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I find myself intrigued by the habits of the Average Man poker players when the hot shot famous poker players get more TV time than some NBA stars. The normal man is always more intriguing than his famous brethren anyway, simply because he is far more accessible to me as a less-than-famous poker player. I find myself often wondering what defines the average poker player. Is he a high roller? A microstakes player? Textbook tight-aggressive?

I may never know exactly what the perfect, average, poker player, is but I can tell you conclusively that the Average Man poker player is in fact an online player. Most poker players access the game online two to three times per week, which is far more than those who actually put the time and effort into driving to the casino. Science is not often my friend, but in this case the number crunchers got it right. The Average Man is an online player, who may have never even played in a traditional brick and mortar casino.

I never would have thought that the day would come when the average poker player played alone and at home. Times change, and that which I once thought was impossible is now the order of the day.

When it comes to giving online poker themed gifts to your friends, there is always the temptation to order up some personalized playing cards. Just a quick browse on the internet shows you that there are all different kinds of online poker cards out there. You could get ones with a specific pattern or design if you wanted. If you were feeling really creative you could even order up some gift playing cards with photos on their backs. These are definitely the height of personalized playing poker cards because your friend’s face will be looking at you every time you shuffle the cards. Or better yet, you could put your image on the backs so that your friend never forgets about you. The question that many people ask is whether they actually need personalized playing cards. The answer is always no. No one actually needs personalized playing cards. But practicality is not the issue when it comes to custom gifts like this. Personalized paying cards are just more fun. Make a truly persona gift for your poker playing buddies and order up some custom gift cards. They will be sure to appreciate the thought you put into their gift. Personalized poker cards are the perfect blend of creativity and practicality.

One of the best things about playing online poker is that you can play for as long as you like. When you make the effort to drive out to a brick and mortar poker house, you tend to feel obligated to stick around. It seems like a waste of time to drive 45 minutes to the closest casino unless you stick around and play for a few hours. With that mindset, you may have to separate a chunk of several hours aside in order to play poker. When you play online poker, however, you can play as few or as many hands as you’d like. If you play just one or two hands, you can duck out of the game if something comes up. While it does increase table turnover, there usually are enough players to fill your seat when it becomes vacant. When something interrupts your game, it’s pretty handy to be able to play poker for a few minutes, and then leave without any serious repercussions. While I wouldn’t recommend making it a habit if you want to win more often than lose, you can play a few hands when you’ve got a few minutes to spare, and sharpen up your game a bit.

The most impressive bluffs come about when a poker online player with the worst cards possible makes a player with a strong online poker hand fold. It doesn’t get much more exciting than when a player with an unpaired 8-2 off suit makes an opponent with a low flush fold his hand. However, it’s common misconception that one can only bluff with the worst cards. In fact, one of the best ways to ensure that your bluff is going to be effective is to do so with a fairly strong hand. The best kinds of pokerbluffs are the ones that aren’t entirely bluffs. If you’ve got a good hand, but not the nuts, or if you’ve got a good hand but are in danger of someone drawing out on you, betting more than you normally would with that hand can end up saving your from being outdrawn. If you’ve got an Ace-Jack and the flop comes out Jack-10-5, you’ve got a solid hand-high pair with Ace kicker. Your one problem is that it’s in danger of being outdrawn by a straight. Since no one has a straight yet, you can protect your set of Jacks with a bet that’s big enough to force everyone else to fold.

I regularly hear from a recreational bowler looking to take on this intricate sport more seriously. When bowling is the case, this is important beginning in your development as a true student of the game. Read carefuly, ’cause our bowling pro shop’s “Next Steps” handbook to the Top 5 Bowling Tips may take your game to new levels. The guys from your city’s bowling pro shop want bowlers harness bowling skills. We like to say, roll strikes if can spare ‘em (hehe). Just kidding. Okay, bowling is a simple game with not-so simple details. No worry, our bowling experts have you throwing the best way we know how.

