As poker players progress through the ranks, most end up multi-tabling. This is because if you are a profitable poker player, the easiest way to further increase your profits is to increase the amount of tables you play, rather than move up stakes and end up facing harder opponents. So here are a few simple tips for when you are multi-tabling.

1. Get rid of any distractions

You have probably heard this a thousand times. However, it is that important that it has to be said again – lose the distractions. When you start grinding away by multi-tabling, make sure you get rid of anything that will distract you from increasing your bankroll. Turn off the TV, turn off Spade Club, switch off your phone, get rid of the kids and make sure you have your MSN or Skype switched off. Another good tip is to switch off any programs that are running in the background on your computer, other than what you need for your game. Even the very best multi-tablers will lose money if they are distracted.

2. Get the latest tracking software

Stay right up to date with the latest poker tracking software or any other poker tools that can help improve your game. Sometimes you need to spend money to make money, and investing in the latest poker software is a good way to stay ahead of your opponents and keep the money coming in.

3. Join a training site

I would advice joining one of the well-known and proven training sites. This is a great way to improve your game. Watch five videos a week and you will really see the difference it makes to your game very quickly. Poker is getting tougher and tougher every day, so having to study is the only way to keep up or move forward.

4. Set up your work area

Get a comfortable chair. If you are planning on spending hours grinding away you had better make sure you do it in comfort. This might sound trivial, but its not. Investing in a comfortable work area can really make a big difference to your game. Also, if you are planning to take up poker seriously you will need to invest in a decent computer and get a good broadband connection. Finally, what every multi-table grinder needs – a second monitor.

5. Get rakeback

This is highly important if you are going to be playing multiple cash tables at once. Some of the top online cash poker players will rake thousands upon thousands of dollars a year. So having the very best Club WPT rakeback deal out there is essential to increasing your profits. So before you sign up to a room, make sure you top rakeback offer available.

In every decision you make at the poker table, the first thing you should consider is your table image. This is the same when you have looked down at your cards to see one of the two big pair.

The Big Pairs, A-A, K-K

When it come to playing your big pairs, according to the top poker calculator, they actually play quite differently. The reason you need to play A-A different from K-K, is that even though both hands are big favorites against any hand, K-K only wins 71% of the time against A-2. Whereas with A-A, any flop you see is generally a safe flop for you, and nearly impossible to lay down. With K-K 21% of the time the flop will bring an Ace, thus K-K is far easier to fold on the flop.

If I am holding K-K and their has been a raise I will almost always re-raise. However, with A-A – I am more inclined to flat call a raise, provided I am only going to see a flop with that one player. This is because A-A against one opponent is a massive favorite, so your looking to keep him in the pot and slightly hide the fact you have Aces. It is also important to remember that Aces can be beat, however against one opponent 9 times out of 10 you are going to take the pot. The more opponents you let see the flop, the less chance you have of winning the pot.

Multi Way Action with Big Pairs

The most important rule to remember when playing your big poker pairs is you do not encourage multi way action. This rule is so important that if you find A-A or K-K in early position, I would recommend that you make an oversized bet to stop later players calling for value. For example, the big stack calls then everyone else does after him for value. It is important to remember the more people that see a flop, the less the chance your Aces will win the pot. In addition, Aces can get very expensive if you do lose the hand because you have to bet out on any flop. This is because every flop is a seemingly safe flop. Therefore, if you do end up being out drawn, it can be a very expensive hand.

The most important thing to remember when playing your big pairs is that you want as many chips in the middle as possible against only one opponent. Multi way action is usually a bad sign when you have Aces or Kings, and will often result in the end of your tournament.

Most PokerStars players use different strategies for calculating their odds to determine if they should call, raise or fold when playing No Limit Texas Holdem. However, through my journey as a poker player, I have found that the 4-2 rule is the simplest and most effective strategy.

The 4-2 rule is a simple strategy for calculating if you are getting the right odds to call. It uses a simple formula, where you calculate you odds by either multiplying by 4 or multiplying by 2. However, before using the 4-2 rule, you need to know what your pot odds are and how many outs you have.

What are pot odds?

Pot odds are the ratio of the amount of money in the pot in comparison to the amount you need to call a bet. For example, if there is $500 in a pot and player1 bets $250 into the pot, you are getting odds of 3 to 1 to call. That is because after player1 pots $250 into the pot, there is now $750 in the pot, and you only need to put $250 into the pot to see the next card. (750/250 = 3).

How to work out how many outs you have

If you have a flush draw after the flop, you have 9 outs, or 9 cards that make your flush. It is easy to work out how many outs you have after any flop. If you flop 1 pair, and you believe you need 2 pair or better to win, you simple add the 2 cards left that can give you trips to the 3 cards that would give you 2 pair. Therefore, in this example you would have 5 outs.

So how do I use the 4 -2 rule?

Now that you know how many outs you have, and what party poker pot odds you are getting to call, it is a simple multiplication to work out if it is the right decision to call or fold. Therefore, we know that we are getting pot odds of 3-1, which works out at 25%. We also know that we have 9 outs. So depending on if there is 1 card to come or 2 cards to come will determine if we multiply our outs by 4 or 2 to work out our percentage of catching the card we need to win the hand.

If there is still 2 cards to come you multiply your outs by 4, or if there is 1 card to come you multiply by 2. So for example, after the flop with 2 cards to come – you multiply 9 (you outs) by 4, which give you 36%. Since 36% (your chance of hitting your outs) is greater than 25% (the odds you are getting to call), you should call. However, if you only have 1 card to come you multiply your outs (9) by 2, which equal 18%. Since 18% is less than 25%, you should fold.

I can never get enough of the side bets in online blackjack. It’s much like the progressive option in Caribbean Stud Poker, but also wildly different. In fact, you don’t need the side bets to make playing the game worth your while if you know what you’re doing. You definitely can’t say that about Caribbean Stud.

Anyway, continuing down the line, here’s a look at three more side bets you have available to you as a player depending on what casino offers them in your area. The first one is commonly referred to as over/under. Leave it to gamblers to find a way to combine one form of gambling into a completely different game altogether. Hey, where there’s money to be won and lost, there’s a way. Similar to the over/under bet available on any major sports contest, this side bet pays off if you can accurately predict if the sum of your first two cards will be over or under 13. Under this wager, Aces count as 1, but that assignment of value won’t affect how you use it as part of your regular blackjack hand. The house carries a significantly larger advantage on an “under” bet than it does on an “over” bet, regardless of whether it’s a 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8-deck game. It’s somewhere around 11% advantage on the under and 6.6% advantage on the over. The player’s payoff for predicting accurately either way is even money return. This is probably the safest side bet available in blackjack as far as risk-return goes, a good starting point for players just starting out and exploring this aspect to the game.

Another side bet is called Pair Square, and it’s widely-available but can be easily found in Reno, Nevada. This simple side bet pays off if your first two cards are a pair, usually a benefit reserved solely for poker players. Suited pairs (when playing more than one deck, of course) pay more than non-suited pairs. Depending on the number of decks, the un-suited pairs tend to pay between 10:1 and 15:1. A matched pair on a single-deck hand typically pays 25:1 but drops more than half to 12:1 for an eight-deck hand, obviously because there are more opportunities for this to occur. The house edge is lowest here (3.9%) on a six-deck blackjack game, so try to find one of those that offers pair square if you want to play it. Avoid eight-deck games as the house edge can balloon to almost 15%. Getting suited pairs is obviously a nice benefit, but even pulling unmatched pairs is much harder than the 10:1 return odds would suggest.