What is the Softest Site for Double or Nothing Sngs?

A friend of mine recently asked me which site had the softest Double or Nothings, with the worst, fishiest players, so I thought I would give a quick review of the main sites running Double or Nothings:

There are really only 3 or 4 main sites to choose from for Double Or Nothings:

Titan Poker, which has very good volume for DoNs, and is one of the only sites that has 6 handed DoNs. Most other sites only have 10 handed DoNs. The only problem with Titan is that the rake is usually 10% per SNG, which is very high, and can make it harder to show a profit over the long run. They do have quite good promotions for Double or Nothing players though, so that helps to offset the high rake. They also have DoNs that go right up to $300 buy ins, so there is really no limit to how high you can go as your bankroll grows. They have a $500 first deposit bonus if you use bonus code OFPP500, which is a pretty standard bonus for most of the online sites. Titan Poker isn’t available to players from the USA unfortunately.

PokerStars: The biggest site in the world, so they have DoNs going all the time, which makes it really good if you want to play a lot of tables. They also have buyins going right up to $100 too, so you can keep moving up the stakes for quite some time. The other good thing with Pokerstars is that in their Turbo Dons the rake is only 4%, which is lower than any other poker site. Very good. The only problem with Pokerstars (and it can be a very big problem) is that at the medium to high levels ($50-$100) there are a lot of professional players on every table. People like me who are just playing the DoN strategy on 16 tables at a time. Sometimes on Pokerstars you can be on a table and there will be 8 other players there who are all quite good winning players. It can make it difficult to show a profit in the long run, but at the lower levels this isn’t much of a problem. PokerStars also doesn’t have 6 handed Dons. It does have a $600 first deposit bonus which is about the same as most other sites.

Cake Poker: I played Cake poker when I first started out. Unfortuantely now the volume on Ccake Poker has almost completely died out, so the Double or nothings very rarely run. I don’t bother playing there any more.

PartyPoker: This is where I play most of my DoNs at the moment. They don’t have 6 handed Dons either, but that isnt a problem for me since I prefer the 10 handed ones (theya re easier to multi-table!). The rake for Double or Nothingss on PartyPoker is about 6%, so a little bit more expensive than at PokerStars, but still a bit cheaper than Titan. They have buyins from $10 through to $50, which is a bit lower than the maximum at the other sites unfortunately (I’ve been emailing them to try and get them to add $100 DoNs, but so far they haven’t added them!). I play on Party for 1 main reason though: I believe the players are much worse on PartyPoker than on any other site. It is a smaller site, so it is a bit harder to run 16 tables, but because of that, not many professional players play the Double or Nothings there. They also have new promotions every month that are pretty good, and their deposit bonus is about the same as everywhere else ($500 bonus if you use code ONLINE500). They have probably the best monthly promotions, and the top volume players can get up to 40% rakeback which is pretty cool. They also have random monthy bonuses that they often give out. I got a random $50 this month for no apparent reason. lol.

Hope that helps. If I had to pick a single site, I think PartyPoker is the best for Double or Nothings, but the other sites are fine too. I’ve played them all, and whenever one of the sites has a really good promotion or competition or somthing, I will usually switch over to that site for a month until the promotion ends.

Keep in mind though that if you play other formats too it can have an impact on which site you might prefer. For the big mulitple table tournaments, Pokerstars is probably best, because they have the most players, and therefore the biggest tournaments. For cash games Full Tilt is pretty good, because they have Rush Poker, which a lot of bad players play on because it is so quick. Eventually you might even have some money on each of the sites, and just play the best that each site has to offer.

Best wishes, and play well!

Ashton Cartwright.

PartyPoker APT Manila Tournament and Satellites

PartyPoker is giving players the chance to win their way to Manila, the hot and steamy capital of The Philippines. Last year PartyPoker sent a group of players to Manila for a poker and cultural experience they will never forget. This year we are offering to share that oriental experience once again.

PartyPoker has set up daily qualifiers starting at only $1 which are timed to suit Australian, New Zealand and Asian based players, to help make it easier for you guys to win a $6000 package to play in the APT event in Manila.

We also have a special $6 bounty tournament set for 05:00ET (19:00 Sydney) on July 28th which will feature top Aussie pro Tony G and Tyron Krost (winner of this years Aussie Millions). Knock them out or win the tournament and you will win an entry to our APT Manila satellite on August 1st where 3 packages to Manila are guaranteed.

wpt dollar

Read PartyPoker Site Review!

This is one event you will not want to miss. Check out the Partypoker tournament lobby now for tournament times and we’ll see you in Manila.

