It's good to know that Mahjong has been becoming popular in the net.Some of the game site now includes Mahjong as one of their top games. Well, Poker is Poker whatever your race or gae maybe, it's the universal language of cards.

Myth told us that Mahjong was invited by the very famous Chinese Scholar CONFUCIUS. He likes bird so much that the game was named after a "maque sparrow". If my memory serve me right there are 3 distinct pictures on the tile or should I say color: red, green, white. And it represents benevolence, sincerity and filial piety (whew!). Those are the 3 virtues the great scholar was trying to instill to his follower. To be honest with you, it was my first time to encounter the words "filial piety", as simple as : respect for parents and ancestors.

So everytime you hold one of those mahjong tiles, this is not only a game to be played but a virtue to be lived.

Sweet!

As i promised, i tried to recall how to play the game "tong-its". If I'm not mistaken the game could host 3 upto 4 players. A player should win twice in the row to get the pot money. Hence, the word "tong-its" or two hits was derived.

Each player would be given 12 cards but the dealer takes 13 cards. The dealer would start the game by throwing a first card. Second player could either " chow" or get the card in order to make 3 succedding cards of the same suit or 3 the same card of a different suit. If not, he can opt to pick from the deck but still need to throw 1 card. And the card starts to hit high. It rotates on the counter clockwise fashion. In order to win, a player should be able to dispose all of his cards if not the least num of cards left.

Whew! Geez.. I still have a lot to learn in cards terminology.

Now, with those things in my mind. I should be able to understand Mahjong better. If and if what my dad said was true.

I'm always been fascinated by Mahjong because of it's tiles pieces. It looks like an eraser and most of the time, I'm tempted to sink my teeth on it. But I know the fact, that I'll be on the losing end. I always see my neighbors gambing. Cards and sometimes Mahjong. Though our house was always their hideouts for their Mahjong session ( my dad was uber hospitable, the session comes with a free lunch win or lose), I never learned or played it. I don't know, though the tiles fascinates me with its color, texture and graphics, i feel like the game was too boring. Or is it because much older people playing it, more serious, less talk, less fun.

I asked my dad about Mahjong and he was kind enough to answer in a very profound manner. "it's like tong-its (two hits)". And then he turned away, grabbed his coffee and went back to his own world. No more explanation, And I am left there, on my seat, contemplating on those 4 word phrase.

Tomorrow. I'll google. But for now, I'm trying to recall how to play tong-its. I know I'm good at that. Because most of my college lunches were sponsorred by that game.

See, Life isn't bad at all.

Mahjong tiles were one of my favorite stuff when I was young. I remember my dad, would always asked me to get and keep the small brown rectangular bag every now and then. And the only time I would be able to touch the real pieces was when they we're too drunk to keep it or may dad needs to rush to the bathroom and there was I cleaning up their mess. From sweeping the cigarette butts to the coffee cups and saving the best for last.. arranging the mahjong tiles.I would try to mimic them by making "halo" (shuffling) the tiles and then trying to put it row, faced up. Those were the good ol' times when mahjong could only be played face to face accompanied with cigars and coffee.

But now, just with a click of button, Mahjong starts to roll.

Over the weekend, I've learned a lot. From holding my horses to keeping my bets at bay. To play with my head rather than my heart. I was able to stay at the table for about an hour and so, until I lost everything in a  heartbeat. I thought I was smart enough to play tough but sitl I can't resist a 'call'. See, i got a good hand and it gets better by the minute.

One by one, players start to fold and to my suprise 3 of us were left on the game. As the game, starts to rock, the player starts to raise with all his might. I fought head on. And i lost the battle.

Tsk. I thought I knew better.

Better luck next time.

I'm trying to recall if there was any single house I went to, that doesn't have any deck of cards. But it seems like I can't recall any. It's like a basketball court at every street turn. What I remember was that, a pack of cards was an all time favorite "pasalubong" (treat) from abroad. My dad would use the cards to be a filler for the balikbayan boxes. And every time someone would pay him a visit, he would automatically give out playing cards. Simple as it may seems but a Bicycle card is more than enough to make someone smile. Gambling *cough*!

