Poker Online Bites Again

The continuing journey to amass some kind of role out of nothing continued last night. I took a swing at an Omaha H/L tourney. It was going relatively alright for a short while until I realized something that was beginning to drive me batty. How many times can two or three of us be dealt A,2 at the same time? That is all I want to know.

It seemed uncanny how often the program would dish that hand to multiple players at the same time. I started to wonder if there were more than four of each of those cards in the deck. I don't think I received the A,2 combination and was in play once without somebody else having it. I'm sure one of the times I got it and wasn't in play I may have been alone but who knows.

Also entertaining was the play back I would receive from these comrades in arms. It wasn't enough that multiple players would get dealt the same hand as I, but they play with blinders on. They raise and reraise once they make the low hand not wondering why three other players are calling them. Can you say drawn and QUARTERED!! There is no learning from the experience either for them. But hey, I wanted to try this out and I'm sticking to it. I will let you know when I make five bucks.

Going to the home game tonight. Got some great suggestions from you guys about some new games to try out and I will let you know how they pan out. Until then, keep your eyes on your chips.

Freeroll Tournaments For The Birds

It has become a new pet project of mine to try and generate a brand new roll from nothing. That is right. I am trying once again to do the nearly impossible. Going to see if the Chris Ferguson Challenge is viable once again. I have to say I feel like a complete bird.

The good news is, I continue to hear from friends that it is possible. Just call me stubborn, don't think it is. I know, I know Ferguson did it and he is a much better player than I. Perhaps that is true or perhaps it isn't. We shall see.

Additionally, it doesn't seem to take too much time out of any day as of yet because I am continually faced with ridiculous situations while playing. Here is what happened yesterday.

I was on the button with pocket kings. Some person in middle position goes all in, as they often do in freerolls with any two cards. I am not folding so I call, which also puts me all in. He shows down A,4 off. For just a fleeting moment I feel as though I am in good shape and have the belief that I am going to double up.

Shortly thereafter I am filled with doubt. This is after all the world of online miracle play. The flop comes down 10, 10, 9. I know immediately that one of the blinds must have folded a ten. How do I know that? I just do. You never get a free walk with a monster pocket pair on this site. I am filled with joy once again and the belief there is hope for my future. I have visions of actually making it into the money and walking away with a dollar.

All hope immediately goes out the window when the A hits on the turn. Of course. Why shouldn't it? It's only the two of us in the hand anyway. Good for him. That didn't take too long. My adventure will continue shortly. Can't wait to see how many years it will take me to make a dollar.

60 Minutes To Expose Online Poker Cheating Scandals

After several months of collaborative research, word is 60 Minutes will be running a piece on the online poker cheating scandals linked back to Absolute Poker and its sister site Ultimate Bet this coming Sunday.

The investigation led back to a particular incident that occurred at Absolute Poker back in 2007. During the course of an online poker tournament at Absolute Poker, one of the players became particularly suspicious of the play of one of their opponents late in the tournament. Specifically, the player made a monstrous bluff that should have caused any player without a decent hand to fold. Instead he was called by this "mystery" player who also didn't have a hand however, it was enough to beat the bluff suspiciously enough. This information wasn't discovered until later.

Afterwards the hand history of that particular round was requested by the beaten player who had become tremendously suspicious of the play of this individual who seemed unbeatable. The request revealed the mystery player's entire tournament history. It ended up showing that this individual ended up playing virtually perfect poker on every hand played. He would fold every time he had weaker starting hands than everyone at the table and would raise out everyone when he was leading. He would even re raise with seemingly impossible hands that always seemed to take down monsters.

The players who went up against this mystery player called him crazy and his winnings were highly improbable. Yet, he would continue to win time and time again. An investigation revealed that a player had breached the site's security system in a way that allowed him to see opponents hole cards every hand he played. This continued for a six week period. Initially, Absolute Poker had denied that the breach had occurred by subsequent investigations proved it to be true.

The investigations were confirmed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission who licenses the site and revealed that it was an employee who had committed the breach. They also determined that Absolute Poker did not sanction or benefit from the unfair play. However, for not reporting the breach to the KGC within 24 hours of discovering it, Absolute Poker was fined and will now be subject to random audits for the next two years.

What is unfortunate is that these types of breaches of security are plausible at all. It should be no surprise that it would happen. It is after all, a computer based program that runs the sites. As such, they are susceptible to corruption from somebody who is savvy with computer programming and language. Perhaps, it is even easier than that.

What will obviously be called for is stronger regulation and scrutiny on these sites. There are many people that I have played with over the years who swear they will never play online again. Not specifically because of these cheating scandals, simply because it is difficult to trust the format. There is just something more secure about being able to sit at a table and see the cards and your opponents and really know where everything is coming from. The report should be interesting and not be missed by anyone considering play online in the future.

Would be great to hear from anyone with an opinion on the matter.

Steaming At The Poker Table: Big Mistake

Just got back from one of my favorite cash games in New York City and as usual, it was a blast. The table was made up of talented folk from all over. We had players from pretty much all over with styles of play that varied as much as their backgrounds.

It did not take long before one could figure out how each of these guys liked to play. There were a few exceptional players at the table, you definitely had to be paying attention or you could get killed. It was really a great game.

A few of us did well and a few of us did not so well. What became evident however, was that a cardinal rule was about to be broken by a couple of our table mates. It would appear that two of the gentlemen we were playing with had a tendency to take the game very seriously. One of my competitors realized this early on and began changing gears in late position to introduce virtually any two cards into play. He had a real Sam Farha quality to him. He was a good player and very likable.

