Daily Archives: September 26, 2021

How To Choose The Best Real Money Poker Sites

When you're playing real money online poker, picking a site that's honest and reputable is hugely important; you don't want to have to fight to cash out winnings that are rightfully yours.

Beyond that, you want one that's reliable and won't crash on you when you've just put together a royal flush. Our checklist below covers what we look for (and what you should be looking for) when we rate and review online poker/gambling sites:

Bonuses and Promotions

In such a competitive market, the bonuses and seasonal promotions a poker siteoffers can set them aside from the rest. Not only do these help maximize yourbankroll but show value in choosing that site, as they are likely to offer morepromotions as you play.

Banking Options

The more payment options a site offers, the better. Not only do they provideplayers with great choice, but partnership with a number of respected bankingmethods is a good sign that a poker room or casino is legitimate and safe forplayers to use.

Payout Speed

The speed at which a poker site pays out is incredibly important. Naturally, if youwin money while playing poker online, you might want to withdraw straight away,rather than wait for days to be paid. A strong poker site will pay you instantly,because any unexplained delays may indicate dishonesty.

Game Variety

If you want to play different types of real money poker online, you don't want tohave to hop from site to site. The best should not only offer all the pokervariations but also provide a good range of tournaments, buy-ins and limits.

Mobile Experience

More and more players are enjoying playing online poker for money on smartphonesand tablets while they're on the move. Even if that's not something you'replanning to take advantage of, a solid mobile offering is still a good sign thata site embraces change and is always looking for new ways to provide its users witha great experience.

Licensing/Software

When online casinos and poker rooms start up, they license their software fromdifferent software providers. Each of these software providers has their own takeon how to replicate casino games, including poker, and you'll almost certainlyprefer one to the others. Stick with the best online poker sites that use yourpreferred software provider.

The best way for a site to attract players is to offer brilliant poker bonuses and promotions. As a player, you can use these to your advantage to improve your chances of winning real money. There are several types of bonuses at the top poker sites, here's a breakdown of the most popular.

Welcome/Sign Up: After registering with an online poker site, you'll receive a welcome bonus, whichis usually a specific amount of bonus money to add to your first deposit.

Match Bonus: This bonus «matches the amount of money deposited by players to a setpercentage. For example, a 100% match grants a $50 bonus on a deposit of $50.

Reload Bonus: This is similar to a welcome bonus but is aimed at returning playerswho are topping up their account. It aims to be attractive enough that it candiscourage players from going elsewhere to take advantage of a welcome bonus onanother site.

No Deposit Bonus: The clue is in the name here: this is a small amount of bonus cash, with plenty ofstrings attached, that's gifted to players without the need to make a deposit first.

VIP Bonus: Players who are part of VIP programs or loyalty schemes qualify foradditional bonuses, sometimes very generous ones, that may not be available to thegeneral public.

Ongoing/Weekly Promotions: It's in a poker room's interest to hold on to players,so they'll often release bonuses (either at random or on certain days) or offercomplimentary freeroll tournaments.

Wagering requirements, which outline the number of times you must wager bonus money before you can withdraw, prevent players from claiming a welcome bonus and attempting to cash everything out immediately. They're more reasonable on the best online poker sites, with most falling in the range of 20-40x the value of the bonus and/or your original deposit. Different types of bonuses will be better suited to some players than others, so be sure to read all the small print.

Playing poker for free gives you the perfect opportunity to get familiar with different variations, hone your skills and become accustomed to reading opponents' moves, but it still won't fully prepare you for real money poker online.

It's difficult to successful prepare certain strategies and for scenarios in free poker; when there's no money on the line, players are much more likely to go all in, bluff or bet more aggressively than normal. In addition to learning about your own bankroll management, real poker online play helps you to see how others behave in ring games. That experience will prove vital as and when you transition to playing in tournament situations.

The bread and butter of the online poker world,Texas Hold'Em isavailable in every reputable poker room. The game sees players dealt two hole(face down) cards. They must use those cards and up to five community cards,dealt around multiple rounds of checking, betting and raising, to build the besthand possible. At the end of a round, a showdown determines who wins the pot.

