I can bet that you have heard the term TILT if you have been around the game of poker for some time. Basically being on TILT means that you aren’t thinking clearly or you are upset at something that occurred at the poker table. A few things that could set someone on TILT are :

1.       Taking a Bad Beat  – Getting your cash in the pot with the best hand only to be outdrawn by a  worse hand

2.       Being shown a Bluff – Sometimes after you fold your opponent will show his terrible hand which can trigger emotions of anger and frustration

3.       Drunk Players at the Table – Although it’s fun to play against people when they are drinking as they tend to make errors, listening to them yap away is enough to upset anyone

4.       Trash Talker at the Table – Some use this tactic to throw you off your game. They constantly berate you at the table hoping to get an edge and make you do something stupid to lose all of your chips. (I’m really not a big fan of this approach, but it is effective for some)

These are just a few examples of things that can put you TILT. At any point that you don’t feel like you are making good decisions then it’s probably for the best that you take a break. Poker is a game of incomplete information where we try to make the correct decisions. If you’re not thinking correctly and making bad decisions then you stand a good chance to lose a lot of money. Having the right “Poker State of Mind” is crucial to your long term poker success. Here are some other examples of things to avoid:

1.       You should not play if you are tired

2.       Don’t play if you are drinking or have been drinking

3.       Avoid watching TV while playing

4.       Don’t  answer emails or surf the web

It can sometimes feel like forever waiting for hands to play so we tend to do other things. If you find yourself getting bored and looking for things to do, my suggestion would be to play a few tables at the same time if you are playing on line. This way there is no time to get bored since there are more chances to have good  cards on multiple tables. You should probably take a break if you find your mind drifting or thinking of other things. Don’t worry, there will always be a game waiting for you tomorrow.

If you are interested in learning more about being a Winning Poker Player, You can sign up for my FREE SNG Poker Training Course “From Fish to SNG Pro in Only 17 Days” by visiting http://www.sngtrainer.com

There is always something poker related no matter where we turn these days. We hear all of the time of these young kids making crazy cash whether it’s on TV, in magazines or at a local bar.  You may have heard one of these stories and thought  to yourself, “I’m sick of playing my $5, $10 or $20 buy in levels. It’s time for me to start earning some real money.” Unfortunately this is why so many people fail playing poker. Even though they don’t have the proper poker bankroll and experience level, they want to move up way to fast.

SO HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU CAN MOVE UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

The answer is really simple. Your poker bankroll will tell you.No I don’t mean your bankroll will actually talk to you, but if you are following strict bankroll requirements (I always recommend 2% of bankroll per buy in) then you know when it will be time to move up.  Here’s an example:

Let’s say you have a bankroll of $1000. $20 should be your buy in amount based on this. You should continue to playing these levels until you bankroll increases to $1500. Now you can increase to the thirty dollar games. If you remain successful just rinse and repeat.Go back to the $20 levels that you were playing if your bankroll ever drops below the $1500 mark. Contrary to what a lot of people think, moving down levels is not failing. You can continue to learn and improve until you eventually break through that level and beyond.

If you continue to follow this model and move up and down when you bankroll requires it you will virtually remove all possibilities of going broke. It will also let you know when you are ready to take on the challenge of the next buy in level. I’m sure you will be very pleased with the amounts of money that you can make once your game has improved and you have moved up to the higher games.

If you are interested in learning more about being a Winning Poker Player, go ahead and grab a FREE copy of my special poker report: “Poker Secrets – 5 Mistakes to Avoid Even Before You Sit Down at The Table” by visiting http://www.virtualpokercoaching.com

For those that haven’t heard of Rake Back let me explain how critical it is to your poker well being. For starters, what is the rake? Basically this is the amount of money that the poker rooms, either online or offline  keep as their cut for hosting the poker game. If you have ever sat down to play a tournament online and had to pay that extra little fee, that is the rake. The normal amount taken is 10 percent for SNG’s and MTT’s. Look at this example.

If you play a $10 SNG then usually you will have to pay $1 as the rake fee.  For a $30 MTT the rake would be $3 and so on. Now that you know what the rake is, you can probably guess what the term Rake Back means. The portion that the poker sites will give you for playing at their sites ranges from 27% to 100%.

What’s the reason the poker rooms offer this?

The costs of a regular land casino are much higher than online poker sites as you can probably imagine. Since their expenses are much less, these poker rooms can offer these incentive bonuses to encourage new customers to join their sites.

So how much can we get back?

To answer that question it all depends and how much you play, but let’s  look at an example. Let’s assume that you play 20 twenty dollar sit n go’s each week. The numbers would look something like this:

# of SNG’s :                        20
Rake Paid (Week): $40 ($2 x 20 SNG’s)
Rake Paid (Month): $160 (4 weeks X $40)
Rake Paid (Year):             $1,920 (12 months X $160)

Now if we use a typical Rake Back Deal of 30%, you would get back $576 over the course of a year. That’s pretty good since you would be playing these games anyways. Obviously if you play more or less then your numbers will look a little different from this example, but I’m sure you get the point. Most of the programs pay out once a month, but others are weekly and some daily. What’s great is that there is usually no minimum play requirements and they are FREE to join.

Basically you are getting paid for the games that you would be playing anyways. You are leaving money on the table if you are not using Rake Back.

