Tournament Levels — How Do They Affect Gameplay?

Whenever you play USA online poker, you get to choose whether you want to play cash games or tournaments. If you opt for cash games, the playing rules are rather simple. All you have to do is use cash to buy chips and start playing poker.

However, choosing tournaments is a bit more difficult, as you need to know how tournaments are organized. There are several things that you need to pay attention to, and one of the most important aspects is levels.

Essentially, levels in poker are constrained by time, and those who organized the tournament decide how long the levels will last. Usually, levels last 40 minutes to one hour in live tournaments. However, some players prefer the so-called “turbo” tournaments, where levels last for 15 minutes.

What Are Levels?

So, what are these levels exactly? When playing poker as a cash game, players need to pay a small fee for taking part in the hand. That way, they wouldn’t be able to fold every bad hand. If they fold too much, they will lose money nevertheless. This fee is always the same.

Things are a bit more complicated with tournaments, as both players and spectators would run out of patience if the fee, which is called a “blind” is always the same. Therefore, after every level, the blinds double up. For example, if blinds start at 25/50, they will double up to 50/100 at the next level.

That way, players who are reaching the very end of the tournament will have to stake a lot of chips even if they fold. It speeds up the game and makes it more exciting.

When you hear something like “he was left to five BBs,” that means that a player had enough chips to play five more hands during that level of play.

Levels are a very important part of almost every poker tournament and need to be taken into account every time you play. They can affect your poker strategy and make you redefine your approach to every hand.

If you want to explore how levels work, it’s best that you start by playing poker on the web. That way, you will not have the pressure of a live poker environment, and you will still be able to experience how levels affect the game.

Therefore, make sure to check out some of the best poker site reviews and get ready for some great online poker.

True Poker Offers A 100% Bonus Up To $1,000

True Poker is a great online poker platform for all players who enjoy USA online poker. It has a lot of interesting tournaments in addition to numerous hefty promotions that could further improve your poker experience on this site.

New players who decide to open an account on the site will be able to claim a welcome bonus. Let’s take a closer look at this promotion and what you need to know about it before you claim it. Read on!

The welcome bonus on this site basically offers a 100 percent match bonus up to $1,000. Therefore, if you deposit, for example, $200, True Poker will give you an additional amount that matches that sum.

In other words, you will receive another $200, which will be available for playing poker on the platform.

The only thing that you need to make sure is that you deposit at least $25, as that’s the amount required to trigger the welcome bonus. Therefore, every hand you play, you will release the bonus cash.

What makes this offer unique is that you can double it if you choose cryptocurrencies to be your payment method. In that case, you will be able to receive 200 percent on your deposit, which means twice as much bonus money.

However, this is just a limited offer, so make sure that it is available at the time you register.

Things To Remember

Just like every other bonus on poker and casino sites, this one also comes with some things that you need to take into account before you decide to claim it. You need to understand that your bonus money will be released to your main balance based on your Award Points.

Every $1 will be released to your account for every 27.5 Award Points you earn. Make sure to read more about Award Points and how they work on the True Poker site. That will help you understand how the site works, and you will be able to make the most out of your bonus money.

True Poker is not the only site offering great online bonuses for new players. If you want to claim bonuses on your first deposit, make sure to check out the best USA poker sites and read more about the promotions that are available for new players.

Also, feel free to explore those sites to find poker games and tournaments that you prefer. There are plenty of options available on these sites, including Texas Hold ’em, Omaha, and more.

Poker and Cryptocurrencies: How to Play

There’s one thing that poker players love more than a good game of poker. In fact, many would argue that it’s the favorite thing of the majority of poker lovers around the globe. Could you guess what it is? It’s money.

Cryptocurrencies offer the newest form of money, and many USA online poker platforms decided to make them available for poker players. It was the only logical thing to do, given the huge popularity of this type of currencies, and how poker players became instantly hooked on them.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, etc. — there are now hundreds of available cryptocurrencies, and all it takes to obtain some is to buy them via an official exchange or to earn them somehow.

Bitcoin is still the most popular type of cryptocurrency. The legendary “digital gold” is perhaps the only crypto that the majority of poker rooms, as well as other gambling sites, nowadays accept.

Therefore, if you want to play poker with cryptos, the chances are that you are going to be allowed to make a deposit using Bitcoin. Let’s see how to do that.

To make a BTC deposit, you first need to open an account on an online platform that allows this type of payment.