As it turns out, this kind of play gradually became increasingly infuriating to the other two, more temperamental gentlemen I was referring to. If either of them were in a hand with the Farha guy, they would rage with every move. They couldn't put a bet out without an angry explanation. Often their actions were directed at him. They seemed to be determined to nail him. I imagine a lot of their play and anger stemmed from the fact that he managed to get each of them with a late position variation type play. Both occasions I believed ended with one of them saying "How can you play cards like that? You are some kind of crazy person!" Crazy like a fox I would say.

This whole experience continued to emphasize to me the importance of getting away from the steam play. These two guys were steaming so heavily after they got hit, you could iron shirts on their foreheads. Half of their plays afterwards were huge mistakes. As a witness to most of those moments I had to fight back the urge to suggest counseling or even a short break. Let's face it. You got guys like that at the table, you don't want them going anywhere. Otherwise, they were nice guys but hey, this is poker.

If there was ever a lesson in steam management this was it. When you feel the steam building you got to release it. You can't make decisions at the poker table while steaming. Most of the time you will make mistakes and a couple that I saw were huge.

When you feel the steam coming on, there's nothing wrong with taking a break. Have a Kit Kat. Do something else to get your head back on straight. Whatever you do, don't make it personal with anyone at the table. Just try to play your best game. You will learn a lot more that way about your opponents and your game. I know I did.

If anyone has other suggestions about dealing with the steam, let's hear it.

Negreanu Wins Canadian Poker Challenge

Having been born and raised in Canada I have come to learn that there are a couple of things you do not want to have at your poker table. Despite what may be the the reputation of us Canucks, the beer should wait until after play has come to an end. There are some players who swear by it and believe they can't play without it, I just don't need my senses being dulled at that moment. The other thing I would never want at my table is Daniel Negreanu.

Negreanu left his humble beginnings behind in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to pursue bigger game hunting in the U.S. He has managed to find his prey time and time again after settling in the centre of the poker universe, Las Vegas. He has managed to take home numerous titles, bracelets and has crushed the egos of champions who came before him. Daniel Negreanu continues to be an unassuming force to be reckoned with.

All of his success and accolades could not hold him back from returning to his native Canada where he ventured upon the B.C. championships at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, British Columbia, just outside of Vancouver. News of his arrival would have sent most scurrying for the rails but this field was anxious to take a shot at the champion. It has been said time and again that luck plays a prominent role in a game of chance like poker, however it fails to explain the continuing successes of this superstar. It can not be ignored that Negreanu is a force to be reckoned with on the felt.

The tournament series in B.C. consisted of five events. Negreanu was particularly drawn to the main event. With an entering field of 689 players it was a smaller tournament for Negreanu in comparison to what he has been used to in the past but it was business as usual. He set his sights on taking down the Main Event and he did it with authority. It was not that the field was any less challenging than what the champion is used to. Quite the contrary. Negreanu himself stated the competition was very good and he particularly enjoyed the structure. He went so far as to say it was the best $2,500.00 buy in structure he has ever played. A little extra praise for the home turf? Perhaps. That doesn't change how he played. Nobody was safe and the lion's share of the pool went to the champion.

According to Darryl Schiewe, the BCLC's Vice President of Casino and Community Gaming, this year's tournament had the best "big name" showing so far in the history of the tournament. He is hoping that Negreanu winning the Main Event this year will attract even more attention in upcoming seasons.

For his efforts, Daniel Negreanu's win netted him a little over $370,000.00. He can now add that to his growing cache of winnings which include four WSOP bracelents and two WPT titles. Not too shabby for a kid from the frozen nether regions of the earth.

Bad Beat Jackpot Question

There was a time I was playing in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Park Casino. They had something going on at the time that I was unfamiliar with. It was the bad beat jackpot. For those of you who don't know what the bad beat jackpot is, I will explain it.

The bad beat jackpot basically works like this. The casino picks a type of hand that has to get beaten. Usually it is a really strong hand. On this occasion, the bad beat jackpot hand that had to get beat at the Hollywood Park Casino was aces full of anything. Meaning, if you made a full house, that was aces full of something else, you had a qualifying hand for the bad beat jackpot.

However, it wasn't quite that easy. You had to make aces full by using both of your hole cards, you couldn't use just one. After you made aces full by using both hole cards, you had to lose to somebody who had a stronger hand and were also using both of their hold cards. Trust me when I tell you, it wasn't something that happened easily. In the two weeks that I was playing at the Hollywood Park Casino, I only saw it happen once.

When these magical sets of circumstances come together. The player with the losing hand gets the lion's share of the jackpot. The player who gave the beat usually gets about 25 to 30 percent of it. The remaining amount is dispersed amongst the players who were at the table and in the hand when it hit, with a small amount staying to rebuild the jackpot.

That has been my experience with the bad beat jackpots at brick and mortar casinos. The online bad beat jackpots appear to be a little different. The ones I have seen tend to have tougher requirements. For starters, you have to lose with four of a kind or better and usually a high four of a kind like eights or better.

The online bad beat jackpot hands also appear to only be at the micro level tables. I'm not a big fan of playing down there since the rake is tremendous and usually does not make the sit worth it. Every pot has to contribute a little to the jackpot so it is a little harder to make a profit. Usually people playing down there are playing for fun and hoping to hit the jackpot. However, they will still tend to play a lot of hands that couldn't possibly hit.

