Casinos and online gambling sites have one golden rule, thou salt not tolerate an empty table. Empty tables mean no players, mean no money coming in, mean no PROFIT (what? You thought they opened up just for our benefit).

The typical definition of a prop player is someone  who gets paid an hourly rate to start poker games or to keep them  active. Prop players are not Shills. Shills are people who play poker with the Casinos (or online Poker sites) money. Props still play with their own money but they also pick up an hourly wage.

Many Online Poker sites advertise for Prop players, it seems to be a win / win scenario as they websites get tables up and running an should (theoretically) never have a situation where someone wants to sit and play poker but can’t see anyone else at a table so clicks off elsewhere, while the Prop gets paid a bonus for every hour they do something that they were planning on doing anyway. Result!

Poker not being a 9 – 5 job means that a prop can work any hours of the day or night, and depending on the time of day, a prop may work anywhere from one to twenty games. If you start early in a session, you may be requested (by your bosses) to leave your place when there’s a queue for the table. Plus as you can’t play poker on your own (how would you bluff?) sometimes there can be as many as four props in a game early on because customers aren’t there (dragging their feet to the table). In cases like this the Props leave one at a time depending on their position against the blind, so games should end up Prop free when they’re full of “real” players. Playing online, with a lot more tables available bosses won’t expect their props to give up their seats.  Don’t expect to make a great pot of cash if you’re a prop the hourly wage won’t make you rich (even of you play 24-7) but it’s a very useful “bonus” to bulk your bankroll, but the real money is made off of your winnings.

If it’s not for the money, what’s the big advantage of being a prop? Well you get plenty of practice (at a reduced rate) also as you’re a prop and therefore “working” it instils a sense of discipline into your game. You should never get drink when you’re a prop, and as you represent the casino you should be well up on your poker etiquette and the customs of the game.

Playing poker means also meet plenty of characters, unfortunately some of them resent the Prop, they think as you’re an employee you get special treatment (as if) and they seem to forget that the chips you lose are still your chips. Also if you’re a Prop you don’t get to pick your games, if your boss calls on you to Play Omaha a when all you want is hold ‘em, I don’t matter ‘cos they’re paying your salary.

Online poker props are usually paid to play in games where the house wants them to play and sometimes get moved from great games to terrible ones, just when they get ripe. The big difference is that casino props are paid by the hour, while online props are paid in a variety of ways, like by the hand or depending on the amount of action at their table. Some online poker cardrooms let you be a “temporary prop” and offer players a bonus to join a specific game for a set number of hands.

If you fancy being a prop (for whatever reason) don’t forget that a job is a job, even when your being payed for playing.

Sit n Gos have a huge amount of strategy involved, which makes it a cool game for intermediately players.  There are many features that you can control to increase your chances of moneying or even winning the tournaments.

A sprint or a marathon?

Sit And Go isn’t all about winning the most dollars, it’s about being the last man standing. There is a difference. Beware the wild “poker joker” who goes all in on the opening hand, more popular on Sit n Gos for some reason. I tend to leave them to it as on  the one hand going all in on two cards insults my intelligence, we’ve all seen AA beaten by a 2 when the centre cards say 3, 4 8 Q & 2. The gods of poker don’t respect these players either.

The golden rule with Sit n Go is to play tight and aggressive, they sometimes can be a short game. You should play tighter especially early on (so play fewer but solider hands). In later positions you can loosen up a little and play more hands. This is because you are last (or later) to act and have the benefit of seeing what the other are doing. Golden rule #2 is learn and trust solid pre-flop hands that’s because (as opposed to ring games) sit and Goes  are more consistent this means it also offers less swings, thrills  and drama than playing Multi Table tournaments, and if that isn’t enough for you, Regular SnG play is a great way to improve your game. Try and restrict your play to premium hands in the early stages, then play more starting hands in later position as the number of players at the table drop. And then bring out the big guns and killer tactical play towards the end of the game.

What a lot of poker players like about Playing in single table tournaments get a lot of bang for your buck, you pay in and get a stack of chips (but all you can really lose is your original stake) so even if you’re up $10,000 (in chips) at one point you might only ever be losing $50.

Also Sit and go can be a very profitable game, if there’s say nine to a table you can finish in the money if you’re smart enough to last longer than six others (although rules vary). And importantly S&Gs have a pre-defined risk (ie. you only stand to lose the buy-in). Sit and Go poker tournaments tend to run for about an hour (they up the blind either whenever a player is eliminated or after a qualified amount of time) but, (As with all games of poker) patience isn’t just a virtue but an essential aspect. Other games require patience too, but with Sit and Go once you’re out … your out.

The worst of those night I’d been playing smart, I’d made plenty of beautifully timed bets, used the right cards (at the right times), slipped in a tidy check-raise or two and even a couple of sneaky bluffs just to keep the fun ticking along. My stack of chips is high the field is thinning the clock says it’s late and maybe the calendar says it’s already tomorrow, but I own this table and I can read these cards. Around this time my mind would drift to spending my winnings or maybe if I should bet the pot once or twice, shake these guys up a little.

Less than an hour later I’m out. What just happened?

