888 Poker’s new Android app has always been aimed at compatibility. Indeed, the app runs on pretty much every Android-based mobile phone and tablet, but here’s a downside: it only runs on devices which support Adobe Air, which kind of defeats its purpose, but that’s how things are compatibility-wise right now.

The app can be downloaded directly from the 888 Poker website, where there’s a special section dedicated to it. Downloading takes a few seconds only given the fact that the downloadable .apk file is only 10MB big. Even those using slower connections will be able to fetch the app in under 3 minutes. Once downloaded and installed, the app will take up 23 MBs on the host device.

For those whose devices are capable of running the app, it does indeed represent quite a magical solution for playing real money online poker on the go. It allows players to sign into the poker room using their existing 888 Poker usernames and passwords, but at the same time, it also gives players the possibility to open a new account right through the app. Players will be able to access the cashier through the app, in order to deposit or to withdraw funds. They will also gain access to the 888 network, which means that they’ll be playing against the players who use the PC-based downloadable software to connect.

Mobile players can engage in real money action or they can hit the play money tables, but with all those advantages, the software does have a few rather striking shortfalls as well: multi tabling is not currently supported, so serious grinders will probably have to wait for an update to come out before they can seriously consider going mobile. The 888 Poker Android app only supports Texas Holdem play.

Once launched, the app will prompt players to either log in or to register. If they log in, there’s an option for saving their passwords, so they won’t have to type it in every time they log back in (a pretty important feature for touch-screen device users). Those who hit the register button will be taken over to a web-based registration form.

Once logged in, the lobby opens up. The lobby features the 888 Poker logo in the top left corner. The lobby can be accessed in logged in as well as not logged in modes. When not logged in, the welcome message in the top right corner of the lobby is addressed to ‘guest’. Players will be able to hit the play money tables while not logged in.

When logged in, the player’s online moniker appears in the top right corner, together with bankroll information. Players will also be able to access the cashier from the logged-in lobby.

Access to the tables is simple and straightforward. There are two tabs in the main lobby: the beginners tab and the quick seat. The beginners tab offers instant access to 3 cash games tables which feature various limits and betting structures. By selecting one of the 3 tables and hitting the ‘play now’ button, players will be able to jump into the action right away. The quick seat tab offers players the possibility to manually search for a table which suits their playing style/bankroll. Players will be able to set filters based on several criteria like game type, table type and stakes. The game type is basically about the three different Holdem betting structures: NL, FL, and PL. The table type refers to heads-up tables of full ring games.

The stakes selection is achieved with the help of a slider bar, which allows some pretty fine-tuning.

From the lobby, players will also be able to access the help section as well as the ‘settings’ section, where they can choose and set their avatars. The current avatar selection is wide and well-categorized, and navigation through it is simple and straightforward.

Once the ‘play now’ button is hit, players are shown a pre-table screen, where they get additional information on the table and where they can also set the amount of chips they’re willing to take to the table.

The actual tables feature some pretty stunning graphics, and by that we don’t mean they’re flashy and intricate, but rather that the whole thing is amazingly functional. The visibility of the cards is quite outstanding, even on devices with smaller screens. Even the chip stacks in play on the table can be seen perfectly well. There’s a chat section and the usual player avatars around the table, complete with stack sizes. Additional information can be obtained on each player, and there’s a tagging system in place too, which allows players to quickly identify those whom they repeatedly come across.

The user interface consists of the usual action buttons: Fold/call/raise and some auxiliary, pot-size related betting buttons. Players will be able to tweak the size of their bets through a slider-bar too. The action buttons seem a tad bulky, but they’re just optimized for touch screen-devices, which is indeed a welcome feature.

Select the type of Table

Examine the competition first by looking at the tables, limits, and players. Most players have a specific game they enjoy playing such as Texas Hold’em versus Omaha. Once you decide on the poker variations, you need to determine your table limits i.e. how much are you willing to spend on one hand? If you do not have a limit, you may go for no limit poker; however, if you can only afford a few pounds it is best to look at the tables that fit your limits.

Determine your Limits

Poker tables do require a minimum bet, as well as placing limits on the game. There are tables that require only a few pounds where others may ask for at least 10 pounds for the initial bet and each subsequent bet.
Once you have the variation and limits required, you can begin to scope out the poker rooms that fit your needs. See who is at the tables and begin playing with conservative behaviour.

