The Flammario Organization Blog

online poker players look for ‘tells’ from their opponents – some sign that signals the type of hand a casino online opponent is holding. It’s these tells that have given rise to the ‘poker face’ trait where a player maintains a blank face while in a hand so as not to give off any emotional signals that indicate excitement or fear.

online poker player personalities can range from the most extroverted to the extremely introverted, and everywhere in-between. For those who are at either end of the spectrum, pulling off a poker face can be a challenge.

Some celebrity players, like Daniel Negreanu, are obvious extroverts. They talk continually and express their thoughts about the hands that are played. The key to these extroverts being able to mask their real feelings at the table is that they are consistently extroverted. Daniel chats while playing hand after hand, never giving away any nervousness or special excitement. He maintains a breezy attitude no matter what he is holding. His demeanor never changes or betrays his thinking.

Then there are the introverts, like Chris Ferguson, who always keeps cool by remaining perfectly still and taking the same amount of time to put out a bet for every hand. It makes him nearly impossible to read. Phil Helmuth displays both tendencies. Though usually quite verbal, once he’s in hand, he freezes up, putting his hands up to cover his lower face, and looking down, not moving a bit. He goes from being an extrovert to total introvert to keep from giving away any emotional tells.

It is a cruel fact of poker playing that the number of friends that you can have at the casino games table is dictated by the game. To give you a prime example, if you happen to have 11 friends that all love Texas Hold’em online poker- you will never be able to get them to all sit down at the same table. It’s the same situation for most poker varieties- stud games are particularly notorious for sharply limiting the number of players of the table.

If you want to play Omaha, you need to be extremely conscious of the number of players at the table. An Omaha table is getting dangerously low when it has four or less players. Too many players at the table, and there are not enough cards to go around. Four or less players and you run into the issue of not being able to get all the cards on the table. It’s a very tricky line to walk.

Of course, there are strategies for playing a shorthanded game of Omaha if you find yourself in that situation. Playing very aggressively before the flop is always a good idea in a shorthanded game, because it will lower the number of players even further. Hopefully, you can get enough people to fold where you are left with the pot!

When someone saunters on up to the green felt of the poker table, what do you think they order from the server who inevitably rushed to your side?

If they’re the traditional, grizzled poker player, they probably order a bourbon, on the rocks. And they’re probably a man. That’s not meant to sound sexist, because the truth is poker is mostly a man’s game, with a rough and tough image that only a stiff bourbon can handle.

But perhaps not. A few gentlemen are known to play poker from time to time, and last I heard the “gentleman’s drink” was a Gin and Tonic. It’s my personal favorite, but don’t have too manynot only is the gin and tonic a potent drink (40% alcohol by volume), the juniper berries from which it came are notorious downers. Alcohol is a downer already, but this makes it worse.

Lastly, the old standby at the poker tablefor men and women alikehas to be the beer. It’s easy to order, doesn’t dull your wits as much or as fast as a cocktail might, and it’s image is pretty much down the middle when it comes to men and the fairer sex.

So drink up! Cheers!