1. Ace of Spades by Motorhead is as upbeat as any gambling song I’ve ever heard.

2. Gambling Man by Mike Ness (Social Distortion), stay away from the girls, gamblers.

3. That Was a Crazy Game of Poker by O.A.R. is a good jazzy piece.

4. Ramblin, Gamblin Man by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band.

5. The Card Cheat by The Clash is a 50s inspired song by one of the greatest punk bands about a card cheat.

6. Gambler by Magic Slim and the Teardrops is a bluesy look at the lifestyle.

7. Waiting on the Cards to Fall by Guy Davis is another hard-luck blues tune.

8. Losing Hand by Ray Charles, don’t gamble with love.

9. Deuces Wild by Aerosmith not really about poker, but a good song.

10. The Gambler by Kenny Rogers. As much as I hate to, I’ve got to give Kenny his props for the “most known” poker song ever.

1. Read poker books and study the game. There are many levels of skill for poker; keep trying to improve and plug the leaks in your game.

2. Learn bankroll management. Play in the proper cash games and stick to tournaments that are less than 15% of your bankroll. You need big money for big games.

3. Document your play and keep notes of your results. With enough notes you can determine the situations that cost you money and correct them.

4. Learn to adapt to the table. Use player types and betting patterns to learn how your opponents play. Then adjust to counteract their play once you understand their style.

5. Learn to deal with tilt and negative results. Poker is a gambling game with a win/loss variance. You’re guaranteed to lose some times; it’s a part of the game. Learn to control your emotions when you’re losing.

Playing on tilt is a bigger leak than most players think it is. Even if a guy has a couple of bad habits he can still make money on a good poker table. But if you’re the type who reacts adversely to negative results by playing with an “I don’t care anymore” attitude, you could be losing at a very inflated rate. If you record your playing results, you’ll see that it’s the most costly of playing situations in which you’ll find yourself.

Tilt occurs before all of your money is gone, and usually when a player has lost about 60% of their stakes, leaving lots of money left for a comeback or the next session. If you stay on tilt, any losses you incur will be 100% your fault. And will continue to be until you learn to alter your outlook, or reality, when this situation finds you.

Sometimes, when you’re looking at your cards, do you see this? Nothing but junk? We hear ya.

Junk Hands are pretty much useless, but if you don’t know what they are then you could be in for a world of trouble. Here’s what to look for:

They usually include only one face card, a weak ace paired with a crap low card. For example: A, 2 unsuited, 2, 7, 10, 7, K, 3 and J, 8 etc. Sadly, in a game of Texas Hold’em the majority of hands you’ll end up getting will be nothing but junk. My advice? Muck them preflop. If you don’t and you decide instead to play these cards, you’ll only lose money.

There are, however, a few situations were playing junk cards can work to your advantage. But before you get ahead of yourself and think that you can bluff your way out of every junk hand that comes your way, understand that these strategies require discipline and patience. When you are in late position, for example, and you’ve got a table of limpers, this may be a good time to limp in also with your junk hand. Still, be careful of flopping a big hand or you may end up on the losing end of a large pot.

Here’s another situation that may work for you…steal the blinds. If you are in late position and no one ahead of you has entered the pot, you can raise and hope to steal the blinds. However, if the blinds re-raise you — fold.

Keep in mind that when you play junk hands you also run the risk of putting your table on tilt.

There has always been an endless debate on table talk. Does it help or does it hurt? Talking at the poker table can be used as a method to extract information from your opponent. We see many top players such as Dan Negreanu and Joe Hachem use this technique with documented success. It can be seen over and over again how players can give away far too much information during a tournament in what appeared to be an innocent conversation only to have it used against them later.

Many players consider poker to be a “social” game where meaningless banter is OK. However when listening is a skill of poker then you must then realize that poker is not a “social” game. Information is harvested by observing cards, chips, and people. When people start to talk at a table this is just another way of picking up that valuable information. Do you ever remember your parents saying, “you couldn’t hear me because you were too busy talking?” Those are some true words.

Remember when you should always have your radar up and running listing to any kind of relevant information that might lead us to getting our opponents chips. This is why it’s extremely important to always be aware of what others are saying, what you’re saying and who you are saying it to.

When ever you’re playing poker, on of the most important things you need to remember is try to read your opponent. In order to know how you need to play you need to know what’s going on around you.

Here’s a list of 6 types of players you will come across with a run down of how to notice them and how to adjust your play to come out on top.

1. The High Roller
This player has an unlimited bank roll and is looking for a good time. Winning or loosing usually has a minimal effect on their psyche. Their playing style is usually extremely aggressive and will usually attempt to use their bankroll to push players off a hand.

2. The Recreational Gambler
This player often shows up after payday, with a goal of having fun and maybe getting lucky. They usually play fast and loose when losing or winning, but even faster and looser when winning.

3. The Properly Bankrolled Player
This player is unhampered by financial considerations, as a losing session will have minimum effect on them financially. This player is usually solid and plays optimally to their skill level.

4. The Gentlemen Gambler
This player is skilled and has a great deal of experience at the table. They tend to be a though opponent, and usually plays only good starting hands. They also tend to be overly tight, so you can usually put them on a relatively narrow range of hands. This player hates to lose, but not because of the money.

5. Scared Money
This is a player who is solid at a limit below the limit they are playing, but is playing at a limit where a loss will put a serious dent in their bankroll. They are usually a “pick a hand and go with it” type of player.

6. The Overly Bankrolled Player
This player takes the game of poker seriously. Much like a high roller their financial losses have no effect on them however; losses will often have a strong emotional effect on them. If this player goes on tilt, they are likely to try to run over the table like a high roller.

Confusing an opponent is not a tough thing to do in the game of poker. There are countless ways that you can project a false image to an opponent. You can act a certain way early in a session and then change the way you’re playing after you think everyone has a read on how you play. You can employ tactics like making semi-bluffs on drawing hands so it looks like you’re protecting a lead instead of chasing a draw.

To confuse an opponent properly you should have an understanding of how they play and think about the game. Once you know their habits, you can counteract that by making it look like you’re giving them what they think they know about a particular situation, when you’re actually doing something else. And change up the way you play your hands; don’t repeat betting habits that will be noticed by your opponents.

When a poker tournament is getting close to the money there are some strategies to keep in mind. Most players have the mindset that they are going to wait for the money before getting serious in a hand. Aggressive players will take the opportunity to steal blinds and pots because players are temporarily playing scared. Making larger-than-average bets pre-flop will be a high percentage move, especially against players that you’ve profiled as tight.

On the occasion that someone does call your bet, it’s important to notice their stack size as compared to yours. If they have less than you, you can force the action and perhaps force them out of the hand. If they have more chips than you, your entire tournament is on the line and you don’t want to get knocked out on the bubble. And remember to get back to regular play once you money.

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.

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?