Monopoly is a game that provokes great competitiveness and great frustration. Fortunately, there are some easy tips and tricks that can help you not get discouraged and win the game:

1. Know When Jail is a Good Thing

In the early stages of the game, it’s never good to stay in jail, as doing so can hurt your chances of acquiring more property. On the other hand, later in the game, when moving about the board can be a dangerous proposition, you should stay in jail as long as possible; you’ll still earn money and not have to risk losing any.

2. Focus on High Traffic Properties

Other than Go, the most landed upon spaces in Monopoly are Illinois Avenue and B&O Railroad. Make sure you put a premium on acquiring these properties, by trade if necessary. In addition, railroads are more profitable properties than utilities, given that there are four of them and owning all four can be quite profitable. Don’t turn down buying utilities, but be prepared to let go of them in exchange for railroads.

3. Build Three Houses

When you’re ready and able to build on your properties, building to the three house level ensures a maximization of profits. On most properties, the difference between two houses and three houses is vast, so be sure to capitalize on that.

4. Use Blocking and Trading To Your Advantage

Buying a property that is the only one of a color group that an opponent does not own gives the buyer an advantage, as they now have a bargaining chip that an opponent will crave. Depending on other game situations, consider making a trade with the other player so that they can acquire the color group set, even if it puts you at a disadvantage; while the move may hurt you, it’ll also hurt the other players, facilitating their early exit from the game and increasing your odds.

5. Remember: Park Place and Boardwalk are Overrated

While Park Place and Boardwalk are two of the most lethal properties on the board, they’re also only two spaces, whereas other property groups are three or four. If you possess one of these properties and an opponent wants it to complete a set, don’t be afraid to trade it, but maximize the money and property you get from it, as your opponent will perceive it to be of great value even if it may not be.

For more Monopoly tips and tricks, visit Monopoly-Man.com.

30th birthday ideas

Whether you select a ready-made invitation, make one yourself or send one via e-mail, make certain to make it clear the party is a surprise and that the guest of honor should be left in the dark! A fast way to invite a bunch of people, particularly childhood pals of the guest of honor, is with an online invitation. If you’d prefer, send an invitation via standard mail, and be sure to give guests significant details such as their arrival time, and the arrival time of the guest of honor.

Turning 30 is frequently a time to recall accomplishments and experiences. Integrate this walk down memory lane into a 30th birthday party with a picture matching game. Keep the focus on the guest of honor or include all guests for a look back through the years. Collect pictures of the 30-year-old at different ages. Have party guests to match up items about all photograph like age, location or what is going on in the picture. Ask each guest to bring a baby photo and have everyone take a turn guessing who is who.

Although it’s not Mardi Gras, construct a crown for Dad using craft items. Crown him king for the day and bake a King’s Cake as well. Hopefully, Dad will find the Special good luck charm in the cake. Give Dad time on his own to do as he pleases. Schedule out 2 or three hours of the day and let him be! Unscheduled, nothing-to-do time is a precious gift.

Ties are, without a question, everyone’s favorite present to give Dad on Father’s Day. While the idea can get old, ties are still a standard and practical gift. This year, why not try giving Dad a tie that’s trendier than the conventional silk with stripes choice? This gift guide holds the most popular ten grooviest and craziest neckties ranging from ties with a built-in fan to those that pop-up. So, this year, surprise Dad with a necktie he’ll never forget.

How is that relevant to poker games? Every chip you hold onto is a chip saved from loss. It is basically the opposite of an aggressive offense and instead a defensive tactic to keep your chips in front of you. Though some players will scoff at the idea of defensive play, it is critical sometimes to save your stack.

In any poker game, you are going to be in the blinds several times an hour. You have no choice about contributing these to the pot but you can choose to fold if your blind is raised. Aggressively defending your blinds every time can add up to big chip leaks.

Avoid calling minimum bets with speculative hands. It’s easy to think, “It’s just one bet.” But unless you have lots of outs with good pot odds, those small bets add up to a big chip leak. Being able to save a bet sometimes when the pot is not worth calling is the hallmark of a smart player.

Knowing when to save your chips by defensively folding is an essential skill in poker. Everyone comes to the table eager to play, but it pays to be a tightwad with your chips during most hands and save those precious bets for when you do have a strong hand with good odds of winning.

In this article we’re going to delve into this player’s mind of this kind of player, and show you how to beat him.

The first thing you need to understand is that this guy is passive-aggressive. A passive player alone will not be calling your pot sized bets Heads-Up (HU). They may call a thin continuation bet, but if you get too much money involved, they usually fold like a house of cards, pun intended. The passive aggressive player, or trapster, like to call, giving off the impression of a calling station, but they become very dangerous on the turn, and deadly on the river if you’re playing standard TAG ABC poker.

See, this kind of play style is very high variance. The ones who are good at it know this; they have more “gamble” in them, and know they are risking a lot, but have a lot to get in return when they are successful. However, in the long run, it’s usually not a profitable strategy unless they can control their bankroll after a hot run and cash out. Most of them can’t, and most of them aren’t aware of the game on that kind of level anyway. The majority of trapsters out there have a distinct pattern of slowplaying every hand, even if it’s not the stone cold nuts.

So against the slow poker player, you do need to ramp up the aggression early, since they do take big risks. But you have to control the aggression, and be weary of their snap check-calls to your raises, be aware of the board, and beware the river checkraise. I know it sounds complicated at first, but once you get a feel for the player, they are easy to beat, if you just tighten up a little in HU, and focus the aggression rather than spewing it.