You'll find Three Card Pokerin online casinos rather than poker rooms, because it's played against thedealer instead of other players. Players are dealt three cards after placingtheir bet and must decide whether to play the hand by doubling their wager orfold instead. Their hand is then compared with the dealer hand, which typicallymust have Queen high or better to qualify, to see who wins the round.

Another very popular game on the web, all the best online poker rooms offerOmaha alongside Texas Hold'Em and. Like inTexas Hold'Em, five community cards are dealt around multiple rounds ofbetting. In this case, however, players are dealt four hole cards and must useexactly two of their cards in conjunction with three community cards to buildthe best hand they can.

In Open-Face Chinese Poker, also known as OFCPor OFC, all cards are dealt face-up. Players start with five cards and aredealt another eight cards until they have thirteen. From these cards, theymust construct three hands (3 cards in the front, 5 each in the middle and back)comprised of two five card hands and one three card hand. The back hand mustbe stronger than or equal to the middle, and the middle must be stronger thanor equal to the front.

The easiest way to understandCaribbean Stud Poker, sometimes calledCasino Stud Poker, is to think of it as Stud poker that's played against thedealer in an online casino rather than against other players. For example, oncea player has anted up, both them and the dealer might be dealt five face-downcards. Once the dealer has revealed one of their cards, the player can choosewhether or not to double their initial bet or fold.

Although there are various different varieties ofdraw poker, such as 5-Card Draw, the gist ofthe game is this: players are dealt several hole cards and must attempt, aftervarious rounds of betting and a chance to discard some or all of their cards,to put together the best hand that they can. At the end of the round, there'sa showdown to determine who the winner is.

The basic rules of Hi Lo can be appliedto various different types of online poker gambling. In Omaha Hi Lo, for example,the game is played almost identically to standard Omaha rules except for thefact that each player must construct a high hand and a low hand (typically8 high or lower to qualify). The pot is split between the playerswho have the highest and the lowest hands in the showdown.

There are several different variations ofStud Poker, of which 7-Card Stud is one popularexample. The underlying aim of the game is to build a competitive hand from amix of face-up and face-down cards. In 7-Card Stud, for example, players aredealt two hole cards then four face-up cards and a final hole card. From these,they must use any five of their cards to build their hand.

The rules of Razz are similar to those of7-Card Stud with one very big difference: the aim of the game is to put togetherthe lowest hand possible. This means that A, 2, 3, 4, 5 is the best hand in Razz.The game is a real outlier in the world of poker, where a Royal Flush is almostalways the ultimate hand that players are searching for. It's definitely apopular variant though, and even features in the World Series of Poker.

Playing online poker for money offers so many different options and exciting opportunities that some new players get too excited. This can result in costly mistakes because they're placing bets without really thinking about what their next move should be. The tips below might seem simple but they're worth bearing in mind, even for those who don't consider themselves true beginners, and apply across all forms of poker:

While many rules are consistent across all the variations, such as hand strength,there are also some key differences. It's these which you must master to be successfulat any game type. While you may play different games, you're likely to come up againstplayers who are experts in a variant. Read our how to play pokerguide for more information.

Understanding the role of table position in poker (e.g. whether or not you'vecontributed any blinds) will help you to figure out when folding early is the rightmove. If you have a poor hand and haven't yet spent any money on the round, bowing outearly to avoid wasteful betting can be a good decision. Read ourintermediate poker strategy guide for more information.

The chance to enjoy multi-table poker is an exciting one that's rarely afforded toplayers offline. Although playing multiple hands at once offers the potential to rack upsome big wins, it should be avoided until you're confident playing(and winning consistently) at a single table. When you have more experience withonline poker, real money multi-table action is just a few clicks away.

Although physical tells have no role in the world of online poker, there are otherthings you can watch out for: how many hands are they playing, which (if any) face-upcards are they showing, have they been betting aggressively up to this point? Buildingup a picture of your opponents is part of the art of online poker.

When many people think of poker, they think of bluffing. In actual fact, there's noneed to bluff in order to become a successful poker player. Bluffing and semi-bluffingcan definitely be a valuable tool in your arsenal but playing the hand you're dealtshould always be your primary tactic.

