Amazing Facts About Poker That Will Make You Go Whoa!

Poker is one of the most popular card game in the world which unarguably entertains as well as challenges player’s ability to observe and analyze the situation and make quick decisions.

Here are some widely unknown but interesting facts about poker that will leave you amazed.

Origin of the game

There are many theories about the origin of the word “Poker”. As per some historians, the game is evolved from a domino-card game played by a Chinese emperor in 10th Century. The name “poker” might also be derived from French game “Poque” or German “Pochen”.

The longest poker game

The longest poker game started in 1881 and ran 24×7 for 8 years, 5 months, and 3 days which was held at the Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone, Arizona.

Player who won maximum WSOP bracelets

Phil Hellmuth won the WSOP bracelet 14 times (1989, 1992, 1993 (3 times), 1997, 2001, 2003 (2 times), 2006, 2007, 2012, 2012 (WSOP Europe), and 2015).

Hand that named after a tennis player

In Hold’em, Starting hand A K is named after former tennis player Anna Kournikova. It means “the hand that looks better than it plays”.

It was not started with 52 Cards

In the beginning, the game was played with deck of 20 cards. Only 4 players could play on one table. Every player was dealt with 5 cards and they bet on who had the best 5 cards.

Most popular gaming destination in India

Goa carries the reputation of being poker players’ paradise. This state is the home of several popular poker rooms in India. Players from all over the country as well as international players visit Goa to participate in cash games and tournaments in this luxurious poker rooms.

Dead man’s hand

The hand with two pairs (black aces & black eight) is known as dead man’s hand as American folk hero Wild Bill Hickok was playing this hand in a poker game when he was shot in the back of his head.

Most watched sport

After soccer and car racing, poker is the third most viewed and talked about sport on American television.

The four kings

As per common believe, the four kings on modern cards represent historical figures i.e. King of clubs is Alexander (King of Macedonia), King of hearts is Charlemagne (King of France), King of spades is David (King of Israel), and King of Diamonds is Augustus (Roman Caesar).

Possible hand combinations

You can create 2.5 million hand combinations from a deck of 52 cards.

Underwater poker

You can play poker underwater among real sharks at Lady Luck underwater poker tournament in Florida. It is an annual tournament where winners of the qualifying rounds play the final hands underwater with special cards and chips. The winner will receive the champion’s trophy, prizes, and fame. You can participate in this Texas Hold’em tournament for free (no buy-ins or re-buys).

Bonus fact:

Las Vegas Casinos have no clocks or windows on the gaming floor as they believe that players spend longer hours on the table if they lose track of time.

Bad Beats: What They Are And How to Deal With Them

Every poker player have experienced the terrible feeling of facing a bad beat at some point in his/her poker career. A bad beat is losing a good hand to the opponent even when odds were in your favor. Regardless of whether you play online or offline poker, bad beats are inevitable and every player faces that every now and then. Some players consider them as an opportunity to improve their game but for some players, losing the pot due to a bad beat is so devastating that it puts them on tilt. Due to frustration, they try to chase their losses by playing as many hands as possible without considering their hand strength and ultimately lose more chips. Not only amateurs, even experienced players find themselves unable to control their emotions in poker rooms after losing a huge pot due to an unbelievable bad beat.

Online Vs Offline

As online poker is faster than offline version, player participates in more hands and faces more bad beats as compared to offline poker. You can play on multiple tables at the same time, due to which the number of hand increases as well as the chances to face suck outs. If you want to survive in the world of poker and become a successful player, you need to learn how to deal with tilt inducing bad beats.

How are bad beats blessing in disguise?

A good player believes in learning from his winnings as well as his defeats. Facing bad beats means you invested your money into the pot for a good hand only after analyzing the probabilities and your opponent won against the odds. It indicates that you played proper poker and made a calculated decision based on statistics. It’s all about maths! Bad beats from a bad player are not as bad as it sounds. It tricks and encourages the “fish” to play more and contribute more into the pot. If a bad player managed to suck out on someone, he tends to make the same move again and again. There are novice players who believe in luck more than strategies and frequently call or try to hit the draw with any pair of cards and shove all their chips into the pot. Winning a hand gives hope to these players and they start overplaying and bringing more money to the table with weak hands. If bad players never get a chance to win or you scare them away with your taunts and trash-talks when they suck out on you, they will lose interest in the game and you lose a great opportunity to make huge profits.

How to reduce its effect on your mental health and your pocket?

