Avoid Free Play Games When Practicing for Live Tables

Many people first join online casinos in order to practice for the live tables at physical casinos.  It’s a great way to practice, as online casinos offer a very similar experience to live casinos.  However, I often meet people online who choose to practice with free casino games and I’ve gotten mixed reviews on the outcome.

Free casino games are a lot of fun and nice to try out from time to time.  But as a serious practice tool for live gambling, they must be approached with caution.  This is because casino games require strategy, and a gamblers strategy is impacted greatly when real money is at stake.

I personally think gambling with no real money defeats the purpose.  But regardless, it is definitely the case that players will take on aggressive and often times unwise playing tactics when nothing is on the line.  If this carries over into your live strategy when gambling for real money, it can spell serious trouble for your profits.

When practicing for the live tables your best option is to play online casinos using real money.  You can choose to gamble with low stakes, but if you’re going to practice strategy for real money casino games, it only makes sense to practice with online casino games using real money.  Besides, while you’re practicing why not also be winning money to finance your next trip to the live-tables with?  Now that’s truly taking advantage of the online casino experience!

Player Profile For Team UB Member Michael Binger

Michael Binger brings more than his bluffing skills when he takes to the tables of UltimateBet and plays online poker against his peers.  The Team UB member has a Bachelor of Science in Physics from NCSU, a Master of Science in Physics from NCSU, a Bachelor of Science in Math from NCSU, and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from Stanford, and he’s not afraid to apply his knowledge to the game that millions of people live and play.

Binger’s got the numbers to back up all the letters after his name:  A third place finish in the 2006 World Series of PokerMain Event that needed him $4,000,000.  A third place finish in the 2007 WSOP that rewarded him with $300,000. $317,280 for taking first place in the 2008 Five-Star World Classic at Bellagio Hotel Casino. Over $125,000 for beating the competition and coming in first in thee 2008 LA Poker Classic.  What makes Binger tick?  Why is he so consistent at the tables?

When asked if he was an immediate success, Binger responded with typical grace and honesty: “Once I started taking the game seriously and reading and studying, I began winning consistently at limit hold ‘em. It took a lot longer to become a winning No Limit Hold’em and tournament player.”  Michael worked hard to become the player he is, applying his math skills to the game.  He also credits his focus for a reason for his success: “Never whistle while you piss” is his mantra, telling himself to maintain his focus on the hand in front of him, not the tournament in its entirety.

What’s the most important advice he can give other players and what they should try to do when playing? “[Keep] your cool playing online because just a few minutes of tilty clicks can cost you a lot. Also, keeping your patience in brick and mortar casinos can be hard compared to online because you get far fewer hands.”

It’s easy to see how Michael’s focus and math skills have helped him, but there’s more than just these factors behind the scenes of his poker game: a special alchemy that his idol Albert Einstein would have been proud of.

Create a PokerStars Account and become an instant VIP

PokerStars have a fantastic reward scheme in place at their VIP club,
reputedly the best online loyalty program for poker players in existence. As
if that wasn’t amazing enough, they have surprised their VIP members by
making August the VIP Club Mega Month. The
point requirements to get to each monthly VIP level have been lowered by
90%. The wonderful things which are on offer are now so easy to achieve
because climbing the monthly VIP club levels has never been easier.

At PokerStars you can read in detail about how to benefit fully from this
August mega offer, especially how to accelerate by 10 times, the speed with
which you earn your VIP status level. In any other month, the VPP
requirement to achieve SilverStar status for that particular month is 750
player points but in August you get it with only 75 points and you can enjoy
it until the end of September. The regular VPP requirement for GoldStar
status is now an astonishing 300 points instead of 3000 and for the
PlatinumStar status you need only 750 VPPs instead of 7500!

Earn more FPPs for the same amount of play

What is particularly enticing is that for the same amount of player activity
you earn more frequent player points or FPPs and the overall value that you
can get for your points is much better. As you climb to more precious VIP
monthly status levels the number which is called the multiplier and used to
calculate the number of FPPs awarded is bigger. The multiplier used on the
FPPs awarded to players at SilverStar level is 1.5, at GoldStar level 2.0
and at PlatinumStar level 2.5. You can use your FPPs for cash bonuses or to
qualify for a seat at extremely lucrative tournaments offered by PokerStars.
If you fancy a great shopping experience then redeem them at the VIP shop
where there is a breathtaking variety of quality items to choose from.
Furthermore new players to the site will receive up to $600 in bonus using
PokerStars marketing code PSP7824 upon account creation.

Internet Backgammon Is Here to Stay

Like it or leave it, Internet backgammon has appearedon the gaming scene over the past decade and a half and it has become verypopular. It offers players opportunities to play for fun, be it against acomputerized opponent, or one of the more traditional “human opponents.” Italso offers many opportunities to take on fellow players from all around theworld for enjoyment or for high stakes. A search on the Web quickly produces agood number of sites that host regular backgammon competitions or tournaments.It is thus possible to find a game whenever you want to, and to find a skilllevel to suit your own.

Whatever people’s feelings about the value of Internetbackgammon, the investments made in setting up sites and their growingpatronage shows it has found favor among the playing public. The mostsophisticated sites offer excellent 3-D boards. Also, all reputable sites havegood security so that players can rest assured that the games are conducted ina fair and legal manner.

Although there are always people who will prefer thetraditional face-to-face competitions, it must be born in mind that not everyenthusiastic player is in a position to attend tournaments, or even to join aclub or find a suitable person to play against. People who live in isolatedareas or who have some disability, find the web version of the game a welcomebenefit. Many players also appreciate the chance to brush up on their skillsand they value the contact with players from around the world that Internetbackgammon gives them access to.