 
 

Play Free Online Poker Machines!

Play Free Online Poker Machines at either of the great online sites listed below, with absolutely no download or signup required! Playing Free Poker Machines Online (also known as pokies or slots) is great fun, and is 100% free, unless you choose to make a deposit and play for real money! The software at Bodog Casino and also Party Casino is very easy to use, and you can get started right away!

Play Free Poker Machines Online at The Bodog Casino and Poker Machine Room, and you will be playing online poker machines at one of the most well known sites in the online gaming industry. Bodog has been established for more than 15 years, making them one of the best and most experienced online gaming sites. Just click on the link below to start playing completely free online poker machines at Bodog Casino right now!

Online Casino

Play Free Online Poker Machines at PartyCasino! PartyCasino is the worlds largest online casino, and is even listed on the London Stock Exchange. PartyCasino offers over 150 online casino games; from baccarat to roulette to poker machines to blackjack. PartyCasino adds new games and poker machines to their site every month, and you can play them all for free! If you ever decide to deposit and play for real money, they offer an amazing 100% welcome bonus up to €500 when you sign up through an OnlineFreePlayPoker.com link! Just click on the link below to play Free Online Poker machines now!

Play Free Online Slot Machines

Play Free Online Slot Machines at either of the great online sites listed below, with absolutely no download or signup required! Playing Free Slot Machines Online (also or free online slots) is great fun, and is 100% free, unless you choose to make a deposit and play for real money! The software at both Bodog Casino and also Party Casino is very easy to use, and you can get started right away!

Play Free Slot Machines Online at The Bodog Casino and Slots Room, and you will be playing slot machines at one of the most well known sites in the online gaming industry. Bodog has been established for more than 15 years, making them one of the best and most experienced online gaming sites. Just click on the link below to start playing completely free online slot machines at Bodog Casino right now!

Online Casino

 

Play Free Online Slots at PartyCasino! PartyCasino is the worlds largest online casino, and is even listed on the London Stock Exchange. PartyCasino offers over 150 online casino games; from baccarat to roulette to slot machines to blackjack. PartyCasino adds new games and slot machines to their site every month, and you can play them all for free! If you ever decide to deposit and play for real money, they offer an amazing 100% welcome bonus up to €500 when you sign up through an OnlineFreePlayPoker.com link! Just click on the link below to play Free Online Slot machines now!

Play Free Craps Online

Play Craps Online Free at any of the well known online gamng sites listed  with absolutely no download or signup required! Playing Free Craps Online is great fun, and is 100% free, unless you decide to make a deposit! The software at both Bodog Casino and also Party Casino is very easy to use, and you can get started right away!

Play Free Craps Online at The Bodog Casino and Craps Table, and you will be playing Craps at one of the most well known sites in the online gaming industry. Bodog has been established for more than 15 years, making them one of the most trusted online gaming sites. Just click on the link below to start playing free online Craps at Bodog Casino right now!

 Online Casino

 

Play Free Craps Online at PartyCasino! PartyCasino is the worlds largest online casino, and is even listed on the London Stock Exchange. PartyCasino offers over 150 online casino games; from Craps to baccarat to roulette to slots to blackjack. PartyCasino adds new games to their site every month, and you can play them all for free! If you do decide to deposit, they offer an amazing 100% welcome bonus up to €500 when you sign up through an OnlineFreePlayPoker.com link! Just click on the link below to play Free Online Craps now!

 

How Online Craps is played: Craps can appear daunting to a new player, but the game is actually quite simple: start with a bet on the Pass Line. Roll a 7 or 11 on the first roll and you win. Roll a 2, 3 or 12 and you lose. If any other number is rolled, a ‘point’ is established and you must re-roll that point before rolling a 7 to win. Be sure to take the Free Odds once the Point is made – it’s the best bet in the house.

 

Poker Tournament Types: Freezeout – Rebuy – SNG – Freeroll

Online Poker Tournaments Strategy has become a hotly debated topic between online players. The increase in poker tournaments being televised has led to a boom in new tournament players. After watching the pros clash on the final table of a major tournament, many viewers from all over the world immediately jump on their computer, login to their favourite poker site and join a Multi Table Tournament (MTT) or a Sit ‘N’ Go (SNG). There are a lot of poker tournaments online, with different structure and different formats, all of which call for slightly different strategies. If you want to make the final table and win the big prizes, you have to be prepared to play intelligent, disciplined poker, and you have to be willing to adjust your strategy based on the type of tournament you have chosen.