Choosing the Right Players

The online world of poker is full of inexperienced players who like to make large bets but end up losing. You can take advantage of these players once you find the right poker table. You may have to play a few rounds with the players at the poker tables that fit your requirements, but you will slowly learn the behaviours of those at the table. This is why you need to be conservative in your bets.
It won’t take too long to determine which players you want to sit with. Like you players generally return to the same tables or online site. After a few times of playing at the site of choice and checking out the different tables you should know the players to look for from then on. Basically, scope out the different players and make certain you return to those players who tend to lose more often.

Remember, you need to choose poker tables based on the game variation you enjoy, the limits you have, and then the players. It may take a little time, but you will eventually find tables you are comfortable with. Next week we will update you on how to pick positions once you are at a poker table, see you then!

Stud Poker
Stud poker is based on a combination of face up and face down cards. There are multiple betting rounds in stud. You are usually dealt five or seven cards. From this game came community card poker games like Omaha.

Omaha Poker
In Omaha poker you are dealt face up cards, but you also have at least one face down card. There is a river in the game. You also have a flop. The flop is the first three face up cards on the board. The river is the last card dealt to see what hands can be pulled. The cards which are shared help make up the five or seven card game. It means you have cards in your hands and then you add cards from the flop to see which cards make the best hands.

Horse Poker
Horse is a mixed poker variation. It is a mix of Texas Hold’em, Omaha high low, Razz, seven card stud, and seven card stud eight or better. The game is played for a fixed number of hands. It can also be a fixed amount of time, so that the players move on to the next game before too much time elapsed. The idea is to actually spell HORSE for the win. It is sometimes played as part of poker tournaments.

These are just three of the poker variations that exist. If you want to step outside of your comfort zone playing one of these three games can be fun. There are plenty of other variations that can be found online too. For example, you have Omaha, Omaha high low, Omaha no limit, Texas Hold’em, Texas Hold’em no limit, and many others. Even if you want to play the same game, you can play one of the variations of the same game to change things up a bit. The choice is yours, but it never hurts to try out a different game even if it is only for a short amount of time. You will quickly notice you will become a better money player as soon as you do.

Next week we’ll discuss the best way to pick your tables, see you then!

Raise during the pre-flop

If you have suited cards that can connect with the right street and flops, there is every chance you can win the game. You should make other players wary of the cards you have in your hand by raising the bet early. It can force other players out of the game if they feel you have a better hand.

Vary the Betting Amount

If you always raise by two pounds, then you will fall into a stigma at the table. Players will not know if you have decided to bet because you have something or if you are just betting to raise. You should consider how much it is worth it to raise or if it is even worth it. In other words, you might decide you have a better hand, so you want to raise slowly, but you will at least vary it from the amount you bet last time.

Call with a hand you would raise

If you call instead of raising the hand you would normally raise with it may lead the other players to wonder the next time. Will you actually raise? Do you have the hand to do so? This helps you bluff your way into better winnings.

Show a bluff

There are times when it is okay to show a bluff. At the end when the winning is all over and done it can be handy to show a bluff. In this way, the other players will never know when you might be bluffing again.
The above tips can help you play a better game of online poker. They are also designed to help you mix up your game for better success overall at the online poker tables.

In case you are interested in other poker games as well, come back next week on friday the 24th of February and see how playing other games can improve your poker level and help you make more money in poker!

February 15th, 2012 – On Valentine’s Day PokerStars launched their real money poker app in the UK. The new PokerStars Mobile App is available for iPhone, iPad and many Android Phones and other Tablets.

While other mobile poker versions launched with very limited game offerings is PokerStars letting mobile poker players join all regular tournaments, sit n go’s and even enable multi tabling. Mobile players can find Texas Holdem, Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo for fun play and real money.

Like we said, the great thing of this new app is that it puts mobile players in the same pool as regular players, something that so far other rooms have failed to do. Expectations are that this takes away many limitations for players to start playing mobile poker.

How to start Mobile Poker?

1. Sign up for PokerStars (signup has to be through regular software)
2. Download Mobile Software (iPhone & Android)
3. Play mobile!

* For now the PokerStars Mobile App is only available in the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland). Expecations are other countries in Europe will follow quickly.

