If getting a read on a live player is hard, then getting one on a online player is impossible...or?

When playing a live game you can get a read on a player by observing body language, facial expressions, and other odd looking twitches. When playing online you can't observe any of these characteristics.

In online play there are some other options you can observe. For instance, you can observe the way a player checks, betts or raises (Analyzing betting patterns can tell you a lot of the players poker style). Besides betting patterns, another option is to observe their avatar. Currently almost every online poker rooms allow players to have choose from a set of avatars.

Avatars are used as a physical representations in a virtual environment. It's not uncommon for individuals to create avatars that look a lot like they do in real life. Because most online poker rooms only allows players to choose from a limited set of avatars, the player will most likely pick the image that will represents his poker style the best.

Got experience in getting a read on online poker players? Please feel free to share your experience in the comments.

Many people call him the Robin Hood of poker. Barry Greenstein, Age 55, father of 6. He earns millions by playing poker, but donates most of his winnings to charity.

In his past live Barry Greenstein was a software developer who involved in the early stages of anti virus company Symantec. He quit his job at age 36 back in 1991 to become a full time poker player.

Why does someone with your background become a full time poker player. Couldn't you have earned a lot more if you just kept your job at Symantec?
My salery then is nothing compared with what i earn now playing poker. I didn't do bad, but i could make much more by playing poker.

Is money sill the most important reason to play ploker?
I really don't play poker for the sociability. Poker is my profession. I have to do it to earn a living.

So you don't have fun playing poker?
No, it's not like that. I do enjoy playing poker. But if fun was the only reason, i wouldn't spend so much time on doing it. In my oppinion poker would be very boring without the money.

What is the big difference between poker now and 20 years ago?
It has become a sport. Poker is a game, but i call it a sport because we got spectators now. It is televised and we get a lot more respect.

You are also known to win much money with betting. Does that make you a professional gambler?
This may sound a bit strange for outsiders, but for me betting is very normal and i don't see it as gambling.
I believe that one person canbe better in betting then another person.

What is your secret?
I am mathematics minded and i have the twitch to calculate odds with everything i do. Not only playing poker, or placing a bet, but also in daily life. Even when my youngest son has to confess something, i calculate if he speaks the truth.

Are your winning changes at a poker table bigger, because you are a famous person?
I think it has a little effect, but to little to have a big influence. The opponents of Tiger Woods don't lose to him because they are impressed, they lose because he is much better.

What are the odds that you have quit playing poker in 10 years?
That change is less then 5 percent. I am healthy and i expect to play poker the next thirty years.

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I can't think of any other part of the world where people love to gamble more then in Asia. In countries like China and Thailand you can gamble on anything you would like, anytime you like.

Knowing these facts, it is at least a bit strange that Asia have made statements that they do not want online poker in there territory.

On the Chinese official internet portal there are many statements about their intentions to conduct major operations to try and ban all of the online poker rooms from there internet. Besides poker rooms, also banks are part of the investigations because they provide a way to transfer funds into the poker players account.

The reason China and other Asian countries do this, as they say, is to block funds flowing over to other countries.

Dot org domain names where once ment for non-profit organisations, but soon after introduction they became pray for domain brokers. But even till today, the dot org extension has a non-profit feeling to it.

Poker.org just shows the text "Opening soon" when you surf there. It has to become a web 2.0 kinda site, where people can share there poker experiences.

Competiting site poker dot com is said to earn more then $2 million a year only from bringing poker players to online poker rooms.

Belgium, Famous for their chocolat, beer & flemish fries, wants to put online poker on top of their priority list during their european presidency.

Gambling for money on the internet is illegal. Not long ago a law was introduced to put a break on the online gambling, allowing players only to play poker on one of the nine existing physic casino's online poker rooms.

110 million euro
A couple of european countries have showed interest in Belgiums gambling law. Thats why the Belgians want to bring it up during their european presidency period.

In Belgium 35.000 people play a weekly game of online poker. 330.000 people play once every 6 months, wagering a total of 110 million euro.

The belgian gambling commission fined a record breaking number of 51 poker tournament organisators over the year 2009. Figures of the commission show that in the first two months of 2010 even more fines submitted.
In the months January and February 17 tournament organisors where fined.

According to Marjolein De Paepe, the gambling commissions spokesperson, poker has become top priority, and therefore no reason excists to bring down the number of searches. If you get caught, make sure you hide the money in a safe place. Last week the commission took about $10.000 from a illegal poker tournament. In other words, the "Megahype" keeps existing.

We have no sight on what's happening with the individual cases in the court. That's why we are investigating if we can add illegal gambling games like poker in to the national safety plan.

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