Although the majority of poker rooms on the web play fair and offer a great experience for both new and established players, some sites out there don't play by the rules. It's these sites that, for various reasons, find their way onto our blacklist.

When we rate and review poker rooms, we look at everything from the software they use to the speed at which they pay out winnings, and everything in between. If a site seems rigged, or delays/complicates withdrawals, then that's a very bad sign.

Fortunately, sites that behave in a deceptive way or try to fix games develop a bad reputation very quickly and rarely last for long. We would recommend that, for the reasons outlined in each case, you avoid the sites below until they up their game:

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Best Online Poker Sites (2021) - Play Real Money Poker Online

Enjoy the best poker games at Replay Poker, the home of recreational poker online. Take on thousands of players just like you in fun and friendly competitions, including exciting ring game and tournament leaderboards.

Its action-packed, and theres a welcoming community of players from around the world to take on. Have you got what it takes to become king or queen of free poker?

Learn, play and win with Replay Poker, your go-to favourite for free poker games. With cool bonuses, free chips and freerolls, there's always a table ready for you.

Games run 24 hours a day, seven days a week and if youre short on time, play one of our turbo tournaments and make that final table in double-quick time.

Texas Holdem is the worlds most popular poker game. Youve seen the stars play for high stakes on television, but now you can enjoy the same drama and action for free at Replay Poker. Its fast and simple to sign-up, theres no download required, and you can dive straight into a game.

Texas Holdem is easy to learn but difficult to master. Yet that doesnt matter because youll have loads of fun trying with like-minded players. You wont risk your own money, and everyone else is patient with beginners.

In Texas Holdem every player receives two cards of their own face down (called hole cards) and must make the best poker hand from any combination of their own cards and up to five community cards dealt to everybody.

Of course, its not as simple as that! Therere successive rounds of betting, and as the No limit in No Limit Texas Holdem suggests, theres no limit to how much a player can bet. Will you hold your nerve against big-betting opponents? Or will you be the one pushing others around?

Join our action-packed games today and find out whos boss. Together with No Limit, enjoy Fixed Limit, Mixed Limit, and Pot Limit Texas Holdem games. Its always fun to try something new.

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If youre after even more action, step over to our Omaha tables, where youll soon discover free poker games have never been so enjoyable. Omaha seems to generate more betting, and more players see the flops (the first three community cards) because of the extra hand possibilities.

In Omaha, you get four hole cards of your own instead of two and, like Texas Holdem, up to five community cards. The extra hole cards mean more players are likely to connect with the board in some way. And when free poker players hit a hand, theyre willing to put their chips on the line.

Play Omaha, Omaha Hi/Low, or even 5 Card Omaha and 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo where, as the name suggests, you get a fifth hole card.

Players new to online poker might prefer to start with the Texas Holdem games first, which tend to be easier for beginners to follow.

But if youre restless to get going with Omaha, theres nothing stopping you diving right in and trying the poker games at Replay Poker today! Its fun and free, after all.

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Replay Poker really is the site of choice for Royal Holdem poker. This variant is only rarely found on online poker sites, but our community celebrates the challenge, and theres always a game to join.

Royal Holdem is unique in that only the aces, tens and picture cards are used, and there are only six seats used. The betting rounds (pre-flop, on the flop, turn and river) are the same as normal Texas Holdem. Hand-ranking rules remain the same, and because only a few cards are used, quads and royal flushes are not uncommon.

The game requires a different strategy, but it wont cost you a cent to make mistakes while learning free poker card games on Replay Poker. Plus, earn achievement badges awarded to recognize your increasing skill levels, your bankroll growth and how much you interact socially.

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Are you ready to enjoy the best free poker games in the world? Simply sign up and join the action. If you wish, read up a little more on the poker game rules and poker hand rankings.Youll soon be rising up our leaderboards and moving up the stake levels.

You can keep up to date with all our latest promotions and news when youre away from the tables by following us on social media or reading our blog.

Good luck at the tables.