The Right Stakes

One of the most common errors in money management for poker is playing the wrong stakes. A player who begins with 80 pounds in their bankroll who then plays the entire amount will risk losing all the money and also make a bad bet. Start with smaller stakes tables when you have a small bankroll. You can build this money and get into the larger tables once you are ready. This is especially important if you are new to the game. You do not want to start out at the highest stakes table as this is where most players with money and experience go. If not then the players at these tables feel they can lose the high stakes without going broke.

Setting aside Money

You need to set money aside in order to gain a larger bankroll. You can do this in a couple of different ways. You can save your entire life in order to have money from your income to play with. However, the better way to go is to make money at poker slowly and set aside money. Consider for a moment that you just played a game and won 200 pounds. You started with 80 pounds. You should remove all earnings, but the 80 pounds you started with. After you have comfortably raised your money you can start increasing how much you start with such as going to 100 pounds the next time.

Stop Loss Limit

You do need to come up with a stop loss limit. It is the limit you are willing to lose before you stop. Let’s take 100 pounds as an example. Say you have decided to go with losing 50% of that initial stake. It means when you spend 50 pounds at the tables you stop. It takes discipline.

Managing your money at online poker tables will always take discipline. You have to be willing to stop at your set limits and stick with the tables that fit your criteria. This is the only way to succeed.

In case you enjoyed reading this article please come back friday next week (March 17th) for the 3rd edition of Make Money Playing Poker and learn how to mix up your game!

Knowing Yourself

•     What poker game do you prefer?
•     How did you learn to play the game?
•     Have you studied any strategies or do you play based on instinct?
•     Do you like to take risks or play conservatively?
•     Do you focus on other players, trying to get a read on them?

How you answer these questions will determine what type of poker player you are. If you studied up on the history of poker, learned to play the game with numerous free versions first, and study strategy you are probably one that plays conservatively thinking about each move before you actually make it.

The Art of Folding

A player that is too focused on other players can reveal more about themselves and lose sight of important plays. The best poker player as they say “knows when to hold’em.” Basically, poker players who make it to the WSOP do so by understanding the players around them, but also by focusing on the cards. They know that not every hand will win, so they know when to hold and when to fold.
Even if you fold on a great hand it can be beneficial to you. If you fold on a good hand, you leave the other players guessing as to whether you were bluffing and you can see if they were bluffing. Of course, if you have a royal flush you don’t want to fold, but the point is utilising the cards and studying your opponents can help you reveal their weaknesses allowing you to play to your strengths.

Do not try to do everything. For instance, if you do have a hard time reading people focus more on your cards and bet conservatively until you have an understanding of the other players at the table. Testing players can help you reveal some of your strengths too. You don’t have to be the best poker play around, but you do want to win more than you lose which is why you have to evaluate yourself first before you evaluate other players.

Did you like this article? Please like it and share. Next week (February 10th) you will find the second article on how to make money playing poker which focuses at bankroll management!

February 3th 2012 – PokerStars announced they are bringing out a beta version of Zoom Poker in the end of February of the beginning of March 2012. This long discussed Zoom Poker will be a first fast poker game coming from the market leader PokerStars.

After Full Tilt Poker had great success since beginning of 2010 with their fast play poker game Rush Poker many expected competitiors to jump on board quickly. However it has taken almost two years before a first real alternative will be given. Very little is known about the new Zoom Poker that PokerStars will launch shortly. It can be expected that it will be very similar to rush poker and most likely be also braught out as a mobile client. After PokerStars launched Mobile Poker in Italy all other counties are still left in the dark. The need for mobile poker is growing as the percentage of smart-phone users has been growing steadily for years. While the online poker industry is expecting a mobile poker boom since 2009 also this has been relatively slow. Most likely the unexpected problems of 2011 have delayed any possible developments on this level and mobile poker once again was postponed. We however definitely expect to see good things regarding mobile poker in 2012. Our guess is that PokerStars will definitely use the Zoom Poker version as a first step into mobile poker and that they will come with Android and iPhone supported software from the start. Next to PokerStars also other networks should be working on this issue. We expect Bwin/Party to come with mobile poker in the end of 2012 and maybe iPoker networks are in for a surprise as well. It seems to us that this is one of the few areas where poker sites can make a difference and true development and innovation can give them a real competitive advantage here. However few things are more uncertain than the online poker market. We’ll keep you posted on any new mobile poker clients that are out there!