In any regard, I think these kinds of bad beat jackpot games are designed exclusively for the house. I know they hit on occasion, but I don't know anybody who has taken one down. If you do, I would love to hear from them and know what site it happened on as well as the hand that came together for it to work. I'm always interested in hearing about these low probability combination hands coming together. I wouldn't recommend trying to build a bankroll off these games but if you are choosing to play them for fun, best of luck!

Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino gets Season Five of High Stakes Poker

It has been announced that the fifth season of GSN's High Stakes Poker is going to be taped at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Golden Nugget happens to be one of my favorite hotels in Vegas. It is located in "Old Town" and is part of the original Vegas feel. The Golden Nugget has since received a face lift and has been packed every time I've played there. It also seems to attract a great group of people year after year.

I'm also a big fan of that area. There is just something about the old sector of that town that the strip doesn't quite capture. It's great that you have the option to play in either area. I really enjoy them both.

The Game Show Network has announced the minimum buy-in for the games during the season will be $200,000.00 and are declaring it the largest in the history of the show. If I'm not mistaken, some earlier episodes got the minimum up to half a million or more. So there is a chance I'm not clear on their press release. Whatever it is, it promises to be some exciting poker.

They are also once again, declaring that the players will be using their own money. I was under the impression that some players were playing with their own cash but thought I read somewhere that some of them were paid to play. It would be interesting if the GSN could clear that up as well. Regardless, it will be fun to catch some of those classic rivals going at each other for what promises to be some huge pots.

High Stakes Poker tapings are scheduled to take place at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino from December 19th to the 21st. Nice season to work if you can get it. It should be a good one.

Poker with Friends... Crazy Games

Last night I had the usual game with the guys and it was hysterical. Instead of the traditional Hold em format that we have followed for a while, we have returned to classic form from when we were in university.

The style for the night was dealer calls. For those of you who have your home games, and I am sure there are many of you, you know what having a night of poker with dealer calls can entail. To say the least, the games were insane.

I couldn't even tell you the names of most of them because they are not fit to print. I know that I can write pretty much anything I want here but I am trying to stick to poker and its relevant language so we'll keep it clean.

For the most part these games are all about chance. There is very little skill involved and they tend to involve milking one another for as many chips as possible. There is one game that I can mention, we call it anaconda. This game is a split pot game. Before you pass judgement, this is nothing like any poker game you have seen before. Basically, five cards are spread out in front of us. One card is turned over at a time with a round of betting after each card. If you match a card in your hand with a card that is flipped over, you put it down on the table. The object is to have the cards in your hand add up to either the lowest or highest number possible with each taking half the pot. The game is ridiculous and we throw in a lot of chips.

This was the tone of the evening. Every once and a while somebody would call Omaha or Hold Em, just to bring a little sanity back into the evening and we would forget about strategy and play like a bunch of donk calling stations because that's what the other games were about.

The game was hysterical we had a great time and if you are looking to shake up your home game a little bit I would highly recommend it. The unfortunate thing is you might like it too much and dealer calls may become your regular poker game. If so, best of luck.

Full Tilt Poker Being Sued By Clonie Gowen

And so it begins.

The ever present image of online poker and corporate sponsorship that is Full Tilt Poker is being attacked. Perhaps, it is better to say the image of online poker itself is being attacked once again. In this case, Full Tilt Poker is under fire by one of its own.

Clonie Gowen, a professional poker player from Oklahoma who is now based in Las Vegas is suing Full Tilt Poker for the amount of $40,000,000.

The suit alleges that Tiltware LLC., is in breach of several agreements made with Clonie Gowen. The suit is made up of allegations including breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and fraud to name just a few.

Apparently earlier in the week, Gowen was contacted by Full Tilt and informed that she would no longer be included on the site, with the promotional programs and her image to be removed along with any association.

Allegedly meetings had taken place between Gowen and Tiltware executives in Las Vegas back in 2004 where the structure of the deal between them was laid out and entered into. Gowen agreed by oral contract to endorse the website however no written agreements had ever been entered into. Instead, most meetings took place over the phone or in get togethers with Full Tilt executives.

Although no written contract was ever signed, that fact alone shouldn't put a damper on the suit. Oral agreements are binding and course of dealings can be reviewed to establish proof. It is imaginable that over the course of four years there will be substantial evidence to look at.

Tiltware LLC has released statements declaring there is no merit to Gowen's claim and that the lawsuit shall be resolved in due course.

Should be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Omaha Eights or Better Starting Hands

This is something I enjoy discussing more for the feedback than the content itself. It has to do with the best starting hands in Omaha Eights or Better. I had always been a big fan of Omaha as a game to begin with. I enjoyed the action and generally believed it to be an exciting game that if you know how to play, stands to provide you with healthy returns.

As with most poker games, Omaha Eights or Better is heavily dependent upon your starting hands. There has been considerable discussion about what constitutes the best possible starting hands and I have always gone with the classic approach.

For those of you not familiar with Omaha, it is like Hold Em except you get dealt four cards and you can only use two of them while you must use three and only three board cards. The restrictions are what make the game considerably different from Hold Em.

Omaha Eights or Better is different still in that it is a split pot game with half going to the best low hand, and half going to the high. I won't go into too much detail right now, I'm more curious about opinions surrounding the starting hands.

As I mentioned, I prefer the classic position that is, I want a starting hand that makes it possible for me to scoop the pot. As such, I probably won't enter without a good A,2 combination, the A making a nut flush possible. I am also of the school of thought that you should hold a good accompanying card for the A,2 considering the possibility of pairing one of them on the flop. The ideal accompanying card usually being a 3 or 4.