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Play Free Poker Games Online

Action Player's turn to bet, raise, or fold

All-in Committing all your chips in a poker hand

Backdoor A draw requiring two connectors or same suited cards to complete

Bad Beat An unlucky loss against the odds

Bankroll Amount of money a player sets aside for poker

Big blind Mandatory bet before cards are dealt (by player after two seats after button)

Boat Full house

Blind Mandatory bet placed before cards are dealt

Bluff Bet or raise without the best hand in order to induce an opponent's fold

Board Shared or community cards

Bubble Player eliminated before the money in a tournament

Burn The card the dealer discards before dealing community cards

Button Seat where the dealer is sitting

Call Bet the amount of another player's bet

Check Choosing not to bet but stay in the hand

Chip A token used in poker to represent cash, with different colored chips representing different cash values.

Continuation bet A bet made post-flop by player who bet first pre-flop

Drawing dead When a player cannot win the hand, regardless of community cards to come

Fish An inexperienced or bad player

Fifth street The final community card, or river, dealt out

Flop The first three community cards dealt

Flush A hand consisting of five cards all the same suit

Fold Throwing away your hand

Fourth Street The turn card

Full house A hand consisting of three-of-a-kind plus a pair

Freeroll A free tournament with no buy-in and a pre-determined prizepool to be won

Freezeout A game without a re-buy option

Gutshot Uncompleted straight requiring one card

Heads-up A poker game between two players only

Kicker A highest unpaired card in a hand used to break ties

Limp To call the big blind pre-flop

Loose A reckless or aggressive player

Monster A very strong hand

MTT A multi-table tournament

Muck To fold a hand without revealing hole cards

Nuts The best possible hand

Offsuit Hole cards of different suits

Outs The cards remaining in the pack that can complete a winning hand

Overpair Holding a pocket pair higher than any possible using community cards

Play the board Using all community cards to create hand

Pocket pair A pair in your starting hand

Position A player's turn in betting order

Quads Four of a kind

Rags Terrible opening hand, like 7-2 offsuit

Rainbow A flop consisting of cards of different suits

Raise To bet more than the previous bet

Rake A percentage of pot taken by cardroom

River The fifth and final community card

Satellite A tournament awarding entry into a larger tournament

Set Three of a kind including a pair in the hole

Showdown Two or more players revealing cards to decide a winning hand

Side pot Extra pots contested after a multiple all-in

Sit and Go A tournament that starts once all seats are filled (normally a single-table tournament)

Small blind Mandatory small bet before cards are dealt (made by player seated after button)

Straight A hand consisting of connecting cards

Split pot An equally divided pot for tied hands

Tilt A loss control of your emotions in a poker game, meaning you become aggressive and angry (due to a bad beat).

Top pair A pair including a hole card and the highest community card

Trips Three of a kind including only one hole card

Turn The fourth community card

Under the gun The first player to act before the flop

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Best Poker Sites (2021) - Play Online Poker for Real Money

: an inscrutable face that reveals no hint of a person's thoughts or feelings Wright has a terrific poker faceI could see how he was able to keep things a secret right up through publication. Lawrence Weschler Work is fun. I can lose myself in it, I laugh a lot, I feel like I'm very much myself here; there's no poker face. Jerry Useem especially : one used strategically during a poker game a good "poker face" is considered a prerequisite for a successful gambling career. Sarah Ferguson Fifteen-year-old Matthew Siegel says learning to keep a poker face while playing Texas Hold 'em with his grandfather has served him well at school. The Wall Street Journal

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Poker Face | Definition of Poker Face by Merriam-Webster

What is Planning Poker?

Planning Poker is an agile estimating and planning technique that is consensus based. To start a poker planning session, the product owner or customer reads anagile user story or describes a feature to the estimators.

Each estimator is holding a deck of Planning Poker cards with values like 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40 and 100, which is the sequence we recommend. The values represent the number of story points, ideal days, or other units in which the team estimates.

The estimators discuss the feature, asking questions of the product owner as needed. When the feature has been fully discussed, each estimator privately selects one card to represent his or her estimate. All cards are then revealed at the same time.

If all estimators selected the same value, that becomes the estimate. If not, the estimators discuss their estimates. The high and low estimators should especially share their reasons. After further discussion, each estimator reselects an estimate card, and all cards are again revealed at the same time.

