If poker is all about playing for the fun of it and playing free poker, then learning the more detailed side of poker may not be something you are overly interested in. But if you harbour any ambition to play poker to win money then pay attention, this is essential!.

The first thing I felt I needed to know was how pot odds actually worked in order to make the most money I could!

So, what exactly does ‘pot odds’ mean? Well, this is the cash that is in the pot and the difference between what you need to contribute to stay in the game. For example, if there is $80 in the pot, and then another player bets $8, then the pot now has $88. You will now need to pay $8 to call, which means that the pot odds are 11:1.. If your chance of having the best hand is at least one out of twelve, you should call.

Pot odds also apply to draws. For instance, suppose you have a draw to the nut flush with one card left to come. In this case, you are about a 4:1 underdog to make your flush.

If it costs you $8 to call the bet, then there must be about $32 in the pot (including the most recent bet) to make your call correct.

Knowing pot odds, and correctly using them, can greatly increase your chances of not only winning hands, but also a chance to increase your bankroll.

The other side of pot odds that we need to look at are ‘implied odds’. These are trying to figure out what the future pot is going to be, how many other people are playing and also what the final pot could contain.

Whether you are playing free poker or pay poker then you will need to practice learning about pot odds if you want to be as good as the pro’s. Professional players have spent years practicing and calculating odds to be as good as they are.

An example of implied odds are as followed: First of all are you talking about the flop or turn? Four outs on the flop is about 17% and on the turn about 9 per cent.

So if you are getting 5/1 or better on the flop you should call if you are getting 10/1 or better on the turn you should also call.

You must remember to consider the implied odds and how big the pot may grow, so you might not need exactly the right odds at the time of calling to justify the call if you know the pot will get bigger.

A good rule of thumb on a draw is to have a least 2 other opponents in (this is for an opened straight or a 4 flush).

Most new players will be clueless on the subject, but there is plenty of good sites and books to learn the more advanced ways of thinking and playing, and its always best to be prepared before getting in over your head against advanced players.

Learning just a few methods of playing, will increase your chances of graduating from free poker games for fun to playing high stakes long into the future.

For starters ‘free online poker‘ of course this means you’re not sitting in a casino but in the comfort of your own home on your computer.

A free online poker tournament is a set number of seats which allows from 100-500 people to join. The free poker type is, as the name says, free to enter, no buy in is required. Others you’ll find do charge an entry fee (buy in) such tournaments tend to have larger cash prizes due to the inherent higher risk.

NoPayPoker for example offers totally free poker tournaments with upto $500 dollars in cash prizes and NO risk of loss as a result of their innovative advertiser supported free poker system.

Poker Tournaments, as opposed to simple single session poker games have placement payouts. So let’s say you and 130 other people join a $500 tournament. The prize money is paid on the top 40 places, paid according to the position finish in.

When free online poker tournaments starts you are automatically sat at a table with 9 other people. Everyone is giving the same number of chips to start which is anywhere from $1200 or $3000.

Tips for Free Online Poker Tournaments

1) In a tournament I play more carefully than I would if I were playing a normal poker game, and will even try to bluff a couple of times.

2) In a poker tournament, when you are out, you are out! Blinds increase every few minutes or number of hands. Try to build up a good stack at every opportunity.

3) Some people will only play the blind hands, that means unless they get high pocket pair they will fold until it’s there turn to post blinds. If you are not lucky enough to have a brilliant hand, then give bluffing a go to help build your stack.

4) Blinds are constantly going up in a tournament which leads to the pressure of needing to build your stack - Sometimes you have to take a risk. Often the best way is to play by your gut, sometimes going all in and putting another player all in could turn out to be your lucky hand or final hand at the table.

5) Reaching the final table with a big stack of chips is always the poker players dream come true. If I have a large chip stack I will sometimes kick back and let the low stackers take each other out of the game unless I am giving good cards. Putting more pressure on a player is easier in a tournament then in regular poker tables as unless you win you cannot re-buy and come back to the tournament.

Online Poker Tournaments Summary

Tournaments certainly take more patience and time than if playing a normal hold’em game.

Remember, poker is a card game but essentially a numbers game - a game of probability and statistics, you can’t win them all but if you play you’ll win enough to make consistent profits and have a great time!

free online poker tournaments are a fun way to play poker without losing your own money and are also great places to learn and practice your game.