The first time I took cards seriously, if my memory serves me right was in my freshman year in High School. Cards bring out the best memories of my childhood. Every time there's a death in the family, we the kids would often play cards. Laughing our heads out like there wasn't any mourning the house. Those were the best days of my life and probably the very few rare moments I was with all of my cousins. So, when I saw my schoolmates playing cards...I can't help but join. Though, their game was quite different. Most of them were wearing sandos already, others were sockless. As I approached them, I realized they we're playing strip poker. From them on, because of the consequences of losing, I strived to win, if not learn to fold.

Several days it's been raining like hell.Can't get out of the house. So what's the best way to kill the boredom? 3 P's. PC. Play. Poker... Oh yeah, with a tub of strawberry yogurt and good table, I'm on my way to wonderland. As the cards was dealt and so was my yogurt, my heart can't help the excitement. So with an Ace and my King of Hearts I raised my bet to more than half of my pot. Positivity. First card from the dealer, a perfect 10 of Hearts!..Second, the Jack-ass of my Heart. With this, I bet all what life has to offer. And beside with 3 days on a house rest (thanks to global warning!), I think I deserve all the luck... With much anticipation, came with lightning and thunder...poof the power went off! There goes the Queen and my heart..broken into pieces! Oh! the 4th P's...Pissed!

I wanted to learn how to play poker but I didn’t know where to start.  I often watch poker playing on TV and have heard the players and even the host utter different poker terminologies that I could not relate to.  Most probably poker really has its own language.  So I thought of familiarizing myself with the poker terminologies and there are really a lot so I could then build my poker knowledge.  Here are some terms poker beginners need to know the meaning of:  Action, All-in, Ante, Bad Beat, Bang Away, Bankroll, Belly Buster, Bet, Big Slick, Blind Bet, Bluff, Board, Boat, Bring-in, Busted Draw, Buy-in, Call, Calling Station, Cap, Cold Call, Come Hand, Check, Check-Raise, Chip, Cracked, Crying Call, Dog, Door Card, Drawing Dead, Early Position, Fifth Street, Fill up, Fish, Flop, Flush, Fold, Fourth Street, Free Card, Full House, Gut Shot Draw, Hole Cards, Inside Straight Draw, Kicker, Late Position, Lay Down, Limit, Limp in, Loose, Made Hand, Middle Position, Muck, Odds, Open Ended Straight, Outs, Pocket Cards, Pocket Rockets, Porch, Pot, Pot Odds, Protecting your Hand, Quads, Rags, Raise, Rake, Reraise, River, Rolled-up Trips, Runner-Runner, Scare Card, Semi-Bluff, Seventh Street, Set, Short Stack, Side Pot, Sixth Street, Slow Stealing, Straight, Straight Flush, Sucker, Tell, Trips, Turn, Under the Gun, Wired Pair.
 
After getting to know the meaning of the above terms, next is to know all the poker rules.  Errors will be avoided if you know all the game rules.

Did the term “poker face” really come from the poker card game?  Well I guess so.  You seen, when players are betting money they use a blank expression on their faces so the other players cannot read the expression.   You also use a poker face when bluffing as well. They wouldn’t know if the person betting is really holding good cards or bad cards.  When a person shows a happy face this means that he has a good hand and so the players do not bet a lot of money while if someone shows a sad face they have a bad hand so the others bet a lot of money. 

Have you heard of Lady Gaga’s new song entitled “Poker Face?”  Here goes some lines:  “Can't read my, can't read my…No he can't read my poker face…”  This song combines love and the poker game.  Nice song.

After mastering the art of deception, I\'m trying my luck to see how far will it go. Since I\'m kinda new at this, I tried the safest table I can think of. Facebook. Everytime I opened my FB i\"ve seen notifications about Texas Hold\'em. Winning this, got cards like this and that. All that jazz. I tried it once but since a lot of people been using it, i don\'t know. It seems so slow on my end or prolly it\'s just my pc. Equipped with my new found knowledge on bluffing, I entered the world I am so amused of.