The poker planning process is repeated until consensus is achieved or until the estimators decide that agile estimating and planning of a particular item needs to be deferred until additional information can be acquired.

Did you know we have a specific Planning Poker tool as part of an Agile Mentors Membership?

If youre a member of our Agile Mentors Community you already have access to a Planning Poker tool that we developed for you to use with your team.

What members like about this tool is that you can invite unlimited guests into sessions and they dont have to be members.

Other highlights include:

Most teams will hold a Planning Poker session shortly after an initial product backlog is written. This session (which may be spread over multiple days) is used to create initial estimates useful in scoping or sizing the project.

Because product backlog items (usually in the form of user stories) will continue to be added throughout the project, most teams will find it helpful to conduct subsequent agile estimating and planning sessions once per iteration. Usually this is done a few days before the end of the iteration and immediately following a daily standup, since the whole team is together at that time anyway.

A product owner, ScrumMaster or agile coach can log in to our tool and preload a set of items to be estimated. A private URL can then be shared with estimators who log in and join a conference call or Skype session. Agile estimating and planning then proceeds as it would in person.

Absolutely. Teams estimating with Planning Poker consistently report that they arrive at more accurate estimates than with any technique they'd used before.

One reason Planning Poker leads to better estimates is because it brings together multiple expert opinions. Because these experts form a cross-functional team from all disciplines on a software project, they are better suited to the estimation task than anyone else.

After completing a thorough review of the literature on software estimation, Magne Jrgensen, Ph.D., of the Simula Research Lab concluded that the people most competent in solving the task should estimate it.

Second, a lively dialogue ensues during poker planning, and estimators are called upon by their peers to justify their estimates. Researchers have found that this improves estimate accuracy, especially on items with a lot of uncertainty as we find on most software projects.

Further, being asked to justify estimates has also been shown to result in estimates that better compensate for missing information. This is important on an agile project because the user stories being estimated are often intentionally vague.

Additionally, studies have shown that averaging individual estimates during agile estimating and planning leads to better results as do group discussions of estimates.

Planning Poker cards are available in the Mountain Goat Software store. Mountain Goat Software's branded Planning Poker cards are sold at cost as a courtesy to the agile community.

Our full-color cards are the absolute highest-quality cards available anywhere. They are manufactured by the same company that prints many of the world's most popular playing card brands, including Bicycle, Bee, and the World Poker Tour.

We also offer royalty-free licenses to organizations that wish to produce their own cards. The license is available here:https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/agile/planning-poker/license

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Planning Poker: An Agile Estimating and Planning Technique

The 888 brand has been going strong since 1997. Our commitment to players and gaming excellence is the reason we are proudly serving players in the US today. We are deeply invested in responsible, fair, and safe poker games. We subscribe to all the rules and regulations set forth by the New Jersey DGE, and we are audited for compliance.

As a registered poker player, you have access to multiple poker games online, SNGs, MTTs, cash games, and scheduled tournaments. Poker is a game of strategy, and we provide you with all the how to play resources you need to sharpen your poker skills.

Our customer support teams are standing by to offer you service excellence with a smile. We will gladly walk you through the registration process, answer all your questions, and assist you with technical queries. 888poker has a no-nonsense policy when it comes to payouts we deliver.

Claim your $20 free no deposit needed today and experience a world of opportunity with poker games online.

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888 Poker: Online Poker NJ | $20 FREE No deposit needed

Poker is a game which people play with a normal set (or deck) of 52 cards. Poker is a gambling game which involves some luck, but also some skill. In poker, players make bets against each other depending on the value of their poker hand. Bets are usually made with plastic or ceramic discs called chips. Bets may also be made with real money, but chips are more often used because they are easier to handle and count. At the end of the game, players either swap their chips for money, or the chips are counted to determine the order of winners.

There are many different kinds of poker. In draw poker, each player is dealt five cards. A player can decide to throw away a number of these cards and then take (draw) new cards to replace them.

