Tag Archives: move

Play Poker Online For Free And Win With All In With King-High Hands

When a desperate player in a poker tournament even a free online poker one doesn’t get A-A or K-K they tend to go all-in with Ace-something. A lot of players will go for it with AK, AQ, in some cases even as low as A4.

At worst, if someone with A-4 is called with the medium Pair, there is still one overcard. With A-K you could be called by Ace-lower whilst still being be a significant favorite.

So players running out of chips have a tendency to wait for Ace-something before they move all-in. While the Ace element gives them assurance, the likelihood is that someone will call them with Ace-higher and make them a significant underdog. Furthermore, if the purpose is to move all-in, why not try the same move with King-something (preferably suited)?

The trend for tournament players today has changed slightly in favor of moving all-in with King-something, like K-Q, K-J, K-10 (naturally, the applications here apply also to A-K) as well as K-x suited. Other players will also call with a smaller pocket Pair, and thus A-x has the same chance of winning as K-x against a smaller Pair if both cards are overcards.

And K-x posseses an additional advantage. While a hand like A-5 is really a substantial underdog against A-J, K-Q or K-5 is just a slight underdog.

Approximately, it is a 13 to 7 underdog, but compare this to A-5 which is a 15 to 5 (or 3-1) underdog. What you want to fetch with K-x is its live card value.

While using A-5, you must hit the Five if you want to pair and take the lead. With K-5, you can have both King and Five pairing.

If you extend your all-in hand range to include K-x, you might have to move all-in more than usual. Because many players will fold to an all-in (including marginal high A-x such as A-10 or A-9) other players at the table will get a more aggressive impression of your play.

Also you can steal the blinds more frequently. The all-in itself (and not really the cards employed to move all-in) is a sign of strength; it’s the same with A-x or K-x.

Overall, should you be running out of chips and the all in approach beckons don’t limit yourself to just Ace-x, think about the King too, it may just make your day!

So why not check out the King High approach on the free poker online tables first, get accustomed to it and then apply in more dangerous poker games later.

Hopefully this was interesting and helps your poker game be it free poker games or for cash. Certainly it should demonstrate that in any given poker game situation you will find options to think about based on the cards you’ve got, the game point, opposition and known and estimated risk to name but a few. If you’re a new comer to this approach then by far the simplest way to get ahead is to practice a LOT on free online poker sites such as

Everything you need to know about Tavla Games

Which games come to your mind when we say “board games”? Monopoly? Risk? Carcassonne? They are merely a “child” when compared to tavla (backgammon). Tavla is the ancient Byzantine Greek name of backgammon, and it is one of the oldest board games around. Egyptian people played it – royal tombs are filled with tavla board pictures, dating as far as 3.500 BC. Persian people loved it – there are Persian legends based around this game. Some researchers think it is older even than chess, in fact, tavla may be the simplest form of chess. It is called “Shuang Lu” in China, “Jeux de Tables” in France, and “Bradspel” in Great Britain.

It is a game of luck and strategy. Luck comes from the dice and strategy comes from thinking one step ahead.

Tavla is a simple game actually, there is a board with 12 long triangles at each side. These triangles are called “points”. (So when someone says “12-point” for example, he/she means the 13th triangle.) To start the game, each player rolls one dice. The player with the highest number starts. Each player has 15 pieces, white and black colored. All of the pieces are moved according to the roll of dice. For example, if you roll 6 x 3, you can move either one piece nine points forward or two pieces, six and three points forward. The goal is collecting all of your pieces at your side of the board and remove them before your opponent. If you roll a double, you can play each die twice.

The thing is, if a point is occupied by your opponent’s pieces, you can’t move on top of them. That point becomes useless to you. You can move your piece over it if the roll allows, but if that point is the only place your roll goes… That roll is wasted. Here is the good news though: If your opponent has only one piece on a point, you can “blot” it. That piece is removed from the game and needs to re-enter, by rolling a number of unoccupied point on your side of the board. Until then, it is placed on the middle of the board.

As with all simple games, tavla is easy to learn but difficult to master. You need some tactics and strategies, luck never lasts long. How should I play my roll? Shall I blot that piece or is it a trap? Is this the right time to do a home run? Placement of the pieces and roll possibilities has been studied by mathematicians, there are even books about the subject. Like chess, tavla has “opening” and “ending” moves. There are strategies you need to follow during the main game too, and you need to change them according to the situation. If you are a beginner, start with tavla software and master the game through them. Currently, lots of online casinos offer this game too, but since there is a possibility of losing real money, stay away from them until you know what you are doing.

Tavla is an international board game played in many countries, but it is especially common in Middle-East. There is also a World Backgammon Championship competition going on in Nevada, Las Vegas, till the 60’s. Winners of this tournament receive tens of thousands of dollars, so tavla can make you rich when played right! Tavla games played at this level are a little different from the usual ones though; there are doubling cubes and some special rules such as Holland rule, Jacoby rule and Crawford rule. These are rules based around multiplier levels basically, and some of them force the player to forfeit.