And so ...what\'s the ending?

Bluff me if I\'m wrong but my efforts were gone to waste. They just bet all what they have. Is it me? Or probably just the room Im in.

Lesson learned. Still loving kong88.com

Deception in poker. Bluffing is a form of deception in poker. Unless a player has very good hands, he won’t call his bets if he observes that his opponent never bluffs. Bluffing is useful because it will make the opponents fold when they believe that the bluffing player has a dominant hand and the bluffing player wins the pot. What’s the difference between a pure bluff and a semi-bluff?

 A pure bluff is when you make a raise or a bet with an inferior hand that has no chance of improving. In here the player can only win if his opponents will fold. A semi-bluff is when you bluff on one round with an inferior hand that might improve in the next round. In here you can win the pot in 2 ways: by all opponents folding or by catching a card to improve the player’s hand.

 

Bluffing in poker.  What does a good bluff require?  Number one of course is the guts to do it and number two is the timing.  When you master these 2, I’m sure you’ll be a successful poker player.

 

 

 

 

 

Just by the thought of bluffing gets you excited.   You feel hesitant and frightened.  What if I get caught?  What if they know I’m just bluffing?  But the feeling is really great when you get away with it and you get better each time.

Playing poker online has its advantages and most of the time disadvantages. The thrill and feel of the cards on your hand. The melodic shuffling of the cards and the rhythmic sighs of the players that what I missed most playing face to face poker. Howell, time is a luxury and that I cannot afford as of this moment. That's why I might be missing a human touch in the play, but the comfort of playing when you wish for always comes first. Especially for the newly poker addict like me. So let’s keep the table flowin'

 As the cards were dealt at one of the poker tables in kong88.com, I got excited as I saw 2 Aces for me.  I was hoping in anticipation that there will be another Ace plus any pairs in the common cards to make it a fullhouse.  If that’s the case then it will be a sure win for me.  Then I got disappointed.  It’s 3 clubs, 6 clubs, Ace, Jack of clubs, and a 4 hearts.  I was thinking maybe there’s a chance since that will be three of a kind for me so I raised the pot.  Another player called.  Well in the end the other player won because he had flushes.  It’s not my lucky day I guess.  I’ll just play again tonight.  Anyway, I’m just a beginner and practice makes perfect.

I played Big 2 last night at kong88.com.  It’s the game I used to play with my neighbors whenever we wanted to kill time.  We play this game whenever our friends gather together to have drinking sessions in the house.  We bring playing cards and play this game whenever we go out of town or go outing on a beach.  This game really reminds me of some good memories in the past.  We call it Pusoy Dos in the Philippines.  I was wondering how kong88.com thought about this game which is really the same with Pusoy Dos.  The same rules would apply except the rankings of the 2s.  In the Philippines, 2 diamonds is the highest while in kong88.com, 2 spade is the highest. Well however it is, the fun and excitement is the same and I am looking forward to playing Big 2 again tonight.

Nothing gets exciting as Texas Hold'em especially if you're playing with your buddy just a cubicle away or even a miles away. The thrill of anticipation sets your adrenaline high. You're very anxious to have your work done and concentrate on the screen. Texas Hold'em became an overnight sensation because of it's exposure on the boob tube and on the net.I remember before, poker is poker. Today, different varieties have emerged. Celebrity players are called to give more luster to the game. Now,  cyber communities have their own Texas Hold'em tournament.You can also buy poker sets for your home use. Complete with the chips and cards, all you need is a sunglasses and you are on your way to stardom. Feels like the real thing minus the real rewards. Well to the unfortunate one, all you get a is a boosted ego with skyrocketing electricity bill. Not anymore, I saw this site http://www.kong88.com/, in which you can play at the same time you can win real prizes, not just the satisfaction of winning but the materialization of what you have achieved. You don't have to be a winner to be rewarded, just by simply playing you'll get a chance to poke a prize.