In stud poker (for example, seven-card stud), some of each player's cards are laid (face-up) on the table so that the other players can see them. In community card poker (for example, Texas hold 'em), players share some of their cards in the center of the table.[1]

The history of poker is a matter of some debate. The name of the game likely descended from the French poque, which descended from the German pochen ('to knock'), but it is not clear whether the origins of poker itself lie with the games bearing those names. It closely resembles the Persian game of as nas, and may have been taught to French settlers in New Orleans by Persian sailors. It is commonly regarded as sharing ancestry with the Renaissance game of primero and the French brelan. The English game brag (earlier bragg) clearly descended from brelan and incorporated bluffing (though the concept was known in other games by that time). It is quite possible that all of these earlier games influenced the development of poker as it exists now.

English actor Joseph Crowell reported that the game was played in New Orleans in 1829, with a deck of 20 cards, four players betting on which player's hand was the most valuable. Jonathan H. Green's book, An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (G. B. Zieber, Philadelphia, 1843), described the spread of the game from there to the rest of the country by Mississippi riverboats, on which gambling was a common pastime.

Soon after this spread, the full 52-card English deck was used, and the flush was introduced. During the American Civil War, many additions were made, including draw poker, stud poker (the five-card variant), and the straight. Further American developments followed, such as the wild card (around 1875), lowball and split-pot poker (around 1900), and community card poker games (around 1925). Spread of the game to other countries, particularly in Asia, is often attributed to the U.S. military.

The game and jargon of poker have become important parts of American culture and English culture. Such phrases as ace in the hole, beats me, blue chip, call the bluff, cash in, pass the buck, poker face, stack up, up the ante, when the chips are down, wild card, and others are used in everyday conversation even by those unaware of their origins at the poker table.

Modern tournament play became popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began in 1970. It was also during that decade that the first serious strategy books appeared, notably The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky (ISBN1880685000), Super System by Doyle Brunson (ISBN1580420818), and The Book of Tells by Mike Caro (ISBN0897461002).

Pokers popularity has experienced an unprecedented spike in recent years, largely due to the introduction of online poker and the invention of the hole-card camera which finally turned the game into a spectator sport. Viewers can now follow the action and drama of the game, and broadcasts of poker tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour have brought in huge audiences for cable and satellite TV distributors.

The game of poker is played in hundreds of variations, but the following overview of game play applies to most of them.

Depending on the game rules, one or more players may be required to place an initial amount of money into the pot before the cards are dealt. These are called forced bets and come in three forms: antes, blinds, and bring-ins.

Like most card games, the dealer shuffles the deck of cards. The deck is then cut, and the appropriate number of cards are dealt face-down to the players. In a casino a "house" dealer handles the cards for each hand, but a button (any small item used as a marker, also called a buck) is rotated among the players to determine the order of dealing and betting in certain games. In a home game, the right to deal the cards typically rotates among the players clockwise, but a button may still be used.

After the initial deal, the first of what may be several betting rounds begins. Between rounds, the players' hands develop in some way, often by being dealt additional cards or replacing cards previously dealt. During a round of betting, there will always be a current bet amount, which is the total amount of money bet in this round by the player who bet last in this round. To keep better track of this, it is conventional for players to not place their bets directly into the pot (called splashing the pot), but rather place them in front of themselves toward the pot, until the betting round is over. When the round is over, the bets are then gathered into the pot.

After the first betting round is completed (every participating player having called an equal amount), there may be more rounds in which more cards are dealt in various ways, followed by further rounds of betting (into the same central pot). At any time during the first or subsequent betting rounds, if one player makes a bet and all other players fold, the deal ends immediately, the single remaining player is awarded the pot, no cards are shown, no more rounds are dealt, and the next deal begins. This is what makes it possible to bluff.

At the end of the last betting round, if more than one player remains, there is a showdown in which the players reveal their previously hidden cards and evaluate their hands. The player with the best hand according to the poker variant being played wins the pot.

The following are poker hands, from best to worst:

Poker chips are small disks. They made by various materials including molded plastic, colored metal molded clays. They are used in table games as play money. Modern poker traces its roots towards the 1800s, and in those days, players used what you could to help keep a tally. Coins, gold dust and nuggets were used until they considered replacing with something which would indicate them. Thus, the casino chips happen to be introduced within the gambling business.

