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 Poker Table – Although it’s fun to play against people when they have been drinking as they tend to make errors, listening to them yap away is enough to upset anyone

4.       Trash Talker at the Table – Many players use this strategy to get you upset. 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 take a break 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. Being in the correct “Poker State of Mind” is very important to your long term poker success. Here are some other examples of things to avoid:

1.       Avoid playing 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

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. By playing more than 1 table it increases you chances of playing more hands and eliminating the possibilities of getting bored. If you find yourself not focussing and lacking concentration then you should probably quit for a bit. 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

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 sites offer this?

As you can probably imagine, the costs associated with running an online poker room are much less than the costs of a regular land casino. 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 we get back?

Let’s look at this example as it all depends on how much you play. Let’s just say that each week you play only twenty $20 SNG’s. 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 great 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. A lot of the Rake Back programs will issue payments once a month, but there are others that offer weekly and even daily payouts. What’s great is that there is usually no minimum play requirements and they are FREE to join.

What it comes down to is that you are getting FREE money for 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

If you play a $10 SNG then usually you will have to pay $1 as the rake fee.The rake would be $3 for a thirty dollar MTT. I’m sure by now you can probably guess what Rake Back is. In a nutshell it’s a portion, anywhere from 27% to 100% that the poker rooms will give you back for playing at their sites.

What’s the reason the poker sites offer this?

The costs of a regular land casino are much higher than online poker rooms 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?

It will all depend on how much you play, but let us have a look at this example. Let’s just say that each week you play only twenty $20 SNG’s. 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. Not too shabby for playing the games that you would be playing anyways. Your numbers may look different depending on the levels you play, but I’m sure you get the point. Most of the programs pay out once a month, but others are weekly and some daily. The best thing is that most Rake Back offers are easy to join and FREE to sign up.

What it comes down to is that you are getting FREE money for playing 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

When I talk about poker bankroll, I’m referring to the amount of cash that has been put aside to use on nothing else but to play poker. You should never use the money that you need for rent, food or clothing. It should be an amount that you can comfortably afford to use and lose playing poker. When it comes to managing my poker bankroll, here is what I would suggest and personally use. 

SNG (Sit n Go’s) – I use 2% or 1/50^th of my bankroll for each buy in. For example if you have a $1000 bankroll then you should be playing $20 SNG’s

Multi Table Tournaments (MTT) – I used 1% or 1/100^th of my bankroll for each buy in. The main reason for this is that you will have more fluctuations with your poker bankroll as most MTT’s pay only the top 10% so you will be cashing less often.

Cash Games – Use only 2% or 1/50^th of each buy in. As an example if you were playing $1/$2 NL, the buy in is usually 100 X Big Blind so in this case $200. In my opinion a bankroll of 10K is needed at these levels.

Now I know some of you are saying that this seems a little exaggerated and farfetched, but if you stick to these guidelines then you virtually eliminate the possibilities of having to redeposit ever again in your poker account. You will surely go through some losing periods as there are always ups and downs when playing poker. If you don’t have enough money to go through these swings it adds a lot of pressure on you, which in turn forces you to make bad decisions because the money is an issue. There is so much truth in the old saying “Scared money is losing money”.

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’ve made three typical plays to deal with these players. You could play it with a raise pre-flop, then trap then if the board is good for you. If my poker software says I am up against a maniac, I feel tend to bluff more even with air if he senses weakness in your hand. It’s the perfect way to trap him especially if you flop something big like a KK or AA, or get flush or a straight draw.

The second is I play normally as I would pre-flop so that I can just let it go if I don’t hit the flop and reduce the risk of a major suck out. 

The third is to put him on the decision for all his chips. After all, AK is the best hand pre flop against anything but pocket pairs. Poker odds math suggests I am good against all other hands aside from KK and AA. Once there, I just hope that the AK holds up. I am reasonably confident it's not pocket aces or kings, since I am already holding part of that.

Each one of these strategies depend on the type of maniac I’m facing, and if there is poker tournament strategy involved. If he’s a super donk and a known idiot who will call and raise any hand just to get to the flop, I do number three. I should say also, this is a widely used tactic,. And to great success too.

If he’s aggressive but is known to play a good hand or two, and shows a penchant for waiting for the flop, I go with number one. In the long run, you should have the higher chances of winning as you have top hand other than AA and KK, and have as much a chance of flopping flush or straight, and have an edge of winning top card.

Since I may not have enough profiling on this player, I amy just go with the second option until I do. Understanding your opponent is a critical part of your decision. After several years of playing AK, those are my best ideas for playing the hand.