Introduction Americas Cardroom hosts games on one of the busiest online poker networks. Games at a wide variety of levels are spread in Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud; fixed limit, pot-limit, and no-limit players, will all be happy with their options. Tournament players, whether they enjoy an impromptu sit-and-go or a scheduled multi-table contest, will find a large selection of games from which to choose. Games may be played through the normal poker client software or with a web browser JAVA interface, allowing Macintosh or Linux users to play. Customer service is exemplary, which is no surprise since Americas Cardroom operates under the umbrella of legendary sportsbook BetCRIS, an organization long known for their level of service. Banking tasks are handled efficiently, and multiple deposit and withdrawal options are available to players. The poker room lobby is well organized and statistics showing average pot size, number of hands played per hour, and number of players seeing a flop in Hold’em and Omaha are available for each game. This feature enhances game selection and should be standard everywhere. Beginners will find limit games starting at the $.25/$.50 level, which allows making the jump to playing for real money comfortable, while still building a significant level of excitement for the game. New no-limit and pot-limit players will notice the same benefits. Also, new players have the option to take advantage of the many features built into the software that mimic a “brick and mortar” poker room. Avatars represent player characters; their gameplay actions appear in bubbles above their heads. Intermediate players will find games at suitable levels available around the clock. Hardcore enthusiasts will be drawn to the big money guaranteed weekly tournaments. Players of all levels who crave fast action will find that the short tables at Americas Cardroom will fulfill their needs because they are 5-max (up to 5 players) rather than the more standard 6-max. Poker Software The software at America’s Cardroom is graphically pleasing and feature-packed. A maximum of 5 ring games may be played simultaneously. If the players choose so, they are allowed to use a poker HUD. The system tracks a comprehensive array of player statistics and features an easy to use player notes function including a color-coded rating system, which the player may customize. The chosen interface adds cross-platform compatibility, which opens up online poker to a wider audience. Players who tire of using their mouse may elect to play using a well-designed “hotkey” interface. Short-handed games are played at 10-seat tables, and allow added flexibility when choosing a seat. Available Games Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud(Hi / Lo) Limits of each game lowest to highest NL Texas Hold'em .15/.25, .25/.50, .50/1.00, 1/2, 2/4, 3/6, 5/10, 10/20, 25/50, 50/100 PL Texas Hold'em .25/.25, .50/.50, 1/1, 2/2, 5/5, 10/10, 20/20, 50/50 FL Texas Hold'em .25/.50, .50/1.00, 1/2, 2/4, 3/6, 5/10, 10/20, 25/50, 50/100, 100/200 PL Omaha .25/.25, .50/.50, 1/1, 2/2, 5/5, 10/10, 20/20 FL Omaha .25/.50, .50/1.00, 1/2, 2/4, 5/10, 10/20, 25/50 NL Omaha Hi/Lo .15/.25, .25/.50, .50/1.00, 1/2 PL Omaha Hi/Lo .25/.25, .50/.50, 1/1, 2/2, 5/5, 10/10, 20/20 FL Omaha Hi/Lo .25/.50, .50/1.00, 1/2, 2/4, 3/6, 5/10, 10/20, 25/50 FL 7 Card Stud .50/1.00, 1/2, 2/4, 4/8, 6/12, 10/20, 25/50 FL 7 Card Stud(Hi / Lo) .50/1.00, 1/2, 2/4, 4/8, 6/12, 10/20, 25/50 Tournament Information
A wide selection of Hold'em tournaments is offered. Other games have few tournament offerings. The number of starting chips may vary from tournament to tournament but is typically 1,500. Besides the regular schedule, America's Cardroom hosts a series of $1 million-guaranteed contests, U.S. and European Gran Prix events, and Grand Series of Poker qualifying tournaments. Low cost satellites where players can win entry into the biggest tournaments are also scheduled. House Rake Rake ranges up to 5% of the pot. At America’s Cardroom, there is also a “no flop, no drop” policy, which means that no rake is taken on any hand that ends before the flop. In a departure from industry standards, the network mandates no minimum pot size for purposes of rake collection. The effect of this is to increase the amount of rake paid because hands with small final pots are raked. Bonus 100% sign-up bonus, and a 100% reload bonus. Simply input the bonus code PR100, deposit $50 using Neteller, Citadel, credit card or MoneyBookers, up to the maximum of $500. Traffic Report Peak time (late evening (EST) approximately 24,000 players Mid-morning (EST) approximately 9,000 players Mid afternoon (EST) approximately 14,000 players Player Competition At low limits, the competition at America’s Cardroom is looser and more active than normal. At other limits, the competition seems to be average for online games. Player Options Multitabling is allowed - At America’s Cardroom, players can have 5 game tables open at once. Chat options The chat function is standard. It appears in the message panel, and is not displayed in a bubble at the table (as are the player actions). Pre-select actions There are no pre-select actions at NL or PL tables. Bet sizes are selected by typing the number in or by operating a slider. Hand History Hand histories may be saved to disk. They are viewed using a “session browser” accessed from the Statistics menu in the lobby. Stats A wide array of statistics is available in a pop-up window. Note taking ability Player notes windows are standard. Players may also be color-coded. A small colored dot will appear at their position. The color code system can be customized. Conclusion Highly recommended - America’s Cardroom should be on any player’s must-visit list. One method many online poker players have adopted in recent years is called “short stacking”. This is an approach one can take in no-limit hold’em cash games. Online poker rooms have a minimum and a maximum buy-in for their no-limit games. Usually, the minimum buy-in is 20-40 big blinds and the maximum buy-in is 100-200 big blinds. Short stacking means buying in with the absolute minimum and looking for spots to shove all-in preflop.