Poker rooms started using casino chips to simply manage the cash and then collect charges. In those days, casino chips were created of ivory, bone, paper wood. However, the most generally used chips were created of composite clay. One problem made an appearance due to the developing casino chips which was cheating. Some players considered sneaking some chips in their hands. To avoid this, manufacturers created differentiated disks. Consequently, a range of styles was created. With time, other manufacturers could use many other materials for making casino chips, for example, plastic and metal.[2]

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Poker - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

September 22, 2021Calum Grant

It is no secret that the WSOP is the crown jewel of the poker calendar and with the 52nd Annual World Series of Poker kicking off on September 30, it is time for poker players from all over the world to start getting their bags packed in preparation.

For those that are attending this year's series for the first time or those who have forgotten what it's like at the live poker tables following the collection of global lockdowns last year, you maybe scratching your head about the essentials you need to take and what you can leave at home.

Well, PokerNews has got you covered with this checklist of all the things you should bring to make sure your WSOP experience is the best it can possibly be.

DON'T MISS: Unlimited Attempts at WSOP Main Event Seats for $49.99 at ClubGG

Even though it was announced that face masks will not be required at the 2021 WSOP you should know that this is a not a full blanket exemption. According to the 2021 WSOP FAQs players must still wear masks when:

At the beginning of the year, The Wall Street Journal released an article stating that hand sanitizer sales jumped 600% in 2020 in the United States alone so some of you are bound to have a few spare bottles taking up space in your homes.

Whilst washing your hands with soap and hot water is the best way to eliminate germs, remembering to sanitize your hands when at the WSOP is a non-invasive way of protecting yourself and others around you. Be sure to pack a bottle or two before you set off to Vegas with hand sanitizer that contains alcohol with levels between 60%-95%.

Read More: Coronavirus Prevention Tips: A Guide for Live Poker Players

Ever felt ice-cold in a desert? It is a mental conundrum that only exists when playing poker in Vegas. The Rio Las Vegas can get cold, very cold in fact and with all the measures in place for extra ventilation and the like, it would be a wise choice to have a few sweaters with you to beat the chill.

You're going to have your hands and your pockets full lugging your face masks, hand sanitizers and sweaters about, so make life easier by having a small rucksack with you when you're playing the events. It may seem like a chore but it gives great peace of mind knowing that everything will be secure.

Also, you do not want an oversized bag, there's a reason why we're suggesting a small bag. This allows you to avoid bumping into people in the hall as well as having the benefit of not carrying something heavy around all day.

The WSOP has confirmed an 88-bracelet schedule for 2021. Click here to check it out!

You're going to be playing events where there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of entries so getting the attention of a waiter or waitress may be a tall task to carry out. Have a decent water bottle handy at all times so you can stay hydrated by using one of the many water coolers available at the Rio. There's also the extra benefit that you'll save a couple bucks each time you fill up your bottle, what's not to like about that?

Make using a card protector whenever playing poker a habit at the WSOP. Even if you are veteran of protecting your hole cards, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

A card protector will stop your cards from turning face-up, a possible chance giving the extra ventilation measures, and it will reduce the chance of any poker dealers accidentally sweeping your cards into the muck, something that has happened at the WSOP in the past.

it is your responsibility to protect your hand at all times, limit the chance of error with a card protector.

A power bank, battery pack, whatever you want to call it will be one of the most useful items you can have on you when at the WSOP. In the fortunate event of you running deeper in an event than you expected to, you may exit the poker room to realise you can't get an Uber back to your hotel or AirBnB because your phone battery has all been used up. Having a battery pack eliminates this issue, but make sure that your battery pack has sufficient charge to sustain your phone's energy needs.

Also, you can't post a chip stack update on twitter if you haven't got a phone with any juice left.

Snacks at The Rio are costly, there's no need to tell you that twice as many of you will be already aware. Whether healthy or something more on the naughty end of the food pyramid, be sure to have some snacks on you to keep your energy levels up and your daily expenses down.

Is Your WSOP Mental Game All Set?

