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A significant component of the game of poker, even free poker games is the ability to walk away from a table at the right time. For example, you’ve settled in for an eight hour 1-2 No Limits game. Your starting bankroll is two hundred Dollars. You have been playing for only 2 hours and are up to 600 dollars, should you walk away?

Or, on a less positive note, after two hours you’re down 300, and had only budgeted that much as your maximum allowed loss. Do you go get more money from the ATM or bail out and go home on a bit of a downer?

These scenarios are simple and get repeated every day, thousands of times on poker tables and websites globally and, the bottom line is, you need self discipline and awareness of your bankroll else you can lose very badly. There have been times when I have sat down at a poker table, won 500 in 2 hours, and then ended up losing it all during the next 6 hours.

Often times I am set on playing for a certain period of time, and will not call it quits until that time is reached. Discipline is a component of my game that I must continue to work on if I plan on seeing positive results at the poker table.

Let’s explore another scenario. I have been playing at a 1-2 NL table for 2 hours, I am stuck 600. Over the next 6 hours, I claw my way back to almost even, and am down 30 dollars.

What should I do? Seeing that I made my way back to almost even, should I continue playing due to my hot streak? Or seeing that I was able to make it back to even, should I just call it a day and walk away with a minimal loss?

Often times I make the mistake of continuing my play, only to end up losing the money that I worked on getting back. My advice based on personal experience, it is best to walk away after hours of clawing your way back from a large deficit.

Here is one more scenario for all of you to contemplate. You are at a table that is throwing chips around like they have no value attached to them. Players are going all in with Ace rags and they are losing hundreds of dollars and do not seem to care.

They clearly have big bankrolls or more money than sense if they look like they’re going to play so recklessly for hours. Your bankroll is small, but you feel that this may be an opportunity for you to double up or even triple up.

Is this type of table ideal? Or are you better off to play at a tighter table with more skilled players?

I have often made the mistake of staying at a table of reckless players with a minimal bank roll. When I lose a 200 dollar pot, I am half way to losing my entire bank roll. When those reckless donkeys lose 200, they pull out more cash like its monopoly money.

The bottom line is that a good skilled player should not fall to the temptation of playing with reckless donkeys.

In summary I strongly advise that you play games with tighter, if better players and win more small pots as opposed to taking large risks on bigger pots and maybe losing your bankroll totally. In addition to this start small and play free poker first to learn the in’s and out’s of the game. As they say, learn to walk before you run then, when you are fully ready you can play for real money. If you are a total novice then good free sites will have play free poker sections which I advise you check out before playing.

If you’ve played poker for anytime at all, especially free poker games or lost a wad of money in cash games, and shook your head in wonder at why and how some people insist on playing what is universally called donkey or donk style poker. I’m sure most anyone who plays free poker knows what donkey poker is, but in a nutshell it is a poker player who calls every hand, regardless of what cards they hold, who has no problem going all in with 92 off suit, closing their eyes and praying for a winning board; i.e., donking the hand

I’ve seen no end of players donking. I’m not sure if it is the fact they are playing free poker, or they get an adrenaline rush from it, or truly have no idea how to play poker. Possibly they learned to play by themselves or in fun beer and poker games with friends and so have not learned key poker concepts like pot odds and outs etc.

I will also say, that trying to play donkey poker will break you faster than any other style of poker. You may win a few hands and build a small bankroll, but nearly every player I have seen play this style of poker goes broke and you will soon see them asking for a loan, or spending endless real cash in order to play again.

It can be quite frustrating to play against donkey style players. You may lose a few hands and be tempted to allow that emotion to affect your style of play, but in the long run, good poker play will only build your bankroll not bankrupt you. Patience is the number one skill you must possess to play a good game of poker and build your bank.

So when you are tempted to change your style of play, and we’ve all done it a time or two, remember in the long run you’re the one who will still have a bankroll to play with while others will be scrambling to find someone to front them some chips!

To learn how to play and beat donkeys (and stay sane) go and play free poker, there you will find legions of donkeys who will quickly show you their all in on 7-2 ways and generally attack your sanity! Free poker games sites are also the ideal places to learn how to play poker for beginners On free poker sites you will learn poker basics in a low risk environment as well as learning how to combat donk play and find ways to regularly have the donkeys donate their stacks to your bankroll!

Strong money game and free poker games players often amaze me with their ability to put their opponents on hands with incredible regularity. We all do this to some extent but even the good players can over use this tactic on occasion especially in poker tournaments and you can lose chips as a result. It is a particular danger if you are playing when tired. Read here what one player did; probably he is already exhausted so he committed an untimely mistake, I hope seeing this will help you avoid such a situation and save you some money or if you’re in free poker games your chips.

BLINDS 3k/6k

PREFLOP:

A has Kd-Kc, raises to 16k
B has Ad-9d, is on BB, calls10k (Pot 44k)

A’s standard raise (about 2.5x the big blind)  raise is intended to hide the actual strength of his hand. B’s call is discounted, so he makes it.

FLOP: 9c-5h-Qh

A bets 22k
B calls 22k (Pot 88k)

The 22k bet seems like a continuation bet in a Flop which is not so likely to hit anyone, and at this point B may think A is on a draw (a Flush draw or a Straight draw) and so calls in order to try to improve his hand.

TURN: 9c-5h-Qh-7c

A bets 109k

What did A want to do with his 109k bet in a pot of 88k?

