How to Earn Money In Facebook’s Zynga Poker?

Zynga Poker is a very popular game on Facebook. It has millions of registered and active users (36 million according to Facebook stats). It runs on standard Texas Hold’Em rules. Such a large number of users make it the largest poker website in the world. In Zynga Poker, you can earn chips which will allow you to participate in games and tournaments.

You can earn millions of chips in the game. But unfortunately, they are virtual earnings. All those millions of chips won’t be worth a cent in the real world. In a sense, this is good, because in poker, if you can earn money, you can lose it as well. And we certainly won’t recommend betting your month’s salary on poker (:P). You can, however, get many benefits from earning chips in the game like participating in tournaments and stuff.

So how to become a millionaire in Zynga Poker? You can become a star in this virtual world. Admittedly, I am not one (currently :P), because I don’t play it much. But if you like the game, then the sky is the limit for you! In the time I have played the game, I have figured out some ways in which I increased my chip level. So here goes…

Participating in Shootouts

Tournaments are a great way of earning chips. Shootouts are tournaments. You get buy in with $2000 chips, and get $1000 of that to play with. If you lose your $1000, you’re out of the tournament. There are three rounds in all, at the end of which is a prize of $500,000!

Win by ‘not playing’!

Now it take patience to play in a tournament. Impatience won’t get you anywhere. Neither would over-confidence. A lot of idiots go all-in on the very first turn! If you ask me, that’s chips down the drain right there! Take this advice from me, and never call or raise in the very first hand. Fold! Let the stupid guys get themselves knocked out of the table. I only start playing when there are five or fewer players on the table. It reduces your odds of losing a hand.

Always check!

Never bet or raise unless you are absolutely sure you will get the hand. If someone goes all-in or bets a lot of chips, then fold! Otherwise, check! Or call if it’s small money. For me, I usually decide whether I am staying in the game or folding when there are three cards on the table. You do the same. Don’t be over-confident about the cards in hand, as we will explain later.

Raise when you’re sure!

Now once there are three or more cards on the table, make up your mind whether you want to fold or stay in. If you have a good hand, like a flush, straight, three of a kind or two pairs, you might want to stay in. One pair won’t do much good. So if someone raises, and you have a one pair, then fold please!

Some common Poker mistakes!

These are some common mistakes many people make, especially new players. It is fun sometimes to watch them make such mistakes and get themselves knocked out of the table. But it isn’t funny when you are on the reviving end. So here’s some mistakes and how you can avoid them.

Two Aces are no good!

Don’t go all excited when you get dealt with two Aces.  They are no good! I am sure they look good in your hand. But they make only a single pair. If someone gets a pair of 2s and another of 3s, you are doomed! (unless of course there’s a third Ace on the table). So wait for the cards to come on the table.

Don’t let yourself be talked into doing something stupid

A lot of people use this strategy. They will insult you, call you a coward etc. Don’t let that get to your head. Just ignore them. I’ve seen a lot of people going all-in just because someone called them a coward! And it was so hilarious when they lost :P. So let the people say what they will. You just focus on your own game.

You don’t have to back-up your last call

Now this one is tricky. I have been lured into this mistake quite a lot of times. What it basically means is, lets say someone raised to $500 (or something) when there were no cards on the table, and I called. Now when the cards come down, they might go all-in. Then I am in trouble. I don’t have a good hand, but I have to back-up my money with more money. It is human psychology. There is the catch right there! I don’t have to. Losing half my money is better than losing all my money.

This trick can turned to your advantage as well. Sometimes, I keep raising the bet by small amounts until the last call. At this point, other player(s) have put quite a lot of their money on the table. So I go all-in or raise. Now they are compelled to put in their remaining money, which I win, most of the time :D.

Don’t keep putting money into a losing hand

This one is linked to the above trick. If someone is constantly raising at each turn, then don’t follow the bait. It’s a trap! They will go all-in at the end and you will have no choice but to lose your money. So unless you’ve got a good hand, don’t follow the raises.

And last of all, remember it’s a game of chance

Yes. You aren’t guaranteed a win even if you avoid all these mistakes. It’s just a game of chance. So theoretically, the probability of you winning a hand is half. Practically, you can improve those odds. But they will remain there no matter what you do. So don’t get angry. Just play for the sake of fun.

Hopefully, these tips will help you become a better player, and get the most fun out of the game. We would recommend you don’t gamble real money away because you won’t like it when you lose :P. If you are over-enthusiastic, you can have a match with me any time :P. See ya in the next post 🙂