Open Up Your Wallet

Next, you need to select Bitcoin as your preferred payment method once you open an account and make a deposit using your Bitcoin wallet, by inputting the address provided by the platform.

If you’re new to BTC, you probably wonder — what are Bitcoin wallets? Essentially, they’re just like any other wallet, except that they are digital, and they store digital money. You need to download a wallet to store your BTC.

Every wallet comes with a special wallet address, which is basically like an email address except that it doesn’t make much sense (it’s usually just a string of random characters), and you use them to send and receive money instead of mails.

So, once you deposit your BTC, you can start playing your favorite poker games and enjoy them as long as there’s money in your balance on the platform of your choice.

Speaking of platforms — which one should you choose? There are a lot of great poker platforms out there, and many of them offer Bitcoin as a payment method.

Therefore, make sure to check out the best poker site reviews to find out more about them and the things they offer. Pay special attention to poker bonuses, as they can help you receive additional money for playing poker.

What’s Pai Gow Poker And How Do You Play It?

Pai Gow poker is one of the most popular poker variants and is available to many players who play USA online poker as well as land-based casinos around the globe. It was created by Sam Torosian, who was himself a casino owner back in the day. The game caught on like wildfire when it was made back in the 1980s and is now available almost everywhere.

The goal of Pai Gow poker is to create not one but two poker hands that are going to be better than the poker hands of your opponents. It’s pretty easy to understand and play this poker variant if you already have some experience playing other poker types such as Texas Hold ’em or Omaha.

Only Bet

Betting in Pai Gow starts before any cards are dealt. However, unlike other poker games, this is the only time you will actually place a bet during a single hand, which makes the element of luck impact the game a bit more compared to other types of poker.

Once all players place bets, each (up to six players per table) receives a total of seven cards. Now, the main goal of Pai Gow is to use those seven cards and create two hands.

The big hand consists of five cards, while the small hand has two cards. The small hand (also known as the front hand) can only be a pair or two high cards, which makes things a bit more interesting when playing Pai Gow.

One More Card

What makes Pai Gow stand out from other poker types is the inclusion of a joker, which can replace any card if you can make a straight or a flush with it. In every other type of scenario, the joker is considered an ace. It’s also considered an ace if it is a part of the small hand.

Finally, you must keep in mind that the big hand must always have a higher rank than your small hand. If you manage to make that mistake, you will lose the bet and “foul your hand.”

This is basically it — the better your hands are, the higher the opportunity to win the hand and receive more chips. However, to do that, you need to know some of the important strategies that are used in Pai Gow poker. This is a perfect topic for another article!

If you want to play Pai Gow right now, make sure to check out some poker site reviews and find out more about casinos offering this type of online poker.

Stone-Cold Bluff — Should You Ever Use It?

This is our third article on types of bluffs in poker, and players who enjoy USA online poker can now find out more about so-called stone-cold bluffs. So, what are they exactly?

Another name for a stone-cold bluff is a “total bluff.” Basically, when you want to pull off this bluff, you have no chance at all at actually winning a hand. You know just by looking at your hole cards that there’s little to no chance that the community cards are going to help you, but you proceed with betting, with one goal in mind — to make others fold.

Therefore, it’s a brave move, and you need to be so persuasive to make others think that your cards are that good that they simply must fold, while the reality is completely opposite, and you actually have no chances of winning the hand.

Be Aggressive

The stone-cold bluff is usually pulled out with very aggressive betting. It sometimes even involves going all-in on the flop or even the pre-flop. However, players often make stone-cold bluffs on the turn and the river, when there’s a lot of money in the game.

The deeper you go into the hand, the chances of other players actually calling your bet increase. Therefore, most of the players attempt stone-cold bluffs on the pre-flop or flop, as other players are still very eager to give up at that point and fold.

Most professionals advise attempting stone-cold bluffs only when you play heads-up, as more players increase the chances of someone actually calling your bet and seeing through your bluff.

However, many poker players agree that you should avoid making stone-cold bluffs whenever possible as they come with great risk and you can lose a lot of chips if you don’t pull it off the right way.

The only scenario when you should actually consider bluffing your way out is when you play against only one opponent, and you have already bet a lot of chips. If you know that your opponent is a tight player and that there’s a chance for them to fold despite being deep in the hand, then you might consider bluffing them into folding.

If you want to test this strategy, make sure to do it in low-stakes games in order not to lose a lot of money if things go awry. Some of the best USA poker sites offer various poker games where you can practice bluffing and other interesting poker strategies.

