Texas Holdem Poker

	Basic Details
	Country of Origin	:	United Kingdom
	License	:	Malta
	Year of Foundation	:	2005
	Software	:	iPoker Network
	Language	:	English
	Bonus	:	100% Upto £1000

Virgin Poker Review

Virgin Poker is one of the latest additions, having been established only in the year 2005, to the ever-growing Virgin network. True to its character, Virgin Poker like all the other Virgin ventures offers customers luring bonuses and promotions that attract a huge amount of traffic to its Poker website. The most attractive are the Virgin Poker Points that entitle you to a whole range of fabulous prizes. The website not only offers great rewards but also has some exciting games taking place at the tables. It certainly is worth a visit as it provides you hordes of fun and enjoyment to look forward to.

Software:

Virgin Poker uses the software from Boss Media, which is widely used by the iPoker Network. The software is quick to download, easy to handle and has a smooth game play. The lobby is designed in the patent red color and has all the typical features of the software offered by Boss Media. The menu is well laid out and there are no striking avatars to obstruct the visibility of the screen. You can choose to play on a full screen or opt for a window play. However, you cannot re-size the window and there is no mini mode available either, ruling out the chance of playing at multiple tables simultaneously. A four-color deck is offered for clearer visibility and differentiation of the cards.

All the other required elements can be found here, such as a note taking facility, your own current statistics as well as that of the table, a menu filter that allows you to instantly get to the game of your choice, flop percentages, the average pot size and other features. The quick filter menu allows you to access the game of your choice without difficulty, saving you the time of having to flip through each game before getting to the one you wish to play. You can also choose the limit you want to play. An interesting feature is the ‘player’s area’, that maintains a complete record of your winnings, your position on the leader board, the total V-Points collected by you and so on.

Games:

The games offered at Virgin Poker include the standard Texas Holdem, Omaha, Omaha High/Low, 7-Card Stud, Blackjack and a few others. Stakes can start as low as 5c/10c and can go up as far as $500/$1000 at the higher limits. Most of the action as usual takes place at the Texas Holdem poker tables.

Tournaments:

Virgin Poker offers a number of tournaments that include the sit and go tournaments and the multi-table tournaments with fixed buy-ins. The prize money is distributed among the players according to their ranking at the table. This is determined by how long their chips hold on. The last man to remain at the table is the final winner and gets to keep a larger amount of the pot while the rest is shared by the others as per their ranks.

Traffic:

As the iPoker Network is one of the largest online gaming networks in the world, there is no doubt that there will be a wide range of games to play. So not finding a game of your choice is hardly likely to happen. Texas Holdem is the most sought after and the games played are soft as most of the players here are amateurs and only those seeking fun. You will find a few sharks out there but the lower and middle limits are quite easy and have plenty of cash to be won.

The flop percentages generally fall around 40%, which means that the games are rather loose and full of action. The peak hour traffic at the cash tables is around 3,000 players while those playing tournaments fall around 13,000 players.

Bonus:

You get a generous 100% bonus of up to £100 when you sign up for a new account at Virgin Poker. This bonus is deposited as £10 increments into your account. To avail yourself of this bonus you are required to play £30 worth of raked hands or tournaments to have £10 put into your account. You have 180 days to wager for this bonus amount, which gives you enough time to do so.

Loyalty Program:

Virgin Poker offers loyalty points in the form of V-Points to its players every time they play a cash game, multi-table tournament or a satellite tournament. These points can be exchanged for some fabulous gifts such as Virgin flying miles, mobile top-ups and various other interesting prizes that Virgin is well known for promoting. You can also swap these points for cash or for buy-ins to satellite tournaments.

Promotions:

A €25,000 free roll is held every month as a reward for contestants who have played loyally at Virgin Poker for a whole month. In order to participate in this free roll you must have played 1,500 raked hands before the date of the tournament. Also available are jackpots of €10,000 and some other promotions that take place at Virgin Poker all the time.

Customer Support:

The customer support staff can be contacted via email, telephone or live chat facilities.

When I first started playing live Poker in 2006, one of the first people I befriended was a man that was an absolute master at working a short stack. I sat one night and watch this man navigate his way through a field of 301 and finish in 16th place. The event paid 27 spots. This may not sound very impressive, but there is one fact I left out. He was the short stack of the poker tournaments with about 40 players left. I watched him work a stack in such a way that he was able to survive and cash in this event.

Working a short stack is part luck and part well timed aggression. First, you must know the opponents at your table. Which are the players that you may be able to steal from? Who are the players that will call your bet with any two cards? Are there any chip leaders at your table? You want to try and pick on the players with middle to lower stacks if you can. A chip leader will take a chance to knock you out but someone middle or lower in chips may not risk hurting their stack.

First, when you are the short stack and you pick up a big hand, there is only one move, and that is all-in. Don’t set yourself up with a difficult decision after the flop. Put your opponent to the test now. Make them risk doubling you up. You are getting to the point where you almost have to move in with any two cards, so if you pick up a hand, get as much value for it as you can.

Next, if you are short and nearing desperation mode, if you are near the end of a level, sometimes it is wise to wait until the level change, especially if the antes go up. This will put more money into the pot pre-flop. Don’t do this if waiting will make your shove meaningless. I was in an event once where I had a reasonable hand to move in with on the last hand of the level but with the action, I chose to wait until the next level since the blinds and ante’s would be up. Since I was nowhere near the blinds, I could afford a few hands since the antes were not too bad. The first hand of the next level, I picked up a suited ace and moved in. I was called and actually doubled up, but because I waited a level, I picked up an additional 525 that I wouldn’t have had if I did not wait.

Also, you need to be the aggressor in the Pot Limit holdem. The example above I actually had a better ace the prior hand before I moved in, but there was multiple players in the pot. With this much action, it would be hard to guarantee a heads-up match for all my chips. You want to be the first person into the Pot Limit Texas Holdem or the first raiser. This allows you to at least apply some pressure.

When short stacked you need to make some moves in order to get some chips in the Poker Games. You will not always be successful and will be knocked out, but the times that you are successful will pay off and also help to build your image as a survivor.