In any event I try to stick to these rules. As you can imagine, I don't play many hands, especially out of position and I don't believe you should. I have noticed an odd phenomenon with my online games however. It would seem there is a significant frequency with the number of times multiple players get dealt A,2 the same time as I do. Whenever I play Omaha Eights or Better in B&M rooms, that kind of frequency is unheard of. It does happen, but not very often.

I will vary the starting hand a little when I have position and will often play four big cards to mix it up and also be prepared for a flop that will give me the nut high hand and no low to split.

I still believe this is the best starting hand philosophy for Omaha Eights or Better but I am also open to other strategy suggestions. I would be curious to hear from others considering how this game is beginning to pick up in popularity.

See you on the felt.

Poker is Unlawful Internet Gambling to UIGEA

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), has been further explained by The Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The final rule regarding the Act has been released since its initial inception in October of 2007. The actual regulations set forth in the rule make up a small portion of the document which will become effective January 19th, 2009.

The actual UIGEA was enacted in 2006 and has had a devastating effect on Internet gambling. The Act does not make Internet gambling itself illegal. It does however make the transfer of funds from financial institutions to companies engaging in "unlawful Internet gambling" unlawful. The rule itself calls for financial institutions to provide written explanations of how they will block unlawful transfers being made to these gaming sites. The good news for Internet gamblers and of course the gaming sites, is that the Act and regs do not block money transfers from the sites to players. So, if you can figure out a way to get your funds in, you can play with the anticipation of profit. You may want to consider check cashing and money order services from a physical location, they seem to be exempt from the regulations.

Are you still with me? Without getting too much more technical or boring you our of your mind, here it is. Poker sites are included in the prohibition. The act never fully defines what "unlawful Internet gambling" is but it seems to include anything that is a game of chance. That's right. Don't try the old poker is not a game of chance, it is a game of skill thing, because they have already considered that one. Two reasons were mentioned. Mostly because the rules apply to gambling as defined in existing state and federal law - as such poker is included. Also, is doesn't matter if chance is a significant factor as long as the game is subject to chance. Therefore, poker is included there as well.

This legislation was carefully crafted as a catch all and is deliberately vague. There is no question the government wants to seriously curtail Internet gaming profits and had been looking for ways to do it for a long time. If you recall, Clinton's administration started looking at how the Internet might possibly be regulated by government many years ago.

We just have to accept these regulations and move on. As noted, there are other ways available to keep playing and the decision to do so will be up to the players since the legislation really targets financial institutions and you can be sure they will not be flexible or looking for any loopholes.

Good luck gamers... I mean er um... subject to luck gamers!

Never Bluff a Calling Station... Especially When They Think They Are Beat

The immortal words of Mike Caro were ringing in my head yesterday. Never bluff a calling station. Never bluff a calling station. Whatever you do, I hope you're not thinking about bluffing a calling station.

I was in a cash game last night and was revisited by Caro's wisdom as I faced off against an opponent in a heads up moment. I had raised preflop with A,K suited and got one caller. Let me tell you about him. He is probably in his sixties. I have played against him before. Nice guy. He loves to see flops. Getting the picture?

The flop came down 7,7,J with two diamonds. The fun thing about my hand was that they happened to be both diamonds. Now I should tell you, I love this situation. I had position on my friend. He checked and I bet out. He called without hesitation. The turn brought a 4 of spades. I put in a large bet. He thought about it for a little bit and then he called. At this point I put him on some kind of ridiculous draw or he had a piece and was refusing to let it go.

The river brought a Q hearts. I began to hear Mike's voice in my head. Don't do it. He isn't going anywhere. He wants to call. I figured I had to put in a decent sized bet to win or else he was going to take it if he had any of it. I was starting to believe he did and it wasn't a draw. Then came Mike's voice. It won't make a difference, he said, don't do it. I did it anyway, and he called and showed down his pocket threes. Here is the kicker. He says to me after, "I was positive you had me beat." I asked why he calls on the river and he responds that he had to see it.

Even when they believe they are beat, those dang calling stations will still call. Unbelievable! Caro is a genius and I am stubborn, sometimes. Let me know what you would have done.

WPT 2008 Foxwoods World Poker Title Goes to Jonathan Little

Jonathan Little has broken his own record for most hands played in a WPT heads up final to take down the Foxwoods championship from rival Jonathan Jaffe and pockets a cool $1.2 million for his efforts.

It was a long drawn out heads up battle and it was not the most exciting of tournaments but it was well fought and deserving, if there is such a thing in poker. The lead went back and forth between the two Jonathans for over five hours. That's right, five hours. Excruciating and I wish I was there. I don't know how you would survive witnessing it but it would have been something to see the players try and maintain focus.

The final table itself saw 275 hands played out and everyone walked home with decent takes for their efforts. It would seem the names up top have definitely been changing as of late. There are usually a couple familiar faces but for the most part the field has really opened up. It would appear that these tournaments have really become open to anybody who thinks they have the chops.

I would imagine a continuing base of Internet players and sponsorship deals have made the diverse field possible. I for one am excited to see what the future holds and if we are ever going to see a final table comprised of the world's best ever again.

WSOP Main Event Crowns Champion

After going through 6,844 players and waiting 117 days since the final table was decided, the WSOP Main Event champion was decided after a three hour session. Peter Eastgate, a poker professional from Denmark has won the Main Event making him the youngest champion in the history of the WSOP event at the age of 22.

The record for youngest champion of the Main Event was previously held by poker great Phil Helmuth, who won the Main Event in 1989 at the age of 24. Helmuth had called Eastgate prior to the championship round to wish him good luck. However, Eastgate has his work cut out for him if he expects to match Helmuth's bracelet count who is currently an 11-time gold bracelet winner.