Popularity of Online Poker Tournaments

It’s easy to see why online poker tournaments are so exciting:

  1. There’s big money in tournaments. With small buy-ins you have the chance to win huge prize payouts. There are many tournaments online in which you can buy in for as little as $5 and win thousands if you make it to the final table. Almost everyone can see the appeal of turning a small entry fee into a big win.
  2. Online tournaments can be for just about every form of poker, including Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Stud. Razz, Badugi, and even mixed games such as H.O.R.S.E.
  3. There is an online tournament or SNG starting every second of every day, so you can join one around the clock, whenever you are in the mood for a game.

Types of Online Poker Tournaments

The most common tournament poker structure online is called the “Freezeout”: a multi-table tournament that contains somewhere between 50 players to several thousand players.

The second most common tournament structure is a Sit ‘n’ Go: Usually a single table tournament which begins as soon as a specified number of players register (usually 6, 9 or 10, but sometimes more).

There are also re-buy tournaments where you have the option of buying extra chips during the tournament, as well as Adding On more chips at the end of a Re-buy period (usually an hour or 90 minutes)

Most sites also have ‘freeroll’ tournaments, which have no buy in at all, but still offer prize money. These freerolls are often offered to players who have played a certain amount during the month, or as an incentive to newly registered players.

Now that we have discussed the various forms of poker, click on one of the links below to delve further into the strategy.

Poker Blogs

These are the blogs of some of the best poker players, both live and online.

Ashton Cartwright Poker Blog  Ashton has been playing poker online since early 2008, and currently plays up to 24 tables simultaneously. He has played tens of thousands of SNGs and tournaments, but is mainly considered a Cash Game player. Although he enjoys the challenge and fun of poker, he is primarily motivated by the significant money to be made from the game.

Aaron Nicastri Poker Blog Currently Aaron plays on Pokerstars and has mostly been playing sit’n'go tournaments. He began playing some large field events with a very small bankroll and then moved across to turbo formats ($12 45 mans in particular).

Jesse McKenzie Poker Blog  ”I am striving to consistently improve. I have goals and aspirations that I will share with you in this blog. I am going to do to a Masters in Services Marketing. I want to be able to earn a living without having to have a fixed place of business.”

Jared Hubbard Poker Blog One of the top SNG players in the world, “jhub3000″ can often be found at the top of the Sharkscope leaderboards.

Daleroxxu Poker Blog Daleroxxu lives in Glasgow, Scotland. His blog documents the highs and lows of an online poker pro through text and video blogs. Holla.

How to Become a Professional Poker Player

Multi-Table Online Professional Poker PlayerMy name is Ashton Cartwright, and I am a professional poker player. Making a living from poker was a goal I set myself from the first moment that I encountered this game, and I am very satisfied with success I have had.

As to how I got interested in poker: I was an avid Magic the Gathering player for several years (nerd for life I’m afraid!), and had been making a small amount of money winning weekly Magic tournaments. At the time I was close friends with the reigning National Champion by the name of Tim He, who was virtually undefeated for several years. Tim stopped suddenly to pursue poker in preference to Magic, and almost immediately placed third in an AAPT at Sydney, winning several hundred thousand dollars.

The idea that there was a game that pays such amazing money was all the inspiration I required to make the switch. I quit Magic almost immediately, and decided to make a serious run at being a professional poker player. I gave myself 2 years, and I said that if I wasn’t profitable enough to make a living from poker after that time that I would quit and find a different game.

How to Become a Professional Poker Player:

My first step was to get an online account set up and play ONLY with play money. I told myself that I would not deposit a single dollar until I had won 100 times the play money chips that I started with. I was playing on Pokerstars at that point, and on that site you start with 1000 in play money chips. I (through poor bankroll management and lack of skill) lost that first 1000 chips once, and then a second time. Since I had now received a total of 3000 chips, and my goal was to make at least 100 times that amount, I set my target at 300,000 in play money chips. It took me approximately 45 days of almost constant play, but it assuredly taught me the fundamentals of poker, and how to play tight in particular (as I contend that tight play is the only effective strategy to use in play money games).

On the 3rd of April 2008 I made my first deposit online of $50. I had read all the Harrington books by then, and several of the Sklanzky books as well (I am an avid reader, and for 12 month allowed myself to read nothing but poker literature). I was acutely aware that strict bankroll management is one of the most important aspects of professional poker, so I never invested more than 2% of my bankroll in a single SNG or Tournament, and never more than 5% of my bankroll into a single cash game. Some players have more liberal bankroll management than this, and some have more conservative, but I found this acceptable.