It’s not a big purchase, buy your own custom fit a personalized bowling ball, which will do wonders! Fit is important. It’s no joke, get your favorite ball drilled for custom finger holes, and your game will benefit. A precision fitted bowling ball can make a substantial improvement in your game. It’s also important you’re having well-made bowling shoes that have shoe laces!

Since you may have previous bought good bowling ball and shoes, listen to the number two piece of bowling advice: how to aim. If you hold the ball, don’t necessarily roll the ball at the back of the lane. Line up using the arrows like a gunsight. The reason? You’ll find it more effective to roll through a point a good deal closer. To get the most out of your aim, it should be your habit to stand in the precise location on the wood each time. With that consistency you can adjust your aim using the arrows in the lane.

What do you make of hooks, to get proper speed and ball control? That makes our next best piece of bowling advice. They get traction with the pricy reactive ball. Actually, serious bowlers pack at least two bowling balls to roll amazing pin action, according to the lane. Just a bit of caution: intermediates should not try to be fancy, and don’t get a ball that is too heavy for you. A lot of semi-pro bowlers opt for bowling balls with synthetic materials. However you should know these balls often make even moderately good pros seem silly. And that does it for our first three bowling tips. There will be more shortly.

–Michael Hulen

My friends and I manage a company team (US Systems) comprised of morning shift for a bowling shoes manufacturer down in Plano, Texas. I chime in with advice to beginning bowlers on the web and in my local newsletter. Lastly, I should say hi to all my heavy rollers at the finals in Atlantic City. Sorry I can’t be there.

Being two-faced is usually considered an undesirable characteristic disdained by honest folks. But a two-faced personality is a good thing in online poker.

If you want to win at poker, you must confuse your opponents. You use techniques to make a hand look weak when it is strong, and to appear strong when you are only on a draw or bluff. Another way to confound the other players, is to switch gears in your play and become as unpredictable as possible. Basically, by adapting a dual personality, you’ll make yourself inscrutable to others.

Think of it as assuming the traits of the infamous fictional character, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Establish an image as a rock solid player who adheres to the ABCs of playing a conservative tight game. The other players will respect you whenever you bet out, figuring you only enter the action with strong poker hands.

Then you can change everything around and take on the personality of a maniac. Bet out big, put on the pressure, make people afraid to tangle with you at the table. Only do this for a few hands, then revert back to the solid rock style of play. Your opponents will not know what to expect and will be more judicious about betting out in front of you. By playing a two-faced game, you become a monster to be feared at the table.

There are so many poker shows on television these days, it’s almost impossible to change from one channel to the other at almost any given hour without bumping in to those now old familiar faces that make up the professional poker TV scene. Whether it’s Phil Hellmuth pitching a tantrum or Scotty Nguyen saying ‘baby’ till he’s blue in the face, Phil Laak doing push ups or Mike Matusow running his large mouth, there’s just a ridiculous amount of poker viewing for your pleasure. It’s just a question of how much you’re willing to take.

The problem with watching too much of these kind of poker shows is that the way these shows are often edited and cut to the ‘exciting parts’ makes the game of poker look a lot different than it actually is at the table. The producers of these shows such as ESPN’S broadcasts of the World Series of Poker, as well as Poker Superstars, NBC’s National Heads Up Championship, the World Poker Tour, and the like, often have so much they have to fit into their time slot that a lot of what you get are the explosive, all-in pots, rather than the hand by hand progression that most poker games are.

High Stakes Poker is a rare gem among poker shows, in that it focuses on high buy in no limit Texas hold em, and its cash game format skips the formality of rising blinds, short stacks and endless coin flips for all the cash. Instead, you get to see some of the best players in the world in a variety of hand by hand situations, playing actual poker, making moves, bluffing, and altogether employing a set of poker skills that a lot of shows end up omitting.

If you’re looking for some hands on, immediate real time play with a gamut of ‘how to play poker’ and the method of learning by example, High Stakes Poker, now on GSN but soon to move to their new home on Fox Sports Net, is a show that will get you itching to sit down at the table and get your own money in the pot.