Eastgate managed to turn a wheel on the final hand to take down Ivan Demidov who made two pairs which resulted in all the chips going into the middle. Eastgate showed patience and determination after losing his initial chip lead to Demidov in only the first thirty minutes of play. After calling two of Demidov's bluffs, Eastgate took the lead once again and never looked back.

For winning this year, Eastgate takes home a whopping $9.1 million along with the title. For coming in second, Demidov gets to travel home with a mere $5.8 million. It would seem the Main Event continues to a profitable investment in the event you are able to make the final table. It remains one of the most challenging fields in the world and has become more international than any other event running.

Congratulations to all the winners and I will see you all there next year. Maybe I can grab a loan.

WSOP Main Event Down to Final Two

It has been a hard fought battle but after the final nine took several months off before sitting down in Vegas to determine a champion, the field has been thinned out to the last two.

The stage has been set now for Ivan Demidov and Peter Eastgate who will go heads up to determine this year's champion and walk home with a $9.15 dollar first prize. They may walk home. I'm not sure if either of them live in Vegas. There is a chance that the winner will have to catch a flight.

Regardless of how the new champion decides to head back to wherever they are from, they will be considerably wealthier than they were when they started this journey back in July.

This writer is the first to say I am a little disgruntled with the results. I was anticipating a Canadian champion and the dark horse favorite to accomplish this feat, Scott Montgomery, busted out in fifth place.

Montgomery was playing his aggressive style of Poker, stealing blinds and making moves to achieve a stronger chip count and move into the lead. However, a couple of times he ended up running into powerful opposition that he couldn't overcome.

When Montgomery looked down and found A,8 suited he decided to push all in and was called by larger stack in Peter Eastgate who had pocket sixes. Montgomery was actually leading going to the river having spiked two aces but Montgomery hit his two outer on the river giving him sixes full to take the Canadian out.

All is not lost for the Mathematics major. His fifth place finish assured him of $3.1 million and I'm confident that is his best payday to date. Pretty sure after he cashes that check the smile will return along with plans to conquer the Main Event once again next year. Good job Scott.

WSOP Main Event Finally Begins

The story of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event will begin and end this weekend. After a field of thousands made their way through the World Series of Poker, the final nine players participating in the most coveted event, the Main Event that is, will get together to crown this year's king at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

For those of you not in the know, the Main Event is decided in a No Limit Texas Hold em format where all the chips can go into the middle at any time. The final nine players this year will split a staggering $32.6 million dollar prize pool with the winner receiving a cool $9.12 million. That's right, nearly a third of what's up for grabs goes to first place.

They have been waiting since July to play each other when the final nine of the WSOP Main Event for eventually established. It is the final of the series which was action packed and handed out championship bracelets to a group of players made up of familiar faces and soon to be household names.

The final group is made up of pros and amateurs ranging in age from 23 to 53. Once again there are a couple players making this Main Event table who won their way into the tournament winning online qualifiers. It continues to be amazing to hear the stories about how players can overcome the odds of getting through thousands of online participants and make their way to the final table of a WSOP event. Stories like these have got to help the membership of some of these sites. Who wouldn't want to be the next WSOP Cinderella story? I just don't know how well the slippers would fit.

The final two should be decided by the end of today's play with a head's up championship concluding tomorrow night. Details of the final will follow.

WSOP Final Table Canadian

As a reminder, the WSOP Main Event final table is just around the corner and a canuck is going to be there. Twenty-six year old Scott Montgomery from Perth Ontario is going to be showing up at that table with every intention of taking down the grand prize.

Montgomery has been saying from day one that he is going to win the event and we will just wait and see. He is young and ambitious and on a poker table he can be a mad man.

He made it to the final table at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic where he started off as the chip leader and ended up going out in fifth place. He did happen to have major competition at that final table including the eventual winner Phil Ivey.

Has he learned from his earlier experience? We will have to see. He studied mathematics at the University of Waterloo, another great Canadian institution, and it wasn't long before the lure of poker pots had him hooked. He claims that since winning his first tournament where he took home $900.00, he has never had to make another deposit. Interesting hmmm. Perhaps mathematics is a helpful backgroud for this crazy game.

There is no question that no matter how Montgomery finishes at the Main Event this year, he will be a crazy canuck to watch in the future. Go get em Scott!!

How To Make Money With Online Poker: Setting Limits

A friend gave me great advice when I started playing limit poker. He said to me, that when you play limit games you should limit everything. It turned our to work extremely well with online poker for a number of reasons.

Setting Limits With Your Bankroll

As time goes on and you play more and more online poker, you will gain a better understanding of what is a good win for the level you have chosen to play at. You may choose to measure it a number of different ways. Some guys I know have a target of a certain number of big blinds, some just have a number in mind, whatever it is, once you have an idea of what that amount is, that should become your goal for every sit. You may also have an idea of this amount based on your regular play at brick and mortar casinos.

There are some differing opinions on this managing strategy. There are some pros that believe when things are going well with the session and other players are "feeding" you lots of chips, then you stay. I agree that is good advice. In my experience there are reasons to do it a little differently with online play.

Generally with online play you want to stick around when you have an edge over the other players at the table. However, you will find with online play that you will play significantly way more hands than you would in an actual casino. As such, you will hit your target amounts much faster than you would in a regular casino. This also means that the hands can start to slip away from you just as quickly. Remember, you can't win every hand. Not only that, you can't win every hand that you were winning until the river. That tends to be the type of hand that drives people crazy. By setting a target amount to win, you allow yourself to stay fresh and get to it in a relatively quick period of time.

