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It isn’t something that you’re proud of; the only consolation you have is that no one is immune from it. No matter how good we are and whether we’re playing online or offline, playing penny-ante or serious money we’ve all gone tilt or have become emotionally unstable at some point in our poker-playing lives.

Maybe you’ve just ended a stress-filled day at the office. Or you’ve just arrived home after a harrowing drive at the NASCAR race track that was once your leisurely drive home. It could be simple boredom – after playing for hours with run-of-the-mill hands, you finally get a truly playable hand and you accidentally hit the fold button instead of the raise icon.

No matter the cause, you know what follows: you lose your cool, and start playing emotional, unreasonable, illogical poker rather than the serene, Zen-like game of poker that you’re used to.

It isn’t pretty when tilt happens. At the very least, you risk watching a thinning bankroll. You may lose the friends you’ve been playing poker with every week for the past five years because you just couldn’t help but curse them when you bungled your game. When you come to your senses, you swear on a stack of chips that it won’t happen again only to find yourself in the same situation at some unexpected moment in time.

Avoiding the Tilt

The only way to avoid the tilt is to stop playing before you begin tilting. At this point, I can see you shaking your head in disagreement. How exactly do you know when you’re on your way to a full tilt drama?

The tilt can begin when you get distracted. It can be subtle, too, for it can be a combination of events, not all of which have something to do with you. It could start with the irritating player across from you who just keeps drawing the good hands, leaving you with the bad ones. It could simply be a bad day at the office that you haven’t shaken off when you’ve logged on to your favorite game site.

Whatever it is, watch out for it. You’ve learned to watch for the warning signs of flu what’s so different about watching for tilt symptoms?

Quit while You’re Ahead

The moment you start recognizing the symptoms of tilt, quit. There are no ifs and buts about this. Knowing you’re going to tilt will not stop it from happening. Only putting your game to a screeching halt will stop it from worsening.

A tilt is like a migraine. When it starts biting, the best thing to do is find a nice, comfortable corner and let it wear off.

Turn off the computer if you’re playing online or stand up and walk away if you’re playing live. Take a walk, jog around the block, run over to the store and buy some staples. Do something, whatever, until you’re back in control. Don’t take the chance of losing more than you’ve bargained for simply because you think you can tough it out. Believe me, this is easier on your and everybody elses nerves. Your wallet may even thank you for doing the right thing.

The common knowledge on making money in poker is that you earn money if you win, otherwise you lose; it is as simple as that. While this is true, did you know that highly-skilled poker players still win even when they lose? This may be as ironic as it seems, but it actually is true.

You see, poker is all about a combination of luck and playing it smart and you probably heard this countless times before. What is probably new to you is that these extraordinary poker players actually learn to make their own good luck. To understand this better, compare an amateur from a professional poker player.

Amateur versus the professional

Pros earn at every single hand because unlike amateurs, they have learned the art of folding when they have a really bad hand. Moreover, they still win even if other players have stringer hands. Not to mention, these players make the raise when they have the best hand. The secret behind all these skills is their discipline in playing their cards. They also know to size up their opponents and they play with the betting tendencies of the other players in mind.

This is not all. Professional players also differ from amateurs with the strategy they employ in maximizing their chips. These players keep a low profile when they need to and they go all out when they are sure to win. While there is no assurance in the game of poker, the experienced player has a analytical skills of the percentage of loss / win of the cards they’re betting. They take calculated risks and they are able to maximize profits.

These players experience their own share of bad luck just like the amateurs. However, they know that in as much as poker is a game of chance, it is also a game of smarts. Thus, even in situations where luck seems to have left these players, they choose to be patient. They are conservative with their bets and in turn this allows them to have enough chips to risk on betting when their luck turns up.

Furthermore, they also know how to manipulate the other players into thinking they have better hands when they don’t have anything. Thus, they end up with the pot. So you see luck alone cannot win you a poker match. Professionals take this game to a whole new different level where they are able to make this as a lifestyle and a career.

Acting the professional

Making money in poker is playing the game like a true professional. You make your own luck when there is none. You also try to play it smarter than your competition. By trying to play like a professional, you minimize your mistakes and you actually get to improve your poker skills.

Sure, you will make a mot of mistakes and you really won’t turn into a professional overnight. However, you now know the tricks of the trade and all you have to do is make them into a habit. Before you know it, you have actually become one—a professional poker player who has mastered the art of making money in poker.

Strategizing your game in poker starts before you think it does. Before the cards are dealt and even before meeting your opponents face-to-face, you can take steps which can either make or break your game.

Eying Your Opponents

For live poker games, it is best to watch players from afar. You can get an idea on whether they are loose or tight players, based on their mannerisms alone. Of course by doing this, you are trying to pick up signs from players who have lesser or equal skills to yours. This increases your chances to win should you choose to play with them.

The Numbers Say It All

As for online poker, you can improve your chances to play against weaker players by paying a visit to the lobby and letting the numbers tell you what you need to know. With the given statistics for each table, you can gauge what kinds of players there are and decide on which table can give you the most profit.

Size Matters

The biggest clue you can get based on the statistics alone is the players’ stack size. This gives you an idea of how serious each player is. The bigger the stack of each player, the bigger the chances that they are seasoned players for the reason that they have the guts to bet bigger money. Then again, you have to be cautious as some players use their stack size as a way to bluff their opponents.

Seeing Flops

The percentage of players seeing the flop is another gauge of how loose or tight players are. The higher the percentage of players seeing the flop, the looser the table is. This is the kind of table you want to look for in online poker as this increases your chances to win money.