I didn’t know and yet I should have known cos I was right there when it was happening, but I can’t remember just when the tide turned, sure I can remember the couple of daft moves and those two bad beats, but I was chipped-up and rolling. Those things shouldn’t have upset the flow. And it wasn’t them that cost me, it’s a usual thing three or four hours into the online poker tournament, (with the big last win in my grasp) it was all me.

When it happens to you (and it will) try and remember the hand when things went bad, if you can’t remember it EXACTLY how it happened then you lost focus. You want proof? You’d remember it if you hadn’t lost focus, that’s your proof. If you can remember it might play out something like this: it’s a cheap and easy flop, nothing to get excited about, maybe you’re thinking of fixing grabbing a bite to eat or a swift refreshing drink once  you’ve won this hand, and to make it a little saucy a couple of other guys stick around and add to the pot, that’s no problem, (maybe a sandwich, or a coffee) the turn makes no real difference to anything and we’re in (mm a steak sandwich perhaps, with that nice mustard, I’m not a Blind on the next hand so what the hell I’ll either fold…but if I get the nuts I might bet the limit) and there’s the river, yeah I’m in (yeah a bit hungry) and sure re-raise, and feeling bit tired too – I wonder how long  till I win this thing, and what….? I just lost…on a stupid hand! What a mug! How did I get so far in this game playing like this rube.

The answer is I didn’t. The mistake I just made wasn’t the sport of stupid play I was making three hours ago when I sat down to play poker. I’ll start by blaming fatigue, I’ll blame the stack of chips for spoiling me, but whatever (or whoever) I might blame it all boils down to focus, or rather the lack thereof. Even if you don’t “accidently” go all in a bad beat when your brain is wandering, it often leads to panic betting and chip haemorrhaging.

Stay focussed, you’re responsible for your own chips and your own money, good cards aren’t a god given right, and you have to work at getting lucky. The simple fact is that the longer you can stay in (by keeping focused and concentrating) the better chance of you hitting the sweet spot. A great hand can pop up at any time, respect the gods of poker by paying attention to the game and they will reward your concentration.

Forget the big scores they’ll come along on time but if you want to be there for when they arrive you have to play the long game, and that means obey the three Ds Discipline, Discipline and Discipline. Don’t fret and don’t worry about fancy plays, just start with solid sensible poker and take advantage of the cards you’re dealt.
Discipline #1 don’t play every hand, obvious enough but as an example don’t play every hand you get just cos it’s got an Ace in it. Single aces with small kickers will often leave you chasing leprechauns, by that I mean going after something that doesn’t exist. Play like a grown up, this IS NOT high school you are not after some king of cool nickname; you are here to play cards. If you have a strong hand played it in a straightforward manner with raises and re-raises, don’t bother with tricky play, slow-playing or cheap theatrics. Leave this to the final tables.

Remember you need a reason to call, as in “is your hand good enough” – but a great early tip is if our hand is good enough to call, ask yourself is it good enough to raise. Either your hand is tough enough for a raise or it is not played at all. This discipline very swiftly separates the men from the boys.

Grow balls early (this is similar to the aggressive tip above), make continuation bets. By that I mean raised pre-flop, it scares off those players trawling for good hands and protects any bluffs you’ll make later. Learn to bounce back, and by that I certainly don’t mean fly all in on the very next hand. It’s true that tha takes heart but show me a cardsman who was nothing but heart and I’ll show you a man waiting for a beating. Be sensible, after you’ve lost a big pot wait for something with showdown value, something worth playing. Best piece of advice I ever heard was when a man said to me, “Going all in after a bad beat, you might as well be throwing in a towel. Those players are looking for an excuse to be beat”. Look a little harder for your excuse; make your beating work a little harder.

Come back soon for more tips from Grandpa.

Every poker player who signs up at the poker sites need not invest his or her own money for playing games there; instead there are ways of making money at these poker sites. Those looking to build their bankrolls can participate in the freeroll tournaments that are offered at practically all the poker sites. These freerolls are just like any other tournament except for the fact that you do not have to pay for a buy-in, but you have every chance of winning the handsome prize pools that accompany these freeroll tournaments.

Many poker sites also offer special freerolls for beginners and new comers so that they have an opportunity to build their bankrolls. Once you have begun to make a good saving, you can start playing cash games with the money that you have earned through the freeroll tournaments. In this way, players with a low budget or no budget for that matter, can easily make money and then embark on a poker career without having made a single penny investment of their own.

Freerolls are a major attraction at various poker sites, as they offer great cash prizes apart from which they are absolutely free to enter. The availability of freerolls depends on the poker sites. While some poker sites may offer several freerolls in a single day, there are other poker sites that might offer freerolls once a day or even once a week. Whatever be the frequency of freeroll tournaments available at these poker sites, they are a great way of increasing your money status.

As freeroll tournaments help players increase their bankrolls, they fill very fast and are always packed with players competing for the prize pool. To check for the availability of freerolls and the prize money that they offer, you will need to look up various poker sites and locate the lucrative ones. If you are already signed in to one or more of these poker sites, you probably know of the freeroll schedules. So all those who wish to play online poker, but have a tight budget can consider playing the freerolls at one of the many poker sites.