I would often hit my target amount in half an hour to forty-five minutes. I could then leave the game and go about my day. That's pretty good work for one day. If I felt like it, I could go back for another session later in the day. The same limit rules apply. It makes playing the game easier and keeps you focused. Sure, if things are going well and you are playing well, you might decide to stay and see how much more above your target amount you can win. However, the longer you stay, the greater the likelihood things can turn, players at the table will change and you will get tired and not be as focused as you should. When this starts to happen, you can start taking hits that were completely unnecessary.

Just as you set limits to your wins, you should set limits to your losses. This amount obviously should be less than the amount you have allowed yourself to win. This way every winning session outweighs your losses and over time, you continue to move forward with your bankroll. In my experience, setting the loss limit is the biggest challenge for players. They always feel as though they have to keep playing until they climb out of the hole they are in. It could take a ridiculous amount of time just to break even or worse only cut the loss. Sometimes, players just get deeper and deeper in the hold and can't climb out. When do you stop then? When you are totally tapped out? That is just the wrong approach to take.

By limiting your loss per session, you allow yourself the same benefits as if you were winning. You stay fresh and confident about your game. You want to maintain a good mind set about your play online and not allow negative thoughts to creep in otherwise you won't be playing your game anymore. Remember, losses will happen and they are part of the game. Especially, online where you will see many more hands and many varieties of losses. Accept that they will happen, manage your bankroll accordingly at those moments, and you will come out ahead over time. Keep in mind, playing online poker should be looked at over a long period of time, not in short spurts. You want to win a decent amount each time you play over a long period of time. That way when you lose, it won't really affect you in long run. There is always another session waiting for you.

Trust me, stick to this rule, especially online, and you will be surprised at how quickly your bankroll can grow and how you won't have to spend that much time in front of a computer screen.

How To Make Money With Online Poker: The Site

This is a continuation of where I left off with the previous post regarding how to make money with online poker. If you have been following along, bare with me, here is a brief recap. It's going to be brief because after all, you can always just go check the other post. Most importantly I'd like to point out that these are pointers for making money with online poker with limit games primarily. That is how I made a nice chunk of money when I was playing more frequently online and these are the tips I used.

In the first post I talked about how important it was to make sure the site that you wanted to play with allows you to deposit and cash out accordingly as well as having the games that give you an edge. This post will focus on the site's reputation and table construct.

How to make money with online poker: Reputation

Here is a little tip that will save you a ton of time and probably a large amount of money. Originally when you are starting out to play online you will hear different stories about the sites. This one is great, that one is no good, your best deals are over here. There is a ton of information floating around about numerous online poker sites. What you have to do is filter them out quickly.

When it comes to site reputation, there are certain types of things I would hear frequently. I would hear opinions as to whether or not people believed a particular site was legitimate. This came up a lot when online poker first got popular. There is credence to some things you will hear and other things are what I call, sour grapes. You also have to be weary of the source. If you keep hearing bad things from somebody who always seems to be complaining, that probably isn't very helpful. If you hear that it is very hard to get ahead at a particular site from somebody who you know to be a good and profitable player, you may want to give that some consideration.

What you should note first and foremost with online poker is repetitive issues of operational fraud. These type of things are easily investigated. If you've been hearing bad things about a site, look it up. You want to separate fact from sour grapes. Certain sites have been disciplined for "questionable" activities and others either are or have been put under investigation. So, you should check them out. If the sites you are interested in don't fall under these categories, you are good to go. If there is anything fishy in their histories my advice would be to stay away.

How to make money with online poker: Table construct

OK. So you have found the sites you like. You looked into the possibility of being able to manage your bankroll accordingly, the site has a good reputation and all the games you like are there with plenty of games. So you are just about ready to sign up. The last thing you want to check out is table construct.

What I mean by table construct is really just another aspect of player characteristics. In addition to finding a lot of tables available to you and lots of players, you should check out the play to make sure it is worth your time. I'll tell you why this has become important.

One site I used to make a lot of money at has changed completely. It used to boast more players than any other site online and had the most game options than any other that I had found at that time. There were a variety of types of play going on. I had my choice. If I was feeling conservative one day, I could find a game that would suit me. The same if I was feeling loose and ready to shoot. If I was to go back to playing cash games online regularly, I would never return to that site today. It's membership has depleted tremendously. There are hardly any games available at the levels I played. Often times, no games at all. Finally, when there are games available, they are so tight, there is really no money to be made.

This is why the construct of the table is so important. You want lots of tables with lots of different kinds of play so that you will be able to maximize your play. If you get involved with a site that has your game but the players are rarely there or when they are they are crazy or so tight that either way you don't have any edge, there's no point.

Find a site with a good mix of players and plenty of flexibility of choice when it comes to tables so that you will be able to find an edge every time you play. Once you've done that, you're ready to get started.

Ladbrokes European Online Championship of Poker Has a Winner

Gene_R took down the LEOCOP and his first place winnings of $25,932.50. The final hand clinched it for him when his 5, 4, of hearts made a full house at the turn and all chips went in to bring the contest to a close.

Positioning on the LEOCOP leader board has been wild lately with most top positions switching around on a daily basis. Tournament organizers attribute all the action to the determination of the field to acquire as many points as possible in order to gain invitations to the master event on November 22nd.

With a finish in the money for any of the upcoming smaller events, the players are guaranteed to be propelled high in the rankings to secure a better placement. Competition has been fierce and the next several days promise to be action filled.