Hands and Hours

Lastly, in using numbers to classify a table, you have to take note of the hands played by the hour. You want to play in a table having a high number for this factor since you want to win money as fast as possible.

Charge it to Experience

The best and most accurate way to know if a table is filled with rookies or veterans is to base everything on experience. If you have played in that site for several times, you can likely tell which of the players are good at poker, and which among them need more practice. Needless to say, you want to play in a table with the not-so-good players.

Victory Chair

You gain better chances of winning if the good players are on your right as they get to act before you do. If you’re worrying about players who are fond of betting and raising, you can be safe choosing to have them on your immediate left. This gives you a chance to analyze your opponents’ moves as they get to act after the said player and before you have to.

Whether you are playing a live game or an online poker, you have to remember to take these factors into consideration before and while playing. They may often be overlooked but these can certainly give you either a fat wallet or a financial headache, depending on how you use them.

The popularity of this game has been revived and has reached new heights these recent years. There is uncertainty however, where the origins of this game is concerned. Believed to have existed for more than ten centuries now, this card game finds itself having similar elements with other card games across the globe.

Diverse origins

A popular belief in its origins involves a Chinese game prior to the start of 969 A.D., with Emperor Mu-tsung and a husband-wife card game involving domino cards. Other cultures have also showed record of early habits of card games, like the Egyptians during the 12th and the 13th centuries. In addition, Persia is also said to have a betting game they used to refer to a Ganjifa or treasure cards.

To add to this growing list of similar games, the French and the Germans also had card games they referred to as Poque (French) and Pochen (German). These two card games became popular in their respective countries back in the 17th and 18th centuries. Both were said to originate from another game in the 16th century, known as Primero which had Spanish origins. Finally, this Primero (poker’s mother) is said to bear the most similarity with the poker we know of today.

The early Englishmen were not new to this sport, and an English actor was actually quoted saying that in 1829 the game was played with a deck consisting of 20 cards. This was back in New Orleans and was said to spread in nearby areas. There are those who believe that it was the French-Canadian settlers in New Orleans who actually brought it to the area. Moreover, its spread was made easier with riverboats, the passengers and crews of which were said to have played the game in between trips.

Modifications in the game

Variations in the game of poker were said to develop afterwards. A 52-card English deck was soon used and this brought about a number of additional rules and plays in the game.

Even the Civil War is said to have been marked with the widespread of this game. There were a number of modifications however, and this included three kinds of poker : draw poker, stud poker, and the straight.

In America, other changes in poker took place and the wild card emerged from such which was soon followed by split-pot poker and lowball in the 1900′s. The military conquests of America overseas also contributed to the widespread of the game. From settings of backroom saloons, the game of poker reached such heights and gave birth to its presence in casinos.

Undeniably, the history of poker is anything but boring and its widespread was in fact a captivating phenomenon. The role it has played in entertainment across cultures is broad and encompassing. At present, the pinnacle of its celebration in the international scene is during The World Series of Poker. This event draws the best of the best poker players all over to meet and play for a spot on the world’s list of most renowned poker players.

There is an old saying that goes, know your enemy, know yourself. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.

Poker Prophecy calculates a win rate by adding all the top three place finishes and dividing these by the number of games played. This approach creates three player categories which you can use to determine your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. A few ways to approach the information:

37% or higher

A player with a win rate of 37% or higher may be ranked as a professional, or someone who knows how to play aggressive/tight and does so with amazing discipline and patience. These players will not bluff early, and will almost always have the best hand when all in. Their weakness lies in their manner of play: they are often the easiest players at the table to bluff out of a pot.

20.01% to 36.9%

Use caution when confronted with players who have a win rate of 20.01% to 36.9%. While they may be considered average players, they can be dangerous as many of them are in poker learning stages so may eventually improve. At the same time, they are players with tendencies leaning towards a combination of solid and weak. These average players primary weakness is they can’t let go of draws, even when the odds obviously point to folding as the better part of valor.

The recommended course of action here is to go straight up, unless you have other indications of the play they are going to make. If you see them on an obvious draw, bet solid. If the river is a blank or a brick, add a small bet to cap it off and hope they bite for a re-raise. In game play, they are the ones to watch out for in order to build an identity.

Zero to 20%

In the final category are players those in the 0% to 20% category and with these players, my advice to you is: don’t ever, ever bluff. These are the opponents who often seem to be blessed with blind luck. They may be the lowest category opponents but they can turn on you if you don’t play straight up against them.

This, however, makes them the most vulnerable to being trapped or slow-played, which is what you want to do while keeping yourself from being caught in a straight. If you want them out of play, all-in is your only option but make darn sure you’re way ahead of them. If you’re not, calling or checking down, and folding to a major river bet is the safest approach. These players will be playing so many hands and raises that you’ll get another shot at them if they survive.

Some other statistics you can use to analyze your opponents, which will also help in determining their TRUE win rates:

Number of games played The more games played (100+), the more that category is true to the way they play. If your opponent has a 62% win rate but has played only 13 games, you know the number is statistically insignificant – except as an indication of a winning streak.

Buy-Ins : Finding out the history of their buy-ins may be indicative of their style of play and state of mind. A player who used to be in the $50 buy-ins and who now shows up at the $10 buy-ins may indicate someone on a bad losing streak. They may be hasty and edgy, and leaning towards a tilt. On the other hand, a player moving up in his buy-ins would show someone who is going to be tighter in his plays.

Conflicting Styles If you spot a pro-rated player in a lot of weak hands and playing carelessly, chances are you’re playing with the spouse/ friend of the account holder. Play close attention to that player, an opportunity may come to over ride the category yourself.