Whilst headphones may stop you from being distracted at the poker table at times, it would not be the end of the world if you were not to bring them to the poker room. Firstly, the atmosphere at the WSOP is magic and something you'll want to get the full feel of.

What more, being sociable at the poker table is a major part of the full WSOP experience and is blocking out the hustle and bustle worth more than possibly getting the chance to chat with the likes of celebrity WSOP regulars like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Ray Romano?

If you're feeling especially bitter following a bad beat or a flooring decision that didn't go your way, it is perfectly fine to feel upset, but do not bring those bad feelings with you to the WSOP. Taking your frustrations out at poker and floor staff or other players is only going to paint you in a bad light. You're going to be miserable and you will be making those around you resentful. If you can't shake it, then it may be worth finding something else to do for the day.

See the original post here:

WSOP 2021: 8 Things Poker Players Should Definitely Bring to the WSOP - and 2 You Shouldn't! - PokerNews.com

A pair of Las Vegas poker rooms will be temporarily closed this fall during the 2021 World Series of Poker.

The poker rooms at Ballys and Flamingo Las Vegas both posted on the Bravo poker app Wednesday that the properties would be closing its poker rooms between Sept. 26 and Nov. 26. Both of these poker rooms are owned by Caesars Entertainment and coincide with the dates for the upcoming live WSOP.

Please join us at the World Series of Poker in the Rio Convention Center for bracelet events, satellites, daily deep stack tournaments and cash games or Caesars Palace Poker room for cash games and daily tournaments, read the nearly identical posts on the app.

There were rumors circulating last month that Caesars would close some of its poker rooms so that the employees at those rooms could work the series and alleviate staffing issues stemming from the current labor shortage. While the announcement doesnt officially confirm the reason for the closure, the dates make it seem like it was more than a coincidence.

When Las Vegas casinos began reopening in the wake of the pandemic, many poker rooms stayed closed. MGM never reopened poker rooms at the Mirage or Excalibur and delayed opening its room at Mandalay Bay. Even after it did reopen the room, it came with limited operating hours.

Caesars opted to keep the Rio poker room closed and eventually closed the Planet Hollywood poker room after it initially reopened with limited hours. After Planet Hollywoods room shuttered, the only Caesars-owned poker rooms remaining were Caesars Palace, Flamingo and Ballys.

Flamingo and Ballys were the smaller of the three remaining rooms. There were 11 available tables at the Flamingo and another 14 at Ballys compared to 18 at Caesars. The flagship property also had considerably more foot traffic and the only one of the three to regularly spread stakes larger than $1-$3 no-limit holdem.

The 2021 World Series of Poker is scheduled to hold 88 live events and run from Thursday, Sept. 30 through Tuesday, Nov. 23.

Read more from the original source:

Pair Of Caesars-Owned Poker Rooms To Close During The World Series Of Poker - CardPlayer.com

Photo Courtesy of Unslaph Images

Last weeks Sport or Not was childs play compared to this week. I, Emily ONeil, of sound mind and body will be tackling one of the most debated activities of all time: poker.

If you were to Google Is poker a sport? youd get half of the articles saying yes, poker is a sport and professional poker players are athletes. Youll also get about half the articles saying why poker is just a game. So dear readers, its up to me to do the research for you and let you know what I think.

Last week, my problem with dodgeball was that theres no real coverage of it and not high enough stakes in a game of professional dodgeball. This is not the case with poker, in fact, did you know that every year theres a World Series of Poker? Yes! This years event is running from Sept. 30 through Nov. 22. and believe me people do watch it all the way through. And guess what else? In 2019, the winning champion, Hossein Ensan, won a whopping $10,000,000! Now that is some serious stakes.

The problem with poker is the physical aspect of it. Yes, its extremely mentally taxing and yes it takes serious skill, but its really not physically exerting at all. I know I might get push back on this because you might be able to stretch it somehow. If you think about it, though, sitting at a table for eight hours is certainly tiring, but only because youre thinking so hard. Not because youre running or lifting or swimming or anything else.

Like it or not readers, the physicality of sports is a huge part about what makes a sport a sport. Final verdict: poker is a game!

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Sport or Not: Poker - The New Paltz Oracle - SUNY The New Paltz Oracle