Ladbrokes is experiencing record numbers with enrollment in these tournaments as of late. The larger prize pools as a result of increased enrollment should guarantee a continuous upward trend.

The Europeans continue to be fierce competition for one another in these battles. I for one would love to see some more international battlegrounds continue to open up, making these types of competitions available to all.

Good luck to all. We'll be cheering you on.

Online Poker Site Bans Software

So I bet you thought while you were playing online poker, it was just you and the other players. I bet you thought it was just like in a casino where you were sitting there and just matching wits against other players in exactly the same boat. I bet you thought everyone was just using their eyes and minds to collect valuable information about their opposition to get and edge. I guess that would be a losing bet.

As it turns out, tons of data collecting type programs are in use by players while playing on these sites. PokerStars.com has officially banned the use of database Sharkscope.com and its corresponding Heads Up Display (HUD).

Sharkscope is a tracking tool that works off of a central database of player profiles and hands dealt. As such, it is a program that operates within the sphere of data mining and offers players advice on what actions they should take. This being the case, the program is strictly against PokerStars' term of service.

According to computer experts, the manner in which the ban is being enforced will have little or no effect with players who have made the decision to keep using the software. The manner in which a player can get around the ban is a simple one. They just have to sit with a laptop next to them running the program while they play on another program and they're edge is maintained without there being any chance of being caught.

The real question is, why did it take so long to ban this type of data sharing software? Why is any electronic aide permitted during the course of play? It would seem that these types of programs are just expected to be used and there isn't much the host sites can do about it. Apparently PokerStars explicitly allows the use of something like 60 other types of programs. I don't understand if when you go into a casino, you can't use any type of electronic aide, how is it that anything should be allowed online? I've always known about the programs, I just don't understand how players knowing that others have this edge would continue to play.

Maybe it's just me but I've always believed poker should just be you, the other players and the deck. If I wanted to play video games I could have gone to the arcade. In my opinion, that's where all this stuff belongs. The ban is good, for what it is worth. Now it will be a question of finding out if it will make any difference.

Poker Winnings Hit Record Highs For Online Poker

I went into the weekend with plans of not playing necessarily, and just checking out what has been going on in the poker world. Then it happened. The biggest online poker winnings hand ever. Oh right. It happened last month. My point is it was in my head. A single pot was won at an online poker site supposedly for $723,938.00. When you hear about poker winnings like that you have a tendency to double check your poker winnings at that moment and wonder how you are doing. All poker winnings are equal. They are just poker winnings. However, some poker winnings are more equal than others.

I have had some decent paydays over the years but nothing compared to a $700k poker winnings kind of a day. It is safe to say that I never will because I will never risk that kind of money online. Ever. Safe to say I won't ever have it to risk. I would probably use it for a house instead.

So, with the memory of the greatest poker winnings hand in history fresh in mind I set out to conquer the felt. With visions of gold coins and treasure chests being hauled around by Playboy's Miss October fresh in my head I ran into a set of threes. I had A,K, suited, I put in a nice raise in position on only one remaining player, flopped top two pairs with a harmless looking three and figured I was huge. We all checked through on the flop and I waited to pounce at the turn. My opponent bet out when a 6 hit. I raised, he went all in. I got ready to be sick. I thought about it for quite a while until I realized that he only had a few chips left when he came over me, so I called to see the news.

Funny how that can happen. The poker gods do have a tendency to entertain themselves quite a bit at our expense.

How To Make Money With Online Poker: The Plan

OK. I have decided to give in to the requests. If only to stop the badgering for a little while. In past posts I have discussed my opinion of online poker and have alluded to how I used to play and make money with online poker. I have also mentioned how I don't really do it anymore because of subsequent experiences of mine and my colleagues. However, with certain people knowing about how much I made and how long I did play, the pressure has come once again to share the information about how to make money with online poker. Specifically, you people who keep after me, want to know how to make money with online poker in limit games.

I'm not clear on the fascination with limit poker, I happen to find No Limit somewhat more exciting but perhaps more people are saving their No Limit play for tournaments these days. Who knows. Whatever the reason, I will break it down into parts so you can see how I did it. The truth is, it is really straight forward and I'm sure other people are using these techniques to make money online, so each post will just focus on one thing at a time and hopefully those of you who keep asking, will find something more constructive to do with your time.

How to make money with online poker: First things first

The very first thing you want to do when deciding to play online poker is to choose the right online poker site for you. Here is the scoop. Not all online poker sites are created equal. It is extremely important for you to do a little bit of research and find out what site will give you the greatest edge. Now I know you might be thinking that they all work off of random number generators, they all have poker games they all must be pretty much the same right? Wrong.

Every site has a variety of characteristics or nuances that will make it different from other sites. For example, the deposit and cash out options will vary from site to site. A big part of how I consistently made money online was related to a cashout option available to me. I discuss it more in detail later. What you want to find out is what are the minimum amounts you must have in your online poker account in order to cash out. This will save you the surprise later of discovering that you can't get your money out when you want to. Yes, some sites have these limits in place. You can find this out very easily when researching. This will also let you know if the site even allows the type of deposit method you want to use. Don't use a deposit method you are uncomfortable with just because the site doesn't offer the one you want. Just move on. There are other sites to choose from.

The other thing that you are going to want to find out directly related to deposit and cashout, is whether the site offers deposit bonuses. Now, in order to compete, almost all sites offer some kind of bonus for depositing with them. Check around and see which one suits the kind of game you will play. Keep in mind, this is only going to be one thing you will be looking for when scoping out an online poker site. Most of these deposits are paid out over an extremely large amount of hands and time. It is like getting paid to play but it is usually sweatshop rates. So, always check the fine print on that issue.