Quick Bluffs: Are They Worth It?

Bluffing is an essential poker strategy and can be very beneficial if you know how to pull it off. No matter whether you play land tournaments, cash games, or USA online poker, you need to know how to bluff your way out and win in the game with it.

One of the most popular types of bluffs is the so-called quick bluffs. Although the name might not sound familiar to you, you’ve probably seen this in poker millions of times, as it is one of the most popular bluffs out there that can help you win chips in a record period of time.

Essentially, quick bluffs are also called “small ball” and are made when you make small bets and create small and medium pots. They work especially when the rate of success is high.

In other words, when making quick bluffs, the reward if profitable but not as much as some other poker strategies can bring.

For example, let’s say that the flop shows two queens and a six, and three players make a check while you’re on the button. Nobody raised the pre-flop, and it seems that nobody is interested in making huge bets. There are two possible options here.

The first one is that somebody has a queen and wants to slow-play you into making bigger bets. The other is that nobody has hole cards that are good and are ready to fold easily.

If you manage to see that the second case is more likely, it’s time to make a quick bluff by making a big raise. Once you do that, nobody would dare make a call as they wouldn’t think it necessary. You would take all the chips from the pot, although there would not be many of them, as other players did not make additional bets.

It’s a small victory — but still a victory!

Psychological Win

The beauty of quick bluffs is that they can boost your confidence and sometimes be very important for changing the tide of the game. Just remember that you need to use them wisely and not overuse them as your opponents might see through your strategy.

If you want to practice quick bluffs, you should start by playing online poker. The online environment is always great for testing new strategies, and this one is no exception.

If you want to do that, you first must choose a good online poker platform. Make sure to select one of the best USA poker sites in order to maximize your online experience.

The Semi-Bluff: What Is It and How Do You Use It?

Whenever we play poker, we need to think about the bluffs. They are a very powerful weapon but can turn against us if we don’t know how to use them. One of the popular types of bluffs is the so-called semi-bluff, which many professionals utilize from time to time. Just like with every other bluff, the overall purpose is to confuse opponents and make them think that your cards or intentions are different than they actually are.

So, what type of bluff is a semi-bluff? And why is it considered “semi” at all? Well, the only difference between a bluff and a semi-bluff is that you are actually raising with a draw when utilizing a semi-bluff. What does that mean?

Basically, we have a draw hand, meaning we still have a chance to improve in the end, but we bluff like we have good cards. This is a popular tactic, especially in America, where people use it sometimes both in live tournaments and cash games and in USA online poker.

Why Do It?

What’s the point of semi-bluffing? It is actually a type of bluff that is, in a way, safer compared to the pure bluff. In a pure bluff, you know that you don’t have any chances of winning a hand, yet you stick to a lie to make your opponents believe that you have great cards. On the other hand, in semi-bluffing, there’s an actual possibility of having great cards if the element of luck is present.

For example, if you have four cards of the same suit and you need one more to make a flush, you can use a semi-bluff and trick your opponents. The thing is — there are still cards on the table that need to be turned face-up, meaning that not all hope is lost for you.

If the turn or the river shows another card that matches your four ones suit-wise, you can have a good hand. However, the point is to make your opponents think that your hand is strong from the beginning.

The semi-bluff is used in very specific situations, and only when you know that the chances of your opponents folding are high. Make sure to follow everything closely and act when the time is right.

You can practice this bluff both by playing with your friends or by taking part in tournaments and cash games offered at the best USA poker sites. Start with small buy-ins and try to do your best. Don’t try to use semi-bluffs too often, though. Your opponents will see through you in that case!

True Poker Offers A Lucrative First Deposit Bonus Up To $1,000

True Poker is a popular online platform for all players who enjoy playing USA online poker. It offers several very interesting promotions, and we are going to take a look at the welcome bonus in this article, which is the first bonus you can claim on the site. In fact, True Poker calls it the First Deposit Bonus, which is essentially just that — a bonus you can claim once you make your initial deposit.

Essentially, you will get a 100 percent match bonus up to $1,000, which is a pretty standard offer for the majority of online gambling sites. In other words, if you deposit, for example, $100, you will get an additional $100, which you cannot withdraw immediately, but you can use to play poker games on the site. The way it works is that your cash is “released” every time you win poker points, thus clearing the bonus.

In order to receive this great bonus, all you have to do is open an account on True Poker and make your initial deposit choosing one of the possible payment methods.