You cannot save yourself from the bad beats but you can minimize its effect by practicing strong money management. Play with only that money which you can afford to lose. Accept that no player is immune from bad beats and learn how to control emotions and tactfully handle the situation when you lose. Don’t mock or sarcastically criticize the winning player to prove that you are a victim of bad beat. Sharing your bad beat story with the world cannot help you get anything else other than some sympathy as most of the poker players already experienced bad beats and understand that they are unavoidable. Learn to let it go and move ahead if you want to save yourself from big losses due to tilt. Take a break, engage yourself in other activities, and return only when you find yourself mentally strong to give your 100% to the game.

5 Secrets of Successful Poker Players

You may have seen players who regularly participate in major cash games and tournaments and every time managed to take home gigantic prizes. What’s the secret of their success which others don’t have any idea about? How do they stay calm and composed at the time of huge losses? How these champions deal with the fear of competing with tough players and act so strong and confident?

Every newbie wants to find out the secrets of successful poker players to implement in the game and maximize his chances of winning. The truth is, there is no shortcut to success in poker. Dedication, discipline, and determination are required to build expertise in the game. Luck is not going to favor you all the time and to survive for long in the ruthless world of poker, you must study thoroughly and practice the game to improve your strategies and techniques.

Here are few valuable tips which you must follow to minimize risk and increase profits in a long run:

Every mistake is an opportunity to improve

Losing on a high stake poker table may seem like the end of the world, but trust me, it is not. There is not even a single poker player in this world who never lost at some point in the game. Even in high stake tournaments, you can see seasoned players making silly mistakes every now and then. Making mistakes is not bad but not learning anything from that is considered as a sin in poker. Players like Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey believe in keeping a record of the hands they played and analyse them to find out the reason which led to bad play. Reviewing your hand will help you improve your game and take better decisions whenever you face similar situations again in the future.

Select your own way to read opponents

It is important to learn how to be deceptive as well as to decipher the actions of opponents. WSOP Main Event 2006 winner Jamie Gold was known for his ability to assess fellow player’s strength with his “table talks”. His method of confusing opponents was to consistently talk about his hand strength (sometimes truth and sometimes lie). These tactics made him completely unpredictable for his opponents and rewarded him with one of the biggest cash prizes in poker history. Find your own methods to evaluate your opponents’ playing style and create a game plan against them.

Be Flexible

A good Poker player knows how to develop and modify strategies on the table. It is not advisable to follow the same strategies in each and every hand you play. Your decision of playing a hand must be based on the strength of your cards and your assessment of the table situation. NEVER get mentally attached to the bets. Anyone can fold terrible hands but it is really difficult to fold strong hands like small straight or flush. Fold the cards quickly if the odds are not in your favor, rather than overplaying and lose your precious chips.

Learn to take risks

It is important to hone your skills of dealing with uncertainty and human emotions to ensure taking the best decisions in the game. For example – If you have four cards of the same suit, you have the choice to hold onto it till your hand grow into a monster or fold the cards before they start getting expensive. Your decision must be based on

your understanding of value
Skills of your opponents
Your stake size
Your opponent’s stake size
Blind size

Other important factors which you should consider before taking a decision are your bankroll, your’s and your opponent’s table image, and position. Your position on the table determines how much information you can have about your opponents’ game play before your turn of betting. It also gives you the confidence to take risk of playing average hands as you know how your opponent tends to make his next move.

Update yourself with the current trends

Poker game has seen enormous changes over the years. Most of the traditional gaming methods are now outdated and irrelevant due to the technical progress and development of game formats and playing styles. Today, you can get real-time statistical data of hands which you can analyse to choose the best move from the available options. It is crucial to adapt the changes and improve your game consistently if you want to increase your chances of winning when you play against new generation of players. Software tools like poker tracker, odds calculator, hands converter, etc can help you analyse your hand, calculate the odds, as well as find out your weaknesses in the game.

When Poker Meets Cricket- Chris Gayle Introduced His Second Favorite Game to His Fans

When Poker Meets Cricket- Chris Gayle introduced his second favorite game to his fans

Chris Gayle is one of the most feared batsmen in the world. No other player managed to reach or even touch the level of his stardom and charisma. It might sound strange to some, but it is true that this famous cricketer finds another game as amusing and entertaining as cricket. Gayle enjoys poker a lot and loves to play the card game whenever he gets time from his whirlwind schedule.