If you are interested in learning more about being a Winning Poker Player, You can sign up for my FREE SNG Poker Training Course “From Fish to SNG Pro in Only 17 Days” by visiting http://www.sngtrainer.com

I’m sure the word TILT is nothing that you haven’t heard before even if you are new to playing poker. In a nutshell, being on TILT means that you are no longer thinking clearly or that something occurred at the table that has made you mad. A few things that could set someone on TILT are :

1.       Taking a Bad Beat  – Getting your money in the pot with the best hand only to be outdrawn by a  worse hand

2.       Being shown a Bluff – Sometimes after you fold your opponent will show his terrible hand which can get you upset

3.       Drunk Players at the Poker Table – Although it’s fun to play against people when they are drinking as they tend to make errors, listening to them yap away is enough to upset anyone

4.       Trash Talker at the Table – This is a tactic some players use to get under your skin. They constantly berate you at the table hoping to get an edge and make you do something stupid to lose all of your chips. (I’m really not a big fan of this approach, but it is effective for some)

That was just a few examples of things that can put you TILT. Don’t be scared to walk away from the table if you find yourself TILTING. Poker is all about trying to make good decisions based on the incomplete information that we have in front of us. If you’re not thinking correctly and making bad decisions then you stand a good chance to lose a lot of money. If you want to have long term poker success then being in the critical “Poker State of Mind” is critical. Here are some other examples of things to avoid:

1.       Avoid playing if you are Tired

2.       If you are drinking or have been drinking you really shouldn’t play

3.       Don’t play if you want to watch TV

4.       Don’t  answer emails or surf the web

I know sometimes poker can be long in between hands to play so we tend to do other things. If you are an onine player and find yourself getting bored, my suggestion would be to play a few tables at the same time. This will increase your chances of getting good starting hands to play and eliminating boredom. If you still find yourself drifting then maybe you should just quit for the day. There will always be another poker game tomorrow so there is no need to worry.

If you are interested in learning more about being a Winning Poker Player, You can sign up for my FREE SNG Poker Training Course “From Fish to SNG Pro in Only 17 Days” by visiting http://www.sngtrainer.com

There is always something poker related no matter where we turn these days. Whether it’s in magazines,  on TV or at our local bars, we are constantly exposed to all of these young kids making obscene amounts of money playing poker.  You may have heard one of these stories and thought  to yourself, “I’m sick of playing my $5, $10 or $20 buy in levels. I want to start making some real cash.” Unfortunately this is why so many people fail playing poker. Even though they don’t have the proper poker bankroll and experience level, they want to move up way to fast.

SO HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE READY FOR THE NEXT LEVEL?

It’s really a simple answer. Your poker bankroll will tell you.No I don’t mean your bankroll will actually talk to you, but if you are following strict bankroll requirements (I always recommend 2% of bankroll per buy in) then you know when it will be time to move up.  Here’s an example:

Let’s say you have a bankroll of $1000. $20 should be your buy in amount based on this. Until your bankroll has increased to $1500, then you should continue playing these games. Now you can increase to the thirty dollar games. If you remain successful just rinse and repeat.  If your bankroll drops back down under $1500 then move back down to the $20 levels. A lot of players think that if they move down levels that they are failing, but that is not the case. You can continue to improve your game and learn until you move through that level and beyond.

If you continue to follow this model and move up and down when you bankroll requires it you will virtually remove all possibilities of going broke. You will know when you are ready to move up to the next level as it will tell you. I’m sure you will be very pleased with the amounts of money that you can make once your game has improved and you have moved up to the higher levels.

If you are interested in learning more about being a Winning Poker Player, go ahead and grab a FREE copy of my special poker report: “Poker Secrets – 5 Mistakes to Avoid Even Before You Sit Down at The Table” by visiting http://www.virtualpokercoaching.com

For those of you  who are new to poker or just may not be aware of what Rake Back actually is I’m going to explain how  important it is to your poker bottom line. To start off, what is the rake? Basically this is the amount of money that the poker rooms, either online or offline  keep as their cut for hosting the poker game. The rake is basically that small fee that the poker sites charge to run the tournaments. A typical take for Sit N Go’s or Multi Table Tournaments is 10%. Look at this example.

Usually you will have to pay a $1 rake fee if you are playing a $10 game.  For a $30 MTT the rake would be $3 and so on. I’m sure by now you can probably guess what Rake Back is. Basically the payouts range from 27% to 100% just for playing poker at their poker rooms.

Why do the poker sites do this?

The costs of a regular land casino are much higher than online poker sites as you can probably imagine. Since their over head is far less, these sites can offer these types of cash back incentives to encourage customers to join and play at their site.

So how much can you expect to get back?

To answer that question it all depends and how much you play, but let’s  look at an example. Let’s assume that you play 20 twenty dollar sit n go’s each week. The numbers would look something like this:

# of SNG’s :                        20
Rake Paid (Week): $40 ($2 x 20 SNG’s)
Rake Paid (Month): $160 (4 weeks X $40)
Rake Paid (Year):             $1,920 (12 months X $160)

Now if we use a typical Rake Back Deal of 30%, you would get back $576 over the course of a year. That’s pretty awesome since you would be playing these games anyways. Your numbers may look different depending on the levels you play, but I’m sure you get the point. The majority of the sites will pay out each month, but there are some that pay out each week or even daily. The best part is that Rake Back offers are FREE to join and there are usually no minimum requirements that you have to play.

Basically it’s FREE money for doing something that you love anyways. If you aren’t using Rake Bake then you are leaving money at the poker table.

If you are interested in learning more about being a Winning Poker Player, You can sign up for my FREE SNG Poker Training Course “From Fish to SNG Pro in Only 17 Days” by visiting http://www.sngtrainer.com