More With Crypto

Speaking of payment methods, there’s something you should know about this promotion that you might like, especially if you own some cryptocurrencies at the moment. Namely, the officials decided to make the welcome bonus even more lucrative for all the people who decide to make a deposit in cryptos.

The site currently features approximately 60+ cryptos (make sure to check the list of the supported ones). Once you deposit in one of the digital currencies, you will also be able to claim the bonus.

However, what’s different this time is that you get a 200 percent bonus instead of 100 percent. In other words, if you deposit $100, your bonus will be $200. The upper limit stays the same, however, and is $1,000.

Therefore, in order to get the maximum possible bonus with cryptocurrencies, you need to deposit a total of $500 in the crypto of your choice.

If you like what True Poker has to offer, make sure to navigate to the promotions section, which also features additional bonuses for people who already spent their First Deposit Bonus.

Moreover, if you are interested in playing poker on other poker sites, make sure to read poker site reviews and find out more about such platforms, many of which actually offer similar welcome bonuses to this one.

What Are Re-Entries And How They Work In Online Poker?

Every poker and online poker tournament in the world either allows re-entries or not. Basically, the name itself tells us all we have to know about this — re-entires allow players to test their luck and skills in poker once again in a tournament where they had already dropped out.

For example, let’s say that you played a USA online poker tournament that requires a $10 buy-in, and you didn’t do well. In fact, imagine that you immediately busted. What a bummer!

If a tournament doesn’t allow you a re-entry, that’s pretty much it for you. You should start looking for alternatives, such as playing other tournaments or simply playing some cash games. On the other hand, if a tournament allows you a re-entry, it means that you get another show at it (or a couple of ones).

What you must do in order to enter the competition again is simply pay another buy-in price, which is $10 in this case. You will receive the starting amount of chips and have another opportunity to showcase your poker skills.

Now, re-entries aren’t allowed during the entire course of the tournament. It’s usually specified until when they are allowed. Once the tournament reaches that point, you will not be able to enter it again.

Worth It?

In the end, you need to ask yourself — is it worth entering the tournament again? Sometimes, there is a good reason why you lost all your chips and had to hit the rail. Perhaps your opponents were too strong, or it just wasn’t your day.

Therefore, if you think that you are good enough and that the fact that you’re out is just a momentary absence of luck, you should buy yourself another try.

Also, you need to consider whether it’s profitable for you to enroll once again. Make sure not to affect your budget if you decide to give it another show, as even some high-roller tournaments allow players to re-enter the game.

In order to find great and lucrative poker tournaments that allow re-entries, you should consider reading more about the best USA poker sites. All of them have various kinds of tournaments, and some of them allow players to buy their way back in.

Moreover, make sure to check out welcome bonuses on these sites, as these can help you increase your poker experience and enjoy playing the card game on those platforms.

Managing Poker Bankroll Isn’t That Difficult

If you like playing USA online poker, you probably know that you need to plan your budget if you want to play for real money. The thing with poker is that some people tend to invest a lot of money and lose it, as they don’t really pay attention to their bankroll.

Now, there are good days in poker, and then there are the bad ones. If you play cash games, it’s important that you know when enough is enough, and not buy more chips every time you lose. That’s why there are various poker bankroll strategies that can help you improve your game.

After all, money plays an important part in every gambling game, including poker, so mastering your budget management will affect your overall poker experience.

Separation Of Funds

First of all, if you are an active poker player, you need to separate your personal finances from the finance intended for playing poker. If you happen to run out of money for poker, you should never let it affect your personal finances.

The next piece of advice is somewhat related to the first one, and that is always to play within the bankroll that you had set. Never use more money than you originally intended for playing this game. Whenever you cross the line, you can consider yourself a loser, even if you have relatively good cards.

Don’t get affected by the current situation. Poker is just a game, and making a streak of bad hands should not affect you. In other words, once you start making quick decisions that you did not think through enough, you will definitely lose all your money. One such decision is buying more chips in a cash game when the things obviously don’t go your way.

Also, if you happen to be running out of money for playing poker, don’t be afraid to play lower stake games. There are many different games in online poker rooms, so make sure to adapt them to your current financial situation. In other words, don’t play high-stake games if you cannot afford them — it’s too big of a risk. Playing games that fit your budget will bring you better financial certainty.

Finally, make sure to make the most of the poker bonuses that are offered by many online poker rooms. These bonuses can help you understand how to take care of your budget for poker, especially if you are completely new to the game and prone to make rookie mistakes regarding your bankroll.