More women than ever are playing poker. There have been many accomplished female players over the last couple of decades. Players like Kathy Liebert and Annie Duke have had won millions of dollars and WSOP bracelets playing poker tournaments. Jennifer Harman regularly plays in the biggest cash games in the world, with the likes of Doyle Brunson and Barry Greenstein.

Today there are some new female pokers on the poker scene. The biggest name isn’t even old enough to play in tournaments in the US. Annette Obrestad has been a dominant online player for a couple of years, and she has already won over $2 million and a WSOP bracelet in last year’s WSOP Europe. The win moved her straight to the top of the WSOP women’s all-time money list.

Beth Shak has only been playing poker for four years, but she has won $390,688 over seven cashes in that time.

Good poker sportsmanship starts with respect. If you play respectfully you won’t breach etiquette by playing out of turn, or by talking about a hand that you’re not in. If you’re respectful, you’re not berating other players after a hand because they made a low-percentage move and you ended up getting the bad end of the stick. You would realize that you want to be playing against players who make low-percentage moves. You would let weaker players stay that way, and not point out their faults to them during play.

You would also realize that poker is a gambling game and percentages are only estimations, and losing when the odds are with you is not a reason to behave negatively towards other players or dealers. You would also understand that taking extra time to show winning cards is called slow-rolling, and is only performed by the biggest of poor sports.

One can only imagine the pressures of playing a final table in a televised poker event. Between the pressures of trying to win a big payoff and the fear of being on public display, it’s no wonder that the seasoned pros often win these battles. These high-profile situations require that the players often stop play for technical reasons, so the taping crew can get things right and interviews can be done. So getting into a rhythm is usually impossible.

If that’s not enough to get to you, playing under the heat of the lights can wear down anyone’s resolve. You also know that your cards will eventually be seen by everyone, so you don’t want to look like a donkey to the world if you play a stupid hand. All you can do is to take on all these obstacles the same way you take on your opponents.

Titan Poker wants to step into the upper echelon of online tournament poker. One of the fastest growing poker communities has guaranteed a $2M event this coming March. It will be one of the biggest online tournaments this year, and Titan hopes it will attract lots of new players to their site. Players will be able to buy-in directly or qualify through sit and go and multi-table satellite tournaments. They can start to qualify for as little as $3+0.30 and work their way up until they win a seat.

This follows Titan’s regular big-event schedule that has more than $10M guaranteed each month. Titan just finished its $1M freeroll event that paid out 20 lucky qualifiers, and they continue to provide satellites to all the big live tour events. Titan players will be sent to the Aussie Millions, Irish Open and the South African Poker Open this month.

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.

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.