At this level I was only able to play 1c/2c cash games, and SNGs and Tournaments of no more than $1 buy in. I had told myself that under no circumstances was I to ever make another deposit online, so I played as though this $50 was all the money I had in the world.

I found that I was most successful at the SNGs at this level, so that became my primary focus. As my bankroll grew to $100, then $500, then $1000, I continued moving up the limits, keeping always within the 2% requirements that I had set for myself. I played a great deal of Double or Nothing SNGs, and also 18 player SNGs, which I found to be quite profitable. I played comparatively few tournaments, simply because I found the variance and time commitment made them prohibitive.

I also made a conscious effort to steadily increase the number of tables that I played. Once I started playing more than 6 tables I got a 2nd computer screen, and once I was playing more than 12 tables I added another 2 screens to my hardware set up.

By the 2nd of February 2010 I was making enough consistent income to quit my job, about two months ahead of the 2 years I had set myself. At this point I was playing Double or Nothing SNGs almost exclusively, and paying sometimes as much as $20,000 of buyins per day, playing $100 Double or Nothing SNGs 24 tables at a time. My income was only about $50 per hour, which is not much in poker terms, but it was more than enough for me to live comfortably.

Becoming a Professional Poker Player:

When starting out, I still believe that Double or Nothing SNGs can be among the most profitable forms of poker, particularly at the lower buyins (up to about $50). I also feel that the Double or Nothing strategy I have outlined is very effective. At the higher levels there are often multiple players on each table playing almost identical strategies, so it becomes a bit harder to show consistent profit there. As a novice, I believe Double or Nothings, when played with a proper strategy and understanding of stack size interactions, to be one of the most effective ways to build a bankroll.

I also feel that low level regular SNGs are an excellent bankroll builder for new players interested in that format. For low limit Cash Games, since players are generally loose at those stakes, a tight Set Mining strategy is the best strategy to use, and should show consistently good results. The other benefit of playing Cash Games is that you will likely learn the intricacies of the game much faster than if you restrict yourself exclusively to SNGs.

For me, becoming a professional poker player was a conscious decision that was only made possible by clear planning, constant study, discipline, and good bankroll management. There are many players who are superior to me in skill, yet fail in one of the above attributes (most commonly bankroll management).

For those who succeed in becoming a professional poker player, this life is fun, the hours flexible, and the financial remuneration often substantial.

I wish you the best of luck, but more importantly, I hope that you shall play well!

How To Play Suited Connectors

In Texas Hold’em poker, as in every other form of poker, you should only play hands that will show a profit over the long run.

There are usually 3 factors that affect the profitability of a hand in Texas Hold’em Poker:

1. The strength of your hand

2. Your position at the table

3. Your skill level (compared to your opponents)

You may have a moderately strong hand such as 9-9, but if you are in terrible position (say, under the gun), and against the 8 best poker players in the world, you may not be able to show a profit even with a hand such as this.

If you have a very weak hand such as 6-4 offsuit, but you are playing on the Button, and your opponents are all first time players, then you will probably still show a long term profit with a hand even this weak.

This preamble is merely to introduce you to a type of hand that is generally unprofitable for novices, but can be very profitable for intermediate and professional players. These type of hands are:

Suited Connectors

Suited connectors are consecutive cards of the same suit, such as Js-Ts or 6c-7c. A small-suited connector hand would be one like 4d-5d or 5h-6h. Suited connectors are powerful hands because when they flop strongly, the hand is well disguised, and when they miss the flop, they are easy to let go of.

For this reason, suited connectors are considered “Drawing Hands”, because though they rarely flop a made straight or flush, they will often flop a draw to either (or both) of those strong hands. When playing suited connectors, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Suited Connectors Need Good Flops:

A good flop for a suited connector like 7c-8c is either 2 pair, a made straight, a made flush, or a straight draw, flush draw, or combination draw (such as a straight-flush draw or a pair + a straight draw). You aren’t trying to hit merely 1 pair with a suited connector, as that pair will rarely be top pair, and if it is, you are still usually a long way behind any player who holds an overpair. If the flop comes Ac Kd 8s, you must be willing to throw the hand away. This isn’t the flop you wanted, so don’t put any more chips into the pot.

Suited Connectors Benefit from Position:

While all hands are more profitable when played in position, with suited connectors this is particularly true. When you are acting last with a flush or straight draw, you get to see all the action that has happened in front of you, so you can easily calculate the odds you are getting to call. If you have position, you also have less to fear from a player re-raising on the flop after you have called an earlier positioned players bet. For this reason, you should be more inclined to play suited connectors on the button than you would under the gun.