How to make money with online poker: Game Selection

The next and seemingly obvious thing you will look for is what games are offered. I know they all offer poker games. However, this is a huge factor when it comes to how you will make money online consistently. This is where you will have to visit the sites you are interested and actually check out the games that are offered. There are a couple things you will be looking for. First, you be looking for the particular game that you feel you have the best chance of making money at. You may be great at Omaha Hi/Lo or Razz but the site you are looking at doesn't offer it. Obviously, you won't play there. Every site has Hold em, I won't even mention it. The last thing you want to do is join a site and find out they don't offer your best game.

OK, so they offer your game but is anybody playing it. Hint: I made a lot of money online because tons of people were playing the game I wanted and there were plenty of table choices available. When it comes to making money with online with poker, it is critical that there are lots of tables going with your particular game. If there are only a couple, don't waste your time at that site. You can't make money without opponents or if the game keeps breaking up. You are going to need to be able to pick and choose your table opponents in order to maximize your session earnings.

Once you have found the site that offers the right kind of deposit/cashout options for you and offers your best game(s) with lots of tables to choose from, you are ready to take the next step.

The next article I will discuss table construct and site reputation.

Poker Hole Card Cam Creator Honoured

This is a great story. The creator of the now famous and ingenious hole card cam is going into the poker Hall of Fame this month. One day I am going to have to find out how many halls of fame there are in existence. If the halls of fame keep popping up, they'll become like libraries and there won't be much significance left.

Regardless, Henry Orenstein, is being honoured for his invention of the hole card cam. I think it is great and a great idea. I wouldn't exactly say it was an invention. The camera was already invented. Small cameras were already around. They even already had spy cameras that could fit on a button or any other small surface. So, he may not have invented the spy camera or the camera itself, but he did come up with a really good place to put it.

I would think there would be mixed emotions about the hole card cam. One the one hand you have television producers. Television producers are in the business of bringing exciting things to television. Less today than in the past, but still that's the idea. So, televising poker without the hold card cam would be an extraordinarily boring event. Along comes the hole card cam, suddenly there are commentators and information available to the home audience that the players don't get. That makes for good TV.

On the other hand, there are the players. These guys have been honing their games for years. They have been studying each other over countless sessions and have amassed a library of valuable info. special for them. Many aspects of their game have remained secret for who knows how long. Along comes the hole card cam and suddenly everybody gets to see how these guys play. There is no hiding anymore and no mystery. Years of research revealed in a few hours. I would imagine a few players got a little distressed over the whole idea. I'm surprised a few of them haven't gotten together and taken Mr. Orenstein out behind the Bellagio for a little "talk." You know, like in the old days.

In any event, the cam is here to stay and definitely adds a new dimension to the game. I would be real careful the next time you sit down at a popular casino and make sure there aren't any peculiar little holes in the table your are playing at. You may just be being watched a little more than you anticipated.

As an aside, Orenstein is also a player and the creator of the Transformer toys. Hope for his sake he got a piece of the movie deal. That would help a poker bankroll.

Poker Strategy: Play More Poker

One of the most important poker strategies that I could have embraced when I started playing poker was also the most obvious one: play more poker. It wasn't that I didn't play poker, I played but I could have played more. What I mean by that is I spent a lot of time reading books on poker strategy and watching video about poker strategy when I could have been using that time to play poker and develop strategy.

I don't want anybody to think for a second that I would discourage reading up on tips or studying footage of players on television. That stuff is all important in developing your understanding of playing poker. It gives you background, but you have to play to understand your game.

Poker strategy can only be developed at the table

My biggest mistake when I was starting out was coming to the game with a head full of theory. I would play periodically, being careful and patient, waiting for ideal opportunities. What would usually happen would be a brutal river or miracle turn for some completely unexpected hand that I was up against. I didn't stop to think more about the kind of game I was in. It was a low level limit table. I found myself thinking that these players were all crazy and that if I just waited them out, I would empty them. That of course, doesn't happen in that kind of game.

What I should have been doing was going and playing in the games that I planned on starting at and studying the play. The poker game you enter will dictate the strategy. You can't bring strategy into a game you don't know anything about. I once read that there was a poker room that T.J. Cloutier enjoyed playing at but if he got there and didn't know enough of the guys at the table, he wouldn't even bother to sit down. This was a guy with tremendous experience and a killer cash game but he valued his knowledge of the game he was going to sit in more highly than all his experience. In other words, his experience taught him to know the game first before you bring your strategy.

Playing poker breeds strategy

Once you have had the chance to play several times wherever it is you play poker, you will be able to start implementing strategy. This will come from knowing the players and the room you are playing in. Poker rooms are a lot like poker players, they all have their own personality. For example, it is well known that California rooms play different than Vegas rooms. The general principal is that Vegas rooms are tighter. In the beginning I made the mistake of bringing a Vegas style of game to a California room. It didn't work. I just thought that what I had studied would start to work eventually. Instead what I should have been doing was realizing that the style of play at the game I was in was always going to be loose and give more action than what I was planning for.

Once I was able to see what the game was all about I could adapt my play accordingly and apply what I had learned for that particular type of poker game. I got so caught up on a particular poker strategy, I forgot to pay attention to the most valuable information available. That was the game itself. What I am saying may sound a little silly to the more seasoned player, but once it hit me that I was wasting time waiting for a particular poker strategy to start working, everything turned around. Playing more poker will help you to develop plenty of sound poker strategy.