Let’s see, before we see what B does:

Question: Was he signifying that he hit a Nine-high Straight?
Answer: Possibly, since there are 2 Flush draws on the table that could threaten his Straight if he keeps going to the River. He wants to end the hand, or he wants to give insufficient odds for anyone with a Flush draw to call. Or, maybe he is representing all of these.

Question: Might he have A-Q or something?
Answer: No idea! Perhaps I put him on the hand at the Flop though I wasn’t putting him on it after the Flop. Would he pile up 109k on just A-Q? What if I have K-K? He doesn’t know what I have; I called at a reduced price from the BB. Also, favorably, he may have a 10-9 or J-9, and I have a huge advantage.

Question: What else do you think he had?
Answer: A Flush draw or a Straight draw. Either way my pair of Nines is leading, so I call.

Question: Even though it’s for all your chips?
Answer: This is the best hand I’ve had for hours!

B calls all-in 109k (Pot 306k)

B forgot to think that A may have K-K or A-A. Based on the theoretical question-answer set above, Bs answers mean that on looking at the table B believed that As cards are related to the table so as to Pair up one of As cards and make a 5-card hand (Straight or Flush) or a possible 5-card hand. The fundamental error being made is that B was only thinking about the board and not what A’s hand may be and, in doing so forgot to put A on other hands that might not be so readily matched to the Board cards. Plus, being tired he compounded the error by calling with a marginal hand to get it over with and the result was being knocked out of the game.

So make sure when you play not to overplay and play tired and if you are keep back to basics or play free poker else your body and mind may play tricks on you. And if you are new to poker online then you do get mind fried more quickly so try some how to play poker for beginners games and free poker coaching first before stepping into extended tournament poker games.

Gambling (playing risky hands in important situations) in poker tournaments is generally a bad idea but there are times when you might want to and in this free poker games guide you’ll learn when and how. The question of when to gamble is easy to answer. The time is in the knockout stages, when you need to get rid of opponents as in the example below.

This hand was shown on the Flop. (Pot 980k)

FLOP: 5c-8d-10s

A has J-10, moves all-in 1.235m (Pot 2.215m)
B has J-9, to call 1.235m

It turns out that A is short-stacked but has top-pair and may double up. B has a Straight draw. It’s irrelavent if A has an overpair, a set or only a pair such as a top pair like his J-Ten, or only just an 8. B has a great chance to win if he gets the Straight, and if A does not have a Set, which A does not have at this stage that could be turned into a Full House; for this A needs running cards but is only getting 1.79-to-1 on a call, which is too little.

Fair odds will be 2.33-to-1, which signifies that B’s potential for winning is only 30% (other outs may be folded already by other players). If B knew that A had top pair, should he call? (Naturally, A may be bluffing, but even if A had A-K, B will still be an underdog.)

Pot odds may offer information, but will it offer enough resolution for B to make the challenging call? Suppose, now, we add that (a) B is below the chip average in the tournament and (b) this call is for 1/3 of B’s stack. We might should also guess that this is actually the best hand that B has obtained after numerous hands, and B is blinding out dangerously. Can this stiffen B’s resolve to make the call? In tournaments, an intricate balance between survival and accumulating chips is paramount.

B can survive by folding, but he may miss out the opportunities that a bigger stack could have. Bigger stacks can call shorter stacks who move all-in. Bigger stacks can steal blinds more frequently. He can also move above chip average. But if B misses his draw, he will be awfully short-stacked and will be more easily called if he decides to move all-in with hazardous hands, like A-J that is an underdog against a better Ace or a pocket pair.

The question, now, is this: Does B take into account the difference between 1.79-to-1 and 2.33-to-1 a worthwile price to pay to be able to obtain some of the potential opportnities a big stack can have? On a pot of 2,215,000, if B needs 1,235,000 to call he gets 1.79-to-1. But for B to call with fair odds on a pot of 2,215,000, he is meant to put only 30% of 2,215,000, which is 664,500.

There is a difference of 570,500 chips. We could transform the real scenario to a mathematically equivalent question: Would B be willing to give up an additional 570,500, theoretically, in order to enjoy the privileges of a big stack, as well as to avoid the hazards of a short-stack? Even in free poker games this would be a hard decision, with money on the table even more so.

With the problem mathematically remodeled, the solution now depends upon B’s character. Is he conservative generally? Then he can fold and wait for better hands. He might not be able to psychologically recover if he loses the hand, and might play less attentively later. But it turns out that B is a willing gambler, therefore:

B calls 1.235m (Pot 3.45m)

And then he does make the call! Not a favorite, but this is also a chance to knock out a good player.

TURN: 5c-8d-10s-2d

But, not quite yet. B has one more opportunity to try to knock out A.

RIVER: 5c-8d-10s-2d-7h

He gets it! The gamble has worked. But such grand decisions should be made only after huge considerations. If B had a bigger stack (above chip average), he should fold because he might waste away his chips on poor odds and might turn a comfortable stack into a shaky one.

Although if B had an even bigger stack – close to chip leader – he might call, because it will be just a small blow to his chips. Yet if B’s stack is equal or less than A then he can’t call if he knows A has top pair as he will likely get pushed all-in, and if that happens then there is a great danger of the opponent having a monster hand waiting to kill you off. B made his call, but only at the right conditions and even if you only play poker online for free take care before making moves like this!