10. Jayde Nicole

Playmate of the Year 2008, Jayde Nicole is connected to Bluff Magazine. Through this connection she found Jamie Gold as her first poker coach. This 24 year old beauty played in the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge. Not really interested in this girl’s poker achievements? More pictures here and here!

9. Veronika Larsen

The Norwegian Veronika Larsen has been spotted at several EPT tournaments. Recently she quit her job to focus entirely at poker, she is still one step shy of her first major cash.

8. Tara Rice

Rice played in the Legens of Poker Ladies’No Limit Holdem tournament back in 2005. With little experience she managed to finish 35^th. In 2008 she appeared in the WSOP at a $1,500 buy-in event. Unfortunately no spectacular result… let’s just look at some pictures then!

7. Jennifer Leigh

Profits of Jennifer Leigh are estimated at $60k from live tourney winnings and another $100k from online poker tournaments. Of course she will be mostly known as a playboy model but with a WSOP cash and two cashes in WPT’s she is definitely in the game.

6. Vanessa Rousso

This lady from New York is about as tough as she looks. In total she shipped for $2.3 million in price money, this includes a cash of almost $300k when she won the Borgate Open (No Limit Holdem) back in 2006. More recent was her cash at the WSOP in 2010. She took a 9^th place in a Heads-Up event bringin home $94,956. Looking at the pictures you might not believe this is actually the same person, sources are correct… she was actually a swimsuit model…. Enjoy!

5. Fatima de Moreiro

This Dutch star in field hockey decided she was changing carreers and started playing poker. Because she was close friends with Dutch poker player Lex Veldhuis (appeared in High Stakes Poker) she was connected to PokerStars quickly and was added to Team PokerStars NL. With a little bit of talent and perhaps some beginnersluck she took 9^th place in one of her first tournaments cashing €32,832, what a start!

4. Shannon Elizabeth

Alltime sex-godess from the movie American Pie considers poker to be her second carreer. In 2005 she won the Celebrity event in the WSOP which brought her $55k. Then it was quite for a while. Shannon Elizabeth reached a cash in 2007 in a $2k buy-in but no big results could be seen after this… She is under contract at Full Tilt Poker, for movies and pictures click here

3. Lacey Jones

The blond lady Lacey Jones is playing poker since she was just 5 years old. She was under contract with Absolute Poker until may 2010, about 1 month later she signed a contract with Full Tilt Poker and can therefore still be seen at many live tournaments.Last year she took a 41^st place ($4,100) in the Ladies No Limit Championship at the WSOP.

2. Kelly Hu

Kelly Hu is an American/Chine model. She made several appearances in both WSOP as WPT tournaments. Once a while she also plays celebrity poker tournaments including the WPT Celebrity Charity in 2008.

1. Joanna Krupa

Our absolute number 1, the Polish Joanna Krupa. She is at the top of our poker babes top 10. This absolute Supermodel was born in Poland. Besides modeling she has appeared in several tv shows including the Apprentice. This playboy model is under contract at Titan Poker (http://www.titanpoker.com/lifestyle/joanna.html). That she is probably more model than poker player we prefer to ignore for the sake of this list J you be the judge of this by looking at these pictures.

It was quit a long process to compose this top 10, yes tough job… The biggest downside of a Top10 however is that it is limited to just 10 babes, we therefore have a few poker babes not in this top 10. Two of these are the Jennifers (Jennifer Tilly & Jennifer Harman) but also Helen Chemberlain and a few others did not make the Top 10.

Our nr.9 was little bit of a discussion because of the fact we could not find more (better) photos in our extensive research, we expect her to rise towards the top 5 when we have more pictures but until then she’ll have to do with position 9.  Shannon Elizabeth might be a bit overappreciated at position 3. The thing is that she made herself immortal with a very specific movie scene, so that was good enough .

Another big issue in composing a Top10 of Poker Babes is which babes are actually connected enough to poker to be included in this list. For several babes it can be argued that they are more a general model instead of a poker babe, it’s a good thing we are not a democracy then! For more pictures of female poker players we kindly refer you to poker-babes.com. This list was created in cooperation with our Dutch partner site.

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