t understand why there’s a ladies only tournament.”

Aggressive and very adept at playing poker against other strong players, Annie Duke is an inspiration to female poker players everywhere.

When it comes to poker chips the average player probably doesn’t pay much attention to what they look like but girls who play poker might want to add a bit of “fun” to their game. So…in an effort to find some “fun” poker chips for the chicks out there…here’s what I’ve been able to uncover:

Lucky Lady poker chips: Very sexy!
Luck O’ the Irish chips: Very fun!
Star Wars poker chips: Very cool!

Bottom line for poker chips is quality and most pros will tell you that clay is best. Even the top casinos in Vegas use quality clay poker chips…so don’t cheap out. Plastic poker chips will speak to the kind of game you’re playing. But clay? That’s the real deal. Impress your friends with clay chips and they’ll think you mean business.

7 card stud is a complex variation of poker. Playing requires concentration and a lot of patience. If you are a beginner you will need a lot of help learning effective strategies of this game. Here are some tips that will help you claim the pot!

Only play live hands- This means that you should only play hands with the potential to improve. For example, your starting 3 cards are of the same suit, several other cards of this suit also appear on the table. This means your hand is probably not going to improve further, your hand is then said to be dead and should be thrown away. Alternatively, if only 2 of your suit cards are showing, you may have a chance to improve your hand in the coming rounds.

One or more high cards will add value to your hand- High cards play an important part of your game. Having a high card, say a K or a A, can do you good because it can be a good kicker card or if you pick up another K or A then you have a pretty heavy pair that has a chance to win the pot.

Beware of scare cards- These cards are either ones that improve your hand or will help you get another card that could improve your hand. At the same time be wary when your opponent catches a scare card. Make careful decisions on when you will call or raise a bet/

It’s usually worth it to go all the way- Yes, it is true that you should be selective of the hands that you play, once you enter the pot it’s generally right to go all the way even if you feel you don’t have the best hands. However if you know that its certain that you have a loosing hand you should fold immediately and not waste anymore money. If you’ve played your cards well and long enough there could be a lot of ways for you to win. How else will your game improve if you always resist going all the way?

A poker face can take on many forms. It can be much more than just an emotionless stare or a head buried under a hood. Card sharks will pick up on any slight difference in action displayed by an opponent, so inexperienced players are better off sitting still and making their moves with the same time interval in between each play. Try not to act strong when you’re weak, and vice versa.

The best poker faces are active ones which tell you lies and confuse the hell out of you so you make the wrong decisions. Guys like Tony Guoga and Scotty Nguyen are masters at misleading an opponent who is trying to pick up a tell on them. Scotty Nguyen won the WSOP Main Event when he said to opponent Kevin McBride, “You call this one and it’s all over, baby.” McBride called and indeed it was all over, baby.

Knowing your competition when you play poker can be the difference between winning and losing. Experienced players watch their opponents and remember how they play. They store this information for future hands when that opponent is in the same situation. Once you learn how an opponent plays, you can bluff at them when they’re weak. Or you can make a tough call when it looks like they’re bluffing into you.

You should at least be able to recognize when there’s a good player at the table. Not knowing where the sharks are will cost you chips. Knowing who the good players are will allow you to tread carefully when you’re in a hand against them, which will often save you a lot of chips. It also helps to recognize weak players. They’re easy money and you should be trying to isolate these players head to head with good cards.

It takes more than just a love for the game to become a professional poker player. It takes dedication, commitment, smarts…and time. you don’t become a pro overnight. So the first question you need to ask yourself is — how much time are you prepared to invest in this pursuit? A good second question might be — are you prepared to make the change?

The pros of turning pro

Let’s say you’ve been playing poker online for a number of years now and you’ve created quite a name and a reputation for yourself. You’re ready to take your game to a new level — beyond the perimeters of your monitor and into the “real world” of poker. You’re thinking the World Poker Tour or maybe the World Series of Poker. But are you ready? Do you have a specialty?

Most poker pros have one form of the game that they specialize in and in which they make most of their money from. So rather than trying to master all forms of the game pick one and make that your specialty. For example, let’s say Texas Holdem is your game…do you prefer to play cash games, tournaments or heads up Texas Holdem? And then there’s the level of the game to consider: do you prefer to play low limit or high limit Texas Holdem? Here are a few other questions to consider:

Are your poker skills up to par? Are you confident that you can go up against and beat other pros?
Are you prepared financially to take this up full time or is this a part-time gig?

The lifestyle of a poker pro may sound posh to some (the money, the glitzy surroundings, the jet setting and all that poker!), but the reality of the matter may be quite different. I’ve got a poker pro friend who complains about the long hours spent traveling and the loneliness that comes with staying in strange hotel rooms. Unless you’re accustomed to spending most of your time alone becoming a poker pro may not suit your extroverted and social lifestyle.

Do you hear Vegas calling your name? Once you’ve come to grips with what’s at stake — giving up your old life and leaving the comforts of home behind — you can make the leap and try your hand at becoming a pro!

The cons of becoming a poker pro

Poker is not a very social activity, especially if you’ve been playing poker online full time. Taking your game into the poker rooms at the Bellagio, for example, will expand upon your world but don’t let the chatter and clatter fool you — not everyone you meet will want to become your friend. Plus, another factor to consider? Poker can become very monotonous. Hand after hand…table after table…hotel room after hotel room…it all begins to look the same. And because you’re likely to stick to one type of poker game, even that can become boring after awhile.

Having said all that, if you think you’re ready to turn pro — then be bold and make the move! A word of caution: maybe start off by taking a short “leave” from your day job until you’ve built a nice nest egg with your winnings.

Knowing when to quit playing poker can take many forms. The most common situation you’ll be in when it’s time to quit is when you’re getting pounded at the table. If you’re not winning your share of the hands, and the players at the table seem to know every move you’re trying to make, it’s a good time to quit that game. Sometimes your style just doesn’t match up with the tempo of the table.

If you’ve been playing for hours and you suddenly find yourself playing a stagnant game, it’s time to stop. After enough hours of play anyone will begin to play a passive loose style. This style is rarely profitable and is certainly not the poker you want to be playing.

If I experience enough bad beats in a short period of time I will also quit that game, just to change the situation that I’m in.