Deepstack Poker Malta

Tournament organisers continue finding new ways to spice up the poker game. Just a few years ago it was a simple cash game or freezout tournament, but now we have so much more. Last week 120 poker players in Malta participated in a new style of poker called ‘Team Poker’. This is where players are allowed to change seats and dump chips with other team players. This week players in Malta have the opportunity to play another exciting poker game called ‘Deepstack Poker’. This means you are given more chips to throw around on your quest for all the chips at the table. Deepstack is quickly growing in popularity both online and live.

Deepstack Poker Malta

What is a Deepstack Poker Tournament?

In a deepstack tournament, players start off with more chips than they would typically get from a low buy-in game. Deepstacks are usually 300 times larger than the starting blind and some deepstacks could be as much as 1000 times the big blind. This allows players to feel they are getting more action for their money.

Why do many players like Deepstack?

More chips means, more hands dealt and a longer tournament. There is less luck in deep-stack tournaments, so good players should have more of an advantage.

Here are some Deepstack tips.

Having more chips enables you to take more risks and get creative with your poker play. Getting better value for your cards and stack means making looser calls. Calling with medium pair from the flop all the way to the river can usually be quite rewarding depending on the percentage of your stack you’re committing to. You should sometimes check raise opponents with a pair on the turn or river because having more chips gives you the chance to give your opponent a harder decision to call.

Although you have longer before the blinds squeeze you, many players tend to be more aggressive.

With so many players throwing chips on the table, it might take you longer to get good reads on your opponents and determine the right decision from the wrong.

Players are typically much better and more experienced than your typical €10 game. You’ll see a lot more bluffs and interesting plays. With such big stacks you don’t always have to follow the rules to do well, you have a lot more flexibility. Sitting at a deepstacked table is entirely different to sitting at any regular game, your play should now change to give you an advantage. Think of deepstack tournaments like poker on steroids: since players are “bigger,” most come out swinging and throwing chips at you.

Why do some players still reveal what cards they had while a hand is going on? Why be cocky and criticize? A few deliberately play out of turn. Profanity and obscene language! Do you have to needlessly stall the action of a game? Do I care what cards you had? Yes, I do, it helps. But it’s not right.

If you are new to the game, it’s fine. We were all there once, we understand.  Take note, this will help you start on the right foot.

Some things are not even against the rules while others could have you penalized. Following these tips will make you look like a veteran/pro in no time.

Things you should not do.

I should not reveal my cards while a hand is going on. Doesn’t matter if I had bad cards and it doesn’t matter if I folded. This is a horrible breach of etiquette. If you were not folding, you’re hand will be ruled dead anyway.  Why? Because it can give one player an advantage over another.

I should not be mean by criticizing an opponent’s play. I too can make mistakes, I am not the best player in the world.

I should not react to the cards on the table. If I folded and my cards would have made a great hand on the flop, I should not stumble back in my chair or bang my hand, letting everyone know that I would have hit that flop. Again, it can give some players an advantage over another. Read the rest of this entry →

In the short term, Facebook texas holdem poker is usually a game of luck. This is mainly because a large percentage of Facebook players depend on that lucky flop or the 6% outer on the river.  Over the course of a few minutes, even the worst player can hit a lucky streak and win a few million Facebook poker chips, but to consistently and win in the long term requires a whole other set of skills and principles that most beginner players simply do not possess and most advanced players sometimes forget. Here are a few key points to keep in mind for the next time you sit down at the tables hoping to win a couple of hundred thousand Facebook poker chips:

Zynga Shootout

Take full advantage of your big hands.

This rule sounds simple but it always amazes me how many players never learn it or just plain forget it when it comes to actually implementing it at the tables. Taking full advantage of big hands means, whenever possible, protecting your poker chip stack from hands that don’t offer much reward while taking the risk for pots that offer big gains. I’ve seen countless players chase hands that they had a very small chance of winning and all this for pots that were barely larger than a few blinds. Read the rest of this entry →

Here’s a handy little chart that beginners will definitely find very useful when starting out at playing Hold’em.  One of the questions that beginners seem to have when playing (and losing by the bucket-load) is “Which are the best starting hands“, or “Is this a playable hand?“.  Such confusion is not unwarranted, far from it….With so many possible combinations, and different starting positions, it’s normal that amateurs get confused.  The result of this confusion is that they end up playing more hands than they should, seeing one flop too many resulting in bigger and bigger losses.  This is where our chart will prove to be a bankroll preserver, by helping to tighten up one’s game, and playing only the correct hands from the correct positions.

Starting Hands of Poker

The Starting Hand Chart (SHC) will assist you to cut down the amount of trashy-hands you are playing. With the tight table image you will get from following this chart, other players on the table will respect your moves and you will find it easier to bluff and steal binds every now and then.

When working with the chart, think of it as a basic guideline for:

1. Newcomers,
2. Players who want to switch to NL Holdem
3. Players who are used to losing funds and need to reshape their game.

After you get comfortable with the SHC, feel free to venture out with your bluffing attempts, but don’t be too bold, and remember to ‘play close to home‘.  When playing, it is also extremely important to change gears and give your opponents different perceptions of your play in order to prevent them from getting a read on you.  So beware!! By following this chart alone, day in day out, others can know when and how to act if you are in the hand.  Moving away from the Starting Hand Chart (SHC) is crucial once you understand its mechanics and the reasoning behind it.

But as I mentioned before, if you are new to poker or are tired of losing money, and you’re constantly beating yourself up about it and thinking to yourself that you “Just don’t get it“, in that case, sticking to the chart is your greatest chance for long-term success. Given that most players have a problem of correctly selecting the hands they want to play and usually get involved in way too many hands, the idea behind this chart is mainly to make players tighten up their game.

ALL IN!!

Poker is full of money making opportunities – that’s why most of us play in the first place.  Needless to say, there is also a considerable amount of skill required when playing the game.  So much so, that many of the newer players make 4 common mistakes in Poker, which often cost them money and result in early exits at tournaments.

For experienced players, beginners can also prove to be a threat, so it makes sense for readers of all experiences to have a look at the following text, to know what to look out for.  Knowing what mistakes amateurs make can greatly increase one’s chances of winning games and tourneys, so keep tuned!

Going All in too often, or in desperation

In many tourneys where the buy-in is not too high, or where re-buys can be made, some players will go all-in like there’s no tomorrow.  This may work for a few all-ins (aka shoves or pushes) but eventually someone will call.  In that case, the one pushing all-in should better hope that he/she has good enough cards for a showdown, or chances are he’ll be out of the tourney in the first couple of rounds.

The All-in can be used to force a player to fold and exit a hand, but should preferably  be used by those players who hold a solid hand, where they may actually double their stack if they get called by their opponents.  Going all-in with a bad hand should be avoided as much as possible, as even if you might get lucky here and there, in the long run you’ll be a loser going all-in with weak hole cards. Read the rest of this entry →