Suited Connectors Need Cheap Flops:

If you take a suited connector like 4c-5c, and then deal out the cards for the flop, turn, and river, you will find that a suited connector only makes a flush or straight about 1 time in 4. In a real game of poker your opponents will usually be betting at you, so it will often cost you some money to see all 5 cards. Because of this, you want to see a flop for the cheapest amount possible. It is no good calling off 20% of your stack preflop, as you will very rarely hit a flop that you like. Seeing a flop for just 1 blind, preferably from the button is often the best way to profit from suited connectors. Putting any more than 3%-5% of your stack into the pot preflop with a suited connector is rarely a good idea.

Consider a Semi-Bluff with your Draws:

If you flop a big draw with your suited connectors (such as an open ended straight draw + a flush draw, giving you as many as 15 outs) and the size of the pot is large, you may want to consider moving all in as a semi-bluff. This move can give you multiple ways to win: All your opponents might fold, and you take the pot down with what is currently a worthless hand (such as 7 high), or you get called and win a massive pot if your draw makes it. This is a powerful move as with 14 outs you are approximately even money to win the hand, even against an opponent with a hand as strong as an overpair! If you have 15 outs, such as the straight-flush draw, then you are often a favourite to win the hand by the river! If the pot is small and moving in would be a massive overbet, It might be best to make a smaller bet than all in, or you could go for a check-raise.

Suited Connectors can be some of the most profitable hands to play, but make sure that you play them only in situations that are to your advantage.

Playing Poker Out Of Position

It is well known that in poker, it is best to have position on your opponent. Position means that for the duration of the hand, your opponents must act before you, allowing you to see their actions and take them into account, while your opponents must act effectively “in the dark” because they don’t yet know what you are going to do. Almost every Texas Hold ‘em strategy guide talks about the importance of positional advantage, and with good reason; If you can try and play the majority of your pots in position, you will have an advantage over the other players on the table. A competent player can sometimes take reduce or eliminate his opponents advantage, by using aggression to counteract his opponents positional advantage.

Poker Out Of Position:

As an example, lets’ consider typical No-Limit Texas Hold ‘em hand. In this instance, let us say that you are in the big blind with 8c-9c. The player on the button raises to three times the big blind (which is pretty standard) and you call call. Most players in your position would check the flop 100% of the time here. This is called “checking to the aggressor” and is perhaps the most over-used move in the poker world, particularly in tournament play where it is often not the best way to play the hand. By checking, you give the initiative to the button raiser. He will often bet whether or not he has a hand (called a C-Bet or Continuation bet), putting you in a difficult situation if you didn’t hit a piece of the flop.

In this sort of a situation, it’s often a good idea to look at the flop and ask yourself, “Is this flop likely to have hit my opponents hand?” If you can decide on a probable answer to that question, you can decide how best to proceed in the hand.

Flop Texture Out of Position:

If the flop comes with 3 high cards such as Ad-Qh-7c, it’s often best to just check and fold to a bet, particularly if your opponent raised from early position, as most players who raise do so with big cards likely to connect with that flop. However, if the flop is Td-5c-2c, then it is much less likely that your opponent’s hand improved. In texas Hold’em, the chances of two unpaired hole cards making a pair on the flop is only about 1 time in 3. That means that 2 thirds of the time your opponent will miss a flop like this completely.

I the texture of the flop indicates that your opponent may not have connected, you can take the initiative and make a bet. A bet of about 50% of the pot is usually a good size. On this flop, you actually have a flush draw, so betting is a good idea for several reasons: You might win the pot straight away if your opponent only has 2 high cards or a low pair, Or your opponent might call, but fold to another bet on the turn. You might even make your flush and win a big pot off an opponent who was calling with a hand such as A-T. If you are able to get any reads on your opponent, they can help dictate whether you are better off betting again (a semi-bluff) or if you should just check-fold your hand.

Betting when Out of Position:

Taking shots when out of position can be a very profitable strategy, particularly in tournaments where every pot is important. Playing aggressively is always going to be a good strategy, and most people will give your out of position bets a lot of respect, simply because they are used to players out of position checking to the aggressor. Players in tournaments particularly will often give up on weak or medium strength hands, because they know that losing all their chips means that are out of the tournament. Players in cash games will often be more inclined to call with weak hands, as they can always put more money on the table if they bust out.

Let aggression be your friend, and take the initiative, even when out of position. In this way, you can win plenty of pots that would have otherwise gone to play player in position.