If poker is anything, it’s a microcosm of life.

The same traits that make one a winning poker player will also help one be successful in other endeavours. Impatience is rarely rewarded in life or poker. Losing emotional control will send you in a downward spin both in life and at the poker tables. How we behave when we play is often reflected in how we conduct ourselves during our daily grind.

Player types are usually closely connected to that player’s personality. Tight players tend to be more meticulous in their lives, and loose players are always ready for action. Players that continue to try and improve their game usually practice that in other parts of their lives, and become successful at most things in which they get involved.

How does your play reflect your personality? Are you a deceitful player, a calculating player or perhaps just a recreational player? What does your game tell you about yourself?

The final hand of the 2007 WSOP was a classic if ever there was one.

With Jerry Yang constantly putting the pressure on Tuan Lam, Lam was looking for two good cards that he could go all-in with. He was dealt Ace-Queen, and after Yang raised pre-flop to 1.9 million, he pushed in his stack (23 million). Once again, Yang had a hand to call with and flipped over his pocket eights. The flop was Q, 9, 5 and Lam looked set to double through. That would have still left Yang with over 80 million.

But instead of that happening the turn card was a 7, giving Yang more outs to win the hand. Yang still needed an 8 or a 6 to win the championship, and as many expected, he hit his 6 for the win and the championship.

And let’s not forget the $8 million.

Some players think that posing as something they are not can give them an edge over some players around the poker tables. I’ve come across many players with a picture of an attractive woman as their avatar, only to have him (!) turn out to be a grinder in disguise.

This can certainly create an edge against a player that will be more interested in the picture than the game. It could also work against the player who figures that all women play a certain way, and cause their ignorance to backfire on them.

The players who pose as women, for example, will usually be willing to take the charade to the next level, and will begin to flirt with any interested party. This is designed to throw them off their game, so pay attention to what they’re doing and saying.

I’m always wary of a pretty girl in a picture. After a few hands you should know if you’re playing a good player or not, as long as you’re not distracted by the red herring.

Online Giveaways and Tells 

Picking up tells online is not as easy as in a live game. Players can only give away physical signs online. Oversize bets are usually a sign of a bluff late in a hand.

The most common online tell is the pregnant pause. This will often occur when a player has a big hand and they want to appear as if they’re having a hard time deciding what to do next.

Many players like to make a small bet in early position to control the betting and get the next card cheap. This move is usually a player on a draw, and if you think you have the lead you should raise this player up. Don’t let them get what they want, a cheap card, without paying a price for it.

And the old all-in bet followed by a message saying “they have to leave the game”, is a ploy that’s usually followed by pocket Aces.

PokerStars has a new Grey Cup promotion where qualifiers go to the big CFL championship game and play a tournament for a million dollar prize pool against stars like Daniel Negreanu. PokerStars is also gearing up for the WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) which should once again prove to be among the biggest events ever played online.

PartyPoker has started qualifying players for its Million VI tournament next May. The cruise is an eight-day tour of the Mediterranean highlighted by an $8200 main event tournament. The $12,000 prize includes $1,100 in spending money.

Bodog has a new promotion that offers players the opportunity to launch their poker career a little early. Winning includes a cover story in Online Poker Pro Magazine and a buy-in to the tournament of the winner’s choice up to $10,000. The winner will be chosen from a random draw compiled of players that play in Player’s Choice satellite tournaments.

If you want to get any time out of your gambling money you have to play the games at the proper level for your bankroll. When playing poker, the rules are quite specific.

If you want to try your luck at a limit poker table at a recreational level, I suggest that you sit down with at least 20 times the big blind and you should be good for a few rounds around the table. If you want to maintain a bankroll over time, you should have at least 200 times the big blind of the game you are in.

Most no-limit ring games have a limit to the buy-in amount. Try and keep your amounts to less than 25% of your bankroll. That way one tough table won’t break you. Tournament buy-ins should be even less than this percentage, more like 5% or less.

While the online poker market is hitting hard times in America, where the government crackdown has limited the choice in poker rooms and online gambling sites for the American public, the gambling scene across the Atlantic is flourishing.

A national survey done in the UK recently by the Gambling Commission has found that online gambling is on the rise all over the country. The survey discovered that 8.6 percent of UK adults had tried at least one form of online gambling during the previous month.

That was up from 7.4 percent a year earlier. The most popular form of online gambling in the nation is of course online poker, and it trails only the National Lottery as the most popular form of gambling, period, in the UK. The survey also found for the first time ever that poker has overtaken Casino games in popularity and player numbers.