It is not uncommon for players to promote brands which they are not entirely familiar with, but Gayle is an exception. He admires poker and views it as a highly entertaining game of skills. This is the main reason why Adda52 roped in this iconic player as the brand ambassador of SHR DPT Colossus tournament which happened in April this year at India’s most luxurious poker destination- Deltin Royale cruise ship in Goa. Gayle took a break from his busy cricket schedule to promote this poker event and also participated in the 200K Super High Roller tournament.

Chris Gayle is the former captain of West Indies and currently playing for Kings XI Punjab team in Indian Premier League. This swashbuckling Jamaican all-rounder who is famous for his hard-hitting sixes and fours is an amazing crowd puller who knows how to carry style and super cool “larger-than-life” attitude on and off the cricket field. Gayle is one of the most loved cricketer with a great fan following across the globe.

Gayle’s journey as a player is an inspiration for young generation. He is the first batsman who reached the landmark of 10 thousand runs in T20 cricket. Surprisingly, this legendary player almost went unsold in the first round of auction in this T20 season. Later Punjab showed its trust in this all-rounder player and got him for his base price. Punjab’s decision to bring in this Caribbean cricket star proved correct as he proved his caliber once again and created T20 cricket history by scoring 252 runs with his 14 fours and 23 sixes in just 4 matches in this season.

Poker is one of the most popular emerging mind-sports in India. Playing poker is not a “taboo” anymore in the country, which is evident by the increasing presence of Indian players on online and live poker platforms.It is true that poker and cricket are different games altogether with conflicting features i.e. poker is a mental game while playing cricket requires physical abilities. But still, there are some similarities which make a comparison possible between these games of different genre. Poker and cricket both require creating and modifying strategies (playing aggressive/passive) as per the situation of the game, both requires analyzing opponent’s strength and weaknesses to make a game plan (attack, defend, or wait for the right opportunity), and both games become highly intense and adrenaline-filled in the final moments.

So if you a cricket fan who wants to enjoy another “gentleman’s game” which can challenge your observation, patience, and decision making skills and gives you the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best players in the country, sign up on India’s most trusted poker platform -Adda52 and play the game which is taking the nation by storm.

Five Awesome Ways to Calm Your Nerves on a Poker Table

It is not uncommon to get anxious in the tense environment of a high stake poker table. Poker is a ruthless game where seasoned players create uncomfortable situations on the table to intimidate other players. As playing poker requires investing real money in the game, fear of losing also makes most of the players nervous. The worst part is, your opponents can smell your anxiety and mark you as the “fish”. Other than poor playing, being nervous on the table is the biggest reason of losing precious chips. So, it is important to learn how to deal with surprising situations and not to make grave mistakes in a poker game.

Here are the tips you must follow to control your uneasiness when you sit on a poker table next time:

Adjust To The Environment:

No matter if you are playing online or offline, always get enough rest before the game and show up on time. When you sit on a poker table, the first thing you need to do is make yourself comfortable with the surroundings. Spend as much time in the poker room as possible to understand the table arrangement, starting stacks, blind levels, etc. Play fewer hands in the beginning and watch others to understand their game play. Remember that it is not necessary that a player sitting on a high stake table against you is a master of the game. There are so many players out there who don’t have any clue about game playing. Soon you will feel the flow of the table and your nervousness will vanish.

Preparation:

It is true that anything can happen in the game and you need to prepare yourself for the psychological beatings you are going to receive on the poker table. The more you practice, the more your confidence and patience will improve. Another way to gain confidence is to pay attention to the action happening on the table. Watch the game-play of your competitors to find out their weakness and strengths i.e. how aggressive they play, how often they fold, how often they bluff, how often they 3-bets or 4-bets, etc. These findings can help you spot the weak players and choose the best strategies to beat them.

Play Within Limits

Set a time limit for a poker session and follow it every time you sit on the table. Select out the best poker format for you and stay in the game as long as you find it profitable. Never chase losses and set a stop loss limit as per your affordability. Disciplined game-play saves you from losing excessive money on real stake tables.

Music Can Do Wonders

Regardless of you are playing online or offline, a little dose of music will definitely get you into the right mood and turn your nervousness into enthusiasm. Play the “right music” means tracks which can make you relaxed and help you deal with the pressure in the game i.e. classical or jazz. Stop listening music if you find it distracting or hampering your game.

Take A Break

If the bad beats and downswings in the game are putting a negative effect on your mental state, take a break for some time from the game and do your favorite activity like reading a book, watch a movie, cooking, etc. Never vent your anger and frustration of losing a pot on your opponents, dealer, friends, or social media. Give yourself time to calm down and regain your composure. It is crucial to play only with a positive mindset to play with your full potential and reduce the chances of going on tilt.