For example, a $5/$10 game I used to play had a minimum buy-in of $200 and a maximum buy-in of $1,000. Late in the night after many fish had come and gone, it wasn’t uncommon to see 3 or 4 players sitting with more than $2,000. Since my bankroll wasn’t large enough to buy-in for the maximum, occasionally I would sit down with the minimum, $200. Most players who short stack really only make one play: fold or shove all-in preflop. The point of this article isn’t to tell you exactly what hands you should shove all-in with in what position. The complexities of no-limit hold’em make it hard to play under a rigid structure. For players who like to look at preflop starting hand charts, take it to the kiddie tables (limit hold’em). The goal when short stacking is to double up and leave. Buying in for the bare minimum, doubling up, and then leaving has received a lot of criticism from the poker community. Most of this criticism comes from jaded max buy-in players who don’t know how to handle short stackers. We can argue whether short stacking is unethical or not, but people who participate in that type of whining and moaning are probably going to elect Barack Obama President of the United States and lead to the economy’s collapse as a result of taxing businesses to death. The relevant matter is this: as long as online poker rooms let players buy-in for 20 or 40 big blinds and allow them to leave whenever they damn well please, there’s no reason one should feel bad for short stacking. Have you ever heard about the fundamental theorem of poker? Well, if you are thinking about hitting the tables and giving poker a try, this would be a great place to start at. The fundamental theorem of poker is a concept introduced by pro poker player David Sklansky and it states: Every time you play your hand the way you would if you could see your opponents’ cards, you gain and every time your opponents play their cards differently from the way they would play them if they could see your cards, you gain.
Kinda lost, ain't you? Well, we all were when we first started playing poker. I recall I was one of those players playing all hands hoping for the miracle to flop or turn or river…. Then, as reality started kicking in, I became more aware that poker requires practice, hours and hours of it! Poker is a game of knowledge and mathematical reasoning, it’s not just pure luck. Most importantly, poker is not for everyone and those who are good and making a living of poker did not get there in a year or two. Most of the pros you see on TV have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, lost thousands of hours of sleep and have burnt their eyebrows reading endless pages of poker books. Want to be a poker player? Be ready for disappointment, long periods without sleep and lots of money lost in rebuys and add-ons. Want to be a GOOD poker player? Start reading poker strategy books, trying out different poker software (you will find the beat is different from one site to the other) and playing live at your local casino as often as possible; you never know, you might the next poker pro, telling us all how you got to the top! So you decided that you want to become a professional poker player? Here are some quick tips of what to expect and what you can do to make that journey a little bit easier! Pro Tip No.1 - Befriend with the odds In Poker, there is nothing more basically important to master than the mathematical concept of EV or Expected Value, that is of course if your goal is to be profitable! EV is, very simply said: the less you risk to win the hand the better! Say, for instance, playing 10-$1 buy-in tournaments, $1000 pot, gives you an EV+ since you would be risking just $10 to potentially making 200x+ on each tournament. Now in Cash Games, the more times you win $1000 pots with just $100 risks means you are making more +EV decisions. If we apply odds to real life it can give you more security in decision-making moments. Take for example the odds of dying in a plane crash are way lower than the ones dying in a car accident. I am sure the use of odds here has convinced many scared of heights to take that first flight, right? Perhaps you have heard that poker, as life, is a game with incomplete information. Odds give you information that is a lot of times key to make more profitable decisions. Pro Tip No.2 - Get ready to lose; poker is not a win-win game Get ready to look like a fool when a better poker player slow rolls you or when you bluff when you should not have. Poker has a big element that you cannot forget: luck. You will see poker players having a bad streak of luck for weeks and even months, so get ready to lose every now and then. If you become a skilled player though, through reading, practicing and using the odds there is a much higher chance of you beating your opponent. Just remember, becoming a poker pro might take you months and most probably, years! Pro Tip No.3 - Never get too excited about aces It is quite common for amateur players to get too attached to aces especially when the dealer puts out a board of possible flushes and straights to opponents. Play the player, not your hand and fold those aces when the odds of a straight or flush are against your aces. How about the ¨never fold KK preflop rule?¨ In Poker, as in life, never say never! The truth is, most pro poker players go by this rule and have gotten very good results from it but we have also seen pros sniffing pocket aces having pocket kings and folding preflop. Getting too attached to all these golden rules can also become a weakness in your game.
Pro Tip No.4 - The importance of having position in poker Having position in poker means acting last in a hand. Most beginners underestimate this situation which allows you to read an opponent´s hand by their position and action. Sometimes, players in SB and BB tend to give too much information. Pay attention to this and utilize weaker hands to outplay your opponents. Pro Tip No.5- Know who to play against Who do professional athletes want to play against? They want to play against the best, right? In poker, smart poker players want to play against the worse players and you might be one of those amateurs they look to destroy in your local casino. Chose your opponents wisely and try building your bankroll in small buy-in tournaments. If you have been playing poker for just a couple of months we don’t think it´s wise to play a $1050 buy-in Tournament; there is a very high chance of getting destroyed by the pros who have a big enough bankroll to pay those buy-ins. |